J.D.Roots Picks of 2013

Toy, Young British Artists, The Delaplains and The Mysterians

Manchester Ritz

October 25th, 2013

Tonight's gig took us to the Ritz venue in Manchester to an event hosted by J. D. Roots which showcases their picks of 2013's upcoming local bands.  All four of the bands on the bill were from Manchester and I hadn't heard of any of them until tonight.

 

The whole event was hosted by Jack Daniels and you even received a token for a complimentary drink of JD on entry to the venue.

The first band up tonight were the Mysterians who are a five piece band from Manchester.  I usually don't enjoy female fronted bands as I find many female singers very screechy and high pitched but this lady had a lower tone and was really good. 

The Mysterians had a reggae/ska feel and their upbeat melodies had you tapping along with them.  The song that caught my attention was a song called 'Mr Famous' which had a really bouncy melody and great lyrics.

Next up were The Delaplains who again were another five piece band.  These guys were reminiscent of band such as Oasis and although there wasn't much movement on the stage they played a great set.  Stand out songs included 'Helena' and 'Gypsy Blood'. 

 

Young British Artists were third on the bill and from the look of them I thought we were going to get another ska set, however that was not the case.  The music they played leaned more towards alternative rock, but unfortunately I can't tell you what any of the songs were called as I couldn't make out a single word the lead vocalist said either while he was speaking or singing.  I was really disappointed with this group as the melodies held promise of good lyrics but any lyrics were lost.

Headlining tonight were Toy.  These guys were a little different to anything I had ever seen before, as before they took to the stage they filled it with smoke and so all you saw during the performance were silhouettes against a vibrant light show.

Their set was very different too as most of the songs had good strong lyrics to them but the lyrics were short lived and every song had major instrumental sections.  Stand out songs from Toy were 'Join The Dots' and 'Dead And Gone'.

 

My only criticism of this band was the keyboards were a little too shrill and loud in places and took away the impact of the great guitar lines.

All in all a good night and a I have found a couple of bands that I will be watching out for again in the future.