PHLUID + TOMMY BINKS + INFINITUM.
AT MAVERICKS, DRIFFIELD. 13/ 03/ 03.
This event was bigger than the Brit Awards. It was the Glamage CD Launch Party. The CD features 23 underground bands from around the UK. All 3 of the acts performing at the gig appear on it along with TorsoHorse and Steve Rudd, both of which were spotted in the crowd.
Infinitum were first to grace the stage. They�re good but nothing special. They do have some good songs though including �Bomb In Soho�.
Normally I get quite bored when I see acoustic based bands or solo artists. Normally they�re sat down, put little effort into their performance and are just really boring to watch. Normally most of their songs sound the same and normally I would find it hard to stay awake for the entirety of their set.
However, Tommy Binks is an exception. He�s fantastic. Every song in his set sounded totally different from the one before. �Eskillator� was one of the best tracks. It�s a love song. �Craving� is about wine gums. His next single is called �Broken Nose�. Not sure what that one is about.
He is funny. Judging by some of his lyrics, the 20 year old from Rotherham clearly doesn�t take himself too seriously. He is energetic. Been onstage clearly excites Tommy. You could tell he was enjoying himself and felt totally comfortable with performing. He had nice hair. A typical indie kid type cut. At last Driffield was witnessing some real talent.
The only other talented act to play here previously were Phluid and it just so happened that they were here again and better than ever. It�s nearly 3 years since I first saw the glam punk rock band. I�ve now seen them around 30, maybe even 40 times, possibly more. I have no idea what the exact amount is but I�ve seen them more times than any other band ever. They are one of Britain�s best kept secrets. These guys have worked their butts off for years. They deserve to be massive. Hopefully one day they will be. I�ll be really pleased for them when that day comes but also quite sad. If they make it big, they�ll forget all about crappy Driffield and will never want to play here again. That would just suck.
They opened their set with �L.O.V.E.D.U.P� or �Loved Up� if you prefer. That was swiftly followed by the classic �Desolation� during which the band all stood completely still and silent mid song for about a minute. An idea stolen from The Hives who do the same during performances of the single �Main Offender�.
Frontman Polly introduced �American Jihad� with a rant about the possible war on Iraq. The war is looking more and more likely by the day. Like most people, Polly is against war. By this point the crowd had finally woken up and during �Rock N Roll Clich� formed some kind of mosh pit.
�Pure� deserves to be a number one hit single. It�s the type of song lyrically that everyone can relate to. It�s catchy and great to sing along to. Some of the loyal fans amongst the crowd sang along to a majority of the tracks performed.
A handful of new songs followed including �Tasty�, �Crucifixion� and �Libertine�. They will hopefully all appear later in the year on a new mini album. The set drew to a close with crowd pleaser �21st Century Beatnik Baby� and �Stray Day� which was dedicated to the legend that is Dr Glamage.
The sound guy started to pack up before certain lazy band members had even left the stage. I was hoping for an encore but sadly it didn�t happen. It was a great night though. Phluid were on top form. They�re going to be huge one day. Remember were you heard about them first.
BY MR MARTYN. MARCH 2003. |