It was a dark and stormy night. Well, actually, no, it was just chilly but then again, it’s February, and the only thing that seems to warm the cockles is a bit of music, even if it’s on the “how do I categorise this?” side of the spectrum.

Opening duties were courtesy of Remember Honolulu, whose sound is a bit like Sigur Ros in a less sedated day. There is some strange wailing/moan combination of vocal deliveries and were just the starter for the evening.

It’s hard to describe Smokers die younger (actually, for an uneducated fossil like me it’s hard to describe all bands from this event). It’s never dissonant enough to go into the “experimental” bin, but it’s never structured as your standard music. The schematic  of how to write a song was lost in the way to the stage, it seems, and it’s for the best. And if you don’t believe (or want a free track) just click here . Really enjoyed ‘Knives’ and ‘Sketchpad’

And now, it was the turn of Hexa, who tried (without success, sadly) to redecorate the front part of the Harley’s stage with Chinese lamps and palm trees made of glossy paper (you’d have to be there to see it). The electricity mains was a little dodgy so the tropical atmosphere they were thriving for wasn’t achieved.

But still, who needs fancy (or skint, all in the eye of the beholder) stage decorations when you’ve got a manic, energetic show like Hexa’s? Not sure of what was going on, but I sure liked it. Songs were started up by Davis (their amiable ringleader, it seems?).

A hint of old school rock was the deceptive starter always, then it went into strange, dark lands, where theatrics (like shoving each other to get a chance to sing at the mic) were in order. I mean, by all that’s good in Mexican food, I felt sometimes that i walked into a Jim Steinman musical after a few poppers!

I might be unto something here, actually. For my case –  evidence number one: the mental pace of the songs. Evidence number two: the sometimes frightening faces they were pulling (I actually thought of doing a runner, but then my editors would merc me). Evidence number three: great (and loud) musical skill.

The crowd was really eating it up, though, and being on first row with some of the members of Smokers die younger was a cool experience (they were really into Hexa, it seems and I’d joined in with the dancing in my knee wasn’t killing me). As chaotic as it started, so it ended and a few trampled on setlists were recovered. On that matter, some serious recommendations are : ‘Well, well, well’, ‘Classes’, ‘Again & again’ and ‘Owl is yellow’.

Now, if only I could manage to see them again NOW that I’ve actually heard their music before a gig, maybe it’d be an even more enjoyable experience (I only heard ‘classes’ before hand).

Heck, I’ll do my homework next time and get their free ep and listen over to it (go for ‘Classes’, then work your way around! Be warned that these are calmer versions of what you see hear live) .

–Sam (aka el sordo)

If this concert was a David Bowie song it would be : The Voyeur of Utter Ear Destruction (as Beauty).

Check out our nifty gallery of that night!