GiggingNI.com

Pocket Promise

With Once Before Take-Off; The Alice Kona Band; Dead Vito;

Six Event's 'Xposure' gigs have, in the past, been a showcase of great local talent in an excellent and intimate venue. Tonight was no different, with Tyrone four-piece 'Pocket Promise' due to headline. Unusually packed for a mid-week gig, Auntie Annies housed a throng of eager faced, wide-eyed and enthusiastic music lovers who, along with the four bands, created a warm and enjoyable atmosphere.

With a punk rock bang, Dead Vito took to the stage and, despite not getting a fantastic reception from the crowd, should have no reason to question the quality of their performance tonight. Vocals from Matthew Jackson were strong and he endeavoured to provoke a response from an indifferent crowd. Songs like 'She's Beautiful But Fakes It' received a fair and deserved round of applause, while Biffy Clyro song 'Saturday Superhouse' might not have been the best choice of cover despite minor errors being successfully dealt with by the band. Powerful drumming, aggressive guitar playing and solid bass lines from a bassist who, maybe due to nerves, seemed quite anonymous on stage, accompanied by Jackson's confident performance contributed to a well rehearsed and delivered set.

Citing influences such as 'The Dead Kennedys', 'The Clash' and 'The Germs' punk rock was again on the agenda, this time from The Alice Kona Band. With a roar of feedback from the two guitars a thoroughly enjoyable show was put on by the Belfast four-piece. A triad of vocals by three front-men, one of whom had, in true rock and roll fashion, donned a pair of leather trousers and lost his shirt, led to an exceptionally full sound. All three lads confident in themselves, each other and most importantly, the music they played. Cheesy backing vocals in 'Exile and Nothing' in no way decreased the impression The Alice Kona Band left on the crowd. If anything, they added to the humour created by the three massive presences at the front of the stage. One sour note of the night can be attributed to the shirtless lead guitarist who, having broke a string, borrowed Dead Vito's Adam Proctor's guitar. With no apparent regard for the instrument he did not own, he finished the set by jumping into the bassist, clashing guitars, and left the stage after dumping the guitar on the floor, to the understandable disgust of the owner. A great set from a great band who clearly enjoyed themselves on the night, but behaviour such as this could result in promoters and other bands being unwilling to have them on the bill. Unprofessional to say the least.

Cheered on by a small pocket of supporters Once Before Take Off, formerly 'The Soviets' took to the stage. With heavy influences such as 'Biffy Clyro' and 'Foo Fighters', the music toed the line of metal, but didn't quite cross it. The Alice Kona Band was a hard act to follow, and Once Before Take Off may have suffered because of the energy of the previous performance. Each song was met with no more than a short wave of applause, except for the small gathering of fans and friends near the bar who loyally sang and danced along. It would be unfair to say the Omagh quartet deserved the relatively bad crowd response, as they are unquestionably one of the tightest bands on the local circuit. Their set was topped off apologetically with a repeat of Dead Vito's cover of 'Saturday Superhouse', which, possibly due to the additional guitar, sounded significantly better than the first band's attempt. Once Before Take Off are certainly a band to watch out for and should be in with a shout of supporting Biffy Clyro in St George's Market, if a local act is needed.

These bands that were selected to support Pocket Promise raised some confusion due to the gulf in genre between the three support acts and the headliner. If anything, it could be testament to the originality of Pocket Promise; there isn't another band on the local circuit doing what they do. Guitarist Dominic Coyle is possibly one of the most talented and underrated local guitarists and his style greatly contributes to the uniqueness of Pocket Promise's music. With an array of keyboards, laptops and guitars on stage there was a variety of sounds and combinations many other bands might not even consider trying, but greatly popular songs like 'Who Burnt The Roller Disco' and 'Facing Down' off the new EP 'Waving at Strangers' demonstrate how Pocket Promise have perfected their sound over the years. Unfortunately, through no fault of his own, but not to the detriment of the performance, front-man Cormac Fee's vocals were at times lost in the mix. Otherwise this was a fantastic performance by a band about to release an album and tour Ireland with Panama Kings. Like the previous bands, Cormac tried in vain to stir up the somewhat subdued but not unappreciative crowd, and, save for a few dancers in the corner, the crowd seemed enthralled by the sounds emanating from the stage. Unlike the other bands, Pocket Promise succeeded in commanding the attention of the majority of the impressive crowd, and almost all conversations were put on hold during the set. Cormac rounded off the night by thanking the crowd and announcing the album launch at the Menagerie on 6th August, a gig the band, more than a few in the crowd and of course, Gigging NI are greatly looking forward to.