GiggingNI.com

Queer Giraffes

With Goodbye Pluto; Uber Glitterati; 21 Demands;

It's Freshers week again, folks, and I must confess, I've never been part of it all before. I've always been working, sleeping, feeding my cat, washing my socks, or partaking in some other obscure task. Being a third year, this is now my last chance to experience it all first hand. For me anyway, that seemed as good a reason as any to partake in the alcoholic festivities of the initiation of the first year into university life. And I must say, despite my third year status, where the Xposure Freshers party was concerned, I wasn't let down.

The lone leader of The 21 Demands kicked off, or rather eased us all gently into the evening, with an endearingly enjoyable acoustic set. Aesthetically pleasing, charismatic, and an impressive vocalist, Steven Garrigan easily won his spectators over with the use of some light-hearted repartee throughout his performance, without forgetting that cheeky grin, of course.

The retro duo of Uber Glitterati was the next act to perform. Awkward, mismatched, and detrimentally nervous, in my opinion, they failed to impress. Stevie Mac spent the performance slumped behind his laptop, while occasionally stirring vaguely in time with the music in a forced and wooden manner, mirroring the uncomfortable movements of his partner in crime, Elizabeth. However, I do believe a Freshers gig was a setting too far out of their comfort zone, especially when they were clearly so inexperienced. Perhaps a change of venue with an older audience would have been more suited to their music, and mind-set. Either way, their apparent lack of passion and hunger for their trade led to a very non-descript and disappointing performance when it mattered.

And then there was Goodbye Pluto. Allelujah! Now, this was a tailor made act for a night dedicated to Freshers. Fronted by the vivacious and vocally gifted Sara Crockett, surrounded by her supporting masculine musicians, Goodbye Pluto was clearly a force to be reckoned with. Their lyrics and presentation were utterly fantastic, and with a sound heavily influenced by bands such as Paramore and Muse, who could argue? They put on a highly enjoyable show, and despite being the youngest rockers of the night, the band was exceptionally professional, with flawless co-operation and highly polished renditions of their compositions. So much so, that by the end of the set, 'goodbye' was the last word on anyone's lips!

Queer Giraffes was the final band of the evening. The five player team, fronted by Kurt Cobain's living double, were an unquestionably experienced and passionate act, who quite obviously have stage performance perfected to a fine art. In my opinion, it was just unfortunate for them that they had followed such a well-liked and relevant group. Perhaps two songs into the set, most of the spectators, clearly bored by the headliners, took it upon themselves to pack up and leave, clearly in search of entertainment (and possibly a late alcoholic beverage) elsewhere. Although had the exiting punters taken the time to sit down and listen amidst their alcoholic haze, they may have found (as I did) that Queer Giraffes were an excellent live band, and boasted a diverse wealth of sound.

In theory, as headliners, Queer Giraffes should have stolen the show, and in a more diverse setting, it's a strong possibility that they would have. However, it seems the majority of musically minded Freshers appear to prefer bands who fall into their age range, as this gig proved. That's why the highlight of this gig had to be the adrenaline fuelled performance from Goodbye Pluto. Watch this space, as they look to be the next big thing to burst onto the music scene.