After a long day at work, and a slow-going drive along the A55 amidst all the holiday traffic heading home to England, it was great to finally make it to The Live Rooms in Chester for an evening of great live music. It’s nice to have such a good venue that’s not too far from where I live, especially when the lineups are as good as this one!
Opening the night was Kalik, a punk/ska band from Denmark, and their rough-and-ready edge set the scene well. Although at times there wasn’t much variation to the music itself, the trio gave an energetic and empowered performance, connecting well with both one another and the crowd in front of them, and even throwing in a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cover song for good measure. I was especially impressed at the ending where the frontman just ripped the strings from his guitar – I half expected him to go all-out and just smash his guitar at one point!
Following Kalik was Bogans, a band I was already familiar with but had never had the chance to catch live until now. Although I have to admit that their frontman did make me a little nervous at times (he messed with people stood at the barrier, ventured into the crowd and at one point even licked the bouncer’s head!) it wouldn’t have been half as fun if he’d just statically stood in one place and sang – it made the performance memorable and amusing, if nothing else (even if I did instinctively take a couple of steps backwards if I saw him approaching 😂). The performance as a whole was good, with plenty of good songs included in the set, and it’s clear that the band has a lot of potential. And with an EP coming out shortly as well, Bogans is definitely a band worth keeping an eye out for.
Of course, the night was always going to belong to Jaya The Cat, who had recently released their excellent new album A Good Day For The Damned (review here). It was very refreshing to see such a good turnout for them on a Sunday night, along with such a good reaction for a band, so it was fantastic to be a part of it all. Opening with Wine Stained Futon, the balance wasn’t quite right as it sounded very keyboard heavy (nevertheless, I thought it was brilliant!) so after a little bit of messing with levels, it was business as usual and the band powered through a very tight and well-put-together set.
With a lot of material to choose from, Jaya The Cat incorporated both old and new songs into the performance, with the older stuff sounding as fresh as the new stuff. What was particularly good was how together they all sounded, with members bouncing off one another over the course of the night, and it was just fun to be a part of such an enjoyable performance – Jaya The Cat have got their live performance nailed.
As a whole, it was a great night, with all three bands on the lineup delivering solid sets. If any of these bands are touring near you, then make sure you get yourself over to the show – you won’t be disappointed.
