The Beat Surrender

I feel a sense of shame writing this review, not because I’m slating any of the artists (I’m not for once) and not because i’ve been drinking Southern Comfort from a hip flask at this gig (it was allowed trust me – more on this later), but mainly because despite being from Leeds it takes a bloody Laaaaaarndoner to actually tell me about The Common Place.

So for the many out there that were as clueless as me before tonight, here is a quick paragraph from the website explaining a bit more:

“a place in the city centre in which together people can enjoy a sense of community, affordable entertainment and food; a non-commercial place to relax, talk, be creative, meet people and find information on political campaigns, issues and actions”.

In short it’s a building that has been taken over by a group who run it for non-profit and as well as the various community projects they have, they also put on some cracking little gigs.

Due to the nature of the place you can bring your own beer, hence the hip flask from me, it all adds to the quirky nature of the event, a feeling that is supplemented further by tonight’s line up.

First up are Wakefield band Imp, a ramshackle and disorganised mess of charming off kilter indie pop with a less tuneful nod to Pavement. Don’t let that last comment fool you though, they can write a tune…in fact I can’t remember the exact title but the track that mentions life being a bitch could well be an alternative anti Christmas number one in a parallel universe.

Second on the bill are a group I’ve been familiar with for a while now thanks to MySpace. I’m told they were disappointed by tonight’s performance but This Many Boyfriends really needn’t be.

You see they remind me in places of groups like Comet Gain and Prolapse such is the sheer enjoyment they pass out to the crowd through their own enjoyment in performing, it might be a little rough around the edges but the crowd (and i’m counting myself in that) enjoy them, proving that the right attitude and a lot of enthusiasm can go a long way in a performance.

That isn’t to say they can’t play though, they have a lot in common sound wise with a modern collective like Los Campesinos, they might be a bit behind them at the moment, but don’t bet against these fun Leeds indie popsters.

Another group I wouldn’t write off despite a slightly surly performance from the lead singer is Piskie Sits.

Again I can hear Pavement in there, but this time they mix in The Strokes as well and it’s a good blend that could see them go as far as they want to, if they can just start to enjoy themselves onstage as much as we actually were in the audience (despite your voiced reservations lads).

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