ARTIST: Dinosaur Pile-Up, Pulled Apart By Horses, Tubelord.
VENUE: Royal Park Cellars, Leeds.
REVIEW BY: Lexi Lee.
LEEDS is one of the best cities in the UK to see DIY gigs in small venues, with the best local acts supporting touring headliners usually for a mere £4 or £5.
I grudgingly part with £6 tonight, knowing that the smiling promoter James Brown will later be playing with his band Pulled Apart By Horses, whose reputation means they are one of Leeds must-see bands of the moment.
Headliners Tubelord have also earned a reputation as one of Britain’s best underground indie pop acts from months of gruelling touring, up and down the country.
Openers Dinosaur Pile-Up have an impressive audience tonight, due in part to the venue seeming full because of the band opting to form an inward-facing triangle on the floor instead of the stage.
Their layered relaxed groove has everyone dancing. They sound like a Weezer-esque pop band fronted by Kings Of Leon singer Caleb Followill and the music switches from slow rythmic melodies into faster louder moments.
This exciting and intelligent indie pop will surely have earned them some new fans tonight.
Pulled Apart By Horses are certainly veterans of the scene, the four-piece consisting of ex members of Concentration, Champ, Year Of The Man, It Takes Bridges and Mother Vulpine.
Tonight they don’t disappoint, hammering through a perfectly chaotic and energetic set which whips between dirty heavy moments and schizophrenic pop melodies.
Their sound is of the unconventional time-signature kind, in the vein of At The Drive In and the Blood Brothers.
While the band thrash out their manic noise, singer/guitarist Tommy yelps and screams like an angry little Jack Russell.
They are deserving of their reputation and tonight they play a flawless set, they look cool, they sound extremely cool – it’s a completely show stealing performance.
Headliners Tubelord sadly seem to have the smallest crowd, which seems to emphasise Leeds’s loyalty to the local scene.
However, those who have stayed create an excited buzz moments before Tubelord take to the stage. Fronted by an endearingly geeky looking singer/ guitarist with an impossibly high pitched and nasal voice, the Londoners play, in their own words “pop songs for rock kids”.
Tubelord are the catchiest band of the line-up tonight, they have a sound that could quite easily be heard on daytime radio. It’s just perfect pop music, albeit with a jerky edge. Tonight their rapport with the crowd is fun and clever, much like their music.
Their live show has earned them a decent following and I would recommend anyone who has the chance to see them on their upcoming tour with Tellison.
Go along, have a dance and see one of the UK’s most exciting acts of the minute.
