TOONWAVES.CO.UK

Offshore 44 is a strange place for a gig. Amid the nautical paraphernalia that covers every available inch of this usually townie-dominated pub is a stage so small that the drum kit has to be set up at the side rather than the back. With a cramped live room that has all the feel of Liverpool’s legendary Cavern Club, it’s a brilliantly off-kilter choice for brand new indie night Roxy.

First up are Newcastle’s ownNight Of Sevens. Ideally suited to the claustrophobic surroundings of Offshore, the band’s explosive drone-rock is simply breathtaking. From the minute front man Bobby takes the stage amid a howl of feedback to the final overdriven squeals of their incendiary set closer the band are mesmerising. Walking the same indie-psych walk that turned Kasabian into arena fillers, bigger stages surely beckon for the talented five-piece.

Fresh from a string of summer support slots with now-defunct Manchester rock gods Oasis, headliners Twisted Wheel slip effortlessly back into performing in front of an audience of hundreds rather than tens of thousands. Like the maximum r ‘n’ b of High Numbers-era The Who, the band’s explosive mod-punk cuts straight through the crowd. Loud, brash and loaded with swig-along melodies, it’s the perfect soundtrack for the clusters of drunken Fred Perry, Ben Sherman and Pretty Green-outfitted indie boys packed into Offshore’s back room.

Through the closing chants of “Whee-uuullll, Wheee-uuullll, Whee-uuullll,” it’s pretty clear it’s been a triumphant opening night for Roxy. A great venue with an even greater line-up, local outifits Love Bites & Bruises and Manila Chapter will have a lot to live up to next week.

For all of Roxy’s forthcoming listings check out their Facebook page here:

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000616591916

Currently being mastered by Dave Brewis from Field Music, a new five-track EP from North East psych-rockers Night Of Sevens is imminent. Titled The Flood Sessions it will be followed by a b-sides and rarities collection in the next month or so. In the meantime, don’t miss the boys in action at Offshore 44 for the launch of brand new indie night Roxy on March 3 alongside Twisted Wheel.

Read my interview with the band here:

Q&A: Night Of Sevens

Oldham-based mod-rockers Twisted Wheel play brand new indie night Roxy’s launch party at Offshore 44 in Newcastle on March 3. Support comes from local indie outfit Night Of Sevens.

“Twisted Wheel have a tight sinewy sound that takes up from where the Libertines and Artic Monkeys left off and skews it with a Manc attitude and a curiously Johnny Cash-style stripped-down engine room of rock n roll.” (DiS)

“A numerology-inspired rock ‘n’ roll democracy, Tyneside-based outfit Night of Sevens unleash a fearsome barrage of apocalyptic psychedelia. Drawn together by a shared love of outlaw literature and socialist ideals, the acidic drone-pop collective are firmly in control of their own destiny.” (BBC Tyne)

Here’s the line-up for next week’s Dazed & Fused at World Headquarters:

OUR SECRET SINS

-Our Secret Sins are a musical experiment from the northeast of England, Teesside to be precise, this is the place that they call home, with all of its faults, all of its virtues, all the highs and all the lows, its weaknesses fuel their strengths, and its strength’s fuel their weaknesses’ .

-This is the place they formed with their sights set on making a difference, a difference through music for themselves and possibly a difference through music for anyone who would listen.

—————————————————————————————————————-

SPIES IN LIMBO

-Spies In Limbo (pictured) reside in Newcastle Upon Tyne.

-Last year the band appeared at the NXNE festival in Toronto, Canada, headlined the Artkoustik Festival in France, and then played at Festival Terre Neuvas Bobital- France’s second largest music festival, alongside The Verve, Travis and The Sex Pistols. They also performed at the In the City ‘08 music industry conference in Manchester.

-Spies are currently mixing a new E.P. set for release this summer on their own Protective Atmosphere Music label.

—————————————————————————————————————-

Enveloped in the current climate of shit, soulless, half-hearted, limp-dicked, trend loving, phrase dropping, politically correct, piss wet through, superficial girlie bands, we formed our own.

NIGHT OF SEVENS

-Considering ourselves an autonomous garage rock ‘n’ roll movement and collective brotherhood, we set out to contribute to the history of righteous music with conviction and the greater aim of upholding the age old fight between good and evil.

—————————————————————————————————————-

DJ JOHN-PAUL (spector)

Interview: Toby Rogers

Numerology-inspired indie-psych five-piece Night Of Sevens are a band firmly in control of their own destiny. A fearsome rock ‘n’ roll democracy built on shared musical ideals and a love of outlaw literature, their lysergic drone-rock is simply breathtaking. We caught up with them for a chat about their journey so far.

Firstly, how are things going?

Things are going well. After releasing our debut single on our own label RagTag Records in March we’ve been gigging throughout the North to promote it. We had a brief set-back when our drummer hurt his wrist but we spent the time recording new material until he was fit. We’ve just completed a round of gigs including Evolution Unsigned, a gig for Dead Young Records in Leeds, supporting Future Sound of The Left at The Brickyard in Carlisle and we just played the best gig we’ve ever played at The Paragliders Ball in the heart of the Lake District. The organisers were great, the setting was beautiful and the crowd were wasted and bang up for it, people getting on the stage and jumping about. It was a really intimate atmosphere, a real pleasure to play there. Read the rest of this entry »