Live from Halifax with Alan Dearling
A nice subterranean cellar venue below a bustling bar, only a stone’s throw away from the famous Piece Hall. The space is festooned with some great artwork too.
My first visit to the Grayston Unity. Friendly staff and welcoming. I was keen to see Warm Parts again, given that I witnessed them play one of their earliest gigs about a year ago. I wasn’t disappointed. They overcame some technical glitches but gave it their combined best musical shout! Plenty of guitar strangeness – almost music fit for a soundtrack attuned to a darkly sinister Stephen King fairytale film. Warm Parts have become ‘heavier’, offering motorik, Kraut electronica, driven by drums and plenty of guitar riffing. Some nicely psychedelic musical chaos! The pounding, pummelling drums, theremin and synth sounds from Rachael and some imaginative guitar breaks fitted well into the underground, almost Crypt-like setting. Overall, Warm Parts have evolved to occupy the sort of musical niche created by the likes Wooden Shjips and Explosions in the Sky. Plenty of aural light and shade and the gradations in between. Loud, but frequently imaginatively tuneful.
‘Mangle’ video: https://www.facebook.com/warmparts/videos/1835306330346759
And a live video with ‘Square’ at the Puzzle Hall: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKTPZI4nxxo
Koyo Bloom purvey a form of noise rock. Verging on grunge at times. They certainly know how to ‘look the look’ – of rock demi-gods! Pretty heavy rock…
‘Electric Eel’ live and other videos: https://www.facebook.com/koyobloom/videos
The advance publicity proclaimed that: “KOYO are a rock band, incorporating elements of alternative, psychedelic and progressive rock. Alumni of Leeds Conservatoire, they are a major factor in the city’s burgeoning music scene. Based on their live performance they were selected to open the BBC Introducing Stage at Reading and Leeds festivals.”
At the Grayston Unity gig, Koyo Bloom provided a thunderous wall of sound. It was quite Old School rock, with an unrelenting quality to their sonic assault. I suspect they would like it if I referred to their performance as a sonic form of assault and battery!
They have released three albums, having used crowdfunding to raise funds for their latest album, ‘Onism’.
The Grayston Unity is a lively little venue which is obviously striving to provide a rich variety of styles of music, performers and genres. Worth checking out their programme of events: https://thegraystonunity.co.uk/
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