The fact that the tannoy is
playing the Happy Mondays just before the band comes out tells you that RTM is
slightly off territory tonight. This, ladies and gentlemen, is one of those
occasions when stick our heads a bit of above the parapet and go and have a
look at something slightly hip…
Actually, that should be hip
with a but. Macclesfield’s The Virginmarys first came to our attention a couple
of years ago when we discovered that Little Angels frontman Toby Jepson
produced their debut EP and Classic Rock had the track “Taking The Blame” on
one of their CD’s a couple of months ago, which we liked a lot.
Actually that track is a
neat starting point for the band. Singer/Guitarist Ally Dickaty sings it in his
accent, which gives the song a somewhat more indie feel than maybe we are used
to, but the music the band play is pure classic rock.
Opening with appears to be
an ode to casual sex in “Just A Ride” before “Out Of Mind echoes the Rolling
Stones. Indeed the bands influences are hard to pin down, one minute they are
knocking out Bluesy riffs, the next they are into screeching rock – and in
places they remind RTM of long forgotten Brit sleazers The Glitterati.
With Dickaty and bass man
and bass man Matt Rose preferring to let the music do the talking, the three
piece might suffer from a lack of a focal point, that is if they didn’t have
drummer Danny Dolan. Equal parts Keith Moon and Animal from the Muppets he
seems on a mission to kill his kit, breaking his drums at least twice thanks to
his energetic style.
Appropriately for a band
with such diverse references the songs have a scattergun approach, “Same as It
Ever Was” explodes, “Looking For Love” offers a change of pace while album
title track “King Of Conflict” rattles along while sounding like the White
Stripes.
After explaining they aren’t
doing their usual encore as the dressing rooms are too far away, they stay on
stage for the acoustic “Stripped” and the single “Bang Bang Bang.”
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