ginger live

For the third time in as many weeks Manchester’s most depraved rockers Dear Superstar are on the bill of a gig we’re reviewing. These guys are really working the circuits at the moment, getting themselves out there in front of different audiences, and building up a name and a buzz about themselves. Flying high after a successful Papa Roach tour, and just announced for Download, the Manc rockers are tight and on form tonight as openers for more established acts.

They’re not phased by the older and harder to please audience though, and the soundman gets it spot on with their guitars ratcheted up to make them sound harder and rockier tonight, rather than the catchier emo style they can sometimes put across. Newly inked half-sleeve tattoos and screaming backing vocals from the two guitarists Smethurst and Milton Gunns put Dear Superstar firmly in the hard rock category tonight. Vocalist Micky Satiar is full of confidence, coming up with witty rapport with the audience about 80s montages, Teenwolf & Rocky 2, and dancing in a dress. Hold that image…

The band only play half a dozen tracks, including a couple of new songs, Never Surrender, and You Glitter Just Like Gold, but the pretty full venue watched, nodded along and gave them a pretty good ovation as they finished the set off in rousing style with the rocking and sing-a-long Hollywood Whore and Brothers in Blood.

Next up is the eagerly anticipated appearance of Laika Dog, fronted by Terrorvision vocalist Tony Wright. “We’re from Keighley. We’re what you’d sound like if you were from Keighley” deadpans Tony at the start in the broadest of Yorkshire accents. The band look as bland; a boring indie pub band. But it aint just another indie pub band. Tony Wright gives it something a little bit special.

As well as the witty comments between songs his vocals are still strong and distinctive and the early 90s Madchester sound is catchy and executed well by the band. It’s quite groovy and funky in places, and a bluesy Down by the River was quite mesmerising, whilst the new track nicknamed The Piano Song has, unsurprisingly, beautiful piano parts. All much, much better than the stuff on their MySpace to date.

Tonight was Tony’s Birthday, so on came Ginger with a cake with candles for him to blow out. “As it been on t’news down here?” asks a grinning Tony as we joined in a chorus of Happy Birthday.

Tony tends to still flail around a bit, waving his hands like he’s gone a bit Happy Mondays at a rave, but the music tonight was excellent, there were some beautiful songs, and Tony Wright is still delivering as a great front man and vocalist.

The crowd got ready for Ginger to grace the stage, some popping out for cigarettes. Dear Superstar meanwhile were having a band sing-a-long downstairs with their sound guy bashing out Brothers in Blood on the piano in the downstairs bar. It sounded fantastic. They should definitely do more acoustic stuff with their songs, it worked and showed Micky’s strong voice off really well.

It’s eventually time for Ginger after what feels like an age, and back upstairs the crowd look on bewildered as Uncle Sam, a WWE wrestler, a very large Mexican and the camp leather clad bloke from the Village People take to the stage whilst a huge yellow and black spider with a video camera stands on the merchandise chairs. Ginger himself, usually front man in the legendary punk-fuelled rockers The Wildhearts, had the most horrendous coloured jacket on I have ever seen in my life; several paint mix pots had been vomited onto it. Ginger asks the laughing crowd why we’re laughing and didn’t we know it was fancy dress tonight? They play the whole show dressed like this, and we discover the spider is their tour manager.

Two things immediately became apparent; one, that this was definitely NOT anything like The Wildhearts, and two, the banter between Ginger and the crowd between songs was almost as much as and as important as the songs. There were several funny interludes revolving round what Ginger wanted to drink, where we establish it certainly aint Newcy Brown. Talking about Robin Hood & Nottingham, Ginger announced about Newcy Brown, “No-one has a band of merry men and no-one drinks that filth!” It’s established that Stella and JD & coke are just fine instead.

Ginger worked through tracks such as Drinking in the Daytime, 10 Flaws Down, Why Can't You Just Be Normal and This Is Only A Problem, showing off a real mix of styles and tempo, with fantastic musicianship from everyone on stage. New song Return of the Northern Cardinal had an almost Irish or country feel.

A rousing Church of the Broken Hearted in the encore and a signing session at the merchandise stall after the show (manned by a Viking) topped off a thoroughly fun and pleasant evening watching some great musicians.

by Lynn Wyeth