Friday 13th December ∏
Midnight Wire play intimate Secret Show
in Leicester to launch their new single.
By Olly Stabler
Tonight we had the privilege of seeing Midnight Wire, along with three support acts, play their first Leicester show in over six months, to launch their new single ‘Everyone is a Saint’.
Photos by © Kevin Gaughan
The show, held at The Basement Bar in Leicester, was done in a secretive fashion where the venue was revealed only on the day and only to those who had got tickets in advance. This meant that the crowd consisted mostly of the band’s family and friends and so the gig felt very special and very intimate.
First on was Leicester indie band ‘Over The House’. This four piece put on a good set which featured some great lead guitar work that I found technical yet not too over the top-it still had feeling and fit the songs rather well. They were fairly tight but after a while their songs all started to sound a bit similar. Overall an entertaining watch from a band who have got the potential and talent to go far within Leicester.
From left to right: Lewis Shields, Ieuan Jones.
Second to perform was London’s ‘Give Me The Sun‘. By the time it go to the this band’s set, the crowd had dispersed and was largely either smoking or at the bar. The band soon rectified this issue by successfully beckoning them all back for their performance. They smashed straight into their set and they all looked like they were having great fun throughout it. They made fine use of an e-bow and played in an alternative indie rock style. The band was exceptionally tight, highlighted when their drummer broke a stick mid way through a song but he continued to play with one drum stick with none of the members noticed, which is a testament to his, talent of being able to continue regardless of such a set-back. Overall, the band was brimming with talent; whilst they might not have yet written a killer of a song, they put on a very good show.
The final support band for the evening was the four piece ‘Violet Cities‘, from Leicester. This band was slightly different to all the other bands that played as their overall sound could be described as indie, although their guitar tones were more distorted then what you’d expect from your typical indie band. It really set them apart from the other bands of the evening. The band set this ‘different’ tone right away with its first song – being very dark and minor – with their lead vocals even being a tad raspy. The band continued and whilst none of the songs were outstanding, they did all sound different, which is good – a lot of bands can end up sounding like they are playing the same song over and over. Overall, the band were tight, despite it being the bassist’s first ever gig. I would have liked to have heard the bass player doing more backing vocals.
Finally we came to the headline act, Midnight Wire. This was the first time I had properly seen Midnight Wire and they had a lot of hype to live up to. The band kicked right in with what sounded like a classic indie riff and immediately stole the attention of all in the room; it was clear that everyone there were big fans of the band and this is who they had been waiting for. Their lead singer, Alex Van Roose, has one of the most distinctive voices I’ve ever heard in the local Leicester scene. He’s also an incredible front man, egging the crowd on, getting them singing and making everyone laugh. I could tell just how good the band was right from the first song. For their next song Midnight Wire played a fan favourite called Shake It Baby, and had a few fans up to help sing the chorus of the song. It was clear how much this tune is one of the favourites, with my notes from the evening having “catchy as fuck” as the first thing that I wrote about it!
The band also previewed a new song called It’s Over. This song was fantastic and really showcased how the bands song writing must improve with each song that they write. A few more songs and the rest of band exited leaving Alex to play a couple of acoustic tunes. This was a nice way to break up the set and allowed the crowd a second to recover after the band’s explosive first part of their set. After 2 songs all the guys rejoined Alex to play 2 more songs. They started back with cover of I’m a Believer which had the whole room singing and dancing a long. After the second song the band were of course encored and played their brand new single, Everyone’s a Saint. This was another well written song and was a little bit different to their other stuff, it saw Alex experiment with falsetto and was backed by a little bit of gang/shouty vocals. I cannot wait to hear and review the finished recording!
Alex Van Roose, Nik Green, Arjun Johal. Photo by Kevin Gaughn.
The band then finished its set with another fan favourite, Never Gonna Leave LA. With the crowd still begging for more, it was left to the venue manager to tell the band and crowd, resoundingly, that no more songs could be played. If he hadn’t, God knows how long the boys would have gone on for, but I don’t think I personally would have protested to another hour from what I can only describe as an awesome band. Even if you don’t like indie, I recommend you go check these guys out!
