Airburst – Priory review
September 12th 2009
I’ve decided to go into Doncaster town centre. On race night. I alight the bus from outside my flat at 7.30pm, having taken in sustenance in the form of two cans of lager, are we allowed product placement in reviews? It was Carling, not as pleasant a beverage as Kronenbourg, but it provides the necessary lubrication for my impending journey. The first few stops are incident-free, but alas, all this changes when we get outside the Dome. Three broads, of advancing years, totter onto the bus with all the grace of a dying wildebeest. All mutton dressed as lamb, the wrong side of ten stone and clearly well over their quota of racecourse campari and soda for the day. One of them offers the driver sexual favours instead of the one pound and eighty pence! At these sorts of prices, it’s a wonder any of the ‘established’ prostitutes in Doncaster are getting a look in!
Having avoided eye contact with any of these ‘women’ I get off the bus in town and begin the short walk over to the Priory, where I’m meeting Daniel at 8pm. Doncaster is packed. In the five minutes it takes me to get to the venue I encounter some unbelievable things, including, but certainly not limited to: Two people urinating in the street, one of which was a woman, a young charge atop a phone box bellowing obscenities at startled passers-by, and two of our towns licensed doorman indulging in what I believe used to be known at school, as a ‘dead-arm competition.’
As you can imagine, I am relieved when I get into the Priory and downstairs, where I purchase a pint of lager for two pounds ninety. After that journey I just do now care about the ridiculous overpricing. Having met Daniel the first act is on the stage (btw when did the barriers get moved? A splendid idea ). This young lady (Sarah Mac I presume?) with the strikingly blonde hair is belting out a few tunes at a keyboard, which are inoffensive, well crafted and tuneful , and seem to go down well with the crowd, which in number is pretty good for the first act on. I remember one of the tunes sticking in my head for a bit (admittedly it’s gone now but as the night went on I got gradually more drunk), and she seemed to interact well with the crowd, displaying a confidence which was reflected in her performance.
Now the next act on did something to me which very few bands do, especially now I’m older and mellow. They made me angry. Now I’m quite an advocate of the school of thought that music should be an art form , no real purpose apart from itself, merely an outlet for a persons expression. I do not know why these people are allowed access to guitars. Quite honestly, the worst band I have seen in a very, very long time. The singer looked like a line-dancing lesbian (despite being male) and the din they made sounded like sixth formers jamming in their dinner break. When the singer and guitarist broke into a rehearsed dance routine I had to go outside for fresh air. I could wax lyrical for many pages about why this band should never be allowed to play gigs again, but quite frankly, it is a waste of my time and yours, dear reader. I am not sure what they were called, so I have deliberately avoided naming them, in order to not embarrass the other band who could be confused with them!
Once I have sufficiently calmed down, we come in to watch Airburst. Wow. They were impressive enough the last time I saw them in Retford, but the improvement is immediately recognizable as soon as they are four bars into the gig. Playing with a joyous confidence, it is obvious that they are extremely well-practised, each has faith in the others ability to get the job done, which they do with some aplomb. The drumming is frenzied yet tight, the bass drives like bass should, and the faultless guitar never fails to amaze. The crowd is sparse, and it is to Airburst’ great credit that it didn’t affect their performance one iota, they may as well have been on stage at the Leadmill. On this performance, it won’t be long before they are gracing stages much more prestigious than the Priory. As Daniel said in an earlier post, one of the best gigs in Doncaster.
By this point in the evening I am tipsy to the say the least, I apologize for missing Girlspit, I have heard many good things about them, and I will endeavour to catch them live in the near future. We wander down to the Vintage Rockbar where Milli and Guy indulge us with some requests which we drunkenly boogie and sing along too. At half past twelve I decide enough’s enough, I’m running the line at kiddies football in the morning, it doesn’t look good to be throwing up on the touch line at 9.30am!
Many thanks
James x
