An Impromptu Night of Pop Punk Music
The Invite
It was a usual Monday night on the 19th February when the phone beeped and up popped a Facebook invite to a gig at 'The Basement' York from Zac (a member of Heartsink.) The gig was that evening and featured the bands Heartsink, Chapter and Verse as well as the headlining band Dream State. After some research and being impressed with what I heard, it was a quick call to the wife to tell her we were going. It was decided and a must go, so off out we went for am impromptu night out.
The Venue
The Basement is only a small intimate music venue that only holds 100 people and is located in the centre of York, hidden under the City Screen Cinema . On arriving we headed straight to the bar and I was delighted to see 'Blue Moon' on draught, that was me sorted for the night. It was the 'pierce de resistance' when it arrived with a slice of orange in it. There was a good turn of people for the venue size. The sound engineer was a familiar face, Presh who delivered top quality sound to all the bands. He can also be found at Spread the Jam Open Mic night on a .For more details click here.
The Music
Heartsink formerly known as One Way Street Uk kicked off the evening.
This was their first gig since their name alteration. They are an alternative Pop Punk band from York with four members, Bryn Portas -Bass / Backing Vocals ,Tom Mitchell - Guitar and then twin brothers Jake Roughton - Drums and Zac Roughton - Guitar / Lead Vocals. The band evidently have a very strong bond and gave the impression that although two of them are twins that they were more like quadruplets, as all four members played with equal skill and talent. It was great to hear some of their classic tunes as well as a few of their new ones.
Here is a video where you can have a listen and get a good taste of their sound. I have chosen a favourite tune of mine called Restless Minds.
Chapter and Verse they are an alternative rock band with four members Josh Carter: Vocals, Darren Gosling: Guitar, Jonny Hopwood: Bass, Ash Morton: Drums from London. This band certainly made an impact as they opened their set with the lead singer demonstrating his impressive vocal range and versatility. The lead singer had a lot of energy, but despite all of his jumping around still delivered his vocals on point. At one point when I nipped for another beautiful pint of Blue Moon I thought that they had finished and a different band was playing as the vocal sound changed. I was surprised when returning back to realise it was still them and amazed at how skilful Josh was with his vocal range.
This is a video of one of their songs called Slave.
Dream State were the headlining band of the night. They are an alternative rock, post hard-core band from South Wales consisting of five members. The female vocalist CJ is accompanied by Aled Rhys Evans - Guitar, Rhys Wilcox - Guitar/Vocals, Danny Rayer - Bass, Jamie Lee - Drums. The band oozed charisma and energy. They were as I can only describe as crazy, as they got the crowd pumped and sent them mad. The saying 'they teared the roof off' was taken literally as people were jumping all over the place, and so high that they broke the ceiling (don't worry it was only a hatch). The band certainly lived up to our expectations. Have a listen to the band here, this is their song "Rebuild, Recreate"
Overall
The three bands put on a great performance, resulting in a fun and crazy evening and displaying just how much talent there is in the UK. The highlights of the night definitely were a result of the bands ability to interact with the crowd and get them involved, this included; mosh pitting, jumping into the crowd and performing in the centre of them. It was lovely to see all of the bands respect for one another and interaction between themselves and all the fans. It was a top night out and I would highly recommend you to go and see one of these bands live when you get the opportunity.
Each of the bands names above are linked to their Facebook page so simply click on them to find out more information on upcoming gigs by visiting the event section,
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