The Bullycats
Live (The Oskal Band / Grand Rose Band)
The appeal of live music and a bar somehow managed to keep me from standing outside on a cold bonfire night waiting for the next coloured bang. However, despite technical difficulties and the draws of firework displays everywhere, the 3rd date on the ‘Love What You Live For’ tour pulled in an impressive crowd.
The Oskal Band new and refreshing sound kicked off a busy Saturday evening at Lennon’s, keeping heads simultaneously nodding along and even inspiring the occasional dancer. Hints of occasional Nirvana style vocals amongst ‘Choke’ and pounding bass lines provided tunes you can’t help but enjoy.
Their stylish appearance and presence did nothing but compare them to the grunge rock style of bands like Nirvana. Even the slower, melancholic material didn’t have people peeling away to the bathroom or the bar, which is always a risk you take with mellow songs. However, I can safely say I enjoyed them as much as the rest of the set and the crowds’ attention proved the same.
As for the technical difficulties, the loss of vocals early in the set left everything to the musicians – a situation they handled professionally, allowing musical focus on the powerful bass and the great work of the drums and guitar. Never having heard of The Oskal Band before, they didn’t fail to entertain and set the evening up well for the Bullycats.
Pleased crowd-members weren’t in short supply, gaining in size and spirit as the night went on and by the moment the Bullycats took the stage with their infectious energy, the smiles only grew wider.
Having seen these guys before, I can only say they’re addictive and improve every time – with not one song that didn’t leak passion and enthusiasm. Unfortunately the set just didn’t seem long enough to do them justice however, even as a five-piece they managed to make a small stage look immensely spacious, oozing both charisma and originality.
They opened with the infectious ‘Rosemary’, which I was still humming a day later, and followed it with the toe tapping ‘Delta Rhythm’ – the Bullycats were already comfortable and enjoying themselves. By this point knowing the songs or not clearly made no difference to the crowd, who were watching intensely and concentrating on whether their heads and feet could tap along at the same time.
It really is hard to take your eyes off these guys. There’s just something about them when they get on stage. Maybe it’s the complete involvement and ease with the music, as though seemingly unaware of an audience watching every note or maybe they are just bloody good, full stop.
Unfortunately the unreliability of public transport meant I couldn’t stick around for the headliners, Grand Rose Band ( apologies to them), but leaving content with Bullycats relentless set I wondered how quickly I could get my hands on this demo they spoke of..
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Written by Brayer on
