The Stage

International Management and Agency Showcase 2008

Published Friday 7 November 2008 at 16:47 by Mark Ritchie

MC Vernon Lewis was in hand with the welcomes as the morning session got under weigh in the atmospheric surroundings of the venue formerly known as Batley Variety Club.

First up were a punchy, girl-fronted four-piece band Aartisan. Billed as party band, the folk on stage looked like a band who had drawn the short straw and were on first on the morning session of a trade showcase. The trick, of course, is not to show it.

Musically sound and sporting a good, solid PA sound, Aartisan would benefit from an injection of smiles, some suitable stage wear and the look of a party band to go with the impressive guitar-based sounds.

Three-girl vocal and dance act Xplosion had apparently travelled all the way up from Hampshire to Yorkshire for their chance to shine in front of the bookers.

Starting with a dance/techno routine played out under UV lights, the girls then quick-changed and walked out into the spotlight to give us an Earth, Wind & Fire medley.

Although in all honesty the girls were not aided by a very dry vocal mix, I just felt that this act looks rather raw and new and needed a fair bit of work.

A reflection of the band market is that many are forming off-shoot acts, which are often in duo form.

Two members of the well known band Night to Remember have launched a visual comedy act, which is known as Itsuz. A huge Elvis and tiny Freddie Mercury sketch was eye-catching and a Little Britain skit underlined the intent. Comedy needs work though and these guys need a long run of work, possibly in the form of a season or residency, to smooth out the comedy wrinkles.

Four-piece vocal group The Fantastics looked slick in their matching white suits - in fact, a cold November day in Yorkshire may just have seen them in danger of being run over by a snow-plough, had they ventured outside on a more wintry occasion.

The hits of Jimmy James and other soul icons were well sung indeed and acts like these really have come into their own in the last 15 years on the northern club scene. The highlight of the set here was a superbly put together Northern Soul medley, which will take many music fans of a certain age back to the great days of Wigan Casino.

Four lads from Sheffield who go by the name of The Silent Film Project came next.

Songs from The Arctic Monkeys and Razorlight were well played and these guys should attract interest from those looking for university covers bands or suitable bands for fun pub gigs.

A solid musical unit and, while not outstandingly distinctive in image terms, the band will definitely get work on this showing.

Four-piece girl-fronted band Inter-Galactic opened totally live with a version of the Kaiser Chiefs’ I Predict a Riot, before the track clicked in and the girl singer got into her stride with a version of the Duffy song Mercy.

Drums and bass then played on top of the track as the bands guitarist transformed into a disco man, with a version of Disco Inferno. In short, a pretty solid semi-live band club band.

Established girl-fronted four-piece band Popkorn just came along to remind bookers they were still around and still top class.

This band are the real deal and are hugely versatile. In their lead vocalist, they have a performer who can bring songs to life, like the recent Rihanna hit It’s Over Now.

The last band of the opening session were a four-piece semi-live outfit called Hysteria.

Brand new PA gear and lights here and some vocal ability, but by no stretch of the imagination in any way a band in the true live music band sense.

A working band certainly, but not a totally convincing debut performance, with the rather raw and nervous look of a new act.

Starting the second half was comedy show band Housequake, who must be one of the most enduringly popular comedy acts in the north.

A Drifters sketch formed the opening before their celebrated Maldini Brothers piano sketch, where two of this five-person act appear to play classical piano with the aid of their private parts.

This act really is strangely comical and their compendium of comedy ideas is always worth a look.

Four-piece all-male band Evoke feature two vocalists and a guitarist and a drummer who play over backing tracks.

The dowdy image and slightly unconvincing presentational side was compensated for somewhat by the vocal quality, which really was top drawer.

As is the case with many other bands these days, this was not really a band in the live band sense but they will find favour, I’m sure.

Four-piece band Urban Intro gave us songs from George Benson and the Doobie Brothers and were certainly the pick of the live bands on show.

Copious amounts of applause from the other band folk in the room told the story. A version of Stevie Wonder’s Signed, Sealed, Delivered brought a totally professional and musically relaxed ending to a scintillating showcase set.

Equally impressive - but for other reasons - were five-piece electro-pop band G-Force.

The three musicians on stage - two on keyboards and a drummer - didn’t look in the least bit surprised to hear the extraordinary force and superb pitch of their frontman, but then again, they have heard him many times before.

For observers of the northern band scene who haven’t enjoyed G-Force before - especially those of us who remember the days of the great northern band front-men like Dave Christie and Jack Danson - this really was quite an experience.

The act was augmented by a female singer who seemed to sound a lot like Tina Turner.

All fine and dandy, but given the amount of technology on stage, I’m afraid certain aspects of the G-Force show just didn’t ring musically true to me.

There are an awful lot of vocal groups around the Yorkshire club scene these days and one of the many is three-piece act Harlem Nights.

A well sung version of the Marvin Gaye classic I Heard it Through the Grapevine was the highlight here and this act should find their place in the market is pretty much assured.

Young image show band Here and Now are loud and lively and their set-up suggests a busy holiday centre-style band with lots of energy.

Plenty of raw power and infectious enthusiasm from the young male and female singers out front and a totally convincing band behind them to hammer the nail in.

Youthful live six-piece band Face in the Crowd don’t hide their collective light under a bushel.

Full of energy and verve, this guitar-based, boy and girl-fronted outfit gave us everything from the music of Grease to S Club 7.

Nothing terribly complicated here, just a zestful and zingy young band with lots of promise.

Three-girl vocal and dance act Free Your Mind are a full scale, all-singing, all-dancing, costume changing, non-stop variety act.

Some vocal quality certainly but, as ever with acts of this type, the onlooker is left speculating as to exactly how much of the live vocal is truly live. As ever, the vocal quality of dance-based acts can vary hugely and this was very much the case here.

The final act of an absorbing day’s showcase entertainment was Rolling Stones tribute band The Stones.

The guys up on stage here looked very young and their youthful, accurate musical and vocal recreations of the songs of Jagger and Co. made for compelling and enjoyable listening, especially for Stones fans.

Brown Sugar and Honky Tonk Woman were just two of the songs on offer here in this great closer to this year’s IMA band fest.

They say 2009 is set to be a tough year on the live band scene, but with plenty to interest venues, the astute IMA principal Norman Thewlis and his staff should weather the predicted storm.

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