TOKYO ROSE + Days in December + Furthest Drive Home
Wednesday October 18th
Leeds, Joseph’s Well
Tonight’s promoter had been in a bit of trouble over the last two weeks, it would seem. This fact was publicised on Myspace.com, and various regional and national music communites. It would also appear that tonight’s show was taken over by the headlining band, as upon entering the venue, Tokyo Rose‘s bassist is working the door, and lead vocalist/guitarist is checking handstamps. I’d been worried over the turnout for tonight’s show, in all honesty, but early indications seemed as though tonight would have been rather sizeable.
The original line-up is intact, and it’s not a surprise that Your Fatal Error and PenKnifeLovelife are local support on this show, given that Ghostfest was originally putting this show on. Unfortunately, neither bands are all that enjoyable, and a large chunk of time is spent in the bar.
One of the UK’s most hyped young acts are up next, and as Furthest Drive Home take the stage, I’m quietly excited to be seeing them tonight. The thing is, though, that tonight, FDH are borderline average, mainly down to the levels, but something just doesn’t sit well with me. It’s fun, and it’s bouncy, but it doesn’t flow all that well for me. Hopefully, the sound was the main factor in tonight’s display, but I’m not sold on FDH just yet. (6)
Days In December are a little too late with what they do (and maybe a little late onstage, as the room is quickly emptying). They do it well, but the whole metal/’emo’ thing is overdone, and on its way out. That said, watching DID isn’t exactly a chore – Dan’s able to work (what’s left of) the crowd well, and the sound is as close to spot on as we’re going to get. (7)
Why are Tokyo Rose over here? I’m not taking anything away from them when I say that they just don’t have the following to justify touring venues such as Joseph’s Well, as the room is bare, and about 25 people are left. As I say, I’ll take nothing away from them, because even though there’s no-one there, the frontman’s confident enough to get the crowd interaction started, and his voice is pretty much spot on. The stage-show’s a little static, but I can’t help think that given another 20-30 people to boost the crowd, that they’d have put a lot more into the show, and that tonight’s performance might have been rather brilliant. As it stands, with the atmosphere around the place, Tokyo Rose are lost on the public, and it’s only ‘enjoyable’. (7.5)