Friday, Payday, I was there, where were you…? The night kicked off with ASTRONAUT - Richard Austin is a one man band who blends mellow electric guitar and soothing vocals. This perhaps relaxed the crowd a little too much with people sat around comfortably chatting to their friends and sadly not giving Astronaut the attention he deserved. All this guy needs is a band to put some energy behind these beautifully written tracks. This is definitely music to kick-back and relax in the sun to. TESTTONE3 were next to the stage opening with “Mechanical Sounds”.Ěý As always the set was packed with funky bass, acid synths, brutal drum loops and Adam’s amazing guitar tricks which simply leave your jaw on the floor. The vocoder fuelled “Funk You” added a new dimension and saw them push the tempo up, up and through the roof!
 | | Astronaut (c) Andrew Stanistreet |
Since last watching them headline a gig back in November (see “Dukes of York Night” review) the band have been approached by Hot House Productions, to have their killer track “Gettin’ Nasty” used for Channel 4’s Ski & Snowboarding Championship 2006 and have also confirmed a place in Heat 6 of Battle of the Bands at Fibbers on March 15th – I strongly recommend you check them out. As always their closing track “The Time is Now!” ended to a rapturous applaud… With the bar now heaving, I AM JACK took to the stage. Matthew James (Bass), Jan Minx (Drums), Ewan Fisher (Guitar) and Matt Langham (Vox/Guitar) launched into a blend of experimental drums, ghostly vocals and ambient guitar textures.Ěý Matt L’s tender vocals on the well known track “Stockholm” were full of a raw emotion that left your heart aching.ĚýCombined with some clever drum rhythms you have beautiful sounds that compliment such fully accomplished song writing.Ěý
 | | TestTone3 (c) Andrew Stanistreet |
New tracks such as “Sleepless” and “Blue Sky, Clear Night, Flash of Light” (quite a mouthful!) embraced the crowd, and as the last track “S.C.C” came to a close the repeated shouts of encore only confirmed my own thoughts that this band deserved to go down a storm. So I decided to invade the dressing room and have a chat with them after their set. EJ:Ěý “Well done that was quite a performance.ĚýHow long have you been giggingĚýfor?” IAJ: “We have been together as a band for 4 years and have been gigging for 3 and a half”. EJ:Ěý “Who have been your musical influences?”. IAJ: “Joy Division and Radiohead amongst others” EJ:Ěý “So what was the last CD you bought?” IAJ: “Alligator Dance International, Suzanne and the Magical Orchestra and Jose Gonzalez”. EJ:Ěý “And what are your plans for the future?” IAJ: “More gigs in the North Yorkshire region and also a gig in London in April at Borderline for the 'Queen in Dead' night”. On that note my work was complete – now all I had to do was enjoy the club night… But that’s another story… Emma Jackson | 
