Saturday 15th May 2010 – Review by Karen Murphy.

On Saturday the 15th of May, SEISMIC TOSS, STUNNING IN RED, and DAVE joined together to support HAND STANDS FOR ANTS at the Den in the Civic Hotel. Playing first, Seismic Toss started the set strongly, playing one of its classic rock hits ‘Land Mine’. However, the band didn’t really steal the show until it played a composition by the drummer, called ‘Chimney Sweep’. Pulling out a violin to strum the verses, he stamped his feet and threw his body around, drawing the bow across the strings during the chorus. Finishing the set with a cover of The Kinks ‘All Day and All of the Night’, the band had the audience cheering as it walked off stage.

Next up was Stunning in Red who got the ball rolling wiht ‘Terracotta Shoes’. Broderick Madden-Scott, Nicholas Perkins, and George Foster took turns singing the lead, while Josh Ellis kept a strong beat on the drums that was definitely the backbone of the group’s performance. Dressed in jeans and a bright tie-dye t-shirt, Foster threw his voice to the crowd to sing another hit, ‘Noiseless’, about a dinosaur asylum. With an echo in the microphone making it hard to understand words, this was a low point in the band’s set, (a shame given how well-written this song happens to be). Nevertheless, its delivery was carried by a whole bunch of strumming and arpeggio harmonies and, of course, Ellis’s beats. Perhaps, the main issue with the group’s performance was that many songs sounded a lot heavier than they do on the band’s EP ‘Delaway Field’. This led to lot more repetition, and consequently boredom, which fans probably weren’t expecting.

Playing next were Hand Stands For Ants, who jumped on stage and all but set it on fire with their burning guitar riffs and rock-heavy drum beats. The band’s transitions were seamless, changing keys from one song to the next without as much as flinching. Dete Popperty—known as James Treacy off stage—played drums, his hands moving so fast across the kit you could barely see them. It was almost as if the music was flowing through the drums and out of him as opposed to the other way around.

Playing a hectic show with songs such as ‘River Phoenix’ and ‘Ghetto Booty’, the band bobbed its collective head as if live wires were connecting each of its members. Belting out songs with a British accent, Back to the Future Part Two—aka Bruno Booth— shared the lead with Treacy, singing songs from the bands new EP, ‘This is How to Do Hand Stands For Ants’, and stood comfortably on stage without his wheel chair.

Playing last were DAVE, singing alternative rock, the British sounds were a relaxing end to a great night of music. The set was strong with lead singer Andy Burns singing older songs that the crowds knew and loved, however a bit more experimentation with lesser known songs would have been good to see. With the crowd dwindling after the previous act, the band stood tall and belted out songs as they were singing to a crowded room and they couldn’t possibly have produced a stronger sound. A great way to relax at the end of a fantastic night.