26 November 2010 (gig)
29 November 2010
You can be assured that anything with Liam Gallagher’s name attached is going to command attention. And this launch party for the beady-eyed one’s clothing label club night was no exception, with tickets having sold out in little over a week of release (and being offered on sites for more than triple their face value). Though one can’t help suspect that this may have been on the basis of a hope that the night may include an unannounced set by Beady Eye (which it didn’t), or at the very least, a glimpse of the man himself. In the case of the latter, Manchester’s best-known son certainly did put in an appearance. Much to the delight of fans, he willingly signed autographs and posed for countless mobile phone shots, before being ushered out again by ‘his people’ (though returning to put in a once-over on the evening’s live act, Exit Calm).
It was quite a night for star spotting. Liam Howlett, Natalie and Nicole Appleton, The In-Betweeners’ James Buckley, Holly Willoughby, actor Martin Freeman and Kasabian’s Tom Meighan (who had earlier in the day put in a DJ set at the Pretty Green Carnaby Street store) were just a few of the many who swelled the VIP guest list and swilled at the backstage bar.
Paul Gallagher, Eddie Piller and Jamie Skillz provided DJ sets, with the latter two warming up the early arrivals in from the freezing November night outside, with the sounds of Duffy and teardrop Explodes. Oasis and Beady Eye guitarist Andy Bell worked the decks for his own DJ set, which included blasts-from-the-past from the likes of Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones and Hendrix, up to the more recent Tame Impala, DJ Dangermouse and Kid Koala. Of course, the night would not have been complete without a hearing of Beady Eye’s own ‘Bring The Light’ and ‘Sons Of The Stage’, both of which got a look in too, being received to a general all-round favourable response.
Of the night’s two live acts, Welsh newcomers The Broken Vinyl Club showed the promise of their debut single, the double A-side ‘I Want You Girl’/’In My Mind’ which was released in October, and obviously having the stamp of Liam Gallagher’s approval – asking them to play on the basis of the single alone – can’t do them any harm. The biggest show to date for the four-piece, garage/R&B outfit, but one to keep on the radar.
While they may still be unknown to most, the main live draw Exit Calm certainly had fans in a-plenty. Shamelessly epic, brooding, intense. Driven by swirling guitars and gladiatorial vocalist, they define the meaning of ‘wall of sound’. It’s not surprising that Andy Bell is himself a big fan of this south Yorkshire outfit. Despite this set being more a meagre taster for the full thing, with numbers like the opening ‘You’ve Got It All Wrong’ (a mega-watt powered sonic boom that ripples with the raw-hinged vocals of frontman Nicky Smith) and closer ‘Recovery’ (power chord bridge and psych riff from guitarist Rob Marshall, and a nod towards Sigur Ros) that are delivered with richness and passion, it makes Exit Calm more than worth a return visit.
On a final sartorial note, with the evening being a Pretty Green production it was to be expected that there’d be not just more than one Liam lookalike amongst the crowd, but that there would be some items from the clothing range on sale. At £30 for a scarf and £35 for a t-shirt, punters may have gone home happy, but may have had more than a hangover next morning when they were faced with a sizeable hole in their credit cards.
