Devil and Casey Jones, KateGoes…

Saturday’s gig was at the Jug of Ale in Moseley.

Devil and Casey Jones were very enjoyable and, as tends to happen whenever someone is bouncing around the stage in a hyperactive, yelpy, nerdy kinda way, evoked Devo in my mind. There was a lot of guitar going on (three of them) but it wasn’t overpowering and the band complemented singer Alex’s madness very well. I was particularly taken with his use of a chair for standing on and sitting in the audience, not to mention the climbing on top of the amps. It was all very entertaining – suddenly he was up against the ceiling, then he’s running into the middle of the crowd, then he’s sitting on the guitarist’s back – and on top of the theatrics the music was very good with much dancing potential.

Alex said at the start of their set that judging by the soundcheck this was going to be a mismatched gig but I felt they complemented KateGoes… really well. Sometimes it’s enough that even if the bands sound completely different they share the same kind of spirit and while I’m not sure I can explain the connection it was certainly there. Possibly something to do with enthusiasm, I dunno.

I’d seen KateGoes… back in December at their first ever gig when they didn’t have a name yet and that went so well that this second gig was going to be interesting. Was there enough there to sustain them into a “proper” band or were they just a nice idea at the time? This uncertainly (on my part, I should emphasize) wasn’t helped by their somewhat fanatical fan base drawn from the local Misty’s Big Adventure army. By dint of their only having been around for a very short time there isn’t a whole lot of substance yet so these people are getting enthused by an idea which has great potential but has yet to be born out. This could all go horribly wrong.

Rather than worry about such things the band seem to be taking the right approach, figuring what works by trying everything, throwing ideas around with gay abandon and seeing what sticks. There were moments when I felt things might tip from inspired genius into tragic embarrassment but it never quite happened. It occurred to me that Novak, Dog Food, Misty’s and other Birmingham bands of a kitchen-sink experimental bent were probably like this to begin with, ignoring the “right” way to do things and developing their own uniqueness by doing stuff no-one else dared to. It’ll be very interesting to see where KateGoes… are in a couple of years because I’m sure they have no idea. And that’s a good thing.

As for this whole experimental thing being a little trying I was accompanied for this gig by my chum Leon along with is dad and step-mum, none of whom knew much about the current Birmingham music scene, and they were completely won over and thought it brilliant.

So two bands to keep a close eye on there. Devil and Casey Jones are at the top of a game they know isn’t over for a while yet while watching KateGoes… develop is going to be fascinating.

Coming soon: What Bearsuit were like.