A great turnout at The Toff in Town this past Saturday for what was looking to be a quiet night because of St. Patrick’s Day festivities.
Starting the night off was psychedelic four-piece Wolfy And The Bat Cubs who played a guitar heavy set with lots of hair twirling.
While the venue was still filling up, many pulled up a chair to watch Major Tom And The Atoms. A total parallel to the vibe that had started the night, Major Tom and Co were like something off the soundtrack to a Quentin Tarantino movie. A big band type of feel, with two guitarists, keyboard, drums and a saxophone, the enthusiasm was certainly high especially when the band front man let out a screaming wail to start the set off.
The band maintained the high energy for most of the set and occasionally surprised the crowd with a few slower numbers where the vocals switched to a low and growly Tom Waits style. There was also a great cover of Urge Overkill’s ‘Girl, You’ll be a Woman Soon’ which was great to hear, and they also did a much better job than the original band’s efforts at Golden Plains Festival last week. However, the saxophonist should get most of the accolades, purely for the fervor with which he played (which included jumping into the audience).
Well, what had started as a semi-intimate gig with people even getting comfortable on the floor soon turned into an old-fashioned dance party the second The Fearless Vampire Killers took the stage. Everyone was soon on his or her feet and as close to the stage as possible, a good position to be, as front man Sean Ainsworth looked very sharp in a rockabilly style get-up.
The band got right to it with hits from recent album Batmania (the cause of the nights celebrations being its launch) and front man Ainsworth proved he had vocal chords to match his look. In keeping with the cinematic quality of the music style of the night The Fearless Vampire Killers sounded every bit like the soundtrack to a western or indeed a movie about a vampire hunter, the Toff band room providing the perfect backdrop for this performance with its dusty red curtains around the stage.
The crowd got more energetic as the gig progressed, song ‘Mexico’ (not from the album for those who wish they attended the gig) got the loudest response until ‘Wasteland’ was played which breaks down towards the end like a hoe down and many in the audience could barely move their feet fast enough. Indeed Ainsworth got so sweaty he could barely open his beer and took the time attempting to give modest thanks to those attending before the band launched into new hit single ‘What are you trying to say.’
– Hannah Joyner
