Yeti
Live Review: Yeti
with support from The Foxes
Thekla, Bristol
Saturday 9th February
By Graham MacLean
Hallelujah!
It's Saturday night and it's time to chronologically organise my record collection! No wait, I did that last weekend. This weekend, it's time to hit the local rock and roll parlour to sample some fine, unadulterated rock music courtesy of Yeti, and their touring allies The Foxes.
Everything is per usual at Bristol's anchored venue, with concert-goers piling into the place with the word Thekla stamped in permanent black ink on their hands. As time passes by, bass lines emanate from the stage below, which tells the smokers on the ships' deck that it's time to go check out the first band.
Now, I don't know who the first band was, I never managed to catch their name, but whoever they were, they get a thumbs up. A rockin' three piece playing in the style of The Jam. It was a great way to start off the evening.
Up next were The Foxes. The first thing you notice about them is their appearance; matching cream jackets reminiscent of The Kinks. That detail proved prophetic; The Foxes brought down the house with huge double-guitar riffs and sonic blasts of punchy pop-rock. Their stage set-up of fender tele's and stratocaster guitars plugged into vintage amps propelled their sound to that of the great English bands of the 60s. The title track to their recent e.p., Lover Killer, is a song destined to be a single and will no doubt be invading unsuspecting eardrums in no time. Lead singer Nigel belted out the tunes and covered some major ground in terms of tone and pitch. Something that is pretty damn hard to do.
An encouraging aspect of The Foxes' set was the amount of followers that were present to see them. Bodies were flailing the entire time to lead guitarist Jonno's choppy hooks and the melodic throbbing of the rhythm section. Songs Suzy and their noted Valentine number She's A Cow made up a fast paced set of refreshing boogie.
With the headliners still to come, it was The Foxes who set the standard for the night.
With Yeti fresh from recording their forthcoming album, due out in April, the audience were expecting to hear some new material and to be able to check out any new directions the band may be headed in. Of course, expectations were high, especially with ex-Libertines' bass player, John Hassall, in their ranks.
Their line-up on stage took the form of Andrew Deian on lead guitar, Mark Underwood on acoustic and Hassall on bass. Throughout the set they didn't disappoint. Each new song was met with a glowing response from the crowd and the band kept chucking out tune after tune with impressive three-piece harmonies quite intensely similar and just as good as Crosby, Stills and Nash.
The use of an acoustic onstage allowed the band to flirt with different musical styles. They skipped from blues to country to psych rock at any given moment, wherever the song would take them. Standout tracks included Midnight Flight where they decreed: 'I put my bits of clothing in my washing machine, and it cleanses my senses of the horrors that they've seen,' before insisting, 'Please don't make me normal, make me obscene.'
The night ended with Yeti playing another new track, aptly titled Shane MacGowan. A track to keep an ear out for.
With the Thekla's curfew creeping up, they finally pulled the plug. The jubilant crowd shouted for more, but it wasn't to be, as there appears to be a curfew on rock and roll. Total bummer.
For more details about Yeti, including any forthcoming tour dates, see their page here on Ents24.
