Review of Debut Gig By Dave Adair
Descending the stairs into a compact, leery pit of expectation, the first hometown gig from the rugged rock/garage/indie Warrington troupe The 66, is reminiscent to an event at The Roadhouse in Manchester several years back. Back then it was some rising southern misfits who went by the name of The Libertines causing the air of anticipation. Tonight, it is The 66 stirring things up even before their entrance. This outfit feature Mike Bee (ex The Bridge and Zen Cohen) and the raw strutting young Gillespie influenced vocalist Daniel Rimmer.
Every sinew is strained pretty early on – those in the know attempt to see if both a new band and potential gig venue come together well. One song,”Rise” confirms the optimism on both counts, as the full potent impact of a raw and ripping early Stone Roses sound influenced by Slaughter And The Dogs envelopes the room. Their sound is well concealed in the tinny basement and a high spirited atmosphere descends upon the venue. The indie kids who are slowly starting to wander back upstairs, do a U-turn to rival even Blair/Brown, when a rough n' ready ”Instant Europe” finds its way into the set. Mike Bee’s guitar prowess is rarely doubted from anyone who witnessed one of his performances as he beefs up the lofty and slightly nasal push of Rimmer.
The 66 are far from a two person band; percussionist Ian 'Ghandi' Wilson and bassist Craig Harman demonstrate a love of grunge and The Ramones during the strutting free bass rumble of “Bordello”. Atmospheric instrumental implants give extra mystique to the songs as they’re kicked along by a light rock vocal. There’s been some recent criticism of the people of Warrington for failing to support a mediocre football team – maybe they should turn their attentions to rock and roll – this outfit definitely make it a worthy and perhaps more reliable cause.
www.manchestermusic.co.uk
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