The Warm Feelings played to a swelling room due to an early crowd ensuring they got a ticket on the door, with pre-sales long sold out. The guitar and drum two-piece slugged out riffs and heavy hitting drums, encompassing the entire history of rock without breathing, like a couple of genuine wizards. Chicago three-piece Daylight Robbery presented a tight style of garage pop, switching between girl and boy vocals with the guitarist and bass player swapping lines while the drummer thumped the floor tom. Jerky minor chords left lots of dynamics and the simple patterns produced countless hooks. Appropriate disco from the DJ between bands saw a legitimate dancefloor break out before Straight Arrows, and the place was actually bouncing with the electricity of the party. This was amplified exponentially the second Straight Arrows started playing, with dedicated fans pushing their way to the front to get involved.
The anticipation for Royal Headache was heightened by rumours that it was going to be their last show ever and as the rest of the band waited on stage, singer Shogun was nowhere to be seen. With only the shortest delay they were in action, starting with the first of many new tracks, a very smooth soul number to ease into things. Really In Love followed and the whole room started singing at once. At some point around here Shogun insisted he was too sober and he felt like he was having a bad dream. As people from the crowd plied him with alcohol more new songs came, all of which were instantly recognisable from other shows and provided a great insight into how the next record will sound if it ever comes. Unfortunately the 7” releases from Matador Singles Club weren't ready for the night, but that didn't stop them playing the track Carolina with Shogun describing it as one of the best songs he has written. Taking over a basement in a venue custom built for drag shows with great music in between bands, the night felt more like a party then a gig. While there was certainly no onstage break up, the band's threat that it could be a long time before they play again made the whole night feel even more important.
