Vman Events, 17 June 2007, Retro Bar

The Retro Bar is a great little venue tucked away on UMIST campus and is often overlooked, with something on in the basement club almost every night, varying from good old indie to the heaviest in metal.

Tonight starts off well, with Blackpool's excellent The Neon Trees playing to a disappointingly sparse venue. A classic rock band reminiscent of Catatonia (albeit without the raw edge), with brilliant vocal harmonies that make the songs great to listen to. Although a little uncomfortable with the small crowd (who wouldn't be?) the band enjoy playing, and with some real hints of quality they are a pleasure to listen to as well.
A dramatic change in style follows with trio Not Another Emo Title, who produce pop punk at it's finest, clearly taking many a cue from the likes of New Found Glory. The band have a twist in that the drummer takes lead vocals, and although they look slightly disjointed on stage this is more than made up for with strong material that is better than the majority of unsigned emo bands on the scene at the moment.

For the third act we see another shift in the music stylings, it’s hard to believe anyone listened to the bands before putting this bill together. Industrial goth metal quintet Resist bring a lot of fans with them, making their set a lot less uncomfortable than the two preceding. The band have a female front and rely on heavy guitars and synth keyboards, leading to instant comparisons with Evanescence. These are by no means unjustified as the music certainly sounds in the same vein. An all round tight set although not one that showcases anything innovative.

Day Release are making their debut gig tonight, and in true form bring a few fans along to see what they're like. It quickly becomes clear that they are in fact a covers band, and despite being good at what they do, it sits oddly in a night of original material. Considering how young the band are it will be interesting to see how they progress in the future.

Overall, a particularly strange and diverse night, making me wonder if the bands involved had gained any cross-over fans from the others on the bill.