The Skids
are 9 dates in to their 40th anniversary tour when they arrive in
Leeds tonight. It’s a gig I’d been looking forward to since the tour was
announced. I wasn’t disappointed.
The night opens
with Arthur & The Invincibles, a four piece indie-punk band from Leamington
Spa who hit the stage bouncing with energy. Barely pausing for breath
throughout their 40 minute set singer Arthur Byrne is the perfect frontman. Eye
catching, animated and constantly bouncing around he pumps out his vocals with
an accompanying Sid Vicious stare. Great rhythm in the form of thumping drum
beats and heavy bass lines from Tom Gedney and John Priestly together with
catchy guitar riffs from Keir Sayce all add up to a band that hold your
attention and get your feet moving.
Four track
ep Cash, Gold and Radio Controlled – Volume 1 is played in full. Listen to ‘The
Reaper’ ‘Rock Paper Scissors’ or ‘Party For Two’ and it’s a guarantee you’ll be
singing along after the first listen. Melodic guitar intros suddenly exploding
into full on noise is the name of the game. But it’s noise with an infectious
beat. Indie-punk it is. It’s also poppy-punk in the best possible way. Arthur
and The Invincibles – another band that makes you realise there is decent music around for the youth of today.
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| Arthur and The Invincibles |
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| Arthur and The Invincibles |
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| Arthur and The Invincibles |
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| Arthur and The Invincibles |
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| Arthur and The Invincibles |
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| Arthur and The Invincibles |
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| Arthur and The Invincibles |
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| Arthur and The Invincibles |
I'd heard
good things about recent Skids shows. Friends who saw them in Holmfirth and
Manchester earlier in the week raved about them. But I wasn't prepared for just
how good the Skids would be. Reforming for their 40th anniversary
the band is now made up of Richard Jobson, original bassist Bill Simpson,
drummer Mike Baillee who joined the line-up for their third album ‘The Absolute
Game’ and guitarists Bruce Watson (Big Country) and his son Jamie.
Tonight the
Skids are on fire. It’s a perfect set drawn from the first three albums.
Opening with the anthemic ‘Animation’ the crowd are with the band from the
start. And it’s a band that are clearly having an absolute ball. Jobson,
despite his claims that he might end up in A&E due to the enthusiasm and
energy being put into the songs, looks great. A superb frontman constantly
jumping around, ‘dancing’ in his trademark way just like he did all those years
ago. He owns the stage, never still and with a voice that brings back all the
classic songs as if you had heard them for the first time just yesterday. Bruce
Watson’s guitar playing matches perfectly those trademark licks of original member
Stuart Adamson. Backed by the super tight rhythm section from Baillee / Simpson
and additional guitar and backing vocals from Jamie Watson the Skids have
rehearsed these shows to a faultless precision.
The hits are
played. ‘Working For The Yankee Dollar’, ‘Masquerade’ (Jobson’s favourite Skids
song), ‘Charade’. Enormous songs with those unforgettable, catchy, get in your
head and don’t let go guitar riffs. The bass intro to ‘Into The Valley’ before
the band, and the crowd, erupt into one huge bouncing mass of energy never
fails to raise the adrenalin levels.
‘Of One Skin’,
‘Melancholy Soldiers’, ‘The Saints Are Coming’, ‘Circus Games’. All delivered
flawlessly. Anthems that could fill stadiums.
Early
classic ‘Charles’ still sounds great after 39 years. ‘A Woman In Winter’ has
the crowd joining in with complete enjoyment and enthusiasm. A real highlight.
And of course ‘TV Stars’ is blasted out as part of the encore much to everyone’s
delight. New song ‘A World On Fire’ bodes well for upcoming album ‘Burning
Cities’ and hopefully the possibility that this won’t be a one off tour but the
first of many.
Tonight the
Skids are superb. Passionate, energetic, powerful. There’s still time to see
them on this tour and I recommend that you do. They also headline Rebellion Festival
in August and The Great British Alternative Festival (Skegness) in October
where they will dominate both events.
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| The Skids |
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| The Skids |
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| The Skids |
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| The Skids |
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| The Skids |
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| The Skids |
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| The Skids |
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| The Skids |
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| The Skids |
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| The Skids |
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