Going to this gig was one of those last minute decisions that you don’t regret. The Loft in the Arts Club on Seel Street in Liverpool is one of those venues where the whole audience can stand just a few metres from the stage, in the thick of the action as it were. I arrived ridiculously early, just in time to see the Spitfires whisked off for a pint after their soundcheck. You could tell, even then, that this would be an energetic but laid back gig and it did not disappoint.

First on stage were the Havocs, a local band, who possess talent, humour and energy in equal measure. They also had a few surprises up their sleeve, which is always an advantage when there are so many young bands on the gig circuit. They performed eight songs in total: all four songs from the recently released Afros and Laughing Gas EP, two other self-compositions and two cover versions.

So here’s the first surprise: the choice of cover version. If I had had to bet on which songs they would cover I would have gone without hesitation for something by Oasis or The Arctic Monkeys, because the band have a heavy indie Britpop influence in their own songs. It wouldn’t be out of place if you heard Alex Turner singing the chorus of the Havocs’ Who said Romance Was Dead?, or thousands of people in a stadium for that matter. So what did they play? Would I be cashing my winnings? Not a chance! The first song was At Last by Etta James and the second Let’s Dance by Bowie. They did Havocs-ise both songs, especially the Bowie one, which I recognised from the first chords of the intro but then thought I was mistaken as they souped it up with some inventive rhythm guitar. It was a much more rock version than the original and had parts of the fifty plus crowd dancing. A couple of the band’s mates had been dancing by the barrier as soon as they walked in, cajoling and coercing girls into joining them. This all helps the atmosphere of a gig like this. One song was dedicated to drummer Greg’s aunt, who was visiting from Kenya. It seems like there is an African theme going on, as singer/guitarist Joe has been there and they are going to return there to record.

The second surprise of the evening was the encore. I can’t remember the last time I saw a support act do an encore, but there was enough momentum after Let’s Dance for them to continue with their song The Joker. The sound engineer had to turn the volume up on Joe’s mic up again as they played their finale. This band have a good rapport with an audience. There were obviously friends and family there to see them rather than the Spitfires and the whole demographic changed between the two acts. However, they seemed comfortable, natural, at ease, playing songs, and bantering in between. When Joe said they would give away their CD’s, Lowell joked that this is the reason the former is skint. Before Let’s Dance Lowell declared, “We’ll do another cover and then fly off (second to last word changed for the benefit of any younger readers!) It is definitely worth heading down to see them the next time they play The Zanzibar or The Jacaranda. You will see an energetic live show with catchy songs from four young men with lots of potential.

 

The main act, the Spitfires, flew in just after nine, their vapour trail the buzz of the crowd that had assembled to see them on this Take Action tour. The Watford four piece consist of frontman, Billy Sullivan on guitar and vocals, Sam Long on bass, Matt Johnson on drums and Chris Chanell on organ and keys. They have toured with Paul Weller and he must have been excited to see a band recreating the mod punk energy of the early Jam. Weller continues to experiment with his various incarnations. Foxton tours the country playing old Jam hits with From the Jam.

The Spitfires, meanwhile, have taken up the baton from the Jam. They write songs in Jam ilk, with thoughtful, political, on point lyrics, driving beats, thunderous bass lines, crunching rhythm guitar and some inventive lead solos. Add to this some swirling organ riffs and a highly energised stage performance and you have a winning formula. Billy moves around so much at times that you feel he should issue a warning for those with movement sensitive epilepsy. He is like a pinball being fired all over the stage by the wizard but it is hard to take your eyes off him. It was good to see Joe from The Havocs coming to the barrier and to see the rest of the band watching and learning from the sidelines.

The audience at this stage was predominantly male and had a large percentage of fiftysomethings rocking away to the testosterone fuelled show. One of them, hugging the barrier, shouted, “Fuckin ‘av it! Fuckin love it lads!” Indeed, I counted a number of seventysomethings who were also reliving their mod and punk youth with abandon. The band raced at a blistering pace through their supercharged set, which included current single So Long and last year’s Stand Down, plus other tracks from last summer’s Response album.

The lyrics reflect the situations faced by young people today, in a “Modern World” kind of way. In Stand Down they sing: “stand down, get a job and fight to keep it, stand down, get a degree but you’ll never need it.” It’s thought provoking stuff but is the truth. The lyrics of 4 a.m remind me of the depression-realism of some of Squeeze’s songs: “But in her smile remains the debt from yesterday. She’s gone back to her mum and dads. I hope she’s never coming back cause my monthly wage don’t seem to stretch more than a day and now I’m left with no heating, the bath is dripping through the ceiling.” If you venture to a Spitfires gig, you will not see a manufactured boy band with nothing meaningful to say, but your gig will be served up with plenty of intelligence in a fast paced, energetic show.

©Cre8ivation