Thursday 10 May 2018

1,084 FAMILIARS, Swindon The Castle, Friday 4th May 2018


Sandwiched in between two Frank Turner gigs, I’m happy to squeeze this one in… a return to “live” gigging for Cirencester’s Best Kept Secret, the deliciously doomy keyboard-led moody post-punk rock of Familiars. Led by “professional attention seeker” Steve Skinley, they’d been absent from my Gig Dance Card since the 2016 Swindon Shuffle (back in gig 996), quite possibly due to Steve’s other entertainment commitments. This short-notice gig was therefore an opportunity to make up for lost time!

I’d tried to get my Shuffle companions, Messrs. May and Carter, out for this one, but work commitments precluded either of them attending. It was therefore a solo run up the hill for me, after Rach brought Logan back from his swim session, parking up reasonably easily and wandering round to The Castle for 8.45, finding it disappointingly deserted. Cirencester’s best kept secret, indeed… “known only to one,” as the (early) Human League put it…! Found the boys in the beer garden and caught up, chatting with drummer Giles about The National (I’d seen him in passing in the lobby at the end of their Apollo gig last September (gig 1,055)), which prompted some entertaining circular chat about other post-punk bands and influences. Always happy to talk rock’n’roll with this lively and knowledgeable bunch of chaps, but time moved on and they had to earn their crust tonight…

The place was still pretty much tumbleweed city come showtime, and I was indeed the only one sat in the back room as the boys kicked off their set at 9.15. But of course, nothing ever happens in Swindon, does it? The boys took the sparse attendance in good humour, however, Giles joking beforehand that they should have brought Franklin the Labrador along from the Cirencester Golden Cross (my erstwhile gig buddy for their set there, gig 948), and the band nonetheless applying themselves to their set with determination and gusto. Opener “Red Forest” set the tone for the majority of the material in the set, with a mournful, elegiac keyboard-led opening, building up as the other instruments layered in, to a strident, hooky chorus and dissonant crescendo, whilst retaining that dark and gloomy atmosphere. The dramatic “In Silver”, next up, was more of a tub-thumping post-punk flag waver (shades of Comsat Angels and embryonic U2, perhaps?), and “Battlestations” featured some dramatic and urgent slashing guitar riffery from guitarist Ricky, underpinned all the while by some “Shadowplay” Joy Division-esque bass from James and stripped back, militaristic drum patterns from Giles. All this provided a suitable platform for Steve’s excellent vocals, his resonant and dark baritone really taking flight for the choruses and building crescendos. And for once the sound was kind to them here; The Castle sound mix can occasionally be a bit iffy (and hasn’t always served Familiars well…), but whilst a Raze*Rebuild can power through poor sound with an avalanche of tumbling rock riffery, Familiars require a more nuanced and balanced sound, which was thankfully in evidence tonight.

“We like sad songs, sad and loud… like a bad blouse!” quipped Steve before “Half Life”’s racier gallop, Steve then referring to “Tickertape” as, “a 2 chord wonder – that’s one chord less than punk, folks!” A new number, “Dynamite”, initially started uncharacteristically happily, with an almost late Summer evening vibe, before morphing into a “London Calling” style march, and the “Killian’s Red”-like circular piano pattern of “Ballyhoo” provided the launchpad for said song to really take flight. “Last one – then we can get drinking!” announced Steve before usual set closer “Bottleneck” ended the set on a more upbeat note, the small handful of punters who’d eventually taken notice from the backroom and bar applauding their efforts, and justifiably so.

Congrats and some more rock’n’roll chat before I headed off, mindful of tomorrow night’s Frank gig, but still taking a diversion to Mr. Cod before heading home. A great shame that Familiars played to such a sparse crowd; they deserve better, but that didn’t stop them delivering another fine performance. Well done boys, and see you again soon, I hope!

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