We’ve
had a couple of recent snippets of Sydes of late, but tonight’s it’s time for a
bigger helping… B-Sydes, the nom du guerre of that excellent gentleman
Benjamin Sydes, has recently cropped up on my Dance Card as the opening act on
Gaz Brookfield’s “Original Trilogy” tour (gigs 1,206 and 1,208), both occasions
entertaining with a short snappy set of his own idiosyncratic take on the solo acoustic
format. Throwing in elements of urgent indie and angst-ridden emo into the mix
(particularly when in the full band format), Ben’s music is an intriguing
outlier in comparison to his more overtly folky/ punky mates and contemporaries
(Gaz/Nick/Jake et al), plus he’s a splendid chap of the first water, well
worthy of a trip up the hill for an extended version of his particular brand of
acoustic tomfoolery on a Thursday evening!
So,
Logan and I did precisely that, as part 1 of a boys’ gig double-header; me
first, driving up solo and catching up with Ben, a visiting Gaz and other
friends and fans (including The Big Man!) in “The Tupp” on arrival. I also grabbed
the front and centre pews, and Logan joined us, having been dropped off by mum
after his swim session, just in time for opener Brightr who took the stage dead
on 8.30. A hefty bearded gent resembling Manchester Orchestra’s Andy Hull, he
immediately rattled through a couple of opening numbers with a decidedly
fast-paced, urgent emo-ish edge, accompanied by some high-pitched yearning,
almost keening vocals, immediately bringing to mind one pretty obvious comparison…
admittedly I’m normally one for hearing clip clops and shouting “horse” rather
than “zebra”, but I nonetheless thought I’d check my hypothesis with Mr.
Hartley-Smith, the learned gentleman to my left, and he agreed; “yup, the first
time I saw [Brightr] I [also] immediately thought, he’s the British Dashboard
Confessional!” Okay then!
No
one-trick copyist though, this bloke; “Pavement” was a racey pacey strumalong
with off-mic harmonies, about realising he was carrying his former bandmates;
“Coffee” a splendid treatise on the state of this fucked-up covid world and a
proper workout for his larynx; and a later, more melancholic “Mark Strong” his
“coming back from the abyss” number. Much of the material, in fact, felt as if
he was singing his own therapy, a point underlined by his opt-lengthy between
song explanations; “I tried to write something positive but it ended up being
even sadder; my songs are miserable but I’m a happy guy really!” Final number
“We” (his best-known, apparently) was more of a group therapy clarion call to
arms, rounding off an impressively snappy set. Shame that for the most part he
was fighting against the hubbub from the back of the room…
In
short order (time enough to get the round in from the table – thanks Linda!),
Ben was up, promising a set of “upbeat songs” and kicking off with my favourite
number, the anthemic woah-oh hook of “Crutches”. Some wag down the front (ok,
me…!) tried to replicate the Gaz tour diary “knees! Knees! Knees!” chant to
general hilarity but no accompaniment; I was a little disappointed about this
and casually mentioned that I’d have to beat everyone up afterwards for not
joining in, my off-the-cuff remark then taking on a life of its own and
becoming a running joke throughout Ben’s set, eventually escalating into an
impending full-on car park donnybrook! Actually, that level of humour and sarky
yet relaxed banter between performer and audience was a feature of the set
throughout: promoter and soundguy Ed Dyer switched Ben’s sound off when Ben
started a tongue-in-cheek “Wonderwall”; the “Stourbridge clapping guy” and the
“Norwich why-aye guy” from the recent Gaz tour both got mentions; Ben commented
that his gig pairing with Brightr tonight was like a “musical blind date”,
quipping, “we should have more; not with Jake [Martin] though!”; and of course
the ubiquitous shots were present, provided by Gaz whenever Ben hit a bum note
(not too many this time!)
And
the music wasn’t bad either! Actually, Ben was in fine fettle tonight, his
soaring nasal lilt powerful and resonant, filling the cosy confines of “The
Tupp” and obviating any potential concern about the hubbub drowning him out.
“All At Sea” built to a potent, angst-propelled crescendo, “Safe And Sound”
(described as “a musical hug” by a fan) was a delight, and “This Was My City
Once” was a roof-raising singalong. “The Desperate Dance” saw Ben quipping,
“have we had a lovely evening? Well, I’m about to ruin it as I’ve got a
harmonica…!”, then discarding said instrument midway through in pantomime
frustration. The impressively held final note of a splendidly creepy and discordant
“Still In Saigon” ended the set, before Ben’s arm was twisted by Ed for an
unplanned encore, Ben delivering an unexpected but excellent cover of
Radiohead’s “Creep” and nailing the falsetto mid-section perfectly. Great
stuff! Thanks and farewells to all and sundry, then we cleared off, thankfully
avoiding any car park ruckus (!) after a splendid extra helping of Sydes!
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