Those Dancing Days/Answering Machine/The Bangs.

Roadhouse, Manchester, 9/8/08.

After seeing DBT the night before and being off work this Saturday I decided to stay in Manchester for the day. There were a trio of bands playing in the Roadhouse. I phoned the venue to see if I could pay on the door, which I could. The only problem was that I'd have to shoot out before the end to get the last train home.

Got to the Roadhouse in good time and paid on the door £9, not too bad really three pound per band I suppose.
First band were a three piece from Manchester called The Bangs. Their led by two young ladies on guitar and bass. They play a grungy style which was ok. To my surprise after a couple of songs they switched guitars, the girls handed the other one her guitar and they swapped sides. After another couple of tunes they swapped again, interesting.

Next band were another Manchester band called The Answering Machine, I've heard the name about but haven't checked them out. A four piece standard issue. They play a jangly pop/rock, not a new sound but they were quite good though.

Those Dancing Days are a 5 piece all female pop band from Stockholm. There's quite a buzz surrounding this lot at the moment. I suppose it's the 'all female' 'Swedish' 'pop' that has made people take notice or is that just the cynic in me?

They came on after an introduction from the guy who runs the Roadhouse. There was a good packed crowd too and an expectant atmosphere. I don't know much of their material only the single that has been played a fair bit on R6. They seemed a bit disjointed at first but after a song or two got into their stride. The single 'Hitten' went down very well and seemed to uplift them a bit. The lead singer danced away swinging her arms in a windmill/swimming action which was kooky. The main characters in the band seemed to be the guitarist and the keyboard player. Guitarist Rebecka (ok I checked the name on myspace) played with a huge grin on her face most of the time. She also had the set list written on the back of her hand in pen. Whilst the keyboard player was the crowd motivator.

I'm not totally convinced but they are a young band finding their feet. Entertaining I suppose but they seemed to go down well with the fairly young audience.