On entering Fibbers before the first band of the night, Jonquil, graced the stage, it was clear that the York demographic and the arty, disjointed sounds of the anticipated bands were perhaps not a match made in heaven.
A group of teens clearly uncomfortable with the emptiness of the venue sat in the corner, while the band members and a few other solo punters wandered around the grimy dance floor. Despite the emptiness, something all new and upcoming bands have to inevitably deal with at some point, both Jonquil and NZCA/Lines embraced their tasks jovially, playing sets to the best of their efforts and showing the few people there what they were made of.
Jonquil kicked off their set with their alternative rock sound, impressively incorporating the brassy sounds of a battered trumpet and everyone’s favourite percussion instrument, the cow bell. There didn’t appear to be any set list for the band to stick to, so there was a certain informal appeal to the set, as if the band were playing to a group of friends. Jonquil managed to slip in some new material, which was impressive.
By the time it was NZCA/Lines’ turn to take to the stage, it was clear the crowd would not exceed more than twenty people, but frontman Michael Lovett threw himself into performing. ‘Okinawa Channels’, perhaps the best known song, proved how well the disjointed, electronically created sounds could translate into a live set.
NZCA’s sound is certainly not something that will appeal to everyone, but it would be hard not to enjoy a set with Lovett in it, as he engaged the crowd and made the emptiness of the venue bearable with his endearingly nerdy dancing. Perhaps York is not yet ready for this London-based band’s sound. However, they certainly deserve more appreciation than what they got at Fibbers on October 3rd.