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House Cats are cream

24/ 6/2008

THE House Cats prowled to victory in the third round of Back Door Music’s Battle of the Bands on Friday.

While these guys are modest, they’re certainly not meek.

Taking their places on stage, the band eased into their set with some mellow intros and a daring instrumental, lulling the crowd into a false sense of security before turning the tables and tearing up the stage.

With electric guitar riffs and pounding drums, The House Cats secured the first crowd surfer of the night and also a slot in the final line-up. The gig was a double success story with runners-up Tin Griffin, ranking up enough points to snatch the judges’ wild card slot for the final.

Striding out onto the stage dressed like heavy metal rockers Tin Griffin seemed to present a mixed image. Surprising the crowd by churning out songs more reminiscent of old-skool rock ‘n’ roll, using funky bass lines mixed with keyboard interludes and attitude.

Unfortunately, although Loaded Deck showed a lot of ability, deserving a better reaction from the crowd, they couldn’t manage to do enough to break through into the final line-up.

Despite the band gaining brownie points for experimenting with tempo changes, vocal range; and a solid performance from a gifted female bassist with stage presence, the band still needs fine-tuning.

Fair Do’s demanded the crowd’s attention, announcing they were ‘gonna play some fast songs’ launching into fast, furious tunes. But is was their cocky on stage banter and teen angst that lost them the judges’ vote.

The final of the Battle of the Bands is on 4 July at Back Door Music Project, with Fight Another Day, Blood Sunset, The House Cats and Tin Griffin all hoping to walk away winners. Doors open at 7.30pm, entry is £3, strictly under 18s.