Hard Daze Night LIVE @ The Borderline, 08.04.14

Enter the Borderline for Blastbeat’s ‘Hard Daze Night’ and the room is filled with sharply dressed young musicians, parents, friends, and, unsurprisingly after seeing the talent, an abundance of excited fans. The whole evening screamed “Rock n roll”; calm and collected, and the image not slipping for a second.

First to the stage were The Tones. No older than 15, but looking like they’ve been plucked straight from the 60’s, The Tones have a confidence far beyond their years. They lap up the attention of the crowd, talking to them and whipping up enthusiasm for the rest of the evening. If you were to close your eyes, you’d be completely unaware of their age. They leave the stage, also leaving the audience noticeably eager for more.

Mancunian band The Gramotones came next, proving that the evening was going to be nothing but a constant stream of cool. The Gramotones present something entirely unexpected; they look like a well put together band, but the talent they instantly show is mind-blowing. They produce beautiful harmonies on top of heavy guitar, once again not allowing the crowd’s attention to drop for a second. There’s a charming intimacy that comes with The Gramotones, as many of their songs draw from people they know and their own experience; they don’t for one minute let us forget that they’re from up North, with tracks including ‘M62’ (about an accident on the motorway connecting Liverpool and Hull). The Gramotones folky harmonies, heavy guitar and even some harmonica work flawlessly with the nostalgic 60s feel of the evening, but would undoubtedly work with any evening.

Even though they had travelled the furthest of all the bands, Paris-based Le Spark, brought with them the most energy. Scruffy-haired and well dressed (as were all the bands) they seamlessly continued the 60s vibe that the entire evening carried. Once again, bringing fantastically executed harmonies, they switched almost unnoticeably from English to French. Le Spark showed themselves as the perfect mix of English rock ‘n’ roll and effortlessly cool Parisian style. They seemed endearingly thankful to The Turning for allowing them to play and acted as the perfect prologue to their set.

Complete with suits and a banner (just to make themselves known), The Turning took to the stage, instantly grabbing the attention of the entire room. Smokers rushed from outside at the first sound of the guitars and it was clear from the outset that the attention was not to be lost. The Turning have the confidence and stage presence of a band who’ve been together for years, interacting playfully with both their audience and each other. Their covers of classics such as ‘Kansas City’, ‘Too Much Monkey Business’ and ‘Louie Louie’ flow perfectly with their originals and, if someone were unfamiliar with these songs, they could have easily passed them off as their own. The Turning’s talent is undeniable; if it weren’t clear from their clothes and the music so far, the boys pulled out the harmonica so there was no mistaking that this was proper rock ‘n’ roll. Finishing with an encore of ‘Gloria’, and having grabbed the attention of everyone in the room (both teenage fans and drunken men) The Turning thanked everyone and left, leaving everyone fully satisfied.