The Harrowbrooks, Goldwater & Hidden Charms LIVE @ The Cookie Jar, Leicester 19/09/14

‘This Feeling’ has been endorsed by many a famous face. Noel Gallagher labelled it as a ‘Colossal club night’ and Serge Pizzorno stated that it was reminiscent of a ‘Mad 80’s carnival’. After going down to The Cookie Jar on Friday night I’d be lying if I said I disagreed. Again, the outstanding little venue in the centre of Leicester hosted the Rock’n’roll night, this time consisting of The Harrowbrooks, Hidden Charms and Goldwater. Highly rated local band Casino Empire also DJ’d throughout the entirety of the night.

Kicking off the night were local band The Harrowbrooks, after headlining Pi Bar last weekend they graced a slightly bigger venue now. I knew that they were going to be brilliant after the show that they put on last week, but to my surprise, they were even better… The lead singer swaggered around the stage, making it his own and the lead guitarist didn’t hold back. The drummer was also very impressive as he laid the beat. They finished with their most popular song ‘D’ya Wanna Play The Game’ which was excellent. Next time they play at The Cookie I’m sure that they’ll be further up the bill. Make sure you catch them headlining The Soundhouse on October 11th.

Hidden Charms took centre stage next, having travelled down from London. This was the 6th show in their autumn tour and their first of 3 This Feeling events they have booked. Having never heard these before I didn’t know what to expect but they were insanely good. They proclaim themselves as a blues/rock’n’roll band, but I feel they sway slightly more towards blues. Throughout the set they swapped instruments and lead singers at least 3 times, it was extraordinary! I hadn’t seen anything like it before, and all of them could play each instrument exceptionally. Their song ‘Sunnyside’ stood out to me the most, it had everyone in the room swaying around (surprisingly there wasn’t that many). They deserved a crowd 20x the size of what they actually had, minimum! I suppose branching out of your hometown is always hard though. This band are all around the UK until mid-October so if you can, go and see them as they won’t let you down. Their dates can be found on their twitter – @HiddenCharmsUK.

Finishing off the live music was local Leicester band Goldwater. Donning the stage in bowler hats I didn’t really know what to expect. They started with a proper rock and roll feel, with a hint of blues, a bit like Hidden Charms. Later on it was evident to tell that they had been influenced by many genres though, there was a slightly Jazz feel towards the end. The frontman delved into the crowd many a time, at least twice a song. I echo my sentiment earlier that it was weird seeing so little people there for 3 great bands. Even though they didn’t have the largest crowd, Goldwater still put on a show – The lead singer full of charisma and character.

This Feeling surely did live up to its reputation, with all of the bands playing putting on a great performance, Hidden Charms being the surprise package for me: they were one of the best bands I’ve seen in a long time. I’ll definitely be seeing The Harrowbrooks at their next headline slot, with one at The Cookie a strong possibility after how well they played.

Morgan Russell

Morgan Russell

Morgan Russell

Aspiring Journalist, Love music and Football.
Morgan Russell

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