until very recently, i resided in the northern quarter of manchester. and when not dancing around my flat in my pants to vinyl – i was usually known to be at a gig or three, pint in hand, ‘appy as a dog wi’ two tails. the castle hotel on oldham street being a regular haunt of mine. and this is where i found myself returning to on saturday night armed with my friend theo and a bottle of peroni.
despite its cozy pub exterior and bar – the backroom of the castle is where i’ve witnessed some of the sweatiest, rowdiest and loudest gigs in my time. and this night was definitely a sweaty one!
after featuring them in a playlist for MCR Wire – the lovely lads from plato kindly invited me down to their headline gig. a four-piece manchester-based band of early 20 somethings – george butler, jordan van der westhuizen, robbie french and callum crooke – with support from the roaring post and eruptive mutes – including plenty of reverb and flying mic stands – the already hot crowd was more than warmed up when the lads took the tiny stage. a jungle of pedal boards and wires at their feet.
i’d actually forgotten how sweaty that backroom can get – raised ceilings, heavy curtains, wooden panelling and little ventilation. but despite this, as soon as they launched into their (pretty damn polished) 7-track set, it was hard to keep still.
still not too long out of their fruition – these lads are tight, in sound and performance, you’d be forgiven for thinking they were older than their years.
i’ve subsequently found that their social media bio reads “foals meets radiohead” and this pretty much nails their sound – in the sense that those influences (amongst others) shine through. that jaunty foals rhythm and then the thom yorke similarities are evident but in all the right ways. its that radiohead emotion that really comes through as george’s layered longing vocals start off honeyed before catching you with a slight edge. but the plato sound is one all of their own. there’s something different – a beautiful contradiction of light and dark.
midway through the set came the track i’d featured on my playlist, why you’re tired. a song that had struck me immediately and really stuck with me. the hauntingly echoey vocals, jordan’s creeping guitar riffs and callum’s punchy bassline. to be totally honest, i’d had it on repeat. and seeing it live didn’t disappoint and i couldn’t help myself for singing along.
penultimately came their foster the people cover of pumped up kicks. “if you know the words to this one, i hope you’ll sing along” george smiled into the mic. branding the usually sunny track with a plato stamp of their own – the cover was certainly more moodier than the original in sound – with melancholic vocals and robbie’s accented drum beat carrying through. i was impressed, its not often a band completely owns a cover like that.
in short – it was an remarkable performance from some very talented humans who are clearly honing their craft with a passion. it was striking, sweaty and soulful – and i think i’ve found a new favourite band.
the lads can be found on facebook, twitter, instagram and spotify.
check them out and please support your local music scene 🙂
cattface.com 