DEJA VEGA LIVE IN MANCHESTER – WHAT HAPPENED?
It’s Christmas time, and there’s no need to be afraid as The Humble Reviewer, flying solo for the second time in two days, (having spent the previous evening in the company of The Intelligence of Plants, the rather splendid Marbellas and headliner Chris Bridgett over at The Castle) sprints into that there Manchester heading for Yes. That was my 99th gig for 2023, which means that tonight’s must be the 100th, so it’s been a busy year, for sure. There’s just enough energy left in the old legs to hoik me up the stairs to the Pink Room in time for tonight’s support, Velkro.
Describing themselves rather charmingly as, “A Gothic Wet Dream” they were birthed via the demise of Driffield-based Priestgate, back in August of this year, with four out of five members choosing to continue under a different guise with a new singer, Rosie Donoghue replacing former frontman Rob Scofield. The other members of the band are Kai Overton on bass, Bridie Stagg on drums and backing vocals, Isaac Ellis on rhythm guitar and Connor Bingham on lead guitar. There’s an inevitable sense of anticipation amongst those who ever saw Priestgate live, but for better or worse.
I’m not one of them, so I hope I’m going to be able to be a little more objective. Bridie tells me that new music is still in the works and that it’s early days for them, but on the strength of tonight’s performance, they really have nothing to worry about. There’s a dreamy swirl to opening song Way Home which has me scratching my head as to who they remind me of.
Maybe it’ll come to me in a bit, or maybe it won’t need to. Connor’s guitar dips and swirls as Rosie’s vocals, backed by Bridie’s from way back on the drumkit, confidently rise though the smoke to the ceiling. For our older readers, there are definite echoes of The Sundays, or if you go back far enough, maybe even the Cocteau Twins or Penetration.
Two songs in and the crowd are already invested, which is always encouraging for a new band, and their confidence grows as the set proceeds. Stage right Kai is rock solid on his bass while Connor throws himself round enthusiastically with the confidence of someone who’s totally in control of his instrument (oo-er) and over on the left Isaac delivers some fine fretwork and an excellent vest. The songs flit between the shimmery shoegaze of Silver through the darker Bdrmm-y rock of Cutting Ties, all permeated with soaring guitarwork and ethereal vocals, either from Rosie on her own, or in glorious harmony with Bridie.
Either way, they’d certainly give the likes of Just Mustard or Newdad a run for their money on the strength of this performance and I have that wonderful feeling that I get when I discover somebody new who makes me stop taking photos and actually listen (unlike some folk in the crowd who refuse to – I really MUST find out the content of these conversations that were clearly SO much more important than listening to the band who were playing for them.) The consensus amongst the gang afterwards was that we liked Velkro – a lot. Whilst they reminded me of many things, they’re very much their own sound and I look forward to monitoring their progress.
You’ll be able to see them supporting the mighty JOHN on the 8th of March, but you’ll have to travel to Hull’s Adelphi club in order to do it. Although this isn’t beyond the bounds of possibility, hopefully they’ll pay a few dates a bit closer to the North West too before then. At risk of a horrendous pun, I may just find myself getting attached to them (You’re fired.
Ed.) Velkro played: Way Home, Lay By, Stone, 6:8, Auto, Silver and Cutting Ties I’ve not taken any chances tonight as Deja Vega have been pushing some glorious “For one night only” pink tees on their socials in the week leading up to the gig, so, being a slave to the merch, I make sure I have two of these beauties stowed away in the camera bag before proceedings get underway.
The closing bars of Brenda Lee’s, “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” drift away as vocalist/guitarist Jack Fearon, bassman Mike newton and drummer Tom Webster take to the stage – Jack picks up his guitar and announces (as if we didn’t already know) that they are “De-ja Ve-ga” and we all roar in approval. The pace of set opener, “Pentagrams” picks up nicely, putting my auld ears in mind of The Psychedelic Furs’ “India” a little, as Mike’s bass booms stage right and Tom, possibly the happiest drummer I’ve ever seen churns out a furious racket at centre stage. There’s a real sense of community amongst Northwich-based Deja Vega and their fans.
Whilst it would be wrong to say we know what to expect from them, what you DO know is that this ferociously hardworking trio will give their absolute at a predominantly breakneck pace all for sixty minutes or so, and tonight is no exception. And the absolute best thing about them is that they smile while they do it – there are few things better for the soul than being in a sea of happy people while you witness a happy band. Because there are only three of them, they have to work just that little bit harder to deliver a set comprising tracks from 2019 debut “Deja Vega” and 2022 follow -up “Personal Hell”, and they cut themselves no slack at all, segueing from “It’s All Gone Wrong” (of which there is absolutely NO evidence tonight, Dear Reader) into Eyes of Steel in the blink of an eye.
Tom keeps up a ferocious tempo while Jack barks out lyrics as he beats his guitar into near submission as the pounding motorik rhythms pick you up and give you a damn good shaking whether you like it or not. I’m right up against the stage trying to protect camera, ribs and anything else that might be damaged during tonight’s proceedings and it’s clear that tonight’s crowd are here to party – oh dear me yes. I’ve already been drenched in three flavours of beer and I suspect it won’t be the last IPA that graces my baldy heed this evening.
The old ears subconsciously channel the bass riffs from Joy Division’s “Incubation” as well as that from The Charlatan’s “Indian Rope” into Mike’s repertoire while I swear, I can hear strains of The Mondays’ “Hallelujah” if I (figuratively) screw my ears up hard enough, but maybe that’s just me. As the ferocity of the moshpit intensifies I decide that it’s probably best not to swipe on too many matches in the musical dating app that is my memory bank and just get on with enjoying the night, despite the very real threat of death standing where I am. It doesn’t matter, I never rated ribs much anyway, and besides, you don’t need them all.
I still have NO idea how Mike plays the bass riff for “Mr Powder”, no matter how many times I watch him – it’s a straightforward enough sequence of notes, it’s just so damn QUICK, but then, whilst everything about Deja Vega runs at manic speed, they never seem to slip up, which of course the mark of a band who know their craft inside out. In a similar way, the fans know the songs inside out too, joining in gleefully with the chorus of, “Who We Are”, providing me with another near-death experience in the process: “We are one, we are free, feel alive, at the knees, feel the force, in the air, we are one, they don’t care”. Although my knees don’t really feel TOO alive, we all definitely do when Jack whips out his cowbell and bangs it furiously, much to the delight of the masses, some of whom are bedecked in the band’s, “More Cowbell, Please” tees.
You absolutely can NOT have too much cowbell; this is one of the immutable laws of the cosmos. Tonight’s set closes with, as always, “The Test”, tonight a sixteen-minute marathon that joyfully descends briefly into Slade’s “Merry Christmas Everybody” (and why on earth wouldn’t it?) before we, “Go one, go two, go one, two, one two three FOUR” and the room erupts for one final thirty seconds of mayhem from which we barely make it out alive. But in a good way, obvs.
If ever there’s a band that you need to see, who will put their heart and soul into entertaining you (but hopefully not in a Robbie Williams stylee), whilst having a damn good time into the bargain, then it HAS to be Deja Vega. Just go see them, that’s all you need to know. So here it is, Merry Christmas – everybody here has certainly had fun!
Must festive cheer to you and yours from Your Humble Reviewer and Editor Girl and we’ll see you in 2024 to start it off all over again! x Deja Vega played: Pentagrams, It’s All Gone Wrong, Eyes of Steel, Chasing, Friends in High Places, Slow and Steady, Spitting Gas, Catharsis, Outside Now, Mr Powder, Who We Are and The Test FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ALL THINGS DEJA VEGA HEAD HERE[1]
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