There wasn’t so many acts known to me on the Leeds line up for year’s This Must Be The Place 2024, but these days I just see that as an exciting challenge rather than anything to put me off.  When one of the acts I know offered a cheaplist ticket, I thought I’d give it a bash.

Focussed around a couple of Leeds venues I enjoy anyway (Belgrave Music Hall and Headrow House) and a late line up change which saw the mighty and refreshed Lounge Society added, it was a no brainer.

The usual West Yorkshire train issues again diverted me, so it was a comparatively late start/early finish. My liver was happy even as my brain was screaming for more aural delirium.

My first gig came courtesy of Eden Rain. A woman with soul and humour and a vocal that rather reminded me a touch of Amy Winehouse, albeit thankfully without Winehouse’s over worked vocal gymnastics and lazy enunciation. Eden Rain’s vocals felt clear and fresh as a result.

With a very stripped back sound here when compared to her recordings, Eden Rain has definitely a voice with soul and song. At the end of the day you can add as many bells and whistles as you like, but it’s the tone and quality of the voice and the strength of the writing that counts. Eden Rain showed she has the power. Mighty power.

There are lyrics about meeting her boyfriend, or acknowledging that all things must change (the Buddhist manta ‘all things must pass’ has a personal comfort and code for living for me, so the significance of the song was not lost).

Accompanied by Noah on keys, this gig was a classy, relaxed and low key introduction to the day, and indeed to Eden Rain.

Next was my first visit to a smoking Headrow House, smoking both for the smoke machine on overdrive on stage, and for the cool notes and rhythms coming from three piece DEK. This DEK set felt a bit like old style prog rock but with the boring and pretentious stripped out, and a complete rebuild refresh with the complexity of the supporting backing sound. 

With lush instrumentals and a touch of backing vocal on tape used more as instrument than statement, DEK offered a sound that you can step into and easily lose yourself for half an hour.

Given I knew nothing about DEK before I entered the room, this boy had picked well, really well. They were well rehearsed and impressive live.

I was pleased to note I was with the knowlegable local cool kids, as I was nodding my head and twitching my hip alongside the band members of Fuzz Lightyear (who were hitting the decks downstairs at Belgrave later on). They were of course nodding their head and twitching their hips with much better timing than me (hahaha).

I’d love to claim my choice was based on knowlege rather than sticking a pin in the line up list. A hidden gem DEK.

After a phone battery recharge pitstop downstairs, back above was Brighton’s best kept secret, the nice natured 5 piece Welly. This was a joyous gig which felt more end of the night frantic than 5pm early tea.

Sweet that these guys arrived from Brighton, did the gig, asked for food recommendations and a quick bite before retracing their steps. That’s how dedicated folk are for the quest for music. My train travails felt very petty by comparison.

Perhaps the journey meant the band had excess energy and a need to stretch but they leapt around the stage like a troup of troupy things.

I was drawn back musically to thinking of someone fun like Pulp or early era Blur or Streets even, not just like Pulp, but that a band with a sense of abandonment and fun and wacky (again without the capital W, not trying too hard). Perfect pitch, perfectly natural.

There was early 80’s pop influences in there; I was thinking ABC and Heaven 17 for starters, but again played with a different strip. I loved Welly’s lively exuberant set, and their little asides about who gets to bang the cow bells.

Less lovely was the photographer who clearly thought he was invisible and so could stand right in front of me for a portion of the set. I really don’t mind photographers diving in for a few photos, but to feel they had the right to strut around where they wish was more than a little disruptive. Perhaps I should play the ‘reviewer’ card to assert my view. Haha perhaps my nose should not have spited my face, and I could have just moved. Anyway, little tant over.

My next set of note came from Tiss Vampiric. I interviewed Tiss on line in his Genie Genie guise in the depth of lockdown, and found a focussed serious artist.

Since those days Tiss has moved to the big smoke and formed and developed the next project Tiss Vampiric. This is a bigger and well formed structure designed to showcase all of Tiss’ and the band’s interests.

I remember Tiss saying that he loved being ‘a bit of a Weirdo’ on stage and it seems clear this man thrives off being centre of attention. This afternoon offered a gotic flamboyant show which seemed to take elements of Alice Cooper shock, film noir Nosferatu, turn of the 1900’s Berlin Caberet, 1980s Sex Gang Children Goth and more.

Tiss Vampiric do something pretty unique with this blend of gothic – it feels like a true performance, and it’s quite clear Tiss and the band put their all into it. This approach hasnt been seen much since Ziggy Stardust.

It’s not just flash and no knickers, as well as the band being concerned about visuals and performance the music is very solid. With the keys I got a feel for 60’s Animals all blended in with what musically followed and added in layer and layer, Iggy, Goth, Bowie, musical spectacular.

There were anxious frustration when the keys malfunctioned for a bit, and a hasty on stage fix brought things together.

The band produced a solid wall of goth, while Tiss sang, shouted, sneered and pouted prettily in front. All of a sudden, Tiss’ clothes fell off (his top half), and his delicate but wiry frame became an additional instrument, bouncing and twisting amongst us, compelling us to share and be immersed in the vision.

There is no one quite like Tiss Vampiric – embrace the difference.

My final performance of this magnificent day was with Lounge Society, a last minute substitution. If the band were not quite match ready, they gave no hint of it on stage, apart from a little overrun.

The performances showcasing the first album, Tired of Liberty saw Lounge Society as a blur of energy on stage as they swapped guitars and bass between them on a song by song basis with reckless abandon.

It’s been a while since those times, and last time I spoke with lead singer Cam, I wondered if the lads would have the physical energy for that rough frantic swap around in a decade, and he gave a hint or two for a steadier sound and approach.

Its not been anything like a decade but in the interval where Lounge Society have been low key, there’s been a lot of planning involved for Lounge Society 2.0.

The set tonight was a mix of new tracks and slightly reworked old ones to fit in with the overall new blend. This was a less frantic, more measured Lounge Society, with lead singer Cam taking over the bass throughout the set.

Here Lounge Society are a band with solid grounding, slightly less garage and home spun, and much firmer. Kind of like Lounge Society only more so. Life and music seems to be as one with this band.

That the band’s little mistiming meant that the intended outing for Generation Game didn’t close proceedings (yes I stole another set list dear reader), only extenuated the new era.

Clearly I need to get familiar with these new tracks (and I know the debut album so well), but there was nothing here that didn’t make me think I wouldn’t love these new songs as second sons. There seemed to be a hark backwards to the building blocks of music, the funk of Talking Heads, the anger and energy of Iggy and the Stooges, the structure and quirk of The Kinks, the laid back majesty of Neil Young.

The development shows Lounge Society as strong contenders to be one of the serious sought after band’s of the late 20’s, a band that cut new paths as others follow.

* words and blury images by tiggerligger.