First up, Captain Clap and the Burning Sensations. What could you really have asked of a band with such a moniker? Was it to open up this steamy subterranean Cask/Sigma gig with the SpongeBob theme song, then rattle their way through pretty much every song you (okay, I) enjoyed as a teenager? What about mixing in strange but perfectly chosen punk-powered versions of ‘Wannabe’ and ‘Baby One More Time’? Ah, perfect then – that’s what we got.
Then onto Shindig, our headliners! To say they’re fast becoming one of Scarborough’s favourite bands would be an understatement – I’m very happy counting myself as a convert. Whether they’re leading the entire room in a shouty singalong (‘Two Step’), getting a bit of a dancefloor going via a cover of ‘Praise You’, or smashing our tender earholes with loving violence through the medium of hardcore-inflected punk (‘Cubans’, ‘Goat Man’), it’s hard not to get carried away – not that anyone I saw was trying to hold back at all. This may be among the sweatiest gigs I’ve ever had the good fortune to get lightly soggy at.
We were meant to have a photographer for this gig but he’s damaged his back. And to be fair, this really, really wasn’t the sort of gig you’d want to be taking a tender spine to…)
In lieu of any pictures of either band, all I can suggest is: go see them for yourselves as soon as. You won’t be disappointed.
