Tigercub at The Social, Soho

One of the best things about living in London, or any major city for that matter, is that you never have to travel far to get to a good gig. If a band is touring the UK they are inevitably going to wind up in London and, equally, there are plenty of lesser-known bands playing venues all over the city.

Another great thing is that there is something to do on any night of the week. (When you have previously lived somewhere that resembles a ghost town from Sunday to Thursday this is very much appreciated.) So to spend your Wednesday evening in the company of Tigercub and not even have to pay a penny for the privilege is pretty darn great!

As you might remember, I stumbled across Tigercub just over a year ago when they were supporting Dinosaur Pile-Up at The Hope in Brighton. It was one of those rare occasions that we arrived in time to catch the support act and were very impressed. I've tried to see them a few times since and for one reason or another it just hasn't happened, but last Wednesday they were at The Social in Soho.

The Brighton three-piece have a heavily grunge-inspired sound fused with just the tiniest hint of pop. Growing up in the nineties they list a catalogue of great bands as influential to their work – Nirvana, Sonic Youth, Weezer – as well as a wider range including John Lennon and The Monks. Being a nineties kid too I'm a sucker for grunge and in my opinion they capture the best parts without sounding dated or overly nostalgic; it's different and new but still comfortingly familiar.

Musical talent aside, there is something immediately likeable about Tigercub. They have stage presence without having to try too hard, they seem like the kind of guys you could happily drink beer and talk music with and, most importantly, they seem genuine – you can always tell when the music comes first for a band and not the image.

The Social is a pretty small venue but the sound is good and Tigercub put on a solid show. Despite being a week night, the crowd that turned out clearly enjoyed the set and, best of all, the band played with the same commitment that many reserve for a much larger audience. My personal highlight was Centerfold, a song that perfectly captures exactly why I love Tigercub.

With so many bands emerging from Brighton it's pretty hard to stand out from the crowd, but I hope Tigercub's hard work and perseverance pays off. Although I enjoyed seeing them in such an intimate venue yet again, I feel slightly maternal towards these guys and nothing would make me more proud than seeing them play to the size of crowd they deserve.

This is their debut single Blue Blood, produced by Tom Dalgety and Dinosaur Pile-Up's Matt Bigland. You can also check out  Centerfold here.


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@_TiGERCUB

Today's Soundtrack: Tigercub – Centerfold

Today's soundtrack is Centerfold by Tigercub. As I mentioned the other day, I saw them supporting Dinosaur Pile-Up at The Hope in Brighton and they were bloody brilliant. I rarely catch support acts thanks to my predilection for prioritising food, but I'm glad this time I did, because they are a great little discovery and it's nice to be championing a local band for once.

Image ©Tigercub

Tigercub has an EP out which I'm devastated I didn't pick up at the gig and haven't been able to track down elsewhere. For the time being all I've found is two songs on YouTube and frankly I want more! They are playing the Green Door Store in Brighton this Sunday so well worth checking out if you are in the vicinity.

Expect big things from Tigercub.



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Dinosaur Pile-Up at The Hope, Brighton

That’s right, I actually have a gig to review! I was beginning to get slight withdrawal symptoms as the last show I went to was Senses Fail way back in May (I kept my promise to see them again in the UK after the drunken LA debacle). So happily on Saturday night I found myself at The Hope in Brighton in the presence of the mighty Dinosaur Pile-Up.

This was made even more exciting by the fact it was my first live Dinosaur Pile-Up experience, and you always remember your first time! Minds out of the gutter people, you know exactly what I mean…

Dinosaur Pile-Up was formed by frontman Matt Bigland (formerly of Mother Vulpine) in 2007 and if Wikipedia is to be believed, he chose the band’s name based on that moment in King Kong where a stampede of dinosaurs trip and roll down a hill, causing what can only be described as a dinosaur pile-up. Matt decided then and there that it would be the name of his next band and he delivered on that promise.

Debut album Growing Pains was released in 2010 and was my introduction to the band. It immediately drew comparisons with nineties grunge (never a bad thing in my book) but was by no means lacking in originality. You may remember Hey Man which I featured as Today’s Soundtrack back in May, well one listen of that and I was hooked.

Growing Pains has been a mainstay on my iPod for a while now, so naturally I had high hopes for its followup Nature Nurture, which was released last month. It had a lot to live up to and honestly on first listen I wasn’t sure it quite cut the mustard. (Trust me that is no insult, it just means it was hovering somewhere around ‘brilliant’ rather than ‘genius’ in my mind). But turns out it just needed a few more listens and now I’m obsessed.

As if the outstanding music isn’t enough, you have to love a band who are selling vinyl and cassettes at their merch table. These guys understand presentation and I’m a sucker for that kind of attention to detail.

So back to the gig. The Hope is a tiny venue in Brighton, in fact the word venue is a rather grandiose way to describe a room above a bar. It was dark, cramped and about 100 degrees – the kind of gig where even propped up against the bar there is only a handful of people between you and the band. You might as well be on stage with them.

The result was an hour and a half of pure unadulterated Dinosaur Pile-Up. A passionate performance that almost made you forget that you were sweating pure beer and had been forced to switch to pints of water – a performance that blew not one but two amps!

The crowd was a sea of topless sweaty guys, the staff was standing on the bar shouting at guys hanging from the lighting rig one minute then moshing with them the next, and regardless of technical difficulties and a crazy audience (largely made up of the support bands I believe) they kept playing like pros.

As you know I’m not a fan of huge venues, and after a few O2 experiences, Brixton Academy seems decidedly cosy, but for once it was nice to re-live the teenage years and see a band play a venue the size of my living room and really give it their all.

I didn’t just see Dinosaur Pile-Up last week, I quite literally lived and breathed them. When we finally pushed our way outside we were sweaty and bruised but grinning like idiots. My god they kicked our arse. And you can call me sadistic all you want, but I loved it.

www.dinosaurpileup.com

@DINOSAURPILEUP

Ps. We caught some of the support from local band Tigercub and they were fantastic! Well worth checking out. @_TiGERCUB