It was the last night of the tour for The Stanley’s at The Heartbreakers in Southampton and having seen them last November supporting Cast I wasn’t going to miss the opportunity, especially at such a small intimate venue.
The printed poster by the door set 9.15 as a set time and two supports, they’re spoiling us. Never one to miss support acts, you never know who you’ll see on the way up I was pleased to see The Strifes on second. I’ve seen them a couple of times before and always bring a solid performance, first up however was a band that was new to me, the printout just said Oxygen.
On at 7.45, I made my way upstairs for Oxygen from Portsmouth nto witness a drummer and four guitars, yes four! And they used them well, very well. Let’s just say this is a band I will definitely be looking out for in the future, there opening track had an essence of dare I say Radiohead, a thought confirmed afterwards when someone I was talking to at the bar said exactly the same thing. It turns out it was the first performance for one of the guitarists, they’ve only been together about a year but if they keep this moving forward, well I’ll be a happy gig goer. The guitars, seemingly swapping duties and a single capo throughout with great vocals and harmonies worked so well, so powerfully it’s a performance to lookout for.
https://www.instagram.com/oxygenband__
8.30 was set time for The Strifes and they got straight into it with their own blend of indie rock, sadly I’ve read online that this show was their last and in their own words “some things last forever, we aren’t one of them”. It’s always a shame when bands go separate ways so just want to say the three times I’ve now seen them have been great and I wish them well.
9.15 and it was headliner time for The Stanleys. I’m still not sure if I have seen a more relaxed band on stage, no theatrics no cliche stage presence just a very talented but chilled act going through a great setlist. This is indie pop from Wigan at its finest, as I said earlier I saw them supporting Cast last year and they looked every bit at home on a bigger stage as they did in the 200 capacity Heartbreakers. Great musicians and great vocals with catchy songs, a must if you enjoy live music.
https://www.stanleysband.co.uk
