The Odeens first live performance at The Pyramid

by Glen Screeton

READERS might recall I wrote a short article about Warrington band ‘The Odeens’ on the 13th Aug and promised to report back after their first gig on the 8th September.

Now ….. I have written about many amateur unsigned bands at various stages of their career so when I was asked “why would I write about a new teenage band with no experience?”. My answer was “because it’s a different angle for those who have never been in a band, it lets the reader see what it’s like” especially when the average age is just 17!

So, on a very warm Friday night I arrived at The Pyramid Basement bar in Warrington to watch the lads perform as the support act to two other Warrington bands namely ; Mademaker & Lunar Youth . The bar is appropriately named as the performance area is more like a concrete box with very low ceilings which is a nightmare for bands and engineers alike as the sound bounces everywhere.

The Odeens on stage at The Pyramid

Furthermore , this wasn’t a brightly lit HMV store on a Saturday afternoon, it was a dim green or red-lit stage throughout requiring careful negotiation. On the plus side that would have aided the lads confidence when they came on for their first ‘real’ gig at about 8.15pm to be enthusiastically greeted by family, friends and the many teenage emo’s who had come from Warrington Youth Zone in support, which was very nice to see.

For the band with four monitors on stage the sound would have been ok but for the audience it was ‘muddy’ and ‘boxey’ , meaning you struggled to hear Lex’s vocals and guitar chords , although drum and bass were very prominent.
However , I am talking purely from a musicians perspective and the band can’t do much about that in mid-flow.

The lads had clearly been rehearsing since I first saw them and the release of the single Dirtbag ( on You Tube ) is a real boost as it was the best song of the night and was well received by the head-banging young emos.

Yes, of course there were still mistakes in their performance and I wouldn’t expect otherwise. Drifting timing and the usual problems of tuning guitars in hot sticky rooms and feedback that even challenge experienced bands were apparent , but the most important factor was they were talking to each other and didn’t stop like ‘rabbits in the headlights’ , and that is key to any performance.

It’s very encouraging to see young lads (and girls ) forming bands , writing their own material and enjoying themselves and The Odeens were doing just that, especially in the final 3 numbers when the nerves had settled.
Readers should know it’s not easy being in a band of any type, often the gigs are the easiest part after months of practice until the songs become second nature.
Make no mistake there is plenty of practice to be done and stagecraft to learn but as I have said before, I like these lads. They took the time to come over to talk and ask my opinion of the performance (and listened) before returning to the ‘concrete box’ to join in the ‘mosh pit’ and encourage the other bands. That’s very gracious of them and their parents should be proud. Well done lads.