Live Review
The Lucid Dream/Ruby Tuesday/Euchrid Eucrow
The Roadhouse, Manchester
March 8 2014
Words/Photos: Leanne Crowley
Tonight's Roadhouse line-up showcases two Manchester bands and one Carlisle-bred quartet. The first of the evening comes from home-grown talent Euchrid Eucrow, a duo of alternating guitars and vocals. Starting with ‘Hell's Teeth', from the onset the sound is heavy, with vocals which are almost screamed in places by David Brennan. ‘You Caught My Eye' juxtaposes deep and booming drums against the high pitched vocals, whike ‘Lord Ain't No Saviour' is the highlight of the set with Joy Division style vocals, a tapped tempo on the drum ridge and an exciting fast guitar riff mid-song.
Ruby Tuesday are another duo who instantly urge the crowd to come forward and embrace their music upon taking to the stage. ‘Come Inside' has strong guitar riffs from Jimmy McCarthy, while ‘Sell Me Out' is one to tap along to with a strong indie rock feel to it with an added something of...I'm not quite sure what, but it works none the less. ‘Fear or Fight' has a funkier feel with the drums and vocals of Joel Kay being the main presence throughout. ‘Do a Deal with God' is the heaviest song of the set and the band aptly dedicate it to the women in the crowd; it is International Women's Day after all, a feminine cheer rises upward. ‘Devils Roulette' sees a change of guitar and offers an interlude before moving swiftly into ‘All I See is your Face at Night', prog rock with a sudden ending. The set draws to a close with ‘Let's Call it Love' and ‘Let People Go' to enthusiastic cheers from the crowd.
Finally, the moment we have been waiting for: The Lucid Dream. They open with ‘Mona Lisa', a lengthy instrumental which repeats and builds in intensity until the end, and which is to appear on their next album. The set is made even more intense when the lights are dimmed and the strobe reverbs and ‘Cold Killer' hits the audience. A step back is taken then to the first EP release with ‘I Feel So Lonesome' which sees the vocals of Mark Emmerson come into prominence, complemented by the eerie echo of Mike Denton's bass bouncing around the venue. The song begins slow with limited drum activity and lingers. before speeding up and building in intensity once more in the concluding instrumental section.
New single ‘Moonstruck' has quite simply brilliant guitar sections from vocalist Mark and guitar maestro Wayne Jefferson working in unison. With the addition of an exaggerated bassline from Mike, the effect is mesmerising. The crowd are really beginning to get into the set now with heads bobbing, arms in the air and people jumping around. ‘The Emptiest Place', the b-side to afore mentioned single has Western style guitar rolling and pounding drums from Luke Anderson throughout. This tune really packs a punch live with the elements working in perfect harmony.
The last three songs of the set; ‘Hits Me Like I'm Stoned', ‘Sweet Hold on Me' and ‘Unintitled' are all rolled into one and create an intense twenty-four minutes of psych magic. The balance within the sound is perfect, it being easy to differentiate all four elements of the bands compilation within each track and yet not taking away from the overall effect. To end, the soft drumming, repetitive riffs and calm lingering vocals build into an explosion of sound, a crescendo taking over until violently drawing to a close.
The Lucid Dream are a band growing in confidence and ability every time they perform. And with their sets near flawless it's easy to understand why they are already building a cult following.
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