Live
Avalanche Party
Sneaky Pete’s, Edinburgh
January 30 2018
Words/Pictures: Richard Cobb
Night two of Independent Venue Week brought North Yorkshire’s Avalanche Party over the border for only their second ever show in Scotland’s capital. Having been championed by the likes of Steve Lamacq, Jim Gellatly and Vic Galloway, the band were an underground success last year on the strength and passion of their renowned live shows.
Tonight was the first time I had seen the band live, and I can’t help feeling that it is probably a near impossibility to do the show justice, but I’ll give it a bash.
I’d met the band prior to the show and they seemed a really chilled out bunch as they sat in the corner of a small bar a couple hundred yards up the road from the venue. Less than an hour later, they appeared to shed their skin and were now more like agitated caged animals - armed with Scotland’s new national drink Buckfast - as they flew in studs up into opener ‘I’m So Wet.’
Frontman Jordan Bell bounds towards the stage whilst dousing himself in about an ocean's worth of Strathmore, resembling something between Hannibal Lector and the wrestler HHH with his unhinged and atmospheric entrance. As good an opener as I’ve seen, the treadmill was at a relentless pace for the remainder of the gig and there was no let up from the band throughout their 30-minute set.
It’s no secret that Edinburgh crowds can take a bit of time to defrost, but that wasn’t the case tonight - they were on side with the band from the off and this made for an enthralling show. At one point during ‘Revolution’ the connection with the frontman and the crowd resembled the guy at the front of a long boat that commands attention whilst bellowing out instructions to the rugged Vikings in front of him.
Ending the loudest and wettest gig I’ve ever been to with a fierce rendition of ‘Solid Gold’, Jordan ended the song in emphatic fashion atop of the bar as the rest of the band took care of the engine room from the stage.
In a time that soulless heritage acts sell out arena gigs in about three seconds; next time you miss out on tickets, save your £60 and invest it in a ticket for a local music venue instead, where you can catch one of the UK’s most exciting and genuine live acts like Avalanche Party for less than the price of a pint at the enormo-domes.
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