Uncomfortable night with the loveable nutcase

Review: Sue Denim
Venue: Fibbers, York, Sunday, September 9

“Is anyone going to buy my album after the gig, they’re £10?” When a question such as this is met with silence you can do nothing but hide in the dark… and avoid making eye contact with the perturbed musician at all costs.

This is the exact situation we found ourselves in with Sue Denim. This isn’t to say it wasn’t a good gig. It was just intense in the wrong way.

Fibbers is a great venue when it comes to supporting local artists. Unfortunately this can mean the crowd becomes considerably thinner as the friends and families of the support acts depart. So there I found myself, one of 15 people being verbally dragged to the front of the stage.

Sue Denim is a loveable nutcase. Her song genres spanned from relationships to seagulls, from books to bicycles. These windows into the workings of her mind show us that she sees the world from a completely different perspective to anybody else.

Vocally, she has an impressive range, she’s similar to Marina Diamandis or Siouxsie Sioux. Occasionally her voice cracks. It’s not a problem, it reminded me of a child singing purely because they love to.

She was joined on stage by a white haired, white jeaned gentlemen, assisting her in playing keyboards, acoustic guitar, and various percussion instruments. This project is a step away from her Robots in Disguise days, and I welcomed the absence of a drum machine.

I’d have enjoyed the evening had I not felt so uncomfortable. I felt unable to relax. After every song she’d ask, “Are you enjoying it? Some of you have got your arms folded.” I knew she meant me. Truth be told, I was trying to conserve my body heat. Fibbers was absolutely freezing.

Fibbers usually lay on two or three support acts, creating a real showcase. Tonight we had an eclectic mix of artists, all from York. The stand out act being Girl.

Girl, comprising of Freya and Polly, were wonderful. The contrast of Freya’s angelic voice and Polly’s slightly rougher voice worked perfectly.

Freya reminded me of a little Laura Marling with her blonde hair and her acoustic guitar. Girl play acoustic covers and originals, their rendition of Katy Perry’s E.T was a crowd pleaser, but original piece “Indie Twat” was my favourite.

There’s no pretence with these girls, they’re writing songs about things that actually effect them, it’s this honesty that people respond to. This was their first gig together. I love them.

Tonight we also saw Muttley. Technically a one man band, layering looped guitar, drum machine and keyboards with a repetitive grungy vocal. It’s like Arcade Fire meets Pixies.

Finally we saw two piece Pony and Trap who also took advantage of the drum machine. The female lead singer was like a combination of Marina Diamandis and Bat for Lashes, her male counterpart was a skilled guitarist. They had the stage presence of seasoned performers and were quite captivating.

So, two tips from me. Keep your eyes peeled for Girl’s second gig. And dress for winter if you’re going to Fibbers.