Date: 7th April 2006
Venue: Town Hall, Kirkwall, Orkney
BLINDSPOT are the latest young local musicians to head into the studio and record an EP of self-written songs. The CD is being funded partially by an event held by the band last Friday night at the Town Hall.
The night, which was sponsored by K2 music shop, featured three top young bands, including new post-hardcore/acoustic band Vague Inspiration. Despite having already written and recorded their own tracks, this was their first public performance. They performed seven songs, one of which was a cover of Silverstein’s Smile In Your Sleep. Three original songs were unleashed to the public for the first time ever, the other three already featuring on their website, including the slower Duel Lit Dawns and the acoustic Looking Back In Retrospect.
They were followed by the less-than-serious Sea Monkey Bringers Of Dooom?, whose lead singer Sean Fotheringhame was unfortunately absent due to glandular fever. He was replaced by Ian Craigie for the night, who lead guitarist Ally Beaven claimed to be the ‘only person to not know the lyrics to Ghostbusters’. Although Ian didn’t know many of the lyrics in most of the songs, this was covered up by the band’s cheeky and confident attitude as they performed a mix of ska and 80s pop songs, including Less Than Jake’s All My Best Friends Are Metalheads and Beer by Reel Big Fish, next to The Final Countdown and Take On Me.
A short break followed before Josh McGregor ran onto the stage playing the intro of Muse’s Plug In Baby, indicating the beginning of Blindspot’s set. The band are due to record an EP soon, consisting of ‘about 8’ tracks, six of which they performed on the night. They played a mix of acoustic tracks such as Way Back Home and heavier songs like Blinds Eye, which they dedicated to Vague Inspiration, as well as two Coldplay covers. They ended with a fan and band favourite, Hold On, which was written by singer/guitarist Josh McGregor and guitarist Darren Tait.
Despite some onstage troubles such as guitar straps coming off in the middle of solos and microphone stands falling over, Blindspot managed to pull off a great set to end the night.
Afterwards, Josh expressed his surprise at the success of the evening, which he organised with his brother, Matthias, who also DJed between the bands. When asked how he felt about how the night went, Josh told us, ‘It was more successful than we expected. We were hoping for 100 people, but over 130 turned up.’
He added, ‘The other two bands were really good. Vague Inspiration surprised me. Their recordings sound nothing like them, and they’ve started off really strong.’
Blindspot head into the studio soon to record a collection of indie rock and acoustic songs. You can preview mp3s of live tracks on http://www.orkneybands.com, an upcoming website run by Matthias McGregor.