GIG REVIEWS

The Others
@ Leeds Cockpit
19.01.05
www.vanguard-online.co.uk

With the salvo of refusal, Lackey, opening, The Others nailed their mission statement to the door. The Cockpit was heaving tonight, to see the much-hyped (mostly by himself) wild man of rock, Dominic Masters. Tossing his mop of hair around he dropped half a decade as the energy coursed through his body. Pure magic – a 27 year old man becomes 20 in an instant. It matches his wilful inner 15 year-old that he lets out and it electrifies us. Dom believes in himself and wears a big goofy grin as he marches around the stage, marshalling the stage diving, which looks like nothing so much as a summer holidays Saturday at the local swimming baths.

There are hints of all sorts of things in the music, from The Sweet’s Blitzkrieg Bop to The Adverts and it’s a good thing. This a robust band fronted by what appears to be a bouncer and the winner in a Robert Smith lookalike competition. They turn out sturdy bouncy punk to mosh to. There is a momentum that belies Dom’s insistence on the primacy of the lyrics and he needs them – it’s not a poetry gig. Tonight there is a huge guestlist, based on Dom’s enormous fanbase getting guestlisted if they ask. So many that donations are demanded to the Tsunami appeal. We get a run through of the album, some slogans and a lot of encouragement. No-one could fault his enthusiasm and as he climbs the speakers to perch and pontificate I realise I’m enjoying myself.

Rising so fast on a jet of the pure hype this industry feeds off, the band knew how to get here but do they know how to steer the rocket once its taken off? If The Others don’t burn and crash, there is a lot to look for from them.



Ross McGibbon