It’s not even “Christmas Eve Babe” and the drunk tank is certainly not an option. Constant re-runs of this well worn classic are as close as we are going to get to any kind of musical stimulus over this festive season. An influential British musical website has published a major feature on a one hour Sex Pistols documentary on Boxing Day. Meagre pickings indeed for the under nourished music fan.
But for a couple of hours the stars shined bright above a small venue in the North of England, and the un-wise men followed a well-worn path. The musical stable in question is situated in The Station Hotel in Hucknall on a wet and dreary Saturday 21 December. Four young men (and yes, not one is old enough to have lived through the Gallaghers creating a decent tune) under the name of Ctrl are prepared to provide the hymn to this particular village.
The two sets performed were heavy on original compositions, but to keep the friends and family happy, a smattering of classics such as “My Generation and “London Calling” were thrown in almost dismissively, such is the confidence in their fledgling career. The line-up was the standard four-piece, two guitar and bass complimented with a drummer providing a crispness and originality belying his tender years. The two sets were broken with a brief but admirable acoustic set from Harry Wright, possessed with a voice that the Beibers of this world would die for.
The band, as you would expect so early in their career, are developing at a breakneck pace, and influences from Bloc Party through to the sharper end of the long dead Brit-pop movement filter through. The set second set was completed with a re-jigged up-tempo version of Slade’s festive anthem “Merry Christmas Everybody”, which closed the night sending home the fans fully sated.
