Sunday 3rd May
Violet Deep –
Violet Deep –
As we walked in, Violet Deep had already started their set. Last time we saw these boys they were performing in The Vault at Stockton Calling and were having some stressful and unfortunate technical difficulties. This time they took full advantage of the performance being perfectly set up for them and by our opinion, more than made up for what troubles they had last time. With Jack’s (lead singer) tambourine in hand and some major hair whipping going on, everyone that had turned up to this gig was tapping their foot and moving to the beat of each song especially the more known ‘I Can’t Wait’. If you ever get the chance to go see these guys, don’t think twice about it as you won’t be disappointed! Yet another great performance from Violet Deep.
Corey Bowen and the Midnight Dolphins –
We stayed in Storytellers for a drink or two while waiting for a band that we had never seen or heard of before, Corey Bowen and the Midnight Dolphins. As people finally started to arrive to the event, this band had a slightly bigger audience than the previous. The four piece had people bopping their heads by the second song ‘If The Birds Wish To Fly, Let Them Fly’ which reminded us of a futuristic sounding old beach song. With the lead singer getting the audience involved and giving a shout out to Violet Deep’s guitarist for ‘shredding’, Storytellers started to fill. Explaining that they had been in the studio both Monday and Tuesday, this gave us some social networking posts to look forwards to in the months to come. Although we had never seen this band before, we would recommend them to anyone with a relaxed yet upbeat music taste as it certainly made us feel in a happy place, ready to head to KU bar for the next band.
Abel Raise The Cain –
When we got to KU, another new band for us to see were already set up and on the stage. We were very surprised to see in the middle of all the guitars and drums, there was a violinist. On first thought, you wouldn’t pair a violin with this band; however we were very pleased to hear the two mesh extremely well together. Mid set, the lead singer announced that he was actually struggling from staying up to watch the ‘Mayweather vs P..’ fight in the early hours of the morning. We wouldn’t have even suspected this if he hadn’t told us. Great, meaningful and heartfelt songs from this band who went out with a memorable ending to their set. Big round of applause from us!
Rat Boy –
By the chorus of the first song, this band’s music and the lead singer’s vocals already reminded us of a young Jamie T. With their joyful dancing beats in their songs, this was the first band we saw that had the crowd moving around the dancefloor. To add to that, towards the end of the set the boys invited a big group of excited fans onto the stage with them while they played their last few songs. Having seen this band briefly before when supporting Circa Waves at Riverside, we were already looking forwards to these guys and we weren’t wrong in doing so. Throughout the full set, these guys were true crowd pleasers with their music and by handing out their beers to lucky members of the crowd. Overall a great performance from Rat Boy, another recommendation from us – Get listening to them!
Lisbon –
As we made our last trip to Storytellers, we were excited to be seeing one of the acts we had been looking forwards to ever since Stockton Calling, where we only managed to catch their first few songs. Kick starting their set with one of our favourites ‘Rio’, we immediately had our hips shaking to this ultimate dancefloor filler. Interacting with the crowd and explaining the theory behind their songs, they moved onto a song about Khaleesi from Game of Thrones. Suddenly it clicked in our minds that these boys reminded us of the well-known ‘Scouting for Girls’ and that is what we loved about them so much. That along with the charisma of this band meant that there was not a static soul in the room. In our Top 3 of favourite performances from this Stockton event, we hope these guys do well in years to come!
Pretty Vicious –
Topping off another great event in Stockton, Pretty Vicious stole the KU Bar stage with their unique and loud sounds. Playing songs such as ‘Fury’ and ‘It’s Always There’, it was certainly something different to what we had been to see earlier in the night. The crowd were slightly static throughout the first few songs, but they soon adjusted the heavier type of music as the set went on. They also performed a song which has been played many times on BBC Radio 1, which also happens to be one of our favourites – ‘Cave Song’ (which we recommend you to listen to). This got the crowd going and got more movement in the room than there was before.
Overall we had a great night and to say everyone got all this entertainment for £8 was certainly a steal, we definitely got more than what we were expecting. An outstanding range of music and a spot on group of bands, Stockton are doing well on the music front and it doesn’t look like it’s stopping there.