I've seen a lot of performers over the last few years, some are pure nostalgia, harking back to their heyday, some were at their height, some will never have a heyday, some almost had one, but somehow never really hit the big time, but few really made me think they may be something big quite soon.
The Clockworks were on at the Boiler Room in February and a quick YouTube browse sounded pretty good, so I bought a ticket.
The band are from Dublin and had been putting out videos for a while, but their first album had only just been released.
Their support were pretty decent, for a change, too, a Milton Keynes band called 'Cusp'.
The Clockworks came on at about 9AM and their hard driving guitar sound was absent initially as the track 'Deaths' starts with a quiet keyboard section, but the pace quickly picked up.
Being quite a new band, they really only had their album to play, but that was no bad thing as there are some very catchy tracks on there.
If I was pressed, I'd say they sound a little like the Arctic Monkeys, but more tuneful and it really is only a little. I've also seen comparisons to another Irish band, Fontaines DC.
They quickly moved through 'Bills' and 'Mayday', another couple of (as it says on Rolling Stone magazine) 'post-punk' tracks, with driving guitars and then a couple of ones I didn't recognise (I'd only played the album once or twice before).
Generally, they sounded like they did on the album, lively, energetic, pacey and a little bit different.
Highlights, for me, were 'Bills', 'Mayday', 'Feels So Real', 'Lost in the moment', 'Advertise' and the finale, 'Fingers'.
I liked what I heard and it felt like maybe I was seeing a band on the way to their heyday for once.
On reflection, though, the audience was all fairly middle aged (The band are decidedly not) and that might mean that there's not a young audience for them.
That would be a shame, as their songs were good and their energy undeniable and I think they have the potential to play far bigger venues - I hope they do get the chance and I can say I saw them at the Boiler Room before they were big!
Setlist
Deaths
Bills
Mayday
Hall Of Fame
Car Song
Danny
Feels So Real
Advertise
All We Are
Life In A Day
Lost In The Moment
Westway
Blood
Endgame
Future
Fingers
