13 January - The Shivers @ Flapper & Firkin, Birmingham
We kicked off with The Shivers, a Cambridge four-piece who were, in true Cambridge fashion, apologetic about their provenance.
Something that struck me was (bizarrely) how much parts of their songs reminded me of Spongebob Squarepants... which can surely only be a good thing.
Their whole sound is a country folky ragtime exposition on the beast with two backs... and was actually rather superb. I was convinced that at any moment I'd blink, and when I opened my eyes again there'd be sawdust on the floor and a pig squealing its way across the stage, darted after by someone called Clancy. Or something. Yeeeeehawwwww!
The lead singer is quite an entertainer... growling and yodelling his way through tracks like "Shot to Shit" (actually a rather positive ditty for his girlfriend), "I Got a Bad Case of You" and "155cm of love".
The whole band comes together in a melee of suits, sideburns, and sunshiney blues. In fact, further to the last point of the tricolon, they sound to me like an amazing festival band - virgin ears can't help but be swayed by the sheer force of talent and personality being weighed at them.
I predict big things for them over the summer if they get the right stages at the right times. I can't help but feel annoyed that the absence of bands like this is exactly WHY I left Cambridge in favour of Birmingham. But... now they come to me.
Shivers on myspace