Smells Good!
Last time I saw Engerica was in front of approximately 40 people at Manchester Roadhouse last year; since then they have released an excellent debut album and moved on to the next level but although they pull a crowd of a few hundred, it's disappointing by the standards of crowds in the Myspace / Gibson tent so far this weekend.
Beginning proceedings with 'Detective Show' and recent re release 'The Smell' Engerica yet again prove that they have all the elements in place that make up a good band. The songs are tight and laden with catchy riffs and choruses and visually they are highly entertaining, particularly singer / guitarist Dave who displays the most extraordinary range of facial expressions. He clearly loves playing to a crowd of this size and feeds off the faithful at the front at every given opportunity.
The rest of the band shouldn't be overlooked however as they give 100% throughout, particularly bass player Mike.
It's pleasing to see the 'shake your finger' section of 'Roadkill' finally getting taken on board by the crowd, it was only a matter of time and there are a respectful amount of wagging digits on display today! All the standards are played and the set ends, perhaps predictably, with 'Did you hear what Sylvia said?' and it's that song alone that best demonstrates where Engerica could go, choc full of dynamics it changes pace and builds to a crushing crescendo, showing that there is much more to Engerica than three minute thrashing.
The crowd receive them well and hopefully todays performance will go some way to rectifying the injustice that sees Engerica still on the fringes of greatness.