Owned
London based five piece Chop, Chop: Bear Touch? get a decent crowd for an early afternoon slot and deliver a set of eclectic indie rock with plenty of lead guitar over the top. They are upbeat and energetic although it takes until the second song for singer Davros to catch up with the rest of the band! He's soon into his stride though & during the second song he jumps down from the stage to engage the front rows of the crowd, which succeeds in getting them moving.
They have a strange mix of sounds with 'Joe Longthorne' sounding uncannily like Half Man Half Biscuit. There is some dubious lyrical content and the vocals aren't that great but in front of a crowd that seem to have a hardcore of friends and fans they go down well enough. The bass player and lead guitarist switch instruments for 'Boy Racer' and the whole thing has something of a cabaret feel about it. It's quite good fun although it's likely that they will find wider appeal hard to come by. There is more switching around for 'I Own the Floor' with the rhythm guitarist taking over on bass and the song is easily the best of the set with more of a straight rock song feel about it.
Chop, Chop: Bear Touch? are a decent enough band but they need more songs of the calibre of 'I Own the Floor' if they are to make any real impact on a saturated scene. There is an amusing moment at the end though as a guy dressed as a bear dances onto the stage and proceeds to play fight with most of the band before ending up on the floor. Entertaining to watch but there's work to be done.