The Departure
For a band that were so close to being carried along with there genre sakes when indie broke into the mainstream, a half empty Barfly in Liverpool may be a depressant to 'The Departure'. Not to mention that the venue is like a morgue and a pin could be heard falling in between songs.
After mixed offerings from the support bands The Departure then entered the fray, and instantly the audience were hit with a totally different composure of a band. Lead man, David Jones oozes confidence as he makes the stage his own, even daring to interact with the small gathering, accompanied by a dark melodic synthesizer as they enter.
They kick off with 'Love Forever', a powerful tune with catchy lyrics and strong guitars.
The band receives polite applause after each song, followed by a deathly silence as they re-tune guitars. Along comes latest offering 'Seven Years', with its softer start and more patient build up. It's a comfortable song, not really reaching any big heights, sounding comparable to 'Editors' songs of the past.
Jones' patience however, was maybe starting to wane a little with the 100 or so people who bothered to turn up: "You're very quiet tonight" announces the lead singer, "Lets make some more noise".
Half empty venues seems to be a more and more familiar site in Liverpool. Maybe not so much when more recognised bands play the city, but certainly the smaller acts have to suffer the echoing venues. It could be down to the cost, although £6 is hardly going to burn a whole in your pocket, or maybe its just that the public feel they are a cut above when it comes to music. After all, it is the city where the biggest ever band originated from. Either, it would be nice to see bigger audiences at future gigs.
After playing 'All Mapped Out', a clever picking of guitars with a predominant bass, Jones again comments on the crowds eerie quietness: "You're very quiet tonight, you're making me nervous!"
The four piece finish their set on 'Chemicals', which sounds a bit out of place in the set, and would be more a kind to Embrace or Athlete, and unsurprisingly, don't return for an encore.