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York, I love you, but you’re bringing me down. When a band such as 6 Day Riot draws a crowd of around fifteen, despite our best efforts (see last week’s The Week in Music), you know something has gone very wrong. Because these guys were spectacular. I mean really. Amazing.
6 Day Riot are an unusual band. To begin with, their instruments include three different types of ukulele, a banjolele, an upright bass and an accordion. Playing to a ‘small but perfectly formed’ crowd in the intimate venue of Stereo, the east London-based band brought their very own brand of folk-rock to our beautiful city on Sunday night. Supported by The Naked Flames, a rock outfit who would have been great had the balance been better and you could actually hear the vocalist, 6DR came to the stage with all the energy and enthusiasm as if they’d been playing to a crowd of 5,000.
Taking influences of carnival, eastern-European folk and alternative rock, the band presented a well balanced set of old and new. Tamara Schlesinger’s vocals never failed to charm; the performance was polished and professional, with massive amounts of gusto. The incredible musicianship was clear to see in each and every song – the strings at the forefront of “Without These Words”, the drums in “Run for Your Life”; all in all 6 Day Riot used their range of instruments to the full, and in doing so demonstrated phenomenal skill and created a show that was positively uplifting to hear. Highlights included “A Woman’s Mind” – “This is a song about a very angry woman. Gabriel likes to pretend it’s about his wife...” (Schlesinger) – and new single, “Take Me”, a fast-paced track opening with some fantastic harmonies and featuring a great hook. The more upbeat tracks were contrasted with ballads such as “Runaway”, an exceptionally simple yet moving song about feeling alone.
Their enthusiasm evidently won over the audience, as the final song, “YaDaDa’s Brother”, had everyone singing along to the very end. A band such as this will always succeed in leaving you in a positive mood, and as I walked out of Stereo beaming it felt as though the winter blues had been lifted, at least for a little while. People of York, you have missed out. Take our advice next time, ey.
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