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Futures and The Dead Famous at the Duchess, Wedesday 23rd November Futures, a four-piece rock band from Buckinghamshire, emerged in 2009 and headlined the gig at The Duchess. They were supported by The Dead Famous, also a four piece rock band, including lead singer James Matthews (previously Go:audio) and drummer Dan Hetherton (previously Elliot Minor) as well as The Sky Limit.
The Sky Limit clearly had a substantial local fan base at this gig and showed promise, but didn’t demonstrate much variety. Every song sounded pretty much the same; an overpowering drum and guitar sound that pretty much drowned out the vocals. Although, maybe this was for the best because what I heard of the lead singer sounded pretty weak. As musicians, The Sky Limit had a lot to offer, but have some way to go before they sound as polished as the two bands that followed them.
A couple of chats with people by the sinks in the bathroom clearly indicated that a lot of the crowd were there for supporting act The Dead Famous, and they did not disappoint! The gig at the Duchess was their first live show since officially announcing the band in May this year. With James’ voice being so distinctive, I was expecting a pretty similar sound to Go:audio, which to be honest I would have had few complaints about. But when they came on stage, they were clearly a very different band. A couple of songs had a Go:audio type style, but generally their sound was more rock based, but never at the expense of the vocals. Guitarist (Freddie Edwards), bassist (Luke Bayliss) and drummer all harmonised under James’ vocals – impressive! My only complaint about the whole performance would be that James didn’t quite have the stage presence I expected, but it was a debut gig, so I guess I’ll let that slide. Both James and Freddie told me about the headline tour they have planned for early next year and I even managed to extract a promise from Freddie that they would make a headline appearance in York – let’s hope he’s a man of his word!
So then, Futures followed a brilliant performance, but nonetheless they clearly had the presence and energy of the headlining band. Their performance was completely professional, and polished and the transitions from one song to the next were slick. Lead singer, Ant West, gave enough of an introduction to each song for it to feel more personal than what you could listen to on a CD, without getting anywhere near that always tedious point of talking as much as singing. Futures kept the energy up throughout their performance, demonstrated by that token group of guys who decide to mosh despite the lack of pit. The biggest drawback of this performance was that the band deserved a fuller crowd. I like a personal feeling gig as much as the next person, but the venue never really felt full, and all I can say about that is, Duchess, sort yourselves out. As I sit in my kitchen writing this review, I can see the ever increasing pile of flyers and advertising that have been pushed through our letterbox since Freshers’ Week; not once have I seen a Duchess flyer. The venue books bands and puts on gigs that really are worth knowing about, but no-one does!
My advice to you? Definitely get yourself along to the Dead Famous headline tour next year and give the Futures a listen on Spotify. But mostly, check out the Duchess website for a brilliant – if slightly under advertised – venue!
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