Text Box: Text Box: Text Box: MOA (Music-On-Air) Live Reviews, 14/12/06 On a blustery winter's night in the backstreets of North London, Lark in the Park is again host to MOA Live's brand of exciting new music from across the country. And tonight was not short of impromptu rescheduling as two bands pulled out at the last minute, luckily though four lads all the way from Newcastle did make the journey. Hungover Stuntmen (www.myspace.com/hungoverstuntmen)  If you're a fan of Paul Weller you may have just already seen these Geordies in action. They have recently played alongside not only he of 'Modfather' fame, but also the Futureheads and none other than Jools Holland. The North East's most famous export in recent years would probably take you back last year to Maximo Park but it may not be very long before they are joined by this energetic and exciting 4-piece band. Looking every inch the rock stars with their assured and swaggering stage-presence, the unscheduled openers get off to a storming start with first track 'Taking Over'. It's easy to see why they have been tipped for the top- with shades of early-Oasis in regards to their raw-loud sound and Arctic Monkeys-style catchy riffs; the band entranced the waiting crowd. Hungover Stuntmen have been gigging constantly for the best part of the last two years and their confidence and togetherness onstage was refreshing to see. They even found time to engage in banter with the audience in between songs. In the intimate setting of this North London boozer, the band even found time to showcase new material for their second number. But it was their final song which really proved what they can do with the brilliant 'Love is Suicide'. An adrenalin-filled performance full of solid guitar-work, impressive bass-lines and thoughtful lyrics, we may have just witnessed what already seems to be the start of something special. Guildean Gang (www.myspace.com/guildeangang) Keeping things moving quite fluently on, it was time for the original openers to take to the stage. Collectively Southerners (including Guildford…), The Guildean Gang were formed this summer and again consist of the tried-and-tested formula of two guitarists, a bassist and a drummer. They opt for catchy beats with a more-mellow sound with influences apparent from The Libertines, Razorlight and The Coral. The band treated the crowd to a 20 minute set including 'Ghost of the Sunny Nook' and both mySpace entries 'London Road' and 'Time to go' involved. The songs are well written and structured, the former being quite a memorable song. Although their inexperience does show there's no lack of either effort or talent. The riffs are 'Franz-Ferdinand'-style toe-tapping and also laden with thumping drum-beats. A crowd which had already been stirred by the openers were not left disappointed with this performance. In what was comparatively a short offering the band came across as having a lot of potential in what was said to be their "first real gig". The lyrical quality is encouraging and the live performances will only improve. They even managed to get in a duly noted mention of the MOA Live website and with a fast-growing fan base on the web, things are looking bright. Electric City (www.electriccitymusic.com) With a name like 'Electric City' you may be expecting a rather processed dare-I-say-it electronic approach to music. Suffice to say, the band doesn't disappoint and offer so much more as I was pleased to find. Like predecessors, Hungover Stuntmen, their CV also includes performances with new-wavers The Futureheads. Hailing from the capital, the four have been hailed by XFM new-music guru, Ian Camfield as "dealing musical amphetamine" and he's not wrong either! The venue even seems darker and more musically-charged as they belt out opener 'Waking up the Sun' and it's hard to see the stage for the want of musically-led figures trying to get a glimpse of the pure energy being generated before them. The music is in their own words- "Dirty-bass lines and disco inspired-beats". Definitely shades of Kasabian about their style as the edgy-beats penetrate the crowd. Self-titled 'Electric City' is another storming assault of funky sound and was undoubtedly the highlight of the performance. This song has been reworked by the band and on this evidence it has been fine-tuned to perfection, it sounds even better live than on their highly-populated place on the web. Singer Andy J Taylor's vocals are immense on this track and as the song so aptly says- "Electric City's alive", the crowd really got into this number. The band show they are not just a one-trick-pony however, songs like 'Right Where You Belong' and 'Devil in my Hair' slowing down the hectic pace from the break-neck speed we had experienced so far. The vocal performance continues to be strong and grunge/gravel in style. Electric City proves that they can do progressive rock numbers just as well. 'Medicine for the People' is another fine effort and the live performance does the studio-version justice. A real anthem of a song it also features a beautifully-haunting riff. Electronically-inspired bands have proved quite commercially successful as-of-late and there's absolutely no doubt that on this showing, Electric City have something different to offer the musical world, a classy 6-song set. The Rain www.therainpage.com For a band just about to take their first steps into musical stardom- having already recorded their debut album with a producer who has worked with Indie legends, Blur and alternative-rockers Placebo, The Rain played to a reduced crowd. But for anyone wanting to catch some emerging emo-stars there really was no-other place to be. The Rain are again based in London and feature just 3 members which along with the music draws immediate comparisons to other famous 3's such as Muse. Carlos Bruck provides a charismatic bassist and firm backing vocals and along with drummer, Graham Godfrey, they offer a melancholy alternative to the night's more rigorous performers. Upcoming single 'Big Lie' was a high-point of the set and was played at its trademark blistering speed. Their style features strong vocals, emotional lyrics and structured progressive changes of pace. The guitar work is highly-impressive, lyrics beautifully applied and all combining to make very catchy tunes.   Their influences are fairly wide ranged and the unique sound is very difficult to categorize outside of emo-rock. The band have been compared from as wide-ranging styles as thrash-rockers Queens of the Stone Age to pop icon Robbie Williams! Although I cannot see their resemblance to the former Take-That heart-throb, lead singer Lorenz Theur's voice is similar to that of Josh Homme's and if you combine that with well-styled riffs you're as near as can be described. Text Box: Links and affiliates Contact Me