Iliketrains - Brudenell Social Club, Leeds, 1/5/2008

  by Helen Tipping

published: 24 / 5 / 2008

intro

At a homecoming gig at the end of a troubled European tour, Helen Tipping watches melancholic post-rockers iLiKETRAiNs play an intense and at points surprising set at the Leeds Brudenell Social Club

iLiKETRAiNS have come to the end of their European tour, and where better to end it than at their own club night, Signal Failure, at the Brudenell Social Club. The tour is to promote the current single 'We Go a Hunting', which is the story of the Salem Witch Trials. It appears that the tour has been quite an adventure, with the band getting stopped by fake traffic police in Italy and having their show takings stolen! No wonder they seem happy to be back on home ground. Arriving late, we catch the second support act, Kyte, who were very good and worth checking out. The Brudenell is very busy tonight, far busier than the last time I saw them here. Ther is not so much room for playing chess this time, but people are having a go amongst the crowds. iLiKETRAiNS seem to be slowly increasing in popularity and have a diverse fan base from trendy scene girls to headbangers, and a wide age range too. They start the set with '25 Sins' from their album 'Elegies to Lessons Learnt' and work their way through their tales of the odd people and forgotten periods of history, celebrating losers as much as winners. Vocalist Dave Martin is as intense as ever, although he manages a few lighter moments of banter with the audience. Everyone seems to know the words and its standing room only at the front. The encore is a real treat, starting with 'Stainless Steel', a track the band haven't played live since 2006 and one of my favourites. Don't hold your breath to hear it live again, as according to Dave the intention was to put it to rest. This was a shorter version, but it is still as dramatic and startling as the first time I heard it. The final track was, fittingly, 'Death is the End' complete with a choir chosen from support bands and audience to give the tour its send off. A great night, and though it's the end of the tour the Trains won't be resting. They have a showing of a film to accompany 'Elegies to Lessons Learnt' made by Ashley Dean, the band visualist and cornet player, at the Picture House in Leeds (which will have been and gone by the time you read this) and an intimate gig at the the Library in Leeds on 21st June. There are also a number of festivals being played in Europe during the summer. The photographs that accompany this article were taken exclusively for Pennyblackmusic by Neil Bailey.