Oh Sees - Deaf Institute, Manchester, 23/5/2008

by Helen Tipping

published: 24 / 5 / 2008

Helen Tipping finds former Coachwhips' front man John Dwyer's new band Thee Oh Sees' blend of quirky rockabilly and 60's psychedelia infectious at the Deaf Institute in Manchester

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It's Champions' League Final night in Moscow, with Manchester United playing Chelsea. The pubs are packed with Man U fans cheering and shouting, except the Deaf Institute, which has a smattering of bright young things in for cocktails and a light bite, and a few people in to see tonight's bands. We catch all three bands. The first band up were called Beach Fuzz and I couldn't connect with them at all. Call me a philistine, but their experimental sound was a step too far for me. Next up were Mayming, two classically trained women using cello and vocals and some impressive computing kit. They build layers of sound from the cello and vocals, starting with a chilled out sound and building up to an unsettling ending. Vocalist Seaming To has an amazing vocal range, and can also be seen playing with Homelife. Thee Oh Sees come on at 11, after the football has finished, and quite a few people seem to have arrived post match. They are a guitar band, with a huge rockabilly influence and a bit of 60's psychedelia thrown in. The two guitarists hold their guitars right up at chest height, which is not seen that often these days. John Dwyer is the main vocalist and guitarist, with wonderful harmonies being added by Brigid Dawson. The band will be glad to hear that I did not think they sounded like the B52s in the slightest. They were really infectious and threw everything into their performance, I was glad we stuck around to see them play. In fact we liked them so much we bought the CD and we've been listening to it in the car ever since. It's great driving along music. The photographs that accompany this article were taken exclsuively for Pennyblackmusic by Neil Bailey.