FIRST DAY ACTION

Taking notes in a dark venue is hard work so I felt I was justified in having a beer between sets, a pattern which was repeated as the night went on, and one which is reflected in the declining quality of my handwriting. Audience members going to the bar between sets is fine, audience members going to the bar during your set is not. When these audience members are also checking their watches and mobile phones during your set, something isn't right. FIRST DAY ACTION started with a two-song, no-break burst, and in hindsight I can't help but think this was a strategy to keep the audience where they were for longer than at least one song. FDA are not a bad band - their final song sounded like a smaller scale Explosions in The Sky, and they have the genkiest drummer I've ever seen (and that includes Dave Grohl). They play well together and have some strong tunes, but they seemed to be lacking a spark and a decent vocalist. I can't sing for shit and I probably shouldn't be commenting on other people's ability, but hey, commenting on music is one of the reasons why I started this blog. FDA could be a great instrumental band, or they could go down the route followed by Mogwai and move the vocals further back in the mix, effectively making the singer's voice another instrument. Either way there's a lot of potential here.