Steven Barclay, Neon Knights and Devil’s Queen took to the stage for the second summer showcase at the Ironworks. The crowd was notably larger by the end of the night than last weeks and the temperature was definitely up – pretty much the perfect setting for a summer event.
Steven Barclay and Darren Macrae of The Stellars opened the evening with a set of acoustic songs and vocal harmonies. The boys stated in their recent interview with us that they’re heavily influenced by bands such as The Stone Roses, The Beatles and Oasis – this was evident in their set as it was very reminiscent of the BritPop genre. Their song titles also proved to be of interest with “Ballad For The Lazy Being” and “Rollercoaster And The Pork pie Hat” – even after hearing the song I’m still unsure what a ‘pork pie hat’ actually is.
Outwith The Stellars Steven also creates his own solo music, we got to hear one song from this which mellowed the mood and confirmed he also has merit as a solo artist. Darren joined again to play a final couple of songs before ending with a rather fitting cover of Oasis’ “Bonehead’s Bank Holiday.” One of the next gigs for the duo will be playing in front of the judges at the Soundwave music competition.
With a name like “Neon Knights” you may expect to hear music with the electro/techno sound that is so popular at the moment – or alternatively you may think of the Black Sabbath song of the same name. However, they delivered an enthusiastic set of guitar fuelled songs with female fronted vocals, or as the band describe them selves “melodic, acoustic pop rock”. It was apparent throughout their set that they enjoy the music they’re making and made the most of their time on stage.
Some members of Neon Knights may be better known from ‘Thousand Stars’ – however, I feel this formation comes more naturally to them and they seem to be more comfortable in this band. As well as playing some of their own songs they added a bit of fun to the set by covering Rihanna and Calvin Harris’ hit ‘We Found Love’ before ending their set by dedicating their final song to their guitarist for his birthday this weekend.
Devil’s Queen were the final band of the evening, it may have only been their third gig but they managed to pull the biggest crowd of the night and got a great reception throughout. If you’re looking for a band to prove that rock music isn’t dead, then Devil’s Queen are your band. They thrashed out a set of songs that could easily become rock anthems of our time.
Throughout the set they displayed an astonishing amount of talent with their instruments, playing some incredible proper rock music that we rarely hear these days which went down extremely well with the growing crowd in front of them.It’s hard to believe that they played their debut gig in May.I overheard them being described as “the best rock band in Inverness.”
With a claim like that the bands playing in the next few weeks may have a tough act to follow. Next Thursday will see The Ragazzi, Nicky Murray and Habitat gracing the stage at the Ironworks . Be sure to head along to catch some of the best local talent.
You can catch more photos of the Ironworks Summer Showcase and also see more of our coverage of the gigs.
