Even by Manc standards, Thursday night's meteorological nightmare meant that tonight's audience would be restricted to a diehards-only smattering.
However, although advance ticket sales numbered well below the 50 mark, every one of this sparse but enthusiastic crowd played their part in ensuring that the basement venue was at least friendly, warm and intimate.
Juju was cavorting atop the wall of monitors stage-front right from the off as LITTLE FISH, rolling three-deep due to the presence of a third member who manned the organ and samplers, launched into their set head-first. Latest single 'Darling Dear' was breathlessly dedicated to the fans, prompting shouts of joy that turned quickly to rhythmic handclapping as the audience kept pace with the song all the way to its high-pitched, extreme conclusion.
And there were more cheers of recognition for the similarly anthemic 'Am I Crazy?'. Drowned in thunderous bass, the compulsive (augmented?) chord progression fair simmered in between bouts of demented high drama. Fans of the Oxford combo will know that the LF song structure is based on a relentless rock n'roll ethic, with tracks often pushing close to the five minute mark in order to induce musical psychosis. Pumped through an Orange amplifier as well as the PA, the synth bass overload hit a volume level that triggered visionary tremors.
New song 'Only A Game' also stuck rigidly to this much-loved format. Kicking off amidst Nez's shimmering cymbal assault allowed a guitar technician the chance to rescue the rest of a kit that had so far been hammered almost to the point of collapse. A fine, Hammond-y middle 8 was in place to break up the track, saving our sanity along with Juju's invitation to sing along.
The infectious 4-chord panic attack of 'Whiplash' prompted yet another instant ovation, the shortest, sharpest shock of the night coming as the seamless prelude to more crazed cymbals and subsonic deep bass mayhem:
"I'm helpless" wailed Juju through this archetypal but brilliant slice of drug-crazed rock n roll before it descended all the way down to her near-acapella 'gimme a gun refrain'.
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"It's like giving birth" sighed the out-of-breath singer and guitarist as she stopped to rescue a stuck earplug from Nez's left lughole prior to a retro airing of 'Perfect Stranger' - an 'oh-oh-ohhhhhld' dash of Paris Blues that had her scraping Gibson joining forces with huge Hammond FX for the sweeping, soaring choruses as the band again opted for the 'devil's' path on another one-way collision course with the eventual/inevitable chaotic overload.
"Always live life on the edge" Juju declared like Satan's agony aunt immediately before the hour long show burned out with an 100mph finale.
'Why does love come on so suddenly?' was the $64,000 dollar question posed with runaway vocal repetition by all three band members until it became a devilish mantra. And Juju's final assertion during this exilherating climax? 'Proper Lovers Play Guitars' she declared, again with repetitive vigour, bringing a powerful display to an abrupt and exhausting end.
Though endless support slots haven't left much opportunity for the band to develop a show that's in keeping with that of a headline act, tonight was further proof that LITTLE FISH are hundred and ten percenters, hell-bent on putting everything and more into high-energy performances that aren't so much demanding as draining.
Tonight's audience were rewarded for braving the elements with yet another typically uncompromising display of non-stop rock n'roll.
Little Fish on Myspace
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