Infidels Live: ‘Great songs and a beautiful noise’
The Crow’s Nest, a column by Russ Litten
Music & Literature
On the 28th of May I went to see Infidels play live at Thieving Harry’s on the Marina. It was my first gig for a very long time.
The last music event I’d attended had been Michael Head and the Red Elastic Band in a big hall packed with swaying Scousers in Liverpool at Christmas time.
It was a memorable night, not only because of the glorious music; the sense of joy and community that evening in Liverpool reminded me of everything I loved about live gigs and the charged relationship between performer and crowd.
Music hits you from all angles in lots of different environments, but nothing beats that feedback loop of adrenaline that occurs when in the same room with a group of people who are totally lost in a noise of their own making.
Something precious occurs in those spaces, something you can’t really capture with words or recordings. Being there, being part of it, is everything.
Thieving Harry’s, at first glance, seems like an unlikely venue for a full electric line-up, but it definitely works.
INFIDELS: From left to right, Tamar Draper, Matthew Hogg, Jason ‘Archie’ Heselwood, Eric Dimmack, and Andy Dimmack
The band plays up against the window and the crowd lines up in front of them on benches. It’s an intimate affair, but the doors and windows are open and masks are donned. There are also balcony style seats available in the upper eating area.
Infidels’ singer Tamar keeps lifting her face heavenwards, which at first I take to be some kind of pre-match prayer offered upwards to the power of song. But it turns out she’s just smiling and waving up at her mates on the top deck.
It’s a friendly crowd, noisy appreciative, before a note has been struck. You can sense that everyone is up for this.
For those of you who don’t know, Infidels are a new band from Hull comprised of some familiar local music scene faces and a couple of fresh new recruits.
‘A GLORIOUSLY CINEMATIC SOUND’: Infidels
The line up is Matthew Hogg on vocals, keyboard and guitar; Jason “Archie” Heselwood on guitar; a family-focused rhythm section of Andy Dimmack and Eric Dimmack on drums and bass respectively, and powerhouse vocalist Tamar Draper.
Individually, these people have been in most of my favourite local bands over the last few years. Collectively, they make a most beautiful noise indeed; elements of classic songwriting in the mould of Burt Bacharach and JJ Cale, married to an irresistible, yearning, rootsy groove.
Sitting down to watch them could well prove challenging. This is a band you want to dance to. But Infidels make head music, too.
Whenever I listen to them, I find myself drifting off across deserts and dustbowls, or jamming along on some pavement in a crowded South American city. It’s a gloriously cinematic sound, and God knows right now we need some escapism.
The band kick into Propane and for the next forty minutes or so we are transported. Tracks such as the brooding, atmospheric See Red, and euphoric recent single, How About You, get everybody skanking in their seats.
They play the next single, Black Apple, and suddenly we’re hanging out in a Harlem Bar with Mink De Ville and the cast of some funky 70s American movie. It’s exhilarating stuff.
Infidels have tunes that move the body and lodge themselves firmly in the mind. West Coast craft meets East Coast soul; it’s a heady, seductive mix.
IN THE GROOVE: Infidels guitarist Archie
It was a great gig - loud, celebratory, and overflowing with goodwill.
Look out for more gigs at Thieving Harry’s. Steve and the crew are doing a superb job of keeping this place firmly noted as a special destination.
And buy the Infidels new single, Black Apple, when it comes out in August.
I’m sure there will be a gig around then too. Go and see them, feel the joy. Let this beautiful noise become your spirit guide through the mess of these modern days and beyond.
INFIDELS - LINKS