The Cornerhouse, Douglas, Isle of Man: Fri 24 Nov 2006
Crawdaddy, Dublin: Wed 22 Nov 2006
"The most explosive band to emerge from Yorkshire in the last ten years, four day Hombre are
excellent in the studio and even better live."
fdH at the Deep End
May 15th, 2000 @ the Deep End, Hillsborough
Fade in ... juddery warehouse video footage, and cut away to the harsh light of the all-night
cafe ... Is this the face of twenty-first century music? No longer. Turn off that computer,
smash that TV, and see the world the fdH way. On Monday I not only saw the future (as the rock review
mantra goes), I experienced it in widescreen as fdH gave possibly the best performance of any live band
I've seen in the last ten years (and that includes everything from Steeleye Span to the Buzzcocks). For
a band who've performed in front of thousands, this was a tiny audience, but you'd never have known it
from the exuberant keyboards, rock steady drums (even when the stick broke), oh-so-expressive bass, vibrant
guitars and exquisite vocals. All credit, too, to the Deep End's sound engineer, who gave us
excellent tone and balance, and let so much of the band's natural energy and volume through that it
destroyed the tape I'd used to interview the band and get audience reaction (sorry Kim & Stacey).
Dubbed the hardest working band in Yorkshire, four day Hombre are an unusually talented rock band from Leeds,
and despite being more professional than the professionals, they're still unsigned - which is lucky in a way,
as it means the public can get their recordings relatively cheaply at the moment [direct from the
House of Hombre]. Don't take too long about it,
though, as this isn't a band that are going to stay unsigned for long. Comparisons rarely do bands
justice, but for those of you who need some reference points, their style seems to merge so many
influences that it's hard to know where to start. Imagine a fast-moving collage where the ripped edges
of Elastica bring the nostalgic ballads of the Division Bell into relief, with the raw punch of Throwing
Muses all wrapped up in a pastoral Radiohead moment. Then again don't. Go to their site and order the EP -
and then rush out and experience them live for yourselves.
As the Editor said to Photographer: How come you didn't take all the pictures?
As the Photographer said to Editor: Sorry - the band were too good and I didn't want to miss the music.
