Two of the UK's most up and coming bands play a perfectly matched show together
We arrive at Leeds Cockpit in good time tonight, a precaution to prevent us from missing Prego, who I've brought Neil to see as a surprise birthday present. After a short queue to get into the venue, we are ushered through the bar where merch stalls are being set up and into tonight's main room. Reminiscent of a war time bomb shelter, with corrugated arched ceilings, the Cockpit is littered with a handful of people both old and surprisingly young, waiting for this evening's spectacle.
Tonight's bill is only two bands strong, so the wait for Prego is quite lengthy. We take up spots at the front left, right next to the huge speakers and in front of one of Prego's guitarists. Such a small gig doesn't warrant barriers between the band and the fans, nor is there a need for bouncers. As Prego take to the stage, there's not much initial stir from the crowd, and the five-piece begin their thirty minute set on the Cockpit's small stage. The opening couple of tracks include upcoming single The Longest Calm and another track I don't know the name of, and Prego proceed to build their post-rockery sound into peaks of pure musical bliss. Taking the meat and potato instruments of any band, Prego transforms the musical menu to five star cuisine with guitars fed through pedals (of which they had in droves on stage) and the presence of Edd Simpson's obscure omnichord, making Prego one of the most interesting bands around at the moment.
The band play through their set, losing themselves in the music. Each and every member introverting themselves into what they are doing, possibly even forgetting they are playing to anyone but themselves. The guitars change from brooding to intricate to epic, lifted by the melodic drums and bass, and throw each and every song into a giant wall of sound. From the pulsating guitars of Cause and Resolve to Edd Simpson's haunting vocals in Answers. Prego's penultimate track is new song Air Castles is a tease to fans eagerly awaiting the long-overdue debut album, and set closer Here's to You is five minutes and nine seconds I wanted to last forever. The band's passion is clear to see, and with music this epic its hard not to get swept up in it all. The crowd seem to lap it up, and no doubt Prego's six song set will have won them many new fans. And they deserve it. 9/10
Half an hour or so later, Red Light Company enter stage left, and I struggle to see having moved further back in the crowd to take up a spot near the bar. It's been nearly two weeks since I last saw three of the five members play a small acoustic set in Nottingham's Fopp record store, and its clear to see the band have all been to the barber's since then! Looking fresh faced and back to the full five-strong line-up, Red Light Company launch into set opener Words of Spectacular. It is great to see that Chris Edmonds and Shawn Day have returned to playing their usual instruments of choice. Always atmospheric, Red Light Company have built a big, indie-pop sound with bellowing guitars, pounding keyboards with a big vocal presence. And looking at the enthusiastic crowd packed in to this small venue, it is clear people are really beginning to cotton on. The reactions to songs such as Scheme Eugene, Arts & Crafts and With Lights Out is testament to this. The band even seem surprised at the reaction the Leeds crowd is giving them, which is great to see when Richard Frenneaux passes the vocal duties onto the fans during upbeat anthem Meccano for the line "for crying out loud, the weekend is over" which is the perfect sentiment for a Sunday night show. Looking genuinely humbled by the fans singing back their song, I would hedge a bet that they wished they had saved this number until last. Several songs later, the band finish up on When Everyone is Everybody Else and leave the stage. It's quite a shock, however to see them return for one song encore, as in my opinion their strongest songs had already been played. Yet they take to stage for the last time this evening and play album closer The Alamo, which is a drum pelting affair and not such a bad set-closer at all. And it dawns on me that perhaps I have just heard the whole album played in full, in order. A shame I don't have a set-list to confirm my suspicions, as I could be wrong!
So, a great - if not a little short - forty-five minute set which leaves me feeling positive for a band who are clearly on the brink of something big. This is the fourth time I've turned up to a Red Light Company show, and it really won't be the last. 8/10
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