Friday 23 November 2001

My friends assure me that my memory is not what it used to be, and I have to take their word for it. Nonetheless, it's definitely true that Hartlepool-based rockers Dust Byte have been regular visitors to the Yorkie for as long as I can remember.

Those of you who are unfamiliar with ver Dusters will be wanting to know, firstly, how to recognise them. Well, there's four of them (yes, that's them in the nice picture over there), although I was somewhat dissapointed that only singer Garry wore a suit. There's something about three men and one woman in uniform, don't you think.

Musically, I spent the whole night slightly pre-occupied: put me in front of a band with a singer in a suit and a whole raft of Glammy riffs fed through a sub-Pixies (the band, not the elves) pile of distortion, and I'm inevitably put in mind of The Auteurs. Some might take offence, but it's meant as a compliment. These are big, poppy songs who are trying to rock hard but simply can't resist consistently going for that killer hook. Dust Byte know their songs well, but it's clear that they'd much rather it was you or I who woke up each morning singing their songs, shortly before popping down to the shops to buy their entire back catalogue.

It must be said, the real strength of Dust Byte is in it's line-up, particularly in it's being blessed with two distinctively-voiced singers. Drummer Graim Hutchinson put me off-balance more than once by singing when I was staring elsewhere, giving the highly unsettling illusion that, alongside the rock jollity, I was watching an anarchist grand-master ventriloquist at work. It's perhaps a shame, then, that a better vocal sound couldn't be produced than the trademark singing-into-a-bucket-of-mud-sound so many groups favour at the moment. Come on chaps - you've taken the time to write all of those words, don't keep them to yourselves. The only line I particularly caught was in their encore, and I'm still not sure whether it was "You're available", or "You're a vegetable". Which can make a considerable difference. This aside, there were some fine performances - rock solid drumming and some lovely bass playing under-pinning the afore-mentioned riffery.

My most lasting impression of tonight's show, however, is one of a faint sense of anti-climax. Dust Byte are in a slighty unfortunate position, in a way: famous enough to get singles out, favourable coverage from the likes of Metal Hammer, Kerrang and NME and interest from elsewhere; yet not familiar enough around here to draw much of a crowd. Not ones to let adversity drag them down, they put on a very good show, and the response they gained from it was happily in disproportion to the number of people making it. Nonetheless, you couldn't help feeling for them - they deserved a much bigger crowd than the one they got. And the little dears had even finished by 10.50pm. How could I possibly dislike a band that allows me to get last orders in with a clear conscience? It's not my place to order you about, but next time they're on, you ought to come on up. Not because you feel guilty, but because it might make your night a bit better.

Paddy Garrigan