Saturday 19 January 2002

Firstly, I ought to apologise to B Fab.UK for not turning up in time to watch their set, a misdemeanour only compounded by the fact that everyone I spoke to, without exception, took great pleasure in telling me how excellent they were. Hey ho. Not the first journalistic mistake I've ever made. The learned Dr S Wade told me my review should in fact just be the line "They be fab, okay" (works best when said in a cornish accent), but I think I've blown it now anyway...

Anyway, enough of reviewing the band that I didn't watch.

It is widely regarded as fact that Opaque are not your average band. Their reputation as improv-based noise-mongers travels a long way in front of them, and in all probability deters quite a few potential fans along the way. Well, don't believe what anyone tells you. Even me. Anyone who witnessed tonight's show will be able to testify that here is a band literally capable of taking you off to a different plane. Huge sounding riffs pummel away at you with the industrial-strength feedback blaring way in the background, only to give way to an eerie cloud of musical sea gulls on tinkling guitar and saxophonic squawks. Like the demented bastard child of Mendelssohn's "Songs without words", the overall effect is like someone attempting to recite a novel, but using only music to do so.

This was not your average gig. A happily-sized audience stood literally dumb-struck throughout the performace. Indeed, one of the most enchanting aspects of tonight's show was looking at the other members of the audience, a veritable sea of unblinking eyes, hypnotised by the music and gently strobing lights. There are not many bands around who can hold an audience at such an intensity, although it is somewhat ironic that Opaque manage to do so by entirely disregarding their audience's presence. Opaque gave us a night of what someone else described as "soundscapes", and it was the improvised nature of these pieces which made them so fascinating, hearing them reconsititute themselves like some endless chemical composite.

It's been a long time since Opaque played at the Yorkie, and I only hope that it will not be so long till they return. Maybe then they'll get an even bigger audience, and maybe even the bar upstairs will be open. Here's hoping.

Paddy Garrigan