By Lewis Hannah
Outside Telford’s Warehouse, the canalside bar sat on Shropshire Union Canal, is an array of characters, on a moderate Friday evening, all getting ready for a relaxing, and soon to be extremely warm, Bank Holiday.
I, on the other hand, may have spent a bit enjoying the views, and the drinks too, but there was a more important matter to attend to. A live show was being played, a band was playing there. A band that was local, whom i had previously heard through word of mouth, but this was my first full taste of them, in the fishy flesh.
Before the gig I found myself watching the soundcheck, whilst sipping from my glass of, if I remember correctly, Old Mout Cider. Hearing a band whose sound primarily pivots psych and prog rock check and tweak around with their instruments was fun watch. It was like an early teaser trailer you see for that new film in cinemas. You know, if people actually still go to the cinema.
Fish Night at Telford’s Warehouse
What admittedly makes writing about this gig a little tough is that, for a large part, the performance felt very old-school, in that it was just a group of four lads strapping on their instruments and playing their songs, getting the crowd into the groove. Not often was there a big pause in between songs to talk to the audience, bar a couple of occasions.
The other reason why there weren’t many pauses was because of how the set and performance flowed. For the most part, the songs ebbed and flowed in unison. It felt like one of those shows where an album is played in full from start to finish. On most occasions, you wouldn’t have known that the next song had begun because, like any great prog rock material, there’s usually multiple parts and layers to these tracks, all weaving into one long film of music, rather than a short series of rapid episodes.
Maybe Fish Night only played the one song before saying anything to the audience, maybe it was 5 songs they played. Who knows?! I certainly didn’t know in the moment and still don’t now! But does that really matter when in the most important moment, the actual gig and performance, I was enjoying what was being played?
Some highlights of the set include; World’s Worst Confession, which started off with slow spoken word before massively kicking into overdrive amidst a sea of hazy tones and pedals. Bleeding Wires was probably the song Iwas most familiar with prior to the gig, and though i had to wait a long time before it was played, the layers on display during this track were fantastic, from a slow building intro, to the breakdown in the middle, and the frantic ending escalating with intent.
Maybe the biggest shock of the night was an unexpected cover. It admittedly took me about five minutes too long to click what was being played. It seemed on the surface, just another long instrumental, or intro to the next song, only for bassist Jamie to pull out what must’ve been either an iPhone or iPod and started playing a track direct to his mic. A track called Murder Of The Universe by fuzzy Australian psych rockers King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard. It was quite the vibe change in the moment, but as with the whole set, a welcome one.
The small show closed out with Panda Nanny, an almost punk track where one lyric is repeated in chaotic manner for just under a minute straight. If anything the closer highlighted something that kept creeping into my thoughts during the show, that there are a lot of punk elements to Fish Night’s sound. The fast tempos, the aggressive vocal performances from lead singer Aaron. It was a unique texture to add to their sound, and one that benefits them massively.
Leaving Telford’s Warehouse, I found myself back outside, but into a night, gloomed by the dark sky; a complete contrast to the wonderful and colourful performance that Fish Night put on inside. Maybe I should’ve gone back through that door.
Interview with fan Will Hall on Fish Night’s gig and a surprise cover
