Rise Up - Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh, Jan 7

Once again, no one came close to OBE tonight. Somebody sign these lads, for god's sake

Feature by Ted Maul | 15 Feb 2006
I'll be honest with you, eight hours is usually longer than I like to spend in a club, but tonight was a special occasion; the first Rise Up of 2006 - Edinburgh's best club night for unsigned bands. From 7pm to 3am the bands (and the drink) came thick and fast; a veritable onslaught of rock 'n' roll thrills and good old fashioned alcoholism.

Bouchereau got things off to a swinging start with their blissful, chilled-out vibes and wicked rock 'n' roll licks. I could tell the singer was feeling it from the absurd amount of air guitar he was playing. Beautiful stuff. Crazy Vincent took to the stage next, deploying some epic choruses and pounding beats, before making way for Stealer, who seemed to have a monopoly on the funk tonight. Crazy use of the wah-wah and bombastic vocal delivery were in full effect as they made the crowd their bitch; laying down killer basslines like there was no tomorrow.

Next up, Ardent John were definitely one of the highlights of the night; using beautiful melodic flourishes and understated vocals to charm the crowd. These boys have bags of songwriting talent and are definitely ones to watch. Namik stole the award for heaviest set of the night; mixing crunching riffs with quirky song structures. Missing Cat followed with a no-holds-barred attack of blues riffage and outrageous harmonica solos. Ferocious.

The Dials were next, and delivered a set of no-frills, no-nonsense rock before the mighty OBE took to the stage. Fresh from a victory at East Meets West, anticipation was high for the band that has been tearing up the Edinburgh scene – and boy did they deliver. Tighter than you could possibly believe, OBE sounded huge tonight, hammering home their choppy riffs and funky basslines with laser guided precision. Once again, no one came close to these boys tonight. Somebody sign these lads, for god's sake.

Filling in at the last minute for the absent Low Miffs, The Atom Bombs put up a brave fight after the OBE onslaught, with vocalist Patrick Jones pushing his vocal cords to breaking point during their catchy, driving set. The Sound Development Agency finished off a great night with a set of powerful, frenzied and funky songs. When SDA's electronics kicked in the dance beats dropped like a bomb, firing up the dancefloor despite the late hour.

A great night was had by all, and there was a friendly and up-for-it vibe to the whole evening. Fingers crossed Rise Up will be the shot in the arm that the Edinburgh scene has been waiting for. Roll on February.
Rise Up runs fortnightly on Sundays, starting in February.