Heading away from the lights of the city, the Star and Garter hardly looks like the generic place you would spend your Friday night. That said, never judge a book by its cover. On entering, the traditional pub-styled downstairs is lively and packed to the rafters with the outrageously dressed Keys Money Lipstick (KML) faithful.
As for the music, there is not a trace of anything from Manchester’s musical glory days of the Haçienda, which seems to have plagued so many of the city’s other indie nights. KML promise and succeed in delivering nothing but the newest indie music to our ears playing tunes from artists such as Late of the Pier, The Ting Tings and Simian Mobile Disco. It doesn’t stop there though, as the organisers are keen to promote the upcoming live performances.
This time round it was the turn of Leeds outfit O Fracas. Their set got underway playing to a group of about twenty people, who seemed more concerned by the fact that the band had interrupted their conversations than the music itself. Thankfully, people gradually got to their feet and others joined from the pool of revellers downstairs. The set went on with the baby-faced four-piece band running through their repertoire of songs and the growing audience observing than getting involved. By the time the band had announced their last song the crowd had finally grown to fill the room and it the night had fully got underway.
Although the band failed in winning over the whole audience, they proved a good warm up act for the remainder of the night. It was gone half past midnight when the crowd unleashed their happy feet and began to dance.
Everything went smoothly; KML was everything it said on the tin with its new music focus and proved seemingly enjoyable for everyone concerned. The only downside was that the club closed at 2.30am, with last orders at 2am. It left me posing the question, was it really worth the five-pound price tag and pricey bar if the club was only busy upstairs for just two hours? It felt like waking up in the morning before your alarm is set to go off and knowing you will have to wake up again shortly!
7/10
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