Audioweb, Deaf Institute. 29th January 2022

I’m here for one reason. Steve Lamacq, Jo Wiley and the Evening Session. Radio that shaped my 90s listening. Audioweb are one of those bands that I think it’s fair to say were also ran’s in the 90s British guitar scene. I associate them with the singles that played on the Evening Session and made their way to volumes of mixtapes that piled up on my bedroom shelves. Songs like ‘Sleeper’, ‘Yeah’ and their excellent cover of the Clash’s ‘Bankrobber’ are all brilliant. I’ve got to confess though, that’s as far as it went for me. So album tracks. Second album tracks and… NEW tracks! It’s all pretty new. It’s all a bit dated too. Dub reggae mixed with looping guitar grooves and scratching, just sounds so anchored in the 90s. I mean that’s not surprising, it’s when much of this stuff was written. Here’s the twist though. Live they can sound pretty different. They start really well. Guitar, bass, drums and a two-piece horn section. It’s stripped back. Dub heavy and the new song sounds pretty great. They follow with Sleeper though, which should by rights bring Deaf to rapture, but it doesn’t. It sounds good, my head’s bobbing, but singer Martin looks a little bit bored. He does sound good though, lovely voice and they seem pretty tight. Sean on bass really puts a shift in, although white jeans and tshirt is a brave move. I don’t know most of the set and that probably doesn’t help me, but my big question is why is this happening? Are they looking to make a comeback or just scratch an itch. There’s only two shows which suggests the latter, but the new songs say they might be dipping their toes too. I definitely prefer the slower dub stuff and generally when the two lads with the brass get on stage, things go better. It’s not bad, but it’s probably not my bag and to be fair it’s sold out with lots of folks gently swaying. It’s quite an old crowd though, so maybe their legs are just tired. Fair play to them, Deaf is cooking and they keep me bobbing to the set close and Martin certainly gets more animated. Worth keeping an ear on what they do next.