Part Time Insomniacs @ The Exchange - Hanley

The Part Time Insomniacs are a four-piece indie rock band from Stoke-On-Trent. They have only recently got together, earlier this year - therefore I am going to review what I thought of their very first gig. The quartet consists of; Kieran Breese on vocals & guitar, Sam Fieldhouse on lead guitar, Jacob Ferchal on bass and James Whitehurst on the drums. The gig was in a small venue at The Exchange in Hanley. The Part Time Insomniacs sound heavily influenced by the likes of; The Smiths, Arctic Monkeys and Oasis. However they also have a punky edge to them which differentiates themselves from many indie rock bands out there. 

The first song that the Part Time Insomniacs chose to perform was 'Zombie' by Jamie T. The beat really kicked in by the drums, which lead the show. The vocals were also very clear which lead to them portraying an outstanding overall performance, it was very well executed.

The second track that the band covered was  'Big Mouth Strikes Again' by The Smiths.  The guitars were incredibly powerful giving off a strong introduction for the beginning of their performance - Ferchal on bass began to get into the performance and relaxed a lot more, which was great to see. The drums were noticeably outstanding throughout. Breese on vocals carried off the vocals very well and they did the song justice. Then the drummer continued drumming to develop their performance into the next song, which I thought was pretty impressive.

The third track that the band performed was 'Don't Look Back Into The Sun' by The Libertines. The song was very well introduced by the drums alternating cleverly from 'Big Mouth Strikes Again' into this song. The talented drummer stood out the most for me within this performance. Ferchal on bass was doing a little jiggle to the song as he was hypnotically getting into the song, meanwhile Fieldhouse on lead guitar remained very concentrated throughout this performance.

Their fourth track which was chosen is one of my all time favourite songs and it is called 'Sally Cinnamon' by The Stone Roses. The boys did me proud on this one. One of my all time favourite tracks by one of my favourite artists. Ferchal singing along to the lyrics whilst simultaneously playing the bass. This song obviously means as much to them as it does to me. Yet again the drummer has an absolutely outstanding performance. With a graceful ending with a nice and slow guitar stroke on the outro. Outstanding performance, yet again doing an amazing song very good justice. Congratulations. 

As you can imagine, for their first gig the lads are doing incredibly well by giving it their all on every song. The fifth track was surprisingly not a cover, and it was their own song that they had written and constructed. So fair play for doing that lads. To me this song really brought out all of the three guitarists talents. However the only issue was the instruments over-powered the vocals unfortunately, leading to me not being able to realiterate the lyrics. Slow and basic drums throughout but the bass remained powerful and strong from start to finish.

The sixth chosen track was the notoriously renowned 'Cocoon' by Catfish & the Bottlemen. Every musician entered simultaneously with a strong and powerful thrust leading to some of the crowd even getting to the front of the stage and dancing along! This was the song that got the audience prepared for the main act. Well done lads, very well executed. This performance definitely got your foot tapping along, whether you knew the song or not. Breese on vocals also gained a lot more confidence throughout this song due to the crowd creating a very positive atmosphere. I particularly enjoyed the strong and powerful drums at the end. Then when they introduced 'I Bet That You Look Good On The Dancefloor' the audience started singing the chorus before they even began to play!!

The final track that they obviously chose to perform following the amazing performance of 'Cocoon' by Catfish & the Bottlemen was 'I Bet That You Look Good On The Dancefloor' by Arctic Monkeys. They started off with a very heavy intro, as every instrument simultaneously went straight in with great force. Even more of the crowd gathered to the front for this one! Drums yet again, stood out. Amazingly executed performance, like all of the previous ones too. What an incredible song to close the set with, great choice. 

The only constructive criticism that I would give you would have to be your stage presence. If you stayed in the audience for the headlining act 'Magna Collider' you would realise why they deserved to be the headlining act. You all needed to loosen up a bit; especially the drummer and lead guitarist. To me you both looked too concentrated on getting the song right, that you weren't having fun on stage. At the end of the day nobody knows if you messed up except if you stop performing, which you didn't and I never noticed any slip-ups even if there were any. You just need to relax a bit more on stage and gain that extra little bit of confidence. Breese loosened up towards the end which was comforting to see, however Ferchal was loose towards the second song, so perhaps he could give you some hints on how to calm your nerves; if that was the issue? In all fairness the drummer is often the most hypnotic act when you go to see a band, because they tend to get so into the performance and their arms are everywhere, they're doing a little trick with their drumstick whilst waiting for their next cue etc... Other than that, that was an outstanding first gig lads, and I'm very proud of you. If you ever see them advertised as being the support act again, or even being the headlining act - I would most definitely recommend that you go and see them, for £4 you couldn't complain!! Congratulations on your successful first gig lads, I really enjoyed it. You have a bright future ahead of you within the music industry.