The Torch @ The Live Room - Manchester - 11/06/16 (Gig Review)

The Torch are a 3-piece alternative rock band from Stoke-on-Trent. The trio consists of; Owen Hodgkinson on lead guitar and vocals, Josh Woody on the bass and Harry Pool on the drums. The band managed to grab themselves their first out of area gig in Manchester at The Live Room on the 11th of June 2016, and I was fortunate enough to get asked to go and review them. The line up consisted of a concoction of bands; some from outside of Manchester and some from Manchester. The bands who supported The Torch consisted of; lead singer from The So So's (Leon James Kenny) opening up the evening with a solo acoustic set, as his other two band members were pre-occupied in hospital and at the euros. The following act were a band that sounded heavily evanescence inspired; who also used rap within their unique set and they were called Factory Reasons. Now the third act; Shakedown Stockholm were an absolute nightmare! I would never ever recommend that you see these divas! Shakedown Stockholm consists of 7 band members; two female vocalists, three guitarists, a keyboardist and a drummer. They took about 45 minutes to soundcheck, and all they did was complain the whole way through - when there was no problems at all. Then to make matters worse, they refused to perform as they were kicking off that their mics weren't loud enough, when I was sat right at the back of the room and I could hear them perfectly. They were just so disrespectful and an absolute embarrassment.

However, the lead singer of The Torch, Hodgkinson came to the rescue by opting to do a solo acoustic set in order to fill in for Shakedown Stockholm. Hodgkinson improvised the whole set due to the unexpected occurance, and the set consisted of; a unique choice of a poem called Suicide In The Trenches by Siegfried Sassoon, Tom The Drum - Palma Violets, The Stooges - I Wanna Be Your Dog, The Coral - Dreaming Of You, Albion - Babyshambles and 5 Libertines songs! Lead guitarist of ALMA from Stoke, Kieran Breese - hoped on stage during the last two songs of the improvised set list and performed with Hodgkinson in which they recited two of The Libertines songs together; What Katie Did and Horror Show.

Following Hodgkinsons acoustic solo set, The Torch entered the stage. Their opening track was an original called 'I'm A Lie' and there was an immediate intense fast build up of guitars and drums in order to format a solid beat. This track really exploited the musicians talents as Woody on bass had his own guitar solo, in which he played a contagious riff, and you see how much of a brilliant drummer that Pool is! There was no hesitation or nerves whatsoever when it came to Pool playing the drums, he just got straight in there and gave it his all! Their catchy chorus line also allowed the audiences to sing along with this post-punk inspired track -

'I'm a lie, I'm a lie, I'm a lie!'

The Torch then covered a song by The Smiths called 'London'. They actually really surprised me with this performance as whenever a band cover a Smiths song they can't help themselves from imitating Morrissey's actions and singing in his flimsy voice, but Hodgkinson kept his own persona which shows you just how much of a solid frontman he is. Their third track sounded very Arctic Monkeys inspired, it was an original called 'Tell Me' - this was another catchy track due to the repetitive chorus. However I could not help but notice that the bassist lost the rhythm mid-way through the song and he was unfortunately unable to pick it back up again until the next track. However; the talented guitarist that Hodgkinson is, due to him being on lead guitar he overpowered the bass anyway so even though that had happened it was barely noticeable within this track - it was only visually noticeable. Woody is a brand new bassist though, and has only been with the band for less than a month and due to this being an original track this was almost inevitable that at one point he might forget a chord etc as he has to learn The Torch's own songs. If this ever happens again, just improvise and pluck a simple riff so at least there is some support for the lead guitarist. 

'Johnny Boy' is another original and it had a very strong instrumental as all of the instruments complimented eachother very well. Hodgkinsons stage persona is somewhat like Doherty's as he doesn't need to move around a lot, but he still gives his performance a bit of action. He doesn't need to move around a lot as he simultaneously plays the guitar as he sings; and he plays very intricate riffs that require a lot of concentration and if he's not doing that, he's singing and still playing so he'd lose that sense of control if he was to start prancing about on stage and his performance wouldn't be as good. There was also an on stage connection built with Hodgkinson and Woody during this track. Their next performance is their last cover and it is a song by The Hives called 'Hate To Say I Told You So' Hodgkinson opens the track with lead guitar, followed by the drums and then the bass. Hodgkinsons vocals were very strong on the chorus which shows how well he knows this song and the guitars and drums remained tight throughout, building up a solid instrumental alongside the vocals. The solo bass riff got the audience clapping, the vocals and drums shortly followed the solo and built up the tempo, which allowed them to re-create that strong instrumental again. This was one of their best performances of the night.

The second to last track of their set list was called 'Riot At The Ritz' and Hodgkinson stated to the audience that this was in fact The Torch's first ever single. Pool, yet again had another outstanding performance and was still giving it his all even towards the end of the set list. Yet again this track sounds slightly influenced by the early Arctic Monkeys work due to the riffs on the intro and the title I guess, as the Arctic Monkeys have a similar song title called 'From The Ritz, To The Rubble'. Hodgkinson flaunted off an outstanding riff within this performance and it made me realise what a brilliant guitarist he is as well as a vocalist, he played that hard he cut his fingers and broke a string because the riff was that crazy and intense! Due to the guitar string snapping we went to look for the reserve guitar and it had gone missing! What an absolute nightmare! However the sound tech guy came to the rescue with a spare string. The last track of their setlist was called 'Take You Back' and this is another personal favourite performance of mine as this song was a complete paradox to the rest - it is a lot softer, with its; melodic riffs, and slow rhythmic drums which creates a rather groovy but melancholic vibe. 

The Torch had a bit of extra time at the end of their set so they just played 'Riot At The Ritz' and a The Hives - Hate To Say I Told You So again, and as the nerves were out of the way, both of these performances were a lot stronger the second time around.

In conclusion The Torch had a brilliant performance, I mean there was that slight slip up with the bassist but you have to give them the benefit of the doubt when he's been in the band for less than a month, and they have been trying to teach him a whole set list! Lead singer and guitarist, Hodgkinson has a very punk voice and loves to put his own unique twist on things, and he really manages to captivate an audience - which is what a frontman is supposed to do isn't it? Pool on drums was absolutely outstanding throughout the whole set list, he gave it his all on every track and he is just a bloody brilliant drummer! You also see how much of a talented guitarist the lead singer is as well, and you don't often find that - because riffs don't tend to be as intense and intricate if it's the lead singer playing lead guitar. My favourite performances of the night were The Hives cover of "Hate To Say I Told You So' and 'Take You Back'.  I especially like how they switched the setlist up with the closing song being a complete paradox to their other song choices it was a well thought-out song to close their set with. I am privileged to have been able to have reviewed and attended The Torch's first ever out of area gig! They played very well and did Stoke proud! The Torch have found their own solid sound, and they deserve all the success within their future as a band. If you ever get the chance to watch The Torch, go and support your local music scene and you may be surprised - they have a lot of potential and they can only excel further as a band because they've already got their own sound, skills and stage presence all they need now is the extra support! I wish them the best of luck within their future endeavours as a band, keep that torch shining!