Jimmy & The Revolvers @ Studio 2, Parr Street 26/08/2017

Girls With No Faces had a different set up to normal with their bass player in hospital, for one night only referring to themselves as Girl With No Bassist. Being a man down didn’t hold them back with a sound akin to early Arctic Monkeys and Bombay Bicycle Club.

Fast-paced and hair raising riffs and an angst about them similar to The Wombats, their set was captivating from the strike of the first chord to the last. It was a thrilling start to the night that makes you wonder that if they were that good a man down, then they must be electrifying when at full strength.

Clearly inspired, a member of the crowd volunteered to play bass for the band towards the end of the set, which they politely declined with only a couple songs left. A month on from the disaster that was Hope & Glory, it was nice to see the Liverpool music community again looking to help out.

Following up the explosive opening from Girls With No Faces, The Change brought their sun-soaked vibes to Parr Street adding Americana rock to the festivities.

The positivity oozing from the stage literally drew the crowd in, to the point of borderline harassment from one fan in particular. Dancing ensued from the back to the front during the enchanting set from The Change. It was an infectious performance as they swooned the audience in Studio 2.

We’ve been a fan of Cal Ruddy throughout 2017 and tonight was a special occasion for the Wirral native singer. His performance was his last before he jets across the pond to Nashville for a series of recording sessions in the iconic city.

Cal shares his bassist with Girls With No Faces, meaning he was down a man too. His guitarist Tom Wright, stepped up to take on bass duties and Cal reverted to his acoustic guitar. Did this mean a tamer performance? Hell no.

Ruddy has an ability to add an intensity to any gig he plays, wether it’s just him and his acoustic guitar or when his full band join him. As he sings about broken hearts on ‘Breaking Your Little Heart‘ or professing love at the end with ‘Maria‘, Cal’s charismatic stage presence made sure no eyes went wandering away from the centre of the stage.

Cal and co. went all out with the crowd dancing, singing and shouting throughout, sucked in by the pure ecstasy that Ruddy exuberantly emits while on stage. The singer is heading Stateside on a high note and Nashville are in for a treat if his performance was anything to go by.

An already stellar night from each act showing they all could’ve easily been topping the bill, Jimmy & the Revolvers were heading on stage with a high standard set by their predecessors.

The band were captivating as they gripped everyone’s attention from the get-go with their intense intro kickstarting the set.

All the way through, they entertained with the likes of the uplifting ‘Little Black Book‘ or ‘Whistle For My Love‘ it was a quirky performance that ensured the night ended leaving a hunger for more not just from Jimmy & The Revolvers but all the acts.

Sharing their spotlight, the band offered for a member of the crowd to come up for a spontaneous sing along. Cue The Change’s number one fan from earlier in the night, with a swagger like Liam Gallagher, grabbing the mic like it was his destiny. The impromptu jamming session drew laughs but really, it was actually not that bad!

For those out for the long haul on Saturday night to watch the boxing later on, their night was off to a great start with all four bands putting on knockout performances, surely meaning all the talk on Sunday morning wouldn’t be about Mayweather and McGregor.