Underground Heroes / Sergeant

Dundee is on fire right now and it's not all from The View! For a start there are loads of up and coming hometown bands like The Law, Luva Anna, and The Get Downs. Then there is the focus of tonight; incomers who are part of the Dundee scene. On a third level, after being neglected for years, or is that decades, suddenly the bigger names are coming to town as well. Little Man Tate and The Arctic Monkeys in the next month is evidence of this. The music scene in this town is really taking off.....



You might not have heard Sergeant but let me take a gamble and say 'you will have by the end of 2007'. After small beginnings from a wee village in Fife this band have been gradually gathering momentum for some time now. I first saw them supporting 'The View' in a small pub in Glenrothes in June 2006 just before the View really exploded after T in the Park. At that first listen there was no doubt they had talent and stage presence. They have been gigging away ever since and things are moving in the right direction. The fans started to gather and the following got bigger and bigger. Last few times I've seen them in Dundee there has been hundred of fans, screaming and singing along at the top of their voices.

They were tipped by XFM's Jim Gellatly at the start of the year as one of his predictions to break through in 2007. Following a showcase and an EP launch in the last month music labels from down south are starting to circle closer and closer. I would think that they will be signed soon and start their ascendancy to a National stage. Just recently they have been taken under the wing of the same management team as the Fratellis. With all this, time to take another look me thinks.



By the time Rory (drums) Bill (bass) Scott (lead guitar) and Mercer (vocals) hit the stage the Westport in Dundee is jumping with the sort of atmosphere you would expect to find with a big name in town playing a small venue. We're 'Sergeant' shouts Mercer as if anyone in the audience does not know that. Kieran Webster from The View listed them recently in NME as part of the Dundee scene even though "they're not from Dundee but from Fife". That said, Dundee is their second home for sure.

The set open up with 'Sunshine' which really gets the crowd going. They keep building the set with Mercer pumping out the lyrics to 'Tonight' in which a large part of the audience know the words and join in. Not bad for an unsigned band. Other highlights in the set include 'Counting down the days' and 'The time is now' which keeps the crowd singing and screaming.


The set ends with one of their best 'It all comes back to me.' Again the tempo stays high. I get the impression that they could play on for hours and this crowd would love it all. These guys need to keep working at it. They have a real chance of making the transition into the big time. They've got the personalities, the stage presence and most importantly they've got the songs. Hopefully with hard work they will make the move. Look out for them in a town near you later in the year...........

Talking of second homes and Dundee, it's a long way down to Kent from Dundee but the Underground Heroes keep making the trip up North. They explode onto stage with 'Tracksuit Bottoms'. The crowd go wild but not as wild as George and Aaron on guitar. Running around stage, jumping, yelling pure wild intro to the Heroes live show. To quote their myspace "Playing gritty, grimey punk in dirty venues singing about their chavvy mates and nights out, Underground Heroes are not too dissimilar from their own Heroes and Influences, such as The Clash, The Jam and The Specials." From that opening number I can't disagree.


It's been some past year for the Underground Heroes. Highs have included playing to a sell out crowd with the View at London Astoria supporting Get Cape Wear Cape Fly, The Cribs and very recently supporting Little Man Tate on a full UK tour. Not knackered from that, they have now embarked on their own UK tour which runs the length and breadth of the country.

Tonight Glasgow, where apparently Mr Jim Gellatly will be checking them out, then down to Exeter in Devon for the weekend. The set continues with the aptly named 'Bang'. That's certainly what Jo is doing to his drum set. You can't hit them any harder. Then the highlight. Sorry, for Dundee it's always the highlight. The screaming classic 'Lost in Dundee' tells the tale of the first visit to the City of Discovery (and the View and a whole lot more great breaking bands). To say the crowd love it is an understatement. It's a song written for them. Even the Wasted little DJ's get a mention in the lyrics.



'Alright Darlin,' 'Brixton Stories' and 'Chasin a buzz' continue at the same pace, until it's time for a Stella. Naming a song after a brand of top lager should be enough to get them a sponsorship deal with the lager company but tonight it gets lead vocalist Aaron Dollimore a swig from a fans can. Top man.

After the ten second lager break the gig continues at pace ending with a cameo appearance from Peter Reilly (lead guitar with the View). Pete blasts on stage to join in with 'Punk Special' to send everyone home on a high.


Catch the Underground Heroes on the rest of their UK tour in March or supporting the View on some of their English dates in April. Let's hope they return to get lost in Dundee some time soon.

FUTURE GIGS

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