Wednesday 11/02/04 Civita, Fonda 500 @ Barfly, Liverpool

Once, in a galaxy far away, not long after the release of Muse’s 'Origin of Symmetry', I was sat in a pub watching my friend’s band. Said friend had developed the kind of idolising obsession usually reserved for Brian Molko’s underweight sexually confused eyeliner wearing fans. The point of this diversion is that my dear friend could do a fantastic cover of 'Bliss'. So fantastic in fact that short of balloons crashing down from the sky it was as good as that performed by Muse on the two occasions I’ve seen them. Only he couldn’t switch it off. Similarly Civita’s singer has heard some band or other and whilst in the week since I’ve been unable to come up with who exactly, it’s certain in my mind that when he opens his mouth to sing, it’s another voice that comes out. At times during the band’s set you begin to question if the band could travel further up it’s own arse, choosing synthesisers over drums and employing a bassist who has clearly never touched a guitar in his life it’s left instead to the lead guitarist to save the day. A pity then that none was forthcoming only a man afflicted with the musical equivalent of Tourettes syndrome. Not exactly ones to watch as ones to wish would **** off.

Take the two British bands most often quoted as being major influences currently – Radiohead and the Cure. Yes for every 'OK Computer' and 'Disintegration' there will be an 'Amnesiac' or 'Wild Mood Swings' but the good times will always make up for the bad and the band pull through. Fonda 500 have five members. One of them is sat down at a keyboard wearing a hat with bunny ears. Rather than worry me it’s quite pleasing to see - anyone who’s seen a few bands can appreciate that a man as mad as my demented mother will be at the helm of any decent band. It seems like the band is on fire during their take off and everything coming together. Whilst they may have suffered the woes of Britain’s motorways and arrived late to find they were to be support rather than headliners as billed all seems irrelevant. New album 'Spectrumatronicalogical Sounds' (with a whopping 29 tracks) is an epic, with the songs lifted from tonight demonstrating a keen sense of experimentation without straying too far from making a great pop album. It’s the Barfly on mid-week night, and with the familiar horse shoe facing the stage it’s bizarre then that a band could make me want to dance, let alone look around to realise I’m not the only one. Sadly however it is not to be, and with the frustrations of a snapped string followed by a cut finger the mood deteariates rapidly, the time is asked for after each as if to make a point and the last song is introduced abruptly with half the the band packed up before the last note is played.

Photo by Sakura Henderson