Wednesday 02/04/03 Jody Wildgoose, The Cordettes, Fi Lo Radio @ Barfly, Liverpool

Despite the late start and Beckham and Co. strutting their stuff on the England stage tonight, there's still a healthy turnout for this Wednesday's convening of the Inner City Sumo institution, soon to be celebrating it's first birthday!. Whether it's signed/international acts (Pretty Girls Make Graves/Ok Go/The D4) or home grown talent (The Moonies/Flamingo 50), Sumo can always be counted on for visceral punk thrills, but in tonight's openers from Sheffield, Jody Wildgoose, they may just have unearthed a quirky pop gem.

After mumbling apologetically that the first song's "a bit of a slow one", lead singer/songwriter and guitarist Jody leads the band off on a shuffling Americana wander that starts to draw puzzled looks from a crowd whose record collections probably aren't heavy on your Gram Parsons and Flying Burrito Brothers. With curiosity certainly aroused, the set then moves up a gear, with influences as varied as Squeeze, the Kinks and Curtis Mayfield married to the lo-fi bedsit musings of Baby Bird, revealing a band clearly not afraid to confidently stick their necks out. Less self consciously clever than Athlete and with enough about them to standout from the indie crowd, you'd do well to remember the name - Jody Wild Goose.

Compared to the note perfect harmonies of tonight's openers, the Cordettes are either gonna come across as a welcome youthful riot grrl antidote to MOR leanings or shambolic punk rock outburst's best left in the rehearsal room. The truth probably lies somewhere in-between, as the band after an out of time and badly out of tune start borne of nervousness, (understandable as this is only their fourth gig!), go onto deliver an enthusiastically received set of rama-lama soul tinged punk. With a youthful energy and attitude to die for, the Cordettes feature on the impending Inner City Sumo 1st Birthday compilation released on Spank.

It's rare that a three piece produces such a ferociously loud yet beautiful racket like Preston's Fi Lo Radio. Looking unassuming as they amble on stage, it only takes an ear busting riff from Jon Lee, a rumbling bassline from the drop dead gorgeous Kim Gordon-like Jude and an opening salvo of pounding drums from Chris to make you realise that you're in the presence of music that's stunningly immediate and demanding of your attention. Like the Smashing Pumpkins and the Pixies, Fi-Lo are a band with an obvious adoration of American Alt music but with that Corgan/Black appreciation of what makes a great tune, slab upon slab of great big distorted riff's, dripping in sweat and straight from Rock n' Roll Valhalla. Currently residing at indie actionrecords who have just released their Skin Deep Demons EP, and fiercely independent out of a want to control their own destiny, let's just hope Fi Lo get the right major label deal soon so that they no longer remain the North West's best kept secret.

Photos by Sakura Henderson :: sakura@gigwise.com