The Dawn Parade are a band to get lost in, encapsulating everything and more you could want from a group, it’s music to live by, music to remind you of a time when you believed anything could be possible, of drunken nights out with people you wished you’d know forever.
Comprising of Mole on guitar, Ben (coz he’s worth it) on drums, Barney on bass, Greg (leather trousers, mmm) on guitar and vocals and, for this tour, Claire on keyboards, they hail from Bury St. Edmunds, a place where not much seems to happen apart from the formation of very good bands.
The set opens with ‘Some Desperate Beat’, urgent, wild guitars contrast with Greg’s delicate vocals, ‘babe, there’s no reprieve, you’re the only one who ever believed’. It’s heartbreaking yet inspiring at the same time, you feel this is a band that want to mean something.
Both music and atmosphere are infectious. This is the first time we’d seen The Dawn Parade, 5 people turned up, the majority of whom had never heard them before but yet we danced in a crazy mad fashion throughout, Greg wandering off the stage to sit in the front row (well, the large space in front of the stage...). Current single, ‘The Hole In My Heart’ is all jangley guitars, ‘Strung Out On Nothing’ and ‘Into The Fire’ , slower, but still as great. Dawn Parade songs seem to have an epic and ambitious quality about them, traits that are pulled off with varying degrees of success. A wry humour also punctuates the lyrics, ‘my heart is just like Princess Anne, of no discernible use to anyone’. Ending on ‘Good Luck Olivia’ (complete with Atomic Kitten ‘Whole Again’ intro...), we’re left with a feeling we’ve just witnessed something very special indeed and wanting more. I just hope they can ultimately deliver.
