Review: When one of the city’s most renowned venues for local talents is almost empty, on a night when six North East bands are due to take part in a John Peel tribute night, you know something is not quite right. Mind you, the night was still young, there were six bands to go, and surely the punters would come as the night progressed. It meant that the first band, Incident: 187, had to take to the stage with the unenviable task of impressing the few people who were there, all sober, sipping on their first beers of the evening.

Incident: 187 are a heavy, powerful, three-piece band, that have some surprisingly melodic guitar solos. They opened with a ferocious version of Teenage Kicks, John Peel’s favourite record. The idea behind the evening was that each band, during their set, had to play a version of this song in their own style.

The band really came into their own on their second number, Put Your Name On It, with the introduction sounding eerily reminiscent of Iron Maiden’s The Prowler.

The three piece certainly had a big sound for a band with so few members. While Stu’s beefy guitar sound was the highlight of their set, Ems' bone-crunching bass was the perfect sparring partner, especially on the track Waste of Tears.

Vocally, it tended to get a bit flat at times, although Ems' voice certainly had the power, and the raw talent, but for a group who were first on the bill, playing to a near empty pub, this was an exceptionally competent performance, that can only get better the more often they play.

"BBC Tyne Online"

The Archer Friday 11th February; Driverdown, 3 Hours Wasted, The Restaurant, INCIDENT: 187

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