Incredible two-hour gig by The Strypes in Harrogate

From the moment they walked on stage and hit the opening chords of the first song Closed Doors it was clear that The Strypes were going to give an amazing show to a full concert room at the Warehouse Recording Company. With a number of their hardened fans who were in the know having secured tickets to this low key off the tour schedule gig.The Strypes had been in the Warehouse Recording Co Harrogate studios recording for a couple of days, for the BBC Radio two presenter Bob Harris own Under the Apple Tree sessions and culminated in the live concert. Four young men from Cavan in Ireland, where they are on full tour throughout March, played a blistering set that included stand out songs Get Into It from the brilliant Little Victories album with its anthemic sound and chugging guitars backed with a solid drum beat and front man Ross Farrelly's soulful harmonica. The more upbeat tinged with classic power pop song Still Gonna Drive You Home has a head nodding tempo as the now sweaty crowd dances to the rhythm.Worthy of mention also is the Beatlesesque frantic song Mystery Man, from their debut album Snapshot, fast furious and not unlike those very early Beatles songs, a pure joy to listen to. All too soon its encore time and what else but the blistering tempo of Heart of the City and the big finish with their most successful song to date Blue Collar Jane, check out the live video of the Glastonbury version on the internet. The Strypes are a band of frantic energy as they dance, twitch and jerk around the stage at breakneck speed playing their own version of blues rock with a tinge of power pop and a tightness to their playing that should be beyond their youthful teenage years. These boys are as comfortable playing to thousands at major festivals as they are here in a small venue. It's impossible not to hear early tones of The Rolling Stones, Beatles, The Who and others but not so much as to drown out their own origionality in their raw songs. The Strypes are a band who know how to command a stage and leave an audience exhausted but still wanting more even as they stagger drenched in sweat from the stage they bounced onto two hours earlier.