Live Music Review: Utopian Attempt at The Railway

The following review is a candid recounting of my exploits at The Railway last Saturday, 7th August. I enjoyed a night of live music headlined by Stepford Wives, who were supported by my friends band, Utopian Attempt. It was the latter’s debut gig…

I arrived at The Railway bang-on 8, about fifteen minutes before the band were on. I swiftly acquired two drinks from the packed bar with shameless guile, then squeezed my way through to the pool table, around which my chums were tightly gathered. ‘Yo’ must have been said at least fifty times as I proceeded to greet them all, along with lesser friends, acquaintances, and a group of girls I’d never met before in my life. I stumbled into Jack – lead guitarist and singer – who was looking calm and collected, as if it was the 100th gig his band had played rather than the first. Dignitaries over, I asked him how he was feeling. “Good,” he said, “I just want to get up there and do it.” Before I could reply, he was whisked away upstairs, and in the intervening five minutes I was thoroughly battered at pool by a much more inebriated opponent.

By the time I got upstairs with two more pints, things were reaching fever pitch. Jack was up on stage and a sizeable standing crowd of young guns had gathered on the dancefloor, ready for a fuse to be lit. Errant shrieks of joy cut across the general clamour and the air was heavy with fruit flavoured vape smoke wafting in from a side door. Once the room was packed to the literal rafters, the lights dimmed and the amp hum rose in pitch and crackle. Jack stepped up to the mic and the crowd roared encouragement.

I’ll take this opportunity to introduce the band: Lead guitar and vocals: Jack Earnshaw; Drums and backing vocals: Santino Petrillo; Bass: Joe Atkin. Together, they are Utopian Attempt.

Close friends Jack and Santino formed the band in secondary school, finding their shared views on music and life translated into tunes. An eclectic love for bands such as Beastie Boys, Joy Division, Nirvana, The Jam, The Melvins, King Gizz and The Stone Roses amongst others drove their creative energy. Kurt Cobain is noted as a key figure – a talisman for them all. They rehearsed religiously every week, building their sound in back bedrooms until a year ago when Joe was invited to join the band, completing the outfit nicely. From there, they took things to the next level.

Their first tune was a roaring original instrumental, setting the sizeable crowd bouncing with ecstatic guitar thrashes, pounding bass and rapid drumming from the brilliant Santino. They followed with a cover: Pub Feed by the Chats, smashing their own northern twang into the fast-paced shed-rock banger. Another original followed – ‘dddddddddder’ – then a powerful cover of Dive by their heroes Nirvana. The crowd swelled and crashed into one another like atoms, I was drawn into the violent throng, flailing around like I was eighteen again. The grunge influence was strong in the raspy singing and stomach-pit rhythm, but there were punk and metal notes in the melting pot too, as well as hints of Doom and soft rock. In the middle of the set, Santino fell into a mind-blowing drum solo that I think was improvised but, either way, the mosh pit slowed for a moment to appreciate pure musicianship. After that, they played their prevailing solo tune – Brain Page – with Jack hitting every note, and eventually closed with a triumphant fast-paced cover of I Wanna Be Your Dog by The Stooges, which inevitably triggered a furious climax to the crowds rioting.

The whole thing was over in around half an hour, and as far as first gig’s go, I thought the lads smashed it. Jack said after the performance: “It was great to finally play our first gig after three years, and a privilege to support Stepford Wives – thankyou to them for the opportunity. We couldn’t be happier with how things turned out. Everyone who turned up was amazing and we look forward to future gigs and getting back on stage to share our sound.”

Live music lovers – keep your eye out for Utopian Attempt. The ball is now well and truly rolling. And a big shout out to The Railway, Greenfield, who were brilliant, attentive hosts despite the large number of customers. The sound system was immense.

Follow Utopain Attempts Instagram for their latest updates: utopian_attempt

Patrick Bell

Author: Patrick Bell

Drawing stories from the people, communities, history, and wildlife of our local area. Weaving all into a landscape we know and love as home.