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Respond, 28th October at The Met Lounge, Peterborough UK
Being a local promotor I like to go out and see a lot of the local talent no matter where they play. I'd heard of a band called Respond while searching through local profiles to spread the news about a gig I'm putting on in December and thought I'd give them a listen. I instantly fell in love with the song Million Little Pieces and saw they were playing at a pub I'd been to a good few years ago. This did scare me a little as pub bands tend to be old men covering bad 80s songs but after exchanging a few messages, finding out they were playing mainly original music and knowing the band were still young I went along. As I walked in I spotted the lead singer Hayley in the corner surrounded in people with her bands t-shirt on but as time got closer to their set you could barely move, the place was absolutely cram packed...how had I not heard of this band before?
I managed to catch Hayley before the set and was greeted with the smile of an angel. Just by looking at her I could tell this girl had star talent and as time went on I was getting more and more excited about their performance. Suddenly a familiar face walked through the door. I wasn't sure if it was just the best look-a-like I'd ever seen but when I asked what his name was he said what I thought...Peter Stringfellow. He was wearing a respond t-shirt and still now a good hour after getting home I'm not too sure...but anyway!
Respond's friends Vida were on before them and even though the guys were talented I wasn't as impressed as perhaps I could've been. Finally the time came for Respond, the crowd went absolutely wild! Due to performing in a pub the crowd did want to hear a few covers but thankfully most of the set was original songs. I wasn't expecting much of a performance but I ended up getting a lot more than I bargined for! The guitarist (Shaun) who Hayley had introduced me to before the show was completely insane, I've never seen anyone play guitar quite like him. With a child in the front row I was a little scared he was going to knock the poor kid out with his guitar head but he proved to have full control over what he was doing...(lets just say Shaun could win a limbo contest eyes shut and playing a Gibson guitar!) Now Hayley, my god if I wasn't a lesbian already I would be after this show, she puts the sex in to sexuality, even I was turned on by her performance. I really don't think she meant it but she performs with so much passion I think every guy in the room needed a bit of relief when they got home. A great voice, an amazing stage presence which owned the night and overall a fantastic performance. Even after seeing a very well known band the night before the crowd at this gig loved every minute of it. I don't think I've seen so much energy in one room since...well...ever! They knew all the words and as the last song rolled in they still weren't finished. The lights came back on but the crowd wanted more "Guns 'n' Roses, Guns 'n' Roses" they chanted. True to their fans Hayley called for the lights to go back down and Shaun started the song with an excellent performance of Sweet Child Of Mine on guitar.
In all I was totally taken by the band and very confused as to why I hadn't heard of them sooner! 17th November they're representing Cambridgeshire on Children In Need and on the 19th November they're playing under the Guildhall (or as locals know it, town square in Peterborough City Centre outside MacDonalds). Do NOT miss your chance to see them because with a little bit of a push these guys could seriously be BIG! Ask me to summarise Respond's performance and the answer would be "there's no way I can." I just hope that the next gig I arrange is less thrash metal and more punk so that I can book them, I need another night like tonight and only they can provide it! I will be coming back to Peterborough on November 19th and so should you. 12-2pm a free gig while you're out shopping, what have you got to lose...an awful lot if you don't see them!
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