The SMILE closing party had received a large amount of press and was a major talking point of the week leading up to the event. The Behind The Smile team were there to watch events unfold and give SMILE 2012 the send off it deserves.
Skymarshal got the party off to a good start with a strong set which contained some very well constructed songs. Technical guitar riffs were supported by punchy drums and mind bending bass lines, while the singer's gravelly voice poured emotion into their songs. There was an inventive use of harmonics from the guitarist and the complicated rhythms, played to perfection, kept things interesting. On the whole, nothing particularly negative can be said about Skymarshal tonight, but they did lack some of their usual energy, and at times, the members seemed almost disinterested. This was slightly disappointing, as they are a band that are usually very impressive and give it their all.
List Of Saints took to the stage next and they got off to a shaky start, with an unnecessarily long instrumental introduction which added nothing to the first song. Thankfully, things got much better from here on out, as they delivered a set that, although not particularly tight, was refreshingly up-beat and a lot of fun. They finished the set with a short hardcore punk song that, although taking the crowd by surprise, was done with tongue firmly in cheek, showing that they are not a band that try to take themselves too seriously. List Of Saints got a lot right, and they do have moments of greatness, but there is the overall feeling that their songs need to be taken apart and refined, as they do have the potential to be consistently strong.
Third up tonight was Stagecoach. The Cellar was beginning to pack out as the stage lights lit up the five piece, who began with a quirky Jimmy Eat World style song. The band then proceeded to show off an array of well written, quirky tunes which went down well with the watching crowd. It was hard to pin a genre to Stagecoach. They were pop songs overall, but there was more to it than that, with great three part harmonies, acoustic and electric guitar parts and even a mandolin. The band played a set worthy of admiration, and definitely made a lasting impression on The Cellar.
With the closing party in full swing, Drawings brought a new dynamic to the room with a captivating opening. The front man, shouting to the crowd before approaching the mic to address the room, formed a close relationship from the offset. Intense would be a good word to describe the first few songs of Drawings set tonight, and the funny and almost awkward banter from the wonderfully eccentric front man was as much a part of their show as the music. The music itself was grungy; crunching guitar riffs blended with more mellow, cleaner sections. The vocal performance was passionate and we could almost reach out and touch every word he sang. As Drawings progressed they got better, the songs really struck a chord and there was even a mass sing-a-long at one point. It felt like we were swimming with dolphins and having a great time, except instead of dolphins, it was sharks, and we kind of enjoyed the danger.
So the time had come for Tellison to step up and headline the Smile closing party 2012. The band have recently worked very hard to build up a reputation nationwide, and tonight they had the perfect platform to prove that this is no fluke. Firstly, they have the perfect image, you could make plastic figurines and they would sell; four guys who clearly are just happy to be on stage and relishing the big crowd there to watch them. Tellison pull out a relentless onslaught of brilliantly executed, seriously catchy songs, that had the crowd singing along throughout. These are complete with thundering bass, and well thought out three-way vocal harmonies and shouts. At the end of the show stopping set, they thanked the promoters and gave SMILE a mention, as well as thanking everybody who turned out to watch, proving that not only are they amazing songwriter's, they are also genuine, down to earth people.
Tellison provided the perfect end to a great show which was filled with inspiring bands; definitely a night which deserves to be remembered for a long time to come. It’s now worth giving a mention to the legend that is Martin James, a.k.a DJ TearGas, who provided the after party carnage, spinning tunes as if it was 1985.
