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   Review: Salford City Radio music night at Kings Arms
By Jon Coupe
It's a school night, so tHE zEEN is on the shandy tonight. I've come down to the Kings Arms to witness the first (hopefully of many) live music nights put on by Salford City Radio in order to promote local bands and make a few quid to keep the station afloat while they're at it. I'm a bit late which means I've missed The Sandells barring their last couple of songs- both of which I can hear perfectly from the beer garden outside. Blimey, that's loud- and sounding singularly epic. Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing Factory Star and Kill Pretty (who I've never seen before) so all is good. Factory Star are a funny ol' group. I think this is the third time I've seen them and it's been a different line-up each time. The mainstay is Martin Bramah. He's difficult to work out. It struck me while I was watching them that he's turned into a kind of Everyman for the Manchester/Salford underground music scene. He's been around the block a few times, he looks a bit pissed off with life, though he also looks like he's probably good company over a few pints whilst watching the match. But despite all this, or because of it, he remains creative and full of insight. He's kept his figure and all his hair and trades in a kind of world-weary ascerbic wit which un-nerves the spectator and also intrigues them. "This one's autobiographical" he announces before the group launch into Black Comic Book. A fine song it is, but it left me thinking: Which Martin Bramah is it about? The one who conjures up a mock-friendship with the crowd or the one who looks like he wouldn't give you the time of day? The one that we think we know because of his days with The Fall and The Blue Orchids or someone completely different? The real one? Dunno. I suspect that I ain't ever going to know. These questions give Factory Star depth. That is besides the music- which tonight is tremendous. Their latest album, Enter Castle Perilous, is given a good old airing and though they're now just a three piece- their live sound does real credit to some great songs. Arise Europa is an early highlight, showcasing the dynamism that Bramah can inject with his voice- insistent and mocking in equal measure. When Sleep Won't Come is proof that this group has variety and the courage to slow things down and change the mood. Risky, but the song is strong enough and FS pull it off with aplomb. And so to Kill Pretty. This is the latest brainchild of Ian "Moet" Moss, formerly of The Hamsters and Sicknurse. If it's sheer unadulterated entertainment you're after then go and see 'em. They peddle a kind of rockabilly punk new wave thing that bounces along brilliantly in its accompaniment of Moss's irreverent and comic stage presence and music hall-style delivery. The Year of Thirteen Moons was a standout. I didn't catch all the titles and they didn't have a setlist for me to steal so I'm still unfamiliar with most of the songs. I'll just have to go and see 'em again. Ho hum. Photo: Kill Pretty. With thanks to Jon Coupe, republished with kind permission of the The Zeen
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