You’re never going to believe this, but I went to see The Deportees at the weekend at what was their first “Headline” gig. I’d been looking forward to this, not just for the main act, but also because of the interesting supports, JJ Bull & The Dinosaurs and Three Knots.

Unfortunately I missed most of JJ’s set due to a late-ish arrival back in the ‘Deen from playing football in Lossiemouth, but the song-and-a-half I did catch was very slick.
JJ is joined on stage by Patty Shearer and Joe Nolan from Right Hand Left and Carson Wells drummer Iain Dallas, it all sounds very slick despite Dallas later telling me they’d only practiced for the second time the night before. Hard to believe.

The tunes I heard were “Duck Soup” and “Tokyo”, and they impressed enough that I’ll be making sure to check out JJ’s solo album “Ou Sont Les Elephants”, which is on Spotify, handily.

As JJ & The Dinosaurs vacate the stage, I note that the music between bands is Allo Darlin’s debut album. Nice choice.

I didn’t know what to expect from the evening’s second band, Three Knots. The Stonehaven five-piece have clearly brought a young crowd with them, as the dancefloor fills steadily just before they come on.

And once they start playing, I can see why. Driven by a pounding bass, stabbing synths and angular guitar, it quickly becomes evident just how danceable their songs are. I can hear hints of Kasabian, Bloc Party, Franz Ferdinand, Vampire Weekend and Crystal Castles kicking about in there (and having just checked their influences on Myspace, I’m doing not too badly!)

Although they’re a young band, they’ve clearly worked hard at what they want to do and it’s paid off big-time if the comments people were making afterwards were anything to go by. They’ve jumped right into my top five North East bands.

So, onto The Deportees. My love for the Deportees folk/country/rock stylings has been documented on here before, and judging by the number of places the previous review I did shows up, I’m not being allowed to forget it.

So here we are again, and the first thing that strikes me is that big orange Gretsch Adam’s got. I don’t know why it’s suddenly grabbed my attention (is it new?), but it’s a beauty of a thing and, quite sadly, adds to my enjoyment. Guitars excite me a wee bit too much, I think.

They kick off with “First Breath of The Day”, which is just as catchy as ever. The harmonies draw in the newcomer immediately and I must admit that when the song was rested for The Deportees’ previous gig, supporting Right Hand Left, it was a big miss from the set.

Having grabbed the crowd’s attention, they launch into new song Alibis, which provides the first opportunity for drummer Christy to go absolutely ape. Once he gets in the groove, you don’t want him to stop, pounding the skins like Keith Moon in his pomp.

Somewhat fittingly on Armed Forces Day, the band then ease into their cover of Woody Guthrie’s “When The Roses Bloom Again”, recounting the tale of a soldier’s promise to his sweetheart on departure for war. Adam brings his harmonica into play, adding to the haunting nature of the track which has been covered, among others, by Wilco and Laura Cantrell.

“Tongue Can’t Tell” follows as The Deportees slow the tempo, before guitarist Ricky moves to lap steel for North, another recent addition to the band’s canon.
The “evil in beautiful faces” refrain still lingers in the mind as Christy and keys player Diarmid kick up a storm, leading the band straight into “Bastard”. I might have mentioned this last time, but if you want a track to dance to, this is very much THE one.

That said “The Birth of Industry” is probably the band’s best track and it’s very close behind in the dancing stakes. The driving beat sucks you in just as easily as the harmonies of “First Breath Of The Day” and sadly it’s over almost too soon.

Rounding out the set nicely is “All Night”, which sounds all the better for the addition of Ricky’s lap steel.

It goes without saying that I enjoyed the Deportees set, but big kudos to Three Knots in particular for their tight sound. Muchly impressed.

Links for your audio pleasure:
JJ Bull & The Dinosaurs: http://www.myspace.com/jjbull
Three Knots: http://www.myspace.com/threeknotsstonehaven
The Deportees: http://www.myspace.com/deporteesuk