The Checks, ‘What You Heard’ (2007).
Well, this song here, mmmhh. This was the song that I remember from my first ever concert (ish). It was a Smokefree Rockquest round in 2003, my sixth form year, and I was a scrawny, boy-haircut-ted lass going to support a school band. I remember that when these guys walked on stage I had little expectation of them beating my band. I am fiercely competitive and I was adamant from my first impression that ‘The Checks’ just couldn’t beat them because they had a weird name and they looked even weirder. Interesting that now I can’t even recall the name of the band from my school that I went to cheer on.
Regardless, when front man Edward Knowles, this puny little blighter belted out that first huge note, I’ll admit it, I went a little ballistic. These guys were reflective of my newly discovered The Hives (ha ha, good thing that band has a ‘the’ in front of their name… potentially awkward). They were the epitome of rock, the really good stuff. No glam rock here. They were just genuinely pleasant to sit back to and allow yourself to be transported into indie coolness, in the midst of teenage hormone induced moshpit. Oh, it was a mother flippin’ good song. It wasn’t surprising they won that round.
