Stage presence and absence

It's worth going to Manchester for the breakfast in the Britannia hotel. I was there last week to stuff my face and also to watch McQueen on the opening night of their UK tour. Manchester Roadhouse is exactly the kind of back-street basement for sleazy rock although I was a little concerned that Hayley's drum-kit appeared to be set up in an under-stairs cupboard at the back of the neighbouring martial arts shop. A greater concern was the unexpected absence of bassist Gina Collins, who had become very popular with McQueen crowds since joining at the turn of the year. Funnily enough the first time I saw Gina play I was concerned about the unexpected absence of the previous bassist, Sophie Taylor! These things seem to happen without a lot of attention being drawn to them.

Before the gig the band sounded very upbeat about the situation, had plenty of nice things to say about Gina and were confidently looking forward to playing after a lot of short-notice rehearsal time with bass player Kat Bax. Their confidence was well-founded and they kicked arse. Kat had a virtually mistake-free debut and showed she is a very competent player, but was, unsurprisingly, a bit static onstage. She was introduced near the end of the gig, to a lot of favourable noise. The other Cat seemed to have benefited from all the rehearsing and was particularly on her game. All her licks were extremely precise and biting, belying her naturally loose guitar style.

From the shoe-cupboard, Hayley thundered like a meticulously planned air-strike and her shout of "Come on Manchester!" was greeted with some of the loudest cheers of the night. The blonde banshee called Leah prowled as majestically as ever, some measured fist-pumping here and just enough head-banging there to let you know that she is wild but always in control. Stage presence. Shit-loads of it.

When I arrived I was worried about the possible negative effects of the latest line-up change on the band's momentum, but I was probably not giving them enough credit for their determination. There's been a lot of graft put into this band, and it doesn't look like stopping. Two nights later I saw them do it all again in Newcastle with a better sound and a bigger crowd, a great night, but they give it what for every night.