Swift Manouver, Captain Accident and the Disasters, Waiting For Kate @ The Frog And Fiddle - 20th Feb 2010

If you wer'nt at The Frog and Fiddle bar on saturday night, allow me to fill in the blanks: Party started, people danced, everyone smiled!
The line up on the evening of the 20th of Feburary couldn't have been more better suited for the collective mood in the room. From the 9 o'clock start, the atmosphere in the room was electric; partly from the buzz of that saturday night feeling, but also from the excitment of experiencing the up-tempo assortment to come.
The first band to let off the happiness were Cheltenham based Swift Manouver, setting the course for a ska filled evening with their reggae - indie blend. Already holding a strong repertoire, the band then whipped out a superb cover of Johnny Be Goode at their midpoint, which led to a mass jaw dropping around the entire bar. Thanks to this unexpected gem, and the rest of their energetic set, Swift Manouver had performed a successful u turn and changed an empty room into a buzzing crowd.
Some time later, Captain Accident and the Disasters took the stage with their own soul drenched take on reggae. As was pointed out early on, the band had been involved in a minor car accident prior to the event that evening, which not only gave weight to the bands title, but also heavily underlined their intensely powerful performance. Despite this, the crowds buzz did not deminish and party ragged on.
Waiting For Kate, formally Skant, had the important job of closing the night, and maintaining the energy enough to send the large audience into the dazzling saturday night. They definatley achieved this! The bands new direction fuses their ska laden trademark with a fresh new indie sensibility, giving way to deeper and more emotive sound, which had the room bouncing throughout.
As the night ceased, as the lantern filled sky grew dark, and the heavily demanded encores finished, the crowd were literaly asked to leave, some savouring every once of euphoria still left from the highly charged lineup. The Cheltenham Underground had done it again, creating the perfect party atmosphere in the heart of the town! All thats left now is the bittersweet hangover,oh joy!..................