M2TM // Heat 3 // Northern Ireland
So, after a short break for all the lovers out there, we’re back! Heat 3 is upon us, and again the M2TM hoo-doo has struck again at Voodoo as another band has had to drop out due to illness! Cray Cray people! Eat your veggies!
So that means, for the first time in my time, anyway, a 3-band heat! #shockhorror Out of the 3 bands, we have 2 fronted by ladies: Final 13, Muted Tweed (new to me), and Arc Dakota, who I have seen before. Final 13, I missed last year as it clashed with another gig I was attending, and Muted Tweed are new to me. So this will be an interesting one, a later start also with just the 3 bands, so let’s see how this one plays out.
Up first tonight, Final 13, the crowd is thin tonight, but a brave few have ventured out for the craic, and Final 13 aren’t letting that get to them! Full of beans, they get on about their set like the consummate pros they are, now tonight they have a new drummer in place, as per Spinal Tap, they keep dropping like flies! A relatively new lineup once again has taken a hit, but it hasn’t stopped them from producing the goods as they whip their way across a varied set that has Voodoo chomping at the bit.
The energy is high, the crowd are digging it, and the set is banged out as if their lives depend on it. A good start to the evening, and with two bands to go, it all feels a little surreal with the shorter line-up.
Muted Tweed hit the stage around 9:45, and I don’t know what to expect; their FB page says Mogwai for guys who lift weights! So I am thinking instrumental goodness? Could they be the new The Boat Sank? As it turns out, they could very well be. Filthy instrumental goodness pouring out of their veins, a gnarly three-piece with so tasty riffage, melodic thick goodness all wrapped up in technicality! Me likey! They just get their heads down and lay out a savage performance, hefty riffage, glorious peaks and valleys, allowing their music to breathe as they announce their arrival on the local scene. Gnarly, well thought out and perfectly executed. The stage mob at the end, when the guitarist called everyone up for a rager, was a little unnecessary, but he may have been high on Haribo’s. Overall, I enjoyed what I saw.
Last and certainly not least, Arc Dakota. We caught these cats last year for the first time, I think, and they certainly made an impression; their frontwoman is hard to miss, tall with glorious red hair and very dynamic on stage, the songs are melodic and catchy, and if they had a little more energy from the other members of the band, it would bring it all together. They always put in a solid set, so you know they can deliver live. But when you get to the business end of the competition bands with higher energy, not just musically but in stage presence, always capture the imagination. Something for everyone in the competition to bear in mind, honing your craft is one thing, delivering it like you were born to be up there on that stage is another.
A great night was had by all; three bands took no prisoners and played their hearts out. The man himself, Mr Loveday, said it best: Congratulations to Muted Tweed and Arc Dakota on going through to the semi-finals from last night’s Metsl 2 the Masses NI Heat THREE. We’ve reached the halfway point of this year’s competition, so I’ll be announcing the line-ups for the semis as they stand over the next few days. Thanks so much to everyone who came!
Photography @ FlashArtMark
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HEAT FOUR THIS FRIDAY + LINE-UP CHANGE! 
