Novacain + Stonefish + The Jocasta Project / Joseph's Well, Leeds

Since Novacain started out on 1999, we'd been able to rely on my friends from University to make up the numbers at our shows. By June 2001 I'd finished my final exams and my friends were beginning to scatter around the UK. We spent the weekend together in the Lake District to celebrate the end of our third years a few days before Novacain were due to play Joseph's Well. On returning to Leeds I was far too occupied with losing my friends and Novacain losing our audience to think too much about the show itself.

The Lakes. Looking at the caravans it would seem that I went to university in the 1970s.

We arrived at the Well reasonably early for soundcheck, which was a good thing as it took ages. Jock, the regular soundman (and guitarist in Lorimer), was on holiday so we got a guy who used to work at the Duchess. I can't remember his actual name but we WAGGISHLY called him Stick, as he had a habit of wearing ludicrously tight black jeans, which wasn't a great look as his legs were the very definition of 'matchstick thin'. As documented several times on this site, we generally had problems with the sound at the Duchess so we were rather nervous, especially as Stick initially struggled to work the desk and find the correct cables to mic up the drums. In fact he took so long to set up we had time to play four games of pool in the bar before he was ready for us.

The venue was still quite quiet when Stonefish opened the show. They were very professional (apparently they regularly played in London and around the UK) but I wasn't particularly taken by their acoustic-led pop rock. They reminded me a bit of the Dum Dums, a kind of boy band BUT WITH GUITARS who were reasonably successful at the time. Hmm... With the exception of their last song, they had little in the way of a catchy melody and their tunes seemed exceedingly formulaic. They were nice guys though and I warmed to them a bit more when we gigged together again later in the year.

Next up were the newly renamed Jocasta Project. The band had moved on significantly since we'd last played together in Halifax, when they were simply Jacasta. They'd ditched their idiotic manager and more obvious Baggy influences and were now playing groove-based psychedelic rock, with a hint of what-was-known-at-the-time-as Indie Dance. Although they later picked up 'label interest' and were touted by music magazines such as the NME, they were in a transitional period at this show and, while their songs were technically impressive, they had little in the way of memorable moments. Despite the shift in musical style, the Jocasta Project still attracted a slightly laddish audience and watching the Liam-alikes in the front row furtively searching for an anthemic Britpop chorus amongst the (slightly uninspiring) motorik beats and improvised solos was the most entertaining thing about their set.

Not a vintage month for the Well, but June did see performances from ex-Wildheart Ginger, in the guise of the Silver Ginger 5, and Red Light Stylus, featuring a pre-fame KT Tunstall.

I was chuffed that so many of the friends I'd made at university had turned up to watch us, but was also more than a little disappointed that, although we had better songs and had improved as players, in a sense Novacain hadn't really moved on since the first time they'd seen us at the Duchess back in February 1999. We were still almost exclusively playing shows in Leeds to half empty rooms, populated, such as they were, by our friends and families. Ho hum.

The Well was scorching hot thanks to a rare appearance from the sun during the day and the stage lights didn't help matters - we must have lost several stone between us during our performance. As predicted the monitor mix wasn't great and, coupled with the heat, this made for a rather shonky set. The crowd were kind though and we encored with a repeat performance of one of our newer songs, "Now You've Got It, Use It", thanks to the efforts of Chapter 13 who'd come to support us and were typically effusive.

We were fairly disappointed with the gig (Leigh even left without saying goodbye once we'd packed our gear up) but a few days later I discovered a glowing review on the Leeds Music Scene website by someone called 'Enid Marlowe'. In fact the review was so positive I initially thought it had been written by one of the band. Apparently Novacain were "the highlight of [the] evening" and "could go far if they got in the right place at the right time". Cor blimey. 'Marlowe's' only other review for LMS was of Chapter 13's acoustic performance at the Well the following night, which made me wonder if the writer was in fact a member of that band, or even Stick who had presumably covered for Jock again as soundman. Reader: I am still in the dark.

Some of my friends lived just round the corner from the Well, at Claremont Villas on Clarendon Road, so we ended up having an impromptu house party after we left the pub. Although it was nice to share a beer and reminisce about our time together over the last three years, I couldn't help but feel rather melancholy - university was over and I had no idea what I was going to do with myself over the next few months and years.

Set list (Novacain)

1. Gibbsy's Street
2. Cull
3. Heads Will Roll
4. Now You've Got It, Use It
5. Quick Release
6. One For The People
7. Echo
8. End Of The World
Encore
9. Now You've Got It, Use It