All Night Bonfire For Big Cash Prizes In Stoke

• 22nd Oct 2004

The Glebe is still covered in black and yellow tape from the last time Big
Cash Prizes played there. Like the massive roadworks that dominate the A500 just round the corner, the venue looks like it's cordoned-off, like
something's being rebuilt inside. On bonfire night, Nov 5th, BCP are playing with Fifth Action Shelter and Komakino in a late night gig.

With all the bands being familiar with the venue, the excitement comes from them being on the same bill. Komakino have had a buzz around them for a while now and play constantly. They supported Hope of the States earlier in the summer and have played with the Killers. Lyrics about September 11th sit alongside 'surreal and evocative' Joy Division pop tunes.

Although they've only played in their hometown, Fifth Action Shelter have developed a reputation that extends beyond it. They're the antidote to a lot of the revisionists who are around at the moment – they sound contemporary, but have a lighter, more down to earth edge to them. Like Idlewild if they had Mike Skinner on vocals.

While Kasabian sit on their throne at the indie end of the pop charts, Big
Cash Prizes are planning a coup. Reviewers have lumbed them in with the likes of The Music and Primal Scream, but this does them a disservice by making out that they are just another indie-dance band. BCP's strength is that they have more ideas, or at least a better idea of why it is they are on stage, why they are in a band. They don't spend their friday nights on the over-publicized, over-exposed streets of Manchester and London. They're a fully-formed, multimedia band who can transform a venue into their very own space.

DJs for the night are Agent Blue, who will be recovering from a tour with
The Others.