Hi there, please state your name and role in Francesqa.

Hi my name’s Tom and I play guitar in Francesqa.

By now you’ve wrapped up the final dates of your headline tour with The Dangerous Summer. How was the experience overall?

The tour was incredible, I don’t really think there were any low points or bad shows for us; we enjoyed every night. It was our first real experience of headlining a whole tour and we definitely loved it, the crowds were just mind blowing.

Almost all of the dates were sell-outs or near sell-outs. Are you surprised by how well it sold?

It was definitely surprising. We’ve only done a handful of headline shows before so we didn’t expect it to do as well as it did. It was especially strange to go over to Ireland and play to packed venues when we’ve only ever been there once before. So humbling.

How much did body and mind taken a pounding on this outing?

We’ve been lucky this time to tour in relative comfort; we’ve had hotels every night and a great crew to help us out. Even so, playing shows every night for 15 days straight takes it out of you, so we’ll definitely have a little bit of time off to recover! But not for long as we’ve got to get back in the studio and continue writing.

If you had to pick one standout show from the whole run, which would it be and why?

That’s a very difficult question because I could probably list them all for different reasons! For me it would have to be Oxford O2 Academy. For us that’s as close as it comes to a hometown show, it was sold out and the atmosphere in the room was electric. Glasgow King Tuts was great as well, if you sell it out you get a bottle of Scottish Whiskey!

What was your average daily Nandos intake on this tour?

Is it bad that I didn’t have Nandos at all?! I’m not really a fan to be honest, I don’t see the appeal. I know that The Dangerous Summer guys ate a whole lot of Nandos though! I think our guys had a little!

How were The Dangerous Summer as touring partners?

They’ve been great, we’ve been fans of their music for a long time, so watching them play every night was a treat. They’re great guys too, we’ve become good friends over the past few weeks. They definitely party a LOT harder than us, I don’t drink myself but even the others couldn’t keep up!

It seems like things have been a constant climb for you guys in the last twelve months – from being picked by Tom Delonge to open Slam Dunk Festival to being voted Best British Newcomer in both Kerrang! and Rock Sound in December. Do you feel like things are finally going your way? Was there any particular turning point over the last twelve months where you thought ‘OK, this is all starting to work out’?

It’s been a lot of hard work definitely and yes, a constant climb. For me personally I’d say this headline tour has showed me just how far things have come, you can only gauge it so far from doing supports slots, so to do a headline tour and realise that we’ve got so many fans is amazing. Obviously we’ve got a long way to go. Our attitude towards the band and our music is very forward thinking; we’re always looking ahead to the next thing – be it a new song or the next show – we want things to improve every day. It’s been an amazing journey so we hope it continues!

You’re currently working towards your debut album. How far along the writing/recording process are you with that?

We’ve written about seven or eight songs so far and we intend to spend the next few months writing and recording demos to make sure we get the best spread of songs for the album. We’re still finalising dates for the album, I think we’re going to be in the studio in late June/early July to record it.

How would you say it’s sounding in comparison to the songs on ‘We Lived’? Do you think it’ll surprise some people?

So far it’s sounding quite different, some of the elements of ‘We Lived’ are still there, but the songs sound a lot more mature to me. It’ll definitely surprise people, but we don’t want to write a predictable and mediocre first album. We’re putting in a lot of hard work to make it the best it can be, so we’ll see what happens when people hear it!

Do you have a producer lined up you? Any song titles you can share or a title for the album itself?

Yes, Pete Miles and Jordan Fish who both worked on ‘We Lived’ will be producing the album.

You’re also re-releasing ‘We Lived’ this March. What has made you decide to do that?

We wanted to give ‘We Lived’ a proper release in HMV and other stores, and also to give our fans some new songs and other content to hear and see! The DVD was an idea we had, just because fans never get a chance to access us in our natural light. Some people have preconceptions about bands and we just wanted to share how crazy the last 12 months have been for us.

There’s a DVD included with the re-release that contains a documentary entitled ‘Two Days’. What’s the story behind that?

The DVD is in two parts. The ‘Two Days’ documents our first two headline shows back in November last year; they were the first we’d ever done so it was a special occasion for us and we thought we’d capture it all on film. Also included is a documentary on the recording of our new single ‘All I Had’.

Thanks for your time. Anything you’d like to add?

Go and check out the re-release of ‘We Lived’ in an HMV near you and check out our new tour in May!

The band show good technical ability with some more complex times/rhythms than the average pop-punk band and show they’ve got some songs to be proud of. The fact the band over run by almost 10 minutes is no bad thing. The Cape Race have warmed up the crowd excellently and provide everything you’d hope from an opening local support.

THE DANGEROUS SUMMER [3/5] over time have had some decent press and have the ability to build on an excellent opening but they largely disappoint. It’s a very tired set and their recent busy schedule appears to have caught up with them. Punktastic wasn’t expecting as much energy from them as the other two bands on the bill tonight, but excluding the last two songs this is uninspiring. The vocals struggle to rise above the guitar and drums and it’s sometimes difficult to even determine what songs they’re playing. The last two songs are a vast improvement but overall, it’s very average.

Throughout the night it’s clear that this packed young crowd are only bothered about one band: FRANCESQA [3.5/5]. Punktastic therefore expects the noise levels in the Roadhouse to be deafening. Unfortunately this doesn’t materialise. The audience are actually surprisingly tame, especially given the reaction they’ve previously got in the same room.

Part of this is understandable as despite the band being as impressive tonight as they’ve been previously, vocalist Ashley Wilkie is not at his best and provides a weak and flat performance. The songs are as catchy as ever and the hits still sound good, the opener ‘All I Had’ and ‘Years’ both get good receptions, but the expectation tonight was much higher than good. The poor vocals also really hit home when they try something a bit different with ‘I Lost My Way’ and ‘Boy’ done with just acoustic guitar and glockenspiel. It just doesn’t work.

‘Ghosts’ predictably ends the set and ends it well but tonight wasn’t Francesqa at their best.

JAMIE HIND

Their debut EP ‘We Lived’ is getting a re-release in February and the boys headline their own tour that month:
FEBRUARY (Headline Shows)
11: Norwich, Arts Centre
12: High Wycombe, Bucks University
13: WOLVERHAMPTON, Slade Rooms
15: NOTTINGHAM, Rock City Basement
16: NEWCASTLE, Academy 2
17: GLASGOW, King Tuts
18: DERRY, Nerve Centre
19: BELFAST, Speakeasy
20: DUBLIN, Academy 2
22: LEEDS, Cockpit
23: MANCHESTER, Roadhouse
24: LONDON, Borderline
25: OXFORD, Academy 2
26: SOUTHAMPTON, Joiners
27: CARDIFF, Clwb Ifor Bach

Click the above image to find out how to win the following:

Pandy Cane Singles Club:

FRANCESQA – A little Closer
NICHOLAS STEVENSON – The Aeroplane Darling
IN GRATITUDE – Moving On

Albums:

DEAF HAVANA – Meet me halfway, at least
NOT ADVISED – After the fight
LOST ON CAMPUS – in pursuit of courage and heart
TELL IT TO THE MARINES – Bridges
MAYCOMB – Crystal Tiger Blues
MARKS SET GO – the best of you
CHAOS DAYS – under the weather
CHAOS DAYS / ALL OR NOTHING – split
PHARAOHS – We’ve Tried Nothing and we’re all out of ideas
SCREAMING MALDINI – and the kookaburra
PORTMAN – From Here to your eyes and ears
THE STARTOVER – survivors Guide

Vinyl:

JOHN CANDY – Conversations 12″
FRANCESQA/PERSON L – Split Single 7″

Singles:

PEGASUS BRIDGE: Ribena
MAKE LIKE MADELINE

Both Francesqa and Tiger Please have earned themselves a healthy amount of exposure over the last twelve months – their legions of fans grow with every festival they play – and tonight?s bustling Barfly is a testament to how far the two bands have come in such a short time.

By the time Tiger Please break into their elaborate and atmospheric intro, the room is sweating and swaying in unison, and with Leon spending most of the set down amongst the crowd, tonight feels as intimate and personal as the lyrics in the songs he sings. While the likes of ?Spring And All Its Offering? and the heart-wrenching set closer ?Lights And Sounds? may not be the danciest numbers for this young crowd to get their teeth into, that doesn?t stop a hundred or so jaws head southwards over this performance. Tiger Please are a stunning live act ? individually virtuosos and collectively a stadium-shaking possibility. [4.5]

To make use of the age-old adage, if Tiger Please are the glass-half-empty sort of band, Francesqa are certainly glass-half-full. Where Tiger Please will melt your heart and gently caress your eardrums into submission, Francesqa will slap you in the face with a chorus and some distortion to show you what?s what. That?s amplified a thousand-fold tonight at their first ever headline London show, and frontman Ashley Wilkie certainly proves to be a comfortable and vivacious master of ceremonies.

?Ghosts? and ?Hopeful? sound thunderous, Wilkie?s voice never faltering and the accompanying riffs packing just the necessary amount of punch to keep this crowd going in this ever-sweltering venue. By the end of it all the room has been entirely sapped of it?s energy, but all in attendance head home safe in the knowledge they?ve just witnessed two of the UK?s most promising bands play what could be career-defining sets. [4.5]

See more photos from the show by clicking here.

Local (ish) boys From The Get Go opened the show and whilst I have to give them credit for being full of energy their set wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, just your average pop punk-esqu sound. I understand that they haven’t been playing together for very long and again to their credit did bring along a fair amount of fans who were of the young female variety. Unfortunately nothing really stood out about From The Get Go for me. I’ve heard it before and didn’t particularly feel overwhelmed to pay much attention but they do get points for enthusiasm.

2/5

Hill Valley High were up next and they’re sound was a little bit more mature and at times teetered on the edge of McFly. Vocals lacked depth but overall the band played well together. Again another band who aren’t bad but aren’t really breaking any boundaries. They definitely showed skill and determination to succeed so I won’t write them off just yet!

2.5/5

PT favourites Tiger Please were third on and I was pleased to hear some music with a hint of individuality. The mix was excellent with Leon’s gruff lead vocals at the front with (unusually for the Academy) well balanced guitars and drums. Guitars were skilled and atmospheric, contrasting with slower soulful vocals and although Leon apparently had a sore throat you couldn’t tell. Band members seem glued to their own individual spots of the stage they still manage to connect visually and Tiger Please demonstrate raw talent without looking like try hards. A lot of the crowd moved away and were disinterested, and didn’t seem to ‘get it’ which is a massive shame but the band weren’t phased and clearly enjoyed playing to the few rows who had stuck around. There was playful chatting between songs and some requests were taken. Tiger Please seemed really laid back, alluding to professionalism which was reflected in the quality of their performance.

4/5

Francesqa, another favourite of us PTers just seem to keep getting better and better. This was my third time seeing them and although they don’t have a hoard of material they don’t seem to get boring. Ashley bounded around the stage like there was no tomorrow and it was clear these guys thrive on live performances. The set opened with A Little Closer and immediately there were camera phones in the air and girls going crazy, and so for some reason there was a distinct lack of men in the audience which means there are a whole load of guys somewhere missing out. If you don’t already know, songs are ridiculously addictive with catchy guitars backed by finger tapping inducing drums and emotional melodies. Ashley’s voice is distinct, with an impressive vocal range which definitely enriches the top quality performance, and I was particularly pleased that the mix didn’t swallow up the top notes which is all too common at the Academy. Francesqa sounded well balanced and I can’t fault the sound for this show. Although they only played 8 songs, each one received a warm reaction from the crowd who spent the 35ish minute set singing and dancing along and whilst the crowd wasn’t that big it’s clear that Francesqa are beginning to attract the following they deserve. New song Ghosts closed the set and was really well received, and provided a welcomed hint at what we can expect from their impending EP, due for release in July. I’ve said it before, Francesqa are definitely a band to watch, and teamed with Tiger Please this is a tour not to miss.

4/5

Libby