 Very professional The Natalies at The Kings Head, Prestwood on Sat 26th Jul 08 | |
  I went to see the Natalies last night at the Kings Head in Prestwood. In fact it was a sort of training mission for me as I've just joined a band myself and I wanted to pick up the little things that you probably take for granted when you are in an established band (like stage presence and that sort of thing). Well I couldn't have picked a more professional sounding band to start my mission!
From the very start their sound was well balanced and was not overpoweringly loud (mental note - I need to work more on balance). They were also really tight - they obviously practice together a lot. But the one thing I REALLY liked was their ability to start with one song, and go into another song, and then back to the first song, in one hit. They did this on a couple of occasions but my favourite was My Favourite Game/Can't Stand Losing You. It was bloody brilliant.
Their set was well thought out, and almost all of the songs were well known. I think I sang along to all but one. They had some real belters! In particular I loved Rock The Kasbah, Town Called Malice, Reptilia, No Tomorrow, Planet Earth, She Bangs The Drums, Somebody Told Me and Whisky In The Jar. The music really blended well and the band did a blinding job of all of them.
But the star of the show for me was the lead guitarist. My god, can that bloke play! Having said that, the whole band did a brilliant job, especially as there was hardly anyone in the pub. I know it can be really hard when you're playing a set and you don't seem to be getting too much feedback from the audience (in this case most of the audience were outside because it was a warm night). That's partly why I wanted to write a review, because us musicians like to have feedback of whether we did good or not. The Natalies certainly did good!
I will definitely go and see them again if they are in this neck of the woods! | |
| Nikki, Sun 27th Jul 08 | |
 Reply from The Natalies: Wow! Thanks Nikki! The one disadvantage of having such good weather is empty pub syndrome so thanks again for letting us know we were appreciated!
Much love,
The Natalies | |
 Another Friday night... The Dealers at Bucks Head, Little Wymondley on Fri 25th Jul 08 | |
 ...In Little Wymondley; another astonishing duo. The Dealers have swung hearts in the area a few times before but have an always-growing repertoire of original songs and sounds, and even if they didn't you would still want to see Bessie swirling and stamping on her stack boots and hear Pierre drumming on his guitar again. Their songs have flamenco passion, C&W shine, music-hall sensibility, Alpine and Appalachian shadings. They opened with the very approachable Five-Minute Star, about a toper and a toker in a pub near you, and then moved straight into emotion-land, where they have a delightful ability to write lines to express some of the small joys and sadnesses you experience but shrug off without further consideration. ("Why did you choose me so early?").
They didn't do a folksy evening, though. Bessie can really holler, and they sang fully-leaded versions of Lover Lover Lover (Leonard Cohen), Chocolate Jesus (Tom Waites) and one by John Prine that's really catchy and you didn't realise it was him but I've forgotten the title. "A Part of You" is a veeeery interesting song about Jack the Ripper - well it would be really, wouldn't it? You do get to smile too with the Dealers.
They are going out soon as a 6-piece, and releasing their third album, both of which want looking out for, as they are a national-standard treasure. | |
| Jules, Sat 26th Jul 08 | |
| Not a real duo The Sharks at Bucks Head, Little Wymondley on Fri 18th Jul 08 | |
Go to Little Wymondley! Real local pubs! Just off A1M junction 8, an easy summer evening's drive, the Bucks Head and Plume of Feathers put on live music on Fridays and Saturdays and feature some of the area's favourite interesting performers.
The Sharks are well-named, not for any noticeable sharklike qualities (they are actually more Ghostbusters-like) but because it's a name to tempt a rock fan out to a gig. And you should. It's a surprise to see a duo setting up, with only ONE guitar, and a keyboard and small desk and oh jeepers no a backing-track machine, but you stay because you've still got half a pint and then they launch into acid punk versions of many favourite songs: Pump It Up, Daydream Believer, Revolution; Beatles, Stones, Quo, Free, Lizzie; Arctic Monkeys, Kaiser Chiefs, Oasis. Leon's nearly-metronomic arm flicks out the guitar parts with an acid fuzz edge, Rick gives the lyrics an urban front-room sound, and with the other two non-present members (Rick and Leon recorded on bass and drums) they audaciously transmute all these hits into Sharks songs. They delivered really stunning versions of Wonderwall and Jumpin Jack Flash, with complete insouciance - songs which are normally played reverently soundalike perfect, or avoided as too trademarked.
Concentrated value, then - four in the space of two, complete with style, history and signature sound. They deserve to be back. | |
| Jules, Sat 26th Jul 08 | |
| Unbelievable! Max at First & Last, Exmouth on Sun 13th Jul 08 | |
  Sunday afternoon saw the First & Last in Exmouth pay homage to the phenomena that are MAX. Did the guys and gal falter in the quest for Southwest domination? Did they ***! It's been many a year since I've witnessed scenes like Sundays. The gig started lively and ended in what could be described as a frenzied atmosphere. It would have been darn right dangerous for the guys to end the set when they had planned; the punters just wouldn't let them go and they ended up playing a full twenty minutes longer than expected. The guys finished with the rockiest version of unbelievable I've ever heard, quite fitting unbelievable band, and unbelievable audience. It's no surprise that I read in the music press Max has once again been chosen to headline the Teignmouth music festival... The whole thing is wrong you shouldn't be able to see a show like this in a pub in Exmouth on a Sunday afternoon ... For Free! ... Unbelievable! | |
| Roger Allnight, Mon 14th Jul 08 | |
| Reply from Max: Hi Roger (just love the Username )
Thanks for the praise, it was an outstanding afternoon.
We'll certainly look forward to playing at the F&L again.
What a great pub... cheap beer and a fantastic audience too :)
If you are coming to the Teignmouth festival, dont forget to come over to the stage and say hi.
Cheers
Max | |
| Kane you feel the force? House of Kane at The Longbrooke, Exeter on Sat 12th Jul 08 | |
 Stroll around Exeter's dwindling gig-scene on a Friday or Saturday night and you might end up convinced that the place is fast becoming a true toilet of average hack-bands trolling out grim reprises of songs that, perhaps, were really never that good in the first place. And it's true to an extent, but there are a few diamonds amongst the swirling detritus. House of Kane are one of those gems, perhaps even better for the fact that, given the standard of their local contemporaries, they surely already know that they are the last great rock act in the area.
Part of the band's attraction, and the reason that they regularly pack out venues, is their swathe of excellent original material - a breath of fresh air in a world rank with musty old cover versions. Of course, they carry a raft of covers too, but these are cherry-picked and performed with a quite exhausting gusto. Saturday at the Longbrook (previously the Valiant Soldier) was no exception.
To begin, they ripped effortlessly through the hammer-paced original 'Thousand Miles' and the edgy Therapy number 'Screamager'. Those neutrals in the pub who might have dreaded them, perhaps looking forward to a quieter drink, soon appeared converted - feet were tapping all over the place, the band shifting pace through the gentler, affecting original 'Hideaway' to the classic stomp of AC/DC's 'Touch too much'.
The Priest-a-like 'Travesty' followed; then another original - the relentless, driving 'Keep me running', fast becoming a crowd favourite. At this point I spotted some freestyle synchronised moshing across the pub... From what appeared to be the landlord! Pretty unusual that...
Their heavily personalised version of 'Hush' followed, then the thunderous 'Smokescreen', led by the excellent Mark Sanders on bass. A real surprise for the locals was the seriously grunged-up version of the Fab4's 'Eleanor Rigby' - Sean Fitzgerald on lead guitar has obviously been listening pretty closely to the strings on that one! Classics 'She sells Sanctuary', the ever-popular 'I believe in a thing called love', and a blistering 'Radar Love' closed the first set with a bang.
15 minutes (and a couple of swift pints) later, they kicked off again with the brand new 'Speak in Tongues', an absolutely cracking, tribal rumble redolent of Lateralus-era Tool. 'Tunnel of Love' led into the stylish version of 'Dancing in the Moonlight', at which point the dancing started... And didn't stop until the last encore.
The lengthy, brooding original 'Undertow', a super-fast thrash through the classic 'Don't Believe a Word', and an on-the-button strut through 'Doctor Doctor' followed, and they didn't let up, careering on through 'Lil Devil' and 'Breaking the Law', the latter closed with a quite phenomenal solo from drummer Paul Hayman.
Anyone who saw Crazy Nation (a band that spawned two of the HOK foursome) a few years back would remember the next one - singer/guitarist Conrad Pizey's euphoric original 'Fade'. One of those songs that could easily be mistaken for a classic cover.
Next, the breakneck Zep section, careering through an incredibly tight 'Black Dog' towards the timeless 'Rock'n'Roll'. I think I drank an entire pint during these two, without even noticing...
Three corkers to finish, beginning with 'Whole Lotta Rosie' (an apt ode to a few women I noticed in there!) - 'Whiskey in the Jar' encouraged even a local great-grandpa to shake it up on the dancefloor, and the gritty 'Hell ain't a bad place to be' sealed an absolutely excellent gig.
It was pretty late by now, but the two encores - the energetic 'Rosalie' and a storming 'White Wedding' rounded off the night perfectly - they could even have stepped up for a couple more!
Don't suppose the Longbrook often sees acts like this - the locals were all beaming as much as the band entourage.
There may be at least SOME hope for Exeter's flagging gig scene after all... | |
| Todd Bulky, Mon 14th Jul 08 | |
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