Free Range Music at Fermain - 18/10/08

The first ever Free Range Music night took place at the Fermain Tavern on Saturday 18th October 2008 and featured a varied and undeniably different sound to most gigs taking place in Guernsey.

Organised by Jamie-Lee it was him, and his trusty acoustic guitar, who started the evening’s live music.

Taking the old instrument and doing something highly new and inventive with it is Jamie’s real strength is he plays the guitar like a guitar, piano and bongos, all at the same time.

This style of percussive guitar leads to a very impressive sound which, in the form of Jamie’s semi-improvisational instrumentals, started the evening off in a very mellow mood while maintaining a great sense of musicality and skill.

Second to take to the stage were the first of the evening’s ‘jam bands’, Parched. Mixing reggae, rock and more ambient sounds Parched played three or four extended jams, often surpassing the ten-minute mark, that veered from mellow and relaxed sounds to crashing rock.

These heavier moments were often driven by the drums, which were played in a unique manner that produced a sound at times reminiscent of the great John Bonham of Led Zeppelin.

The only real criticism that I can find of Parched is that at times they overused certain sounds, especially on the lead guitar, and seemed to have difficulty ending their jams which often had the feeling they could continue forever – but I got the impression there were things the band would lose as they grow and develop.

The night’s second ‘jam band’ were up next in the form of veteran three piece The Fuzzey Group who play a style of music ideal for losing yourself in.

Using drums, guitars, keyboards and saxophones the Fuzzey’s created sounds that ranged from apocalyptic post punk to heavily jazz infused rock and covered most things in between.

This amazing variety of sounds, and the ways in which they create, shows a level of musicianship rarely demonstrated on any stage (not just in Guernsey) and was coming from a band who seemed to gel much more than the last time I saw them play the Fermain around a year ago.

To close the night things took a more upbeat and entertaining slant as bluegrass-rockabilly-country-and-western-skiffle-rocksters The John Wesley Stone took to the stage and soon had feet tapping.

Another band who use quite a range of instruments including guitars, banjos, violins and even a homemade tea chest bass, the bands four members put on quite a show with Hillbill often standing atop the tea chest bass and “yeehaws” a-plenty ringing from the stage.

The band’s highlights tonight came in the form of their “truck driving and drugs” song ‘Caffeine, Benzedrine, Nicotine and a Little Bit of Luck’ and their closing run though of Johnny Cash’s ‘Cocaine Blues’ both of which had people up and dancing and left everyone with a smile.

Peppered Ant Legs and Swallows - 15/10/08

With the Thomas De La Rue fast becoming the premier venue for live music in St Peter Port many had gathered there, despite it being a ‘school night’, on Wednesday 15th October 2008 to see a rare appearance by ‘lady-rockers’ Swallows and some old school hard rock and pop from the Peppered Ant Legs.

Swallows kicked the evening off with their take on the indie rock style played by many super trendy bands at the moment.

Despite a slightly slow start, the band were soon flowing well and if it was true that they hadn’t had much time to rehearse for this gig it didn’t show.

What really struck about the band was the sense of fun and humour they add to a style of music that can often take itself too seriously and become somewhat po-faced. This was really shown by singer Rachel and guitarist Lisa who’s on stage interplay really provided an entertaining show.

Following their set I was left wondering how many of the songs were covers and how many were originals because, Swallows did that rare thing of managing to own every song whether they be their own or not.

It’s just a shame this band don’t make more appearances, as it is always a refreshing treat to see them play.

After Swallows came a band who have been appearing fairly regularly in recent months at various venues, the Peppered Ant Legs.

Playing covers ranging from the spaced out heavy metal of early Black Sabbath through to the upbeat pop of the Dave Clark Five they are an undeniably unique proposition, and tonight they were on entertaining form.

The band really come into their own on the rockier numbers where they come across in a much more confident light, however the pop tunes, including tonight a great version Manfred Mann’s ‘Mighty Quin’ add a real sense of fun to proceedings - even if there were a few too many extended moments retuning and changing guitars.

The Ant Legs real highlight tonight though came in the form of their closing salvo of Led Zeppelin’s ‘Communication Breakdown’ and Neil Young’s ‘Hey Hey My My (Into The Black)’, a rarely heard gem, which rocked the night well before a run through of rock classic ‘Voodoo Child’ which seemed to leave all in the pub satisfied.

Spoonful - 13/09/08

With its recent renovation the Fermain Tavern already seems back on the path to being one of Guernsey’s premier spots for live music, much like it was when it welcomed many bands, both local and visitors, in its glory days of the 1970s and 80s.

But that’s enough reminiscing, I prefer to look at what’s happening musically in Guernsey today and one thing that has struck me, and that has found a home in the confines of the Fermain, is the growth in the popularity of blues music.

With artists like Seasick Steve making a mark in the wider world Spoonful have been drawing bigger and bigger crowds over the past 6 months and this culminated in their show at Fermain on September 13.

Billed as a ‘Farewell to Joe (for now)’ the band started the night with something a bit different, a set of acoustic numbers even featuring an upright double bass – an instrument rarely seen outside of jazz nights over here these days.

While the acoustic sounds got things off on a mellow note it was when the band plugged in that the night really got rolling and, despite a few sound issues, every one in the pub was definitely enjoying the show.

The blues groove was laid down by the rhythm section of Paul Langlois and Nigel Davies whose work often seems over shadowed in press coverage of the band, but was, as always as tight as any you are likely to find.

Over this came the sounds of Andy Mason’s harmonica and Joe Corbin’s guitar which when ‘duelling’ really demonstrated a band that just seem to click.

Joe once again demonstrated his ability with the guitar, which, despite his almost violent manner of playing, really seems to find the soul of blues and seems to still be developing.

We were treated to something extra tonight as Lydia Pugh joined the band for a run through of ‘Fever’ and hinted at a new direction for them with a slightly jazzy feel to the blues.

With Joe heading away to college Spoonful’s future direction seems up in the air, but, based on tonight’s performance, it looks promising, and definitely a good shade of blue.