With everyone involved in local music always seemingly going on about the lack of venues on the island, it is always nice to see another place open its doors to live music.
One place that has in recent weeks is Barbados, normally more of a regular nightclub venue they have reserved Sunday nights in October and November for ‘Guernsey Rocks’ nights of live music.
First on stage on the October 19th 2008 event was solo singer/songwriter Lydia Pugh who provided a great mix of covers and originals to a mixed audience, some of whom didn’t even to seem to realise the music was coming live from the stage!
Despite the slightly odd crowd and being roped off like some kind of museum exhibit Lydia played some fantastic songs, with her own compositions and her version of Incubus’ ‘Wish You Were Here’ really standing out.
The only real criticisms of I can find of Lydia are that tonight she was maybe too mellow for such a late slot on a Sunday and that her performance, while technically proficient, can sometimes lack a little soul.
Tonight’s second band were making their live debut tonight and About An Hour really showed signs of good things to come.
Kicking off with their version of ‘Maniac’ they played a selection of fantastic dance along pop-rock, with a hint of punk that sounded like the perfect marriage of the members previous bands Third Time Lucky and It Still Stands.
With a really fun style and presence on stage, thanks in part to ever-charismatic front man Danny Phoenix, About An Hour even managed to get a few people dancing and really seemed to ‘click’ together on stage.
Getting rid of the rope between them and the audience definitely worked to the bands advantage and despite the slightly odd vibe in Barbados the band played like they’d been playing together for a long time and were used to this venue too.
With a debut EP already recorded and due for release soon and more gigs in Jersey and over here in the pipeline it seems About An Hour could be heading for great things.
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Saturday, 25 October 2008
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.
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.
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.
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.
Wednesday, 8 October 2008
Discharge Punk Night - 04/10/08
A few years ago the place to be if you were a fan of heavy, punky and generally alternative music in Guernsey was the Hockey Club where a group known as Discharge would put on the sort of nights to get bodies moshing and heads banging.
Well since the demise of that location as a regular venue Discharge have had to make do with their place within the Vale Earth Fair and their annual 3 day festival at Pleinmont alongside the Green Man MCC Chaos Weekend.
On Saturday 4 October 2008 however, this changed as Discharge held the first of (hopefully) many monthly nights at the Fermain Tavern – this month focussing on punk rock.
With the lights dimmed and a smoke machine working overtime the Tavern had the feeling I remember from my early gig going days there when it was one of the darkest and dankest venues on the island.
This was the perfect atmosphere for a Discharge show and things got off to a ferocious start with the twisted punk assault of The Ejaculations.
Mixing original material with distorted cover versions of pop hits and straight up hardcore covers The Ejaculations proved themselves an at once entertaining yet still extremely punk proposition.
Never ones to be restricted by what others perceive of them they paid there own unique tribute to Elton John with their take on ‘Crocodile Rock’ and Los Lobos with a track clearly influenced by ‘La Bamba’!
This though was just the sideshow as when they put their minds to it they did what all great punk acts do, divide opinion and play some great uncompromising music. With Andy as focal centre and undeniably entertaining front man, this left James Burton and Dan Garnham to provide the driving rhythm of the band.
Being down a member tonight didn’t seem to have dimmed their impact, if anything they seemed more focussed than ever and as they left the stage following their version of Misfits classic ‘Where Eagles Dare’ many seemed to have enjoyed their set, despite the constant heckling throughout.
Unfortunately following The Ejaculations it seemed the already small crowd shrank even further giving pop-punkers 2 Minutes 2 Late a major challenge, but they carried on regardless and despite a clearly ill guitar player played a great and fun set.
As ever Pikey and co didn’t really do anything that could be considered mould breaking, but that has never been their point as they combine classic pop punk covers from the likes of Jimmy Eat World. Blink-182 and Bowling For Soup with originals in a similar vein to provide great slices of nostalgia for people like me and great accessible dance-y sounds for the younger crowd members - just tonight there was no one to dance.
The thing that stood out for me about their show tonight was how their originals fitted in with the covers and all had a familiar sing along vibe to them which is always impressive.
Tonight was definitely a good start for the newly rejuvenated Discharge nights, I just hope that future shows have a higher attendance.
Well since the demise of that location as a regular venue Discharge have had to make do with their place within the Vale Earth Fair and their annual 3 day festival at Pleinmont alongside the Green Man MCC Chaos Weekend.
On Saturday 4 October 2008 however, this changed as Discharge held the first of (hopefully) many monthly nights at the Fermain Tavern – this month focussing on punk rock.
With the lights dimmed and a smoke machine working overtime the Tavern had the feeling I remember from my early gig going days there when it was one of the darkest and dankest venues on the island.
This was the perfect atmosphere for a Discharge show and things got off to a ferocious start with the twisted punk assault of The Ejaculations.
Mixing original material with distorted cover versions of pop hits and straight up hardcore covers The Ejaculations proved themselves an at once entertaining yet still extremely punk proposition.
Never ones to be restricted by what others perceive of them they paid there own unique tribute to Elton John with their take on ‘Crocodile Rock’ and Los Lobos with a track clearly influenced by ‘La Bamba’!
This though was just the sideshow as when they put their minds to it they did what all great punk acts do, divide opinion and play some great uncompromising music. With Andy as focal centre and undeniably entertaining front man, this left James Burton and Dan Garnham to provide the driving rhythm of the band.
Being down a member tonight didn’t seem to have dimmed their impact, if anything they seemed more focussed than ever and as they left the stage following their version of Misfits classic ‘Where Eagles Dare’ many seemed to have enjoyed their set, despite the constant heckling throughout.
Unfortunately following The Ejaculations it seemed the already small crowd shrank even further giving pop-punkers 2 Minutes 2 Late a major challenge, but they carried on regardless and despite a clearly ill guitar player played a great and fun set.
As ever Pikey and co didn’t really do anything that could be considered mould breaking, but that has never been their point as they combine classic pop punk covers from the likes of Jimmy Eat World. Blink-182 and Bowling For Soup with originals in a similar vein to provide great slices of nostalgia for people like me and great accessible dance-y sounds for the younger crowd members - just tonight there was no one to dance.
The thing that stood out for me about their show tonight was how their originals fitted in with the covers and all had a familiar sing along vibe to them which is always impressive.
Tonight was definitely a good start for the newly rejuvenated Discharge nights, I just hope that future shows have a higher attendance.
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