Category Archives: Live reviews

Cara Dillon at St Mary in the Castle, Hastings 26/11/16

Folk music, Hastings music scene, Live reviews, , , , , ,

With the likes of Gigspanner, Eliza Carthy and (very soon) Maddy Prior, St Mary in the Castle has hosted some top-class folk acts throughout 2016. Tonight it’s the turn of Cara Dillon, whom Mojo Magazine once described as having “what may well be the world’s most beautiful female voice.”

Although it’s still November, in the world of gig programmes and band touring schedules that means it’s almost Christmas. And there’s two musical genres that really know how to do Christmas. The first is glam rock, of course, which was just made for tinsel and all things glittery; but when it comes to putting on a good festive gig folk, too, can give Slade, Roy Wood and co a good run for their money.

Derry-born Dillon and her band deliver a special seasonal set that they have just begun touring. The first half is the more spiritual half which is mainly traditional carols like ‘O Come, O Come ‘Emmanuel’ as well as ‘Mother Mary’ which is a brand new Christmas song Dillon and her musical partner (band-member and husband, Sam Lakeman) wrote themselves. Mary in the Castle is the perfect atmospheric setting for Dillon’s stunning vocals, backed with gentle, haunting piano and beautiful fiddle, acoustic guitar and accordion. The songs in the set are to be found on Dillon’s brand new album Upon a Winter’s Night.

A break, some brisk CD sales, a costume change and Dillon is back for the second half which takes on a more celebratory festive tone; with songs like ‘Standing By My Christmas Tree’, another Dillon/Lakeman original, and a lovely cover of The Pretenders’ 80s Christmas hit ‘2000 Miles’. Normally, when an artist announces they are going to perform an obscure version of a well-known song and a completely different tune starts up to the one your brain is all geared up for, my heart always sinks a little. But the less well known “Cornish version” of ‘The Holly and The Ivy’ really is superior to the better known “Somerset version”. It’s a great end to the set but the polite and attentive Mary in the Castle audience become very, very animated at this point and we get Dillon back on stage for an encore.

She also canvasses opinion on whether people would come again next year, explaining that the specially designed festive stage props set them back quite a bit and she’d love the chance to get a bit more use out of them. She gets an enthusiastically positive response so, who knows, this might become a regular feature. It would certainly be good to see Cara Dillon and co back at the Castle before too long.

http://www.caradillon.co.uk

14581436_1066694510046977_4678591970458222742_n

Previous review:
Cara Dillon at Cropredy 2014

Iain Matthews in Etchingham 18/11/16

Folk music, Live reviews, Rock music, , , , , ,

This review was also published in The Stinger here

“Just on the off-chance there’s a spare place do you fancy seeing Iain Matthews do a private gig in someone’s front room in Etchingham tonight.”

“Of course I’m interested! Let me know.”

“Yes, there’s a place for you. The guy who’s organising it says he knows you from years back.”

So went a series of texts between myself and a friend. And why I found myself in the house of an old acquaintance I hadn’t seen for around twenty years to witness a performance by former Fairport Convention/Matthews Southern Comfort/Plainsong singer, Ian Matthews.

It’s a really intimate affair: just twenty-odd people crowded into a room, Matthews and his guitar. But his material and manner is just perfect for a gathering like this. A few songs in he confesses he very rarely performs solo, normally performing either in a band or as a duo. This really surprises me because not only is he a superb singer-songwriter-performer he’s also got that knack of instant engagement and rapport with an audience, however small. He’s got some fascinating stories to share, reflecting on both his long career and the songs he performs.

2016-11-18-22-11-12

Material-wise, we get some great material from throughout his career, both covers and originals. Highlights include Matthews’ own ‘Ballad of Gruene Hall’; a beautifully laid-back cover of Van Morrison’s ‘Brown Eyed Girl’; a song from Gene Clark’s magnificent solo album No Other; and some lovely Richard Farina covers from the newly-revived Plainsong’s 2015 album Re-inventing Richard.

That golden voice that sang along with Sandy Denny on the original version of ‘Meet on the Ledge’ will probably always be the thing I associate most with Matthews, however. And at the end of the set it can be heard singing out that song, once more, as a final encore for this small but enthusiastic gathering. A perfect end to the evening.

At one point in his set Matthews talks about his giving up completely as performer, assuming his career had run it’s course by the early 80s. But then he recalls a few years later an emotional Robert Plant grabbing him backstage at Fairport’s Cropredy festival and lecturing him about the importance of getting back out there on the road. “You owe it to your fans,” urges Plant. “What fans?” asks Matthews. “Get out there and you’ll find they are out there,” Plant responds. Indeed they are. Keep on playing Iain…

http://www.iainmatthews.nl/news.html

2016-11-18-23-27-27

Ian Hunter at Shepherd’s Bush Empire 11/11/16

Live reviews, Rock music, , , , , , ,

77 and still putting out great albums, I’ve been eagerly anticipating each new Ian Hunter release for around three decades now. Fingers Crossed, Ian’s latest album with his superb Rant Band came out in September and it’s great to be seeing Hunter performing songs from that album live so soon afterwards.

A raunchy, rocky ‘That’s When The Trouble Starts’, opens the set, also the opening track on the new album. Over the next couple of hours we get several of the other new ones, too, including the lovely new piano ballad ‘Fingers Crossed’ and ‘Ghosts’ which is Hunter’s reflection on a visit to Sun Studio. Having, visited there myself earlier this year I completely relate to the evocative magic conjured up by the lyrics “All the wonders of the word assembled here to jam..”

‘Dandy’ is Hunter’s tribute to David Bowie, the man who was so alarmed to hear that Mott The Hoople was on the verge of splitting up after being a constant live draw but failing to shift many records, he offered to give them a hit, gifted them ‘All The Young Dudes’ and the rest is history. An affectionate, melancholic, Bowie-esque singalong it name-checks various Bowie songs: “Dandy – you’re the prettiest star. There ain’t no life on Mars. But we always thought there might be…”

Other songs from his more recent career also make there way into the set. ‘When I’m President’, his caustic take on US politics seemed particularly apt tonight as we all still try to comprehend the future in the light of this week’s presidential election results.

In his solo career Hunter has never been one simply to rest on past glories and has always sought to introduce new material into his set. But at the same time, however, it wouldn’t be an Ian Hunter concert without a selection of vintage classics interspersed with the newer material. From the Ian Hunter solo back catalogue ‘Once Bitten Twice Shy’, ‘Cleveland Rocks’ and ‘All American Alien Boy’ each made an appearance, while from the Mott The Hoople archive we got storming versions of ‘Honaloochie Boogie’, ‘All The Way From Memphis’ and ‘All The Young Dudes’.

The Rant Band are on great form, as ever. Ian Hunter continues to be both a great rock and roll performer, as ever, and a thought-provoking singer-songwriter, as ever. Let’s hope there’s a good few more tours in him yet.

http://ianhunter.com/main/

074b71f6-047e-4048-b995-ac337665422f

Related reviews:
Ian Hunter at Minehead 2016
Ian Hunter at Shepherds Bush Empire 2014

Eliza Carthy at St Mary in the Castle, Hastings 4/11/16

Folk music, Hastings music scene, Live reviews, , , , , , ,

My review was originally published on The Stinger independent music website here

We see it in other musical genres, but with this one perhaps even more so, and second and third generation offspring of the 50s/60s folk revival have been making a significant impact on the contemporary folk scene.

This is unsurprising in a way, given that folk in its original sense was always about songs being passed down through generations.And there aren’t many singers with more impeccable credentials than Eliza Carthy, daughter of folk mainstay, Martin Carthy, and Norma Waterson, of the renowned Waterson singers.First up tonight, however, and keeping it within that illustrious family, is none other than Eliza’s cousin, Marry Waterson, performing with guitarist, David A Jaycock, with whom she’s just released an album.A warm, earthy and passionate singer she’s a good choice for support act, singing a mixture of songs from the duo’s album and from her family’s incredible back catalogue.

Although there are some similarities in the voices of both Eliza and Marry, the contrast between the opening act and the main act couldn’t be greater.

Where the first is stripped back, intimate and reflective the second is big, bold and theatrical. Eliza Carthy and the other eleven members of her latest venture, The Wayward Band, make an instant and lasting impact the minute they hit the stage.

It’s been called a folk supergroup and includes musicians from the likes of Bellowhead, Mawkin, Edward II and Peatbog Fairies.

It’s a very full sound (fiddles, cello, bass, guitar, keyboards, accordion, drums, percussion, brass section) and it’s possible that other folk singers could get a bit drowned out by such backing.

Not Eliza Carthy, though, who has both the strength of voice and the charismatic stage presence to never risk being overwhelmed.

Furthermore, they’ve put together a great selection of songs, too.

There will be a full album out in February but tonight those who wanted to hear more of The Wayward Band had to settle for buying the band’s EP.

Definite highlights from tonight’s set included a gloriously rumbustious ‘Good Morning Mr Walker’ and Carthy’s thoughtful reflection on the refugee crisis: ‘You Know Me’.

Introducing the song she said she felt moved to speak up for the long-standing and ancient tradition of offering hospitality to strangers.

Throughout the night the band were rewarded with a great reception from the crowd.

“Is this the new Bellowhead?” asks the poster advertising tonight’s gig. There are obvious similarities.

But there are obvious differences, too. Although there’s brass it’s not as dominant in the overall sound mix as it is in Bellowhead and in The Wayward Band there’s also an emphasis on Carthy’s own material as well as interpretations of traditional songs.

However, for those on the look-out for a big band that fills the stage and a big sound that fills the auditorium and an act that keeps folk music well and truly in the 21st century, Eliza Carthy and The  Wayward Band is definitely one to look out for.

Marry Waterson website: http://marrywaterson.com/

Eliza Carthy website http://www.eliza-carthy.com/
14947717_10154639273511449_7828087072667150063_n

Saxon / Fastway / Girlschool at Shepherd’s Bush Empire 5/11/16

Live reviews, new wave of British heavy metal, Rock music, , , , , , , , , ,

So it’s another trip to London and another trip to the Shepherd’s Bush Empire for New Wave Of British Heavy Metal veterans Saxon, who are currently headlining a tour that also includes includes Fastway and Girlschool.

Girlschool are first up and deliver a great opening set. Even those unfamiliar with pretty much anything the band have put out since the 80s would find lots to like here. I always thought Girlschool’s brand of heavy metal worked best for them when they channelled their inner glam-pop sensibilities (something they always acknowledged was a key influence) and delivered songs that were loud, hard and heavy but laden with unmissable hooks, catchy choruses and memorable riffs. And for much of the set that’s exactly what we get: old favourites like Demolition Boys, Hit and Run, Emergency and (Gun cover) the fantastic Race With The Devil. Fitting very much into that template, too, is new song Come The Revolution, from their latest album: 2015’s Guilty as Sin.

Even thirty-odd years after Girlschool formed all-female rock bands are few and far between but well done the women of Girlschool for keeping the flag flying all these years and for doing it so brilliantly in 2016. A definite thumbs up from me.

Girlschool setlist
Demolition Boys
Hit and Run
Come the Revolution
Take It Like a Band
Future Flash
Watch Your Step
Race with the Devil
Emergency

News

When Fastway was launched in 1983 a heavy rock supergroup was in the offing, featuring former members of Motörhead, UFO, and Humble Pie. Pete Way of UFO left before they even made their first album and, incredible a guitarist though ‘Fast’ Eddie Clarke undoubtedly is, the band never really stayed on my musical radar. But at least that allowed me to approach their set tonight with a completely open mind. And my verdict: probably among the most talented performers of all three bands this evening. Eddie Clarke is an awesome guitarist, in particular, and Toby Jepsom (lead singer since 2007) has a great voice and a charismatic stage presence. And all the musicians had a good musical vibe and worked well on stage together. But… and this is a big but … compared to the other two bands this evening with their fistfuls of songs that are always imprinted on your brain and you can sing in the shower, this lot simply don’t reach that bar. In spite of some superb musicianship and a great stage presence having a great set of songs is, for me, a crucial component in distinguishing a good rock band from a truly exceptional one. However, Eddie Clarke’s greatest moment of the night is yet to come.

Fastway setlist:
Misunderstood
All Fired Up
Another Day
Deliver Me
Telephone
Heft!
Feel Me, Touch Me (Do Anything You Want)
Easy Livin’

http://www.fastwayofficial.com/site/

By the time Saxon come on at around 9pm every last square inch of floorspace in the Shepherds Bush Empire is completely rammed. I like being part of a sell-out audience in a packed venue but this bordered on being too close for comfort. Perhaps it’s a welcome sign that Saxon need to start booking bigger venues for their next tour.

Now Saxon have had their ups and downs over the years. After the initial wave of early 80s success, they never managed to attain the dizzy stadium-filling heights of their contemporaries like Iron Maiden (though personally I think Saxon are by far the superior band). Saxon risked being derided as heavy metal has-beens and written off as a bit of a joke. A much publicised documentary in 2007 saw them at constant loggerheads with Harvey Goldsmith as he took up the challenge to help restore the band’s popularity. But whether the band took on board any of Goldsmith’s advice or not it inevitably lead them to reflect on their music and their career. There’s been a significant change around in fortunes since and their bloody-minded determination to carry on serving their old fans as well as looking to gain a next generation of new ones has seen them through.

The album currently being toured Battering Ram stands up well against any of their early classics and it’s great to hear the album’s title track open the set. The album has been played and played on my stereo and so songs like The Devil’s Footprint and Queen of Hearts have become familiar old friends to me now and sit well in the set alongside earlier material. The last third of the set, however, is a non-stop run-through of those early Saxon classics: And The Bands Played On, Dallas 1PM, Wheels of Steel . It’s briefly broken for one of those ‘need-to-be-there’ moments when Eddie Clarke returns to the stage for a cover of his old band’s Ace of Spades as Saxon’s very special tribute to Lemmy Kilmister. Then it’s on with more timeless classics: 747 (Strangers in the Night), Denim and Leather and Princess of the Night.

Saxon in 2016 deliver the old material as good as they ever did, produce truly stunning new material and perform with a confidence and authority as befits one of British rock’s truly great bands. Just book a bigger venue next time, Biff!

Saxon setlist:
Battering Ram
Let Me Feel Your Power
Sacrifice
Solid Ball of Rock
Never Surrender
Crusader
Stand Up and Be Counted
The Devil’s Footprint
Strong Arm of the Law
Killing Ground
The Eagle Has Landed
Queen of Hearts
And the Bands Played On
Dallas 1 PM
Wheels of Steel
Ace of Spades (with Eddie Clarke)
747 (Strangers in the Night)
Denim and Leather
Princess of the Night

http://www.saxon747.com/

saxon-r800-310516

Related review:
Saxon – album review: Battering Ram

The Divine Comedy at De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill 25/10/16

Hastings music scene, Live reviews, Rock music, , , , , ,

My review was originally published on The Stinger independent music website here

Perhaps one of the most unlikely outfits to come to prominence during the 90s Britpop era, Neil Hannon’s orchestral pop ensemble The Divine Comedy still retains a devoted following, is still selling records (the Foreverland album released in September hit number 7 in the UK charts) and is still filling venues.

The De La Warr Pavilion tonight is completely sold out and is absolutely ram packed by the time Hannon and his band take the stage.

Songs from throughout The Divine Comedy’s eleven-album career are greeted with a wave of affectionate familiarity as soon as each one starts up, not just the hit singles.

We are most certainly in the presence of a hall full of true fans. For the more casual observer like myself, I took the precaution of going along with a hardcore super-fan lest I needed anything explaining about the world of Neil Hannon and The Divine Comedy.

I needn’t have worried. The evening was effortlessly and infectiously enjoyable.

Besides the ever-present Neil Hannon, The Divine Comedy has had a changing cast of supporting musicians over the years but he has certainly assembled a very talented bunch as they swoop through a vast variety of sounds and styles throughout the course of the evening.

There may be a wry tongue-firmly-in-cheek mode about many of the lyrics but the music is always delivered with absolute sincerity, authenticity and passion. Theatricality and musicality thus combine.

A few songs in and Hannon has donned a bowler hat and brolly for his scathing account of the global financial crash ‘The Complete Banker’ and later on he’s striding around the stage in full Napoleon outfit: ‘Napoleon Complex’ is the opening track on the new album by way of explanation.

One highlight is an unexpected but perfectly fitting cover of the late Cilla Black’s hit ‘Alfie’ before the band go on to perform Hannon’s own ‘Becoming More Like Alfie’

Hannon certainly has a gift for crafting lyrics. As a witty but bitter-sweet observation of everyday life ‘At The Indie Disco’ would even give some of Ray Davies’ finest tunes a good run for their money.

The small strip at the front of the stage starts filling up as a trickle of people leave their seats to dance along to it. “It’s fine by me,” says Hannon, “come on up.”

Soon the De La Warr Pavilion becomes its very own indie disco as more and more people squeeze to the front to dance away to this gloriously catchy tune, audience and performance melding into one.

From the back of the hall it couldn’t have looked any better if you had spent a week choreographing it.

It’s not long before everyone is out of their seats.

The whole place is on its feet for National Express, the bands biggest hit which has probably done more for brand awareness of the UK’s largest coach operator these past twenty years than any amount of paid-for advertising, even if the jolly hostess with the trolley does still struggle to get by to charge those sky high fees…

An utterly charming and naturally witty performer and a talented singer and song-writer with an ability to cross genres and elicit a whole range of emotions, in a different era Hannon would probably have been labelled an all-round entertainer.

For sheer talent and showmanship The Divine Comedy is clearly deserving of the loyal following it continues to attract.

http://thedivinecomedy.com/

1477498963212

The Levellers on Hastings Pier 19/9/16

Folk music, Hastings music scene, Live reviews, Rock music, , , , ,

My review was published in The Hastings Independent 14/10/16

Many big-name musical acts played Hastings Pier in the 60s and 70s and it’s great to see that spirit being evoked as the revived and refurbished pier plays host to bands like The Levellers. The big difference nowadays is that lacking a concert pavilion today’s events are more like mini-festivals, replete with wristbands, an outdoor stage, beer marquees and portable loos. But the pier is a fantastic open space and makes for a brilliant setting for a small but perfectly-formed festival.

Prior to the headliners taking the stage supporting acts are local band Matilda’s Scoundrels; the very Levellers-esque sounding folk-punk band Ferocious Dog; and Turin Brakes, who had some chart success in the early noughties and put me in mind of bands like Travis.

The Levellers are clearly the band that everyone has come to see, though, and the crowd has swelled significantly by the time they take the stage. It’s twenty five years since their seminal album Levelling The Land was released. It took the band from niche performers on the festival and protest circuit to the Top 20 and the main stage at Glastonbury. Tonight, and in a subsequent Autumn tour, they are performing the album in full. As on the album the set starts with ‘One Way’ (“there’s only one way of life and that’s your own, your own your own..”) When it came out, at a time of road protests, demonisation of travellers and a growing authoritarianism in policing and criminal justice, it instantly became the anthem for anyone who didn’t want to conform. And judging by the way it’s received tonight those words still mean an awful lot to people.

Levelling The Land is not only the band’s most famous album, it’s a good showcase for the different sounds and influences that have defined the Levellers; bringing together their reflective folky side (with acoustic ballads like ‘The Boatman’) and their more raucous punky side (with tracks like ‘Liberty Song’), mixed in with some perfectly crafted slices of early 90s indie pop (like ‘Sell Out’). After performing the album in full the band rattle through a number of other musical highlights from the Levellers career, eventually encoring with a glorious ‘What a Beautiful Day’.

Musically, the band are still in very good shape. Lyrically, there’s even more in the world to get angry about than there was twenty five years ago. So a Levellers show today: still artistically and politically relevant in post-Brexit, austerity Britain or nostalgia for great songs in troubled but simpler times? In all truth it’s probably a mixture of both but there’s no harm in that.

http://www.levellers.co.uk/

2016-09-18-20-06-46

2016-10-26-14-29-48

Motörpace (Motörhead tribute) at The Carlisle, Hastings 20/8/16

Hastings music scene, Live reviews, Rock music, , , , , , ,

My review originally appeared in the Hastings Independent 1/9/16

When there is so much excellent original music being performed live around the town should the Hastings Independent be reviewing tribute bands? It’s a moot point and for much of the past couple of decades I’ve been pretty dismissive of the whole tribute band scene; but two things began to change. Firstly, being exposed to world-class tribute acts, like Australian Pink Floyd, appearing on festival line-ups alongside original artists and experiencing first hand the sheer quality of the musicianship, regardless of whether it was original or not. Secondly, reflecting on the legacy of some truly iconic acts in the wake of a seemingly endless succession of rock star deaths in recent months, not least one Lemmy Kilmister at the end of 2015, and concluding that it would be a particularly severe case of cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face to refuse to celebrate and enjoy the music of, say, David Bowie or The Eagles or Motörhead in a live setting just because the instigators are no longer with us. No-one ever got sniffy about the artistic validity of the Royal Philharmonic performing an evening of Beethoven so should celebrating the music of some of rock’s greatest icons really be that much different?

So here we are at The Carlisle then to witness the Motörhead tribute act, Motorpace. First, however, the band as they put it themselves “are their own support act” and rattle through a number of heavy metal staples by the likes of AC/DC, Metallica and Judas Priest before doing a full second set in full-on tribute band mode. Wisely, apart from the bass player/vocalist sporting some Lemmy-esque facial hair and a vaguely rock n roll-ish leather hat, the band avoid the temptation to play-act the roles of the former members of Motörhead and instead concentrate on getting the sound right; which they do with devastating precision. All the essential ingredients are there: the fast and furious bass-playing rumbling away like some industrial power tool, the hoary, growled vocals, the blinding guitar solos, the power drumming. It goes down really well with the Carlisle crowd which has swelled significantly by the time the band come on stage to do their main set in tribute to Lemmy and co. Punters lap up the likes of We Are The Road Crew, The Chase is Better Than the Catch, Overkill and, of course, Ace of Spades as well as more recent material like Thunder & Lightning from Motörhead’s final studio album, Bad Magic.

I’ve certainly become far more philosophical about tribute acts. If your entire experience of live music was to be nothing but an endless stream of tribute acts, each aping the glory days of bands gone by, that would be rather sad indeed; but as part of a balanced musical diet I see absolutely nothing wrong with taking in the odd tribute concert. This is especially so when the quality of the performance is as good as that delivered by Motorpace this evening.

https://www.facebook.com/motorpacetrib/?fref=ts

2016-08-20 22.46.36

2016-09-06 12.43.50

Related reviews:
Motörhead – Bad Magic
Motörhead at Hyde Park

Ryley Walker at St Mary in the Castle, Hastings 5/8/16

Folk music, Hastings music scene, Live reviews, , , , , ,

My review originally appeared in the Hastings Independent 18/8/16

Although originally billed as a collaboration with legendary folk-rock double bass supremo, Danny Thompson, Thompson has had to pull out of this short tour due to illness. However, this did not prevent the young guitarist and singer-songwriter, Ryley Walker, from delivering a spellbinding performance at St Mary in the Castle. As the promotional blurb for the gig put it, someone who “plays guitar like Bert Jansch and sings like Tim Buckley” should not struggle to draw a supportive audience; and so it proved. 27 year-old Walker, from Illinois, is an exceptional acoustic guitarist, very much influenced by 60s/70s artists like the aforementioned Jansch and Buckley as well as the likes of Davey Graham and John Martyn.

The audience (absolutely typical for a folk/acoustic style gig of this type) is composed overwhelmingly of sixty-something baby-boomers and twenty-something millennials. Those of us in our forties and early fifties, like myself, are mainly notable by our absence. We are truly the lost generation as far as music like this goes. This is our collective loss I suppose; but it’s encouraging that the generation below us are picking up the baton, both as audiences and as performers, as the supremely talented Mr Walker exemplifies. A powerful songwriter and a talented musician with a distinctive voice, he’s not afraid to work across genres and thus brings a range of musical influences into his performance, from indie folk, to jazz to blues through to rock and psychedelia.

It is arguable that the acoustics in this cavernous, iconic former church, and perhaps the atmosphere itself, tend to make it work better for folk acts than for rock bands. This gig is far from a gentle, relaxed strum-along though. It’s an incendiary performance with his two band-mates providing throbbing electric bass and wonderfully atmospheric, powerful drumming that throbbed, crashed and reverberated throughout the venue all night. They complement the guitarist perfectly and it makes for a more intense interpretation of his songs in comparison to his two excellent and well-received solo albums, but that’s all part of the excitement of live performance. There is light and shade and definite changes of tempo during the course of the evening, however. The Davey Graham/Bert Jansch guitar influence particularly shines through on the gentler, more laid-back tunes, where Walker is able to simultaneously coax hypnotic rhythms and beautiful intricate melodies out of his instrument.

“Wow. That was very intense, bordering on psychedelic,” concluded the two women sitting next to me when I asked them what they thought at the end of the night. I wouldn’t disagree at all. Two albums into his career, Ryley Walker is showing exceptional promise.

[Note: since this review Ryley’s third album has now been released. More details on his website below]

http://ryleywalker.com/

2016-08-20 12.46.40

 

 

The Equatorial Group at Music on the Bandstand, Bexhill-on-sea 6/8/16

Hastings music scene, Live reviews, Rock music, , , , ,

Independent record stores that have managed to survive firstly the big chains, then the rise of Amazon then the downloading craze have tended to be the ones that made themselves far more than just a place to buy records and CDs. The Music’s Not Dead store in Bexhill-on-sea is a classic example. Its thirst for promoting music seemingly limitless and unconditional. Not only do they host regular live performances in store, they also hook up with the De La Warr Pavilion over the road to put on numerous events including this outdoor mini free festival on the terrace of the pavilion by the seafront. The first band on today The Equatorial Group particularly caught my eye.

“Sounding like Crazy Horse colliding with Fleetwood Mac on a dusty road” as their Facebook profile has it. Gentle acoustic guitar, some nice pedal steel, harmony vocals and some great laid-back lead guitar solos, their blend of slow, countrified Americana was just perfect for a hot August afternoon with a few beers by the sea. They’ve got some good original songs, too. And as you could pick up both of their self-produced EPs (2014’s Glebe and 2015’s Elvis) on CD for a fiver it seemed silly not to buy them and explore this band a little further. I’m impressed.

13876103_10154377399206449_5402199566472370797_n

The Eastbourne-based band have been around since 2011 and are now happily on my radar for the future. Anyone into this type of music is well advised to keep an eye out for them. And well done to both Music’s Not Dead and De La Warr Pavilion for giving a platform to acts of this calibre.

https://www.facebook.com/theequatorialgroup/?fref=ts

13879330_10154377119576449_598001745952862546_n