VENUE OF THE WEEK : The Fly
- Posted on April 12, 2007 1:31 PM
- 0 comments
New Oxford Street 6 April 2007
By Peter Coulston
My main reason for visiting The Fly this Tuesday was to see and hear Sevenball, one of my favourite bands that have been absent from the live scene for a while. They also had some mates with them from their home town of York who looked like they were worth a listen so I went along. I’m glad I did.
The Fly is one of those establishments that could only be a rock venue. It is sparsely furnished, has pictures of rock stars on the walls and the sounds of heavy music in the speakers. Located midway between Tottenham Court Road and Holborn Tubes, you have the Northern, Central and Piccadilly Lines to chose from, and there is parking in the adjoining streets after 5:30pm (watch out for residents only).
The evening kicked off with Cardboard Radio, a solid punky, pub rock kinda band that really did rock. The guitarist/singer could really use those block chords and showed off on an extended blues for the last number. At this stage, the mic for the vocals was not as effective as it could have been, which was a pity as I think we would have enjoyed the lyrics if we could have heard them properly. They have a single out on Red Letter Records called “Different Like Everybody Else”. Next up was Boss Caine, a Country Rock outfit fronted by KT Turbo and Adam Rogowski and, on this and other occasions, including the front men of Cardboard Radio. They keep the tempo up most of the time and include some nice guitar work; however, I liked it as well when they slowed down on “Just For Tonight” and “What I Did Last Night”. They rocked their way out well with “You Do It For Me”. Check them out if you are up north (of England that is, not London), and check their website for CD’s. Hopefully, they’ll be back in London soon.
Sevenball are a band that I first heard at one of Zaid Joseph’s Zarathustra nights at the 12 Bar, and I have been a fan ever since. Fronted by the superb vocals of Luke Richie and the awesome slide guitar of Andrew Dunn, this is a band that must be heard if you are into ground breaking rock. They were on fine form on Tuesday, opening with a solo acoustic offering by Luke followed by “Shanty”, one of their softer numbers featuring acoustic instruments. Things began hotting up with “End Of July” while “One of Them” began moving into darker areas. By this time, Andrew had started bringing his slide guitars to the fore. “This Is The Love” and “Bring It Up” kept us on our toes with fine vocals and dark, wild slide. “J2t” and “You Gotta Know” moved us into a slightly lighter rock phase which proved to be the calm before the storm. “Tianamen” , a new, slower number was followed by “Open”, a showstopper which grew in leaps and bounds to a climax of vocal and slide which left the audience exhausted, not to mention the band. It should be added that the rhythm section is solid and their contribution did not go unnoticed. Many would compare this band with Led Zeppelin, and understandably so. For my money, any resemblance to the aforementioned is coincidental as we are all influenced by someone. These guys are there own men (not to mention band), and what they do is 100% Sevenball. No comparisons are needed, as no other band does this sort of stuff this well at this level. Check their website and myspace as there are excellent CD’s to be had, with a new one on the way. Rumour has it that they may be taking up a residence at The Fly so you will have no excuse for not seeing them. Watch this space and keep gigging.
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