LAST WEEK IN LONDON-Old Venues and New Stars
- Posted on August 11, 2008 12:06 PM
- 0 comments
Last Week In London
Old Venues and New Stars
By Peter Coulston
Hello and welcome to yet another week of the best of new, live music in London. I hit the ground running this week, choosing to sample the Unplugged session at the Half Moon, Putney on Monday night. It is a popular gig for aspiring artists as this venue has a history of promoting the stars of tomorrow, as the many photos on the wall of the bar will confirm. Hosted by Redvers Bailey, who also manages the sound, it is always an entertaining show with the possibility that history is, once again, being made. As usual, Redvers opened the show with three good songs before introducing Anders Dal, a London based acoustic rock performer with some accessible songs which were very much Americana with good lyrics. Very little in the way of introductions or audience contact but a nice set all the same. He’s on www.myspace.com/andersdal. Richard Kitson is a folk/blues singer from Barnsley and has a great guitar style that works on Jesse Fuller style songs like “Redundant Blues” and the more traditional Mississippi style of “Waited So Long”. A great combination of blues guitar and harmonica, which finished with a Rory Gallagher cover, “Pistol Slapper Blues”. I listened to a CD of his as I was writing this column and recommend that you do the same by going to www.myspace.com/richardkitson. By contrast, Ben Wheatley is more into acoustic pop, but this West Country based singer/songwriter has some good material and great vocals. His voice control is excellent and adds weight to fine songs like “Underscored Lovers” and “Paper Aeroplane”. He also has a band and it’s all on www.myspace.com/benwheatleys
The nearest that we got to a band on this occasion was Matt Herbert and the Heavy Hitters, a three piece acoustic blues group from Essex fronted by Mr Herbert and his 12 String. Good tight sound with good harmonies doing justice to a fine set of bluesy songs, which also feature the front man playing slide on a 12 String. Unusual, but why not? It sounded good. They finished with a very good pop ballad and had an excellent rapport with the audience. Look them up on www.myspace.com/mattherbert. Moving into yet another mode, Aaron Martin did some very jazzy stuff which included a medley of covers in bossa nova style. “Layla”, “Fever”, “Seven Nation Army” and “Roxanne” were all there, and I almost felt that I was back at the Hard Rock Festival in Hyde Park. His own “Levi Baby” was excellent and is no doubt on www.myspace.com/aaronmartinacoustic. The headliner on this already enjoyable night was Elsa Chapman, a soul/R&B lady who showed what the girls can do on a line up otherwise full of men. She has an excellent vocal range which she controls well (she even does a capella), while playing some mean keyboards and writing great songs. “Beautiful Swan” was a good beginning, ”Stumbled” was an Alicia Keys style ballad and “Secret Lover” had a great hook. The audience loved her and she worked them well; she’s at the Bedford on 19 August and I probably will be too. In the meantime, there’s www.myspace.com/elsachapman.
There was more acoustic on Tuesday at the 12 Bar Club on Denmark Street, where Carus was playing the second of his two consecutive stints at the venue. This show was opened by Scott McFarnon, a London based singer songwriter who does acoustic rock and soul rather well. A good voice backed by a highly technical but accessible guitar style made a good job of well crafted songs like “Halflife” and “Any Other Day”. The audience took to him and you will too if you visit www.myspace.com/scottmcfarnon. Once Carus took to the stage, I felt like I was gatecrashing a private party, as I appeared to be the only person there (with the exception of Andy Lowe, the proprietor) who was not from Melbourne. In Australia, Carus fronts a reggae band called Carus and the True Believers, and has a considerable following at home and away (excuse the pun). The audience seemed to know the words to his upbeat songs, which also featured some great harmonica, and they were singing and dancing (on stage in a couple of cases) along with him. He has a very personable style and obviously loves performing, which audiences always pick up on, especially at venues as intimate as the 12 Bar. His set also included some slower stuff with deeper lyrics about love, friends and life in general, rather in the style of Jackson Browne and James Taylor. I particularly like these and wish that he had included more of them. Overall a good set which left the packed house in a very good mood. See what you think on www.myspace.com/carusthompson.
To end the week, I was up for listening to some bands, which led me to The Bedford in Balham. The Shakespeare Globe was playing host to a few of them on Thursday so I decided to go along for an earful of Fenders and Marshall Amps. The place was pretty crowded with a lot of people being tempted in from the main bar for the free music, which invariably means gig tourists. These are those self obsessed people who insist on talking loudly (usually about themselves) during the performances, despite having been asked not to by Lexi, our charming host for the evening, They did not manage to disrupt the evening unduly, and the festivities commenced with BenSem, a four piece from Wales. Actually, it was only the lead singer doing a solo acoustic set but never mind. He is a good singer and his material was above average with songs like “Scream” and “You Are Mine” standing out. They have a new album and the full band can be heard on www.myspace.com/bensem. I was expecting a solo acoustic performance from Nick Howard, but was pleasantly surprised to see that he had his band with him. He is from these parts originally, but now works out of New York and was here to promote his new album. His sound is a bit of a mix of east and west coast Americana with shades of Counting Crows without the angst. The songs are pretty good and the performance tight but it failed to really excite me. “Happy” was a jazzy diversion and Nick’s acoustic solo, which included a medley of Counting Crows, Oasis and the Beatles songs, was interesting. They look and sound good and you can judge for yourself on www.myspace.com/nickhoward. The final band has only been together since March, but Cine certainly held my attention. They are a five piece which includes lead guitar and keyboards, a very impressive lead vocal, good harmonies and well constructed songs. Influenced by The Beatles and Radiohead, they have achieved much in a short time and have great potential. “The Score” was tight, dark and commercial, “Don’t Ask” was very hard to sing, but sounded great, and “This Love” gave us an acoustic breather. I could not fault this band and look forward to great things from them. Go to www.myspace.com/cineuk and see what I mean. Well, that’s another week over, which, I just realised, I spent mostly south of the river. I know that I am in Camden one night next week but, apart from that, life is full of surprises. So surprise yourselves next week and take in a gig or three while still staying safe and well. Cheers.
Tags
Post a comment
TrackBack
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.seatwaveblogs.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/3331
