Maybe you’ve already downloaded their debut album “Reverence For Fallen Trees” for free on their website.

About The Black Atlantic:

They started as a project of van der Velde in his off time from his philosophy studies. Gradually the project turned more serious after Geert recorded his first song – a Valentine’s gift to his then girlfriend, now wife and mother of his baby girl – in February of 2006. After posting the song on Myspace van der Velde received some label interest and wrote and recorded ‘Send This Home’ in the early Fall of 2006 with the help of various contributing friends. He eventually abandoned his studies to focus full-time on the band. Live The Black Atlantic made its first appearance, in one of many incarnations, at Eurosonic 2007. Since then the band has maintained a steady diet of touring with a revolving line-up around van der Velde (and for the past 2 years Janssen).

In Europe the band has toured with Saturday Looks Good to Me (usa), Windmill (uk) and Woven Hand (us). The band also opened up most shows for Midlake in the Netherlands and shared the stage with The Tallest Man on Earth in the U.K. In addition to their European shows, the band has toured the US a total of seven times. Most notably they played Filter’s Culture Collide Festival in Los Angeles, CMJ Music Marathon in New York City, NXNE in Toronto, and SXSW 2010 in Austin, one of the world’s largest music festivals. The Black Atlantic has been invited back to play SXSW in 2011 as an official artist. The band is currently slowly working on a follow up to “Reverence…” but spends most of its time on the road touring.

www.theblackatlantic.com

About Alex:

Scouse Alex Highton moved to London in the early nineties to go to college and do a degree in performing arts. This is a surprise when you meet him. None so modest and self-deprecating. This is no actor. Honesty should be his middle name. Heartbreaking songs or simple life observations with lush orchestration played with such a refreshing honesty. You can’t say Al is trying to be anything. He’s just Al.

It’s since beginning simply to just write what he sees that he has produced some amazing work. Woodditton Wives Club mark one was a collection of songs recorded on one mic in his garage, after losing his job and becoming a full time stay at home dad in rural Cambridgeshire after ten years in London.

Somehow one day Ashton Kutcher tweeted about Al and the following day saw a gazillion listens to his myspace. Since hitting the ground again he’s raised the cash for a proper recording of the aforementioned Woodditton Wives Club (via Sellaband) and also a trip to the USA for his first shows in New York, Austin Texas, and Los Angeles.

In a nutshell its like this: Liverpool boy moves to Cambridge via University in London. Writes and records songs chronicling his move from the city to the country, with wife and two girls. Gets attention of Hollywood superstar Ashton Kutcher, among others. Think Harry Nillson, Paul McCartney, Big Star, Graham Nash.

Alex at
MySpace
Facebook
Soundcloud

For further information contact Howard Monk at The Local: howard(at)localism.org.uk

“The GP Scen Final was a good experience, it was great being back on stage after a long summer holiday, although the performance took a few minutes really. Every band played the song they were in the contest with, so when I felt that the pre-nerves settled and we were up and in the music we had to stop, but I think all the other bands felt the same way.”

BOA on SellaBand

Tomorrow night the Epyllion CD RELEASE PARTY will kick off.  Doors are at 9 – they’re on at 11. And there will be three other local bands playing : Fused, Keek and Headwired. Their CDs and t-shirts are for sale there. So if you are in Ottawa tomorrow make sur to join the party. This is their only Ottawa tour date for the summer.

Sadly there will be no live stream of the show, but Eric confirms that we will soon be able to watch it on video.

And here is Jesse’s statement:
“The gig is at Northern Lights in Clifton Park, New York where there was a Nonpoint/Cold/Bulletproof Messenger show last March, so when the club found out Drowning Pool was coming to town, they asked if we would like a slot on the show.

We believe that the Bulletproof Messenger sound will be a good fit for the show and we expect to make alot of new fans. We look forward to meeting new people and talking to the fans after the show – that is the best part of shows for us, next to playing on stage of course! For this show, people can look forward to seeing/hearing Joe Rubino in the drum chair. He’s from a band called Prospect Exit and has been a good friend of mine for years, so he’s helping us out while we are searching for a new permanent drummer.

As for the future, only time will tell! We are planning a Fall 2010 Tour, so stay tuned for more info on that.”

So, everyone who is in town next Tuesday, join them!

“Le Femme Rock is a project Adriana Diez from the band Vinilo and myself started with the purpose of promoting women fronted Latin Rock bands. We’re uniting forces to gain more fan base and hopefully gain some attention and continue to perform in other stages. We’re looking for sponsors to take our show to the next level. We’re both Colombian and have our unique styles, but we sure compliment each other on stage!”, Lily states.

So, everyone who is around there, join this gig.

Make sure to get them on their tour. The next dates are:

• SUNSET RIOT @ The Basement – CANBERRA,
  May 15th, 9:00 p.m.
• SUNSET RIOT’s Last Local @ Bull n Bush
  May 27th, 9:45 p.m.
• SUNSET RIOT @ Macquarie Hotel, Port Macquarie
  July 8th, 9:00 p.m.
• SUNSET RIOT @ Step Inn, Brisbane
  July 9th, 8:50 p.m.
• Sunset Riot @ Miami Shark Bar, Gold Coast
  July 16th, 8:30 p.m.

Pictures from the tour:

More live photos on SUNSET  RIOT’s Facebook profile

Schreibt KONTRUST eine Mail und sagt, wofür ihr “On The Run” seid!

www.ontherunfor.com
www. kontrust.info

Stay tuned for more … exclusive report about KONTRUST soon here on 50K MUSIC.

The Bill:-
Toneheads
Bim
Assorted Family Circle
Carousel Cartel

Bim’s Set List:-
New Song (as yet untitled)
The Battle
A Loving Side
Ready To Love
Today’s The Day
[Stay In My Memory]
Head Over Heels

Well here we are in London again, but this time near Tottenham Court Road, so we obviously swung past The Pillar’s Of Hercules for a swift half on the way to PUNK. I’ve been wanting to see Bim (AKA Tim Davis and Rebecca Rosier) live for quite some time now ‘cos I love their self titled EP which they so kindly gave me at a Francis Rodino gig a few years ago.

I loved the well crafted songs with the beautiful melodies and the fit of Tim and Rebecca’s voices which seem to harmonise together so well. Could they do it live was the question and Saturday at Punk was going to provide the answer …

Yes. Yes they can. They’ve got a band behind them (who’s names I don’t know) and Tim on keys and laptop (oh how the music biz has changed eh!) and Rebecca in her hug rug. As any who know of Bim will attest, there’s a depth of production about Bim music that requires the playing of samples (if that’s the right word?), hence the laptop. Whether that makes playing live alongside easier or harder I couldn’t comment, except that it at least looked easy.

After a new (as yet unnamed) track to kick off their set we were treated to The Battle which has long been my favourite from their EP with the finely interwoven aural textures somewhat reminiscent of the later Tears For Fears songs … and I simply love it! I was sceptical as to whether they could pull it off live because there seemed to be so much in it, so many layers, but it was a real treat to hear it performed live … that’s exactly what I wanted. Many Thanks!

After A Loving Side, which is new to me, but undoubtedly “Bim”, we were treated to another from their EP – Ready To Love which continues to provide the Bim experience of finely crafted songs with haunting harmonisation from Tim and Rebecca. Another new (at least to me!) one Today’s The Day follows and builds the impression of Bim having the beginnings of a formidable repertoire of cracking tunes. A tight schedule for the evening means they skip Stay In My Memory and finish their set with a new (as in very first outing) track Head Over Heels which nicely completes the Bim portion of the evening and is one they’re considering for a new album they are looking to record somehow, somewhen.

Definitely worth coming out to see and I’ll certainly be keeping an eye out for their next gig too …

The Bill:-
Dan Ward-Murphy
Faith of Merchants (though their mySpace profile is more use!)

Dan’s Set List:-
So Simple
The Prettiest Girl At The Dance
Who’s Sorry Now?
The Queen Of Something New
Make A Woman Cry
The Sun Is In Your Eyes (f Jen)
She’s A Knockout
Act Of Defiance

I love this part of town ‘cos one of my favourite pubs is right there … did I ever mention The Chandos on the corner of St Martin’s Lane? No? I was having a Swift Half™ of Old Brewery when in walks Dan and the team. Sound checks completed they’d come to join me for a pre-match friendly at pub prices before we head for the hotel bar, as that’s what Bungalow 8 is. It’s a subterranean bar under St Martin’s Hotel and it’s a private club, which is why everyone had to contact Dan beforehand to be put on the guest list. It’s an interesting venue with a somewhat sub-optimal stage arrangement at the end of a long room. A pillar breaks the stage in two and ended up blocking the view of our Henry on bass/double bass (and also blocked the bass player for Faith of Merchants too). Some might describe it as quirky but I’m not so sure. Let’s just say it’s not my favourite venue and leave it at that!

I’m liking the new stuff more and more, and Dan and crew kick off with So Simple, which I love, and The Prettiest Girl At The Dance which is also a cracking new track and then we get Who’s Sorry Now? which is one I’d not heard before (and yet another keeper!). The set is split in half and Dan finishes his first half with an old favourite The Queen Of Something New from his Sellaband funded album.

A short break allows Dan and the crew to schmooze and get a drink before the second half kicks off with more tracks from his excellent album Until The Morning Light and yet more new ones as Make A woman Cry comes first completing the set of new tracks for the evening. Dan has so many wonderful new songs that it must be time for him to get back in the studio and produce another album soon! We finish the set with Jen tacking the lead for The Sun Is In Your Eyes before handing back to Dan for She’s A Knockout and finally closing out with Act Of Defiance.

Another great gig from Dan and his band of consummate professionals and I can’t wait until the next gig …

This gig was a bit of a surprise, as I had thought that the next gig was at the Troubadour on the 1^st April, with Julia Johnson playing too. Of course now I can be more confident that the next gig is indeed back at the Troubadour on the 1^st April!

The Bill:-
Tamanda Walker
Jetson
Chasing Ora
The Brays (bought a CD)
Francis Rodino
Kubla Kahn

Francis’ Set List:-
Other Side
Don’t Say Never
Burn
Walk With Me
Science
Drink
More Than Before
Any Day Now

So we’re on the tube schlepping to The O2 Arena and bump into Nik Hollis, which is nice. Never having been to the O2, or indeed the smaller IndigO2 venue, before it’s great to have Nik leading the way … and what a way! I knew the place was massive but was still bowled over by the scale of it. It’s a large town in a tent!

We let Nik wander in and we go grabbed a bite to eat at one of the very many restaurants which unfortunately meant we missed Tamanda and most of Jetson (jazz funky). Chasing Ora had a great sound with a good female lead vocal. The Brays were really great and worth a look for sure. After Francis, and headlining, were Kubla Kahn and it’s a good job it’s a big stage as there were load so them, including a brass section. They put on a good show and would make a good night out!

As many of you may know, Francis has been working with Ruth Lorenzo, of X-Factor fame, and it was great to see Ruth and Diana Vickers in the crowd, not to mention Jen Delaney who I’d seen the previous night singing with Dan Ward-Murphy.

The Boys came out to much cheering from the crowd and with a much shorter wait than usual, Francis runs out to join them and they kick it with one of the new ones, Other Side. This is fast and furious and doesn’t fail to grab the attention of the crowd. Fran pulls the crowd in, always giving us the usual 110% and the crowd gives it right back as Don’t Say Never takes over, followed by Burn. All these Circles and Squares tracks are so great to hear live and they continue with Walk With Me, Science, and Drink always fires the crowd up, and tonight is no exception, and the crowd are jumping.

The lads leave Francis to play More Than Before on his own on his acoustic guitar. I love this song and even though this set seems shorter than usual (though I don’t think it was much shorter, just time flies at an FRB gig!) it’s great to break up the tracks in this way.
The boys return for the last one as Any Day Now closes the FRB Show. Good Job guys! Great songs, but then we already knew that. Huge presence and energy on stage, and again, anyone who’s see you live already knows that too!

As some of you may know, Francis Rodino has setup a FanFunding page on PledgeMusic to get them back into the studio to record an EP. He’s been lucky enough to secure Steve Bush (Stereophonics, Corinne Bailey Rae, and of course our very own Francis!) as producer again. I say “lucky” but I’m sure Steve wouldn’t be doing it if he hadn’t enjoyed the making of Circles and Squares.

Best of luck to Francis on that, and as I write this he’s around half way to his target already. I’ve got my CD already paid for and I can’t wait to hear the results and I’m just so happy to have the opportunity to continue being ever so small a part of his journey!

UBG

Dan Ward-Murphy @ The Troubadour Thursday 18^th February 2010
mySpace
FaceBook
TheSixtyOne
Twitter
Sellaband
youTube
Bebo
LastFM
iLike
Stereofame

The Bill:-

Jake Hall (picked up a copy of his EP)
Anoushka Lucas (Another EP … a good night!)
Dan Ward-Murphy
The Keitels

Dan’s Set List:-
The Queen Of Something New
So Simple
The Prettiest Girl At The Dance
Make A Woman Cry
The Sun Is In Your Eyes (f Jen)
She’s A Knockout
Act Of Defiance

The first of Dan’s appearances at The Troubadour as part of his bi-monthly residency (ie playing every two months) and introducing the new drummer James Titshall (replacing the excellent Prav who’s moved on to concentrate on other projects), along with recent-ish addition Henry Gilbert on bass and double bass, and of course the old hand Jen Delaney helping Dan out with the singing duties.

Had a nice meal upstairs before the gig, and a couple of happy hour cocktails before wandering downstairs to catch the end of the sound check and grab a table. Great to see the place so full and definitely impressed by Jake Hall and Anoushka Lucas, and bought both their EPs. The Keitels, on last, were pretty competent, the girl singer had a great voice, but they didn’t seem to be enjoying it much (and had apparently thought it was OK to talk loudly through everyone else’s set too!) so I thought that whilst musically it was good, the ‘show’ lacked a bit of sparkle!

Dan, on third, opened with the Queen Of Something New which got everyone’s toes tapping. Interestingly, I didn’t have the same reaction as last time I saw them, when my mind would fill in for the missing Helen on violin and Milo on cello. It seems really tight and ‘complete’ again now the re-organisation has had some time to bed in properly. This has perhaps shifted the sound a little from nu-folk to nu-country but it is definitely a comfortable fit now and sounding great!

First of three new songs, So Simple is (still) a beautiful song with all the DWM hall marks of harmonies as it lets the crowd settle into the set. Next up is the newest song, indeed the first outing for The Prettiest Girl At The Dance, followed by Make A Woman Cry, both of which are finely crafted songs with geat tunes and involving lyrics and are definitely keepers!

Jen takes the reins for The Sun Is In Your Eyes and it’s as wonderful as ever, and Dan closes the set with She’s A Knockout and Act Of Defiance, both of which sound fabulous in the new arrangements.

The crowd were at times a bit rowdy (but often are at The Troubadour) but most appreciative as shown by the leCDs they purchased, and the no. of names added to the email list.

Excellent Dan … 10 out of 10!

Next playing at the Troubadour on the 1^st April, which is also going to be when Julia Johnson is playing as part of her residency, so that should be a good night!

The Bill:-
Ellie Lawson (purchased album Lost Songs with 18 tracks on it!)
Maeve O’Boyle (purchased album All My Sins)
Dan Ward-Murphy
with special guest Julia Johnson

Dan’s Set List:-
She’s A Knockout
The Sun Is In Your Eyes (f Jen Delaney)
All In A Memory
My Beautiful Predicament
The Genius Of Myra (f Julia Johnson)
Under The Wire (f Julia Johnson)
The Queen Of Something New
So Simple
Act Of Defiance

So here we are again at The Bedford. It’s another Tuesday night and the traffic was awful but it still didn’t take long to schlep across Sarf London to the oh-so-convenient supermarket car park just over the road (arrive after 7pm and it’s free – FREE I TELL’S YA!). That’s what makes it so easy, and the venue itself cries out to be used – good food, good real ale, great ambiance and usually good music.
I say usually because tonight was an exception – it was EXCELLENT MUSIC! I’ve gotta tell ya that I’m usually happy about the music I hear there, but tonight it was such a class line up that even I was staggered by the quality!

Seriously, go check out Ellie Lawson and Maeve O’Boyle (who had to squeeze into a car with her band and drive back to Glasgow last night!. Suffice to say that I purchased an album of each of them – Maeve was especially good with an excellent vocal delivery of some cracking songs – stand out for me were Old Greenwich Mean Time and Facing Home – treat yourselves and track ‘em down!

Dan and his new line up were on last and I was prepared for some changes to the songs I wear like an old dressing gown, and mindful that this was the first public outing with Henry Gilbert in the line up, taking on the double bass and bass guitar, but the sound is really quite different. I remember when Pravin Mukhi (drums, percussion, looking cool) first joined and how odd all the tracks sounded with <I>drums</I>, so I’m perhaps more open to change now, but I’m not sure that all the tracks benefit from the changes, but c’est la vie, and as I said, I wasn’t sure about adding the drums way back when, and now I can’t imagine the songs without them! So what do I know eh!
She’s A Knockout opened the proceedings and I definitely liked the new arrangement for that one as that double bass kicks – though I’d noticed some “bass” vibrations from the venue through the previous two acts too and might have turned it down a tad to stop it had I been on the desk!

Jen takes us through The Sun Is In Your Eyes next and I never tire of hearing Jen in general, or this song in particular. The “All of your winters …” verse never fails to raise the hair on the back of my neck. We’re then treated to one of Dan’s new songs, All In A Memory, and it’s a corker. I’ve heard it a few times now and it’s becoming an old friend. Not sure he has it recorded anywhere so you’ll have to try and catch it live at The Bedford sometime (in person or streamed) or just take my word for it. It’s another really strong song that I hope will make his second album when he gets around to it!
My Beautiful Predicament finishes off what could be called the first segment of the set and is still a strong song, leading us into the middle eight of the set where everyone but Dan leaves and Julia Johnson steps up. Those of you with Dan’s excellent album, Until The Morning Light, will doubtless be aware of Rosabella Gregory playing piano on The Genius Of Myra and those dainty shoes were amply filled by Julia who also shared the vocal. This is a beautiful song anyway but with the keys it really shines. Julia stays to join Dan singing Under The Wire which is often my favourite track on the album!
Julia leaves and the rest of the band return for The Queen Of Something New and the new(ish) song So Simple, which just leaves the crowd to roar for more and Act Of Defiance as the encore!

Utt

The Bill:-
Lee Broderick
Robert McCracken
Francis Rodino

Francis’ Set List:-
Don’t Say Never
Walk With Me
Burn
Any Day Now
Science
Drink
Eternity
Blood (Acoustic++)
One Love

Yet another night at The Bedford in Balham and yet again it’s a great night out. Great to see Dave The Esthameian out to play, and taking loads of photos too! As usual, a quick chat about the other Artists – Lee Broderick was awesome and well worth checking out whereas Robert McCracken’s acoustic guitar/violin/cello set didn’t really do it for me, but maybe that’s because it was the first time for the violin/cello or maybe I was just so keen to get Francis on stage that I didn’t pay enough attention?

From the very beginning Francis and the boys foster the air of a full on stadium rock band, although maybe some of the extended breaks between tracks to tune, etc, could be worked on – I guess that’s where the full on stadium rock band scores with pre-tuned “spare” guitars, etc. Oh roll on that day for Francis and the boys!

Allan, sans shoes, and Andrea kick it off with Matt giving an extra long keys intro to Don’t Say Never, letting Nik come onstage and plug in. A further wait as the intro continues to build tension before Francis struts onstage and the crowd cheer. Not as big a crowd as I’ve seen here for Fran before (but this was a Tuesday remember!), but all seem to be in the mood to be ROCKED! Francis continues through the well picked set of songs from his excellent Sellaband album Circles and Squares and the crowd listen intently (a marvelous “Bedford” tradition), even joining in when enticed to do so! Finishing off with an interesting version of Blood which comprised the usual cut-down acoustic version usually performed by just Francis, Nik, and Allan but with Matt and Andrea coming in at the usual place on keys and drums, but with a lighter touch (Andrea playing for much of the time with just his hands). I heard them discussing it at the bar beforehand and it’s a fascinating insight into the world of the accomplished musician that a 5 minute chat over a bottle of beer and bags and bags of haribo is enough to put together something new, and a glimpse into the relationships they have fostered amongst themselves to have a crack just for the craic!

Muggins here on Merch & Email list duty at the end is swamped by FRB newbies clamouring for copies of the CD, and some even hunting out the culprits to get their copies signed. Such was the enthusiasm for all things Rodino that I even had some interesting offers for my FRB t-shirt, but NO SALE!

Thanks Fran, Allan, Nik, Andrea, Matt – another great night out! Cheers.

The Bill:-
Sherika Sherard
Dan Ward-Murphy
Holly Rubenstein
Kenny Bogan
Dave Gibson

Dan’s Set List:-
So Simple (w Jen)
The Sun Is In Your Eyes (f Jen)
White Decay
Act Of Defiance

You all know I love The Bedford, so much so that on at least one occasion when I couldn’t make it I fired up the old PC and watch the live webcast – the picture isn’t great but the sound was pretty good and well worth a try!
This is one of the regular The Bedford evenings with a bunch of artists all singing a couple of songs in the first half, then with often an order swap, singing a couple more in the second half. This breaks the night up a bit and allows them to put on 5 or so artists.

First up, a mention for the other Artists. Sherika Sherard is quite young but definitely has something, not least of which is her voice and demeanour. Holly Rubenstein sang very nicely, but not in a genre I’m particularly fond of, though she’s having some success apparently, while Kenny Bogan had a lovely soft lilting Irish accent to really set off his songs. Lastly, Dave Gibson is apparently a bit of a coup for The Bedford in that he’s recently signed to Sony and has not been allowed to gig for the last 6 months or so because of it (?). Perhaps more fun for those “OK Magazine” readers amongst you is that he had David Sneddon playing keys for him. He’s off to the US to record an album or something now … so let’s see if he can become a household name eh!

After the cancelled DWM gig I’m still waiting to hear the full line up but I’m still not going to pass up an opportunity to see Dan and Jen singing and as always I’m not disappointed – So Simple starts the (Dan & Jen) night off nicely. This is a new one and a cracker – if you’ve not heard it you could have heard it last night on the webcast but you missed it! HA! Jen takes the lead for The Sun Is In Your Eyes which is as beautiful as ever. I don’t think there were many DWM fans in the hizzouse but the full room still gave a rousing ovation with a number of cheers and whoops – THIS is what Dan needs to do more of to build his fanbase and he’s out there doing it!
The second half sees Dan on his lonesome on stage as Jen joins us to watch. Was it something he said … To be fair, it was funny, but oh so unrepeatable! Dan opens his second half with White Decay and finishes with the usual Act Of Defiance, though this time suggesting people click their fingers instead of clap and I’m not sure that works so well as it’s not loud enough to get quorum and it soon peters out – still a good song and still got an enthusiastic round of applause (and cheers and whoops) from the crowd!

Definitely looking forward to seeing the full band on Nov 17^th back at The Bedford, and on a PC near you if you’ve got broadband …

Utt

The Bill:-
Dan Ward-Murphy
Rebecca Hope
Ben Goddard
Paul Claxton
Matt Rivers

Dan’s Set List:-
She’s A Knockout (w Jen)
White Decay
The Sun Is In Your Eyes (f Jen)
The Liberation Of The Female Kind (w Jen)
(New Track)
So Simple (w Jen, Prav)
Act Of Defiance

First off, what a nice pub! I sure wish there was a place like this in Kingston – a proper old-style pub! Magic!

Dan’s first on tonight and was hoping it’d be “downstairs” to be heard by more people – the main thrust of ‘gigs like this’ is to be heard, to spread the word, so it is with a little disappointment at being in the less crowded upstairs that Dan takes to the stage. This was billed as a “solo” session but Jen Delany rocked up (on her birthday no less) and it appeared as though she became an unplanned accessory as Dan got a second mike setup.

Whilst I totally love the DWM sound-of-old (Jen, Milo, Helen, Prav) it is great every now and then to get back to basics and this was an excellent reminder of where Dan started his “solo” sessions – albeit with some backing vox (which, to be fair, he often had from the V. early days). She’s A Knockout has always been a good track to start a set with and tonight’s no different. Stripped back it’s a reminder of what a great track this is. Jen steps down to let Dan do his thang on White Decay. I think the first time I heard this was possibly at the “Songs From Soho” recordings and it’s great for it to have an outing again.
Jen returns for The Sun Is In Your Eyes which is definitely one of my favourites with the haunting “All of my winters …” verse ringing in my ears. Following Liberation is a new, as yet unnamed, track Dan throws in for its first public performance. With such a large number of songs it must always be difficult to pick what to play and I’m always more than happy to hear a few new ones – I look forward to this one being named and hearing it again!

Pravin also turned up and was dragged kicking and screaming onstage to play a “shaker” of some sort – minimal percussion – to accompany the excellent So Simple and Dan finished solo with the rabble rouser Act Of Defiance, which is always a great way to end a set.

So all done and looking forward to seeing, and hearing, the new lineup on Thursday at The Den …

The Bill:-
James McVey
Paper Aeroplanes : The Day We Ran Into The Sea
Ellie Williams
Jamie Abbott

Ellie’s Set List:-
Unseen
Under Your Skin
Firefly
Lay
Fine

After my last report on Ellie playing in Exeter with her band I now get the chance to saunter ‘up the road’ and catch her playing solo at The Troubadour in London. Being far less nervous than last time we also get the chance to chew the fat for a while before she’s on, with Adam and ‘Dad’ (who’s doing ALL the driving – aren’t parents just the best eh!).

Before I move on to Ellie I’ve just got to mention Paper Aeroplanes. Usually a duo but today a solo performance and it was magical – so much so that I picked up a copy of their album. Check ‘em out on mySpace to see for yourselves!

Another brilliant performance of Unseen sets the tone nicely and the crowd is showing deference with suitable silence, which is unusual for the Troubadour in my experience!
I shouldn’t have worried about my own pet peeve of samey piano-girl performances all seamlessly running into one another as Ellie worked through her set. Maybe it’s the old familiarity doing it’s thang, but I didn’t get the feeling of deja-vu I so often get in these circumstances even though I’m not (yet!) that familiar with Under Your Skin! … Firefly we already know is a top tune but I’m growing ever fonder of Ellie’s Lay too. Routed in sadness there’s an underlying feeling of strength, the strength to get through it, to prevail against the misery, the a hand reaching out offering succour. Beautiful. Finishing off with another new(ish) one to me, Fine, which is better than fine (oh come on, I didn’t do anything cheesy with Under Your Skin! Gimme a break!) ended a superb short set – that’s 6 hours of driving for 5 songs but totally worth it from my end!

Thanks for coming up to the big smoke Els …

UBG

What a great gig it was too!

First up was a guy called Cole Stacey doing his own brand of folky type stuff – and what a good voice he had too!

Ellie up next (and last), and did you know she suffers from nerves before a performance? I’ve heard that a lot of well established artists do too, so she’s in good company, but I’d have to say there was no evidence of nervousness when she opened with Unseen, which you may know is my favourite! This she played alone on the keyboards, but she had her band with her, in part or in whole, for other tracks and they sounded excellent. One of my problems with the whole “girl and a keyboard” genre is how samey the tracks can start to sound after you’ve heard a couple but Ellie’s (clever?) use of the band members simply stops this happening. There’s still the raw presence in the unaccompanied keyboards, but throw in Ellie singing to just an acoustic guitar on Firefly, Ellie on keys + acoustic, Ellie + full band, etc and you eliminate the problem entirely.

Enthusiastic cries of “MORE” from the crowd managed to entice an encore of another song from the album that I’d not heard and it’s another winner!

If that is a reflection of the forthcoming album then I’m even more eager to get my copy!

I’m really looking forward to the next Troubador gig in London now!
www.elliewilliams.co.uk

… Anyway …

A few highlights worth a quick mention:

Adrian Edmondson & The Bad Shepherds : Folk/Celtic versions of punk classics – Excellent

The Lancashire Hotpots: Comedy Folk Band, again, folk versions of classics, and some original stuff too

Nerina Pallot : DWM texted me to catch this girl and she was/is awesome.

6 Day Riot : Check ‘em out

Seth Lakeman : Violin singer with band … hmmm now who else do we know like that? [cough-Lunic-cough]. More folky than Kaitee but it was ideal for a damp Cumbrian festival!

OK, so tell us about Francis Rodino’s encounter at The Bar Stage I hear you call:

A few words about The Bar Stage: It’s a bar (whoo hooo) with a stage (yer baby!), so all’s well so far. It’s also in a big tent at a Cumbrian music festival with a large depression off the west coast and the tail end of hurricane something-or-other throwing all sorts of unpleasantness our way. A lot of people seek refuge in the Bar Stage Tent and sit at the tables leaving little room for those there to see the bands.

Francis takes to the stage with his newly full lineup and wows them from the start, but still the tired and damp remain seated until Drink! kicks in and there’s an honest to goodness charge of drunken dancers wading through the tired and hopeless to form an impromptu mosh pit at the front. This really is a ‘stomper’ of a track and so well matched to the atmosphere in the Bar Tent that everyone takes notice!

Ending with Eternity brings the crowd back down to Earth with Nik Hollis coaxing such ethereal sounds from his guitar like he’s away with the faeries! Beautiful and wonderful.

Thanks Fran, for making the effort to find a festival and for driving all the way up to play – Did you know how far away Cumbria was when you booked? LOL.

Francis and the boys hooked up with us afterwards, but I was pretty shot by then and could only manage a beer before wandering back to my tent – and they all escaped the rain and wind by driving home on Sunday morning.

It was a V. long Weekend but definitely worth it. SolFest is one of those small, intimate, family type festivals with a really friendly feel and the, now de rigueur, fancydress Saturdays, which makes it all the more pleasant!