 Eight piece soul feast The Insoulvents at The Poacher, Portishead on Fri 25th Jun 10 | |
 After the last Insoulvents gig at The Poacher, I was looking forward to the band's return and a few hours of decent soul music played by a talented band that had the place heaving on that last occasion. That expectation took a huge dip when I realised that the enigmatic giant of a lead singer who oozed soul from every pore was no longer with the band.
Oh well, let's all go home, however talented musically the rest of the band are, the buzz certainly focused a lot around the absent lead singer... Or did it?
Actually... er... it didn't, and realising it didn't happened as early as the sound check, when the sweet delight of The Average White Band's "Pick Up The Pieces" reminded me of the glorious music the sax/trumpet brass section made, and the instant the bass guitar started pounding away I remembered how wonderfully charismatic (and possibly a little insane in a good way) the bass player Chris was. Almost a one man engine room on a mission to enjoy himself and take everyone else in the room on some glorious cruise around the world of Motown inspired soul and funk surrounded by a tight and talented music machine.
Singer Julie who may possibly have been a little overshadowed by the man mountain last time was in her element belting out great classics in a manner that would ensure you knew they were great classics. The 1974 Labelle song 'Lady Marmalade' showed the strength of her vocals and the excellent Jackson Five's 'I Want You Back' highlighted her talent.
Whether it was Stevie Wonder covers or Blue Brothers gems, each and every song was delivered with not so much passion but pure enjoyment. It was almost as if the band were having a night long jam session and letting us share in the fun.
Such a great shame the night coincided with Glastonbury, Wimbledon and World Cup Football as the only missing ingredient were more people. Not that the pub was empty but it just needed that extra kick that would have been provided by the all dancing brigade that this band would have had on their feet all night.
High points of the night had to be 'Hard To Handle', The Doobie Brothers' 'Long Train Running' and 'Dock Of The Bay' but in all honesty there was only one low point (for me and me alone), they played 'Valerie', I must get that song banned, I just don't like it and now every other week someone plays it just to annoy me. In all fairness though it did sound a bit better with a bit of brass.
Keyboards spot on, brass section spot on, drumming spot on, vocals spot on, guitar spot on and Bass playing awesome. Highly talented all round, great entertainers, enjoyed themselves far too much and ensured that everyone there did also.
Then we have to come to the band member who had to step into the shoes of the missing soul giant. There was no way that the JK (that's Jamaroquai, not Rowling) clone Adrian (I think that was his name, forgive me if I'm wrong) could possibly give the same kind of raw soul edge that the previous singer succeeded so well at. Not even possible, couldn't be done, shouldn't even be tried and fortunately he didn't try, he didn't have to. Nope, he did something far more sensible and actually left his own mark clearly branded onto the band. The guy was great, drawing on many musical influences and belting them out in his own unique style with energy and passion, more than made up for my earlier disappointment of expecting a less than brilliant night. It's a kind of black soul in a white body thing somewhere between Stevies Winwood and Wonder and it was perfect for the band and never disappointed.
If you want a band who deliver everything it says on the tin and more, if you like soul at its best, enjoy the sound of musicians enjoying themselves and want a guaranteed night of choice songs delivered with enthusiasm and dedication then look no further, The Insoulvents delivered it by the bucket load even though they have recently undergone some personnel changes to the eight piece set up.
Excellent. | |
| Shayne, Sat 26th Jun 10 | |
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| Poodles barking up the right tree Poodles of Doom at Portishead Working Men's Club, Portishead on Sat 19th Jun 10 | |
  It was a very quiet night at the Portishead Working Men's Club as far as people were concerned, mainly because it was Carnival Day in the town and there was a lot going on at other venues that night, but for The Poodles Of Doom that minor problem wasn't going to be allowed to restrain the musical maelstrom they are so good at unleashing.
The type of Rhythm & Blues played in the traditional fashion by a talented trio who really like to put on a show always goes down a storm and tonight was no different.
Once more The Poodles bombarded the atmosphere with great classic songs from the likes of Johnny Kidd & The Pirates, Doctor Feelgood, Howlin' Wolf and the most under rated band from the seventies, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band. And once more every song was delivered with raw driving purpose that gave the songs a fresh and vibrant feel that helps remind people why, however good those old vinyl records may sound, the live performance to this high standard will always give them an edge that vinyl cannot cope with.
Two favourites of the night had to be the anthemic 'Faith Healer' (SAHB) and Howlin' Wolf's bluesy 'Killing Floor', not just great songs but great songs played as they should be played with excitable highly charged energy.
Listening to superb renditions of Dr Feelgood's 'Going Back Home' and 'Back In The Night' are not only reminders of how good Dr Feelgood were but timely reminders of how well The Poodles cover such classics.
The Poodles' repertoire is not limited to the handful of bands mentioned but also encompasses some great covers of Stones, Canned Heat, Creedence, the brilliant Rory Gallagher and even Elvis gets thrown into the mixing pot. They also play a few really catchy originals of the same standard as any song they have chosen to cover.
First time I saw the Poodles of Doom they were at Mr Wolf's playing with Alien Stash Tin and Ye Gods, next time will be at The Poacher, Portishead on August 6th. Don't take my word for it, pop along to their next gig, you will not be disappointed. | |
| Shayne, Tue 29th Jun 10 | |
 Reply from Poodles of Doom: Thanks Shayne - glad you enjoyed it. As you say, we put a lot of effort in so it's really good to be appreciated! | |
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| Here comes the Sun... Machine Sun Machine at The Poacher, Portishead on Fri 18th Jun 10 | |
 Now isn't that odd, just when I was beginning to think all the great songs had already been written and originality was going to be an increasingly difficult act to come up with, along come Sun Machine.
Take a pinch of Jefferson Airplane, add a spoonful of Led Zep, scatter an incidental portion of Siouxie and the Banshees, smear with lashings of Cream, pick off the best of Chrissie Hynde, a wing of The Doves and throw it all into your favourite psychedelic mixer, toss it in the air and it lands face up as an addictive dish served up with oozing atmospheric sounds and tightly composed, lyrically wonderful songs delivered by gourmets of their trade.
No kidding, Sun Machine don't just rock, whether by choice or accident they have captured all that is good about the past 40 years of quality music and turned it into something that now has their brand burned deep into its leathery hide.
Okay, I'm biased, these guys played original songs with a relaxed professional air that I doubt anyone else could pull off if anyone ever covered one of these gems. I like originality and admire talent that isn't splattered with attitude and ego, and fortunately I got everything I wanted from the gig, (as well as witnessing the amazing collapsing top hat).
If there was a bad song played last night then I never heard it, if there was a song played that I'd like to hear over and over again, I heard plenty. "Welcome To My Demons" was four minutes of pure heaven, a memorable song with vocals that were made to sing songs like that and three musicians who were meant to play like that. The tribal poundings by drummer Colin Pearce were like a pulsing heartbeat knocking at the door of your senses and made you wonder why the drum kit wasn't bouncing around the room. Fortunately the massive framework that caged him safely behind the kit ensured he stayed put for the entire set.
Looking at the huge orange stack that Russell Cooze on bass had parked up against the wall and the beautiful bass he wielded you knew you would be listening to some serious bass playing, though serious is probably not the right word, it was dramatic and pulsating and, combined with Colin in the engine room, produced a perfect foundation on which to build good songs upon and they built them well.
Guitarist Tim Clayton knows his stuff, his Les Paul knew its stuff and together with the aid of a platoon of footpedals, skill and a real feel for the music he played, covered this whole musical cake with a thick layer of icing that made you want to watch as well as listen.
Of course you can't have a cake without candles and the candle that shone brightly on top of this cake came in the form of singer Bev May. Not so much a candle really, more of a firework that would suddenly burst into life when least expected. Vocally suited to the songs, watchable and bubbling away all night, I think given a little more space to play in she would have been punching invisible clouds and kicking the pictures off the walls. Perfect.
Being unfamiliar with the songs wasn't a problem because they accomplished their task: to hook you and have you craving for more; the songs work and they work brilliantly.
Wiltshire seems to be popping out a few good bands lately but Sun Machine are head and shoulders above the rest, not only for their insistence of playing their own original material in their own way and carving their own niche but for the way they make you wish the venue was bigger, the audience larger and a good light show was erupting around them.
If you get the chance, listen to "Black Autumn", "The Sign" and "Not Only Gold"... Perfect.
It would be difficult to pigeonhole Sun Machine because there are so many tell-tale signs of different influences, yet they rightly haven't made the mistake of clinging to any particular one and have blended their own sound beautifully.
A must see band. | |
| Shayne, Sat 19th Jun 10 | |
| Reply from Sun Machine: Cheers Shayne! We had a blast playing at the Poacher and we're all looking forwards to coming back for more. We'll have our album ready later this year so you'll have something to take away with you. See you soon. | |
| Reply from The Poacher: Once again Shayne, you've got it spot on. Despite your begging at the end of the gig, The Poacher gig list is full for the year, but Sun Machine will DEFINITELY be back in 2011. | |
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| X-citing! The x-certs at The Red Lion, Biggleswade on Thu 10th Jun 10 | |
 As a bassist, I have played more gigs alongside Dave Roberts than any other drummer, beginning with covers band Fridge Magnates in 2004. Since both leaving the act in 2008, we've kept in touch, occasionally work together & have attended each other's gigs with different acts.
Dave became the new drummer of The X-certs in April 2010 and therefore I made the trip to The Red Lion in Biggleswade to see him in action. This pub is familiar territory to both of us and is one of the best Thursday night venues I know, for bands and punters.
I had in fact gigged with The X-certs lead guitarist Tim too on one occasion (a bass dep with his other band, Wired), so bassist Nick and vocalist/guitarist Ian were the only new introductions that needed to be made.
It's a small world!
The most immediately impressive aspect of the band is their solid sound, in terms of levels and playing style.
The band use traditional backline to amplify their instruments rather than piping the whole lot through a mixer and P.A., but the balance between the instruments was extremely well-judged. Ian's occasional acoustic guitar had none of that over-compressed, upper mid-range fizziness that often blights other acts.
The other pleasant surprise was the vast palette of tones the guitarists (especially Tim) managed to coax from a carefully-chosen mixture of old-fashioned pedals, rather than a digital multi-fx unit. Many bands rely too much on the presets of these more modern devices, and tend to end up with a rather harsh sound through their amps.
The 4-piece had plenty of energy and although there were several songs I hadn't heard before, it was nice not to hear the same old tunes for a change.
Of those I did know, highlights included a ska version of Kraftwerk's "The Model" and The Stranglers' "No More Heroes".
They also saved their most impressive track for the final encore, namely The Beatles' "I Am The Walrus". I've been suggesting this song to numerous bands over the years without any luck, but The X-certs not only proved it is possible to perform with a simple quartet, but that it's also possible to do an absolutely blinding job of it.
An excellent band and nice blokes as well - I recommend people catch them whenever they play at THEIR local too! | |
| Paul Davis, Fri 11th Jun 10 | |
| Reply from The x-certs: Thanks so much for your kind words Paul. It means a lot coming from someone of your ability and experience. There is definitely something special about the Red Lion - we always feel very at home there and I've never met a friendlier crowd in any pub I've played at. It was a really nice surprise to see you and an even nicer surprise to see you had written us a review. Cheers from all of us, Tim, Dave, Ian, Nick | |
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