Lemonrock live music gig guide - The Horn, St Albans

The Horn, St Albans[Live Music Pub]

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starman Mark Christopher Lee on Sun 13th Apr 08

Mark lee @ the blue angel acoustic café Sunday 13th April 2008.

This was chilled out laid back kind of gig by pocket gods front man Mark Lee. Stripped of the raw punk backing energy of the PG combo we heard witty spaced out lyrics and clever chord structures instead. There was a good turnout for a wet Sunday and a hushed reverence was in place throughout his set. One of the songs "ballad of the naan" was apparently one of John Peels favourites but my favourite was the closing song "Danube" of which I overheard him at the bar telling someone it was written about his experiences of living in Eastern Europe...no doubt he also collected tales there of vampires and blow up dolls. Also of interest this was the first time I heard anyone cover one of my favourite songs.."September Gurls" by Big Star..I hope Mark Lee keeps on rockin' with the gods but also finds time to go with his mellower psychedelic vibes that were on display tonight. He is St Albans own version of Syd Barrett except a bit more together and with the looks of Klaus Kinski!

A music fan, Mon 14th Apr 08

Parker weathers the storm Shades of Blues presents on Thu 13th Mar 08

Wet, wet, wet. No, not the '80s band, just the weather last Thursday night. A cold wind, teeming rain and the prospect of a blues evening at St Albans' famous rock pub, The Horn.

Yes, you have to be dedicated to the cause to tear yourself away from the sofa and fireside after a hard day at work and battle through the traffic, trusting to be entertained by a man you've maybe never even heard of.

Fortunately for me, I knew what I was letting myself in for with Ian Parker - the supremely talented singer and guitarist who really lit up The Stables at MK on the two other occasions I had seen him.

Once again, he didn't disappoint. I feared the worst at 8.30pm when the crowd watching his sound check was me, worried promotor Bob Ayre and his partner. But by 9am a steady crowd had trickled in, curious to see the latest star to have been captured by Bob's Shades of Blues operation.

There was never any fear that Ian - one of the nicest guys you could ever meet - wouldn't turn in a top performance. As a poetic singer-songwriter, vastly under-rated guitarist and a showman who's not afraid to take chances onstage, he always offers full value for money.

Currently on his Where I Belong tour (next stop the Netherlands), Ian and his band took off at high tempo and by the end of the evening, The Horn was rocking in time-honoured style and the gloomy mood evaporated as fast as the rain trickling down the back of your neck in the warm confines of the intimate rock-bar setting.

Parker is hard to pigeonhole. His heart is in the blues and much of his music is infused with the sounds he digested during his Blues Caravan tour of Clarksdale and Memphis in the USA a couple of years ago. But he's a soulman, too, and that adds an intriguing flavour to his music.

During two hours of intense, burning blues music, we were treated to the whole array of Parker's talents, some from previous albums, others from the latest CD Where I Belong - Your Love Is My Home, Waste My Days being highlights. And a stunning slow blues number Before Sunrise, which had previously never made it onto disc, was a stunning success.

There were also brave cover versions of BB King and Hendrix numbers, imbued with Parker's own flavour, and some interesting guitar changes to freshen it all up.

Parker played the majority of his set with a brace of Fender Strats but ringed the changes with two superb acoustic numbers and one memorable rendering of A Love So Cold on a Gibson Les Paul. The Gibson's fat, juicy, layered sound contrasted so drastically with the thinner, jangly ubiquitous Fender that it makes you wonder why he doesn't it dust off more often.

But although Parker fronts the band in some style (he can't resist hamming it up on the slow soulful numbers with plenty of distressed groaning and theatricals), this is no one-man band.

His sound is unerpinned by the superb, powerful, intricate drumming grooves of Wayne Proctor, the colourful keys of Bob Morgan and warm, fat bass of Steve Amadeo and they prove to be a tight, joyful band whose enthusiasm is catching.

Parker, mostly known for his solid, driving rock-blues and mesmeric, bubbling riffs, isn't afraid to cool things down. Several slow numbers, featuring the most delicate, featherlight touch on the Strat and whispered vocals, were of the highest order and showed just how far Ian has come in technique over the past few years.

The stand-out number on the night was undoubtedly the Claptonesque "She's All Right" from the Whilst The Wind album but in truth, the standard was so high that it was hard to choose.

Bob Ayre's pledge to bring the very best of modern day blues music to the region still holds good. Come rain or shine, he's going to winkle out the right artists and get them onboard. Even when the elements conspire against him and some people will choose to turn into zombies in front of the telly rather than venture out, he's defiant in his musical stance - and all power to him for that.

courtesy of Alan Candy, Luton Today, Sun 30th Mar 08

a pocket full of promise The Pocket Gods on Wed 30th Jan 08

A cold, dank and miserable Wednesday night down at the Horn was lightened up by the magic sounds of the pocket gods. This local band have been hyped up by local and national press and radio as one to look out for in 2008 and I was expecting to be under whelmed as you usually are with such hyped bands, but for once I could see what Tom Robinson and Radio 1's Huw Stephens see in them.

Energy, attitude and a punk pop sound that's a cross between the Sex Pistols and Take That or Abba are what the gods are about. They also have interesting lyrics that make it sound a bit surreal in a Bonzo Dog/Monty Python kind of way. And then there's the smut which sends them off into ooh err Matron Carry On Spinal Tap territory - "you'll be lickin' my love pump baby," dirty blonde man Mark Lee sings in "Soldiers of Love" to the angelic Annie Moeke... they ended their set with their tribute to the late John Peel with a humourous punk toon "Shark" which sounded like a Hammer Horror porn soundtrack... the only smidgeon of criticism I have is that I didn't think the drummer fitted in with the band's dynamic, and lost the beat a couple of times... which the rest of the band bravely laughed off... watch out for pocket gods and check them out live - they're sexy and fun and you can sing along... maybe Sex Pistols meets Steps?

A music fan, Thu 31st Jan 08

Built like a Car Ellie Dee on Thu 15th Nov 07

It's a shame about the low turnout for the first public outing by Elllie Dee. However, 'The Dee' shouldn't be down-hearted because a lot of people are going to have a great deal of fun watching and listening to this band.

They are clearly great musicians. Andy drives it along with his rock solid stick work (shame he slipped through the net when I tried to line him up for my own band earlier this year!), Mick shows just the right amount of lead guitarist attitude and Paul tops it off with his bass and all important 80's keyboard sound.

The male/female vocals give them a great range of songs to pick from. Sonia has a stunning voice and will only get better with a little more confidence in her performance. Keith is certainly an imposing figure and shows the audience plenty of moves. He also delivered a superb vocal on the best song of the night - Cars by Gary Numan (he even has a Numan tattoo on his arm).

For an 80's band they play quite a few songs from the 70's (You're so vain, Come up and see me) but it's none the worse for that... and as Paul said, it's their band so they'll play what they like!

Great stuff for a first outing. Check them out when you get the chance.

Mike, Fri 16th Nov 07

Reply from Ellie Dee: Hi Mike. Just joking with my "it's OUR band" remark, so thanks for taking it that way! A very gracious yet constructive review that we all appreciate. Our existing set will be tightened up & will add some SAS songs (Mick & Andy's last band) by Christmas. We're all the more grateful to the audience in view of the entrance fee. And a big thanks to Mac & Mel (MacLaren Wall) - they made our gig feel like a good night out with friends instead of just a barrage of noise and onstage pomp! ;)


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Venue details last updated 14 April 08, gig/event details last updated 5 May 08.


Page first created on Lemonrock 25 April 05.