New Age Grace/Venus Atax/TV Moms

  NEW AGE GRACE/VENUS ATAX/TV MOMS

Firebug 24th September 2024

Visited Firebug to see New Age Grace & Glitch Magnet... sadly GM were unable to play, but happily New Age Grace delivered a barnstorming set.

NAG are very much my cup of tea... a really tight band playing high powered rock'n'roll with energy and commitment.

Absolute dynamo of a drummer hitting the drums crisply and with power... but this is no "Animal from the Muppets" drummer... he is powerful and controlled throughout, driving the band while the bass thunders along forming a rock solid powerful rhythm section.

Up front the great guitar work and powerful vocals take the lead and are totally irresistable.

No frills or fancy gimmicks here... just high class rock'n'roll delivered by a really fine band... and i feel this set was even louder and more powerful than previous outings...

Go see this band... they will not let you down... you will get to see a great band delivering great music with energy and commitment

On the night, Venus Atax and TV Moms also played

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Terry Reid

TERRY REID

Musician Pub 22nd September 2024

What a great night at The Musician Pub last night in the company of the legendary TERRY REID with the great steel guitar player, Matt.

Terry was the first act i saw, back in 1969 (on a bill with Savoy Brown and Jethro Tull) when I started my quest to see as many bands artists as possible!!... lamentably I hadn't really followed him since, but I now realise I missed out on something special!!

Terry delivered just short of 2-1/4 hours of music and tales and kept the large audience wrapt for the whole show.

Playing simply with guitar (both acoustic and electric) and his voice, and accompanied by Matt, a sublime pedal steel player... and the "Superlungs" tag still holds, he was in great voice.

From the opening song, "Mr Moonlight" to the closing "Seed of Memory" Terry gave us a series of covers and original songs, all delivered with the same gusto and commitment.

In between the songs Terry's banter was full of information and fun... telling tales not of the song, but of the artists working with him on the song, in particular tales of Rick Danko, Bobby Darin, Ahmet Ertegun, Graham Nash and the Wilsons (Beach Boys).

Included in the covers were the Band's "It makes no Difference",

Bobby Darin's. "Splish Splash" and an outstanding version of "Dont Worry Baby" (Beach Boys) which he first performed at a charity show to honour Carl Wilson.

It is hard to believe that this was only the third gig playing with Matt, the connection between musicians, and with the audience, was outstanding throughout as Terry delivered his songs and tales with great energy, a real sense of fun and many a mischievous chuckle and aside...

A really great performance which the whole crowd loved... absolutely great night!!

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Brave Rival/Thomas Heppell

BRAVE RIVAL/THOMAS HEPPELL

Musician Pub 19th September

\Superb night last night at The Musician Pub...

Opening proceedings was Thomas Heppell... to describe him as a blues guitarist would be a serious understatement... Thomas is a superb guitar player, his playing is powerful, fluent and very melodic. He is also a great singer, delivering the songs with energy and passion throughout. He played a mix of original songs and some blues classics... ending the set with a real tour de force of guitar playing on a BB King number.

Thomas has a wonderfully warm and engaging stage presence and had the audience on board form the off.. getting everyone singing .

Superb set... loved every moment

Headlining were the magnificent Brave Rival, a band i've seen a few times before and simply love!!...

They start with a fanfare and drummer Donna Peters coming on and beating the time before bass player Billy Dedman came on to start some powerful bass work... guitar player Ed Clarke was next, and started playing before singers Lindsey Bonnick and Chloe Josephine appear to huge cheers and the band rock into their first piece... the power of the music was exceptional and never relented for the best part of two glorious hours...

The musicianship and charisma of this band is exceptional... Five exceptional musicians and singers combining to make an outstanding rock'n'roll band.

Throughout the set Billy and Donna form a rock solid powerhouse of a rhythm section, but more than that, their individual playing is outstanding and worthy of close attention.

Guitarist Ed is as good as any i've seen... playing beautifully within the band setting and delivering some mesmerising wonderful solos...

Up front Lindsey and Chloe have superb voices and sing brilliantly throughout

The whole band puts on a full show.. playing brilliant music and visually riveting. There is a wonderful togetherness within the band... clearly a lot of love between the players which communicates to the audience and back.. .

Although they are a rock'n'roll band they also play some tender and sensitive material, reflecting on dark times in their lives, in particular Chloe spoke movingly and wisely about the issues surrounding depression and mental illness before delivering a highly charged emotional version of "Insane"... hugely moving performance.

Towards the end of the show they invited Thomas Heppell back to join them for a monumental version of "Tennessee Whiskey"... starting out soft and sentimental before building and featuring blistering guitar solos by Thomas and Ed.

The final pice saw maybe Ed's most outstanding guitar solo... standing at the edge of the stage and playing a totally stunning solo.

The band came back for an encore, similar to the opening, Donna kicked it off with some tremendous drumming before Billy stepped up with a quite remarkable bass solo before the others returned to deliver the cracking finale.

There just aren't enough superlatives to describe this band... musically superb... charismatic... a powerhouse of a rock'n'roll band... absolutely magnificent from start to finish

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Old Baby Mackerel

OLD BABY MACKEREL

Musician Pub:18th September 2024

A real treat at The Musician Pub last with a visit from a great bluegrass band, all the way from Bristol... Old Baby Mackerel

They are a four-piece old timey bluegrass band playing high energy, high quality foot stomping bluegrass music... The band play in the real way... acoustically, gathered around a single microphone and step into and out of the front with the precision of a royal ballet to solo either vocally or instrumentally. They have three excellent singers, singing either solo or in superb three part harmonies. Musically the singers play mandolin, banjo, guitar and are supported by a bouncing rhythmIc bass underpinning the whole sound.The set features a mix of excellent, sometimes quirky original songs, such as the one lamenting the difficulty of driving in Bristol, as well as covers of old time blue grass pieces, all delivered with high energy and great humour. A high calibre band who play with zest and great spirit engaging easily with the audience and providing a hugely enjoyable show.The sound, using the single central microphone is beautifully clear and alive, clearly demonstrating the quality of the musicianship and vocals.High enjoyable evening with a great band... highly recommended

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