Man/Awesome Dawson Band

MAN/AWESOME DAWSON BAND

IMV 25TH March 2026

Wednesday night at The International Music Venue was a pure joy... two terrific bands each playing superb sets.

First up was The Awesome Dawson Band... and great to see Dawson Smith back on stage, with his brand new band, featuring Steve (drums) Philip Koeberle (lead guitar) Sean Clutterham (harp) and Nick Plews (bass)

This was the first outing for the new line up, and it was terrific, great music played by 5 fine musicians combining into a terrific whole. I suspect as they play more gigs things will get tighter and take the band to new heights. The set featured Dawson's songs from across his career, stripped down and re-vamped into country/americana rockers...

There were a lot of smiles on stage, and in the audience, as the band continued to delight with the quality of their music. Dawson was playing acoustic and singing as well as i've ever heard him while the whole band was playing with assurance and quality.. .

The music was joyful and upbeat, almost front porch style...and when Dawson switched to electric for the last couple of songs, they rocked even more...

An absolute gem of a set, loved every minute and looking forward to seeing the band again...

One of the very best live bands in the late 60's and 70's, and indeed one of my very favourites, were the welsh rockers, MAN, and it was wonderful to see them back on stage headlining at the International Music Venue last night. The band reformed in the 80's and although they have gone through lineup changes the legendary MARTIN ACE is still there playing bass and singing, brilliantly supported by Josh Ace on giuitar/keyboards/vocals, James Beck on guitar and one of the best drummers i've seen... sadly I didn't catch his name.

I cant recall the pieces they played, but they started with a real classic (i think) "The Ride and the View"... it took barely a minute to see,... but the band were clearly on fire... the sound and feel was pure classic Man... and was wonderful.

Martin, Josh and John all took turns singing lead, and the three joined together to sing as a trio at times.

The musicianship in the band is outstanding, both guitar players were superb, and Josh also weighed in with some brilliant keyboard work. At the back the drummer was far more than just a drummer, he showed he could hammer the kit as well as playing with subtlety and style ... up front Martin's bass playing remains superb.. he seemed to touch the strings so lightly, but the bass was strong and clear throughout.

The first half ended with the old classic, "Spunk Rock" which took the music to even greater heights as it always did...

After the break the band continued in the same vein, superb music ending with the other early days classic "Romaine"

This was a masterclass of how to play brilliant rock music... no tricks, gimmicks or flash.. just brilliant musicianship delivered with assurance and total commitment... the music just flows beautifully...creating images, at times mesmerizing, at all times rocking and uplifting... an absolutely superb set by a superb band... as good as it gets... brilliant, loved every second

Two really great bands... one making its debut, the other in the legendary status... but both outstanding... and a word for the sound quality... crystal clear and superb!

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