Sons of Liberty

SONS OF LIBERTY

IAC 10th May 2025

It's what Saturday nights are made for... back at the INTERNATIONAL ARTS CENTRE to see one of the most outstanding rock'n'roll bands on the circuit... a welcome return for THE SONS OF LIBERTY.

A disappointment to start, in that the LIBERTY SLAVES were unable to perform due to illness... and wishing them swift recovery and a chance to see them in the future... however... the good news is that the Sons of Liberty played a longer set... around 1-3/4 hours straight through...

The start had just Steve sitting behind the drum kit and an off stage howl of guitar.. a drum roll and the band hit the stage and got straight down to business.. the business of delivering their own brand of high energy powerful southern rock.

The band is powered by the superb drumming and bass playing of Steve and Mark respectively and while Andy and Fred play scintillating powerful flowing guitar throughout. At the front singer Russ has a great powerful voice and personality to burn.

The band have a great rapport with the audience the moment they come on stage and engage fully with everyone throughout... they play with passion and great joy, with a lot of humour on stage, and shared with the audience...

Not only are the band musically superb, but they are also visually rivetting... they really look the part and are ever moving and dancing around the stage.. .Fred running round and round in tight circles, often joined by Russ while Andy prowls around the other side of the stage... they also throw in a few choreographed dance routines (like a super-charged Shadows!) and have a few songs with perfect call and response sections fully involving the audience...

The songs are all original and high quality, and of special note are "Hawk Men Come", a hymn for Ukraine and "Walk With You" a reminder of the importance to talk about issues to preserve mental health (a subject dear to my heart)....

I know people who spend huge sums to go to arenas, stadia, large concert halls to see rock'n'roll bands often only really on big screens above the stage... i am sure they enjoy the events, but they will see nothing more powerful and exhilarating than a SONS OF LIBERTY gig on the grass roots circuit... this band rock out like crazy and are probably the best rock'n'roll band on the circuit.. superb performance... fabulous night... hope they are back soon!!

All the way home I had "Rich Man Poor Man... " and "Damned if you do" rattling around my head...

Thank you to the band for a superb performance and to Chris for booking them

Keep music live... Keep music real... support your local venues

Jeffrey Lewis & the Voltage/Awkward Silences/Echolocation @ IAC

JEFFREY LEWIS & THE VOLTAGE/AWKWARD SILENCES/ECHOLOCATION

IAC 8th March 2025

Back at the INTERNATIONAL ARTS CENTRE last night to see three fine bands...

First up were #echolocation, a local band I have seen a number of times, and they remain an enigma to me... listening to them they are a fine band, musically excellent, and very much in their favour they are doing something different, creative, away from the standard rock fare. They are based around an intense vibrant lead guitar and synth, with Peter's poetry at the front supported admirably by fine drum and bass. The sound is driving and hypnotic but this vibe is not really to my taste so it is hard to be properly objective... suffice to say as always they went down really well with the audience

Next up were a band totally new to me, Awkward Silences. Led by singer Paul Hawkins (who is also Head of Volunteering and Skills Development at the charity Attitude is Everything) and ably supported by guitar, bass and synth. Last night their drummer was unable to appear so they used a drum track... if that phased them in any way it didnt show...

They are very much about the quirky off-beat lyrics which often surprise and always delight... i would have paid double to see the whole room join in with the dance Paul demonstrated in the Black Lace-y number ("I think "Innocent Fun").

Very quirky, very individual and massively enjoyable set

Finally... the man of the hour... the welcome return to Leicester of Jeffrey Lewis and the Voltage... actually a name I knew by reputation but didn't know the music... I have missed out!!

Jeffrey started out solo, playing a couple of acoustic pieces, the second of with was about the generational perils of smoking and smart phones, and is one of the most creative and wonderful songs I have heard in a long time...

Through the show members of the Voltage came on stage in one's, two's or three's for some songs while Jeffrey remained solo for others... this kept everything fresh and gave a lovely variety to the overall show.

Jeffreys songs are quirky, offbeat and superb (a bit Jonathon Richman-like at times... and that is a real compliment!!) and packed with so many words.... it is a feat to have them all committed so assuredly and to deliver them with such pace and quality... Jeffrey is a superb performer with bags of personality and charisma....

The songs were all original, though at the end he did do a couple of covers, but uniquely movie covers rather than song covers...

the first being "Star Wars", the other being his autobiography through the medium of fashion... as he sang the stories he showed an illustration from his cloth book of paintings and drawings illustrating the lyrics.

A superb wordsmith and performer assisted as required by three talented musicians who added to the pieces they were involved in...

Really great performance... absolutely loved it....

Keep music live... keep music real... support your local venues

Millie Manders & the Shutup/Wrex

MILLIE MANDERS & THE SHUTUP/WREX

IAC 3rd May 2025

So, after a quiet month at INTERNATIONAL ART CENTRE it was back with a bang last night for some rocking good fun… First up was a band totally new to me, WREX, the duo of Mae Seaton and George Donoghue supported by drum and bass players. The music is a mix of rock and punk and is uniquely powerful and vibrant. The band is all about high octane high energy rocking and the perpetual motion of Mae and George who both leap around constantly, Mae in particular displaying enough energy and movement for at least 10 bands…

The music is hard rocking and powerful throughout and Mae’s powerful vocals are assured and very positive.. The songs, all original I believe, cover subjects such as mental health and vulnerability, but the power and energy of the music and visual performance do tend to make it difficult to concentrate on the lyrics…

Overall, though not my normal first choice of genre, this band know how to put on a vibrant compelling rock show, and perform with huge confidence, assurance and quality… overall a fine powerful set… mind you, I’m not sure that the voyages around the audience really add to the show… for me it tends to divide the attention to some extent… but a really powerful set.

Next up, the headliners, a band I knew by name and reputation but had never heard… Millie Manders and The Shutup Early on some technical gremlins seemed to be causing a few problems, but the band dealt with them without being put off their stride as they rocked through their powerful show.The band are musically excellent and play with real passion and intensity, and with a smile. Their energy and on-stage movement is enormous. Millie Manders always moving and at times appears to be going through a Marine style work out… The whole band is full of energy and movement, and are visually totally engaging throughout.. .again the power, intensity and visual spectacle of the band made it difficult to concentrate on the lyrics, though I felt they were probably very good and strong. At one point Millie invited anyone easily offered to leave for five minutes (no-one did!) While she spoke passionately about the horror of the awful situations around abuse and delivered a song, “Me Too”, on the subject… the pain and passion of the theme etched clearly on her face as she did so… and speaking of lyrics the songs also had some further strong political and ethical content… a rock’n’roll band with a commitment and social conscience… On the merch stand the band sell teddy bears… all there proceeds of which go to charity , I believe in support of victims of abuse.

The high energy and joy with which the band played had the audience dancing and the call and responses as well as the familiar songs/chorus’s (to the bulk of the audience, if not me) had the majority joining in with gusto and built the good strong party atmosphere…The band played around 90 minutes without let up in energy, commitment or style and delivered a cracking good set… thoroughly enjoyed it and wonder why I had never seen them before!!!

Keep music live… keep music real… support your local venues