The Agony/Coyote Mad Seeds/Alice in Thunderland

THE AGONY/COYOTE MAD SEEDS/THE AGONY

Musician Pun 23rd August 2024

About a year ago the Agony and CMS gave an outstanding concert at the The Musician Pub so it was a real treat to welcome them back, along with another band, Alice in Thunderland... so this looked like a "not to be missed" show... and so it proved.

First up was the new, to me, band.. .ALICE IN THUNDERLAND... and they delivered a terrific set of hard rock'n'roll.... Kev and Stu on bass and drums respectively were powerful and produced a solid pounding beat while guitarist Sam played some superb dazzling guitar. Up front Kala has a fabulous and powerful voice singing brilliantly and moving constantly... an ideal rock'n'roll singer.

The band overall was tight and musically excellent... the material, all i believe orIginal, and high quality. One potentially tricky moment was turned to advantage when Sam forgot how the last song went... the bands humour shone through and after some seconds he led the band into a terrific performance of the song.

Fabulous performance by the band... would love to see them back to play their full hour set... that would be a treat.

Next up, the wonderful COYOYE MAD SEEDS. The band had been a highlight of 2023 and again they delivered a scorching set of rock'n'roll.

They are a no-nonsense driving rock'n'roll band, who are musically top class and play with commitment and humour, with lively banter among the band members and audience keeping the crowd fully engaged. They are a great band and have just something indefinable extra to lift them further.

The music is fast and loud and Joe leads things with his vocals/guitar with assurance and great style, though all four musicians are terrific and blend together perfectly into a powerful, high quality rock'n'roll band... another superb set by the band, thoroughly loved it.

Headling were the Czech hard rock band, THE AGONY who, as they did last time, delivered an outstanding 60 minutes of powerful rock'n'roll. Their music is powerful and also melodic with some great hooks

As with the other bands tonight bass and drums powered along forming a glorious basis for the brilliant lead guitar work and vocals. The focal point of the band is the singer/guitarist who also handles all of the stage announcements, as well as delivering the material with a great and powerful voice while playing guitar. All four musicians are high quality and blend together into a brilliant collective whole, playing exciting and powerful rock'n'roll from the heart .

This was a terrific night... 3 superb rock bands each playing a brilliant and hugely enjoyable set... where will you get a better party than seeing three such great bands delivering such fabulous music for just a tenner... superb night, absolute loved all three bands and the whole evening

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

Dawson Smith & the Dissenters

DAWSON SMITH & THE DISSENTERS

Donkey 18th August 2024

Another sunny Sunday afternoon and all the usual suspects gathered at The Donkey Venue for a fabulous afternoon in the company of Dawson Smith and The Dissenters.

As ever, Dawson and the band were in cracking form delivering a couple of hours of high class americana/rock'n'roll

The lions share of the set was Dawson originals, I was especially pleased to hear "American Cars" early on.

Whatever the genre, this band play superb rocking music and had the dancers up almost from the start. The rhythm section of Joe Burton (Drums) and Steve Burton (bass) drive a mighty rhythm throughout and Howard Smith plays fluent exciting guitar, in my view excelling with his slide work, while Dawson plays great guitar and sings. Everyone knows Dawsons passion for blues/americana and it shines through with his banter and performance at every gig...

Early on he stated his love for Steve Earle, before playing his own song tribute to him, promising some to deliver some Earle material later... and later we got a sparkling rendition of the excellent "Copperhead Road".

The band clearly love playing this music together and play with real passion as well as massive ability, with Dawson chatting happily with the audience between songs

An absolutely great set played by a really cracking band... I, along with the whole audience revelled in it and loved every minute... Wonderful stuff!

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

Gerry Jablonski Band

GERRY JABLONSKI BAND

Musician Pub 17th August 2024

It was a privilege to be at the The Musician Pub last night to see a sensational performance by the fabulous Gerry Jablonski Band. After seeing the bands superb show last year this was a not to be missed evening and it delivered everything you could hope for. The band are a no nonsense powerhouse of energy, charisma and brilliant musicianship and deliver a couple of hours of the most wonderful high powered high energy rock'n'roll.

At the back Lewis Fraser hammers the drums with brilliant controlled abandon throughout while Grigor Leslie lays down a formidable powerful bass powering the band through the set.

Peter Narojczyk is an outstanding harp player, bouncing around and playing superb harp passages.

Gerry Jablonski is the leader, primary singer and guitar player.. and what a phenomenal guitarist he is... playing powerhouse guitar while hopping around the stage, or standing on the stage apron playing scintillating superb solos. Gerry's singing is pretty good as well!!

Lewis takes the lead vocals on two or three numbers, including a beautiful ballad for an absent friend, delivered with clear emotion and quality. I'm sure he could step into any other band as lead vocalist!

There just aren't enough superlatives to describe this band, and this gig... four brilliant musicians playing with outstanding energy and fire, and also with a smile and sense of fun. A truly awesome band playing at the absolute peak of their form.... Best rock'n'roll band around?... i wouldn't dispute that!

Absolutely wonderful evening... thank you guys

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

Stevie Jones & the Wildfires/Giddy Aunt/Hartmann & Carter/Calder

STEVIE JONES & THE WILDFIRES/GIDDY AUNT/HARTMANN & CARTER/CALDER

Musician Pub 16th August 2024

Back at the The Musician Pub last night for the launch of Stevie Jones "Getting There" album, and a bit of a mixed night it was.Opening up with CALDER, an acoustic singer/songwriter. His own songs are really good and he has a strong powerful voice but i felt overdid it at one point. The strong guitar playing fitted perfectly with the vocals and made for an excellent opening set. Thoroughly enjoyed it... cracking good start to the evening.

Up next were BENN HARTMAN and HARRIET CARTER. Benn proved to be a really high quality guitar player and pretty good singer. The songs last night were Benn's original songs and were really high quality. Harriet added harmonies to most of the set but for me the voices didnt really blend well.

The couple are part of a grunge tribute band and they ended with Harriet performing a grunge piece (whether orriginal or cover i dont know) I am not a fan of grunge, or Stevie Nicks (who she mentioned in the intro) and I felt the performance was way over the top... brilliant guitar work by Benn though.

Overall quite enjoyed the set as a whole.

Next up was a new band, GIDDY AUINT. I can find nothing positive or complimentary to say about them so onto the headliner...

Stevie Jones and The Wildfires are the real deal. Stevie is an experienced performer and leads a cracking band. He is simply not capable of delivering a poor set!!... and tonight was a superb performance.

The band are so tight... superb driving bass and drums and a lead guitarist who delivered some superb work throughout. The band was augmented at times by a keyboard player, which added a layer of texture where required and an excellent vocalist harmonizing with Stevie.

Stevie himself was on top form... featuring songs from the new album as well as more familiar pieces, singing and playing brilliantly throughout.

Stevie is not only a truly great performer and writer, but is also a very thoughtful and caring guy making some particularly wise and quite touching comments about the recent tragedy in Southport and it's aftermath and the abuse and the abuse of greenfield sites...

The songs are superb and deserve far wider recognition... This was a superb set by a really superb performer and a wonderful band... absolutely loved every minute...

If you dont know Stevie and his work... shame on you!!... give him a listen and go see him... he is the real deal... superb!!

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