GIGS IN MARCH 2007

BUNTERS BAR, TRURO (22ND MARCH)

THE AMMUNITION

Headlining tonight`s performance at Bunters, The Ammunition, (formally known as Joe Francis and The Ammunition but now with added former-Reels man Joe Bosher on bass, precise trivia fans!), came to the stage ready to shake some foundations.

You`d be mistaken in thinking this band was an indie/folky thing if you`d only heard their recorded work, because seeing them live is whole different kettle of sealife. First thing I thought was Jason and the Scorchers and then a bit of local rock heroes Even Nine, but how can you compare The Ammunition to anyone and not deny their obvious uniqueness?

There`s blues there in the lead guitar solos of Ben `Westy` Westaway`s blue Strat and Joe Francis` gorgeous Rickenbacker when trading licks with the each other, but its the power of the Francis vocals that really steer this Ammunition. Joe`s voice just gets better and better as the gig continues, gentle phrasing contrasting to the full on raawk holler he can pull out of the bag when the song requires it. Added to that you`ve got sing-a-long chorus` and the catchy riffs that only took two songs to get some wolf whistles from the rapidly growing and excitable crowd.

Watching the band perform was a bit like sticking your fingers in an electrical socket; you know you shouldn`t do it, you get a massive surge of energy ripping through you and its bloody good fun! (...apart from the smell of burning of course).

They`ve recorded at the famous Abbey Road Studios already and will be snapping at the heels of national success before you know it, so take your opportunity now and go and see them before the inevitable world tour and international acclaim whisk them from our county.

The Ammunition; fully loaded and fighting fire with fire.

www.theammunition.co.uk

www.myspace.com/joefrancisandtheammunition

RYAN JONES

Generally known for his old joanna skills fronting The fabulous Hitchcock Rules, Ryan Jones is doing a bit of moonlighting at the mo showing how damned talented the swine is on a guitar aswell. Aww bloody hell - what do you wanna know? He writes songs that the likes of Carly Simon and Carole King could only dream of, he plays the acoustic guitar and keyboards like a surviving Beatle with marriage problems and sings like James Taylor. I hate him!

No, (misses...!), let me clarify that; I don`t hate Ryan Jones, I hate the fact that he`s not spoken about in the same circles as the above artists, (apart from here!), I hate the fact that I can only hear three tracks of his on myspace, (where`s the album RJ?), I hate the fact that the rest of the stupid planet hasn`t noticed the beauty of this man`s art and I hate the fact that when they do, we`ll have to pay thirty quid to see something similar to tonight`s free performance.

And what of tonight`s performance? Well apart from starting too late and forcing himself to be heard over the internal sound system at the begining, (I always feel Bunters could do with an MC to introduce the artists to the audience ...just an idea), Ryan`s initial songs were quiet and too gentle for some of the more lubricated in the audience. However with a little off stage banter between songs, he quickly got them onside and although the set was too short for most of us, Mr.Jones ended strongly.

So what have we learned from all this? - Life is a bag of shit, but seeing and hearing Ryan Jones perform gives us hope of a better day!

www.myspace.com/rjacoustic

(Photos by Lord Itchfield)