THE HUB, PLYMOUTH (10TH NOVEMBER)

NERVOSA & THE VICTORIAN ENGLISH GENTLEMAN`S CLUB

(Reviewed by Matt S)

The support for (the allegedly arrogant and stage-selfish, but that's solely conjecture) Sons and Daughters at The Hub last Saturday (10th) night were two bands who might be able to offer something different to modern music. That is, if they have things their way. Two different sounds and contrasting levels of on-stage technological sophistication contrived to happily and fully engage a moderate crowd of student-types and rockers.

6-piece Nervosa, having travelled up from Cornwall to be crammed onto the front of the stage (to accommodate Ss and Ds' not-to-be-touched drumkit) started with gusto and grabbed the slowly filling auditorium with a building funk-down that moved into the catchy 'Breathe In'. They followed this with a set combining raw emotions and some high-class musicianship, the highlight of which for me was a 3-pronged roll of songs mid-set that went from the soft and melodic to the strong and anthemic and finally onto the simple and nostalgic, and confirmed their progressive rock tendancies.

With a drummer aptly wearing a T-Shirt emblazoned in 'Animal' regalia, an ability to use slightly off the wall song structures and sounds and a lead vocal with a wide range of pitch and emotion, Nervosa have plenty of weapons in their armoury. They had the increasing Hub crowd's attention almost constantly, and the bar in the next room was merely a calling post, not somewhere to stay during this set. It wasn't flawless, and there were one or two moments when one remembered the reality that this was in fact only their second live electric performance, but, like at Oxjam 2 weeks prior, they demonstrated a great tendancy to entertain and are very much worth catching in the future when you can!

Next came 3-piece The Victorian English Gentlemens Club (The Vic Club from hereon down) with a quite different vibe going on. All three members took on singing/shouting/screaming duties at various points in a drum-led performance, accompanied by racing bass and part punk, part psycadelic guitar. The set is obviously well rehearsed and they definitely aim to put on a spectacle. Visually they are a joy, sexy and vivacious and the half-full venue were very much engaged when they made their entrance.

A stomping solo drumbeat kicked off the set as the Vic Club formed an enclosed circle (triangle) in the middle of the stage, and brought to mind a fascist rally from the early 20th century. The female 2 thirds of the band (bass and drums) then engaged in an interesting operatic wailing that was hugely appreciated by their followers at the front, but seemed to lack an endgame and the song felt like it was lacking a point. The following songs seemed to swing between just two basic drum beats that were carbon copied in alternate songs. This was disappointing from a band whose myspace page had promised more diversity and innovation than, on this evidence, they perform live.

There were highlights though. Two tracks mid-set shone out and visibly grabbed the ever-increasing crowd's attention long enough to impress. The first, featuring a psycadelic screen projection behind the band, was much quicker and encouraged members of the audience into minor acts of dance... a catchy riff and vocal drew us in and the song that followed capitilised well. Kicking off with the girls' combined drumstick beating with the odd bell thrown in, it came to life with a big bassline reminiscent of Queens of the Stone Age. An anguished falsetto moved into a mesh of feedback and with the bass player seemingly orgasming on stage, the band built up into a crescendo that then progressed into a finish featuring all three members screaming in and out of tandem and then to an abrupt stop. It was impressive.

Alas, despite one or two brief moments of punk or psycadelic hope there was nothing too notable about the second half of the set. The Vic Club have an interesting sound that could be developed further, one feels, but too many of the songs felt the same and failed to capitilise on some notable ideas. They appear to be a band who will have a small but very loyal following who believe wholeheartedly in what they do, but to appeal to a wider audience they may have to differentiate their sound further.

www.myspace.com/nerv0sa

www.myspace.com/thevictoriangentlemansclub

THE CRUMPLEHORN INN, POLPERRO (17TH NOVEMBER)

KRIS DOLLIMORE

The legendary ex-Godfathers` guitarist, paying his first visit to Cornwall, chose the sleepy and homely village of Polperro to showcase his blues enthusiasm. At the equally homely and extremely traditionally Cornish Crumplehorn Inn the evening`s clientele sat munching their suppers as Kris started his set of traditional delta slide blues covers and original songs. Soon, however, the pub was filling up with drinkers who`d come just to hear the music, (most of whom had no idea who Kris was or his pedigree).

Mr. Dollimore has been a jobbing guitarist for the last few years after leaving The Godfathers, working with amongst others Adam Ant, Del Amitri, Dee Dee Ramone and The Damned. He can number both David Bowie and Johnny Depp amongst his fans, (although neither made an appearance tonight) but has recently changed tack somewhat by reinventing himself as a blues guitarist.

His set tonight included John Lee Hooker, Iggy Pop and Robert Johnson covers authentically mixed in with his own similar styled slide blues songs. His voice was both raw and powerful when he sang and yet gentle when required. Playing tracks from his first solo album 02/01/1978 including the instrumental East of England and the truely wonderful Brother Ray, he easily won over the local and visiting walking crowd.

As one lady said to her friend, ...you have to be in the right frame of mind for the blues, don`t you? and although I agree to a point, Kris Dollimore was able to create the right atmosphere in this chocolate box-quaint pub so that everyone was in the right frame of mind. (So much so, they cheered and forced three encores out of him at the end of the evening).

He`s already booked to return early next year, (19th April 2008), so if you like your blues authentic, delta slide and acoustic as they were meant to be, mark your new calender now because you won`t find better this side of the Mississippi!

www.myspace.com/krisdollimore

(Photos by Lord Itchfield)

THE MI BAR, FALMOUTH (12TH NOVEMBER)



CLUB CUCKOO LAUNCHES IN FALMOUTH

(Review by Joseph Maguire)

Landing in Falmouth for the first time indie, rock n roll club night ‘Club Cuckoo’ took over the upstairs of the MI Bar on Monday night and to great success.

With an audience full of Falmouth’s beautiful young things, intermingled with Cornwall’s rock n roll royalty, you could’ve easily been mistaken for thinking you were having a night on the tiles in London. There was an atmosphere that brought back memories to this reviewer of his first time at something like Erol Alkan’s now defunct, but
legendary, ‘cool place to be’ club night, TRASH.

Penzance band DISCO PIP opened the show with a rocking performance that proved why they are heirs to the indie-disco crown in Cornwall. Next up, using the night as a launch party for his new (amazing by the way) album was Redruth rap star, HEDLUV. Featuring his mate Passman on backing vocals and electric drum pad ‘thing’ the pair at one point broke into a chaotic, yet somewhat moving, cover the Spice Girls classic ‘Two become on’ and to rapturous applause.

With indie DJ duo extraordinaires The Earls of Suave on the decks before and after each live act the dance floor was starting to move in the build up to Falmouth’s very own, EYELIDS. Four girls, playing punk rock psychobilly via influences such as The Cramps and using a double bass, how can this formula not work? If you haven’t yet seen The Eyelids then put it at the top of your to do list now!

Headlining were Bude’s resident Rock stars, THE FIRES. The Fires never fail to impress, with new tunes thrown into a set of ‘punchy, attacking melody loaded’ rock n roll these guys were on Fire tonight. It was a shame that some people had gone because they missed one of the best bands in Cornwall on form.

Perhaps the people who missed out had a good excuse. Maybe they had to go to work the next day, it was a Monday night after all, well Tuesday morning by now actually. Or perhaps, even worse, it was that age old Cornish problem of routine, the lure of the free night club down the road playing a bit of chart and cheese? Who knows?

One thing is for sure that if promoters SUAVE continue to put on nights that rock like this then give it a year and it’ll be ‘cheese? What cheese?’


www.myspace.com/thecuckoobar

GIGS IN OCTOBER 2007

OXJAM, CAMBORNE (27TH OCTOBER)

NERVOSA

(Reviewed by Matt S)

A mini version of a circus big top near a disused mine in Camborne, late on a damp and dark afternoon was the setting for the first full live electric performance for Nervosa, the St Austell band for all seasons.

Sandwiched between the accomplished Suite Noir and the well supported Shrug, the fact that 6-member Nervosa set-up and fitted themselves onto the small stage was achievement itself. That they then produced a skillful and captivating performance on what was essentially their debut was something more. From the moment that the rhythm section (Drummer Ant Barrett and bassist Bryn Powell) got their groove down in Crazy Bass, the introduction to their first ‘song’, the catchy Breathe In, the crowd stopped chatting, comparing war scars and rolling cigarettes, and became captivated by the group playing in front of them.

Breathe In, a sometimes haunting track that showcases a broad range of the band members’ talents, introduced the crowd to frontman Jon Winter’s intoxicating voice (some say part Brian Molko, part Billy Corgan, he probably wouldn’t), and they were hooked. The girl up the silks in front of the stage (the event part organized by CircoKernow) was good value but could never quite compete with what was going on on stage. The next track, Lullaby uses a gentle organ melody (played by Alex Perry) alongside a tremolo-ing mandolin to set the scene for a boisterous chorus that just about snaps everyone back into the room from the seaside daydreams of the verse. 42 Pigeons, powered by the electric Barrett behind the kit, erupted in a flash of guitar and mandolin, and was especially notable for Beccy Melling’s mandolin solo that gave the song a calm against the torrent. Funky Moped presented a more chilled view of the band, with the panoramic guitar sounds between verses a great example of the band’s inventiveness.

There then followed a remarkable rolling triplet of tracks that potentially demonstrated Nervosa’s ability to become live entertainers with a bit of extra pizzazz. The initially melancholic It’s Over slowly built until, before anyone knew it, they were in the middle of a progressive movement reminiscent of late 60s Pink Floyd, and then it suddenly collapsed brilliantly into the anthemic Black Box with its powerfully evocative chorus tagged between bright and breezy verses. The Chinaski Effect, a tribute to the sadly defunct St. Austell band, came in with its simple verse and melodic chorus, and even featured guitarist and sound whiz kid Andy Cunningham encouraging an enthralled audience to clap along at the breakdown!

Nervosa finished with Gripped, possibly their most accomplished performance of them all, with a powerful vocal from Winter, a harmonious combination of guitars, mandolin and organ bestowing a depth of sound unusual in any band, unsigned or not, in this day and age. It was pushed along by a driven rhythm section that doesn’t allow any verse, chorus or bridge to drag behind a pace that keeps band and audience on their toes all the way through. And that seems to be one of their strengths – as a clearly rather talented group of musicians it would seem easy to produce tracks of great musical worth, if not of interest to most listeners. That they combine great musicianship with considered songwriting that allows the listener to enjoy the various talents on show without becoming bored or overawed by exaggerated solos or other frivolity stands Nervosa in good stead, for entertainment is the primary objective of all music (or should be), and these guys left an enthusiastic crowd truly entertained!

(Photos from Nervosa)

www.myspace.com/nerv0sa