Last night I went to a cosy music pub/venue known as The Hobbit in Southampton as a friend's band were to play there for their debut gig. I hadn't heard any of the music before, the only hint I got was the genre prog rock and I like prog rock very much so I was wondering what they were going to sound like. Coming inside to watch Haumea from the oh so freezing arctic temperature cold in the beer garden I was very glad to hear their music, it was pretty awesome. The vocalist had an electric pedal that connected to the microphone meaning he could change how his vocals sounded that I was highly impressed with, it was awesome to hear very echoy vocals like you would hear in a prog rock band. Definately a first gig to be proud of, keeping Southampton's outstanding reputation for fresh young bands. Will definately see more from them this year.
I have been waiting for this since the end of last year; my first gig of 2011 and let me tell you it was a fantastic one. Entering the intimate cosy atmosphere of The Soul Cellar definately made me feel right at home for I was about to see what Angry Badger records had to offer plus see Daniel Leigh perform an acoustic set.
The first band to play that evening were We Caught The Castle, a pop punk band from Reading. They put a great performance with the catchy melodies and how Hollie's vocals harmonised well with male backing vocalists Simon and Robbie. I did recognise Tainted Love, the song they covered, from that Friends episode where Danny Devito plays a stripper so everytime I hear the song I give a little giggle. Overall an enjoyable set, I also got their EP to so you'll see a review about that shortly.
Up next were Bournemouth/London rockers Karmine, I had heard their stuff briefly before and quite liked it so I was wondering what kind of performance they were going to give tonight. I loved vocalist Charlotte (wonderful name) Kavanagh's energy with her wonderfully weird dancing whilst upbeat cheerful rock was played, her voice was remarkable too. They are currently working on the new album.
Orignally New Device were to headline tonight; however due to two guitarists leaving the band vocalist Daniel Leigh came by himself to play an acoustic set. I have seen acoustic sets in the past and like them a lot so I was thinking it would be nice to see. He started off with one of his own songs We Will Be Lovers Tonight, I had heard this song before with electronic type sounds to it; tonight I was absoulutely amazed by this performance. The set got better and better with songs from the new album he is working on with New Device; getting me more excited about their new album also performing In The Fading Light and Heaven Knows from Takin Over. His covers of Livin On A Prayer and Sweet Child 'O Mine were also beautifully performed; so amazing I got a video of one of them (will be uploaded soon). This acoustic performance was so so wonderful, had me nearly in tears and will definatelty see perform an acoustic set again.
Next to play were Timshel; I had seen them before and they do give a very upbeat performance like they did last night. I like their quirky sound very much, it gives a bit more of a laid back hippy like atmosphere to the building. I did recognise some of the songs played last night from their EP, which is avaliable on iTunes overall a very studio sounding performance.
Unfortunately couldn't stay for Kodiak Jack's set last night but did catch a glimpse from them and loved their energetic performance. I had heard some of their songs before and quite like them so I'm hoping to catch them again soon.
You can join each one of these bands on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and YouTube.
Overall a great first gig of 2011, giving me the torch to light the pathway of many more great gigs to come.
Received a link on Facebook from my good friend Georgie; it lead to a band's MySpace page. This post is all about Southampton born Identity Theif, listening to them at the moment and I have to say I have never heard anything like this before. The genres hip hop, pop and rock are mixed together so well here that it gives of a really funky foottapping vibe; I really like how it starts with a hip hop like sound and then you suddenly hear some distorted guitars. A very very orignal sound that I think will definately break the music charts one day, from what I read on their MySpace there will be an EP release this year. Southampton's outstanding reputation for music still stands because of the fantastic young bands.
Nosing around on Twitter after tweeting a blog post I clicke a link leading to a band called Lifehouse and found their album Smoke and Mirrors on Spotify so decided to listen to it. Opening track All In definately gripped me with it's upbeat rhythm and catchy tuneage. Nerve Damage definately has an unusual air about it; the song starts of with a very low tempo leaving the listener to think they are being lead into to some sort of ballad then the tempo speeds up, I have to admit that caught me off guard but I have never heard a song that used about three different tempos in the same song. They managed to pull it off too which is awesome.The song Falling In definately stood out; it reminds me of the Bon Jovi song Lost Highway, long country road in America This album definately made feel happy; it is the pefect thing to cheer someone up. I also think it's great if you are going on a long road trip. Even though it may not be heavy enough for some of you I definately think if you want to listen to something softer then this is the album for you.
Stand out tracks: Nerve Damage, Halfway Gone and Smoke and Mirrors
Those of who love Thrash Metal then you will definately love the band I am about to mention in this very blog post. The band are called Sacramental who hail from the Central Europe in the country Latvia; we all know Europe have the best metal bands from all subgenres, the symphonic power metal such as Nighwish and Sonata Arctica to the thrash and doom metal such as Children of Bodom. Listening to these guys on MySpace this morning definately kept Europe's amazing reputation for metal high, with it's orchestral opening to it that then leads to fast dissorted guitar rhythms and heavy beats. Hope to hear more from, can definately turn heads amongst die hard metalheads.
This post today on this fine Sunday is all about Polish guitarist known as Widek. Recieving a friend request from him on YouTube today; ever since starting this blog I am getting more friend requests from bands and musicians, it's just wonderful hearing the newest music from who could be the best band ever in a few years time. Anyways, listening to his album online right now and I am throughly impressed; in the video for his song Passing it shows him playing the lead and rhythm part. He is an incredibly talented guitarist. The screamish Lamb Of God like vocals however didn't seem to do for me; although I do think if he were to start a band with that kind of sound they would definitely be a hit with many metal heads out there. Be sure to join his Facebook, YouTube and MySpace pages.
Today I received an email from Roadrunner Records explaining the latest releases and news from their bands; one of them being a song from Dutch Symphonic Metallers Within Temptation. Within Temptation are one of my favourite bands; their melodies are absoulutely powerful and Sharon Den Adel's voice is as beautiful as a songbird. Anyways, their brand spanking new album 'The Unforgiving' is due out 28th March (the day after my birthday woop woop) and two of it's songs are avaliable to listen to right now; the one I recieved an email about was the single 'Faster' sounds very different to their previous songs I have heard but I really like it, I think it's great they decided to experiment with a different type of rock. Although I have a feeling the whole album won't sound like that; after hearing another album teaser 'Where Is The Edge' I am convinced that there will be some symphonic elements in there. I really love their sound, I am looking forward to this album's release.
