Let’s put things into perspective. This is the arse end of the music industry, where all bands have to learn their trade. A quiet Wednesday in a commuter town 20 minutes from London by train it can feel a million miles away in reality. At the weekend this town is a sea of Ralph Lauren shirts, cheesy house DJ’s and fights in the taxi queues. It’s music scene has been eroded over the years, pushed to the margins by city workers who have no interest in the heart and soul of the town, only their house in the ‘country’ and to frequent poncy bars at the weekend. I know because I live here. Each pub is made over in the image of all the other made over pubs to the point where you could be anywhere in England. The last bastion of the dying music scene is The Horn Reborn, a veritable oasis in a sea of uniformity and blandness. But fighting against the tide may pay off at the weekend but for bands playing during the week it invariably means playing to a handful of people.
Capo Jr take this in their stride. They may only be 18 months old in this incarnation but they have spent years in other bands and know that this is the way it is on the bottom rung. To some their experiences in the music industry with all it’s ‘near’ deals, offers of large amounts of development money (that inevitably have to be repaid) and the sharks that dwell in these choppy waters are enough to put them off for life. For others this is the way of this wicked world and their love of music and belief in what they are doing keep them coming back for more. Capo Jr fall into the latter category.
Their love of the blues ladened hard rock they play is obvious and heartfelt. They may be playing to a handful of people but that’s not going to stop them putting their heart and soul into it. Vocalist Kit Blaumer is a blur of hair and limbs and his voice is rough hewn beast that will blow you away. Paul Willis is the perfect foil to Kit with his laid back demeanour and a talent on guitar that switches between understated, intricate and groove laden within one song. The rhythm section keep it neat and tight (Dean Morley on bass and Vinny Manser on drums) and a special round of applause for stand in guitarist Stelio Beales who apparently learnt all the rhythm guitar parts that very day. You couldn’t tell.
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Their music and their (lack of) image defy fashion, this vein of hard rock has never been in fashion and subsequently can never go out of fashion. They are far from a marketing man’s dream, they appeal to no known demographic or consumer group and thank fuck for that. At times tonight they made me forget where I was and took me to another place with the force of their performance. The two blues numbers in the middle of their set, ‘Dead Eye Woman’ and ‘Jokes on Me’ were sublime in their execution and when they upped the ante and rocked out as on ‘Slave’ and closer ‘Greenham’ they were majestic.
It’s a long slog from the bottom rung and there are no guarantees. Hopefully they won’t be playing to a handful of people in commuter towns for much longer at least.
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