The trip up from Barnstaple to Milton Keynes was not as tense as my last visit to see this band. No book accompanied my journey, instead the passengers on the National Express kept me amused throughout the journey. At times stifling, I met up with several dedicated music fans and musicians, interested in the whole spectrum of music from classical, via the chilli’s to obscure German rock bands I had never heard of. One of them even claimed to have a relative working with Axel on his elusive ‘new’ album that has been in creation with session musicians now for many years.
Arriving in the usual condition of someone who has spent half a day cramped up in a tin can on the motorway, I found solace in an evening spent with some of the band. It became clear to me that music was not only their chosen outlet of creativity; they lived and breathed it on their days off. We sat in Vinny’s car and listened to soundbites of the bands first unreleased full album. Within the confines of the car, the base pounded through my throat and I felt a part of the music as they enthusiastically showed me how the band had progressed from my first visit. From what I heard, I was eager to see for myself how the album compared to their live performance.
Esquires, Bedford.
The sound check began at 8.30pm. The band were set up right next to the main downstairs bar in front of a widescreen television playing the latest favourites on Kerrang. The bar was divided into two parts, the back had a seating area and pool tables, the front looked more like a restaurant with tables and chairs set up next to the bar. The setlist was ‘For Your Own Good’, ‘You’re Not Funny’, ‘Light My Fuse’, ‘I Hope It Hurts’, ‘Another Place’, ‘First Last Always’, ‘All Day And All Of The Night’, ‘Dead Eye Woman’, ‘Jokes On Me’, ‘Hindsight’, ‘Big Love Rock Song’, ‘Greenham’, ‘Compassion Fatigue’ and finishing up with ‘Slave.’ I knew what to expect with the songs that were performed in their debut gig and they did not disappoint me. If you would like more information about these songs you can go to the main index and type in Capo Jr. The 2003 gig at Newport Pagnall has a review of them song by song.
The introduction to ‘For Your Own Good’ was a seemingly complex guitar solo played with such confidence one would think Paul were playing a nursery rhyme. This was underpinned by a repetitive baseline which was continued into the verse, shifting as the tone of the lyrics changes from positive to negative. This gave the audience a musical cue as to the change in tone that was more primal than the lyrics themselves which linked skilfully throughout the song. The vocals were filled with gusto and angst. It was a confident rendition of the song with an impressive baseline that could be felt in the throat as much as the ears.
Kit introduced ‘Another Place’ with the line “Next one goes out to the born again’s” An acoustic, evangelical rock ballad akin to those that would be played at ‘Spring Harvest.’ The religious theme was a refreshing step away from the norm. The stark contrast in the tone of voice when kit sings ‘Jesus loves me, this I know, for the bible tells me so’ to the previous songs leaves the audience a little phased, unsure if they are truly looking at a rock singer or a member of the choir. Even I in my cynical ‘old’ age had to wonder for just one moment if he had found religion on the sly. It is beautifully done.
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After a faithful cover of All Day and All of the Night, Dinos guitar string broke. Despite the obvious embarrassment this would cause to a band, they managed to keep on form while he made the necessary repairs. Paul started up on the guitar with what sounded like an improvised jam session; Vinnie soon joined him followed by Matt. Thrown off their stride for a few minutes by the glitch, with the string repaired they continued with the set as if nothing had happened. To me this is one of the signs of a band acting in a truly professional manner.
‘Jokes on me’ starts with a simple baseline which is reinforced by the singer clicking on the offbeat. Layers are then added to create a bluesy sound that was both cheeky and comfortable. This song was easy to dance to, the base and drums playing off against each other gave the hips more than ample opportunity for movement. The lyrics themselves were delivered with the throaty wisdom of one who had been there and done it. The focus on relationships will be gone into further during the album review, but it was worth noting that both live and on the album this song is one they appear to enjoy and it shows. Don’t let the serious looking guitarists in suits jamming like the blues brothers fool you. I only wish the pictures I took during that song had come out better or I would have shown you. I think if the whole band went down the road of suits it would probably spoil the relaxed atmosphere they seem to wish to create.
On a first hearing of ‘Greenham’ it seemed to be difficult for some of the audience to follow the twists in the tale. Some just watched, other’s openly giggled as Kit sang ‘I was born a big strong woman.’ Having heard the first verse of the song fully, I had more of an idea of where it was going, but in the moment I just sat back to enjoy the upbeat energy and enthusiasm portrayed in the piece. I later listened to the lyrics over with the pre release version of the album and got a fuller picture of the intention of the piece, I also put in some research online. The song itself relates to the women’s protest camps at Greenham about the base that was constructed there. I believe that ‘Greenham’ can be heard and enjoyed on one level as a song that is entertaining with an uplifting melody and on another as a beautiful tale of childhood that encourages intelligent peaceful protest and comradeship towards aims that are important to the individual. I will go into more depth about the lyrics and style in the album review.
Overall I feel that the band has matured and diversified their range of musical style over the year since I last reviewed them and their live performances are relaxed and confident. A job well done even under difficult circumstances.
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