Situated in a huge, barn-like space near Old Street tube and rocking an unlikely, South American vibe, Floripa ain’t yer regular rock’n’roll space. However, it boasts friendly staff, a well-stocked bar and great food and its congenial atmosphere turned out to be ideal for this three-band Big Machine Media showcase.
First up was BENNY MARCHANT, flying in with some typically sweet Californian harmonies and a freshly-minted new single ‘Back to Life’ to tout. Despite drawing the opening act short straw, he acquitted himself well and while the pared-down acoustic format inevitably stripped some of the colour from the melody-haemorrhaging radio friendliness he can achieve on record, it suited his sensitive delivery and did nothing to prevent ‘Back to Life’ and ‘Come On With Me’ getting to the emotional heart of the matter.
With a potentially hit-stuffed self-titled debut LP about to roll, Chicago’s THE EX SENATORS are undoubtedly big stars ready to illuminate the rock’n’roll firmament. They were represented by their core duo, Dmac (vocals/ guitar) and Van (guitars/ vocals) and treated us to a clutch of the LP’s classics-in-waiting such as the yearning ‘Angel’ and the darkly resonant ‘Everything Falls Apart’ which proved the perfect vehicle for Dmac’s charismatic vocal ability. Meanwhile, even stripped of its hi-octane electric firepower, the corruption-dissing ‘United Corporations of America’ turned heads and won new votes aplenty. Expect a whole lot more from these refreshingly outspoken and highly-talented dudes in the near future.
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It was a tall order for London-based Aussie outfit CAPELLE to follow that in their nominal headliner capacity, but –appearing in a semi-circle formation with second vocal/ guitar and dependable bassist providing admirable support – frontman Nic Capelle remained cool and unfazed.
As with The Ex-Senators, Capelle on record are an omnivorous, modern rock’n’roll proposition, with beats’ n’ electronica seeping into the sky-scraping Queens of the Stone Age-style anthems that populate their recent sophomore LP ‘Crooked Deluxe. Yet once again the intimate, semi-acoustic setting brought out the best in them, with the hypnotic ‘Memory’, and the funky ‘Juxtapose’ especially making their presence felt while a viciously fine ‘Selfish Fools’ brought on some spectacular vocal blood-letting from Capelle and provided a suitably show-stopping finale for an evening long on diversity and inspiration.
Benny Marchant online
Capelle online
The Ex Senators online
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