Mr Fungus, 11 April 2008 @ Gander on the Green

The Gander on the Green has put a lot of effort into raising it’s profile and making itself into an exciting live venue of late, the black paint job on the stage area adds to the atmosphere inside, the lighting rig could do with a revamp and maybe a spotlight for the lead singers but with an full itinerary of up and coming bands booked in for the next couple of months, my advice… keep an eye on this place you might just catch the next big thing.

A steady stream of punters are still making their way in when The Deltorers start their set, their toe tapping Indie Grunge suffers with some ‘opening band’ muddy sound but is remedied after a couple of songs. Bizarrely halfway through, the guitarist/singer and drummer swap roles and for the rest of the set the lead singer is playing drums at the back taking away the focal point for the audience. With that gripe aside, they do their best and with a few more gigs under their belt, they’ll soon be kicking up a storm.

The storm analogy applies in spades to the next band up, Voodoo Vegas, as like thunder and lightning they tear the place up with some kick ass classic rock. Front man Lawrence Case celebrates his birthday today and in between Jagermeister shots, eggs the crowd on to party hard. Airing a couple of new songs, guitarist Nick lays down some cracking solos; and Ash on Bass and Chris on drums keep the rhythm section as tight as a duck’s arse. Headbanging is rife and they leave the stage to rousing applause.

On to tonight’s headliners, it’s been three years since Mr Fungus have played live together, the trio having split to pursue different band projects. But they’re back and ready to rock. ‘Nacho’ Jase (on guitar) and the newly recruited Henry (bass) take to the stage with women’s fishnet tights with three balloons (going from large to small) shoved into each leg, then spend a minute or two trying to get their guitar straps over their hilarious heads, while drummer Paulie has a balaclava jammed over his! Once plugged in the music speaks volumes, good time party rock that gets the Gander hooting and hollering. Original material and a few cover versions thrown in (and the fact that the band are having just as good a time as the crowd) make it an excellent show. Finishing with the Spiderman theme tune amended to include The Simpsons Spiderpig skit, all I can say is these guys put the FUN in Fungus!

Never the Bride, 29 March 2008 @ Mr Kyps

Arriving early, we found out that the doors didn’t open until 8 on the dot. So we chatted to some of the other early birds that were gathered out of the cold, in the tiny foyer of Mr Kyps.We quickly found out that Never The Bride has some devoted fans in the South West and were assured that we would be in for a real treat tonight.

All alone on the stage, except for her Guitar and her voice, Susy Thomas quickly shows the steadily growing crowd that these two things, combined with an exceptional song writing ability, is enough to warrant an acoustic performer supporting a fully fledged band. Singing powerful ballads with real emotion and happily chatting away to the audience in between songs, she delivered an electrifying performance.

Never the Bride take to the stage and from the moment Nikki Lamborn starts to sing, you could tell we were all going to have a blast. And I do mean blast; Nikki’s outstanding vocal capacity near takes the roof off. Roger Daltrey described her as ‘best female rock voice since Janis Joplin’, well… add Robert Plant and a touch of Meatloaf’s rock operatics thrown in for good measure and you’re close. But kudos has to go also to her partner in crime Catherine ‘Been’ Feeney on writing such magnificent songs with her to compliment that voice. Catherine plays the keyboards and guitar and with talented musicians such as Murray Gold on lead guitar, Greg Harwood on Bass and Richard Newman (who played with my favourite guitarist Rory Gallagher) on the drums.
Live, their Ballard based blues-rock sounded awesome, all of these guys clicked and delivered a polished and exhilarating performance that had the crowd ecstatic. Highlights were ‘Kiss, Kiss’ and ‘The Living Tree’ which has been covered by Dame Shirley Bassey, various cover versions were aired but all had Never The Brides own unique stamp on them.
An audience member bought a round of Tequilas and had them delivered up on stage to the band, who were visibly moved by the gesture.

A great night was had by all and I for one will definitely catching them again the next time they are down here.

Kerrang Tour 2008 Southampton Guildhall 26-1-08

The excitement outside Southampton’s premier live music venue is palpable, it’s the third night of the kerrang tour and as everybody files through the towering stone columns of the Guildhall, you get an idea that tonight will be a special night.

Circa Survive are the band most musically similar to the headliners Coheed & Cambria, and are faced with the tough task of kicking off proceedings. They step up admirably and deliver a solid set of melodic rock with a unique singing style.

The excitement builds as the only British band on the bill take to the stage. Fightstar front man Charlie Simpson is the centre of attention and with a pummelling rendition of new single ‘Death Car’ from their latest album ‘One Day Son All This Will Be Yours’ he lays to rest the ghost of former band Busted! The first circle pit of the night opens up during the set and doesn’t stop until they finish with crowd favourite ‘Palahniuk’s Laughter’

A crescendo of teenage girls screaming announces the arrival of Madina Lake. The party starts up with their good time, pop punk! Hits ‘Here I Stand’ and ‘ House of Cards’ get the whole place jumping. Twins Matthew (Guitar) and Nathan Leone(vocals) work the crowd with a professionalism that belays the fact the band was only started two years ago. Glancing around the room, appreciative nods and smiles abound.

Coheed & Cambria stride from the darkness and immediately blitz the crowd with the hook-laden progressive Metal that they are known for. Claudio Sanchez, lead singer and guitar, has some sound issues with said instrument but thankfully it’s sorted by the second number. Midway during their set (and mid song) they break into a rendition of Iron Maiden’s ‘The Trooper’ and suddenly you see from where the band draws a large amount of musical inspiration. Coheed & Cambria return for the encore and as ‘Welcome Home’ reverberates around the Guildhall’s ornate walls, the circle pit that Fightstar opened (and stayed open throughout the night) suddenly increases with intensity as the fans realize that the end of the show is here and try to squeeze the last drop of fun from a great night.

Heaven and Hell 18-11-07 @ BIC

The wet and windy Sunday night seemed the perfect backdrop for the 1979 Black Sabbath line up to grace the stage at the BIC. Going under the name of the first album recorded with former Rainbow vocalist Ronnie James Dio, Heaven and Hell must have felt right at home on the last night of their European tour.

Openers Iced Earth kicked off proceedings with their upbeat Power Metal stylings and received a good crowd response.
Next up Lamb of God and the Thrash Metal they dished out had the younger generation starting up a mosh pit and hoping to see them play in a smaller venue for a longer period of time.

But tonight was all about Heaven and Hell, these Rock legends proved that they still have what it takes! Opening with the crowd favourite that is Mob Rules, Dio immediately had the audience eating out of the palm of his hand. Tony Iommi’s guitar belted out one classic rock riff after another, behind him Geezer Butler’s bass was as solid as… well… as a rock!

The highlight of the set was Vinny Appice’s thundering drum solo, which will no doubt have new converts running to their nearest drum shop.

Back on the 1979 Sabbath tour of the Heaven and Hell album, Dio was accredited with coming up with one of the most recognizable hand symbols in Heavy Metal today, the Mano Cornuta or Devil Horns to you and me, which he liberally flashed as he prowled around the stage.

Closing the show with a blistering rendition of title track Heaven and Hell, they duly came on for encore song Neon Knights leaving everyone to go home with a massive smile on their faces.