The Fleece is an iconic
venue in Bristol with it's sticky floors and poster lined walls, it's
always a pleasure to watch bands here. Rewire The Time Machine were
the first of the two local support bands to play, I did miss half of
the set but I did appreciate the brand of Dirty Bluesy Rock they
created. Kamino was the next local support band and 'Antidote' from
them was a stand out song from this Alternative Rock group.
Louise Distras cut a
striking figure as she took to the stage solo, it's always difficult
to convey what Louise is like live as she plays with such intensity
and passion. There was fire in her eye's during her first song and
after it was finished she flashed a warm smile and drew the crowd to
her like the pied piper. 'If you don't come to me I'll come out to
you!'. Louise demands your full attention and she does invariably get
it by sheer force of will. Louise Distras is without doubt one of the
finest British artists touring today with a growing catalogue of
songs with real depth to them. When Louise lets rip with her visceral
roar, like in the song 'The Hand You Hold', it does remind me of Kurt
Cobain's work on Bleach. Her album Dreams From The Factory Floor
should be on your play list.
Yuma Sun have to be one
the most fun acts I have seen for a long time. These handsome
Norwegian guys do deliver some impressive 'Doomsday Rock' and it is
always good to see an upright Bass being put to good use. They won
the audience over very quickly especially the women who warmed to
their unique brand of Viking rock. The banter between the songs had
everyone smiling with them. Musically they have a distinct sound and deliver one solid rock tune after another, 'St Louise' was a song that stood out for me. The band's own facebook page states of their sound 'brings to mind Nick Cave on acid, amphetamines or a
combination of both' and I don't disagree with that description.
Watch Us Burn is the lastest album from Yuma Sun.
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| Alix Kol |
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| Trash McSweeney |
The Red Paintings, what
can I say about the head-liners, simply they are one of the most
unique and astounding bands in music today. I want to make it clear
that The Red Paintings are truly a great band, they have that
something extra that makes them stand out from the crowd. This four
piece is made up of Trash McSweeney on lead Guitar and Vocals in his
green coat flanked by two breathtaking geisha's, Ginny Eck on Bass,
Alix Kol on Violin and one of best drummers I have seen - Violet
Cannibal . All them work so well together while the creepy figure of
TIME is his 'V' mask looks on. The band has a Orchestral Rock
sound-scape you won't hear anywhere else, a sound that will lift you
to a whole different level. The power and vulnerability in the songs
like 'Streets Fell Into My Window' is something to behold in all it's
strange glory.
The Red Paintings not only sound unique but look it
too, everything about them is fresh with an avant-garde edge that
lends itself to a MUSE like stadium rock event with a surreal twist.
It was truly a pleasure to hear this band up close in a small venue
but they really deserve to be getting a call from a cigar chomping
executive to play for much bigger crowds. The Revolution is Never
Coming is the current album but the band is raising funds to finish
the next album. http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/theredpaintings
This gig was the end of
a UK tour with The Red Paintings, Louise Distras and Yuma Sun and it
did lend a a climatic feel to the night. It is obvious all the bands
got on very well and that spilled over into the audience who felt
very much part of the warm atmosphere. Everyone I spoke to on the
night was very friendly, from the bands, the crew and the fans. This
has to go down as one of my all time favourite gigs and I'd like to
thank Louise Distras for inviting me and getting me into the music of
The Red Paintings.
The Outsider
Many Thanks (c) Ulrika Jonsson-Swinburne for the Gig photographs .
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