with Joe Scott, Dave Murray, Rhett Barrow and Calvin Jeffery
Reviewed by Adam Piotrowski
I felt a keen sense of anticipation as I walked down Braunstone Gate towards The West End Lounge. It was the first time I was to see a show here, though the venue regularly hosts a variety of live music – mostly DJ’s and singers and an open mic nights. There was an unpretentious feel to the place – TV’s showing sports in the background, pool tables being played outside the loos, and a mixture of age groups. It was also the first time I was seeing Nature And The Beasts and a long overdue return to Music In Leicester for me.
The EP launch took place took place in two parts – Friday night 4 April in South Wigston and tonight’s gig on Saturday 5 April – and featured a cross-section of fellow musical acts. It’s great to see there are so many musicians keen to get out and play but I wondered whether seeing 4 opening acts could lead to audience fatigue. However, the changeovers were to be quick as most of these acts were solo acoustic and so we would just have to muddle through somehow, beer in hand. We did so via Joe Scott (only caught the tale end of his performance).
We also did so via the American South as Dave Murray, howled out a pastiche of pop classics in a pained blues style, transitioning from 7 Nations Army, Sweet Dreams, Hit the Road Jack and Placebo’s Pure Morning often blending songs part of the way through. It was quite a liberating, free-form performance as it felt like he was playing whatever he felt like at that very moment, and at the risk of sounding cheesy, you could really feel the passion in his voice.
We did so via Manchester, the snarl of local legend Rhett Barrow with his band The Deadbeats (bass and drums accompanying him on acoustic guitar). There was a grungy grit to his vocal delivery, and he got the crowd going with his original Don’t Let the Bastards Get You Down and later with a cover of Wonderwall. Playing this Oasis tune on a Saturday night a few beers in is a tried and tested way of getting a crowd on your side, and I don’t think there was a soul in that place that wasn’t singing along to the chorus.
And finally, we did so via Jamaica, with Calvin Jeffery, who had a very natural and soulful feel and voice, singing a Bob Marley song or two, sometimes rapping. He sang New Street is a street I walk down every day smoothly, presumably about the high street in England’s second city and Leicester’s neighbours to the West, Birmingham.
And finally, it was time for Nature And The Beasts, the centre piece of the evening. The odd mix of neighbourhood folk and musicians in this West end sports bar – come cocktail lounge, come music venue – welcomed the act to the makeshift corner of the room where they were to perform. There was no raised stage, so the group was on the same level as the audience, only a few feet away.
The guitar was laid down competently in a country and blues style by Alex ‘the music man’ Hopps and the rhythm section played along in a loose funky style. This was the canvas that front man Guerilla Nature had to paint on, and if I could describe it in a colour, it would be a bright orange, perhaps with the odd flourish of neon green. It felt very vibrant, bouncy and full of life.
The artist is entrenched in the local scene, with music videos on their website featuring well known Leicester landmarks – he has also collaborated with fellow locals such as the aforementioned Calvin Jeffery and Mary Singer.
The words were a steady onslaught spouting out from Guerilla Nature’s mouth, straight from his heart and soul, clearly. And the overall feel of the arrangements was a kind of melodic and loose 311 / Red Hot Chili Peppers rap-rock. The music was catchy and groovy, and the vocalist stared at the ceiling, concentrating on a succinct and tight delivery. It was a shame that the sound of the venue meant that it was difficult to specifically make out the lyrics as I feel like this would have shed some light onto the persona that is Nature And The Beasts.
Unfortunately, I was forced to depart before the end of the set as I had to catch the last bus home. But I am reliably informed that Nature’s Mother made an appearance, having a boogie on the dance floor, which seemed to be well-received, the atmosphere all around being pretty jolly. As I waited for the bus in the chilly night, I thought that it had been quite a decent night of music all in all. The good vibes and peculiar mix of people was probably down to the unique lack of identity of the venue, the fact that there was no cover charge for quality music and that the beer was reasonably priced, all of which made for a full and enthusiastic audience on this Saturday