with Beings
Reviewed by Kevin Gaughan
Unusually for The Soundhouse, the doors opened about thirty minutes late – as I was standing in the queue, I pondered ‘was this the new way of building suspense and anticipation – or were one of the bands late for sound-check?’ – as far as I was concerned, I was just looking forward to my bottle of Fursty Ferret, or whatever it’s called, waiting for me at the bar.
As it turned out, doors were late because the venue had been partially flooded due to the record-breaking rainfall we had during the week. This also affected some of the sound equipment meaning the gig was touch & go at one point!
Having finally entered I equipped myself with said Ferret (other beers are available) and found out that one of the supports, Smack Jack, had pulled out, unfortunately, but at least it did mean the timings weren’t affected by the delay. However, it also meant that the crowd was slightly less plentiful than it would otherwise have been.
It was good to see some band members from the headliners, The Entitled Sons, milling around and chatting to some of their fans at the bar – often bands turn up, play their set then go home without supporting the other acts or chatting to their fans.
First on tonight’s agenda were other-worldly (well, Northamptonshire anyway), four-piece, Beings. With a dirty blend of keyboards, distorted guitar effects and the odd space-age sample, I loved their unique sound. The keyboards often churned out a space-age rhythmic backdrop to the sometimes rocky, sometimes grungy and often funky guitar, all mixed together in a fusion of loveliness providing a very unique style for this band.
At times their music sounded experimental and the closing sample, a recording of an electro-human voice repeatedly saying ‘Thankyou’ made me smile.
Enjoyed their set, I’ll keep them on my radar.
Next up were headliners, The Entitled Sons who are, unusually, four brothers and their dad, hailing from East Somerset.
Having watched the band form with excerpts from their first gig in one of their mum’s (Sarah Beeny) TV shows a couple of years ago (2022), I was looking forward to seeing their progression to the band we were about to see tonight. This time on a proper, though compact, stage with the massive sound and lighting that the Soundhouse is famous for. After winning a competition to play Glastonbury 2023, I was expecting great things.
After the 15-minute change-over the 5-piece burst onto the stage – the sound was big, but their stage presence and general presentation was HUGE – this seemed like a different bunch of lads than the pesky, mischievous young whipper-snappers I saw on TV. They seemed to have channelled their energy from creating havoc around the house and jumping into lakes into being proper rock stars in the making.
They sounded and performed like a band who had been perfecting their stagecraft and sound for years, veterans on the scene, masters of their craft – well, maybe not quite yet, but definitely on their way – they instantly impressed.. Frontman, Charlie, was great to watch and did a fantastic job of whipping the crowd up into a frenzy – most of whom knew the songs and sang them back to the band, which must have been an incredible feeling for the young lads, especially such a new band.
One of my highlights – Maybe was one such song – a ballad in which the crowd joined in from intro to outro, the song slowed the pace down showcasing Charlie’s vocals with slightly raspy undertones.
It was nice to hear some keyboards, sounding retro at times, expertly performed by Billy and reminding me of Jon Lord’s keys from the 70’s in Deep Purple adding a nice touch to the band’s sound, helping them stand out from the crowd.
I was surprised, gobsmacked, even, by Rafferty on guitar – he was clearly ‘at one’ with his guitar and loved being in the limelight during his many solos. Looking and sounding like a rock guitar god beyond his years, he seemed comfortable owning the stage when it was his turn, while Charlie stepped back.
Finishing off with their debut single, and crowd-pleaser, Break, with it’s dancable, catchy hook, the party had to come to an end. And what a party that was, leaving a lasting impression on this reviewer, so much so, I’ve decided to see them again when they stop off in Northampton at the end of their tour on Nov 30th (see tour dates here).
I do hope they come back to Leicester soon, if you do too (or anywhere else) you can vote by becoming a ‘friend’ here.
For The Entitled Sons’ web site, click here.
Watch The Entitled Sons perform at the gig below:
The Entitled Sons’ set list from the night:
- Lover Boy
- Heaven Knows
- Feral
- That’s what I sh’ld have said
- Johhny Be Goode
- Jocelyn
- Underhand
- It’s Time
- Try Hard
- Maybe
- Can’t you see
- Another Liar
- Not Invited
- These Days
- One Shot
- Number 1
- Rockstar
- Break
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