with Tim Smith, We Be Beasts, Finding Georgia, Ciderfects and The Stanford Hill Mob.
Tonight’s show was organised by Glastonbudget Music Festival.
Reviewed by Trevor Locke
The Soundhouse is the venue for the annual round of auditions of acts seeking to be hired for the Glastonbudget Music Festival, next year. Tonight, five acts took to the stage to display their musical talents, impress the judges and entertain the crowd. Even acts that played at the event last year have to re-audition for another slot at the festival.
The show was opened by Tim Smith. He sang, accompanying himself on the guitar, a set of songs, including his own work and covers. Personally, I did not warm to his performance. I found the style of vocalisation somewhat old-fashioned; perhaps, a little contrived. Even so, Tim’s singing had character. Good but not exceptional.
One of the acts that performed tonight was one that I had seen recently. We Be Beasts is a Leicester band that performed at the Oxjam festival, last weekend. WBB began with an upbeat song that had plenty of resonance. The band’s lead singer Nick Brooker had a fulsome voice which he used to good effect.
The four musicians put good sounds together; listening to the instruments, there was much to be satisfied with. The band says that their music style is alternative, indie rock. The band performed at last year’s Glastonbudget festival. This is a stylish band that has a sense of their own presence. They gave their audience a set that was ear-pleasing and this drew a positive response from those in the room. In what was a fairly varied set, in terms of pace, they kept the momentum going. I can honestly say that, by the end of their set, I was suitably impressed.
Modern country rock was the genre that came with Leicester band Finding Georgia. The band says, on its website, that their influences include artists such as Miranda Lambert, Brad Paisley, Lady Antebellum, The Eagles and Shania Twain. It was noticeable that this band had attracted a substantial following for tonight’s appearance. Some of the songs drew on the nineteen eighties classics of country music. They drew an enthusiastic response from the crowd.
The party really got going when The Ciderfects played; it was a set that got people dancing in front of the stage. They played some of those great standard songs we all know and love. Live music comes in all shapes and sizes. This was a band that created a vibe and even I recognised several of the songs they played. Described by one reviewer as ‘geezer punkx’ the band from South London certainly knew how to party.
Is that a double bass I see before me? Now is the very shouty time of night. Five musicians from The Stanford Hill Mob, brought us a set of unusual sounds. But no drummer. The band from Birmingham delivered an enjoyable set. Tune that were good to listen and mainly those that were well-known. You just had to watch the audience to see how much people were enjoying it.
That was a good night out, I thought to myself as walked home. I hoped that other people at the Soundhouse tonight were thinking the same thing..