Saturday 25th February 2014
The Shed
Casino Empire and Strangler Figs
A full-on night at The shed.
Both stages were in action tonight; in the downstairs room we heard Bombs Dogs, Black Eye Friday, Die Wrecked and Def Con Zero.
A mixed line-up of acts came to the stages of the Shed tonight for an evening of music-making.
Photos by Trevor Locke.
Leicester singer Daz Lynch brought a set of songs to the mic including of his own, new compositions. A singer with a characteristic voice, Daz Lynch is one of the city’s established artists who known how to entertain a crowd with some iconic rock songs.
The great Rhett Barrow was on the upstairs stage – one of Leicester’s celebrated writers of songs and all-round personality – known for his solo work and for leading his band The Dedbeats. A legend of the local music scene.
I was very pleased to see art rockers, Strangler Figs for the first time. On stage were Joel Hanson (double bass) and Joe Pickering (Guitar and lead vocals) and singer Rosie May Price plus a keyboard player and a singing drummer. Now that was a line-up to impress. A wonderful set of stylish songs was delivered by this wickedly good band. Unusual music with plenty of colour and vibrant resonances, Strangler Figs set up some skankingly good rhythms with lashings of style and convivial melodies. The band has a two-song CD available – Attack of the Strangler Figs and If.
Downstairs the music was markedly different. Die Wrecked‘s three-man punk powerhouse was pumping out some adrenaline-dripping songs.The band has a sampler CD available with three tracks – Con-Dem Nation, Stuck in a Rut and God’s Gift to Government. Well worth getting hold of.
Casino Empire, one of the most impressive new bands from Leicester, struck me as very good the first time I saw them – tonight they topped their previous performance with a set that was unequivocally excellent. Their lead singer – Tommy Cobley – has real rock-star quality, despite still being a teenager. Backed by a set of solidly skilled musicians, Casino Empire gave the room an astounding rock ‘n’ roll performance. Pouring out the boundless energy of youth, the band sparkled with a set that was exhilarating.
You can see Casino Empire at The Cookie Jar on 21st March.
The Peterborough five-piece band Albion came to the stage with their fine lead vocalist, Harry Preen, and no shortage of stage presence. We saw them back in December when they put on a quality performance, no less invigorating than the one they gave us tonight. With their impressive musicianship and lively set of songs, Albion was an asset to the evening. The band has been in Wales recently, recording their new EP. They certainly knew how to rock and pumped out of a set of ear-grabbing sounds. Clearly, a very good band.
