Austin
Lucas
Apologies, I Have None, Three Pairs Of Shoes,
Great Cynics
Bristol, Croft
1st March 2012
Tonight
was set to be a busy mash up of bands, one after
the other with only five minute gaps. My main
aim was to hang around drinking until "Apologies,
I Have None" and "Austin Lucas &
The Bold Party". Before I had time to buy
a drink the sound of the Great Cynics came from
the main stage in a small room at the back of
the venue. The mix of punk-rock, pop and indie
was quite chilled, with a pretty good overall
sound. Giles's vocals added a bit of roughness
to the music with a shouty scream reminiscent
of Anthony Raneri from Bayside which paired well
with the occasional female vocals of bassist Iona.
The overall sound and music was good, with the
room gradually filling throughout the set. The
band were fairly entertaining to watch and seemed
to be having a good time on stage, with Bob singing
along behind the drums, and Giles with a Rivers
Cuomo esc bounce. There was a little bit of chat
on stage among the members even spilling into
the crowd at one point, and a few mocking comments
from Giles about the lyrics to "All The Time
Every Time" off the band's new album "Don't
Need Much" but they stuck predominantly to
playing. There were a few negative points but
all in all I enjoyed their set, and they kept
me from the bar, can you ask any more from an
opening act?
After
catching one good support act I thought that was
it for tonight's unexpected gem's, until walking
into the second room and catching Three Pairs
of Shoes. A Folk band from Cardiff, the band featured
a flute, cello, acoustic guitar, violin, Mandolin
and even an Irish whistle within the line up of
multi talented musicians. The lack of drums and
the relaxed nature of the music threw my mind
to "Mumford And Sons". They were clearly
talented with Iain Birkett and Matt Tilling swapping
the guitar and mandolin between themselves from
time to time. With only microphones to up the
vocals there was nowhere for this band to hide
any mistakes or shortcomings and nor did they
need too, with each member looking so comfortable
on stage and even amongst the crowd at one point,
in the case of the confident lead singer. Luckily
the band needed no amplification
to overcome a crowd, as everyone was in shear
awe and mesmerization with the only noise being
a small applause between tracks. There was definitely
some air of importance coming from the stage and
Matt Tilling was providing some of the best live
vocals I think I've ever heard. There were some
fantastic female harmonies as well, and an all
round fantastic performance. I wouldn't say they
were the most exciting band, but that's the nature
of the music they play and whilst I wouldn't rush
to see them again I could happily leave their
CD on repeat all day. They filled the second room
and had the crowd eating out of the palm of their
hand, not a bad Bristol debut and not a bad way
to carry on the evening.
From
the chilled set of "Three Pairs of Shoes"
it was time for the energetic punk sound of "Apologies,
I have None". After the first song lead singer
Dan Bond tried to drag the crowd closer, with
some degree of success, before breaking into the
next track. The rough raw sound that comes from
any performance at "The Croft" suited
this style of music well. Another point to note
about "The Croft" is the only entertainment
comes from the band, not the venue. With about
four working lights there's nothing else to watch,
although once again this wasn't an issue for these
boys. With Joe Watson bobbing along while he pounded
the drums and PJ Shepherd having the time of his
life jumping around playing bass. You could feel
the energy and the sound of the rhythm section
at work. As the band played through tracks "60
Miles" and "Sat In Vicky Park"
off their soon to be released album "London",
I half drifted off in a nostalgic state, whilst
I can't claim to be remembering discovering Apologies
as a teen, there was clearly a lot of emotion
in the songs and the performance, which reminded
me of going to see mates play, or finding that
song that fits how you feel. Whilst the vocals
where slightly monotone, the volume was good and
the shouting from Dan and Josh Mckenzie was raw
with emotion. These songs clearly mean a lot to
the band and given the grins on their faces while
they jump around on stage, so does getting on
stage and playing them. They managed to sneak
in another older track, "Joiners And Windmills"
off the 7" EP they released. The emotion
and energy continued right up to the last track
"Clapton Pond". Though the band left
the stage I overheard a few people talking about
buying the album with little understanding why
they enjoyed it so much. The easiest way to describe
the show is like the venue it's self, it's a little
rough around the edges, it's far from perfect,
it's a lot easier to pick faults than praise,
but through all that it has this incredible charm
that makes you love it. They definitely held their
own after two good support acts and the pressure
"Austin Lucas" and "Crazy Arm"
to follow.
Once
again the show was taking a more relaxed tone
as Austin Lucas took to the stage for what would
surely be the best performance of the night so
far. Austin opened up with "Sun Or Snow"
from the 2008 album "Bristle Ridge".
For the first time of many occurrences in the
night, Austin asked the crowd if they had any
request's, which led to him to play "Man
Alive". "There's Always Someone Tougher
And Meaner" quickly followed. More chat and
banter with the crowd helped reinforce the intimacy
of the gig, which now seemed more like a group
of friends hanging out drinking whilst one played
the guitar. With the main room at The Croft filled,
Austin was really showing his amazing talents
and skill of playing the acoustic guitar, singing
and engaging the crowd song after song. After
performing "Shoulder" he was to be reinforced
on stage by Darren Johns of Crazy Arm on the banjo
for "Wash My Sins Away". Darren played
the Banjo well in a seamless rendition of the
song as if they'd played it together a hundred
times, and the same could be said of the next
song "Somebody Loves You" with Vicky
Butterfield throwing in some exceptional harmonies.
With all of Crazy arm taking the stage the sound
went from mellow to a bulky, strong, rock sound,
with the band's slight folk sound it fit together
perfectly with Austin. However with the added
volume of the electric guitars and Simon Marsh's
heavy drumming the vocals were for the first time
in the set slightly drowned out. For the final
track Crazy Arm Left the stage, and so did Austin
Lucas who entered the centre of the room, insisting
that everyone remained quiet. Encircled by his
fan's, Austin performed "Go West" with
no mic and only the singing along of the crowd
during the chorus, to back him up. That final
song summed up his set perfectly with a strong
voice, flawless guitar playing a joke or too about
the crowds singing between verses and incredible
intimacy. As corny as it may sound Austin Lucas
made friends with everyone in the room. Playing
songs from a wide range of his albums there was
something for old fans, new fans and to be completely
honest anyone else that happened to be present,
whether you've heard of him before or not.
Great Cynics 3/5
Three Pairs Of Shoes 3/5
apologies, I Have None 4/5
Austin Lucas 4/5
Review By Marc Rich
Photos By Neil Oliver
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