The
Carol-Anne Showband / The Heebie
Jeebies / Jake Flowers / Les Meatles
/ Wickerman and Fisherman / The
Hanging Men / Breaking Tables
@ Sheffield Bungalows and Bears
A
surprisingly substantial line
up for a Thursday night down the
boozer, and one that could have
suffered from bands being pushed
for time and 'plug in and go'
line-check problems. Refreshingly
though, all these bands seemed
to get along like a flaming house
as they had willingly gathered
to this ramshackle event in honour
of the headline act, The Carol-Anne
Showband, who announced this as
their farewell performance. This
inspired camaraderie gave the
whole room a real sense of community
and, as I entered to the sound
of The Hanging Men's anthemic,
jaunty riff fuelled Fuzz-Rock,
I immediately felt welcomed into
the fold.
Next
to stoke up the fire and sooth
the sizeable crowd with their
luscious Prog-Folk warblings were
Wickerman and Fisherman, who,
in the spirit of keeping the proceedings
rolling, only played a handful
of well received ditties before
making way for the magnificent
Les Meatles. This French, Garage-Psych-Rock
trio dazzled the crowd with pounding
drums, screaming, raw vocals and
blistering, freak-out guitar.
They had a distinctive Jack and
Meg aesthetic which, combined
with their Gallic charm, really
captured the attention of the
room and paved the way for the
somewhat more subdued, yet equally
as charming, Jake Flowers. Jake's
beautifully crafted and gracefully
performed Country-Folk ballads
are surely destined for wider
acclaim in the near future. Ever
the gentleman though, Mr. Flowers
humbly dedicated his set to his
friends and one time backing band,
the Carol-Anne boys.
Next
up were new kids on the Art-Rock
block, The Heebie Jeebies who
really picked up the pace with
an infectious bombardment of New-Wave,
jump-a-long, Panda-Pop fun. With
only a few gigs notched up in
their native Sheffield, The Jeebies
are sure of a bright future. One
that, perhaps, many of the friends
and fans, which make up the majority
of the crowd tonight, may have
once predicted for The Carol-Anne
Showband. Their Swamp-Blues, Bang
'n' Twang, Skiffle-Bop never really
found a place amongst Sheffield's
somewhat limited genre boxes.
This combined with a slacker attitude
to self promotion and a hit or
miss, drunken live show reputation
meant that the Showband never
really realised their great potential.
Their farewell performance though
was a triumph. Every song was
ripped into with furious, finger-bleeding
riffs and a foot-stomping, rhythmical
force. Both the band and the audience
knew it would all soon be over.
And a finale, which united the
whole venue and inspired a glorious
stage invasion, rounded off an
unforgettable night of live music
in Sheffield and raised a glass
to a memorable, Sheffield band.
Ella
McDaniels
http://www.sandmanmagazine.co.uk/
