Friday 9 September – and the first
musical outing for me in a long time. The Summer festivals mopped up a lot of
the good acts from the gig circuit this year, but the closing months look as
though they are going to be busy as I took the opportunity to get tickets for
no less than four dates over the next two months.
We met up at the Black Swan on Peasholme
Green, all of us reluctant to pay the exorbitant prices charged in Fibbers
these days. When we arrived at the venue the audience was very thin on the
ground even as the support act kicked it. I assumed that the majority of
punters were coming along later. All of which is not to say that the support were
poor, because I for one really enjoyed them.
David R Black hail from Manchester and
consist of; David R (guitar/vocals), Sarit
Black (bass/backing vocals), and Paul “Pai” Williams (drums). David R himself looks a bit like Heath
Ledger's The Joker, but without the makeup, so Heath Ledger with The Jokers
hair I guess. I haven’t heard any of their material before. David's vocals
started off sounding a bit like Brian Molko but seemed to get stronger as he
went on. By the time he got to Signals, a brilliant track off their Heart And
Stars album, he was sounding like Peter Gabriel. I caught the names of a couple
of other tracks; Ezra (from Secret City) and No Code (also from Hearts And
Stars). Sarit provided a very heavy line of bass riffs and backing vocals that
were a tad too indistinct in the mix for me, I would have liked to have heard
more of her voice. Meanwhile, Pai thumped out a rich mixture of rhythms,
sometimes simple, sometimes complex, that drove the songs along.
As the introduction music started for
Panic Room I took a brief glance around and was amazed to note that there were
probably no more than 40 people in the room, a very poor turnout for a Friday
evening. Panic Room, whom we’ve seen a couple of times before, are; Anne-Marie Helder (vocals, rhythm/acoustic guitars), Paul
Davies (lead/rhythm/acoustic guitars, backing vocals), Jonathan Edwards (keyboards),
Yatim Halimi (bass), and Gavin Griffiths (drums). I’m not completely au fait
with PRs material but did recognise; I Am A Cat, Dark Star, Satellite,
Sandstorms, and Bitches Crystal (a cover of the ELP song). There was a new track,
I think it was called Promises, that will feature on their third, as yet
unnamed album.
Anne-Marie vocals were on top form, justifying her
winning “Best female vocalist of 2010” by readers of Classic Rock presents Prog.
Paul noodled effortlessly, his guitar looking minute in his huge hands. The
highlight for me though was Yatim and his superb bass playing. His style
reminds me of Pino Palladino or Mick Karn, coaxing a fretless bass effect from
a clearly fretted, six-string bass. Top music, but a shame that more people
didn’t turn out to see them.
