Unsigned
Showcase @ The Venue, the Litten Tree, Reading, Tuesday 6th May:
We
had acoustic, we had laughter and we had raw rock
n' roll - yeah! This week's Unsigned Showcase gig was
yet another boiling pot of steaming brilliant talent.
Aden
Pearce, Ziegler, Three Litre and Ant Salon
are four reasons why we should start a campaign to rid the charts
of inane manufactured rubbish… lets put these guys on the scene
instead.
Aden
Pearce was first up with a strong acoustic set, full
of heartfelt 'he said she said' lyrics sung with appropriate anguish
and raspiness on the high notes. Newbury-based Aden is clearly
an incredibly talented guitarist, whizzing his fingers
up and down the fretboard on his 12-string guitar.
His
last song, a cover of The Cure's Just Like Heaven, came
with this seasoned performer's own brand of loud poignancy.
Ziegler
then rocked the mike with their groovy 70s American rock n'
roll sound. They start off with a guitar singing one sustained
note, then cue funky bass riff, then cue the band erupting
into a swinging full-bodied sound - it felt rather like
your first sip of cool beer in the sun after weeks of tee-totalling.
The
Reading band, led by cocky singer Wez, certainly
got the most excited whoops from all the young lasses in the crowd.
They too ended with a cover... of Lionel Ritchie's Hello.
The chorus opened the floodgates of distortion guitars. Brilliant
stuff!
Then
there were Three Litre with their unique brand of comedy
rock. Frontman Graham Burgess had the crowd in stitches
from the moment he jumped onto the dancefloor, playing his
guitar ala Richie Sambora, and promptly shoving two tooters
in his mouth for a screeching 'instrumental' chorus.
Then
followed catchy rock n' roll tunes and comic lyrics (Luke Skywalker
Sings the Blues featured the classic: "And after I kissed
her I found out the bitch was my sister"). To top it all off,
when the bassist snapped a bass string Graham launched into "Purple
Haze….is in Purple Middlesex."
A
must-see band guaranteed to put a cheesy grin on yer face. You
can catch them at 21 South Street in Reading on Saturday
17th May.
Then
a complete change of mood when headliners Ant Salon came
on. I was completely awe-struck by frontman Ryan's beautiful
voice, which sounds just like Jeff Buckley's.
The
Bracknell band achieved an emotional semi-acoustic throbbing
set of very high calibre sound that was rudely broken by some
drunken skinhead who decided to throw a pint glass at Ryan, smashing
right by his feet.But
full credit to Ryan for battling on regardless, I would have been
pretty shaken.
Ant
Salon, because they play a range of styles and rhythms,
haven't got a pigeon-hole sound. All I can say is go see this
band for yourself. Their next Berkshire gig is on Thursday
26th June at the Wilde Theatre in Bracknell.
