The Rifles/Streebeck
March 25, 2012Fire Station,Bournemouth
On a mild spring evening in Bournemouth we await the arrival of Chingford’s finest. But, first up are local act “Streebeck”. This 5 piece Bournemouth based band play a nice little brand of Country-tinged Indie. They open with a bouncy little number called “Spare A Thought” which is well received from a half full venue. The vocals are audible throughout while the overall sound is clean and crisp with a “Folky” beat in places.
“Stupid Lies” reminds me of Crowded House, particularly on the vocal while “Linus” is pure Evan Dando (The Lemonheads) and a set highlight. “Lost & Found” is rather apt considering the days weather with its chorus of “Sun Goes Down”….. The band end a good set with “Evening Red” to generous applause. This being my first experience of “Streebeck”, one wouldn’t be surprised to see them playing an event like The Larmer Tree Festival in the midday sun, with punters just chilling to their vibes. Anyone who enjoyed this performance could do no worse than purchase their new LP “The Peacock”, which on tonight’s performance I would wholeheartedly recommend.
And so to The Rifles. Buoyed by a sell-out crowd and a big cheer they take to the stage. The band play us songs from their latest LP “Freedom Run” and classics from the back catalogue. “Repeated Offender” gets the first wave of crowd movement going while the classic ‘Peace and Quiet’ gets the energy levels pumping. “Long Walk Back” and new single,the radio-friendly “Sweetest Thing”, on tonight’s showing sound that little bit “harder” than on the record. “The Great Escape” gets a whole new intro tonight, which in turn produces the first big singalong. Unfortunately the sound at this point seems to go up significantly, particularly in the bass. The band carry on regardless and continue with the best songs from the Great Escape. “Winter Calls” is another highlight this evening as the band really hit their stride. “Local Boy” encourages more frenetic action in the pit, swiftly followed by “She’s Got Standards”.
Its on ‘When I’m Alone’ that the sound rises from loud to deafening! The band are oblivious and play recent single ‘Tangled Up In Love’ followed by the ‘Faces-esque’ ‘Love is a Key’ which is brilliant, and where they end their set. The band return for a 2 song encore with an ‘underwhelming ‘The General’ and end on the big singalong ‘Romeo and Julie’. Lucas orchestrates the ‘woah,woah,woahs’,we duly oblige and sing back. He then thanks us for a great turnout,vowing to return and shakes a few hands before leaving the stage. Another top performance from Chingford’s finest,marred only by some indifferent sound quality towards the end.
Set Lists
Streebeck
Spare a Thought
One More Winter
Stupid Lies
Linus
Wasted Time
Lost & Found
Twilight
Evening red
The Rifles
Talking
Sometimes
Repeated Offender
Lost In London
Peace & Quiet
6.unknown!
Long Walk Back
Sweetest Thing
The Great Escape
History
Out In The Past
Toerag
Winter Calls
Local Boy
She’s Got Standards
When I’m Alone
Tangled Up In Love
Love Is a Key
The General
Romeo & Julie
Band Links
http://www.streebeck.com
http://www.facebook.com/streebeck
http://www.therifles.net
http://www.facebook.com/therifles
Review by Ross A. Ferrone
Pictures by Charlie Raven.