End of Trail Records Showcase

The Anvil, Bournemouth

Featuring: Kissed By Kate, Fearne, Weatherbird, Empire Affair, Sansara & Harriet Jones

It Friday night and once again I find myself at the Anvil for an unusually mixed genre night of music, with a complete mix of bands pulled together for the “End Of Trail Records” showcase.

“End Of Trail Records” has a refreshingly open policy with their artists stating that all acts are free to go when and where they want to, taking all copyrights with them. Tonight is the start of a nationwide tour including two of their own artists Harriet Jones and Weatherbird, along with four specially selected local acts.

Harriot Jones

Kicking off at the stroke of 8pm we have Harriet Jones from Plymouth, a young singer/songwriter who has a very unique sounding voice that clearly mesmerises the few people that have turned up early. Leaning over her acoustic guitar Harriet shyly performs a set of mostly original songs that really impress. There are a whole mash of influences going on but not one stands out above the rest that you could put your finger on. The short set ends appropriately considering the location with her debut single “In The Basement”, with her vocals sounding a bit like a cross between Nanna (frontwoman) with “Of Monsters & Men” and Amy Whitehouse. A really fine tune and really impressive start to the evening.

Sansara

For Sansara this is home territory and this rock club has been the home to some of their greatest performances to date. The band open confidently and power through a set of all their own original material that rocks the socks of everyone listening. The vocals are as always spot on and the guitar work cannot be faulted, however there seems to be an energy missing from the band that I have witnessed many times before at past shows. The place is lacking an atmosphere and it looks like many of the local Sansara fans have stayed at home to watch the England football match on TV. Tonight’s performance is more like a rehearsal, with the band seemingly going through the motions. With the rumour of some exciting new material on the horizon, Sansara will need to inject some serious energy into their performances in the future if they want to achieve their goals.

Empire Affair

Next up we have Empire Affair who have been thrilling audiences throughout 2013 with their catchy tunes and energetic performances. Their twin guitars provide a really infectious backdrop to some really cleverly written songs that just keep giving and giving. Front man Neil as usual is bounding all over the stage; playing to the audience of excited smiling ladies, all impressed the quality of his energetic stage craft and well delivered vocals. Even bassist Tom and usually quiet guitarist Matt are showing plenty of boundless energy within this yet again quality performance. The band end with the trademark song “Tornadoes” and to keep it fresh have reworked it a little, giving the audience every chance of joining in with the infectious chorus. The band leave the stage having gained themselves a few more fans to add to their ever growing army of followers.

Weather Bird

Another End Of Trail Records act “Weatherbird” are up next and the four piece from Telford create a grungey-style sound with a modern, definitely British Rock twist. The young band provide a really confident set despite being miles away from home in an unfamiliar Rock club. They have plenty of unique creative sounds from the twin guitars; coupled with rock solid and dependable bass and drums. Front man Jacob Ball has plenty of swagger and does a good job at trying to get some reaction from the Bournemouth crowd. Looking around there are plenty of positive knowing smiles from the audience and other musicians in attendance. There is a great collection of well written original songs that hold the audience’s attention throughout the show with “House Of Commons”, “There We Weren’t” and the band’s lead single “Johnny Strange” all showing loads of potential. This the bands 1st date of a long tour around the UK and on tonight’s showing they are certainly gonna rattle a few cages around some of the UK’s venues in the coming weeks. I for one hope they return to Bournemouth real soon.

Fearne 1

A Rock club is certainly not the usual place that you would find Dorset Music Award winners in 2012 “Fearne”, they are more at home at festivals and in quiet Folk clubs. This band though are very adaptable and are always up for a challenge. They have sold their full quota of tickets and as they take to the stage their very loyal fans turn up by the coach load, filling this small club up to the max. The band are in a very upbeat mood and perform a fine set containing songs mostly from their recent Pledge Music album “Songs On Postcards”-the crowd know every word and join in with beautiful unison, especially on the chorus of “Dote On You”. A rare gem in the form of one of bassist Nick’s favourite Fearne songs “See The Way On” is performed, much to the delight of some of the older fans. Despite the tight time constraints the band were granted a much deserved encore and they pulled out a slightly shortened version of their reworking of Will Smith/Craig David medley coupling “Summertime”, “7 Days” and “Wild Wild West” to great effect. The atmosphere that the band and their fans created was just fantastic and it just proves that the band are more than comfortable performing in any location.

Kissed By Kate 1

The final band of the evening are “Kissed By Kate”; once again a totally different genre to all the others, designed to leave everyone with ringing in their ears on their way home. Their start was beset with sound and technical issues, but despite this the band soldier on professionally. I have seen this band live on a number of occasions and they seem to get heavier and heavier with each gig. Tonight the new material from their soon to be released second EP particularly stands out, especially an epic tune called “Drowning” which really shows a great new direction for this band. The five piece really give their all showing impressive improvements in all areas, especially with front man Steve Davies whose passionate vocals really hit the mark. A fine end to an evening where I felt like a kid in a sweet shop, with a collection of some of my favourite local bands all in one place……if Carlsberg put on local gigs, they would be like this!!

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