Neon Dawn
February 8, 2014Mr Kyps, Poole
Tonight Mr Kyps plays host to a tribute band called “Green Bay” who pay homage to those legendary punks Green Day, to be honest that’s not the reason we are here.
It is to see an up and coming band that has crossed our paths a few times under another name “Lucky 13”. They have just released a brand new EP called “Homegrown” and have changed their name to “Neon Dawn”. The name change seems to have rejuvenated the band. They stroll on stage with masses of confidence to are large crowd mainly of their own supporters. They kick off with a track from the new EP called “Neon Sign” and the twin guitars make a beautiful sound which generates nicely around this old snooker hall. The band continue with bags of endless energy giving the crowd just want they want, a powerful modern rock fuelled sound. The crowd respond in a very positive was giving this local act plenty of well deserved support.
The band shows a marked improvement from the “Lucky 13” days with of an experimental sound that seems to be pushing some boundaries including some nice guitar effects from Tom Calvert who looks every inch the rock star. He slightly holds back a little and it would be a lot more entertaining for the crowd if he comes out of the shadows to show them what he is really capable of. Ricky’s vocals are really passionate and solid, but he sadly lacks a true front man’s ability to really interact with the audience.
The solid rhythm section cannot be faulted with some excellent hard hitting from Zoot Hill-Vallier and some equally tight bass lines from Jimmy Meddah.
A great cover version of The Pixies “Where Is My Mind” is well received and welcomed by us older members of the audience. It is the original songs that were the most memorable though with “World On Fire” and an epic tune “The Alamo” showing what Neon Dawn are really capable of.
The band are clearly influenced by rock bands like “King of Leon”, “Foo Fighters” and “Green Day”, they have taken these influences and turned them into something quite unique. This is rock n roll how it really should be played and gigs like these well attended tribute band nights are a good foundation and great experience for bands like Neon Dawn who in the near future I sure will be headlining there own shows.
Set List
Neon Sign
The Mark
Falling Away
Four Kicks (Kings Of Leon)
Where Is My Mind (The Pixies)
Summer Sun
The Alamo
World On Fire
Homegrown
Videos
Neon Dawn are…
Ricky Barton – Lead Vocals & Guitar
Tommy Calvert – Lead Guitar & Backing vocals
Zoot Hill-Valler – Drums
Jimmy Meddah – Bass
Web Links
https://www.facebook.com/Neondawnband
https://soundcloud.com/neondawn
Words, Pictures & Videos by Dave “ohhh a gig” Chinery (Chinners)