Tenth Electric/Sirpico/Matt JR Hurley

The Winchester, Bournemouth

The Winners of the Exposure Music Award “Tenth Electric” are tonight in Bournemouth for a gig at The Winchester, with local band Sirpico, and Matt JR Hurley providing support. “Tenth Electric” are a four-piece electronic rock group from London who formed in 2012. They already have plenty of gigging experience under their belts playing a host of high-profile venues and festivals. The show has been put on by “Skirmish Presents” as part of their continued commitment to live music in the local area.

First on stage is former local singer/songwriter Matt JR Hurley who used to live in Swanage, and has recently moved to Bristol to pursue his music career amongst the bustling scene that the town has to offer. Matt delivers a host of original tunes including the seaside influenced “Sailors in the Bay” while we get a historic journey into the past with “Circles on the Hillside”. Matt is friendly and freely engages with the audience who seem to enjoy his gently plucked acoustic style. A cover of Supertramp’s “Give a Little Bit” gives the audience’s vocal chords some exercise before a great new tune called “Bells” shows some lovely progressive creation. The humble Matt leaves the stage to plenty of positive support from the appreciative audience.

Matt Hurley 1

Sirpico really need no introduction around these parts, they have been gigging for quite a while now and gained themselves a good local following. They are a band that really put in maximum effort and deliver the results virtually every time. They have recently released their debut LP “To Be Frank” and with their creative momentum still strong they have already started putting together new songs for the next release.

Sirpico 1–2

Tonight, many of these new songs have made it into their set. The first is a corker called “Without You”, the next is a really addictive number about frustration called “People”. The band combine traditional rock methods with Al’s considerable skill on the piano and a voice that is constantly faultless throughout. Dan’s guitar work is top notch and he is bringing in some lovely new sounds within the new material.

We are treated to a debut of a brand new never before played song called “Jamie Lee”; which is all about a teenage crush on the actress Jamie Lee Curtis (who you may remember from the Halloween series of films and True Lies with Arnold Schwarzenegger). The band perform like a well-oiled machine with each of them making up the perfect ingredients for tonightís top class performance. The band try to leave the stage and get begged to return by the enthusiastic audience. The leave us with the sound of their cover of Rage against the Machine’s “Killing in the Name Of” ringing in our ears.

Tenth Electric waste no time getting their equipment ready and are up on the stage ready to go a mere ten minutes after Sirpico’s last note. The four- piece immediately show why they are award winners, with infectious energy and an exciting sound that combines the melodies of the electric guitar and synths. Frontman Luke Mitchell engages really well with the audience and does his best to make everyone a part of the performance. The audience are encouraged to sing and clap along. At one point they are also instructed to crouch on the floor; before leaping high in the air, and everyone willingly obliges.

Tenth Electric 1–2

The band perform tracks from their new “Burn” EP including “Fragile”; and an epic anthem called “Lie to Me” where Luke’s passionately delivered, powerful vocals combine well with Mose’s melodic effect-laden guitars and Max’s synthesised bass. The audience are treated to a reworking of Muse’s “Time is Running Out” which possibly gives a clue where some of the bands many influences come from. The band end their set on a high with a 2014 released single called “Hell and High Water”, which continues to show the high standard of this band’s live performance. The audience call for encores but sadly their cries have to be ignored due to the venue’s tight curfew. Yet another fantastic evening of live music at The Winchester, thanks to Aaron and Skirmish Presents.

Videos