One Word/Constellation/Mikey Ball & The Company

Sound Circus, Bournemouth

It’s a Friday night at Sound Circus and we are here to celebrate the release of One Word’s debut EP. This young four-piece band have pulled out all the stops to put this gig on, even paying a £80 coach fare to get their bass player down from up North after a stand-in pulled out. The place is thankfully packed with family, friends and music fans all determined to shake their working week out of their hair and enjoy some quality live music.

Tonight’s opening band are Mikey Ball and the Company, who are a sort of revolving door band with their line up changing on a regular basis. Tonight they unveil a new rhythm section of Rob “Guns” Bovin on bass and Will Harris on drums. The five-piece are on it right from the start, opening with their great new single “Leave a Light On”. Mikey gets out the mandolin for a great reworked version of Frank Turner’s “Losing Days”, which sounds a little like The Cure’s “Friday I’m In Love”. The new rhythm section seems to just fit with the band really well and fit in like they have always been there. Mikey is a great singer/songwriter and a huge support of local music and during his set, he puts on a “One Word” T-Shirt to show his support for the headline act, a really nice touch. The band end on a high with a perfect version of Fleetwood Mac’s “Go Your Own Way” which gets much of the audience willingly singing along with the band.

Mikey Ball 1–2

And so; to a quickly growing crowd, Constellation take the stage. This quintet have not made an appearance playing their own brand of Rock in close to five years, and you really could not tell. Leading out with their own original “Don’t Call Me”, you could immediately see the passion and presence these guys have for their work; with a unique blend of melody and rhythm that’s immediately catchy. Frontman Ali Davis has some serious style and charisma too, that dude knows how to put on a show. By the third song, Constellation had gotten everyone up and dancing, with a solid rendition of Stereophonics’ “Dakota”. Energy was high, the lads up on stage were clearly enjoying themselves, and I know we were. They continued on playing a vast majority of their own originals, and even throwing in a great cover of Biffy Clyro’s “Bubbles” to a great response. Itís clear how much of an amazing performance that Constellation put on: the crowd were loving it, the music was great and it’s just a shame they couldn’t have been on for longer. With more than enough groove; musicianship and classic originals to hold their own, Constellation stood out. They need to gig again, and it needs to be soon. (Hopefully not another five years.)

Constellation 1–2–3

Now, the main event, the top banana, the big cheese, you get the idea. One Word were up next with their debut for their own original EP, Alpha. Storming the stage with Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” as their opening anthem, it was clear these boys were ready to go. Immediately starting off with an original ìGet Out Of My Headî, they didn’t stop throughout the whole show. Each song from Alpha was met with raucous support; each cover got the crowd singing and moving, and it’s clear that One Word know how to handle themselves on stage. Being the first time that I’ve seen these lads live; I was really pleasantly surprised by how confident and charismatic they were on stage, with even early microphone troubles doing nothing to slow any of them down. They know how to get a crowd excited, and it shows through their onstage attitude. What it basically came down to was a group of friends just having fun playing music, and it really showed. All together? It was an entertaining musical night that was just all around fun, and seeing musical talents like this really shows how much more nights like these in the local scene are needed in Dorset.

One Word 1–2–3

Well played Constellation, Mikey Ball & the Company and congrats to One Word for a great debut for their EP. Looking forward to seeing more of it in the future.

Set Lists
Mikey Ball
Leave a Light on
Dancing in the Dark (Bruce Springsteen)
Losing Days (Frank Turner)
Breakaway
Hold You Down
Castaway
Go Your Own Way (Fleetwood Mac)

Constellation
Don’t Call Me
Oh a Oh
Dakota (Stereophonics)
No Regrets
Flower Song
Valentine
Today and Forever
Learn To Fly (Foo Fighters)
Sex on Fire (Kings of Leon)
One Night Stand
Bubbles (Biffy Clyro)
Waster

One Word
Get Out Of My Head
Bohemian Like You (The Dandy Warhols)
I Bet That You Look Good On The Dancefloor (Artic Monkeys)
It’s Not Love (It’s Just Habit)
Basket Case (Green Day)
Year 3000/All Star (McFly/Smash Mouth Medley)
How Should I Know
I Predict A Riot (Kaiser Chiefs)
The Middle (Jimmy Eat World)
More Than A Line
Five Colours In Her Hair (McFly)
Jump Into Tomorrow
All My Life with Andy Smooth (Foo Fighters)
Against The Grain
Castle On The Hill/Mr Brightside (Ed Sheeran/The Killers Mashup)
I’m A Believer (Neil Diamond)