Chaplins, Cellar Bar, Boscombe
The sun had been shining all day and perhaps everyone had been enjoying themselves so much that they lost track of time as things kicked off a little later than planned. As the Cellar Bar is one of my favourite places to watch live music I certainly didn’t mind the wait.
Perhaps Shock Horror should have used the time to practice as the only words I could think of to describe them were “shocking” and “horrible”. Sorry guys, I tried, but I did not enjoy it at all. Not one member of the band seemed to be in tune or in time, the lead singer was wailing in a fashion that made me think he was in pain. It sounded a bit like someone had put Thom Yorke from Radiohead in a blender with the Towers of London (if you remember them – I for one have been trying to block them from memory). Perhaps that’s what they were aiming for; perhaps they were just having an off night. Either way I’ll try and give some of their recorded material a listen and report back at a later date.
Saints of Sin soon cheered me up though. If “Cats – The Musical” had gone down the glam metal route, this may have been the end result. I cannot stress enough how much this is a good thing! Spot on choreography and a truly entertaining performance. Sounding much more experienced than their age would suggest they might be, they played a show that was both a hell of a lot of fun and of great musical quality. As I so elegantly put it, the enigmatic lead singer had a “cracking pair of pipes”, and the rest of the band put on a tight set. Saints of Sin do have a slightly heavier element to their songs at times, which may reflect their influences, but I feel as though this would mean they cater to the tastes of the more old school glam rock fans and those that have more modern tastes. Highlights for me included the songs “One More Minute” which deserves a Bon Jovi style, black and white, running along the beach type music video, if you catch my drift and a great cover of Guns and Roses’ “Sweet Child of Mine” that they pulled off with style. “Animal” was another great song that made me feel like I was being sprayed with some hot guitar juice…
To round things off, Walk the Night stepped up and finished this hot summer’s night perfectly. A little more serious, a little bit cleaner (which frankly I needed after all that guitar juice), they oozed confidence and style. I had a sneaky preview during their sound check earlier on in the evening and I knew I was in for a treat. They are the kind of band that you could imagine watching at a big festival, in the sunshine, with a picnic. They have the sound and talent for bigger stages as well, I found myself comparing them to bands such as Rival Sons and the Temperance Movement, with a bit more keyboard action. They didn’t get to play for very long unfortunately, due to things having started later than planned, so I was left wanting more. I’ll definitely be watching them again as soon as I can.
Band Links
http://www.facebook.com/ShockHorrorMusic
http://www.facebook.com/WalkTheNightUK
http://www.facebook.com/saintsofsinUK
Words By Sarah Lovegrove
