Poor Michael/Sunstone Collective/Soulhole

The Anvil, Bournemouth

Tonight at the Anvil we have the hotly tipped Poor Michael headlining a show which also features two well-respected local bands, Sunstone Collective and Soulhole. Poor Michael are a trio who sprinkle a bit of Psychedelic fairy dust on to Blues Rock to create some outstanding tunes that are getting themselves really noticed by the media including “BBC Introducing”. The band have played a few shows for Conrad Barr down at Chaplin’s in Boscombe, tonight however is their first trip to Bournemouth town centre venue The Anvil.

At 9pm Soulhole take to the stage with a very respectable large crowd in front of the them, giving the band a huge shot in the arm to pull out a performance to remember. The five piece from Poole generate a sound that contains elements from all over the musical spectrum with an injection of soulful Funk. The band play a really confident set full of their own dangerously danceable, original tunes that really hit the mark. Front man Jordan emits an infectious energy that works its way into the crowd, creating lots of movement with songs like “Caught Up In Your Headlights” and a great new song “The Snake and The Apple Tree”. The set came to a close with a clever merging of original tune “Bag Of Fun” (which is apparently not about drugs) with the epic “Insomnia” by Faithless, with a fantastic keyboard introduction. They leave the stage with loads of love and generous affection from the now warmed up Anvil crowd.

Soulhole 1–2

Sunstone Collective are a serious breath of fresh air to Bournemouth’s local music scene. In the short time they have been together they have created an unselfish buzz from involving lots of people within all aspects of their performance. This approach has obvious benefits and tonight the Anvil is fit to bursting with friends, family and fellow collaborators all eager to see what tonight’s show has to offer. Kicking off with “Get It Steady”; like Soulhole the crowd were with them from the very start, with loads of movement to their infectious tunes. The gig was complimented by some neat; well created video provided by videographer “Callous Heels”, who has been following the band with his camera getting some interesting arty shots. Sam’s powerfully smooth lead vocals on tunes like “Moonbeams” and “Only Notions” are further complimented by Ben’s backing, along with the nice addition of James “Djembe” Goff on percussion. A simply great set by a band who deserve all the success they get using their unselfish ethics and their natural talent.

Sunstone Collective 1–2–3

Poor Michael have a bit of a job on their hands as headliners. Firstly, they have a new venue with a crowd of loyal music fans who had all mostly come to see the local supports. The trio, I am sure are well aware of this and arrive onstage knowing exactly what to do. The band’s sound is huge; with masses of great effects from the guitar, ably backed with an impeccable rhythm section. The band belt out some strong Blues inspired Rock with seemingly a never ending amount of energy, and as things move on they slowly; one by one, win over each member of the audience. Switching vocals Andrew Bingham and Jack Pearce provide some really considerable entertainment with songs like “Empires” and “Gyroscope” which thoroughly impress. Poor Michael are certainly on the verge of something special on this showing but the local acts are not that far behind.