Mr Kyps, Poole
First up this evening was Matt Black. Matt Black is a class, long established; headline act in his own right – so for an event like this he was an ideal choice to warm the crowd up. His mix of superb piano music and songs through the decades had something for everyone. Interspersed with his close to the edge colourful humour and anecdotes, he put everyone in the right frame of mind for the rest of the evening. On the night, I fear the less said about his costume the better….. You had to be there!
Matt Black
Next up was Wave Chase, a new band performing their first live gig. Four young and enthusiastic guys playing an energetic set of covers. We got a taste of their own material too, which blended perfectly with their choice of covers. They interacted well with the noisy, supportive crowd who were engaged from the start. The close interaction between each other on stage was evident too and overall they were very refreshing. Considering this was their first live gig, they were a very tight unit and all very comfortable on stage….. I have no doubt they will go on to headline their own gigs.
Wave Chase
Enter 27 Days. 27 Days headed straight into a half hour set of their covers act; a slick, polished performance of well-known rock and metal from a time gone by. They made it look easy. A quick costume change and the boys re-emerged enthusiastically into the first live public hearing of their debut album “Live fast, die Young”.
This is a band who knows who and what they are. They hit the stage with an immediate impact from the first track “Welcome To The Party”, a great opener which set the scene for the rest of the show. Second up was “Tell the devil” which was in my opinion, one of their strongest tracks. Having said that, when I thought back to the whole set; there isn’t really a weak track. They have a solid, strong and very listenable album to start them on their road.
These boys have a distinctive sound of their own despite playing within an established and often cluttered genre. They have found a niche which their unique, memorable riffs and instantly catchy choruses define for them. After just the one live and loud hearing of the lyrics I could pick up enough on the night to understand there is a lot of heart and soul gone into the writing, and thereís plenty of humour in there too. There were lines and choruses I remembered clearly the next day and wanted to hear again.
Jordan Watts fronts the band with a soft yet powerful vocal. His voice sounds like it should be overpowered by the power of their rock sound, but it certainly isn’t. He sings with sincerity and conviction; plus when he needs to be nasty, he is. He also plays rhythm guitar like itís a part of his body! I later found out he plays keyboards with the band too, although not on this night. Jordan interacts with the crowd and the rest of the band very well, plus his forays up on to the monitors to coordinate the final notes of songs will always be a winner.
To Jordan’s left is lead guitarist Steven Speck, who is an excellent all-rounder. He backs up Jordanís vocals; doubles up the guitars and breaks off into crisp, fast and sweet-sounding lead solo’s which are a style all of his own. He is very energetic and great to watch.
Another stand-out track for me, in particular, was a power ballad called ìStay Close to Meî. This is an excellent piece of work all round, Steve’s guitar solo on this was good as anything Iíve ever heard by anyone anywhere and is not to be missed. Matt Black jumped back up on stage to play piano for this track, which worked really well on the night. To Jordan’s right on Bass is Dom Gidman, this guy has a real presence and looks like an immovable statue. His rigid stature and fixed grin makes him look like he is very at home in his space on the stage, the only thing that moves is his fingers. Dom provides a solid wall of bass, which throbs relentlessly behind the two guitars. Occasionally he allowed himself up on the monitors too….although the grin remained the same. Behind the three frontline guys was drummer Phill Shambrook. he provided a wall of sound of his own. His powerful rhythms and fills in all the right places gave the band a solid foundation. When the bass and drums needed to be tight in the faster parts, when the music touched on what I can only describe as punk metal, they were both spot on.
There are no passengers in this band, each of them have their own space which blend together to make something very original…..The future looks bright for 27 Days.
Set Lists
27 Days
I believe in a Thing called Love (The Darkness)
Itís So Easy (Guns n’Roses)
Hysteria (Def Leppard)
Talk Dirty to Me (Poison)
Welcome to the Party
Tell the Devil
Speed
Life on the Edge
Stay Close to Me
Heaven Unfolds
Miss Behave
Drop Dead Gorgeous
Too Hot for Your Live
Live Fast, Die Young
Wave Chase
Last Night (The Strokes)
Boys Don’t Cry (The Cure)
Ever Fallen in Love (Buzzcocks)
Clean Bowled
Weekend (Smith Westerns)
Fluorescent Adolescent- AM
Someday (The Strokes)
Fed Up
This Charming Man (The Smiths)
Pleaser (Wallows)
Fangs
T-shirt Weather (Circa Waves)
Links
https://www.facebook.com/27DaysOfficialPage/
https://www.facebook.com/wavechaseband/
https://www.facebook.com/Matt.Black.Pianoman
Article by Guest Reviewer Robert Lowe.
