Voodoo Vegas/The Dirty Shingles

Chaplin’s Cellar Bar, Boscombe

After a hectic year full of promise, One of Bournemouth’s finest exports Voodoo Vegas return to their hometown for their last gig of the year. Tonight their hometown crowd are getting something of an exclusive preview of the band’s yet untitled new album, as they have decided to play it live in full for the first time ever. The band have played a host of major festivals all around Europe, as well as many notable venues up and down the country. An intimate gig at The Cellar Bar in Boscombe has become an annual celebration of which many of their loyal fans always look forward too.

Things start up at 9:30pm with The Dirty Shingles; featuring two familiar faces Richie Adams on Guitar with his longtime sidekick Martin Adams on drums, who played in other local bands The Sabres and Hothman Sloth. The duo gives a good account of themselves with a plethora of blues/rock, delivered in an energetic and entertaining way. Their set contains material from the debut album “How to Handle a Highbrow Honey” including the excellent “Shattered Lane”, where Martin’s precision drumming combined with Richie’s guitar generates a really beautiful noise; as well as the bluesy ‘Too Much Pressure’ which meanders its way with some great musical twists and turns. The band leave the stage after a great 40-minute set and get plenty of positive applause from the Chaplin’s crowd.

The Dirty Shingles 1–2

In August of this year, Voodoo Vegas played a gig just 100 yards down the road from here at the prestigious O2 Academy supporting top tribute UK Guns N Roses. Tonight is an altogether different affair with the stage area about the same size as the band’s dressing room that night. However, for Voodoo Vegas it does not matter what size of venue they play, as with each and every gig they are giving maximum effort putting on an exciting show full of great original material. The band kick off with a few familiar numbers before taking on the tricky issue of performing the new album in full with many of the tracks making their first live debut here tonight.

The tunes come thick and fast with the band playing them in a confident way. It is clear that their own pre-gig rehearsals are clearly benefitting this performance. The pick of the bunch are “Pretender”, a groove-laden gem and “How Much is Enough”, a rousing anthem with some great audience sing-a-long parts. “Feeling So Good” is a typical Voodoo Vegas tune which sounds fresh, uplifting and could easily become a staple part of the band’s live set. The best sounding new tune is the huge “Come on Over” which is packed with all the right ingredients in all the right places. It features some killer harmonica from Lawrence and fantastic guitar work, clearly an epic rock anthem in waiting.

Voodoo Vegas 1–2–3–4–5–6–7

After the full playthrough of the new album, we are treated to a selection of some of the band’s live classics such as “So Unkind” and a storming version of “Jimmy Silver”, which features cascading confetti from a small indoor cannon. The crowd are still not satisfied and demand an encore and the band dutifully deliver a great version of Neil Young’s “Rockin in the Free World”, which goes down a storm with the music-loving Chaplin’s crowd; ending the evening on a perfect high.

Set Lists
Voodoo Vegas
Tied Up
Backstabber
Long Time Gone
Revolution
Follow Your Leader
Puppet
Pretender
How Much is Enough
Who I Want To Be
Feeling So Good
Come On Over
Love Shines
Cheeky Riff
The Ferry Song
So Unkind
King Without a Crown
Jimmy Silver
Rockin’ in the Free World (Neil Young)