Sound Circus, Bournemouth
What with a little festival called Download going on, I wasn’t expecting Sound Circus to be particularly busy, but there were a few enthusiastic souls that made it along on a rather gloomy night.
My spirits were raised as we were treated to a pleasing set from 3 piece Amity Road. Clearly a band that draws influence from many different genres, the catchy bass lines and technical guitar displays had heads bopping, and a bit of banter with the crowd definitely went down well, leading to a bit of a Bon Jovi moment complete with lighters swaying in the air. At times I was sorely tempted to throw up rock hands and wiggle my tongue Gene Simmons style, but it was a little early on in the night for such behaviour. The vocals reminded me of the melodic parts of Glassjaw, but some of the higher notes were clearly a strain for the frontman, and when speaking to him afterwards I found that this is something he is working on. When they discovered they had time for one more song than they expected, they promptly burst into a fast rock version of “Rhianna’s Umbrella” mixed with Flo Rida’s “Low”. I am normally not a fan of pop covers but I couldn’t help but enjoy this rendition. There is a lot of potential here, so I am hoping to see more from them in the future.
Disco’s Out (Murder’s In) were the next to take to the stage, and their outfits alone were enough to make me smile. Lots of colour and lots of fun, the punky in your face vocals were complimented wonderfully by the trumpet, trombone and keyboard and they lit the room up with a set full of energy. They were missing both their female members this evening, so the brass section was a little depleted, but this didn’t prevent them from packing a punch. They did seem disappointed at the small size of the audience, but once they got going there were some enthusiastic dance moves from some brave/drunk people. As they continued to deliver, they drew more people away from the bar and into the dancing, and finished with the trombone player dancing through the crowd as he played and the vocalist on his knees on the stage, singing with all his might. It gave a real sense of passion, and was a great end to a great set.
The last band for the night was Midday Crysis who had the gift of an audience still on a buzz from the energy of Disco’s Out, Murder’s In. Unfortunately this did not help them, as they ploughed through a set of mainly covers which did little to excite the crowd who then gradually dispersed. It was difficult to place what their influences were, at times it seemed quite experimental and they certainly gave an original take on some classic songs, but after seeing two bands play their own material with such passion, it seemed an anti-climatic ending to the evening.
http://www.myspace.com/discooutmurdersin
http://www.myspace.com/amityroaduk
http://www.myspace.com/middaycrisisband
Words By Sarah Lovegrove
Pictures By Keith Grant.
