Lighthouse, Poole
Hangover Hill Presents Live & Unheard
The sun has been out, the evenings are lighter and Spring feels like it has sprung! And a wealth of live music has been playing in the local area. It was lovely to see three full bands playing Live and Unheard at a time when bands are finding it hard to break through the music scene. We were back for our regular third Thursday of the month’s evening entertainment at the Lighthouse Sherling Studio, with three very different acts who promised to bring the fun to join the sun. As always; energetically hosted by Si Genaro, the party came to Poole with the event itself put on by local music entrepreneurs Matt Black and Mel Beurkhauer of Hangover Hill Records. Thanks once again, as always to the Lighthouse team who always deliver, Stuart and Sam on sound and lights respectively.
We started the evening with this four-piece, the band’s namesake Maddison on lead vocal and guitar. She promised a journey through her terrible dating years between 25-29. Songs like “Liar” which was reflective of a psychopath ex, self-explanatory “Friendzone” and “Don’t need to stay” about unrequited love. A soft and more lyrical song than the first two, where the guitar work was left to others and the vocal beautifully delivered. Maddison spent a year singing on the cruise ships and “Time to go Home” was a stripped back song reflection of how you live in each other pockets 24/7 for months, but are forgotten quickly once you leave the ship. When she finally found love she found she couldn’t write a love song, so her next song “Out of Control” is about how with the history of her romantic life her family couldn’t quite believe that he wasn’t dodgy. Uh oh, there she goes!
The last song was a rewrite of an old song, “Replaceable”. A bit Rockier than some of the previous songs with a fabulous guitar solo. We really got to hear the fullness of the vocal in this one. The set was peppered with stories all told in her own infectious way and whilst some were about doomed love, all were told with a sparkling smile and she had us engaged from the start. Whilst it’s a relatively new line-up to the band, it was tight and polished. Chris Ewan on drums, Lb Gains on bass and Rylo Music on guitar.
From Margate in the garden of England, this Indie trio TEZ is Owen Mellett on vocal and guitar, Joe Martin on drums and Dan Hughes on guitar. Energetically starting with “Clouds” with some sound effects building into the live playing, they launched into their set. “When Our Worlds Collide” was a new song about being in love with someone far away and one day those worlds meet. Heavy basslines underpinning the main tune “Intertwine” had elements of birdsong in it and had a real vibe, with clever use of the guitar to sound like fire-crackling with Sam from the Lighthouse lighting the room to match, creating a warm atmosphere.
“Feels like winning” had a strong rhythmic beat which was joined by the guitar line-up all building to a cacophony of great music. With a really good use of backing effects it all layered up to a big sound, halfway through the set Si Genaro could contain himself no longer and asked what guitar Owen was playing due to the unique sounds coming from it; to which he replied it just had a lot of delay to cover up him being an average guitarist….. he clearly wasn’t. I really noticed the drummer in this group, fully immersed in his craft on each song and completely still when he wasn’t playing. He captured mine and a few others eye more than once. Their final song “Alive”, was a new song which was all about the love of music, and the audience clearly did love TEZ.
After a short interval we continue the evening with Kid Hyena. Originating from Barcelona and now living in Plymouth; after a year or more of touring in their campervan and spreading their music, everything I’d seen about this band looked vibrant and had a feel of excitement, of lives being lived. Normally it’s the lead singer and guitarists in a band who provide the energy up front and whilst this was still the case with Mr Kid (Matt Kemp) on lead vocal and guitar and Cam Downing on bass; they were framed by Miss Hyena (Maria Moreno) and Gab Moan, as they tap danced through every song, giving a rhythmic beat whilst also playing a multitude of percussion instruments between them. Many of the songs had some form of audience participation and they all had a story of some sort woven into them.
Whilst some of songs were almost spoken word, Matt’s vocal was strong and melodic on others. Whilst the talent, energy and fun in this band was abundant, there was a deeper meaning in their songs. “Everybody here loves Pablo” was a song about diversity after events in their local town and I thought it had a distinct ska undertone to it. “Not enough water in the World” is self-explanatory and inspired by a man in Wales who has spent his life protecting the environment. “Path of Resistance” started a little slower and then burst into life with a spattering of Spanish in the vocals from Maria.
We sang Happy Birthday to Gab, whilst the new bass player was threatened with 10 sit-ups for every mistake! Thankfully no sit-ups required!! They finished the set with “Who’s looking out for Riley?” As we are all very aware, funding for the youth is disappearing and young people are being let down by the system, so they want do something positive. This single will be released solely on the website as opposed to streaming platforms with all proceeds raising money for a youth music project in Plymouth. Find a link to donate https://www.kidhyena.com/new-single-youth-music-project. What a talent packed evening which I didn’t want to end!
Set Lists
Kid Hyena
Man who sold the Moon
Living to tell the Tale
One foot out of this Town
Dreams of a Child
Chuck D
Courage to be Happy
The Open Road
Not enough water in the Well
Pablo
Path of Resistance
Who is looking out for Riley?
TEZ
Clouds
When our worlds Collide
Afterthought
Feels like Winning
Intertwine
What do you Dream
Going to show Yourself
Maddison A
Live for Now
LIAR
Time to go Home
Friendzone
Don’t need to Stay
Out of Control
Little bit of Love
Replaceable
May’s Hangover Hill Presents Live & Unheard at the Lighthouse, Poole features Stone Angels, Mikey Ball & The Company and Shae Ray-Deane on 29th May. Tickets can be purchased here.
Links
https://kidhyena.com
https://wearetez.com
https://www.facebook.com/MaddisonDouchArtist
Article by Baroness Maria “Vocalzone” Primmer
Pictures by Lynn Burt of Lynn Frances Photograph
