Lighthouse, Poole
After missing the last two Live & Unheard events I had two very good excuses, the first was a trip to Las Vegas for my Son’s 21st and the second one was the Funeral of Mike Peters of The Alarm. I must give thanks to my amazing friend Baroness Maria Vocalzone Primmer for stepping in and carrying on the traditional reviews in her own unique way. Tonight the Hangover Hill team have put together a line-up of three very different acts I have never seen before and anticipate the standard to be high knowing Matt and Mel’s stringent quality control.
Lord Si Genaro steps up to introduce the first act of the evening, a guy who I vaguely recognise as he used to be in Rock band Exit State, a band I saw back somewhere in the mist of time. Phil Ireland has travelled here all the way from Preston after Mel heard a track by him that was played on the Black On Track radio show. This evening he is playing solo with a 6 string acoustic guitar, along with a sound-enhancing loop pedal. Kicking off with “Stoked”, it is clear from the start he is an accomplished guitar player with an impressive vocal range, engaging personality and a warm smile.
The usually hard to please Live & Unheard are putty in his hands and react positively to his finely creative and original material. A couple of well chosen covers further validated this musician’s talent, “One Fine Day” by Elbow which got the crowd singing along and a brave undertaking of Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain” on acoustic guitar. There were no cracks in his performance and using the loop pedal he pulled out a great version of the tune made famous to the masses by being used in Formula One.
To show that Phil does not rely on the loop pedal solely we get treated to an emotive song called “Worth Your Weight in Gold”, clearly written about someone special to him. The final number is a impressive brand new song entitled “Today, Tomorrow, Tonight”, which has been prepared for release in the near future as a single. As he takes his bows the crowd give him a worthy round of applause, showing their appreciation for a great set, making his long journey down from Lancashire worthwhile.
After a quick turnaround by the efficient Lighthouse tech team, Ringwood’s Reid Hillwood and his band take to the stage. The band features Micky Waters on Bass, notably of Irish Rock band The Answer and local band Dvrk Romantics, Shaun Whelan on Electric guitar, Andre Durand on Electric guitar and Oscar Pike on drums. Kicking off with “Animal” they show the enormity of their combined skills. They are two very different guitarists who each bring something unique to the band and together with the unfaultable rhythm section, we are on for something special. Reid is an unassuming frontman preferring to let his voice do the bragging.
He has a great vocal range and as their set advances, we get to hear his fine variable vocal range. With songs like “Drive Me Crazy” and the Blues-injected “Leather Boots” we see that this band have plenty of variation to offer. The band end on what is possibly the finest track, their latest song “Explode”, the song teasingly meanders with smouldering vocals just build and building. The instrumentation steps up offering a final explosive (sorry) ending. A suitable end to an impressive set from a new artist that hopefully will continue their momentum and we will hopefully see on some festival stage in the future.
In Dorset we are blessed with some mighty fine World music bands: Atlantico, The Bomo Swing, Pachango, The Midnight Alliance, Pacho Vibes System and another more recent addition Gumjuaka. They are a band that have been around a little while and trialled a few different vocalists before settling on French born singer/rapper Julien Hericotte, most notably known for performing his French Rap while dressed as a pirate or a lobster for “Bonsai Pirates” and his unique open mic nights. The band was originally instigated by Helen Kirby who plays Keyboard and Alto and Soprano Sax with the ever smiling Gouthem Healer on Drums, Alex Hearnes on Dub/Lead Guitar and Matt Fromage on Bass, his son 12 year son Sully Fromage on Percussion (who has also played with Mischa & HIs Merry Men).
Opening with “Lava Java” the band display their mix of outer planetary nutrition with Reggae, Dub, Latin Vibes and Trip Hop, along with a selection of different flavours from around the world. To be sat here in a near acoustically perfect venue such as this, letting all their atmospheric sound wash over you is an intense experience. Feeling the rumble of Matt’s delicious basslines from his five string, that rattles our ribcages along with Alex’ plethora of wonderous guitar sounds from his array of floor pedals.
Helen’s use of the keys coupled with Middle Eastern sounding Soprano Saxophone is divine, while Julien unapologetically sings/raps in French, adding to the air of mystery (for us non fluent French speakers). Gouthem are one of the youngest musicians to ever play at “Live & Unheard”, Sully swaps between percussion and drums really adding majesty to the overall sound. Lighthouse Lighting Tech Sam Coombes further enhances the sound with a wonderful display of lighting that thoroughly complements the music matching it’s vibe perfectly.
With tracks like dub-filled “Goldleaf” and the slower no less impacting “Reasonable”, they plod precariously through a host of influences and huge epic creation on “Bin Cat Dub”. These guys place is undoubtably on a festival stage in the Summer, with places like Boomtown an obvious aim.
Set Lists
Gumjuaka
Lava Java
Happy Trojan
Dervish
Revolver
Goldleaf
Win & Rain Jam
Reasonable
Gumbawunga
Bin Cat Dub
Papa Paya
Dolchi Vita
Reid Hillwood
Animal
Drive Me Crazy
Devils
The Tide
Leather Boots
Breathe
Everything Now
Explode
Phil Ireland
Stoked
Turn It Around
Drown It Out
One Day Like This (Elbow Cover)
Worth Your Weight In Gold
Second Guess
The Chain (Fleetwood Mac Cover)
Fly Higher
Today, Tomorrow, Tonight
Videos
Links
https://www.facebook.com/Gumjuaka
https://www.facebook.com/reid.hllwood
https://www.facebook.com/philirelandsinger
July’s Live & Unheard at the Sheiling Studio at the Lighthouse Poole features Archie Ray, Boundless Brothers & Mia Nicholls on Thursday 24th July. Tickets can be purchased here.
Article by David Chinery (Chinners)
Photographs by Lynn Burt of Lynn Frances Photography
