Rock Regeneration

Chaplin’s Cellar Bar, Bournemouth

On a very wet Autumn evening I find myself down at the Cellar Bar in Boscombe for an evening of two different bands, both at very different stages of their careers.

The 1st band on stage are The Syghtseers who have reformed after 20 years away. The reformation started when two founding members of the band had a jam as a two piece; before recruiting a couple of new members on keyboards, bass and guitars to complete the line-up. The band perform a none too shabby set of songs reworked from back in the day, as well as a few new numbers created from within the new line-up. One of the standout songs is a number called “Inner Vision” which has a killer chorus and some nice 60’s style guitar work. At this stage the band have only a few gigs with this line up, however they seem to work well together and make a great sound with their combined skills. Vocalist George seems a little nervous to be in front of a crowd again after all this time and says very little apart from thank you to the appreciative Cellar Bar crowd at the end of their 30 minutes on stage.

The Syghtseers 1–2

When it is time for ìDraw Me Uglyî to take to the stage the Cellar Bar becomes much fuller. Could it be their fan base have grown since their last gig or is it just the fact that the O2 Academy over the road has just kicked out and the music fans want to continue their party at Chaplin’s. Tonight the band has a noticeable more confident swagger as they climb up onto the high stage. They are fuelled by a mixture of alcohol and lots of positive encouragement from the excited crowd. Kicking off with “Total Recall” the band’s signature funky themed sound radiates around this old basement getting straight to peoples feet, which immediately gets the well lubricated audience moving along. I cannot say enough about how this band have come along since I first discovered their music about 18 months ago. The band’s initial shyness seems to have all but disappeared.
Draw Me Ugly 1–2