Reviews
Classic Clapton Saturday 10th September Penicuik Town Hall
There have been a lot of decent Tribute acts who have played Penicuik Town Hall. We've even had a few who looked like the act they were proposing to sound like. We've had a couple who sounded a bit like the act. Last night we were blessed with both. I don't think I'd be out of hand by saying that last night Classic Clapton was one of the most professional acts I've ever seen at the Town Hall.
I don't know about you, but when guitarists strum their guitars in between songs etc. I find it really annoying, it's like boy racers revving their cars for no reason. None of that last night. You got an introduction by Mike (Eric Clapton look & sound alike) on what part of Eric Claptons extremely influential & varied career it came from. Then the song was executed , & personally I thought brilliantly every time.
I asked both my musician friends & just simple music lovers like myself what they thought. My musician friends pointed out his guitar work wasn't quite up to Claptons standards. But personally I thought it was a touch of sour grapes, because lets face it Eric Clapton is a guitar hero he's been rated as No4 in the world for heavens sake! And as much as they are all very competent musicians themselves, they're not quite up to the standards of their heroes either! Where as my non musician friends were of the same opinion as myself & I think 99% of the hall was too. Classic Clapton was one of, the best Tributes to have played Penicuik Town Hall in many a year.
I would personally like to thank Mike for dedicating a song to me, as it was my birthday last night (& he didn't know). Plus he wasn't to know that "Find my way home" is actually one of my favourite songs of all time! We were treated to great repertoire of Eric Clapton songs from Cream, Blind Faith, Derek & the Dominoes etc right up to his solo work. Fantastic stuff.
One of my friends was even talking about popping along to some of Classic Claptons other Scottish & North of England dates!
I also think Peter Middleton on the sound desk last night had it spot on. It wasn't too loud as to distort the sound, or too quiet either. Plus the lighting by Rhona Brown was great too. It enhanced rather than distracted us from the act. Well done to the both of you.
Bons Balls Penicuik Town Hall Aug 27th 2011
I'm not a huge fan of AC/DC BUT these lads were exactly as their name suggests. At last a tribute band who actually sound like the real thing. I only personally recognised one song but that's no surprise I only own two albums.
What matters more was the crowd LOVED them! Excellent night (see T in the Car Park review below for an explanation to why I didn't last the whole set) of the 8 or 9 songs I heard.
Definately worth a look if you're an auld school Hard Rock fan. Happy smiley faces all round the Town Hall last night. Mike Scott was heard to say "Diane we shall dine on caviar for breakfast tomorrow". Excellent 10/10
T in the Car Park 2011
What a fantastic day it was. The sun even managed to put in a appearance for a little while too. Now I have to confess I didn't manage to stay the whole day. I've been suffering from an inner ear infection which has upset my balance. BUT the bands I did manage to see were top quality.
Plus there was a real Smörgåsbord of musical genres & talents on show. Okay it wasn't the best attended, BUT I think the weather & Edinburgh Festival being on contributed to that. However I think its very fair to say everyone really enjoyed themselves.
I'm genuinely sorry I missed an Italian band called the Taxis. Because I heard them perform in the Craigiebield Lounge the night before. They were awesome!!! It was like a blend of old New Wave, pop & rock all rolled into one.
Kingz of Cheese were fabulous too. I really don't know how to describe this group at all. Funky? Weird? Off the wall? Fantastic musicians & Trish has a great voice. Gator Bait played some nice Blues numbers. KB Rebel were very good too, infact to be honest I never saw one bad performance at all. On a personal front there was a young lad playing when I first arrived who went under the moniker of Rising Souls. He stole the best performance for me. Really good voice.
Many thanks to everyone involved I had a fabulous time.
New Age Jam with support from The Redstarts Penicuik Town Hall Sat 26th February 2011
The
Redstarts
started the night off with an absolutely cracking set of 60’s Mod & Soul
covers. If I’ve said it once I’ve said it a hundred times, this bands
harmonies are the best in the area. But tonight the boys surpassed
themselves with a new repertoire of some blistering Northern Soul tunes.
They even did a fantastic version of The Velvettes – Needle in a Haystack!
Which went down a storm!!
I really haven’t seen the lads play & sound so good in a long time. If you haven’t yet seen The Redstarts I seriously suggest you go along & see them the next time they’re playing. I want you to set aside your music preferences & go & listen to how they play. How they harmonise, & how they can “cover” a tune correctly. I don’t care if you’re into Rock, Goth, Metal etc, check them out & you’ll learn a thing or two.
Fantastic cracking set lads, really, really enjoyed it, never heard you play or sound better. What's more the crowd loved it!
New
Age Jam,
well…… I’m sorry I walked out after four songs. They could be good if the
lead singer actually sang rather than shouted his way through the songs.
Because on the very few occasions he did sing he wasn’t bad. The drummer was
a touch basic. I came back later on in the night to see if they had settled
down. I listened to another couple of songs being shouted to death & gave
up.
I asked a half a dozen smokers at the door what they thought. Every single one of them said the same, they weren’t impressed. And the buzz was on how good The Redstarts were.
I was a massive Jam fan from 78 – 82. The Jam were my heroes as a teenager. The New Age Jam captured the raw anger of the early Jam (In the City album material). But they spoilt it by transferring it to every single song I heard them sing. Real pity as they could genuinely be good if they slowed down a bit (they sounded like The Dickies sing the Jam a couple of times) & the lead singer kept the anger for the right bits & songs.
All I can say is I’m so glad The Redstarts were playing tonight. They really should have been given the top billing spot.
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