w/ Little Casino, Sleepy Tea
It has been quite some time since I have been to the Black Bear
Lodge, and probably only the second time since its infamous
transformation from The Troubadour. I’d forgotten just what an amazing
room it is. Stupidly hot, but incredible. Charlie Mayfair chose this venue for their show celebrating the release of their new EP Fall in Time.
Opening the night was Sleepy Tea. Lets do some math here. What do you get when you combine Tom Wearne (Tin Can Radio) and the Emma Louise?
Awesomeness, that’s what: a dream-pop kind of mellowness that has
glorious melodies. This is Tom’s side project, but you can tell that
just by listening. The songs are very similar in construct as those of
Tin Can Radio, but without the heavy electronic synth. The opening three
songs were the two vocalists accompanied by guitar. These songs were
delightful. Their voices mesh so well together to create some beautiful
harmonies.
When the rest of the band (bass and drums) joined the due, things got
a lot more interesting. It was such a different kind of song they
created, and different types of songs also. But still, very Tin Can
Radio like. Can I just clarify; this is definitely not a bad thing at
all. You can’t change your song writing style just because you want to
change up the group of musicians you are writing for. Their last song, I
think it was their “single” even thought nothing has been officially
recorded, was easily their most catchy, and funnily enough, most unique
also.
Next up was Little Casino, a band who I had heard absolutely
nothing about or of. Here’s what I found out tonight. They have just
finished recording their debut EP which will be released in the near
future. “All Fall Down” is an amazing song. It shows off the vocals of
lead singer Ben Forbes. There’s a certain quality to this young mans
voice that really captured me, more so than many other new bands I’ve
heard of late. The band as a whole work really well together and they
sound like they’ve been playing together for years, when In reality, I
think it has only been a short amount of time. They have their own
unique folk- rock style and also their own interpretation of that style.
There are not too many bands that can make me grin like a fool on
first listen, but these guys? They had Ben grinning from first tune they
played. I know they are going to be a band that I follow closely as
their career develops and flourishes. They definitely have the makings
to be one of my favourite new bands.
Finally, Charlie Mayfair brought it home to that room where
the air was almost unbeatable due to the heat and stuffiness. They have
come so far since the last time I hear them play. They sound has
developed and matured and they are definitely becoming an Indie-Pop
force to be reckoned with. The one thing that sets this band apart from
all those other bands out there is their vocal harmonies. When lead
singer, Hannah Shepherd together with Irena Lysiuck and Dave Di Marco
sing together it is something truly special. And they sung together in
pretty much every song, so I think you get how special these three
together can be.
Their opening song of the set “Blue Water” has evolved since last
time I attended one of their gigs. It’s form may have changed, but it
hasn’t lost any of it’s intensity. It opens with just Hannah on vocals,
joined by Irena and finally Dave, before the rhythmic accompaniment of
the rest of the band sets in. It was nice to hear Dave taking up lead
vocal duties on a new track “Stone”. The band’s new singe “Waste Me” was
sensational live. I didn’t think they could pull off the opening as
well in a live situation as they do on record but it was flawless.
Kudos. As an encore, the band welcomed Emma Lousie and Tom from Sleepy Tea
back on stage to sing an unplugged number. That is, the acoustic guitar
unplugged and the mics turned off. This was something truly mind
blowing. I just wish I had been in the front row instead of mid crowd.
Charlie Mayfair have really stepped it up in the last little bit, and
their new EP, is certainly something special. Grab it when you can!
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