After googling my way to where the venue is at, I locate the big red bricked building with the many “can't see through here” windows. I wasn't sure where to enter at first until I nearly tripped on the low key white board with the words “Springtide Cavalry” with an arrow underneath detailing the way. Underneath this though were the ominous words “£1 for non members”, I wondered what I had let myself into here. 
Expecting some cult after a wooden stake crashed down when I opened the front door I was ushered in by a friendly local and found myself in an old hall, which looked like an old 1960s office block with a full traditional bar built in at some point. The smell of age brought back memories of my youth of going to bars or halls like this with my parents, with that distinct aroma or human and smoke still clinging to the walls and ceilings. I wasn't expecting a rock band to be playing here, but thought that the charm of the atmosphere mixed in with everything else would give a different light on the standard gigs I was used to at pubs. Plus I didn't know how well the old skool rock would fit into the present surroundings considering the average age group that was present.
With the ambient chit-chat reaching higher and higher, it wasn't long before the first distorted chords reverbed through the hall and distilled the hustle bustle of gossip queens and hearty male bonding. That antiquated feeling soon hit me again upon hearing the singer's “Thin Lizzy” like voice and typical rock sound, with bass, drums and lead singer with guitar. The band played a mixture that night of covers (which they played really well and the singer's voice was at it's strongest) and their own material, which at times felt like a shadow of these great songs they played. The exceptions were the songs “Run Away”, a new as of yet unnamed song they played and “Out Of Here”, which is their latest single to be released. All of these held some distinction of the bands own flavour, and with their catchy choruses will probably go down as favourites to the fans.
The band consisted of a drummer, a bass player doing backing vocals and the lead singer also playing guitar. Though this formula is like a tradition amongst bands, 'Springtide Cavalry' managed to maintain a distinct sound of their own throughout, which was like a blend of turn of the century indie music mixed with late 1970s to early 1980s rock. It also helped that the band were tight, with a few banters passed between each other in the gaps between songs and the fact that they bounced off each other so well during songs.
I left the venue as the band were still playing out, and found I was singing some of the choruses on the way home in the car. Nothing beats a good night out with some old skool rock playing at an old skool club, and rocking every bit better than you first anticipated. There's great potential for this small group, and hopefully in the future, they delve deeper into their roots of musical inspirations to pull out a classic song that will rock our nation.
Leon Staden
www.ljsdigitalphotography.com
No comments:
Post a Comment