Since first witnessing Acoustic Ladyland at a CuRioSiTy night at Kyps a couple of years back, and subsequently putting them on in front of a packed and particularly excited Gander crowd, I can’t remember another band who have impressed me more on a local live stage. The fact that their first (and only) date in either Bournemouth or Poole this year took place at The Winchester also shows how much that particular venue has raised its live game.

Musically, New Volunteer shared very little with tonight’s headliners. They may be blessed with (almost) as much musical ability, but the fact that there was a muted response to the majority of songs – until a large group of excitable girls arrived – may have been down to the lack of similarity to what followed. The fact also that the doors didn’t open ‘til 9ish didn’t help either, as large numbers were coming through the entrance and past the stage as their set progressed.

I assume New Volunteer have been better received at their monthly residency at the same venue; the sound of one man (me) clapping along to the sound of the soundman whooping could’ve hardly inspired the band. But, the response did improve and justifiably so. Their set may not appear to have changed much since the first time I saw them (again, at a CuRioSiTy gig), but their Wilco-inspired sound, awash with off-kilter melodies and perfect harmonies deserves close attention and respect. Another time and place perhaps…

By the time Acoustic Ladyland coloured the stage, the crowd had settled, and grown considerably. Not exactly packed, but comfortably close to full. Then they blew me away. Again. One major change from my two previous live experiences was the loss of a keyboard and addition of a guitar – courtesy of Chris Sharkey. This change coincided with the release of their recently released album Living With A Tiger, and made a variety of differences to the overall sound; at times more spacious, more groovy, not so excessive. That said, at times they were incredibly intense, all four musicians pounding away beats and rhythms, all ferociously playing the role of lead, often at the same time without the sound ever seeming at all cluttered.

Driven, frenetic and incredibly watchable, Acoustic Ladyland played with brilliantly controlled abandon. With Pete Wareham’s wailing sax still, perhaps even more prominent (in fact there were no vocals at all tonight), it’s all too easy to attach the words jazz and punk together when trying to describe their music. However, if anything the inclusion of lead guitar gave the sound more of a rock (eek!) feel, and allowed the band to further diversify musically. Seb Rochford was insanely impressive; expressionless, except to give and receive on stage prompts, his minimal kit (no need for more than one tom or one cymbal for this man) gave the impression of it all looking so simple, when clearly nothing could be further from the truth.

All this brilliance for a fiver, when JLS (don’t know?… don’t ask) were playing the night after at the BIC for, um, £31 would suggest there’s something seriously not right here. There is something seriously not right of course. The fact that there were many people who would have been blown away by tonight’s music, who instead chose to sit at home and watch the piece of shit programme that spawned the latest band to line Mr Cowell’s pockets is a sad fucking sign of the TV times.

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