Whilst there was little in the way of musical symmetry between tonight’s three acts, anyone who has even the slightest hint of an open mind musically should have been tempted along to this one. Clearly Six Nation State and The Neon Tigers have the ability to draw a crowd, but The LCD? I had no pre-conceptions about tonight’s opening act, but for some reason I wasn’t expecting one man and an acoustic guitar. The LCD (The Large Conscious Delivery) mixes folk and rap, sounding like a mix between Eminem, Alex Turner and ‘generic male folk singer’. Very good he is too, a man with a social conscience who clearly has a lot to say, most of it worth listening to. I should’ve taken notes as specifics escape me, but I found myself attracted to the stage to listen to his tales, I remember smiling at, agreeing with and enjoying his performance, including a splattering of bits nicked from other songs, either lyrically, musically, or Eminemingly.

The Neon Tigers have made a big impact in a very short time. Their debut gig at The Winchester in December saw them play to a packed house, and subsequent gigs at Champions have seen them attract similar size audiences. Once again tonight at Mr Kyps they’ve brought the lion’s share of the crowd out on a Thursday night. So what’s the appeal? Simple. Great songs. Yes, they make an effort to put on a show too, tonight’s gig included additional make-up and a costume change, but any fancy dan theatrics would count for nothing if the music was lacklustre. But it’s clearly anything but. Anyway, it’s about time a local band made an effort (Skitanja and DOMI being the only exceptions that springs to mind… in fact, that cape looks very familiar) with theatrics on stage – we’re not talking Bowie proportions of glamour on show here, but I have a sneaky feeling there’s plenty more to come. Musically, from opener ‘Out Of Control’ to the closing ‘Rocking My Foundations’ their performance had energy, passion and melody in equal (very heavy) doses. Each song was followed by a roar of approval from what is already a loyal following, and whilst I wouldn’t yet say they have a whole set of winners, for their initial foray onto local stages this is exceptional stuff. I seem to have been eulogising rather a lot about The Neon Tigers recently… fantastic, Bournemouth has just found itself another great band.

I think Six Nation State (pictured above) first burst on to the local scene on this very stage, about four years ago if my memory serves me correctly. Subsequent success has seen them play festivals throughout the world, and relocate to London where they’ve undergone a recent line-up change. Their new sound is without a bass guitar but with keys, giving their ska-tones further authenticity. But, the key ingredient which has always made Six Nation State such a superb live band is clearly still very much in evidence – boundless energy. I’ve seen these guys more times than I can remember now and not once have I left feeling disappointed or like they had been going through the motions. They simply don’t do half-hearted, but once again it’s the fact that they write such bloody good songs (their blend of punk, indie, ska and sixties-influenced pop is right up my street) that counts for the most. Plus Gerry is quite simply a brilliant frontman blessed with a powerful, soulful voice, looking like a healthy John Belushi. Tonight they played a set to a decent-sized crowd (only a small number of Tigers’ fans left early) filled with old classics and songs which Gerry really shouldn’t still be calling “new” ones. Hopefully I’ll be seeing these fellas again soon, outdoors hopefully… festivals and Six Nation State were made for each other

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