Had I known Andy Stock was opening up I’d have arrived twenty minutes earlier. If anyone deserves support at the moment, it’s him. Not only that, but the man has the most glorious, soulful voice which I was gutted to only hear three minutes of. Clearly, the vast majority of the one hundred or more (a fantastic turnout for a cold, wintry Monday) were here to see the debut performance from The Neon Tigers – headed by Ex-Clam Rich Peacock – but to see Andy on stage, albeit only briefly, pouring out his soul was a wonderful sight and sound.

Preceding the Neon Tigers in front of an overly excited, highly expectant crowd was not an easy task, though one that Phil King coped with excellently. Playing four songs – including a decent cover of ‘Come Together’ – he played and sung with bucketfuls of emotion, for the most part keeping the audience’s attention which itself was no mean feat. Maybe the reason no one was leaving their front of stage position was in preparation for what was to follow. Reading that sentence back it sounds a little harsh; his performance was indeed a good one, though I’ll keep the sentence in.

I make no excuses for focusing this review on the Neon Tigers. Rarely does a debut gig carry such a weight of expectancy, but rightly so, before their ‘split’ Clams were probably the biggest crowd puller playing locally. Seemingly, Rich Peacock has been working with this new band, made up from ex-members of Uncle Pablos Magic Potion (Jon – guitar), Shattered Glass Cougars (Gary – bass) and Grifter (Jon – drums) for several months, with little fuss, apparently only making the group public knowledge a month or so ago. A demo handed to me a few weeks ago with advice to expect “something different” was received both unexpectedly and excitedly, and whilst it took a few listens to get the Clams out of my head, once I had it was clear that these Neon Tigers had something special going on.

Thirty seconds (too late) into the opening song, Out Of Control, and Rich’s vocals appeared, backed by a kind of bar room bluesy Faces riff. The sound was full, energetic, driven by keys, and very, very impressive. From The Faces, stabs of Ben Folds appeared on the mellower second tune, and then the set came alive on the third, ‘The Boy Needs Help’. After an opening minute sat behind his keys, playing what sounded like the opening to a generic Meat Loaf tune, Rich got to his feet, decorated with Stipe-style eyeliner, threw his shirt to the floor and strapped on his double-necked axe. Cheers, wolf-whistles, and the sound of baited breath as he launched Clams-style (sorry… easy reference) into four minutes of classic heavy rock. See, those last three words have huge mainstream overtones, and so many bands look and sound so goddam boring when the set-up is so straightforward. But, when it’s done this well it’s quite magnificent.

For a debut gig the performance was almost impeccable. One or two minor malfunctions, but the band were tight and the set seamless, Jon’s drumming was unspectacular but solid, backed by Gary’s equally solid but more adventurous bass. Swathes of Billy Joel (no, not fucking ‘Uptown Girl’) and Queen in equal measures dominated the next thirty minutes, with the obvious difference from Clams (apart from the use of keys) being the focus on the lyrics and melody. These songs were less riff orientated, more structured with choruses and verses opposed to heavy jams, which may not appeal to all Clam fans but hey… so what? With the focus on a heavy groove or riff, live music is more instantly accessible; there was far more subtlety here, but the changes in tempo and melody meant the tunes were more dynamic, more anthemic. The inevitable encore produced possibly the best song of the entire set, and the fact that it appeared a last minute decision to play it sums up the quality on offer here. Any hype leading up to their next gig – Sat 23 Jan at Champions – you may just want to believe.

The Skinny Skulls were clearly on a hiding to nothing. To maintain the high created by The Neon Tigers was pretty much an impossibility. They tried, they really tried, and whilst at times their prog-punk-rock was both watchable and well received, it was inevitable that by the time they’d played their first three songs half of the audience had left the building. That said, it was only about three of their songs that I actually enjoyed; not for the first time I found their set too long and drawn out (a bit like their actual songs in fact). The band played with a large amount of spirit and ability, and indeed there were several moments to admire, but the fact that their set was also hindered slightly by technical difficulties doesn’t make up for the fact that after twenty minutes I was bored.

AFF probably wished they’d played two hours earlier – to one hundred instead of sixteen. Their fairly generic uptempo indie-rock had much to admire, though whilst their songs never outstayed their welcome there was little to set them apart from their peers. If the band are as young as they look their playing was excellent, and I’d certainly be keen to give them another couple of listens to see if there was more in these songs than initially apparent. I think the band announced a name change at the end of their set – the announcement was muffled slightly awkwardly so I didn’t catch it – though I remember thinking it was an even worse name than AFF. Ones to watch. Possibly.

For a look at a couple of Neon Tigers videos from the gig, as well as an album of photos, take a look at our audio/visual page…

For an alternate view on this gig, take a look at Dorset Rock Online – a spanking new rock music website formed recently by Dan Renton – the better looking half of the recently disbanded In Rock We Trust.

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It seems so long ago. Late August, Endorse-It (probably our best weekend of the year) had just been and gone, The Gander was a slowly fading memory, and Champions was happening. We were busy. Very busy. Plus a re-launch for the site was long overdue. It needed weeding, overhauling… after being a tad obsessed with bh one for over three years we grew tired of looking at it – so we took a bh break.

Champions has been our main focus for the last four months, and much has happened at the venue during that time. To clarify something quickly, bh one is maintained and updated predominantly by myself (Tony). Bob has made this new site happen – he understands code and letters in strange order, and has tech brains. He also contributes occasionally, not as often as I’d like as he writes better than what I do. Anyway, when I say Champions has been our focus, I really mean mine as I’m currently managing the bookings and promotion. Confused? Sorry.

More on Champions over the coming weeks and months – suffice to say we (the team working at Champions) are determined to make a success of the venue – it has massive potential which I believe we are only just beginning to realise. I urge anyone who has an interest in the local live music scene to support the venue as much as your taste and desire allows.

Over the last few months we’ve received a huge amount of cds through our mailbox. Many from bands requesting gigs, also a good number from the likes of Dusty Cuts, The Neon Tigers, Zac Harris, Muddy Miles and Blind Voyeurs. It is our intention to review all of the above over the coming weeks, but like I’ve said – we’ve been busy! We’ve started by reviewing the superb debut ep by – congratulations too to the album’s curator Tim Berry who will begin life as a married man next week.

Many gigs have been and gone – thanks to Mr Kyps for their continued freebies despite the lack of subsequent reviews. A couple of in-the-round gigs showed Ian Siegal (pictured above) again in fantastic form. The huge amount of passion and emotion pouring out of the man was in stark contrast to the dribble of soul and spirit coming from the mouth of Erik Mongrain. To be fair his fingers did all the talking, but what is live music without feeling and emotion? It’s also great news to see the O2 Academy beginning to make full use of the fantastic facilities it has taken over. It’s been too long since we saw Michael Wookey playing on the main stage supporting The Fall – hopefully similar opportunities for local artists will be more frequent in the future.

Anyway, we just wanted to say hello again, and welcome to the new site. We hope you like it. New features will be added in the near future as we’re currently exploring its potential and marvelling over its ease of use! One thing we want to make perfectly clear is all we have ever tried to do with bh one is promote the local live music scene. Over the last three years our Live gigs have become a part of that scene, and subsequently some of the focus has been on our own events. But, we’re proud what we have achieved and hope that musicians and gig-goers have appreciated our efforts. We will continue to focus on artists and events that grab our attention and heighten our emotions – this is our love, our passion.

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This Saturday (12 Dec) sees us welcome the uber-talented London quintet Led Bib to Champions. Prior to being nominated for this year’s Mercury Music Prize Album of the Year the band were bubbling predominately under the radar, whilst still attracting the attention of various music mags and broadsheets. There was certainly high praise coming in from some cool quarters, but since that nomination the vast majority of credible press types have clearly sat up and taken notice. Here’s just a selection of quotes…

“And if the Mercury Prize judging panel gives them the token jazz-act nomination- which is the least reward their third album Sensible Shoes deserves – bigger stages will certainly beckon.” The Sunday Telegraph *****

“You’ll be hard pressed to keep the lid on this explosive tour de force of ensemble intelligence” The Independent ****

“’Sensible Shoes’ is a chink of light in ever darkening skies” Artrocker
“Rarely have two saxes, keyboard, bass and drums sounded so dangerous yet so compelling” Observer Music Monthly ****

“This is the sound of a band having fun… like a hot chainsaw through butter. The Wire

“It’s exuberant, intense, varied and exciting.” BBC Music Magazine ****

“…one cool mutha of a death-jazz-cum-math-punk-freakout, as if Mike Patton had his wicked way with John Zorn” Time Out

“Quite possibly they’re the missing link between jazz, prog and experimental rock, which puts them in a field of one” The Scotsman (live review) ****

“The future of jazz” The Times

“…a masterpiece of musical foreboding” The Metro

“One of the UK’s most adventurous groups” Jazzwise ****

“…like a gale of fresh air” The Guardian

“Sensible Shoes sounds very much like a jazz classic” Metro

“There is a passion and a sense of vulnerability that proves Led Bib is not all bluster. These guys have soul.” The Herald (live review) ****

“Veering from wild, Downtown-style free improvisation to rock-worthy riffola, with the odd subtle, sensitive moment thrown in too, it’s a hands-down triumph” The Independent, ‘Ones to Watch’ feature

“Like a wake up call from an air-raid siren” Irish Tribune”

It all adds up to an invigorating listen and quite a prospect as a live experience” The Herald (album of the week)

“This is a blast, in all senses of the word” Chris Parker

To accompany the live might of Led Bib we’ve chosen two local bands to whom many of the above words could also be associated. Achilles have had a hugely prosperous 2009, winning three superb festival slots courtesy of their DUMA success. They’ve enjoyed a monthly residency with Devil’s Music at The Winchester and have received big-ups from Tom Robinson and Huw Stephens.

Skitanja have big plans for 2010 – a tour de France is being planned with other further away destinations currently being scheduled. They too have received big-ups from our friends at RECKNO, Ejector Seat and our own Dan Barrow…

“Sounding not unlike a 10 disc cd changer with ADD, loaded with jazz, gabba, skronk and opera, turned up loud and pushed down the stairs.” – RECKNO

“SKITANJA are new. They sound like an electronica act that have too many ideas for their own good, which is a good thing. For fans of Adaadat records.” – Ejector Seat

“…frightening synth blurts, sampled farm noises, razor-sharp guitar shards, and the sight of hipsters, attempting to consume their over-expensive meals, turning round and looking, wondering WHAT THE FUCK THIS RACKET IS.” – Dan Barrow (bh one)

Entry to this controlled explosion is from 7.30, with Skitanja striking first at 8.45. Tickets have been selling at £5, with the door price being set at £7. Anyone reading this just needs to say “bh one” on the door to get in for a fiver – no ticket required. Nice.

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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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Having seen Tim Berry play locally on a number of occasions, my opinion of him as a performer is this: a fantastic songwriter, intriguing vocalist (great if you like moany, whining ‘woe-is-me’ tones), adequate guitarist who is prone to more than his fair share of errors when performing live. His songs have captivated me – I’ve always likened him to ’67-era Bowie – the darker, less jolly stuff from his eponymously-titled debut album.

Obviously, any fuck-ups that litter his live performances would not be an issue on this, Who Cares?, his debut album by Oh Dreamland. So, with those out of the way it’s easy to relax into the album and not worry about any finger slippage spoiling the performance. It would be fair to say that this is indeed not the jolliest of albums, but it would also be safe to say it is quite fantastic. Tim’s way with words is wonderfully cutting, insightful and observationally bleak without ever straying from the truth.

Lyrically there’s more fiction than fact on offer – although the made up stuff sounds so real and sung with such emotion that you’d swear it all happened. Who Cares? sounds like a Nell Dunn book brought to life – it’s not pretty, but gritty, and upliftingly miserable. Tales of a regretful soldier who describes his pointless fighting as “humiliating”… “don’t let my family grow old without me. Now here come the bombs.” Or far less mundane but no less real, the tribulations of the ‘Saturday Girl’ stuck on the till with the jammed counter-cache – “the customers just won’t understand” – Poor Cow indeed.

Love and rejection feature strongly too. Not love and happiness, obviously. The wonderful use of plucked strings and plonked glock (to lighten the mood and feel), or drawn out and dark strings to do the opposite heighten the emotion. King Edward potatoes feature too (post glock), saved from under the wheels of a Datsun. Then, on the exquisite ‘I Might’ve Been A Keeper’, there’s the man from The Ostler who is proud of his boy who has made the line-up for Uxbridge Reserves (he’s gonna be the next Dimitar Berbatov y’know). Everything is sung with apparent pity, in black and white. Or grey.

Drums appear just the once, on the beautifully dreamy and mid-tempo-yet-downbeat Blocked, prior to the final two tracks. ‘A Sighting Then A Murder’ is a jolly (jolly fantastic) ditty about a twisted tale and mistaken identity of a murder victim -“women like her only fall for the lowest of men”, the press loved it “it was a good bit of business for them”. Oh, it’s all so brilliantly gloomy. It ends on a missing person. Not a found one, obviously. “He left to place a bet on a 3-1 Colchester win. He said I’ll be five minutes, put the kettle on for when I come back in”. Three years later the narrator marries Barbara – this missing person’s wife. Double-barrelled names are discussed, as is closure.

Having listened to Who Cares? many, many times over the last few months, despite it’s obvious dour and dark overtones I’ve never found it depressing. Listening to it on repeat today I probably couldn’t say the same. The album is superb – get it and devour it. Just don’t overdo it.

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