'Hot Music Live Presents' fundraiser for The Tin #13
Review
Once again, a ‘Hot Music Live Presents' fundraiser for The Tin managed to break some newer ground last evening when Nuke The Whales, Louis Scheuer and The Big Strong Boys, Taylor-Louise & Blue Strawberries all gave of their time & talent.
This was another occasion on which few if any of those there had experienced the full range of the music on show for a variety of reasons.
Blue Strawberries are one more of the beautifully nurtured & mentored bands to emerge from the ‘Live On Stage' project organised by the team at The Tin and Coventry Music: utterly confident & comfortable at playing precisely what they want to play (which is a charming dream pop type of material) and although aged between 12 & 16, unfazed by playing alongside & in front of adults. Joined for a couple of numbers by project mentor Mason Le Long, they wove harmonies & instrumental parts together into original songs which they tell me that they will soon start recording so you can enjoy them too.
If Blue Strawberries were less familiar to people there due to their early career stage, Taylor-Louise was something of a revelation to them as she's been busy doing other things for the last few years & not played as much as she once did. Considering that the two other bands hail from, like her, the Leamington scene, it was quite fascinating to find out that she was known to them more by reputation than experience: just goes to show how in the healthiest of scenes, things can move so very swiftly.
In a powerful & hard hitting set, she proceeded to show the audience what we've all been missing: straight back into playing, arguably more potent than ever. Another strong marker of intent was her complete focus on new material: no looking back, just with her eye on where she's at & aiming towards. I'm sure you'll be seeing & hearing much more from her in coming months & knowing her single mindedness & tenacity, she'll be giving it her all, utilising all the energy which has gone into equally rewarding areas of her life in her quieter musical phase.
I've tried to feature Louis Scheuer on one of these events for some time. His busy schedule has shaped how long it's taken & it's funny how many of his bands have been on my list only to break up before we nailed things down. This latest one (the one we caught) is a bit of a local supergroup as Morton Ballard (catch him on July 3rd with las vedas) and Paulina Kalwarska (of Jackdaw with Crowbar etc) were the other members. (I'm reining myself in a lot at this point as if I went into detail of which bands these had played in & with whom, a complicated diagram would be necessary).
That's the simple bit. In terms of set structure, he started solo in acoustic guitar/harmonica/foot percussion mode and the others joined him on electric guitar & drums as things hotted up. what was played? Well now we're starting to stretch my vocabulary.. In the lead up to the event, Louis kindly offered me "psych/country but a bit more raucous and punkified" as a potential style guide for promo & that certainly gives me and you something to grip onto.
However there was a very strong blues element: most notably in his first bit and I'm glad to say was steeped in true blues themes unlike much of the mass produced stuff so prevalent these days. He called it "depressing" but that's what the blues are genuinely about. After that it just shot off into all sorts of weird & wonderful places where simple words aren't adequate. Please do catch this lineup & make of it as you will: you'll definitely be moved by them.
Headliners Nuke The Whales had not in fact headlined previously, so that was their precedent setting moment. They certainly fitted the role effectively: following their act must take some doing. I'll try & explain why but doing much more than scratching the surface may be tricky.
First of all, it was pretty multi-media: a lot of thought & effort had gone into visuals, including stage wear, effects, samples etc. The mood promoted was good humoured but since many of the songs also dealt with serious subjects, there was depth to be explored. The energy levels were high throughout which always makes for a great climax to any gig & many of the audience were inspired into slam dancing.
The band in fact played pretty much their entire repertoire to the point of bringing one number out of retirement: so when the power of demand overwhelms the supply, you know how well you're going down. I can't doubt that more headline opportunities will come their way.
Big credit to Joseph Sullivan for curating the sound too: yet again the range of styles & volumes across the evening was significant yet each was served by having what they intended transmitted faithfully to those listening.
The events in this series (touch wood) meet the aim of helping sustain this vital venue which seeks, through charitable status to "advance education in music and arts for the public benefit by the provision of an arts facility, to promote health by the provision of tuition in music and arts and to promote social inclusion for the public benefit by preventing people from becoming socially excluded, relieving the needs of those people who are socially excluded and assisting them to integrate into society". Those goals alone justify our support, quite apart from the specifics of the nights & artists each of us has enjoyed and knowing of particular programmes like ‘Live On Stage' which lie behind both the strategy & the pleasure.
However The Tin tends to promote an underlying environment which manifests itself on nights like HMLP events: where the audiences revel in finding new artists to enjoy, where people cast off the shackles of genre and where you ca turn around & witness people congratulating each other & forming new connections. There was plenty of that last night & just goes to show not only the current depth of original talent around in Coventry & Warwickshire (I had no idea this series of gigs would extend this far when we started) but the collaborative community which is prevailing over the cliques which too often characterise local music scenes.
Our next fundraiser for The Tin is on June 5th and features the unprecedented & probably not to be repeated lineup of Deathsex Bloodbath, Batsch, Little Girl Screaming and Stegosaurus Sex Party. Tickets will be £8 on the door but you can ensure you have yours for this unique event & save money via this advance ticket link:
https://events.humanitix.com/hot-music-live-deathsex-bloodbath-batsch-little-girl-screaming-stegosaurus-sex-party
See you there.
