'Hot Music Live Presents' fundraiser for The Tin
Review
Recent events in our area & the focus of Independent Venue Week have brought home some stark truths about the sort of places where the type of artists we feature in the magazine can play in welcoming spaces, sharing original music to appreciative audiences. There were insufficient and the numbers are prone to diminution as so many are community spaces with fragile finances.
The pressing need to replace their façade has made a fundraising drive essential for The Tin in Coventry. Though thankfully that has now been successful, funds are still needed to replace & repair equipment whose usage has worn it down. For many others, the issue remains existential.
I'm so proud that so many of those we applaud for their musicianship are also caring & have given their time & talent to help. Some of the events to raise funds are under our curation which again is a source of much satisfaction. The first was held last night & involved Duck Thieves, HEK, Ace Ambrose & the Oddity and Ben Monkhouse.
If the situation of the venue encapsulated a wider truth, then the evening too was a microcosm of much we can celebrate. Firstly the quality of the current local scene: platinum standard music from start to finish. I have already lost count of comments on this made directly to me on the night & via social media since. Secondly, the diversity: the artists shared the characteristics of integrity & originality, but each sounded unique & true to themselves. Thirdly, the music was almost overshadowed by the palpable sense of community : artists supporting & enjoying each other's sets (I think I was the only person present who'd experienced them all previously so there was a lot of new experiences) and congratulating others. There was a genuine love of the work of others and no wonder these people gave of their time.
Ben was probably the least known to those present (even though he had played The Tin once last year) and so it's hardly surprising the number of comments & plaudits as he won over new fans. That he opted to cover Nick Drake's "Pink Moon" gives you a pointer towards his sound & guitar talent: but his own songs are deep in sentiment and exquisite in realisation.
I'm pretty sure I have rarely heard Ace play any song twice in the same form. Accompanied on this occasion by a configuration of The Oddity I'd never seen before, the versions performed were a revelation. This may be the strongest lineup she's had to date (and in true Ace style it's actually an interim one) and I'm pretty sure that reflects her own analysis. You'd have known all the songs but they were taken to new places, explored in depth and generally ran to much longer than the studio versions: but not in a self indulgent way. The band seemed to enjoy what they were doing so much that they didn't want to stop any song. The biggest surprise perhaps was a take on her "His Name Was Susie" which like me you'll know from acoustic shows but this time was performed with ferocious intensity by the band: I think Ace feels that at last it's getting near the shape she has had in her mind to record it. This is certainly Ace & her band at their hardest rocking bravura best.
This idea of artists so obviously enjoying playing their songs applied all evening: certainly with HEK and again they were happy to take tracks along however long a road to see what they could find there. The results again were performances of skill & nuance but with yet more astonishing power & intensity. No wonder this band is frequently mentioned as one to catch live and one who should make big career strides in 2025 once the word spreads. That they have gone straight from the stage to the studio today speaks much of their creative ambition & work ethic. I look forwards to telling you of the results.
Those of you aware of how Michelle injured herself at the Duck Thieves' tenth anniversary gig at The Tin will probably have been surprised (and pleased) as I was when she passed herself as fit to play on this occasion. When she then fell ill on the day of the gig, how gut wrenching must that have been for her? She was so keen to play & had been responsible for the best & most social media posts promoting it.
This did not stop the band however though it meant some set and arrangement revisions and naturally asked more of Diana in order to cover two vocal parts: a challenge adroitly met. The Duck Thieves being the Duck Thieves though, they still managed a left field surprise & turned a challenge into an opportunity. Joining them onstage for "City of London Love" was Liz, whose dumping of Justin inspired the song. Who could have seen that coming? Certainly not me.
That they ended with singing of "For The Love Not The Money" was certainly appropriate and summed up the occasion. There was so much love around along with top quality music.
We cannot afford complacency though: to sustain venues like this we need to nurture & support them regularly. Lurching from crisis to crisis is no plan & cannot be good for the morale of the team there. The latter don't get the thanks they merit: last night could not have worked without the inobtrusive but vital professionalism they demonstrated. The sound was pristine despite the challenges of such very different acts & technical changeovers slick & absolutely to the timetable with no sense of rush: big thanks to sound engineer Michael Price.
The next in this series of ‘Hot Music Live Presents' fundraisers for The Tin is on February 21st and features Project Overload, The Upsiders, Loophole & Luminae.
However please check the schedule for The Tin & try and get along to some of their many events as well as the fundraisers: they all help as well as being cracking evenings.
