The Swamis, The Vision, Royston Jones, Amy Lee - 14th September 2007
Reviewed by Martin Stapleton
To the huge disappointment of this reviewer Sister Ray were not able to perform this evening. However, the replacement is Amy Lee who continues to show nearly as much confidence as her illustrious and esteemed namesake! When she has a slight technical problem at the start she just shrugs it off, takes it in her stride and produces another polished performance. The same can also be said of Royston Jones. This four piece again play a set full of shufflesome acoustic rhythms which bring some welcome and refreshing testosterone-free anti-pop. Once again frontman Josh has to explain that he is not called Royston. It is however a rather confusing band name. Newer song "Stars" is brilliantly performed and is a song about Josh Kershaw's dad. It climaxes to a rock finish where the guitar skills flourish and rise to the fore. But Josh, where were the ripped jeans tonight!?
Arriving from the Northampton and MK area were a band new to me, they are profoundly called The Vision. A five piece who create a sound pitched somewhere between Stone Roses and New Order. As seems obligatory with this style of music, the vocalist seems somewhat overly dressed, certainly under the warm lights! Coolness over comfort I suppose. It is well presented and includes some euphoric anthems, especially "Trust" which has a swirling 'baggy' intro. The Vision also break for a couple of acoustic songs "Travelling man" plus "Bought and sold". The slow burner that is "This is our Music" gets an extended reprise at the end of the set.
So to The Swamis, whose statement of intent is provided by Dan and Paul who in the true spirit of Iggy Pop strip off their shirts and, as usual, perform bare-chested for the full duration of the set. Shaggy haired Dan congenially muses with the audience. His cheeky boyish grin is a permanant fixture, while the shaven-headed and more muscular Paul amazes us with his range of guitar skills.
This performance by The Swamis is being recorded, and with Caz at the sound controls tonight it is sure to sound amazing. The set opens with a stunning drum solo by Joe. A hushed reverence falls over the room. As usual there is sublime presence with this band as they construct a towering wall of noise without losing any subtlety in the process. There's heady thrills by the truckload as they break into "Journey of a Restless Mind", while they can still chill and soothe in equal measure, ably demonstrated on "Which way is Home?". Their ' swami army' get a welcome chance to join in as they provide the clapping to the demo song "Lost in the World". As always The Swamis elicited the kind of response usually reserved for touring royalty!