Bit of a shame really......
Went to see MES last night at The Slug and Lettuce in Altrincham, with IanRKid and his lad Stuart, plus 'WHAT' or 'EVER!', Asa and Aiden and his lovely wife Di . As stated in his earlier blog Wick from the 45's was also in attendance with the also lovely Anne nad their friends Murray and Denise.
The venue - a reasonably busy pub/restaurant, quite a good size, but with a stone floor which makes it 'echoey' and bright sounding. There is plenty of space for the band to set up and strut their stuff, and an easy load in ' out.
The band -
Louis on main vox and harmonica
Steve on guitar and backing vox
Ken on bass and backing vox
Geoff on drums.
Managed to have a good chat with them all before the off, and a great bunch they are, must be good liars though 'cos they seemed genuinely pleased to meet me!
So into the first set and they got a decent sound going; Louis has a really good voice and decent range, Steve is pretty handy on both rhythm and lead, and Ken and Geoff make up a strong, driving rhythm section. Harmonies were pretty impressive, especially when they got all 3 singing.
Unfortunately, I don't think The Slug and Lettuce was ready for this kind of 'classic' weather, and as soon as the boys started, about half the punters left! The guys with me commented that some of the songs were more on the 'obscure' side - I sort of know what they mean, if you are going to play these sort of places you need to play songs that the non-muso audience will know. However, they played them well and with energy and enthusiasm
We poppd across to the Flamin' Galah at half time to say hello to Billy and 'NoReazon', and although we did stay for the start of the 2nd set, two or three songs in they lost power and we sloped off back toThe Slug.
Second half with MES was more of the same, but by now there were only about fifteen of us left! I honestly think it was just the wrong venue (and i'm sure the guys in the band will agree with me on this). That bit of Altrincham just don't seem interested in live music.
Critisism? Well, personally, the sound was a little bit 'samey' all the way through, and (like LGIT) I think there were a couple of dodgy song choices, but overall nice tight band that deliver a professional package. I know that R Kid had a word with the band about one song in particular, but that's between him and them!
Slug and Lettuce? We'll have to see if it turns into a decent live music venue, but frankly, I can't see it.
MES - you definitely need a backdrop, now if only we knew someone who could make one for you.........
AYP