 |
|
EIGHT FOLD/ BOTTOM DRAW
3rd May 2004
By Terry Bullen
Week ten and it was the busiest week so far, as Atlantis Arena was close to bursting with enthusiastic music supporters looking for another dose of musical medicine.
EIGHTFOLD: The evening got underway with the Lowestoft four piece indie rock band Eightfold. The band chose some good covers for their set and mixed in a few originals to show off their song written abilities. The thing that was immediately striking about this band was that the vocalist/guitarist had a really impressive voice, which suited the bands style perfectly. It was a shame that the bass player and other guitarist looked a bit subdued throughout and didn't look as comfortable as the lead vocalist and drummer did while performing. This will come in time though, as it's a totally different atmosphere being up on a large stage when you compare it with playing down the pub in front of a normal sized crowd.
The band opened their set with an original named “Falling Down”, which was the launch pad for a well delivered set. They immediately followed this with their first cover of the night “Generator” by the Foo Fighters. This song contained some impressive work by the more than competent drummer, as the crowd showed their appreciation by applauding and hollering at the end. Eightfold followed this with another cover “New Born” by Muse, who are a difficult band to cover. The vocalist was never going to pull off the Matt Bellamy vocal but he done really well in trying to and the whole band delivered a great cover of this classic song. The song also gave the bass player an opportunity to shine, as his hand formed the shape of a spider on the neck of his bass guitar.
The middle of the set saw the band produce their best cover of the night, with a tight and accomplished cover of the Black Sabbath masterpiece “Warpigs”. They had a good full sound throughout the song and deservedly got a fantastic response from the impressed crowds at the end. The next song saw a switch in vocals as the newest member of the band took up the role of singer, as well as playing his guitar in a song titled “When I Met You”.
The bands best original of the night was saved for the end part of the set, as the vocalists proudly introduced “Hate Song” which he had written himself. This was a very good song and underlined the fact that this group may be fairly new but they have the talent to not just play covers but to write their own material also. Eightfold closed their set with a Foo Fighters cover “Everlong”, which contained another strong vocal performance. Unfortunately the song was very up and down throughout, as the guitars seemed to sound a little out of tune in places.
Eightfold are going to be among the bands that have a 50/50 chance of getting through to the next round, all due to the high standard that we've seen this year. To their advantage they have a great front man with a very good vocal and they also possess a brilliant drummer. This could be the factor that swings the casting vote by the judges and sees them progress to the next stage of the competition.
BOTTOM DRAW: Next on stage were the five piece outfit Bottom Draw, who delivered a crowd pleasing set full of delightful covers and well produced originals. The whole band were ultra confident and looked like seasoned pros on the stage. The musical ability in the band was admirable, as the bass guitar was passed around and played by three different people throughout the set. Another impressive depth that this band had was that every person in the band got involved vocally and none of them were found wanting when doing so. There was a really rich and full sound throughout the band as they mixed in keyboards, mouth organ and acoustic guitar with the usual concoction of bass, guitar and drums. This band had the same affect on the crowds as Mavis and Lukes Whisk had in previous weeks, in that they attracted a massive amount of people on to the dance floor to let their hair down and party. Included in the crowd were the lads from Turnstone who treated some of us spectators to some different and quiet funny dance moves!
Bottom Draw got their set underway with a couple of covers, in the shape of a refreshing version of the Coldplay song “Clocks” and the Monkeys classic “I'm a Believer”, which contained some crisp work on the keyboards. The band followed this with a flurry of well-constructed originals, which were of a very high standard and extremely catchy. The best of these originals were “Back Together” which incorporated the lovely sound of the mouth organ by the keyboard player and “Too Little Too Late”, where the acoustic guitar was prominent and sounded great.
Mid set saw the band deliver two brilliant covers, which were performed with great aplomb and had a real ‘feel good' factor about them. The first of these was the Jet song “Move On”, which the audience clapped along to as the un-required drummer came and sat with the keyboard player to sing along, before wandering around the stage shaking a tambourine in tune with the band. The second of these covers was a track that left me feeling refreshed and happy inside, as the band brilliantly executed a cover of the Oasis song “Songbird”. At this point Bottom Draw had the crowd feeding out of their hands and they went on to perform a cover that I wouldn't have dreamed of hearing in this competition. The cover was the well know Outkast song “Hey Ya”, which was absolutely brilliant and had the whole crowd singing and clapping along as the vocalist asked the crowd of men and ladies “What's cooler than being cool?” and got the expected response “Ice Cold”.
After being on such a high for the whole set the gloss was slightly taken off the performance with the bands penultimate song “Toxic” by Britney Spears. For me this song was a bit cheesy and sounded out of place in what was a fabulous set but that's only my opinion and it seemed to go down well with the crowd. The band closed their set out with a jived up version of the George Michael song “Faith”, which had the crowd dancing in a frenzy and the whole floor was shaking underfoot. The end of the set was met with an almighty response of clapping and shouting, as if we were in Wembley Arena as apposed to Atlantis Arena and you have to say that they deserved every bit of it.
This band had a diverse range of musicians throughout, which gave the band a great sound and their attitude towards the music was infectious, as they left the crowds leaving with smiles on their faces. Bottom Draw will breeze through to the next round and are yet another crowd pleasing band who are capable of pushing on to the closing stages of this competition.
|
Other reviews:
Suzi Wrote:
Much better audience turn out this week and what a great night, cheered me up no end!
Ok, here's how I saw it:
8-Fold: Firstly, kicked off with a strong original, Falling Down, this song showed off the vocals a treat, which were solid and versatile, suited to the song. The mood of this song was apparent instantly and it was nicely melodic. Then came song two, perfectly switched into by the way, as smooth
as it could have been. "Toight like a Tiger"! This one showed off some superb drumming and the crowd really got into it, great cheering. Foo Fighters are a perfect choice for this band.
Next however came a bit of a weak spot in my eyes, a cover of Muse's New Born, I didn't think the vocals really suited this song, I think they are much stronger on the others, but there was an excellent build-up mid way, that was carried off perfectly. And the crowd really liked it too.
Then came the Sabbath! Yeah, loved it, moody riffs and strong drums. Vocals were spot on too. Brilliant.
The only thing I was noticing was a lack of movement on stage, which I think was due to nerves and I have no doubt will improve the more performances you do, you just need to learn to relax on stage a bit more, "loosey goosey baby".
You guys had some great crowd cheers and a few dancers down the front, which was politely appreciated by the vocalist. Nice touch I thought.
Then came Jaime's song When I met you. I thought that this was a good song, but unfortunately I thought the vocals let it down a bit, he was new to the band though, so maybe just a bit of polishing on that one and you'll have it. Next was the Foo Fighter's -esque original Hate Song. Very catchy chorus, Yeah Yeah Yeah! Liked it.
It was the final song that let you guys down I thought. It wasn't the strongest song you performed and it ended a bit softly, but I think that can be improved on easily, up to you what to perform after all!
Summary: I think that this band showed some superb live performance promise. Their instruments were played to perfection, they had a polished set and showed off their skills well. I think of them as a softer side to the Foo
Fighters. Nice one guys.
Next came.
Bottom Draw: Ok, what a fan base! A bus load of them from North Walsham! That support was really nice to see, it set up the band from the start and was consistant and even added to. Great.
Note to Bassist: check your tuner really quickly before u start! It was picked up as being just slightly out. But it didn't put me off in the slightest!
I'm not a Coldplay fan but this song was a really strong start for this band. Great vocals coped with the range well, the playing was tight from the first beat on and they gained an instant crowd. The onstage energy was obvious and you all looked completely comfortable up there. The next song was a fun little cover of I'm a Believer, a brilliant crowd pleaser that was
very polished, tight and looked as fun to perform as much as to listen too.
The bassist had an infectious energy and the crowd responded straight away, dancing away they were! Next came the first original of the set, Back Together, this song blended very well with the covers and had a nice melody which got the Turnstone lads jumping all over the place! Bless 'em!
This was followed by another original, Too Little Too Late, the commercial potential of this song hit me straight away, it was melodic and had atmosphere melting off it! The only thing I thought let it down was the vocal harmony, this is easily practised and perfected, so I'm not worried in the slightest.
Next came an excellent rendition of The Calling's Calling. This was probably my favourite of the set. It had superb acoustic guitar, it was strong, moody and the dynamics mid-way were perfect. Loved it.
Help came next, with a strong drum intro that had me mesmerised. Great crowd pleaser this one, and it received a well deserved scream from the audience.
Two sweet originals followed which again blended well with the chosen covers. Your originals showed off your skills and what your influences are without copying them. Well done for that, must be one of the hardest things in music to do, I imagine. I thought the bluesy touch to Book Of Pathways was brilliant, complimented by strong vocals and keys. Jet's Move On was
covered next, beautiful. Drumless, but the tamborine came into play, plus a harmonica! God you guys have some talent! Great effort lads.
Next was Stuck in the Middle, a classic which you clearly enjoyed playing and was a crowd pleaser from the opening bars! Next was a bit of a shock, Outkast's Hey Ya.
The crowd clearly loved this song, the keyboard was superb, great energy too, but the chorus was a tad weak I thought. Then, Britney! Wow, a fun song to do, but not your strongest vocally I'm afraid, but still, a better version than Ms Spears could have dreamed of.
You finished with Faith, showing off some guitar work that I practically drooled over. Great pauses and the keyboards really rounded this song nicely. It was a spectacular finish, with the crowd shouting for more. Excellent set, well done.
Summary: This band have got it all. They can play, they have energy, good vocals that will only get even better and they know how to please their audience. Can it get any better? Maybe in a Punk's eyes they had nothing special, but as a live act, they have superb potential.
Love Suzi xx
Janistalis wrote:
8-Fold started with quietly with no fuss. Their first number, an original called ‘Falling Down' showcased the lead vocalists' solid ‘gravely' voice.Whilst the lead singer/guitarist had “that something”, the rest of the band looked slightly uncomfortable and didn't really seem to relax at first.
The drummer was brilliant, as demonstrated particularly on the two Foo Fighters covers. He looked very much at ease. After a decent attempt at “Generator”, 8-Fold attacked “Newborn” by Muse. I thought it was a good attempt, but the singer didn't really have the right kind of voice to do justice to Bellamy's vocal range. I also felt the bassist struggled a little with the complex bass line. Don't get me wrong – overall it sounded fine, but I'm a Muse specialist, so I tend to jump on faults! Sorry.
As if that wasn't challenging enough, the guys decided to go for “War Pigs”. It was during this 8 minute extravaganza that all of the band relaxed and looked like they were enjoying it. And so they should be, as it was well done, and got the crowds going! I thought it was a gamble throwing the crowd such a long piece, but the gamble paid off. Well Done!
I wouldn't have put Muse and Sabbath together, but any band adventurous enough to attempt the complexities of both these songs has my vote!
Then it was time for the second vocalist to have a go – his voice reminded me distinctly of a cross between Kurt Cobain and Kelly Jones, not a bad combination! If only it had been a little louder and a little more confident. “The Hate Song” was an original and pretty good it was too – had a good instrumental break in it.
The last song “Everlong” was again fantastic for highlighting the talents of the vocalist and drummer. There was something a bit odd about the guitar or bass on this though – I couldn't put my finger on it so forgive me for not being too constructive. Having said that, I don't expect anyone else noticed and it was a great song to end on.
8-Fold showed a good taster of talent – it was explained that the guitarist was new, hence the short set. I think, from what we saw last night, that when the guitarist settles in these guys will really bloom. It's unfortunate that they hadn't had time to rehearse more material, but War Pigs just might have got them through…
Bottom Draw had me intrigued from the start, with 2 acoustic guitars and keyboards. They took to the stage amid cheers and whistles from the huge gang of devotees that they had brought with them. It didn't take long to establish why so many fans would follow this band to this competition.
The guys generated an immediate feeling of presence – they were larger than life and from the start they were having FUN. They were enthusiastic, energetic and clearly got on well and loved entertaining us!
I love to hear acoustic guitar – on occasions the keyboards were a little overpowering and drowned out the bass and guitar (particularly during “I'm a Believer” and “Songbird”)
The band members were clearly very versatile, with the acoustic guitarist playing bass, the keyboard player also playing bass, the bassist playing rhythm and the drummer on keyboards! It was all a bit much to keep up with, but the instrument changes were smooth and quick.
Bottom Draw did a lot of numbers (14!) and I am unsure of their chosen genre of ‘indie'. The choice of covers was very varied.
The one that I'd rather have not heard was “Toxic”. Ok, it was adventurous to take it on, the number is catchy and good to dance to, and it was a bit of a laugh. However, it pointed out some weaknesses in the singers' otherwise great voice! Had I not heard the rest of the set, I'd have been a bit dubious. The fact that these guys perform the fantastic “Hey Ya” really well is enough. That's the song to get people going – they don't need to follow it with “Toxic”.
“Clocks” was great, “I'm a Believer” was OK after a shaky start, “Faith” was fine (wouldn't have finished on that one though..) and “Songbird” was well performed. Stand out covers for me were The Callings “Wherever You Will Go” and “Stuck in the Middle” by Stealers Wheel (thanks Adam! – couldn't remember who did that!!)
As if that wasn't enough, Bottom Draw produced originals that were truly original, very catchy and up beat. I loved “Back Together” (even with the harmonica!) and “Too Little Too Late”, but the best original for me was “Book of Pathways” which was a bit slower and had a fantastic keyboard part in it.
I think Bottom Draw were lively and very entertaining, versatile, talented and fun. If they don't go through, I'll be very, very surprised…
Photos:
| Eight Fold : |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Bottom Draw : |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The reviews listed are an opinion by the individual carrying out the review which happens to be a personal and honest account. These reviews are displayed on this website for the bands to obtain some truthful feedback on their performance. There is no point in us posting dishonest reviews here, as this will not benefit the bands who are looking for advice and constructive feedback.
|
| |
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
