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LUKES WHISK/ BORN BACKWARDS
19th April 2004
By Terry Bullen
Week eight and a jam-packed house at the Atlantis Arena were treated to another feast of musical talent
Lukes Whisk:
The night was kicked off by the seven piece ska punk band Lukes Whisk. Their intriguing mix of guitar and brass quartet worked brilliantly and had the whole arena intoxicated by the crisp sound that the band created. This was accompanied with some skilled drumming and a distinctively different, yet high-quality vocal by the male vocalist/bass player. As you'd expect for a ska band they were vivacious on stage and very popular with the packed crowds on the dance floor.
Lukes Whisk opened their set with an original “5 Alive”, which saw what must have been their biggest fan race around the dance floor with a t-shirt emblazed with Lukes Whisk on it! The band always looked in control of themselves and the people on the dance floor, as they rattled off a couple more songs before reaching their best cover of the night. This was a radiant cover of the Jesse James song “Shoes”, which saw the dance floor packed out as the fantastic brass quartet combined well with the rhythm guitar. They followed this up with a wonderfully funky untitled original, which was introduced as “Heavy Song” and contained some excellent bass playing by the vocalist.
The band continued at an unrelenting pace, which had the crowds swarming to the floor and skanking for the main part of the set. The band delivered two of their best originals of the night, in “Lost and Found” and “You”, which amazingly was only written 3 practises ago! The crowd were clapping along throughout “Lost and Found”, as we were treated to an enthralling display on the trombone. The song “You” was kicked off by some of the band members holding up a sign to make fun of their mate on the Saxophone “Dave Boyce, available for weddings, parties, etc, etc”. This song even had me moving on my seat, as the crowd skanked away on the dance floor.
Lukes Whisk ended their set with two more originals, of which the first of them, a pirate themed song “Jolly Roger” was met with cry's of “Oh Argh” from the crowd. The two lads on trumpets worked well together and delivered a great sound to a well produced original. The second of these songs and last song of the night was “3 Piece Suit”, which saw a few over enthusiastic fans climb up on to the stage. No harm was done but people really should keep themselves off the stage, as it doesn't help the bands in truth. The song contained a drum solo, which had the ecstatic crowds clapping along with the drummer, as Lukes Whisk brought a fine and refreshing set to a close.
Lukes Whisk will most definitely make the next round and with the massive fan base they have, mixed in with the talented musicians in their band, we could see them force their way to the latter stages of this years competition.
Born Backwards:
The next band up were the four piece power indie rock band Born Backwards. The band was fronted by a stylish front man, who looked the part and certainly had the vocal talent to go with it. He also played guitar and was ably supported by a confident bassist, drummer and a slightly static guitarist. The band looked settled, which was expected as most of the members had appeared on a large stage before, after competing as part of a different band the previous year.
Born Backwards opened their set with a rock infested original “Up All Night”, as the bass player pounded away on his Frankie Poullain style bass guitar. They followed this with a cover of the Alkaline Trio song “Private Eye”, which was done well but didn't get a great response from the crowds, who were obviously still tired from their earlier exertions. The band then seemed to slip into gear, as they delivered a great original “Hit The Brakes”, which had a striking opening on the guitar and was a really catchy tune.
Mid set saw Born Backwards churn out their best songs, as the vocalist started to interact with the crowd and tried his hardest to get them involved. At this point the band delivered their best original “Midnight Angel”, which has been played on the local radio station and you can see why, as this was an outstanding song. The band followed this with a Danko Jones cover “Bounce”, which really suited the vocalist, as he ripped through the song with real enthusiasm and gave his best vocal performance of the night. At this point I was thinking that the band could do with another guitarist, so that the vocalist could fully concentrate on his vocal, without having to play leading guitar riffs as well as singing. It was as if the band had heard me thinking out loud, as a guest guitarist “Tall Paul” was introduced on to the stage, as the band launched in to another great original “Backstreet Creeper”. The guest guitarist done ok for the few songs that he was on stage for but the band do need another guitarist and he didn't really fit the bill for me. The band followed this original with their best cover of the night, a brilliant rendition of the classic Motley Crue song “Kick Start My Heart”, which had some contagious guitar work blended in to it. The band then delivered a self penned power ballad called “Waiting”, which sounded really good as the bass player leapt on to his amp and towered down on the crowd. Unfortunately the singer encountered problems with his microphone mid song, which was unlucky as this song sounded like it had potential.
The band closed their set with their weakest original “Stomp”, which didn't really grab my attention like the others did. This was soon forgotten though, as the band closed out their set with a fantastic version of the Billy Idol song “Rebel Yell” which left me buzzing as the band brought the night to a close.
Overall Born Backwards done well, but I have seen them perform tighter and better than this. I certainly think another guitarist would improve the band, as the vocalist is able but would be much better suited if he had the opportunity to just stick to the vocals. Born Backwards have played better than this but I feel they've done enough to get through to the next round and with further improvement could even go further.
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Other reviews:
Suzi Wrote:
OK, here goes, remember, this is just my humble opinion, people.
Luke's Whisk:
First on the stage last night and from the word go, they impressed me completely. I don't know much about Ska, but these guys certainly do. They radiated energy off the stage and the crowd was drawn like gravity to do some ‘skankin' straight away, which looked great fun from where I was.
Anyway, they performed a tight set that showed the great effort put in by the band to perform at their best. There was superb crowd interaction and you guys have definitely shown what a bit of vitality on stage can do.
I was particularly impressed by your originals, I thought Lost and Found (Frere Jaka) was brilliant and Dave on drums seemed like he had more hands than the rest of the band put together. Excellent solo dude. The only thing I think may need improving is the vocals, a bit nasal at times, but if it's your style and that's the way you want it, then keep it that way!
This band shows such promise live that I don't doubt that this performance will put them on the live-circuit-map for the foreseeable future. (If there's enough room on the stage, that is!) There is a definite following for Ska in this area, which I think this band, will not only encourage, but also help create.
In summary, this music had the bands' personalities written all over it and it certainly paid off with the crowd reaction. Well done guys. Nice, polite bunch of lads too!
Born Backwards:
Ok, up next was a four-piece rock band. They had a lot to follow last night, which I didn't envy and the crowd seemed a bit slower getting into it. But by song four, they were right where they wanted them. Superb rockin' vocals stood out from the competition a mile, complimented by good guitar work. Although I think your rhythm guitarist needs to relax and let go a bit more, maybe it was just the nerves?
I thought the originals you guys performed out-shone the covers, which were well chosen for the crowd by the way, not too mainstream, not too underground, just good rockin' songs to nod your head to. I particularly enjoyed Motley Crue's ‘Kick Start my Heart'. My favourite original was probably song four, ‘Easy', that's the one I felt also got the crowd really into it too.
You guys performed a tight set and carried off the technical hitch in song nine with professional ease.
In summary, this band showed that you truly could follow a great band with a great band. They're a good addition to this year's comp and if they go through, I won't be surprised. Nice pipes, Chris.
The End. I hope I didn't offend anyone! Suzi xx
Janistalis wrote:
I'm not a great fan of Ska in general, so was a little apprehensive about reviewing Luke$ Whi$k, but I needn't have worried as I really enjoyed them!
They came on stage with a show of brass, with one of their own numbers, clearly based around a cover, but good none the less. The brass sound was good and the musicians were clearly having fun as they showed their enthusiasm by occasionally performing staged synchronized manoeuvres, much to the delight of the crowd. The lead singer/bassist was quite a character, seemed very much in control and played some lively bass throughout.
After the first number they went into a version of “Take on Me”, an Aha original, covered by Reel Big Fish. I have to say I prefer the original, but it was a popular number and got the crowd going. The singer was tested a little in this, dropping a key when the high notes were supposed to kick in.
Amongst the covers, Shoes by Jesse James was a favourite – the brass section was very tight on this one and the lead singer used his voice well on this one. Sellout by Reel Big Fish again tested the vocals of the man at the front.
The originals were good – my favourites were Lukes Song, which the band were really comfortable with, the instrumental ‘heavy song' (untitled) that had a really great fast moving bass line in it, Lost and Found which slightly more melodic and 3 piece suit which gave the drummer a chance to shine.
My overall favourite was the Jolly Roger, introduced with character in a humorous fashion. It was very catchy, very popular, but above all, this song FINALLY gave the guitarist (who had looked quite left out all the way through) a chance to shine. I'm reviewing my opinion of Ska because of this band – I was very impressed and am sure that they'll go through to the next round.
Born Backwards looked a little lost on the now almost empty stage, but the lead singer strutted on to the stage with confidence. Born Backwards have seen some changes since last year so I was interested to see their new line up.
They began with an original – Up All Night and followed this by a good cover of Alkaline Trios Private Eye.
It was immediately apparent that the lead singer is the driving force of this band. He has an amazingly powerful and distinctive voice, a brilliant image and attitude, and moves to match. The overall appeal of the band would be much improved if the rest of the band bought into this image – instead they look a bit of a mismatch.
The bassist was full of action (such a pity the bass wasn't loud enough) and what I saw of the drummer was quite good, but the main rhythm guitarist looked bored to tears and as if he really wasn't bothered about being there at all, and the ‘guest' guitarist certainly didn't increase my excitement levels.
Musically, I enjoyed the material immensely. There were only 4 covers in the set, the best of these I have already mentioned. The band ended with Billy Idols Rebel Yell, a classic that was very well done.
The originals were actually much better than the covers. Backstreet Creeper was brilliant – with some more intricate guitar work it could be even better. My favourite by far, and one of the best songs I've heard in ages was Waiting, which gave the lead vocalist a chance to really demonstrate the power of his extraordinary voice, although MIC problems took the edge off it a little. Stomp was a lively number that went mental at the end.
Born Backwards tried hard to get audience interaction with clapping and stomping, and I admire them for this, but it did get a little annoying towards the end!
What I really noticed was that when the lead singer didn't have to bother about playing guitar, his voice improved even more and he was able to grab more attention by strutting around and generally acting very ‘rock'! This guy is fantastic and very talented, but his qualities are brought down a little by the inertia of some of the band around him. The other two guitarists certainly need to come up a notch before this band reaches their full potential, which, if they play it right, could be massive.
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