Gig review: Band Quest Kent Alt Heat 4 @ Red Lion - 05/03/10
While the past few weeks at the Red Lion have featured metal bands, tonight makes a change with some strong rock acts. First up are the 60s/70's four-piece Stacey and the Freeloaders (7/10). With their Hendrix strumming, flowing bass lines and the drumming tying everything together, they offer something different to the rest of the local music scene. However, when the first song was over, the singer raised his guitar and lifted the limp top string up with his thumb. "Soundman, what do you suggest?" He called out. I cringed, expecting a long wait before we even got our second song, but luckily Colt.44 frontman Adam Jerome offered to lend him a guitar and in the meantime out came an electro-acoustic. While the rhythms were very simple, each instrument layered up to create something interesting, with solo breaks adding melody to the repetitive chords. Stacey and The Freeloaders also brought some interesting subjects into their lyrics, such as politics, the media and George Orwell's novel 1984, giving them a lyrical edge on their competitors. The crowd was relatively small, yet the band still performed well and left the stage with their pride intact.
Red Thirteen (10) sprang onstage second, with some frantic 80's hard rock. Catchy riffs and frantic jumping and mic-stand swinging really sell these guys. Mind-warping solos brought in almost every technique available to the electric guitarist short of getting out a little viola and grating it across the strings. The choruses saw vocals harmonising together and even separate melodies on top of one another pushing and pulling your ears like some audio tug-of-war. The crowd is sadly still rather small and stoic, so it is embarrassing when the singer screams "How y'all doin?" at the top of his lungs and is met by the cheers of a handful of dedicated rockers. However, Red Thirteen demonstrate their persistence, playing tight and making a big perfomance. Had the room been packed, it would surely have been stomping along.
Closing the night are Colt 44 (9). This Grungy trio are bursting with raw energy. While their riffs are not as technical as that of Red Thirteen's Pablo, their choruses are as infectious as swine-flu. The singer jumps about, strums, screams and even solos on his back, while the bassist makes his own impression with his huge array of poses and harmonising vocals. The Nu Metal breakdowns make them the heaviest band on tonight and with their small following at the front perhaps the most popular as well. Although they lack the precision and clarity of Red Thirteen, maybe Colt.44 aren't bothered about that. Their onstage energy comes from a reckless punk approach that requires this roughness. The room stays relatively still for this set, except for the dedicated fans moving about at the front, but the bands tonight have all done their duty.
Review by Adam Evans