The Anvil, Bournemouth
Draw me Ugly have been a bit quiet of late since their triumphant performance at this years Grooves On The Green festival in Ashley Cross, tonight is their 1st outing since then. The band have been busy preparing and rehearsing for a trip into the studio to finally get some of their great original material recorded. Tonight we have a three band line up at the Anvil which also includes fellow Bournemouth bands “Sounds Like Adam” and “JC Jesus” a varied line up if ever I saw one. There should have been a third band “Shotaway” from Southampton, but sadly they pulled out at short notice.
At the stroke of 9pm “Sounds Like Adam” take to the stage, the band that features two brothers front man Adam and guitarist Dale Scholey who both previously played in Bournemouth band “Voice Of Reason”. The 5 piece band arrive on stage to a decent crowd and lots of support from their fans and families. They perform a set that include some their own original material that benefits from infectious catchy guitar rifts and easy to pick up lyrics. After performing with bands for many years now Adam like his Father before has become an accomplished front man and knows how to work the crowd, getting them involved at every opportunity. A few crowd pleasing covers a thrown into the set in the form of “Girl All The Bad Guys Want” by Bowling For Soup, and “All The Small Things” by Blink 182 which get the crowd singing along. A none too shabby set to kick of the evening with.
Apart from a few of the fans in the audience who have seen them before, I don’t think much of the Anvil crowd were ready for what JC Jesus are about to launch on them. The band have been performing around Bournemouth for the last 3 years with a zany energetic show blending many genres with a show that is visibly and audibly unique. Front man “Jaycee” energetically directs the audience with each song in a whole range of interactive actions from dancing in unison, to waving arms in the air, clapping and of course repeating the zany off the wall lyrics. The 4 piece band include a bassist Asha Blue, DJ Jeza-G and the violin playing guitarist Eddy Parrott. There is a definite 90’s vibe deep set at the heart of the band with also a bit of gamer culture which reveals itself in the Nintendo loving song “Mario”. The most memorable song of the night has to be “We’ll Meet Again (But Anyway)” where Jaycee gets the audience hilariously chanting “Bananaman” during the chorus. The audience thoroughly warm to the band with a really great reception as they leave the stage.
For some reason Draw Me Ugly seem a little nervous before they go on stage, maybe because this is a new venue to them or the fact they have not played for a few months, either way the need not of worried as the absolutely nailed this performance. The stage time was 11pm and by this time a well lubricated large crowd has packed themselves into the basement venue. Seconds before the band start the decide to change their prearranged set list to drop the opener “Kidnapped” in favour of the funky grooved “Nairorobbery” which sets the pace for the evening and gets most of the crowd moving
The band plough through a seemingly well planned out set abundant with their own quality original material that keeps the momentum constant throughout the show despite the almost stifling heat within the venue. They debut some new songs in the form of “Cheree” about a girl on Bournemouth beach and an emotional song called “Owls Cry” about loss, these songs are vocally delivered by Ed in a really passionate heartfelt way coupled with Phil’s colossal intense guitar work that just lets you feel every note he plays.
The venues curfew arrives and the band plough on regardless as they are encouraged on by the really enthusiastic and rowdy crowd who demand more. The band are fast running out of songs but pull out two final numbers before calling it a day with the audience still shouting for more. As the band retire to the upstairs bar for a well earned drink, they can be totally be satisfied with their well above average performance tonight.
Set List
Draw Me Ugly
Nairorobbery
Man Who Won
Total Recall
Foil
Buds Off
Teddy
Chereee
For The Love Of
Caliber
Owls Cry
Monster
I’ve Been Here Before
Videos
Band Links
http://drawmeugly.com
http://www.jcjesus.co.uk
http://www.facebook.com/soundslikeadam?
Review Videos & Pictures By Dave Chinery (Chinners).
