The Winchester, Bournemouth
It’s Friday night at The Winchester and it doesn’t bode well. With a 7.30 doors time I arrive 30 minutes late and they’re still soundchecking! I then go to the bar where there is no-one serving-I end up killing time with a game of Space Invaders on my phone!! Thankfully the DJ has put together a cracking playlist, which at this rate might be tonight’s highlight! It then takes an age for someone to hang the backdrop; but they get there, eventually! An un-named 4 piece take to the stage first. They deliver an acoustic set which is not unpleasant but the vocal warblings are lost on this reviewer. However, said vocals are confidently delivered along with some great harmonica. “Breaking Up” is decent before they end with a crowd pleaser entitled “Wagon Wheel” which induces some early moves in this ever growing crowd.
Drew Allen then takes his place on stage. Sadly at first, he is drowned by the sound of voices in the room, but is not affected in the slightest with his opener “Whistling Tunes”. After his 3rd song “Mrs. Slowtrain” he is joined on stage by former Hooligan Choir drummer Karl and an unknown (to me) bassist. They then confidently deliver some covers by the likes of Fleetwood Mac and Neil Young among others. They end this collection with “All Along The Watchtower” which goes down really well and sets us up nicely for Mountain Feet’s guitar onslaught! While it would be remiss of me to criticise Drew’s solo output, I can’t help but think he is so much better suited to playing with a full electric band. On this evidence the “writing is on the wall”. We shall have to wait and see…
Mountain Feet then. This 3 piece take to the stage and in no time at all it just gets louder! The vocals are strong, while there’s a ‘big’ guitar sound in the room all of a sudden to accompany the thumping snare of the drums. I don’t want to pidgeonhole these guys as it’s the first time I’ve seen them, but the Grungey elements of most of their songs work for me. If they performed any covers then I didn’t notice! There’s a big nod to 70’s Rock with some altogether long solo’s at the end, but they don’t disappoint in the slightest. Definitely ‘One’s to watch'”.
And so to the headliners. The Remnants were formed out of the ashes of Hooligan Choir and The Kleek, but there’s a whole new take on their Britbeat leanings. They open with “Some Other Guy” before a crowd-pleasing “Twist and Shout”, which gets everyone dancing. One could be forgiven for thinking they were at a Beatles tribute show, what with there being more than one of their songs played tonight; but the Remnants are more than just that. Once again I’m struggling to tell the covers from the originals, but I enjoy greatly their take on “Please Please Me”. While some numbers on their setlist have been omitted due to time restraints, they go all Rock ‘n’ Roll on us towards the end before finishing on the excellent “Watcha Gonna Do About It” with a throaty vocal. These 60’s “Revivalists” could cause quite a stir on this evidence. It just remains to be seen whether they can grasp it.
Setlists
Mountain Feet
Having a Ball
Lo+Behold
Meterman
Lose Your Mind
That Ain’t The Way
Sign From Above
Sleeping On My Side
Praying For You
The Remnants
Some Other Guy
Twist and Shout (Beatles cover)
Money
Oh Mi Oh My
You Can’t Do That
I Saw Her Standing There (Beatles)
Please Please Me (Beatles)
High Heel Sneakers
Mean Woman Blues
Everybody’s Tryin’
Blue Suede Shoes
Weblinks
https://www.facebook.com/TheRemnants1
https://www.facebook.com/drewallenfanpage
https://www.facebook.com/mountainfeetrocks
https://www.facebook.com/sam.warden
Words & Pictures By Ross A Ferrone.
