Lighthouse, Poole
Featuring Lee Ainley’s Blues Storm, Monster Logic, Moonbeams, Ethereal & The Elevated
March’s “Live & Unheard” is a little different this month, not only has it been extended to include 4 acts; but I am honoured to have been asked to be a guest host for the event. I have the job of introducing the bands and making sure that they keep to their time slots. I turn up much earlier than I usually do to catch the sound checks and to meet with the bands, to make sure I have all the info I need to introduce them correctly. The acts that Matt Black & Mel Berkhauer of the local Hangover Hill Recording Studios are once again all completely different bringing along their own original styles and influences.
The first of these is a unique artist who is like no-one before her; a Swedish born transgender artist who has a strong Thai heritage, along with a host of eclectic influences. Yui (Waritsara) Karlberg battles on a daily basis with anxiety, depression and Aspergers Syndrome; music is clearly her therapy taking her to an uplifting cosmic place. Tonight Yui is here with her band Ethereal And The Elevated; who take to the stage just after 8pm, with their first number “Wanderlust”. Her vocals are sung with a falsetto voice and along with the rhythms, Yui plays her effect-fed electric guitar. The audience seems to take to the music and barefoot Yui gets the audience involved with some clapping and singing along. Reggae themed “Liability” is a highlight with some neatly delivered rapped vocals, which are combined with snippets of Prodigy numbers “Out Of Space” and “No Good”. The pace is increased with “Childhood Ghost”; a heartfelt song with seemingly personal deep-rooted lyrics and the pace motivates ‘Yui’ to dash about the theatre, up the stairs amongst the audience. The set end’s with “Unspoken” from the band’s self-titled recent album. The song features some lovely gently picked guitar work and more of that unique falsetto-style vocal. The music created here is possibly far ahead of its time, Ethereal has created their own genre of music that will always divide peoples opinions. You have to give credit to the artists like this who dare to be different and passionately believe in what they create.
The second band tonight is local legend Conrad Barr’s supergroup, the “Boscombe psychedelic orchestra” or just Moonbeams. A band that is a collective of different musicians picked from a host of local bands to create new textures and sounds from Conrad’s dream-filled lyrical content. The band is, without doubt, the biggest band to grace the Live & Unheard stage and I’m sure the most difficult to get the sound right, however, the staff on hand are excellent and get things just about perfect from the start. The nine-piece features Conrad Barr (Guitar/Vocals), Paul Tucker (Electric Guitar), Graham Wood (Hammond Organ), Paul Rouillier (Bass), Jason Elms (Drums) Wendy Jane (Flute), Ed Pope (saxophone) with Kate Porter and Lisa McQuillan on backing vocals. The music radiates from the kindred spirits on stage, weaving its way into people minds and soul. An early highlight is the post-apocalyptic “Crash & Burn” which kicks off with Conrad’s unique style of guitar playing, which was enforced when he lost his arm in a car accident. The great thing about this collective, is that each time they play together the songs never sound exactly the same – the band always put in new tweaks, changing the songs in an ad-hoc way. Another highlight is a song called “Barbarella”, which was inspired by 1968 Sci-Fi film Barbarella by Roger Vadim. During this Mother Uker’s frontman Paul Tucker shows us his skill with the e-bow, a magnetic tool which vibrates his guitar strings creating a beautiful atmospheric sound. The band leave us with another of Conrad’s compositions “Castaway” featuring the contents of his “psychedelic dreams”; which is a colourful place full of beautiful music, peace and happiness.
Next up are an indie band from Bournemouth called Monster Logic, one that I have had the pleasure of seeing on a number of occasions. The four-piece feature four guys who all have an ultimate goal of creating great music and so far they have released an EP and a couple of singles, all of which has made the local music scene cast plenty of interest their way. What’s great about them is that they keep things simple without gimmicks to mask their talent. They kick off with opener “Sober”; a tune that shows off guitarist Josh Ward’s natural talent, with him providing some impressive six-string work. Frontman Alex provides a unique vocal with plenty of interesting twists and turns. They don’t sound like anyone in particular, however you can hear plenty of influences in their sound. They have a plethora of songs in which to choose for tonight’s short set and they bravely include a brand new tune called ‘Second Gear’, which sounds none too shabby along with better-known tracks like “Selfish” and “Talk You Down”. This is by no means the finished article, I believe these guys have plenty more to give and I look forward to watching them and their sound evolve. A gig in a fantastic venue such as this; in front of an appreciative audience won’t have done them any harm, just hungry for more or the same.
The final band of the evening from Brighton are Lee Ainley’s Blues Storm, a five-piece touring outfit who have the unique pairing of Mother and Daughter vocalists Lee Ainley & Tori Mai Hobbs-Ainley. The line-up is completed with Lee’s husband Nat Ainley on bass, David Atkin on drums and Elliot Young on guitar. The band have just released their latest album ‘Evolution’ which is an all original eight-track recording, which was brought to life at the Brighton Road Recording Studios in West Sussex.
The band open with “I’ve Got Mine (Now Pull the Trigger)” from the new album and from the start you can tell what a tight, well-rehearsed unit they are. As the set continues with songs like “Train Wreck” and ‘Hell Yeah’ the individual members’ talents are revealed with Tori and her Mother’s vocal harmonies sounding considerable. Couple this with the substantial guitar playing of 21-year-old Elliot, who eloquently delivers in all areas. A tune called “Emotionally Compromised” delves into the realms of “Progressive” at over eight minutes long, but what a tune it is. The whole thing is delivered with a large amount of real passion and the guitar work would even give Dave Gilmour a run for his money. These guys/girls really surprised tonight’s audience who virtually all had never seen them before and by their response at the end of each number, enjoyed every minute of their set. They end on a high with the upbeat ‘Lady Loretta’ making their first trip to Poole a successful one and let’s hope they come back for a return visit soon.
Set Lists
Lee Ainsly’s Blues Storm
I’ve Got Mine (Now Pull the Trigger)
Train Wreck
Pins & Needles
Hell Yeah
Emotionally Compromised
Fool
Lonely Hunter
Bankruptcy
Lady Loretta
Monster Logic
Sober
The Clearing
Kill the Boi
Second Gear
Selfish
Talk You Down
Deer in the Headlights
Moonbeams
Open Up
Crash & Burn
Barbarella
Captain
Castaway
Ethereal & The Elevated
Wanderlust
After Taste
Liability
Childhood Ghost
Unspoken
Videos
Links
https://www.facebook.com/LABluesStorm
https://www.facebook.com/monsterlogicband
https://www.facebook.com/PlanetMoonbeam
https://www.facebook.com/etherealsensation
Next month’s live & Unheard is at Lighthouse, Poole on 1st April (No Joke!!) featuring Mischa and His Merry Men, Cherry Morris and The Russel Starmore Band
Purchase your tickets here.
Words, Pictures & Videos by David Chinery (Chinners).
