Live & Unheard, Lighthouse, Poole
The Dorset based local music platform ‘Live & Unheard’ returns to Poole Lighthouse. After a string of Summer shows outside; we are back in the Sheiling Studio, unmasked, double vaccinated and ready to hear what treats Matt Black & Mel Berkhauer have in store for us this month.
The first of these is a band I have never seen before, their name would be familiar to you if you frequent the pubs and music venues of Salisbury where they are regulars. Lump songs are all taken from in and around the area that they live and in their city they have found plenty of interesting subject matter. The four-piece kick off with a song to introduce themselves and it’s simply called “We Are Lump”, and then using the very rudiments of Rock n’ Roll they find their inner Ramone to deliver a reminiscing song “Those Punk Days”. Frontman (Big) Colin Holton leads us up the Garden path, telling us about the next track; making us think it’s about the Salisbury Novichok attack, well it is indirectly. It’s about the closing of Greggs the bakers during that time. The lyrics are hilarious and it is great to hear a band that certainly has an element of fun and don’t take themselves too seriously.
One of the standout tracks of their set is “Carmelite Way”, a song about when (Big) Colin was young and where he spent his childhood. The rhythm section of bassist Nick, who shows us his inner Steve Harris (Iron Maiden) moves and drummer (Smaller) Colin provide some impressive background to the two skilful guitars players. On the whole, the quartet provide a grand opening to the evening and the Lighthouse show these four chaps their positive appreciation.
Next up is a chap that I have been a fan of for quite some time. Mikey Ball has been part of the local music scene for a very long time playing solo and as part of his band the Company. He is an in-demand musician who performs with many other acts and you’ll also see him later as part of the Kingsfoil (UK) line-up. Despite his longevity in the music business he still looks as young as when I first saw him perform. For him, music must be his fountain of youth.
His band features Chris Collins on guitar, Will Harris on Drums and Dean Hurst on Bass and they kick off with one of Mikey’s fan favourites “Runaway” from his highly-rated “Castaway” EP. Tonight the band are using this gig as an opportunity to showcase some new music that will be part of a new album release in 2022. We are treated to newer tracks including “Misunderstood” and the awesome sounding “Burning All Night” where friends Mikey and Chris show fantastic chemistry with some wonderfully masterful guitar work where they combine together beautifully. The new material is coming from a much Rockier side of the musical spectrum than Mikey has visited before and it’s certainly an exciting direction to take. The band are brave to have picked a set-list that mainly shows their new direction with many of the previous older live favourites missing. Mikey’s band over the years has a bit of a revolving door policy with lots of different musicians joining him at various times. This more recent line-up has helped him create some great new music with plenty of potential and I certainly look forward to hearing the new album when it’s ready.
When Live & Unheard first started a few years back Tim Somerfield as a solo singer was the very first act to play. During his set on that day he decided he wanted to return to the stage to play his own original songs with a full band in this wonderfully built Sheiling studio. The hand-picked band were recruited featuring Mikey Ball (Guitar/Vocals), Alex Cope (Drums/Vocals) and Ant Culshaw (Bass) and called Kingsfoil (UK). Tonight Tim gets his wish and after the band’s first initial gig in November 2019, the band arrive onstage and sound as good as I’m sure Tim originally hoped. He is a very creative writer and most of his songs are of quite a complex nature; with many unpredictable twists and turns along the way, for example: “Winter Is Coming” is a song inspired by the TV show Game Of Thrones and the song itself is as big and adventurous as the tv series.
What I like particularly about Tim’s creations, is that he does not have a particular sound/genre, each song sounds so different from the next. Take “Whips & Chains” where the guitars roll beautifully over a funk bass riff and the vocals lift spectacularly over the top of the music. There is also a real Bluesy type track, where Mikey and Tim really show off their incredible skills with the respective six-strings with the rhythm section also really showing their worth too. Their set ends with one of Tim’s live favourites ‘Colourblind’ and once again the band show this creation with many more dimensions than can be shown with the previous weapon of choice. The crowd seem to have really taken to Kingsfoil (UK) and give the band an ovation as they leave the stage, ending yet another fantastic ‘Live & Unheard’ event.
Set Lists
Kingsfoil
Dirty Word Come Clean
Winter is Coming
Whips & Chains
Better Man
Fearless
Red Matter
The Groove
Find Your Way
Colourblind
Mikey Ball & the Company
Runaway
Stolen the Show
Misunderstood
Bury My Love
The Morning
Burning All Night
Runnin’
King Of The Lonely Throne
Back Again
Lump
We Are Lump
Those Punk Days
Greggs
Air Force One
Barry Tompkins DSS
Carmelite Way
Tweedle Dee
Edge of Reason
Videos
Links
https://www.facebook.com/KingsfoilUK
https://www.facebook.com/mikeyballandthecompany
https://www.facebook.com/WeAreLump
The Next Live & Unheard at Lighthouse, Poole will be on 14th October featuring
The Outlaw Orchestra, Neptune Rain & Quorum. Tickets can be purchased here.
Find out about Live & Unheard here.
Words, Video & Pictures by David Chinery (Chinners).
