Madding Crowd, Bournemouth
Tonight the Madding Crowd in Bournemouth town centre plays host to one of the South Coast’s most exciting live bands Saints Of Sin. The four-piece, despite continuing to evolve with changes in style and line-up; still manages to pull a crowd and delight their ever-growing army of loyal fans. Tonight is their first gig in the area since the band performed at a string of festivals in the Summer, unveiling their new lead singer Joshua Vaughan from Bournemouth band Capulus.
Before we have the pleasure of the headliner’s company there is the small matter of tonight’s support acts. The first of these is local lad Connor Ryan who usually performs with his band called Free Foundation. This evening he is with just his guitar and a vast array of effects including a loop pedal for company on the stage. He is predominantly an instrumentalist and provides some early evening entertainment with some reworked instrumental versions of tracks by Robert Miles, Daft Punk and Red Hot Chilli Peppers. He creates a vast amount of eclectic sounds from his complex pedal board and shows himself as an accomplished guitar player. He seems somewhat nervous throughout and should try and show more confidence in the skills he has to offer. Connor has loads of potential though and it will be interesting to see where these skills take him.
Next up is an out-of-town band from Lingfield in Surrey that Madding Crowd manager Peter has been bending my ear about for quite a while now. Peter has an eye for potential and insisted that I need to see them live. Two Weeks In Nashville (Twin For Short) got their name from an inspirational trip to the city of Nashville in Tennessee after having hit a barren spell in their music inventively. Tonight the band are firing on all cylinders and has the crowd on their side within a couple of numbers. The four-piece features Billy LeRiff (Lead Vocals/ Guitar), Marc De Luca (Lead Guitar), Ian Wilson (Drums) and Oscar…Billy’s brother (Bass) is standing in for the otherwise engaged Duncan Brookfield. This band have a real feeling of belief about them, they wholeheartedly believe in themselves and their own original songs that they perform. Opener “Money Maker” has the echoes of an anthem with a big effect-fed atmosphere creating guitars, infectious rhythms and an instant lyrical hook chorus. The band are not so bold that the audience would be instantly drawn to them, so a couple of well-chosen covers are used as bait to bring people in. There is real chemistry within this act and they all equally use their skills for the greater good. Billy as a frontman is full of expressive gestures and gradually brings the audience in by a final couple of numbers. There are further creatively pleasing numbers “Be Happy” and the epic-sounding “Homeward bound”, which earned the band a host of new fans. They take influences from some of the world’s favourite big bands without sounding like any of them. Ok, Peter, you were right; they were indeed impressive and really memorable.
Finally, it’s time for the local heroes to take to the stage: Josh, Sparxx, Ash and JV all get a fabulous welcome as they take to the stage. With huge smiles on their faces, they start with the familiar sounds of “Heart Attack”. The audience know the drill and they are singing along with the band at the tops of their voices. Front Man JV has settled into his role really well and despite many of us missing our beloved Rui, he was so clearly the best choice and is doing an amazing job taking his place. Their stagecraft is second to none and they intently know how to whip up an audience. The band’s collection of Rock-injected covers includes songs by Rihanna, Mark Ronson and even Justin Bieber that they have virtually made their own. Sparxx even throws a knowing smile my way as he sees my singalong to the Justin Bieber track “Sorry” (it is the only one by him I know, honest!!). You cannot help but be moved by the emotive piano-led number “End of Time”, where the crowd nearly take the roof off the venue with the extra loud chorus accompaniment. The set gets mixed up a little with “Big Baad Wolf” coming back into the set and we are also treated to the rarely-played “Fame”. You cannot fault this band’s stage presence and energy, they give you 100% entertainment each time they take to the stage.
The band are off on the road again next week taking in gigs in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Bradford before returning closer to home for their end-of-year bash at the Joiners in Southampton on 17th December. Next year is set to be a big year, where the band need to go away and dream it all up again. There are rumours of new material on the way and will JV’s inclusion in the band be made permanent? Let’s hope that whatever they do they can continue their high momentum in 2023.
Set Lists
Saints of Sin
Intro:
Heart Attack
Alive
Rocket
Umbrella (Rihanna)
We’re on Fire
Welcome To The Circus
Sorry (Justin Bieber)
End of Time
Big Baad Wolf
Fame
Uptown Funk (Mark Ronson)
Nasty Love
Encore
A Thousand Miles (Vanessa Carlton)
21 Shots
Two Weeks in Nashville
Money Maker
All About Now
White Wedding (Billy Idol)
Pipe Dreams
Overdose
Don’t Take This For Granted
The Chain (Fleetwood Mac)
Be Happy (You Got Something to Be Sad About
Homeward Bound
Videos
Links
https://www.facebook.com/saintsofsinUK
https://www.facebook.com/twoweeksinnashville
https://www.facebook.com/Connorryanguitarist
Words & Media – David Chinery (Chinners)
Photography by Lynn Burt
