Hangover Hill Presents: “Live & Unheard”, Lighthouse, Poole
It’s the end of November and we are gathered back at the Sheiling Studio at the Lighthouse Poole for the penultimate Hangover Hill Presents “Live & Unheard”. Tonight we are sharing this facility with American singer/songwriter Beth Hart who has packed out the large Wessex Hall directly above us. This marks as a stark reminder of what can be achieved if an act gets things right. Maybe just maybe one or several of the acts we have hosted here could find themselves one day playing a headline gig in the Wessex Hall. Tonight’s line-up features two established local acts; Horror Punk quartet Who’s Amy! and singer/songwriter Carly Varley with her band, along with Basingstoke Rockers Revenant.
Our host Si Genaro warms the audience up with some anecdotal words before introducing the first act of the night. They feature Amy Diggle – Vocals, Liam Flower – Guitars, Jacob Levens – Bass and at the back Paul Bird – Drums. After a rather awkward start which could be avoided with a atmospheric horror-themed intro, the band kick off with their opening number “Enjoy Your Stay” and the band show their hand with their Goth meets Punk/Pop styles with an injection of Kensington gore and Hammer Horror film-style monsters.
The audience are treated to some creative sounds from Liam’s effect-fed guitar, along with infectious toe-tapping sounds from the two-piece rhythm section. “Alone with Me” provides us with a sinister Fairground-style waltz, which gets us bottom shuffling in our seats. The band’s set also includes several highlights; “Jack” about Whitechapel’s notorious serious killer, a newer number called “Hide and Seek” and a great tune called “Frank” inspired by Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein.
Next up is Carley Varley, one of the area’s top singer/songwriters and an artist that we are all excited to have here at ‘Live & Unheard’. Carley is one of the hardest working musicians who undertakes 100’s of solo gigs each year, entertaining a host of different audiences. Her band gigs don’t happen very often, but they are always worth waiting for. Carley has recruited three top guys to back her; Alex Tompkins on Guitar, Fred Sedgeley on Drums and Jordan Shepherd on Bass. Kicking off with her latest single “Attention!!”, its immediately clear what a powerful, euphonious voice this singer has; along with her other notable attributes, her infectious smile and unbounding positivity. The audience are gifted with some well-crafted original songs including “Better Without Me”, “Going Under” and a surprise cover of The Cranberries “Promises”.
The band provide a really impressive backing to these songs with a virtually unblemished instrumentation. They all also appear to be so comfortable in each others company and perform seamlessly together. The pace changes as Carley gets all emotive tugging at our heart strings with the powerfully charged passionate numbers “Envy” and “Miss Me”. A cover of Paramore’s “Still into You” brings the energy and the mood back, before the band end on the final number “Homesick”. Carley and her band deliver a masterclass of a performance and the crowd provide plenty of well deserved adulation for a great set.
The final band of the evening have made the trip down the M3 motorway from Basingstoke, via the M27 to get to Poole tonight. The four-piece who are unapologetically Rock fit nicely into the New Wave of Classic Rock (NWOCR) bracket; along with the likes of bands like Scarlet Rebels, Those Damn Crows and Massive Wagons. The band feature Carl Donoghue: Drums, Matthew Hudson on Guitar, Robin Nutley on Bass and Singer/Guitarist Sugarman Sam Lay. They are a band that I have never seen before and only had a few listens to their Live Album on Spotify, but I became a fan of theirs within the first ten minutes of their set.
With their two Gibson Les Paul guitars, Sam and Matthew light up the place with the two lead guitarists offering some wonderful melodic power on opening numbers “Public Service Announcement” and “Fall Through The Floor”. You’ve heard of duelling banjos, well with The Revenant we have duelling guitars – the brothers in arms combine perfectly. They also possess a fantastic duo of a rhythm section who all combine brilliantly with drummer Carl with his biceps and slicked back hair looking a little like U2’s drummer Larry Mullen Jnr and the imposing presence long-haired bassist Robin.
The band power through their all killer no filler set, thrilling the audience through some riff-tastic tunes that positively uplift and elevate the excited crowd. “Runaway Rage” with it’s Beatles intro and “Rolling on My Back” with it’s Hendrix intro are a nice touch and a nod to some of the band’s influences. There is also a debut of a couple of impressive new songs “I’ll Be There” and “LYL”, which shows the new step in the bands creative process. They leave us with a song called “Coming Back To Life” that delves personally into a difficult break-up and Sam confesses that the powerfully passionate lyrics got him into a lot of trouble. This concludes yet another fantastic night with the Hangover Hill Team at the Lighthouse.
Set Lists
Revenant
Public Service Announcement
Fall Through The Floor
Best Medicine
The Healer
Runaway Rage (with The Beatles intro)
Rolling On My Back (with Jimi Hendrix intro)
I’ll Be There
Lyl (Like Your Living)
The Masquerade
Coming Back To Life
Carley Varley
Attention!!!
Better Without Me
Promises (The Cranberries)
Going Under
Won’t Say Sorry
Dirty Laundry
Envy
Miss Me?
Somehow I’m Alive
Still into You (Paramore)
Homesick
Who’s Amy!
Enjoy Your Stay
Gravedigger
Jack
Afterlife
Dead Weight
Alone with Me
Hyde & Seek
Cobwebs
Party Ghoul
Frank
Videos
Links
https://www.facebook.com/revenantsongs
https://carleyvarley.com
https://www.facebook.com/whoisamy1
Article by David Chinery (Chinners)
Photography by Lynn Burt
