I went along to the show the American Music Club were playing in Brighton the other night. Mark has always liked Brighton so I was hoping for a good one. Upon arrival the C2 seemed to be 1/3 full. Vudi was sat on the merchandising table drawing pictures on the plain covers of the tour CD. Mine has got a picture of a pig getting its head chopped off. Nice.
First band on was Butterfly McQueen. These were a Brighton band and I think they were on the bill as Mark was writing his musical with one of the singers. I missed the first part of their set but thought they were quite good for a band that doesn't even have a MySpace page. Two or three singer/guitarists taking it in turns along with keyboards, bass , drums and girl on tambourine. Their final song was dedicated to Mark as the singer said he had written it for him.
The second band was Bee And Flower. They sounded a bit like Madder Rose as the guitarist played a lot of slide and the singer had a similar voice to Mary Lorsen.
Vudi was the first to come out and taking his place stage left started singing (what I guess was) their Abba cover. Then the band came out and went straight into "Hello Amsterdam". I seem to remember that mentions Abba covers. Then it was "Revolving Door" and a couple more of the old songs. Mark seemed a bit nervous as he cracked jokes between songs and introduced the band as "Wish the World Away", an American Music Club tribute act. What can you say, it wasn't the original band so it wasn't going to sound much like them. They got through the old songs in double quick time. Then about 1/2 way through the set we got "The Stars", "Sleeping Beauty" and "Decibels" and with that the band seemd to relax and play them like the record.
The encore part of the show was interesting. The new lads left the stage leaving Vudi and Mark to play "Johnny Mathis' Feet" together. Then there was a band verson of "Western Sky" and a duo version of "Jesus' Hands". And they were gone.
Were you there? What did you think?
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I was there and I also went to the gig at Dingwalls in London the next night, which gives me something to compare against.
Overall I was slightly disappointed with the Brighton gig. Mark was in fine voice but the band felt a little stilted, or lacking in subtlety. On the night I put this down to them being a relatively new touring band.
However, they were much better the next night and I've since realised that the sound at C2 had a part to play as well. The sound was a little brittle which I think had the effect of separating out the instruments/players. The sound in Dingwalls was blended better and I think that really helped. Mark was also a lot more relaxed in London which definitely helped.
Must stress, any disappointment was a based on my high expectations - if I'd only gone to Brighton I'd still carry the memory of three or four superb songs; All My Love, Home, Blue & Grey Shirt & Johnny Mathis were just awesome.
Hi. Great review.
Can you elaborate on the set by Butterfly McQueen. I hear there are some actors in the band. What kind of music did they play?
Was this guy in the band?
Jason Hughes
If yes, what instrument did he play?
Thanks, and sorry for all the questions.
Hi Monszter
Butterfly McQueen were a good band from what I remember. Very proficient folk rock type stuff. Lots of nice arrangements and harmonies. Keyboards, drums, 3 guitars, bass and tambourine. There may be a couple of actors in it as is lead by a chap called Lee Ross and the keyboardist seemed famous enough to be interviewed (briefly) in the local paper. I couldn't say if your mate was one of those on stage or not. Very little info on the web regarding the band considering how good they were.
Sorry. Typed the last reply wrong. I just wanted to say thanks for the info on Butterfly McQueen.
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