IPO LIVERPOOL - Sunday (Day6)

The Cavern Pub and The Cavern Club
Mathew Street, Liverpool
Sunday 22nd May 2016


The International Pop Overthrow is in its 14th year in Liverpool, with around 150 bands playing throughout the 8 days. We see as many bands as we can, some we like, some we love, others not so much. This is a personal review of each day and even though some bands may not have been our cup of tea (we can’t like them all!), they are still worth checking out for yourself. Have fun, that’s what music is all about.

Bands seen today (3): Las Annettes (*), The Fast Camels (*), Jeremy
(*) saw part or all of their second slot or had seen them on a previous day

Sunday is out “heading home” day so we have the opportunity to catch only a few of the acts on around lunchtime. There were terrible clashes though.

Andy (L) with Las Annettes and Mickey Dias
Las Annettes squeezed onto the tiny stage in the pub with their band and delighting the Sunday lunchtime crowd with their happy Spanish songs. This was a repeat of last night’s show but it was a little harder to do the choreography in such a small amount of space. Undeterred, they managed it, and the sound engineer, Andy, loved every minute of their 30 minute slot. With beaming smiles from Ana, Estel and Violeta, hand claps, great vocals, synchronised dance moves, the whole sound and visual performance was spot on. Loved it.
Las Annettes


Delayed through saying farewell to our friends who were staying in the pub, we missed the first part of The Jeremy Band who were playing on the Back Stage. 

The Jeremy Band
Jeremy is the quintessential performer, a man of God and one of the most kind and gentle human beings you will ever meet. He is also the King of Powerpop and the King of the IPO, a master of the foot tapping, head nodding pop song. When we joined the audience in the Back Stage, he was in full flow. The highlight from what we saw of the set, was Jeremy showing his amazing guitar skills through  his surf medley. He has calmed down in recent years and no longer jumps on top of the speakers or catapults himself in the audience, but nevertheless you get 100% plus more from him.

It is worth seeing both of the sets from The Fast Camels as each slot at the IPO is different and it was their second slot that we ended our festival with. There is not a lot we can add to what was already covered yesterday, but this was a good gig to finish with. They powered through a set of psychedelic pop, and attracted a bit of an audience in the front stage. The lineup they have is really strong, and we cannot wait for their new album due out soon.
Click here for their website

The Fast Camels


IPO LIVERPOOL - SATURDAY (Day5)

The Cavern Pub and The Cavern Club
Mathew Street, Liverpool
Saturday 21st May 2016


The International Pop Overthrow is in its 14th year in Liverpool, with around 150 bands playing throughout the 8 days. We see as many bands as we can, some we like, some we love, others not so much. This is a personal review of each day and even though some bands may not have been our cup of tea (we can’t like them all!), they are still worth checking out for yourself. Have fun, that’s what music is all about.

Bands seen today (14): Lloyd & Daly, Fun Of The Pier (*), The Junipers (*), Marco Rea (*), The Wellgreen (*), Honeybug, Duncan Maitland (*), Cocktail Slippers, Las Annettes, The 286, The Len Price 3, Escapade, The Fast Camels, JB and the Villa Borghese
(*) saw part or all of their second slot or had seen them on a previous day

Saturday was the day the Scottish contingent arrived, and it was another marathon 12 hour day spent buried in the Club and Pub.

We were eased in gently, with Lloyd and Daly, who opened the Back Stage today. Think of James Taylor, Michelle Phillips and the like and you have this duo down to a tee. Their vocals blend really well together and were never drowned out by the acoustic and electric guitar. Our Saturday lunchtime listening pleasure was a Laurel Canyon inspired set, which included a surprise nugget of “The Right Time”, a cover from the latest Brian Wilson album “No Pier Pressure”. Dave Lloyd is no stranger to the IPO, having performed almost every year we have attended, either as a soloist or with his band The Suns. This musical partnership with Lauren Daly is a good one.

Lloyd and Daly
Fun Of The Pier and Richard Snow
Husband and wife acoustic duo Fun of The Pier have played the IPO for a number of years. Today, they had a special guest appearances from fellow Nottingham musician, Richard Snow and also Dave Lloyd.

The additional guitar and backing vocal from both Richard and Dave gave an extra layer to, and strengthened their sound, which allowed them to compete every easily with background noise from the crowd in the back stage. 

Fun of Pier manage to give their songs a happy, breezy sound, no matter what the subject of their song is. “Inconsiderate”, the song about people talking through live music performances is still a firm favourite with us. It is just a shame that the irony is lost on the people who do chatter!


Imagine the perfect CD you would play in the car driving along Pacific Coast Highway, with the sun belting down on you, the warm breeze ruffling your hair and a gentle surf lapping along the coast…… well, that is the sound of The Junipers.


The Junipers in the Pub
They have a real sun-shiney feel to their music that washes over you, head to foot and back again, leaving a warm and lovely glow in its wake. A band of five, with Robyn Gibson providing gentle lead vocals, and the rest of the band providing the harmony you would expect from a West Coast influenced band, the whole sound just gels. 

The Rickenbacker guitar gives that soft psych sound too. With a new album out recently, we got to hear some of the latest material too. Thoroughly recommended.

The Junipers play the Back Stage

Marco Rea
The Scottish contingent arrived today. With a solo billing, Clydebank musician Marco Rea switching between the keyboard and guitar (and a little backing from his band, The Wellgreen) treated our ears to a soft set of his well-crafted songs. 

Very melodic, great vocals, harmonies to die for….. what more could you possibly need or want? Well, there is more, as a quick change around of instruments and places, and then we had a set from The Wellgreen


The Wellgreen








Scottish pop has always had a place in our hearts and these four guys never disappoint. Opening with an acapella song, their set included a few pop style songs, lots of harmony and also the ballad “She’s the Greatest”, a song that has such great vocals it makes the hair tingle at the back of your neck. 

The crowd loved Marco and The Wellgreen. We love these guys and we saw both of their sets.
The Wellgreen on the Back Stage

Ni, Honeybug
Honeybug, from Edinburgh has appeared at the IPO in a few guises, but the last few years has maintained a set-up of Ni on keyboard and vocals, and a couple of backing vocalists to add the ooohs and ahhhs and harmony. Ni is entertaining as well as a great performer, keeping the audience engaged and chuckling between songs. The added vocals from the backing singers really adds to the overall sound.
Honeybug
Later in the evening The Fast Camels delighted us with a great set of inspired psychedelic sounds. With a new album on the horizon, we had the pleasure of hearing some of the new songs too. Although influenced by their love of all things Arthur Lee and Love, they are a unique band. Their songs take you on a roller-coaster of sound and tempo. 


The Fast Camels


Mark and Drew, The Fast Camels

The chemistry between Drew and Mark on guitar and vocals is second to none (they’ve been mates for years) and they instinctively know what the other is doing. 


Bass player Andy came into the fore taking the lead on vocals for one song and sounded great, Joe knocks seven shades of !!!! out of the drum kit exceedingly well (he really is a terrific drummer) and CJ the latest addition to the band adds superb backing vocals, tambourine and an overall eclectic visual display of psychedelic dancing! 

Put all of that together and you get a great 30 minute gig. Loved every minute.


The Beeb with The Fast Camels

We were happy to have the opportunity to catch the second appearance this year from Duncan Maitland. With a well written song, a singer/songwriter can make the IPO work with just an acoustic guitar and a great voice. There was not a repeat of the audience babble heard in the pub crowd yesterday so we were glad this audience was actually listening. This set was a little different form yesterdays, but it did include the song about the mass murderers, which is really growing on us. We recommend people check out Duncan’s solo work – It is rather good.
Duncan Maitland

It was a thrill to see all-girl Norwegian band, Cocktail Slippers. They totally wowed the IPO 2 years ago, with their raunchy girl-rock image and brilliant stage show. No splits form the lead singer this year, but still a great performance. This all-girl band are managed by Little Steven, and that tells you what kind of sound they have - great vocals, crunchy guitar and a fab look. The lead singer has the knack of making every male in the audience feel like she is singing just to them!


Cocktail Slippers

It was good to see the Norwegian lasses in the audience watching and thoroughly enjoying another girl group, Las Annettes. This girl group from Barcelona has a wholesome look, with matching colourful outfits and choreographed dances to their delightful 60’s style girl group songs. 

Backed by a band that is a mix of Spanish guys and Paul Bevoir and Mickey Dias from The Jetset, and with great big smiles on their faces as they sing, and a few well-placed hand claps here and there, Ana, Estel and Violeta do their songs mainly in Spanish. You may not understand what it is they are singing about, but you know it is all happy stuff. 
Las Annettes
They did a couple of songs in English - their latest single “I’m Not Your Girlfriend” which had some airplay this week on a local radio station and Paul Bevoir’s composition “Kiss Me” which is a bit of a nugget in Minty’s opinion. The whole package – songs, music, outfits, dances, smiles –  is fab.
The 286

Schedule clashes meant that we only caught the tail end of The 286’s set. This band is the brainchild of Spencer who is probably the tallest musician at the IPO. 

This band brings pop and rock together with the classical essence of Violin and Cello, and what you get a cornucopia of sound.  It will not be a surprise to see Spencer scoring films in the future with this kind of inspiration.


Since we last saw The Len Price 3 at an IPO, they have had exposure in the media and on regional radio etc so it was a surprise to see them on the bill this year (as the IPO does not pay!). This Mod band from London look the part of a Mod band from London and they sound like a Mod band from London, with their cockney accents really exaggerated! The singer, had a habit of looking like a scared rabbit in headlights, with a constant look of surprise on his face – we assume it is part of the stage act, but maybe not. They are a no frills type of band, just powering through their set full throttle, with no space or interlude for chit chat with the audience. This approach meant that they could maximise the number of songs they played. Anyhow, if you like traditional Mod Rock, this band is for you.


Escapade
By the time Escapade had their slot, the IPO in the Club was being run only on the Back Stage, so there was a bit of a captive audience . 

This band is very Gallagher influenced with their sound firmly planted in the vein of 90’s Brit Pop. A young band of Leicester City supporters, they played a good solid set which, seeing as we were not going anywhere, we did not mind listening to.




JB and the Villa Borghese

The last band we saw tonight was JB and the Villa Borghese – basically Janne Borgh from Sweden.  He is another artists who plays some straight, punchy powerpop and sounds good. Unfortunately we were shattered by this time and headed off back to the hotel.


It had been quite a marathon day, seeing 14 different bands, three of which we caught both sets from!

IPO LIVERPOOL - FRIDAY (DAY 4)

The Cavern Pub and Cavern Club
Mathew Street, Liverpool
Friday 20th May 2016

The International Pop Overthrow is in its 14th year in Liverpool, with around 150 bands playing throughout the 8 days. We see as many bands as we can, some we like, some we love, others not so much. This is a personal review of each day and even though some bands may not have been our cup of tea (we can’t like them all!), they are still worth checking out for yourself. Have fun, that’s what music is all about.

Bands seen today (10): Spygenius (*), The Armoires (*), Harvest Moon (*), Duncan Maitland, Micah Gilbert (*),COMLESSO GLI ILLUMINATI, Bob’s Yer Uncle, Brave New World, The B-Leaguers (*), The Mayflowers
(*) saw part or all of their second slot or had seen them on a previous day

Spygenius
Friday was the first of the marathon days where we had the best part of 12 hours of music! And it also seemed to be a day when we saw multiple performances for the same artists... well you can never get too much of a good thing, can you?


Spygenius opened our day after they got an extra slot to kick off the day’s proceedings in the Cavern Pub. This was an impromptu set and they played their main set later in their official slot. 

The 12 string Italia came out to play today which gave a real jingle jangle sound and the galloping tom drum on one of their new songs sounded terrific. 

The good thing about this band is that they have a vast repertoire, and this gives them the versatility to play different sets and even improvise as they switch from old favourites to songs from their new album. 




Spygenius



With the sound augmented by the keyboard, and all four of the band supplying some great vocals, they played a blistering set ranging from slower tempo numbers to the usual fast paced to the now quite iconic “Angry song”, which would settle in nicely with the 70’s punk era!


The Armoires
We had the opportunity to catch The Armoires again, not once, but twice. These sets were much better, more relaxed and stronger vocally than we had experienced with their debut IPO performance a few days before. 
Maybe the closer, intimate settings of the Pub and the Front Stage helped, along with a warm audience.  You could liken this pair to Emmylou and Gram (well maybe not Rex's blond hair), not only in looks but in music style too…. a little bit pop, a little bit country, with a jingle jangle guitar and some gentle melody. We got their CD too.
The Armoires with The Beeb and their Bass Player

Harvest Moon

We had another chance to see Harvest Moon today. Essentially playing the same set as yesterday there is not much we can add that we have not said already. The audience reaction was really good as the pub crowd took to this Dutch band. 

The lead singer, Rob, is a charismatic man, and is very easy with the crowd. They take their name from Neil Young influences, yet are not Crazy Horse copies. They have their own sound and style, all of it filled with some great vocals.



Duncan Maitland

Duncan Maitland, appearing at the Liverpool IPO for the first time was really up against the busy Friday lunchtime crowd who were not there to listen to the music. 

Chat grew louder as the Pub got busier which made it a hard task for an acoustic set, but Duncan persevered.

Kicking off with a cover of a Donovan song, Duncan’s set was a mix of covers and originals accompanied by his 12 string. The audience quietened slightly for a cover of Bowie's “Star Man” but they missed completely the humourous ditty about mass murderers. Their loss, we say.



We saw both sets from Micah Gilbert. With the exception of two songs, each set was different; the first (on the Back Stage) was very upbeat with a bluesy rock tempo, slowing down only a bit for “Radio Signal”. Don’t be fooled though as even that song builds to a great crescendo of sound and we were off again into the faster beat, and a little bit of country rock sound. 
Micah Gilbert
The second set was more melodic and suited the front stage perfectly. This is another artist who’s band was put together for the IPO, although none were strangers to Micah. There were some superb backing vocals from the drummer, and some great licks from the lead guitar, and a constant regular bass line (from a bass player who looked like he was really enjoying himself). Really enjoyed seeing Micah play again.

Comlesso Gli Illiminati
From the Vatican City, at first we were not sure if COMLESSO GLI ILLUMINATI were a mickey take or genuine! 

This four piece sang God’s words to the Devil’s music to a packed pub who delighted in the cries of “Hallelujah” with a hard rock, heavy beat. 

The lead singer engaged the audience by moving amongst them, almost delivering exorcisms in his wake. Every song in Italian, we had no idea what was being sung, other than "Hallelujah" and a few Latin phrases referring to God. 

They were entertaining, but disturbing at the same time!

Bob’s Yer Uncle are a powerpop rock band without a doubt. If you like your traditional powerpop, with a four piece, then this is for you. They had a regular beat and a constant sound which made each song sound very similar which ultimately made it hard to differentiate between songs. They had tremendous support from family and friends who filled half of the Pub which gave a really good atmosphere though.
Bob's Yer Uncle
Brave New World followed and again, nothing spectacular stood out from this band.

Jim Styring form the B-Leaguers
Jim Styring pops up (if you pardon the pun!) at very IPO in one form or another and this year we were treated to a hard rock foursome, The B-Leaguers.

Their set was their latest (also their debut) CD, “Death of a Western Heart” played in full, with little time for chit chat in between. 

It was rocky, it was punchy, full adrenaline fuelled and the Friday night pub crowd loved it all.  

You would never think this was a new band, as they powered through their set as though they played it every week! 

The Beeb even added a bit of harmonica on their last CD track and stayed on stage to help them end the night with a brilliant cover of The Buzzcocks’ “Ever Fallen in Love”. 

They did their second slot, this time on the Back Stage later on in the evening, and delivered another storming performance.
The Beeb adds Harp to The B-Leaguers set

The B-Leageurs, with The Beeb on harp in the Cavern Pub
From Japan, The Mayflowers are known more for playing Beatles songs during Beatleweek, but when they come to the IPO and do a set of their own material, you get a set of short, sharp, feet tapping songs one after the other, with no pause to catch breath. Brilliant stuff.
The Mayflowers

The Mayflowers





IPO LIVERPOOL - THURSDAY (DAY 3)

The Cavern Pub and Cavern Club
Mathew Street, Liverpool
Thursday 19th May 2016

The International Pop Overthrow is in its 14th year in Liverpool, with around 150 bands playing throughout the 8 days. We see as many bands as we can, some we like, some we love, others not so much. This is a personal review of each day and even though some bands may not have been our cup of tea (we can’t like them all!), they are still worth checking out for yourself. Have fun, that’s what music is all about.

Bands seen today (10): The Shudders, Harvest Moon, Fun Of The Pier, Thee Wylde Fuzz (*), The Lost 45’s (*), Tray Full Of Poppies, Alison Green, Lovely (*), Spygenius, One Two Die Four,
(*) saw part or all of their second slot or had seen them on a previous day

Day 3 was a busy one for us – lots to see. The Shudders are supposed to be a four-piece but with one band member missing, we got 3 guys, with acoustic guitars, with gentle tunes reminiscent of a folk get together around a camp fire All three essentially sang complimentary vocals, but the 3 voices together sounded very good, almost soothing. They were not bad and there was a bit of harmony on the last song where the one lead vocal sang about “Missing You” and the other two provided some really nice, lush backing vocals with some ooo’s and ahh’s, which made it a real stand out number. 

With one band member down they still produced a decent set and we might just check them out again when they revert back to a four piece tomorrow.

The Shudders

A firm favourite of last year’s IPO (indeed David Bash introduced them as one the top bands from last year) is Harvest Moon, from the South of The Netherlands. 

Harvest Moon
The band are big fans of Neil Young (hence their name) but their sound is not a copy of Young. In fact, you can’t really label them into a “type” because today we heard pop, ballads and surfy instrumental.  

It was a very welcome return and with their strong drum beat and clear vocals, they did draw in a bit of a crowd. The lead man of the band, Rob is really enthusiastic, and has a great voice which made us forget about the pelting rain during their song aptly named “Summer”. 

Last year one of our favourite songs was “Dancing” and we were delighted to hear it again. It still has a really fresh sound which made you bop on your stool (it was too early to dance!) and the keyboard shone through on this one.

We got a couple of new songs, a bit more rocky, but still well within their style and we do really look forward to these being recorded and made available on CD. One highlight was as song we think was called “Non Stop Barbarella”, a surf-style instrumental which totally rocked, maintaining that strong drum beat and included some great guitar.
Ending on a ballad, the set was over way too soon. We really do like this band.

Fun Of The Pier
We have not seen hubby and wife combo, Fun Of The Pier for a couple of years due to clashes and it was brilliant to be able to hear them play again, and also on the Front Stage. Think of any acoustic duo who are fans of Crowded House and this is what you get from Fun Of The Pier. 

What a difference a couple of years makes too. Helen was so much more confident, and her lovely voice rang out as we were treated to happy, jolly tempos. 

There was a decent sized crowd gathered in the front Stage to appreciate it too. Joined by David Lloyd for a couple of songs, it added a bit of variety, but you can never take away the thrill of hearing “Inconsiderate” again, a song all about people who talk at gigs! Unfortunately this is something that is par for the course at the IPO.

Thee Wylde Fuzz Show rock the Front Stage
Thee Wylde Fuzz Show, totally rock – so much so we caught both of their sets. 

Their raw garage, psychedelic sound is driven on pure energy and high octane, and the members of the band are also fuelled by the same! 

A frenetic fast paced set, with little pause for breath, you get a full-on psychedelic garage rock experience from start to finish with a bit of jingle jangle from the Rickenbacker guitars, all of which leaves you breathless, yet wanting more. 
Brilliant stuff. 

It is hard to get a decent photo of this band because they move just too darned quick!
Thee Wylde Fuzz Show in The Pub

The Lost 45's
Close your eyes and you were in 60’s Mod London (or Leeds as the band would no doubt correct us!) as The Lost 45’s powered through a brilliant , mod beat set with a hint of Weller-esque influences. 

Open your eyes and you are still there as this band dress for the occasion too. 

We liked them so much we caught both sets as well. In the Pub, a few of the crowd were dancing, and over on the Front Stage, they yelled for more! Vocals were very strong, from the guitarist, the bassist and the keyboard player, and the keyboards really added to the sound. 
Top stuff. No wonder people yelled for more.

Tray Full Of Poppies are Lovely stripped bare! Two of the band are a duo, delivering some slow, ballad style tunes, reminiscent of the Everlys. On the Front Stage, the guitars were a little too loud, so it was hard to hear the vocals over them, but pleasant enough all the same.

Alannis Morrisette had better watch out as Alison Green is about to take her crown! Alison who we last saw as a demure, shy first-timer at the IPO, has now grown into an angry young woman on stage (not in real life), her voice punching out angst which would rival Meredith Brooks, whilst her guitar resonated the same! The Beeb told her afterwards she had broken his ear-plugs and she just laughed at him! A cool kitten.

Lovely
We had the opportunity to catch Lovely again tonight, playing on the front Stage, which is home to The Beatles and this Swedish band were comfortable on it, with their Beatles-esque sound and 60’s Beat look. 

Once again, the vocals stood out against the instruments, while they powered through their set of short, sharp punchy beat numbers, and their sound drew in a bit of a crowd.

Spygenius are no longer Ruthless and they owned the Back Stage tonight, letting our ears wrap around some new tunes, as well as delighting in some old favourites. Starting out with a song that was a bit mean and moody sounding, they drew in a curious crowd who wanted to hear more. 
Spygenius

Pete from Spygenius keeps his eye on us
There is a lot of intellect in this band, and each song has clever lyrics. It doesn't matter if you don’t get them all, as the melodies work and still satisfies the ears. “Imagine you are on a beach”, Pete, the lead vocalist who sports a rather nice Italia guitar instructs us, and sure enough the tempo of the song that follows evokes a sense of sitting in a hot clime, sipping on a cocktail in a Tiki Oasis. 

Our pal thought this was the best of the set, and we would agree it was up there with the best.

Ending on “The Shouty Song” a song that would not be a stranger in a classic punk gig, a couple in the crowd were almost pogo-ing at the back of the room! Welcome back Ruth – we missed you. Just remember to ask for forgiveness tomorrow!


Last year we heard a great buzz about Sweden’s One Two Die Four but sadly never caught any of their gigs. Tonight was different. What a sound, from this large ensemble. The singer is almost operatic in his delivery and has a sound not dissimilar to Sparks. Pretty good stuff going on.

IPO LIVERPOOL - WEDNESDAY (DAY 2)

The Cavern Pub & Club
Mathew Street, Liverpool
Wednesday 18th May 2016

The International Pop Overthrow is in its 14th year in Liverpool, with around 150 bands playing throughout the 8 days. We see as many bands as we can, some we like, some we love, others not so much. This is a personal review of each day and even though some bands may not have been our cup of tea (we can’t like them all!), they are still worth checking out for yourself. Have fun, that’s what music is all about.

Bands seen today (10): Twister (*), Lovely, Richard Batty, Luke Potter, The Grande, The Ragamuffins, Velettes (*)
(*) saw part or all of their second slot

Day 2 was quite a light day for us, starting in The Pub with Durham band Twister. Looks can be deceiving, as this band were dressed in typical heavy metal gear – ripped jeans, vest, messy/long hair….. and what we got was an acoustic heavy rock set in the style of Kassidy. 
The drummer, with a foot pedal and cajon box drum was having a whale of a time, banging the cajon, singing along , with his long hair flying all over the place.
Their set was fast paced, with a strong beat, catchy hooks and they sounded good. Their second song was a cover of Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick In The Wall” and in our corner of the Pub a percussion section emerged, with some fans of the band playing along with tambourines and singing along.

Twister on the Back Stage
Not bad at all, so we caught their second slot later on, on the Back Stage. This time they were fully electric, even bringing on their own HUGE Marshall amps, microphones and cymbals and to be honest they came across as quite pretentious by doing that!. The Cavern puts on loads of first class gigs so if their back-line is not good enough……

They took so long to set up, their set started a bit late. And when it did start, it was really heavy and shouty. 
The lead singer will have back problems later in life, with his guitar hanging down so low, he has obviously not taken on board lessons learned from his guitar heroes! Sorry guys – the acoustic set was miles better.

Lovely from Sweden, dressed in black polo necked tops opened the Back Stage tonight. This four piece, who we have seen before in the London IPO, is the quintessential Beat Combo, with a touch of psychedelic thrown in every now and then. Their short, sharp, melodic tunes were brilliant, and the mix allowed us to be able to pick out every vocal and instrument played.

Lovely
The vocals were shared between the two guitarists and a Hofner violin bass player and whoever was not singing lead, contributed fine backing vocals, which included the oooohs and Bop She Bops that gave such an authentic 60’s Beat sound. Brilliant.

Richard Batty
On the Front Stage was Richard Batty who is apparently a regular Cavern performer as a Beatles cover artist. Today he was showcasing his own material. He played some nice pop style tunes, and was ably backed by his band, but there was nothing that stood out for us.

Over in The Pub, basically killing time, we saw Luke Potter. Once again, a laptop appeared, and we got a duo singing to backing tapes whilst playing acoustic guitars. We noticed it took ages for them to set up, and really struggled to understand what was so complicated! The only time the laptop was not used to provide backing tracks was when they did a cover of a Justin Beiber song. Not really our style of music, but there were a few in the small audience who really appreciated it.

The Grande is a local band we have seen a number of times at the IPO but not for a few years so we are not sure when they moved to a five piece, without Melanie on vocals.
The Grande
They have a great country rock / Americana sound and we could have sat and listened to them for a lot longer. The front line of the band covered all the vocals, sharing them between each other and doing backing vocals too. The fact this band have played together for a long time was very evident, as the balance of the instruments and even the solid drum beat never drowned out any of the vocals, which blended really well and were crisp enough to make out the lyrics of each song. Even the guitar solos, on the Gretsch White Falcon were subtle, yet effective.

Even though the pub was so quiet (due to the UEFA cup final with Liverpool playing), the audience were really appreciative. A great half hour spent.

David Jaggs from The Ragamuffins
The Ragamuffins usually are a fairly large band, with a brass section included, but tonight it was just the lead man, David Jaggs, due to the band’s drummer breaking his arm. Turning up just at the start of his slot, he showed how quickly you could set up – an acoustic guitar, a quick one-two into the mic and he was away! 

The Ragamuffins songs are very catchy, sing-a-long type of melodies during the chorus. Versatility is Jaggs’ style, and he moved seamlessly between pop and soul with a Nile Rogers style funk thing going!  We did kinda miss the big band sound though.


From London, The Velettes played the Front Stage and we also saw them again, almost immediately afterwards in the Pub as they closed the night’s entertainment. This three piece from London are very influenced by The Velvet Underground (if you hadn’t already guessed from their name), and the main vocalist was the drummer, standing at the front with a Tom and a snare drum, doing a consistent two-one beat and with reverb on the guitar, they had a moody yet oddly pleasant sound. We really liked them.
The Velettes in The Pub