The O2 Islington is rammed and the expectation is almost
tangible as the audience waits the arrival on stage of Blues Pills the multi-national
band headlining for the first time in the UK.
As kaleidoscopic lights begin to swirl they kick off with High
Class Woman from their debut eponymous psychedelic blues album, stunning singer
Elin Larsson’s mind blowing vocals are a joy to witness, her power, prowess and
range belies her small frame as she belts out the lyrics as if her life depends
on it. She bats her tambourine and
shakes her long mane and grins wildly throughout the show. She is blossoming into a real star.
Enigmatic French Guitarist Dorian Sorriaux shows a maturity
to his playing that shouldn’t be possible to someone of his age, his Gibson Les
Paul / Orange amp combination fuelling the retro sound that underpins Blues
Pills. The solid rhythm section of Zack
Anderson and André Kvarnstrom drive the band along at a furious pace. They may be subdued in movement but certainly
not musicianship. You really do feel
back in 1972.
The song selections are mainly from said eponymous debut album
however one new song [whose title I missed] showed the future looks even
brighter for this much talked about band.
This is the third time Yours Truly has seen the Pills and they haven’t
disappointed yet. They will shortly have
to follow up their stunning debut album with “that difficult second album” as
expectations are now extremely high. Catch
them in a small venue while you can, they’re gonna be huge.
RavenEye
What a treat, a support band that exceeds expectation and
gives the headliners a run for their money.
Three piece power trio RavenEye from Milton Keynes, singer/guitarist
Oli Brown Kev Hickman and Aaron Spiers set the retro night on fire with an
incendiary performance that got yours truly excited enough to purchase their
EP! Shades of Grand Funk Railroad and
Ten Years After might permeate their songs but they delivered their forty minute
set with aplomb.
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