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By , Tuesday 9th September 2003 10.37pm (965 views)
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Reef @ The Lomax, Liverpool
Date: 4th May 2003
Support: Trilby, Circlesounds
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The band charged with getting the ball rolling tonight were local likely lads Trilby, whose singer bounced around the stage with the reckless abandon of a speedballing lunatic on day release. Whilst they certainly had a few hardcore aficionados in the audience, Trilby’s blend of up-beat punk pop and 1950s surf rock pastiche never really got the entire crowd going, but perhaps that was more due to the early hour and the feeble stream of people coming in from the bar than a lack of enthusiasm on their part.
Next up were Circlesound who play the kind of slow-motion acoustic rock tunes which Coldplay employed to such great effect. Circlesound’s set was peppered with lengthy mood pieces draped with echoey guitars, although when they occasionally pushed up the tempo they tipped their collective hat to the likes of Free and the Allman Brothers Blues Band, particularly on the tune "Paradise". All very nice and well worth checking out if you get the chance.
By the time Reef hit the stage the place was packed and the anticipation was palpable. With sales of their last two studio albums disappointing and with Sony resorting to the traditional safe bet of the ‘best of’ album, not to mention the fact that this gig was rescheduled from March, Reef might be forgiven for feeling under pressure to come up with the goods.
However, any doubts anyone might have held about their ability to deliver were surely obliterated by the end of the opening song. The band quickly ran through "Good Feeling," "I Would Have Left You" and "Come Back Brighter" by which time the audience were well and truly warmed up and bouncing. Soon sweaty and stripped to the waist, vocalist Gary Stringer acknowledged the audience between songs with a solemn "thanks" before the band launched into "Lucky Number," the first of a handful of new songs which were scattered amongst the set. Then it was time to get the crowd jumping up and down again as the band kicked out a stomping rendition of "Place Your Hands."
Whether it was a political statement on the Iraq conflict or just a chance to play some gut-wrenching old English metal, the inclusion of Black Sabbath’s "War Pigs" certainly gave drummer Dominic Greensmith the opportunity to throw a few tasty fills around the kit whilst Kenwyn House confirmed why he’s one of the most exciting guitarists to come out of the British music scene in ages. The band finished off the set with barnstorming performances of "Don’t You like It", "Lately Stomping" and the yoof anthem "Yer Old," Stringer relishing his opportunity to launch himself into the seething tumult of the crowd. After the requisite five minutes of chanting and adulation the band encored with two more new tracks "Give Your Love" and the ode to loafing, "Waster" before closing with the rip-roaring crowd-pleaser "Naked."
Blown away? Indeed. |
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