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Saturday
night saw me killing time in the sport and music shops in
Sheffield, I never realised how difficult it would be to buy
a pair of cricket whites in Gods own land and the home of
the county champions! I'd have more chance back home in Glasgow!
So one pair of flannels and two Marshall amplifiers later
I was ready for another evening of classic rock and one or
four more pints of bitter.
MH had been raving about first band on, Strangefish earlier
the previousnight and having met the lads earlier I was eagerly
awaiting their set knowing how fired up they were for their
first CRS appearance. Well what a debut!
If
anyone remembers Mostly Autumn's debut at the awards a few
years ago and thinking that we were witnessing the emergence
of something special then Strangefish left me with that same
feeling. Right from the start vocalist Steve Taylor (bottom
left with Bob on guitar) grabbed our attention and held it
with all the stagecraft of a seasoned pro. A few self-depreciating
jokes and good-natured cajoling of the audience to buy their
CD, incidentally it sold out, had everyone in the palm of
his hand. Their five-song set was a lesson in prog arrangements,
light and shade; neat time changes all held together by some
excellent keyboard playing by Paul O'Neill. Only the second
song 'Pigeon Hole' deviated from the progressive path and
as the set continued more and more people stopped to listen
and nod approvingly until, as the final chord of closing number
'Simple Life' faded the audience erupted into spontaneous
applause and cheering such as is normally reserved for headline
bands. The general consensus was that we were witnessing the
birth of a really great band. It was only a pity that the
audience on Saturday was only a fraction of the crowd of the
previous night as they missed a cracking new band.
Dave
Whitaker and Julian Gregory on drums and bass respectively
were solid and if there was a criticism it was with "Bob's"
guitar sound. Obviously a good player but that digital multi-effects
sound did him no favours, a point that I'll come back to later,
and his sound was a little lost in the mix. That apart if
Strangefish don't go on to bigger and better things then I'll
eat my pristine vinyl copy of 'The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway'.
Hugh Carter
Notes
From The Edge - Classic Rock Society Magazine - June 2002
Welcome
back my friends to the column that never ends.(God bless Viagra!)
before we have a look at what's been spinning on the decks
here at Turner Towers this month I'd just like to mention
how great the CRS Rockfest was, in particular the amazing
Strangefish who opened on Saturday night and made me do something
I've not done for years, buy the album of the band who are
on stage at the time. Interesting sounds, new ideas and really
pushing the boundaries they are true, proper Prog, and a band
well worth listening to, I hope they return.
Ken
Hensley also blew away the rest of the bands that weekend
with a superb set, he can play keyboards, he can sing, he
plays a mean guitar and he wrote with Uriah Heep when it was
Uriah Heep instead of just a covers band. Hearing his vocals,
particularly on 'July Morning' made me wonder why the hell
they kept David Byron (a second rate club singer if ever there
was one) on. An almost perfect evening of music and I sincerely
hope both Strangefish and Ken Hensley become friends of the
society in the same way that Karnataka, Mostly Autumn and
numerous other excellent bands have done. James R Turner
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