No Strings Attached - Congleton - The Young Pretender
25th May 2013
Adam French / Robin Pierce / John Ainsworth / Dozinger / Phil Maddocks / The Cigs
(Glass Ankle, Matt Long, Lauren Hall, Amy Hopkins, Danny Wilde and Dan Coppock also on bill. See the Young Pretender YouTube channel for more.)
(Thanks to everyone for sending me their setlists, after I lost my notes. Much appreciated!)
No Strings Attached, hosted at Congleton beer parlour, The Young Pretender, was not only organised by Adam French but featured him as the headline act. More on Adam's set, later. The event was a sell-out, and deservedly so. The atmosphere, from early on, was noisy and I haven't been to a gig so raucous since back in the day. This was partly down to the proverbial sniff of the barmaid's apron but, also, due to other factors, which we shall come to later in my complaints section.
(Glass Ankle, Matt Long, Lauren Hall, Amy Hopkins, Danny Wilde and Dan Coppock also on bill. See the Young Pretender YouTube channel for more.)
(Thanks to everyone for sending me their setlists, after I lost my notes. Much appreciated!)
No Strings Attached, hosted at Congleton beer parlour, The Young Pretender, was not only organised by Adam French but featured him as the headline act. More on Adam's set, later. The event was a sell-out, and deservedly so. The atmosphere, from early on, was noisy and I haven't been to a gig so raucous since back in the day. This was partly down to the proverbial sniff of the barmaid's apron but, also, due to other factors, which we shall come to later in my complaints section.
The Cigs
The Cigs: West Pale / E to A / Leave Me Be / Banjo Song / Pursuit Of Happiness
No Strings Attached boasted a pretty impressive line up of local artists but, of those, virtually everyone had, undoubtedly, come to The Young Pretender to see the band that someone had recently claimed to be 'the best band ever to come out of Congleton': The Cigs.
Although The Cigs was not the first act on the bill, it was the first one I caught on Sunday. It isn't the first time I've seen them live though. Mind you, each time I've seen them, they've had a different drummer; very Spinal Tap. Either that or, they just march to a different drum. For NSA, to keep the never-the-same-line up-twice vibe going, they performed as a duo, sans batterie.
No Strings Attached boasted a pretty impressive line up of local artists but, of those, virtually everyone had, undoubtedly, come to The Young Pretender to see the band that someone had recently claimed to be 'the best band ever to come out of Congleton': The Cigs.
Although The Cigs was not the first act on the bill, it was the first one I caught on Sunday. It isn't the first time I've seen them live though. Mind you, each time I've seen them, they've had a different drummer; very Spinal Tap. Either that or, they just march to a different drum. For NSA, to keep the never-the-same-line up-twice vibe going, they performed as a duo, sans batterie.
The Cigs is the slickest band I've ever seen live. Don't be fooled by their randomness and quirky behaviour, though. I happen to know, for a fact, that they rehearse for minutes on end, until their act is so finely honed that it gives the impression of being haphazard. That takes talent and hard work.
I'm only yanking your chain. I really do like The Cigs. Their set consisted of original material: West Pale, E to A, Leave Me Be, Banjo Song, and a cover, The Pursuit Of Happiness. I have to be honest here and say that I don't know The Pursuit of Happiness, which was their last song and quite well known, apparently. They play well and their original songs are clever, ranging from humorous to thought-provoking. They are unconventional, yes, but there is a charm to a Cigs performance that lends quite an old school, angry, beat poet feel to their performance. Moreover, The YP suits their radical/intellectual/I've-got-something-to-say music. All in all, a very enjoyable set and it got my No Strings Attached off to a nice start.
I'm only yanking your chain. I really do like The Cigs. Their set consisted of original material: West Pale, E to A, Leave Me Be, Banjo Song, and a cover, The Pursuit Of Happiness. I have to be honest here and say that I don't know The Pursuit of Happiness, which was their last song and quite well known, apparently. They play well and their original songs are clever, ranging from humorous to thought-provoking. They are unconventional, yes, but there is a charm to a Cigs performance that lends quite an old school, angry, beat poet feel to their performance. Moreover, The YP suits their radical/intellectual/I've-got-something-to-say music. All in all, a very enjoyable set and it got my No Strings Attached off to a nice start.
Dozinger
Dozinger: Walls / Leopard-Print-Mandarin-Hippopotami-Skin / Casanova / The Lads Down Here / Shiva Shakti / Dare To Fall In Love / The Ocean
After a short break, Jonty Brindley aka Dozinger, if anything even angrier and more beat poet than the Cigs, took up his position, front and center. Over the last couple of months, I have heard good things about Dozinger. This was my first opportunity to catch him live and, I have to admit, that his self-penned material and his playing are quite impressive. He is quite an accomplished songwriter already, of that there is no doubt, and he appears to be quite self-confident and is, clearly, comfortable performing in front of an audience.
His musical talent shines through the anger and bitterness that permeated his performance and it does not appear to be his intention to come across as warm and fuzzy, which is fine; he seemed to be well received by the assembled throng. From my point of view, I find it difficult to appreciate such emotions in one so young but, then again, I don't suppose I am his intended target audience. I do understand anger and bitterness though. He certainly has many of the skills required to achieve success but, at this stage in his career, a little less aggression might make him more accessible to a wider range of followers.
After a short break, Jonty Brindley aka Dozinger, if anything even angrier and more beat poet than the Cigs, took up his position, front and center. Over the last couple of months, I have heard good things about Dozinger. This was my first opportunity to catch him live and, I have to admit, that his self-penned material and his playing are quite impressive. He is quite an accomplished songwriter already, of that there is no doubt, and he appears to be quite self-confident and is, clearly, comfortable performing in front of an audience.
His musical talent shines through the anger and bitterness that permeated his performance and it does not appear to be his intention to come across as warm and fuzzy, which is fine; he seemed to be well received by the assembled throng. From my point of view, I find it difficult to appreciate such emotions in one so young but, then again, I don't suppose I am his intended target audience. I do understand anger and bitterness though. He certainly has many of the skills required to achieve success but, at this stage in his career, a little less aggression might make him more accessible to a wider range of followers.
Phil Maddocks
Phil Maddocks: Save Your Tears For Somebody Better / Polish and Glass / Oh Girl / Tricky and Pretty / She's The Lady / The Wet Trade / Falling and Falling
It is no secret that I am quite a fan of Phil Maddocks. As I have written before, I like his style and his songs and, every time I have seen him perform live, be it solo or, with Nick Bayes, he always delivers the goods. For No Strings Attached, Phil was flying solo, as Nick (who was doing the sound) had to dash off to another gig.
I can't fault Phil's performance at all. His songs are heavy on imagery and they draw you in to stories and reminiscences in the same way that those of Bob Dylan, Steve Earle or, Tom Waits do. Some of the tunes are quite dark - Phil often jokes about his repertoire of 'prison songs' - but he delivers them with feeling and gravitas and, even, humour. It is very engaging and I always feel his gigs fly by far too quickly. I'm pretty sure that, in addition to the above, he also played the old Waterboys song, When Will We Be Married? But, I can't swear to that. I lost my notes and I could be just having a senior moment; it wouldn't be the first time!
The only negative comment I have about Phil's set was down to the noise levels in the YP. By the time he went on, the place was starting to get seriously full, and I don't mean that to sound like a bad thing. However, it did mean that all the artists who would perform from here on in, would have to battle with this issue, even headliner Adam French. I'm not averse to having a good time but can't the chatting to friends wait for the gaps between the artists? What is so important that it can't wait half an hour? It's just a matter of respect for someone trying to do their job and entertain you. Then again, I went to see Bob Dylan and Van Morrison in Manchester, late last century, and my enjoyment was ruined by the constant prattling and the inexorable procession of people going to the toilet or, the bar. Maybe it's me? Or, possibly, I just think that if you've spent your hard-earned to go and see someone, you might as well pay attention and get your money's-worth.
Still, I thoroughly enjoyed Phil's set, as always, and am looking forward to the possibility of him putting an electric band together again.
It is no secret that I am quite a fan of Phil Maddocks. As I have written before, I like his style and his songs and, every time I have seen him perform live, be it solo or, with Nick Bayes, he always delivers the goods. For No Strings Attached, Phil was flying solo, as Nick (who was doing the sound) had to dash off to another gig.
I can't fault Phil's performance at all. His songs are heavy on imagery and they draw you in to stories and reminiscences in the same way that those of Bob Dylan, Steve Earle or, Tom Waits do. Some of the tunes are quite dark - Phil often jokes about his repertoire of 'prison songs' - but he delivers them with feeling and gravitas and, even, humour. It is very engaging and I always feel his gigs fly by far too quickly. I'm pretty sure that, in addition to the above, he also played the old Waterboys song, When Will We Be Married? But, I can't swear to that. I lost my notes and I could be just having a senior moment; it wouldn't be the first time!
The only negative comment I have about Phil's set was down to the noise levels in the YP. By the time he went on, the place was starting to get seriously full, and I don't mean that to sound like a bad thing. However, it did mean that all the artists who would perform from here on in, would have to battle with this issue, even headliner Adam French. I'm not averse to having a good time but can't the chatting to friends wait for the gaps between the artists? What is so important that it can't wait half an hour? It's just a matter of respect for someone trying to do their job and entertain you. Then again, I went to see Bob Dylan and Van Morrison in Manchester, late last century, and my enjoyment was ruined by the constant prattling and the inexorable procession of people going to the toilet or, the bar. Maybe it's me? Or, possibly, I just think that if you've spent your hard-earned to go and see someone, you might as well pay attention and get your money's-worth.
Still, I thoroughly enjoyed Phil's set, as always, and am looking forward to the possibility of him putting an electric band together again.
John Ainsworth
John Ainsworth: Dreams / Turning To The Darkside / Easy Prey / My Crazy Mind / Running From The Devil
No Strings Attached was a showcase of [most of] the best local talent and Manchester's John Ainsworth is a right up there. His blend of 12 string guitar-playing and singing brings to mind Tim Buckley, John Martyn, and Richard Thompson, even Jon Gomm, and is quite jaw-droppingly impressive. What's more, I don't mention John's name lightly, in the same sentence as such highly respected names. He really is that good.
Nevertheless, I have to say that, due to initial technical difficulties during soundcheck, as well as the extremely loud ambient noise, not to mention cutting his finger mid-set, this was not his best performance. It wasn't bad, either. I just know how good he can be. I suspect that anyone who hadn't seen him before would not even have known that he was only about 80% there on Sunday night. Still, over the years, I have seen much worse performances from artists at the top of their game, and they wouldn't get anywhere close to John on his worst day.
Unfortunately, as it took so long for him to get set up, we were only treated to four songs from his repertoire. As with the other performers, John struggled to be heard above the constant background noise and, even though I was right at the front, even I could hardly hear above the din. It seemed that just as it should have be peaking, it was all over. The YP's curfew of 11pm meant that everything had to move along, so that Robin and Adam could perform so, It was a short but relatively sweet set from young Mr. Ainsworth.
No Strings Attached was a showcase of [most of] the best local talent and Manchester's John Ainsworth is a right up there. His blend of 12 string guitar-playing and singing brings to mind Tim Buckley, John Martyn, and Richard Thompson, even Jon Gomm, and is quite jaw-droppingly impressive. What's more, I don't mention John's name lightly, in the same sentence as such highly respected names. He really is that good.
Nevertheless, I have to say that, due to initial technical difficulties during soundcheck, as well as the extremely loud ambient noise, not to mention cutting his finger mid-set, this was not his best performance. It wasn't bad, either. I just know how good he can be. I suspect that anyone who hadn't seen him before would not even have known that he was only about 80% there on Sunday night. Still, over the years, I have seen much worse performances from artists at the top of their game, and they wouldn't get anywhere close to John on his worst day.
Unfortunately, as it took so long for him to get set up, we were only treated to four songs from his repertoire. As with the other performers, John struggled to be heard above the constant background noise and, even though I was right at the front, even I could hardly hear above the din. It seemed that just as it should have be peaking, it was all over. The YP's curfew of 11pm meant that everything had to move along, so that Robin and Adam could perform so, It was a short but relatively sweet set from young Mr. Ainsworth.
Robin Pierce
Robin Pierce: The Chain / Help Me Down / Say It To Me Now / No Diggity / Hello Old Friend / Jack
Robin Pierce is a bit of a local institution. Nearly everyone, in Congleton, knows of The RPB. Of that 'nearly everyone', they all know the legend of 'The Chain'. The Fleetwood Mac song has, virtually, become Robin's signature tune and he does it extremely well, using a loop to build up the layers. It's very impressive. Sporting a more aerodynamic haircut, from the minute he kicked off his shoes, as he always does, (mem: ask him about that!) there were shouts of 'The Chain' from all corners of The YP. He duly obliged, to much cheering and appreciation.
Help Me Down and Say It To Me Now were both, I felt, drowned out by the general hubub, whilst the Blackstreet song, No Diggity, almost as much a part of The RPB legend as The Chain, was, once again, received to rapturous applause and voluble ululation. It's a big crowd-pleaser, make no mistake and, one day, I shall have to get it on video.
Finishing off his set with Hello Old Friend and then, Jack (in preference to Fanfare), even Rob seemed to be getting a little fed up with having to try and battle with the audience for attention. The crowd seemed more interested in each other than the artists they had paid to come and see. Go figure!
You can't help but enjoy Robin Pierce's gigs. With or, without, band he always gives it his all and it never ceases to amaze me at the power, volume, and quality of his voice. The boy can most definitely sing the blues.
Robin Pierce is a bit of a local institution. Nearly everyone, in Congleton, knows of The RPB. Of that 'nearly everyone', they all know the legend of 'The Chain'. The Fleetwood Mac song has, virtually, become Robin's signature tune and he does it extremely well, using a loop to build up the layers. It's very impressive. Sporting a more aerodynamic haircut, from the minute he kicked off his shoes, as he always does, (mem: ask him about that!) there were shouts of 'The Chain' from all corners of The YP. He duly obliged, to much cheering and appreciation.
Help Me Down and Say It To Me Now were both, I felt, drowned out by the general hubub, whilst the Blackstreet song, No Diggity, almost as much a part of The RPB legend as The Chain, was, once again, received to rapturous applause and voluble ululation. It's a big crowd-pleaser, make no mistake and, one day, I shall have to get it on video.
Finishing off his set with Hello Old Friend and then, Jack (in preference to Fanfare), even Rob seemed to be getting a little fed up with having to try and battle with the audience for attention. The crowd seemed more interested in each other than the artists they had paid to come and see. Go figure!
You can't help but enjoy Robin Pierce's gigs. With or, without, band he always gives it his all and it never ceases to amaze me at the power, volume, and quality of his voice. The boy can most definitely sing the blues.
Adam French
Click here to see my review of Adam French at No Strings Attached
Gripe Water
So, what didn't work, at No Strings Attached?
Thanks to the amazingly hard-working Nick Bayes, we could actually see the performers on Sunday. Nick had brought light into the black hole, that is The Young Pretender, with a small but essential lighting rig. I understand that The YP ownership wants people walking past to know that there is a band a playing but, for the people watching the performers, without fill-in illumination, they are silhouettes. The single bulb in the ceiling provided by the owners is pathetic at the best of times but when there's a band on, useless doesn't even begin to describe it. Creating an atmosphere is one thing but, if they are serious about putting live artists on on a regular basis, they need to spend some cash and get some decent light and sound in there. Taking photos of the performers in there is, normally, impossible without flash. Then again, blitzing the artist is rude, annoying, and results in pretty shitty photos. People like the YP being dark and I have no problem with it being dark, dingy, and lugubrious, but I still want to see the artist and, I should imagine, the artists want to be seen. Yeah, it narks me because I take photos. I don't have to. In fact, I create massive amounts of unpaid work for myself, in doing so. They could ask me not to take photographs or, following this review, ban me. They could. But, surely, from a commercial point of view, you want your establishment to look as good as possible in any form of publicity. Check out my photos from this gig and tell me that they're crap, harming the artist and/or the YP, and you'll never hear from me again. Alternatively, get used to poor quality photos of the gigs and the impression that anyone in there is a confirmed moonbather.
Beer parlours are supposed to be dark, someone said to me the other day, when I was having a rantette. I happen to know a little about beer parlours and most of the ones I've been in are well-lit, where they need to be. Which leads me to my next gripe: the noise level in TYP. Way too many reflective surfaces does not good acoustics make. The level of cackling, bellowing, and screeching was wholly unacceptable on Sunday. Why pay money to go and see someone live and then, spend the entire time not paying attention, talking to your mates and shouting above the music? Don't be so damn rude! Show some respect, Congleton. I'm all for having a great night out and having fun, even getting hammered, on occasion but, seriously, exercise some control! As for the YP, some drapes, a few items to soften the acoustics would go a long way to making an already great little venue, so much better.
Mark L. Potts
The God of Thunder
1st June 2013
Thanks to the amazingly hard-working Nick Bayes, we could actually see the performers on Sunday. Nick had brought light into the black hole, that is The Young Pretender, with a small but essential lighting rig. I understand that The YP ownership wants people walking past to know that there is a band a playing but, for the people watching the performers, without fill-in illumination, they are silhouettes. The single bulb in the ceiling provided by the owners is pathetic at the best of times but when there's a band on, useless doesn't even begin to describe it. Creating an atmosphere is one thing but, if they are serious about putting live artists on on a regular basis, they need to spend some cash and get some decent light and sound in there. Taking photos of the performers in there is, normally, impossible without flash. Then again, blitzing the artist is rude, annoying, and results in pretty shitty photos. People like the YP being dark and I have no problem with it being dark, dingy, and lugubrious, but I still want to see the artist and, I should imagine, the artists want to be seen. Yeah, it narks me because I take photos. I don't have to. In fact, I create massive amounts of unpaid work for myself, in doing so. They could ask me not to take photographs or, following this review, ban me. They could. But, surely, from a commercial point of view, you want your establishment to look as good as possible in any form of publicity. Check out my photos from this gig and tell me that they're crap, harming the artist and/or the YP, and you'll never hear from me again. Alternatively, get used to poor quality photos of the gigs and the impression that anyone in there is a confirmed moonbather.
Beer parlours are supposed to be dark, someone said to me the other day, when I was having a rantette. I happen to know a little about beer parlours and most of the ones I've been in are well-lit, where they need to be. Which leads me to my next gripe: the noise level in TYP. Way too many reflective surfaces does not good acoustics make. The level of cackling, bellowing, and screeching was wholly unacceptable on Sunday. Why pay money to go and see someone live and then, spend the entire time not paying attention, talking to your mates and shouting above the music? Don't be so damn rude! Show some respect, Congleton. I'm all for having a great night out and having fun, even getting hammered, on occasion but, seriously, exercise some control! As for the YP, some drapes, a few items to soften the acoustics would go a long way to making an already great little venue, so much better.
Mark L. Potts
The God of Thunder
1st June 2013