I was at a gig at LYH in Newcastle last night, run by Something Else Promotions. There were three acts performing; Champagne Charlies, Iceni and my invention, Downtown Lester Brown, making their first appearance since I left them. After almost four months in the doldrums, I threw them a lifeline and lined up this slot for them.
Billed to start at 8pm and described as “the best local and touring acts, programmed into musically appropriate lineups and shuffled into 15 minute sets.” This was possibly the most poorly organised live music event that I have ever attended. When we arrived at about 20 to 9 they were still setting up and the first band had still not started their set. The 15 minute sets went out the window and each band performed for less than half an hour each. Despite being there at 6.30 to begin setting up, the event didn’t start til 9pm with Champagne Charlies playing the opening set. The worst part of it though, was the sound engineering. Even I, with my very limited technical knowledge, easily noticed that the sound engineer had dropped a bollock! I’m not sure if the bands even got a sound-check, but if they did then the sound engineer either half-arsed it or his hearing must be seriously impaired. This was the same sound engineer who ran the event the last time Downtown Lester Brown performed at LYH and he dropped a clanger then too. Ben’s vocals were practically muted for half of the set last time.
Champagne Charlies
An hour later than billed the first set kicked off at 9pm and was performed by Champagne Charlies, a three-piece Indie band, who failed to impress. They had no stage presence and their music was flat and uninteresting. The vocalist did sing in a local accent but that was the only thing that stood out about Champagne Charlies. I lost interest in them very quickly and I’m half-sure that they seemed to spend ages doing nothing in between tracks. They didn’t fill gaps with any witty banter or crowd interaction. This was the act that the promoter was hyping up to me about a week ago. I never noticed any sound issues with Champagne Charlie, other than the sound of their music being dour and unoriginal. I certainly wouldn’t go out of my way to see them again in the future.
Iceni
Three exceptionally talented ladies, Iceni are a great band with a very fresh sound. Unfortunately it was Iceni who suffered the most from the sound engineer’s incompetence and equipment failure. Not only was the sound all off, but the bass drum was also sliding away from the drummer through the entire set, which they had to cut short and I don’t blame them. The organisers of this event did Iceni a great injustice! As I already mentioned, I know nothing of technology but easily noticed that something was wrong with the sound as soon as they began their set. They have exceptional vocal talent which was unfortunately overshadowed by the failings of the sound engineer and the runaway drum. Despite this shambolic set, which was in no way Iceni’s fault, their talent was still easily noticeable and I would like to see them perform live again, but ideally at an event that is properly organised and engineered.
Downtown Lester Brown
Richard’s hat was too small for his head! He’s obviously been taking fashion tips from The Stroll’s Gashy (aka Orville the Duck). Ben did a fancy little hat trick at the beginning of their set. Yep, it was silly hat night.
This was Downtown Lester Brown’s comeback gig, their first live performance since I left them in December. A decent set which they performed well. Downtown Lester Brown even included a freestyle saxophone player within their set. Unfortunately, thanks to shoddy sound engineering, the saxophone failed to make an impact due to being barely audible, like the vocals at times. It was good to see them playing again and it does look as though they’ve been learning, especially Ben. The guitar play was just grand, and the drums and bass by Johnny and Eesh were class, as always. The sax addition could really have given Downtown Lester Brown an extra dimension to their sound and it’s a shame that it didn’t make the intended impact but again, that’s the failing of the sound engineer, not the artist.
As I’ve said this was a shambles of a gig, two and a half hours for setting up and yet still the sound quality was dire! At £3 entry for less than an hour and a half of music which, for the most of it, was barely audible, it was a rip-off. I would have refunded everybody their entry fee after that comical farce. I’d have felt too guilty to charge anybody to watch that. Something Else Promotions fell flat on their arse last night and I’m in no hurry to attend another event run by them. That’s twice I’ve been to one of their events and there has been sound issues on both occasions. If you don’t know how to do the sound engineering properly, then do what I do and hire in a professional!
Check out the three bands who performed on Facebook, and if you enjoy their work then like their pages.
WHAT MALLAZ IS SAYING! 