, Ronnie Scott's, Birmingham
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Tonight, Ladies and Gentlemen, the acoustic night at Ronnie Scotts brings the absolutely lovely
. No it's not a she, are a they and according to the bloke from the record company we are witnessing their second gig and their first as an unplugged band. They are
probably gonna be a bit rough around the edges then, I think to myself. I'm wrong in a big, big way - they are supremely effective with their acoustic, driven grooves decorated by occasional shakers and mouth organ. Sunday night at Ronnie's is songs and songwriters night - precisely where operate. They're tight, snappy, groovy, intriguing and menacing and that's amply demonstrated in the one cover of the set - Led Zep's 'Whole Lotta Love' which has never sounded like this. (Messrs Plant and Page'd be well advised to get Marina Del Ray to teach them how to play it their way!). It is of course the quality of the self-written material which will shape their progress in the big, bad world of rock'n'pop and yes indeed MDR have good stuff aplenty. 'Far Far Far' is a short burst of magic and 'Wild Man' is ten minutes of dreamy soundscape. And so out of nowhere it seems come along and with a fresh take on a too-often stale format, cause the little hairs in unusual places to stand on end. I'm prompted to find the record company man after the show and ask if he's going to sign them. "It's not a question of whether I want them at the moment, it's more like do they need me!" Smug buggers then, eh? They've good reason to be. James Greene, Siren |
;)
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