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Aftermath w/ guest vocalists (reviewed by Paul Spencer)
As I arrive at a packed Spa Farrer’s Bar, rock is invading the acoustic lounge with great aplomb. Covers band Aftermath are playing for two hours, later to generously share the limelight with two guest vocalists. For now fronted by lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Eddie Huntley, they take their first confident stride in the form of the Moody Blues’ hypnotic ‘Nights in White Satin’.
Warmly received by the audience, the band’s stock-in-trade is classic rock and blues numbers, here taking in Gary Moore and Lynyrd Skynyrd along the way.
Their cover of Zep’s ‘Stairway to Heaven’ is a particular highlight, replete with atmospheric electric guitar licks and some subtle drumming. The band have a head-turning moment with the song’s sudden shift into uptempo rock; several of the kids in the audience start chasing each other around the tables prompted by this burst of enthusiasm.
There is no dip in the pace, however, as Aftermath go there – gamely taking on Queen’s legendary ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, they generally keep pace with this sprawling song, and make a very decent stab at its dovetailing operatic vocals.
Adding some agreeable variety are the excellent guest vocalists, and the band steer the afternoon into a welcome acoustic flavour, beginning with a rich version of Gnarls Barkley’s ‘Crazy’.
Love it or hate it, radio earworm ‘All About That Bass’ is to follow, which in its stripped down, acoustic form is actually rather appealing. We’re even treated to ‘That diet coke song’… otherwise known as ‘I Just Wanna Make Love To You’. The kids in the room are then amusingly entranced by the offbeat choice of Disney standard ‘Let It Go’.
Later, Christina Perri’s ‘Jar of Hearts’ is covered in a very successful fashion, this simple song teasing some pathos from the Aftermath set thanks to some accomplished singing and keyboard playing. Aftermath have brought us a very entertaining and relaxing afternoon.
Foggy, Two Tones, Billy Nielsen, and Connor Lawlor-Mahon (reviewed by Chloe Brown)
Coastival was a new and interesting concept to me, having only heard about it once or twice the previous year – I decided to seek out a brief sample of what it was like.
Rather bravely, I set out on Valentine’s night to The Spa – Farrer’s Bar, to be precise – in order to experience a wonderful of variety of sets.
As I settled into the acoustic lounge, I quickly realised that Foggy was on the stage, melancholy clear in his vocals as he nostalgically picked his way through the gentle chords of ‘Make You Feel My Love’, relaxing the room to the theme of the night.
Reminiscent of Johnny Cash, he gave a soulful, smooth performance that gently stirred all into an amicable mood as he strummed away at the strings of his guitar with well-practiced ease.
Two Tones came to the stage later, a duet consisting of Kirsty Low-McKinley & Bethany Harrop. They worked amazingly well together, focusing respectively on acoustic guitar and vocals.
Founded only late last year, they made a real impact with their alternative and rock set, attracting listeners of all ages due to their acoustic take on many popular singles, such as ‘Blue Jeans’, ‘Wanted Dead or Alive’, and ‘Radioactive’, all of which were interpreted afresh by them.
Their harmonies were continually synchronised, providing strong, mellow undercurrents to the otherwise upbeat songs. Unabashedly proud of their accents (a positive quirk – so many performers tend to slip into the original artist’s tone), they finished with ‘Parklife’ by Blur.
Billy Nielsen quickly took to the stage, belting out a powerful western-esque introduction of ‘Saw It On TV’, treating the audience to punchy, striking chords coupled with sonorous, meaningful vocals.
His set featured some original songs such as ‘Messing Around’, relying on major optimistic chords that were intriguingly “in keeping with the theme”, delivering a vibrant and true-to-life performance that resounded with many.
After this enjoyable set, Connor Lawlor-Mahon swiftly took to the stage. As the last act of the night, he began with Ben Howard’s popular ‘Keep Your Head Up’, setting a good tempo with strong vocals to match.
He performed the title track from his debut EP, showcasing his impressive vocals which let every audience member know that he was born for indie-folk. After a brief re-tuning, he performed ‘Man in the Mirror’, which complemented his versatile tones.
His toe-tappingly good renditions of George Ezra, Hozier, and Jason Mraz proved very popular, interjecting with a smooth, impressive original song from his EP, ‘Back to You’, before finishing with ‘I’m Yours’ by Mraz.
To say that I previously had no experience of Coastival, I couldn’t imagine a more promising start to experiencing it, due to the diversity of talent and tones that were present that Valentine’s night.
