indie rock | GIGglepics

Moccasins
Escape the Ocean
The Fruit Group
Witchdoctor

So the third Friday Night Live at RokanRolla showed just how successful these evenings are becoming with a very busy venue. So nice to see the local music scene thriving and people actually wanting to see live bands and why wouldn’t they when a gig is FREE!

First on lineup Witchdoctor. A new band from Herne Bay consisting currently of 3 members due to the lost of their bass player, they describe themselves as psychedelic experimental progressive grungy jazzy punk rock shoegaze fusion. Having recently had radio airplay which received a lot of very positive feedback, I was really looking forward to seeing these guys. The sound of this band confuses me and I like that, it seems to confuse everyone but what did happen was, people talked about them after. A number of bands names were thrown into the equation when I talked to people about their sound, The Kinks, The Hives, The White Stripes, Rush, Hawkwind, Black Sabbath and even Sitar. This was only the bands second gig and considering that, they put on a fantastic set of covers and original material. They are currently looking for a bass player and I would say that I agree with this to beef the sound up a little. Overall though an exciting new band with a sound that I haven’t heard from any other. Most definitely one to watch!

Witchdoctor

The Fruit Group next. A 3 piece band from Herne Bay, signed to DOUBLE DECKORDS, who describe themselves as Jam Band/Tropical/VitaminC genre. I hadn’t ever seen or heard this band before this gig so had no idea what to expect. I have to say I half expected them to turn up in Bermuda shorts, Hawaiian t-shirts and have a set covered in inflatable bananas. That might not have been to far from the truth! The vocalist did wear a nice brightly coloured shirt, but that aside, the music that came off stage had a ‘sunny’ sort of sound to it. Feel good music that made you think of tropical beaches and warm sunshine! Very nicely put together set from a talented band.

The Fruit Group

Escape the Ocean are a Progressive/Math Rock band from Deal who do what they do extremely well. Well I’ve reviewed these guys before so will put in the link here for that review. It’s pointless to keep saying the same things about a band, so I wont go over old ground. I have to be totally honest and say that I’m not hugely knowledgeable about this genre but its very easy to know when a band are more than a bit good! The fact that a band member from Feed the Rhino was in the crowd to watch them kind of speaks volumes. The guys put on a really good set but to be honest they always do, the standard never seems to drop, they never seem to have an ‘off day’. The equipment they put on stage looks like something from the future, all shiny and high tech and always draws comment from people watching. A band with more energy than a Tasmanian devil and a sound more technical than the ‘big bang theory’. Get to a gig and see them!

Escape the Ocean

Moccasins a 4 piece Indie Rock band from Folkestone, very local boys! These guys are pretty young and have a strong following of fans that turn up to their gigs. They are a very tight band with a unique sound, favoring reverb which makes the sound produced very rich. The songs are extremely catchy and the fans know them off by heart, cheerily singing them back to the stage. However, even if this is your first time watching them, you find yourself singing along to choruses of certain songs. This is rock indie that you can’t help but love. Take their ages aside and you still have an incredibly talented group of musicians. I think this band will be heard of by a lot more and spreading their wings a little in the future.

Moccasins

Witchdoctor – Arnald Find them on Facebook

The Fruit Group Find them on Facebook

Escape the Ocean – Exit Wound Find them on Facebook

Moccasins – Find them on Facebook

Here follows a very small amount of photography from the evening. For full gig photo’s please go to Facebook, this page only

Moccasins

Escape the Ocean

The Fruit Group

Witchdoctor

Moccasins

Van Susans
The Doctorates
Moccasins
The Alamo
Lonnie Storey

Sunday night at the Beercart Arms in Canterbury saw a most wonderful night of Indie music. Below the Radar Events and Promotions moved out of their usual genre and comfort zone and put on their first ever Indie gig at the Beercart and wow what a treat. The line up was absolutely first class and the audience were treated to 5 – yes 5 bands/artists, with a headline act that blew everyone away. Putting aside the headliner, all 4 other acts were extremely strong and alone would have left the audience feeling all warm and fuzzy inside. As it was, everyone leaving was heard to be praising the line up and evening in general and inquires were made as to when the next will be (which I might add is next Sunday, 3 March when the amazing Electric River play their only Kent gig on their current tour – for details please click here)

First on the lineup was the lovely Lonnie Storey as a solo act. From the start it was clear that Lonnie is used to the comfort of his fellow band members from Loaded Pistola, as he did appear slightly uncomfortable and nervous at first, of course this could also be due to being first act up which is never an easy slot. He also experienced some minor technical sound problems during his set but this did not detract from his very credible and enjoyable performance. Nerves put aside the voice and guitar skills were very evident from the off and Lonnie got the evening warmed up extremely nicely with a set of covers and original material, slightly adapted from his band. He set the tone very nicely for the acts to come and gave us all a sneak peek as to what the evening was going to offer. I’d personally be very interested in hearing him play with the full line up of Loaded Pistola and will be keeping an eye out for them at future local gigs.

Next up The Alamo was a very last-minute step in and wow, what a replacement. A young acoustic band with musical influences from Foo Fighters, Mumford and Sons, Ed Sheeran and Led Zeppelin, they recently performed a cover of Californication for the increasing popular Live in the Living Room YouTube channel. Having only recorded demo’s so far these lads are just finishing the mixing of a recording that I will be able to bring you hopefully within the week. Judging by their performance last night I would highly recommend you check back to hear their track. This band performed an extremely tight set with vocals and harmony’s that blew the room and myself away. I will definetely be keeping an eye out for these guys in the future and hoping to catch them at a gig really soon.

The third band of the evening was one that I have had the pleasure of seeing/photographing before, Moccasins. Another very last-minute lineup change, agreeing to play with only a couple of hours notice, this group of local lads never fail to impress all those that see them. The energy and immense sense of fun on stage shows how much these guys love what they do and they produce a very interesting and slightly different sound of rock indie. Very well positioned on the lineup, their lively set upped the tempo of the evening at just the right point, setting the tone for the last two acts to come. These bands have obviously played a considerable amount of gigs and their stage presence and way with the crowd wins over even the most reluctant of members of the audience. You cant help but smile when these guys play. I highly recommend you check them out at a gig near you!

Fourth was another band I have heard/photographed before but I’m not going to say too much about the band themselves as I am about to write a feature article on them. I will say that they are a 3 piece band from Canterbury called The Doctorates that play a mixture of covers and original material. The first time I saw them play was very, very early on in their beginnings and I just have to say how far they have come as a band in such a short space of time. I would almost say that apart from the sound produced being vaguely familiar, they were almost unrecognizable from what I had seen before. Their performance and confidence has jumped ten fold and they certainly deserved their support slot on the lineup. This band is definitely one to watch and if you are into your Indie music I am pretty confident that you will love these guys. The lead singer/guitarist Nick Tompkins has really found himself on stage with both strong vocals and visual performance to boot. In all this is a band I feel sure is going places and can only grow from strength to strength.

Well now, onto the headliners, the most awesome Van Susans. Now I have to say that I had heard a fair amount recently about this band, in fact they seem to be surrounded in hype right now. Having heard they were headlining this gig I looked them up on Facebook and if I’m completely honest was a little skeptical. At only a few shy of 36,000 likes I started to do a little research and soon discovered that they have an extremely credible line up of musicians. In fact their violinist Holly McLatchie (also vocals) has an extensive musical background and has performed for Prince Andrew during the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. Putting all this aside I still held off on my opinion and refused to listen to any of their music until I had heard them live. I’m very glad I did… they totally, utterly and completely blew me a way. I found them mesmerizing to watch in performance, finding it hard to tear my eyes away and actually concentrate on photographing the band. The unique blend of instruments carrying across the venue transported me into a place that made me completely forget that tomorrow would be a miserable Monday morning, that it was snowing and freezing cold outside and I had a long drive home ahead. Smashing out songs from their old EP and their new album entitled Paused in the Moment, these guys clearly love what they do, performing is a passion. I would also like at this point to state, that they have the happiest, smiliest drummer I have ever had the pleasure to photograph, which does however mean that the band tends to turn to him on a regular basis due to his enthusiasm… which is great, expect when you are trying to get photographs of all members facing front. That however is the only complaint I could possibly make about this band and I hardly think that counts as criticism. At one point the guys put down their guitars and broke out the drums with such energy I was surprised that they had any thing left to finish their set, but finish they did with a song called Cha Cha Bang, even getting audience participation of clapping along at the right points. I can honestly say that having brought home their album and EP I have listened to it on loop today… this is a band you need in your life!

Here follows a very, very small amount of the evenings photography, for all photo’s please go to my Facebook page, this gig only

Van Susans – Served Cold – from their Debut Album
Find them on Facebook – already at just shy of 36,000 likes
Official Website – Debut Album can be purchased here