“Enter At Your Own Risk…”, The Entrance Band @Stairway Club (Cascais, Por) 08/5/14 Live Report
© olhos«Ä»zumbir
The 8th of May is marked as one of the most powerful gigs
ever attended by your humble scribe.
ever attended by your humble scribe.
Anticipation was high amongst the crowd and, as soon as the
first notes were struck, we were embarking on a journey through decades of
music all rolled up into one continuous motion. Reminiscing Texan rhythms of
the 60’s, combined with heavy Birmingham authority and never forgetting an 80’s
sensibility with a more bare bones approach, The Entrance Band presented us
with a relentless set of contagious songs that leave the audience breathless
with such a galvanizing start. A mixture of raved up garagey beat and the
freedom of a guitar in full on fuzzed and delayed wah wah abandon mark the
sound of The Entrance Band.
first notes were struck, we were embarking on a journey through decades of
music all rolled up into one continuous motion. Reminiscing Texan rhythms of
the 60’s, combined with heavy Birmingham authority and never forgetting an 80’s
sensibility with a more bare bones approach, The Entrance Band presented us
with a relentless set of contagious songs that leave the audience breathless
with such a galvanizing start. A mixture of raved up garagey beat and the
freedom of a guitar in full on fuzzed and delayed wah wah abandon mark the
sound of The Entrance Band.
With their version of The Troggs ‘I Want You’, The Entrance
Band raise the bar up high to the point that the already supercharged original
is overshadowed and it becomes their song. If Hendrix had done this song
instead of ‘Wild Thing’, it would sound similar to this though maybe not as
wild and free flowing. Also, the vocal delivery is such that despair comes
seeping through the cracks, making this a more heartfelt version.
Band raise the bar up high to the point that the already supercharged original
is overshadowed and it becomes their song. If Hendrix had done this song
instead of ‘Wild Thing’, it would sound similar to this though maybe not as
wild and free flowing. Also, the vocal delivery is such that despair comes
seeping through the cracks, making this a more heartfelt version.
Some minor technical problems, most notoriously a broken
guitar string and a pedal battery that wouldn’t cooperate, doesn’t derail the
performance. Six strings, five strings, give or take a pedal, it becomes a
minor detail and only halfway through the concert occurs the changing of
strings and a new life injection on that stubborn pedal.
guitar string and a pedal battery that wouldn’t cooperate, doesn’t derail the
performance. Six strings, five strings, give or take a pedal, it becomes a
minor detail and only halfway through the concert occurs the changing of
strings and a new life injection on that stubborn pedal.
It’s exactly halfway through the show that a transformation
happens and the audience finally realizes the trap they had just stepped into.
We were served with straight on rock and now we were starting to feel the
effects of what we had just ingested. And what potent effects they were… All
this because it was then that The Entrance Band decided to let us in their own
little world of improvisation and longer songs. Therefore, more hypnotic. What
seemed to be sunshine and an ocean breeze turns into a nocturnal trip through a
forest with no lights to guide us. Long strolls through the Black Forest and,
simultaneously, through windless deserts. Hypnotic rhythms with no end in
sight.
happens and the audience finally realizes the trap they had just stepped into.
We were served with straight on rock and now we were starting to feel the
effects of what we had just ingested. And what potent effects they were… All
this because it was then that The Entrance Band decided to let us in their own
little world of improvisation and longer songs. Therefore, more hypnotic. What
seemed to be sunshine and an ocean breeze turns into a nocturnal trip through a
forest with no lights to guide us. Long strolls through the Black Forest and,
simultaneously, through windless deserts. Hypnotic rhythms with no end in
sight.
© olhos«Ä»zumbir
Regarding the band, what can one say about a left handed
guitar player that plays with a right handed guitar without changing the order
of the strings? For those who know even just a little about the instrument,
it’s slightly disorientating to observe a certain subversion of how to play the
guitar. The focus is also turned to the drummer that can pull off simple
rhythms à lá Monks and stray off into Mitch Mitchell powerlight flourishes with
the brutality of, say, Blue Cheer and with the lightning fast right foot of
John Bonham. Sometimes, it seems like it will lose control of what’s going on,
only to be saved at the last nanosecond of time keeping. Like someone falling
off a ravine and caught at the very last instant. So enthralling is the
drumming, one almost forgets the bass which appears to be simple but is
actually delicate and intricate, lifting the songs higher than any other bass
player could do.
guitar player that plays with a right handed guitar without changing the order
of the strings? For those who know even just a little about the instrument,
it’s slightly disorientating to observe a certain subversion of how to play the
guitar. The focus is also turned to the drummer that can pull off simple
rhythms à lá Monks and stray off into Mitch Mitchell powerlight flourishes with
the brutality of, say, Blue Cheer and with the lightning fast right foot of
John Bonham. Sometimes, it seems like it will lose control of what’s going on,
only to be saved at the last nanosecond of time keeping. Like someone falling
off a ravine and caught at the very last instant. So enthralling is the
drumming, one almost forgets the bass which appears to be simple but is
actually delicate and intricate, lifting the songs higher than any other bass
player could do.
The truth is we had entered a space and, though we couldn’t
see any exit signs, we know no harm will happen to us. We are in good company
of three travelers that reveal the entrance even though they don’t seem to know
exactly how to leave this place. Then again, they don’t seem too worried about
it as well.
see any exit signs, we know no harm will happen to us. We are in good company
of three travelers that reveal the entrance even though they don’t seem to know
exactly how to leave this place. Then again, they don’t seem too worried about
it as well.
© olhos«Ä»zumbir
Report made by Carlos Ferreira/2014
© Copyright http://psychedelicbaby.blogspot.com/2014
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