REVIEWS
The Tea Street Band, David Barnicle, Halem and Scarlet
by Phil Greenhalgh for The VPME (Von Pip Musical Express)
See full review and website HERE
Phil Greenhalgh celebrated Independent Music venue week by visiting Liverpool’s Zanzibar club and enjoyed an eclectic bill whilst reflecting on the importance of city centre venues
To celebrate Independent venue week Liverpool’s The Tea Street Band returned to the scene of their first gig, the Zanzibar in the heart of the Saturday night crowd in Liverpool’s ropewalks
It is not without irony, that the venue for a gig highlighting Independent music venues is but a stone’s throw away from the building site that once housed the iconic Kazimier Club and the recently repurposed Mello Mello.
The significance of these lost venues is particularly pertinent in this rapidly changing landscape and on a night specifically intended to promote the value (and plight?) of creative spaces.
Independent, original grass roots music has always survived and thrived on the physical, and metaphorical, periphery of city centres. The loss of the much-loved Kazimier has been well documented and we can, of course, celebrate its ‘in-spirit’ reincarnation at the Invisible Wind Factory on the dock road. Liverpool can hold up the Baltic triangle venues as a testament to grasping the opportunity of underused spaces on the edge of town. Even here we hear of the developers closing in, venues under threat, creativity forced another street further.
But true indie, main-drag venues in the hub of the weekend thoroughfare remain critically important to the fabric of the city. The gig goer spilling out into the same street as the clubber, the venue switching to DJ club mode after the bands have packed up. A symbiotic crossover that keeps original music as part of the cultural make up. A blurring of the edges.
This is the second Saturday running that we’ve attended a sell-out gig a the Zanzibar, and if anyone fell into the venue unawares of what to expect then they were met with a pretty eclectic bill.
Kicking off with a stripped-down set from David Barnicle, (sans the full ‘mystery force’), at first it looked like a bit of a mismatch of artists on the bill. To pitch a bare acoustic set on an audience here for more of a bouncing electro-rock-pop headliner was looking like a brave or misguided decision. A quiet acoustic set can allow the uninterested to settle into their unappreciative chatter. Much, as it transpired, to their loss.
From the second song, David was joined by a haunting phasey synth which added a massive dimension to the atmosphere of the performance. The song ‘Human Sacrifice’ was a triumph of songcraft and beauty and the stripped down version of the more psychy ‘Twin Star’ reminiscent of Steve Mason. Those that stood backs to stage, deep in loud conversation missed a rare treat, that took a bit of concentration to appreciate, but well worth the effort.
Finishing with a nod to the more dance roots of the headliner, and joined by Tea Street drummer Dominic for a cheeky cheesy cover of Corona’s ‘Rhythm of the Night’, didn’t quite tie the set to the night, but rounded off a performance that would have you keeping an eye out a more fitting billing in the future.
David Barnicle & The Mystery Force, Human Sacrifice. E.P. Review.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
What would you forfeit if it meant succeeding at something, to be seen as enthralling, the mysterious and the exceptional, it might be worth a lot of things but it is never worth your soul; if you don’t keep it real, then surely by the definition you have cheated yourself out of the very sacrifice, the point of the journey you have tried to attain and cherish.
David Barnicle & The Mystery Force, incorporating the superb talents of Brian Dawe, Dominic Allen, Andy Miller, take sacrifice seriously, like all great artists they push beyond the original set parameters that may have been openly discussed and set the target higher, deeper in the enriched spirit and there the Human Sacrifice becomes apparent, the time given to the project far exceeds the natural law and becomes a living entity, a flowering bloom which is stamped and remembered for its shining example.
The four strong E.P. is one that is of powerful persuasion and ripped tight against the T-shirt muscular frame; it is steely, proportioned and firm jawed and yet it also has its compassion running right through the thread of each song, it has the brutal reminder of life but also the charge of hope and it is one that David Barnicle, arguably could only bring to bear.
Human Sacrifice, the ultimate expression in either loss or gain, the pushed or the self imposed jumper, the ones who walk willingly into the volcano because they can feel the warm embrace of the Goddess tempering their art, this is what makes the E.P. so intriguing, so full of life and nestled in the security that everything has been put in to it; there is not a single sinewy muscle left that was not taken down to the raw passion as the music flowed.
Whether it is in the E.P. title track, Zep Tepi, Renaissance or Twin Star, each song is balanced and gracious, each moment filled with a taste for the extraordinary and one that if you had but one day to live and if it was for the good of humanity, you would listen to, pass on the good thoughts and dive headlong into the noble sacrifice; it is after all about enlightenment and surrendering yourself to the words and thoughts of another human being, David Barnicle is one of those rare people you would forgo forging a reply for.
Human Sacrifice is released on December 5th.
Ian D Hall