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Acting as support to
our old favourites Vaughn we have fellow US rockers Blow Up taking the
stage here tonight at Trillians.
This is the bands first UK tour and quite what to make of them the crowd
isn't sure. If the tall dark handsome stranger on the bass looked
familiar then that's because it's none other than ex-Tyketto man Jim
Kennedy!
The question of the lips of those in the know was would this band
have a sound all of their own or would they be a poor mans Tyketto?
Well after the first couple of songs it became more than apparent that
not only did they sound absolutely nothing like either Tyketto, or
indeed Vaughn for that matter, but they did in fact have a rather
wonderful sound all of their very own.
How can I describe them to you without sounding corny? Well the closest
band I can think of is The Goo-Goo Dolls. A band that always make me
think of the many happy days I've spent in the midday sun in Hawaii.
Don't ask me why - Just blame it on KPOI!
Anyway back to Blow Up. They were fab, they really were. The stage they
were performing on here tonight might have been small but the band had a
really big stage presence. You could literally picture them playing huge
stadiums without a batter of an eyelid.
Their commitment and dedication to their music came out during each and
every song. Not one song let them down throughout the whole set.
The band had the talent, the songs, and even the charisma and confidence
to make a big impression on the people in the room tonight.
Even when the crowd stood there with emotionless expressions before them
they played like troupers and really gave it there all. It took until
about a third of the way through the set before they broke through the
icy exteriors and the crowd surrendered to their charms.
I hope they forgive us, as it was rather rude to just stand and stare at
them like that. We were actually inwardly enjoying ourselves but for
some reason no one wanted to be the first to show it.
This won't be a problem the next time they come over; I have no doubt of
that. We were impressed and I saw more than a few people buying their CD
and asking for photos at the end of the night.
A little birdie told me afterwards that the CD's have been selling so
well during the tour, that the band had to actually send for more to be
shipped over from home! Hardly surprising when you hear how good they
are live. If the CD is half as good as this then it must to be a corker.
Those lucky people (which include us!) that are going to the Z Fest Pt.
2 this weekend will be able to indulge in some more of this fine rock.
It's lovely, it's gorgeous, the songs are fantastic and the band are
absolutely adorable.
I know, before you say it, rock bands aren't supposed to be adorable! If
you'd seen the way these guys put on the show that we'd just witnessed
then you'd be saying the self same thing.
Bless their cotton socks they really are the real thing. If you don't
believe me then take a listen to the song 'Pop Star' and you'll know
what I mean.
You can see this one being a huge hit for them if the PR people get
their fingers out and do the business for them. Any rock radio station
worth it's salt should be clambering over these guys as they have so
much commercial potential it's unbelievable.
Enough about the music, so who's in the band then? Ok well let's see
now, on vocals we had Jon Leidersdorff, a true showman if ever there was
one.
He melted our cold Northern expressions and that takes some doing! On
guitar we had Rob Muller, a mean machine with a face full of attitude.
On bass we had Jim Kennedy, welcome back to the UK! We've missed ya!
Last but not least on drums we had Tom Cottone. The first drummer I've
ever seen play with such focused passion and yet he never broke into a
sweat all night! That's one cool dude they have there!
Roll on Sunday and the Z Fest. If anyone had told us how good these guys
were before they came over then we would have signed up for the whole
tour to see them perform.
Guess we'll have to make do with just 2 gigs this time. Next time …
well we'll have to wait and see.
A huge thanks to Vaughn for bringing them over and giving them the
exposure they so badly needed over here.
They've had their lucky break, now we want to see them come back on
their own strength. The sooner the better as far as we're concerned.
Setlist: Lucky,
Surrender, Love Her, Generation, Shame, Pop Star, R U OK?, Super, Fire
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