Gigs

Gig Review: Lonely The Brave

[Venue: Barfly, Cambridge]
[Date: 3 June 2008]

It’s just gone 8.30pm and I feel like shit. I’m just about to leave the stage area and boot it through the Barfly to the toilet. It’s going to be messy and Mr Wong is going to get a phone call from me shortly as I have to cut my night out short. I’m never eating chicken balls from his kitchen again.

Mr Wong, it turns out, is a lucky man. Cambridge-based Lonely The Brave (the band I traveled in to see) were the opening act on tonight’s bill (headlined by I Was A Cub Scout) so I decided to grin and bare it. Boy am I glad I stayed. There are many things I like to see in any bands live performance but two things in particular always stand out for me no matter what style of music I happen to be watching. I call these the two C’s…

Conviction is one. Is there anything worse then watching a performance from a band that really doesn’t believe in itself or its music? You know exactly the kind I am talking about: the groups that jump onto the coattails of any passing trend or scene in a desperate attempt to “make it” - all style, no substance. We have all seen it and we all know the smell far too well.

Connection is the other. In my opinion musical artists usually start to stand out and make that leap from good to great when they have searched and found the holy grail of their live performance – an ability to take their audience away from the trappings of their mere existence and make them feel alive. This of course can be obtained in many ways but when it does manifest itself the power is undeniable.

Lonely The Brave showed here that when you get the measure of these two factors correct then very special things can and will happen. Opening the show with a short musical introduction before blasting into first track ‘Come Together’ its fairly evident that this four-piece are not your typical local support act. The audience have been woken up by this and instead of milling around the dance floor like lost sheep have moved up for a closer look – always a good sign. It’s when the second track ‘Victory Line’ kicks though, followed immediately by ‘Bleak House’, that you begin to realise these guys are onto something extraordinary. The overall sound is intense, dynamic and sonically beautiful guitar music that is probably just the right side of commercial. Think Explosions In The Sky strapped to the raw energy of early U2, then add the ghost of Ian Curtis on vocals and it’s something close yet nowhere near at the same time.

You have to give credit to the rhythm section of LTB for keeping things together with a tight, focused and melodic groove. In fact, drummer Mo and bassist Bush are a revelation and you can see that this is a major part of why they stand a fighting chance of success. Without the talent on bass and drums in this band the overall impact would be compromised massively and it allows frontman Dave and guitarist Mark to showcase the sheer talent they possess and highlight the x-factor that these both bring to the equation.

Dave delivers every line as if it was literally ripped from his still beating heart and appears to hide behind the words he sings to protect himself. This is conviction at its most brutal and, to be honest, it’s uncomfortable to witness but utterly captivating. Mark on the other hand attacks your senses with so many hooks, changes and layers that you find it hard to believe he’s only playing one guitar! The onstage balance between the both of them is the real key to the appeal of this music and is no more evident then in the last two tracks of the set. ‘The Blue The Green’ is a monster of a tune that starts slowly before building into a huge anthemic conclusion leading you to close your eyes and drift away. It all comes to a stunning climax with ‘Trick Of The Light’ - a song that combines all the elements mentioned above into a swirling mass of bass-driven melodic beauty. It’s all over and along with the audience I’m still trying to pick up my senses from the floor! Conviction? By the bucket load! Connection? My eyes are still closed. Now to find my way to that toilet in the dark…..

Postscript: This turned out to be the last performance from a Cambridge based band at the Barfly. The morning after this show the building was closed without any notice and with immediate effect resulting in the loss of many jobs and a venue used to help develop our local music scene. How fitting it would be if Lonely The Brave, a band from this scene, could go on to put Cambridge back on the musical map. They have the potential and the talent, so let’s all give them the support.

For fans of: Explosions In The Sky, U2, Longview
Band links = Lonely The Brave

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