Last week I headed over to The Sunflower Lounge to see The Sundowners - couldn't have picked a more fitting location. When I walked downstairs into this tiny box of room it was just filled with good vibes, but sadly, not people. When we stepped in there were maybe about 4 other people in there and about 3 of them were staff! Thank God it started to really fill up by the time the first band were to come on....
First on the bill was Birmingham bred band - Gleam. Newly formed, and it was actually their first ever show! Keeping this in mind, they did a good job - a few kinks here and there but that mostly just comes with performance experience. As a band, they have huge potential, both on record and off. They mostly rattled through their set, only really stopping for short applause and/or to tune their instruments so there wasn't any crowd interaction. However, it sounded like they had some really good songs in there. I also loved the fact that they had three guitar players and no bass - that's something you don't see often. Keep an ear out for these guys.
Second on the diverse line up were Wirral natives - She Drew The Gun. I wasn't expecting them to be atmospheric at all. I loved that they played the entire set accompanied by an animated film projected on the wall behind. Visual art as well as audio - nice. Aside from the visual addition, the set was really raw and stripped back and the lead's vocals were mesmerising! They were kind of like the "anti-Gleam" in the sense that unlike Gleam they actually stopped after every song to introduce and explain the next. This did take the audience out of the moment a little bit but didn't take away from the show much. I particularly liked their songs "Be Mine", "Pink Pony", and "Pebbles" which sounded like it could fit in well with an indie film soundtrack. Very interesting band - I would definitely advise going to check out one of their shows - true experience.
Last but not least, The Sundowners. Man, I love it when you go to a show and the band just completely exceeds your expectations. I knew it'd be a good show but I was not ready for this performance. First I have to comment on their bassist - Tim. That man has magic in his fingers. I was singing the last bass riff that he played all the way home. With Jim on the drums they made a very strong rhythms section. Backed by the mind-boggling guitar wielding skills of Alfie and the perfectly meshed voices of Fiona and Naimh, they were immense. I have to admit I was stunned. Also, never did I think that somebody could make a tambourine look that cool. Their set was so polished - I felt like I was watching them play Latitude Festival main stage as the sun was setting on the Sunday afternoon, they just transported me. "Back To You" still my favourite song on the new self-titled record (get your hands on this please), sounded just as big as it had the first time I heard it! I'll definitely be looking for a chance to see them again. Very cool band.
Overall rating - 8/10
Here are some pictures from the night...
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