Rich
Robinson
Dave O' Grady, Ulysses
Bristol, Fleece
15th February 2012
After the crowds of fans slowly dispersed
into the quaint little venue that is the Fleece,
it was somewhat clear that I was possibly one
of the youngest members of the crowd at the ripe
old age of 23. It was fairly shocking to think
that people of my generation hadn’t educated
themselves in the ways of the Black Crowes to
know what was hopefully going to take place this
evening. However, everyone seemed in good spirits,
the beer was flowing and people were ready for
a rock show.
Ulysses stepped out on stage and it looked like
they belonged in the 70s, lead singer Luke Smyth
sported an afro, a yellow long sleeved top and
a waistcoat. Surprisingly he pulled this look
off so well I dare think what would happen if
anyone else attempted to imitate it. These guys
had a very easy-going air about them, they had
a casual rock structure to their music, hints
of indie at times, and the crowd seemed to like
them. For a first-up support act they had a healthy
round of applause after every song. It seemed
as though they would be an easy to sing along
to kind of band, there was hints of old school
Kings of Leon in there, y’know, back when
they were cool and had beards and long hair. As
they progressed towards the end of their set they
finished with one epic instrumental, resulting
in all 4 members on some sort of percussion instrument.
Now, I realise I’m slightly biased as I’m
a sucker for percussion and drum solos; but that
was fucking cool. Ulysses said their goodbyes
and the bar stacked up ready for the second pint
of the night.
Then along came Dave O’Grady. Wow. Slightly
unexpected for the theme of the evening, just
an Irish man and his guitar, singing along to
what appeared to be very country-sounding. As
he sang on I was just encapsulated by his voice,
he had quite a few people’s attention from
the crowd, although unfortunately people still
took it upon themselves to talk during his set.
I suppose I can’t really slate them, I don’t
think they were expecting a quiet chilled show
on the build-up to the rock ‘n’ roll
that was to be Rich Robinson. I absolutely adored
his voice, he ran through covers of The Beatles’
“With a Little Help From My Friends”
and Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean”,
which worked surprisingly well in such a slow
pace. When he performed his own songs I couldn’t
help but be drawn in to the lyrics, some were
so heartfelt I could imagine dedicating these
songs to my loved ones as I stood there listening
to them. He interacted with the crowd in such
a humble way, it really was quite refreshing to
hear something so raw. If you have time, an evening
free, or you see Dave O’Grady is playing
near you, go and see him; If only to experience
it for yourself.
Rich Robinson and his band stepped onto the stage
and received an almighty welcome from the audience.
That soon hushed when he hushed the crowd and
made the announcement that he would
not be playing any Black Crowes songs, and if
that’s what we were expecting then he was
sorry, and we should just walk right out and get
a refund because that’s not what we were
going to get this evening. There seemed to be
a mixed reaction from the crowd on this one, some
cheered and knew this was exactly what they were
there for, others looked disappointed as though
they were expecting to hear some good old classics
being played live for the first time in a few
years. In their defence, it was advertised on
the posters as ‘Rich Robinson (The Black
Crowes)’, so how was anyone to know different?
This seemed irrelevant a couple of tracks in,
there were a few nodding, a few foot taps, but
nothing too exciting. But then again, the average
age of the crowd was 50+, so you can’t expect
too many mosh pits kicking off. His music was
pretty riff-tastic, old school style. There was
always a loud cheer at the end of a song, although
it didn’t seem many people were really getting
into it. The piano/keyboard really uplifted the
music and gave it an edge that a lot of bands
don’t bring to the table. The bass was awesome,
and really compensated for the lack of a 2nd guitar.
About half hour into the set they played around
a ten minute instrumental. Rich told us at the
end it was from a band he was in in the 70’s,
and the song was called Aggravatingly Free. It
was mildly aggravating by the end of it, I found
it a bit too long, a bit too repetitive and it
just seemed like a chance for him to blast out
some mediocre guitar solos. He picked the atmosphere
back up, then dropped it back down again with
‘Standing On The Surface Of The Sun’
people cheered, some even sang along to the whole
thing. The vocals were fairly mellow throughout,
he was a fairly chilled kinda guy on stage. Interaction
with the crowd was somewhat minimal, but it was
there nonetheless.
Overall, Rich Robinson did exactly what he stated
he was going to do. It was an overall good show,
I guess it’s just more of a specified taste
in music. You just can’t question anyone
that’s been in the industry as long as he
has.
Ulysses 2.5/5
Dave O'Grady 4/5
Rich Robinson 3.5/5
Review By Karlie M
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