13 April 2010 (gig)
16 April 2010
Even though the band were ‘only’ the support to the excellent Nell Bryden – see Claudia A’s review – the quality of the music and the crowd reaction to Adrian Roye & The Exiles made me very happy that I had beaten the traffic and caught their set.
This is a very tasty group with all the attributes to be moving up into a headliner slot.
Adrian is a natural front man and his voice manages to go between the keening and high pitch of a number like ‘Where Are The Roses’ to the more strident material such as ‘Cage Of Gold’. He seemed equally comfortable with soul as with folk or root styles and really has a unique sound to him.
The band around him are no slouches either with Beth Dariti’s bass, fluid and capable of some fine reggae runs, and Daniel Paton’s drums both subtle and forceful when needed kicking the band along but the Cello playing of Simon Lewis, as well as his hi-life style guitar work, really sets the band apart from many others.
You hear touches of other artists in the band’s sound – good ones like Ben Harper or even Arthur Lee – but they really don’t sound like anyone else and the songs are strong as well as varied in their style and rhythms.
‘Whatcha Gonna Do With My Heart’ is a strange number to base a singalong around as it is slow, dense and the cello gives the song a really melancholic feel but here it worked and the audience took the song to heart and sang the refrain without more prompting than was warranted.
I have to say that I got a real kick out of seeing a support act that the crowd could take to but who didn’t try to overstay their welcome – the crowd was happy, the band was happy and, for once, the best was still to come.
If you get the chance to catch them live I suggest that you take it while they are still small enough to get close to – they might be going places.
