Café Kino is a fairly new place on the famous Nine Tree Hill off Stokes Croft. The performance is downstairs, in a tiny cellar of a back room. There are about eight chairs and about ten people, most of whom are in the bands. This is my first visit and I leave my bike outside, all chained up with some trepidation. Not for the café, but for the bike - I don't want to have to walk home.
Robin Allender is halfway through his last song, so I can't say much about him, it is a direct rip-off of Pink Floyd's C-G acoustic stuff a la Mother from The Wall or Pigs off Animals. I'm sure if I heard the song in full there would be more to it, next time I'll have to be more punctual!
The Gala Band are a duo of acoustic guitar and piano - or at least they are tonight. They play lovely sensual bluesy songs with finger-picked guitar and gentle piano sounds. There are rumours that they also have a drummer, it would be interesting to see what happens when they are in a less intimate situation.
I saw Slow at Ashton Court briefly last year, tonight they are a trio and very, very relaxed. The songs are incredibly soothing and gentle, close harmonies and the minimum of notes and chord changes. When they crescendo, you feel the emotion in every breath and even the loudness of the little mirrorball in the corner somehow fades out of my senses as I listen.
Rowena is the singer from a band called Santa Dog, of whom I have written on other occasions. Tonight she plays SD songs alone with an acoustic guitar, which is a true test of one's songs. It's nice to be able to make out the words for a change and also to hear Rowena's voice so much more clearly than when it's behind the pop music of her band.
There are Ashton Court benefit CD's and a slow EP that I take home to keep the acoustic music flowing, although it's a shame that the place wasn't rammed, I'm sure everyone feels that little bit more special because of the intimacy. My bike is still outside, the guy at the bar has been watching it for me, between polishing glasses I presume.
With regards your "review" of Robin Allender you might want to do a little more research. The song in question was, in fact, a cover of Van Morrison's 'Slim Slow Slider'. If songs that use a C-G chord structure are ripping off Pink Floyd then i think you've got your work cut out as a pseudo-reviewer. Don't turn up late to gigs...
asshole
All I can say is, good job you didn't see what I wrote about the Penis Club!
oh, Damn.
Well thanks, that is basically what I said, and it did sound just like one of those songs.
Like I said, I only heard a couple of minutes, but the guy warrants a mention.
Thanks for reading 'John', but for the record, pseudo reviewing isn't hard, I just write what happens and how I see things. Research-based reviewing is so cold, why even bother going to gigs if you already know what you're going to write?