Reviews

The Golden Lion on Saturday evening was filled with a varied crowd ranging from emo kids to regulars to a group of pirates sat at the bar, all there to see the two bands that were providing the evenings entertainment.

Jamie and Andy of Fire Fly.

First up was young emo-core 5 piece Fire Fly, and with a set of largely covers they may have brought nothing new to the scene but once they hit their stride they played confidently and well given the limitations presented by trying to fit five people on a stage only marginally bigger than the drum kit.

Blasting through a range of emo that was mostly more the emotional side than the hardcore side they sadly had to end the set early due to the guitarist loosing two strings but prior to this they showed the promise that with some more original material and experience under their belt they could go far.

Following on from them came Third Time Lucky, who really brought the place to life. Though the bar wasn't as full as maybe the band would have hoped (and surely deserved) all there were crammed into the tiny space in front of the stage getting as close to the band as possible.

Third Time Lucky.

With more of a ball's out rock sound than they committed to record on 'Love, Etc', Third Time Lucky are clearly a band that thrive in the live environment. Storming through every single one of their songs, and then some, they provided everything one expects from a full time professional band all within inches of the audience who were soaking it up and even singing along to their songs.

Danny Pheonix's performance on vocal on lead guitar oozed the confidence present in some of the best rock front man as he got the crowd involved with call and response sing-a-longs (especially on heart break anthem 'Louise') and even took a walk through the crowd twice, once for a guitar break and once to serenade the few people towards the back who weren't on their feet.

He was backed up by a superb bunch of musicians who would put many on the national circuit to shame and seemed ready to adapt to the charismatic but somewhat erratic front man's needs. And even in the limited space of the Golden Lion stage they proved that they have what it takes to make it in a larger environment.

A pirate in the crowd.

As well as the music the bands banter with one another and the crowd, even including a few very bad pirate jokes (What’s a pirate’s favourite cheese? Ched-aaaarrrrrgh), showed there confidence on stage and ability to keep the crowd on their side even during breaks in the music.

A great evenings entertainment then was provided by both acts with Fire Fly showing they have the potential to be a great addition to the local music scene and Third Time Lucky topping any band I've seen locally in terms of a total package of entertainment, and I for one can only wish them luck with their future further a field.