Reviews

Charlie Holmes.

First up was Charlie Holmes who started the night with a fairly mellow tone armed with an acoustic guitar and the ballroom at the L'Ancresse Bay Hotel had something of the feeling of a hippie sit-in upon my arrival, as a small group were gathered, seated, on and around the stage for the set.

This convivial tone continued, albeit in a somewhat more upbeat manner, as Charlie downed his guitar and picked up his more usual instrument of a bass and It Still Stands kicked off.

While It Still Stands sound remains fairly anonymous pop-punk there is clearly talent in the band and they continue to grow in confidence and ability with every show. Particularly noticeable tonight was front man James Radford whose confidence on stage and vocal ability is developing greatly.

James Radford of It Still Stands.

While the band still seem somewhat unsure on their original material, their covers tonight showed their talents best, especially a run through of a Sugarcult song which was the set's highlight.

Next up on stage were a band who have been more used to playing higher up the bill over recent months, FireFly. This lower placing seemed to find the band much more relaxed than the past few times I have seen them play which led to them really seeming at ease on stage.

With their 'Kiss Me Electric' EP and recent performances FireFly have often shown the promise of dynamic and passionate performances but never seemed to be able to hit the bar they were aiming for.

Jamie and Robert of FireFly.

Tonight though they really did deliver on their promise as, from Jamie Ellington's introduction to 'Moth In Rain' onwards the band were full of spirit, soul and really demonstrated the uplifting power that their brand of emo-rock is capable of in the right hands.

The other thing which really struck about FireFly tonight is that, in the younger section of Guernsey’s regular gig goers, they have built up quite a following who can sing along almost every word to every song, even those which don't appear on the bands EP.

Scorch of The Crazy Iron Babies.

The Crazy Iron Babies were up next and as ever they launched into their set of Iron Maiden covers with a huge energy and clear passion for the band they are emulating.

Not much more can be said about the band other than they play great songs very well and never fail to get an enthusiastic crowd headbanging their way through classics such as '2 Minutes To Midnight' and, tonight's encore, 'Run To The Hills'.

Headbanging to Maiden.

Combining these great tunes and a powerful performance The Crazy Iron Babies are one of the best bands in Guernsey today, even if they are essentially a covers band.

Finally tonight The Escape Fall had their work cut out for them following such a well received performance and things didn't look good as they started out a little shaky and with a few sound issues, they soon worked through these however and put on a good show.

Looking very much the 'emo boy band' they kept a good sized crowd, which is surprising as large numbers of the audience seem to have a habit of disappearing around 11 o'clock.

James Le Tissier of The Escape Fall.

Throughout their set of original material the band were full of energy and charisma during the songs but seemed to lose it somewhat during the breaks, however this didn't stop those in attendance getting into the show.

While they seem to lack something of the legitimate passion of FireFly earlier in the night, The Escape Fall still put on a great show and with the amount of original material they have built up, promise great things to come.