Reviews

conscripts

As with all nights out they usually begin with good intentions and a plan of sorts. They also usually end up going a completely different way. Whether this contitutes a nice quite drink in a different pub or full scale debauchery I guess depends on your personality. I'm lucky because I get to write about it! No dark tales of debauchery I'm afraid however my original plan was to review a couple of bands as usual until I remembered that it was the opening night of the music festival. A small tent had been set up otside porter bar and I thought I'd let the evening run and see where it took me. Three acts had been booked to play outside. The Inzani Project began the evening followed by The Mandibles and finally The Conscripts.

The atmosphere outside was fantastic and reminded me why I love Bath so much. Everyone was out in the street drinking, dancing , chatting and really getting into the spirit of things. On arrival I ran into the band Countryside who were having a beer before! heading down to Moles to play a set. I'm lucky to be friends with them and a big fan of their warm synth driven psychadelia. A fantastic band and great guys. I'm also lucky enough to be friends with various members of the first two bands playing outside Porter this evening.

The Inzani Project, named by member and all round great guy Dan Inzani (I expect royalties haha) were first. They played their fantastic fusion of reggae, funk , ska and jazz with samples and MC-ing to create a brilliant party atmosphere which got the crowd dancing immediatly. The sun went down and The mandibles were second. A personal favourite. This band also features Dan Inzani, Denby on drums and their brilliant ragtime frontman Graham. Graham is one of those quite unassuming guys who completely comes to life onstage.

The Mandibles have that ragtime, jazz, bigband vibe going on which they perform with such enthusiasm (not to mention great musicianship) that you simply get drawn into their world. The! y feature double bass, sax, trumpet, keys and Grahams deep crooning voice. Highly chanrming and perfect for a street party.

We shimmied and shaked right at the front all the way through the set. While the next group set up their equipment we had a surprise. A group of Brazilian drummers arrived in the street and began pounding away their tribal beats. The sound was huge and they whipped everyone into a frenzy. The atmosphere suddenly resembled a huge Brazilian street carnival. Whooping and whistling galore. Fantastic! The final act of the evening

The Conscripts had set up their decks and started to scratch in between the drumming. Two completely different musical styles were suddenly fusing with a call and answer technique. The drummers disbanded and this us nicely into the smooth funk/soul and hip-hop inspired beats of The Conscripts for the remainder of the evening. My evening was far from over as I ventured to Moles until four in the morning before having the pleasure of rising at ten for work.

The following evening I was invited to Porter once again to celebrate the birthday of one of the founding members of a new Bath magazine of the arts West of Bohemia. The Mandibles were in attendence and myself Dan Inzani and frontman Graham danced for hours to classic 50s and 60s tracks in the celler bar. Once again a fantastic atmosphere.

Downstairs in Moles Bristol band The Nova Saints took to the stage to perform their explosive gritty rock n roll set. A very popular Bristol and Bath band and always a winner! They were followed by a new Australian band who I unfortunetly missed. On the basis of great bands that have come out of Australia (The Vines, The Datsuns, Howling Bells) they sounded intriquing. I shall have to catch them next time!

A great weekend which really makes you realize how lucky you are to live in Bath. It has an atmosphere of its own that is fun, friendly and very welcoming. Many people from Europe come to visit and study here. This and the beautiful Roman architecture create a mini cultural melting pot in the southwest of England that is much more akin to the ambiance of Paris or Rome than anything else. All the artistic scenes are thriving so there is always something to see or be part of whatever your into. The music festival runs for the next few weeks as does the fringe festival featuring multiple events in the areas of film, performance art and theatre. Its never possible to catch all of it but this weekend at Porter Bar was a little snippet of the magic Bath has to offer (not to mention the great selection of music!).

Ed Cesar