First pubslihed on www.mintsouth.com in Mar 2009
Words - Suzy Sims
Editor - Rob Ball
(c) mintsouth
TREMAIN, VAGABOND, THE ELIZANS @ THE CELLARS AT EASTNEY 14/03/2009
The Cellars is a lovely little venue, but could be improved if that massive pillar wasn’t blocking everyone’s view. Well I say ‘everyone’; the man in front of me could see fine, due to the fact he was seven feet tall. I spent half the gig only able to watch onstage antics courtesy of a reflection in a nearby picture – fail safe I thought, until Tall Man toppled sideways and blocked this too. Thanks mate.
First onstage were jazz gangsters The Elizans, who win extra points for their Prohibition era-style hats and suits. I’m not sure if their guitar cases held some Mafiosa weaponry or just instruments, but decided not to insult their mothers just in case. They play smooth melodies aided with some warm brass tones and although it is comfortable to listen to it doesn’t look easy to play, with the band displaying some quick and nifty finger-work. Their set started out with jazz then moved onto upbeat Sixties pop. It was strangely relaxing for a Saturday night out, but certainly enjoyable.
Second band Vagabond should have been headlining tonight. They really should. Singer Alex Vargos stepped out and immediately stunned the crowd with his spectacular singing voice. Kudos to the rest of the band for turning up to support him, but the music burbled along in the background and was really only there to showcase the vocals. Every note was spot on, every curl and tremble of the voice was well practised and dead correct. Hiding shyly under his mop of hair, concentrated expression and 80s t shirt, Alex really is the ideal front-man; perhaps purchased in flat-pack form from the new IKEA.
The bassline led a merry dance in the background with the odd soulful blast of brass. The band are signed to Geffen (single ‘Sweat (Until The Morning)’ was given an airing tonight) and it’s easy to see why: their radio-friendly sounds combined with the perfect voice, non-offensive sound and easy on the eye appearance would make any record label executive give thanks upon receiving their demo. With such a big sound in such a small room, they would do well at an open-air gig or as a stadium support act – and maybe one day will be headlining there themselves.
The final band tonight were retro disco funk party act Tremain who did a wonderful job of making the man opposite me dance like he was on a rowing machine. Rich and feminine harmonies combined with the brass to create a feelgood set, made even more impressive by the fact there were seven band members crammed on a tiny stage.
Lead singer Leonie Tremain danced happily all the while in her roses-and-black dress, a massive grin on her face, encouraging the audience to clap along, but the band don’t need an audience to feed off as they are more than capable of starting their own joyful party which everyone is more than welcome to join. At the end I was worried they were about to announce a split, such was the heartfelt thanks they gave to the other bands and relief at their long-awaited live CD, but it was genuine happiness at being up there on stage entertaining their friends in the crowd. While the night wasn’t entirely groundbreaking music-wise, it definitely left a pleasantly uplifted feeling in your soul.
http://www.theelizans.co.uk/
http://www.myspace.com/vagabond
http://www.tremain.biz/
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