December 3, 2006
Loman
It is a cold and dark winter's night, a day of rest as it is Sunday and after a busy and beer inhanced weekend, what better to come down to than some relaxing acoustic sounds. Opening tonight's gig are Nottingham locals, Loman. <br> With duel vocals from Gus and Loreto, Loman have a traditional folk sound with some great interlinking of acoustic guitar riffs and great harmonies. At times Gus's voice has a Damien Rice sort of feel with great emotion and raw growling power yet it is still very easy on the ear and heart felt. Loreto voice is more traditional folk and hits the high notes perfectly, making this pairing great. The songs are catchy and upbeat and have a slight Simon and Garfunkel feel at times I thought. <br> Loman's other great strength I feel is their relaxed and fun stage manner, they are chatty both with the crowd and between themselves and seem to enjoy every second they are on stage, cracking jokes with a confident smile. Certainly a great folk band who are worth checking out.
http://www.myspace.com/lomanlive
Newton Faulker
Now the headliner tonight is Surrey boy, Newton Faulker. Newton has been getting great attention of late and it is evident why. His guitar playing style mixes up from rock, folk and funk influences with some great technical moments to catchy and impressive effect. <br> One thing I love to see is musicians with imagination and Newton surely has this! He uses the body of his guitar to provide percussion with well rehearse slaps and taps so if you couldn't see that it was just him on stage you might think he had a drummer, as the sound he produces is deep and powerful.<br> His stage manner is relaxed and fun and by throwing in some fun covers (including a encore of Sponge Bob Squrepants and 500 miles) as well as a awesome and unique version of Tear Drop by Massive attack, he wins over the crowd.<br> His own songs vary from Nick Harper style folk to big funky numbers and he reminders me at times of the wonderful Jason Mraz or John Mayer or even Jack Johnson. <br> His vocal patterns are interesting too, with a hip hop feel at times and alot of funk and soul. <br> One highlight was when he got the crowd to sing, with the boys doing the bass line and the girls singing the chorus to one of his songs. <br> At 21 years old this guy is one of the UK's up and coming stars and you can see why…unique, catchy and massively talented. I thinkwe may see some more of Newton Faulker.
http://www.myspace.com/officialnewtonfaulkner
Reviewed by: Gaz
