June 24, 2006
For those who haven’t discovered the Sumac Center, it is a really cool alternative venue situated in Forest Fields. It is like walking into someone’s front room, ran by volunteers, with some great beer and interesting leaflets and books on display, the band are set up in the corner of the room and softly tonight’s act, the 10 o’clock Horses, start up their set with the weird sound of the digeridoo. The punters slowly shuffle away from the warm evening sun and outside sitting to jump around to Manfield’s finest folk/dub/punk act.
10 o’clock Horses
This band are top class musicians and mix their sounds brilliantly to create a mass of energy and emotion. The first song has moving mandolin and fiddle melodies, which seem to compete for who is loudest, with the funky, bouncing bass and booming drums, this band create an awesome mix of fast folk that has a punky edge. Every song has a catchy melody and the band has some great stage presence, with the male vocalist wearing a pink dress and shouting out his lyrical messages whilst the fiddle playing female vocalist, Maria, runs round the room and chats in a relaxed manner between songs. The songs all build well, kicking in and out and changing tempo very smoothly. The band also has a mass of instrumental talent with members swapping instruments including djembe, mandolin, fiddle, acoustic and electric guitars, drums, bass, duel vocals and sax in their sound. The atmosphere slowly builds until the whole room is jumping around in glee. This is a master class of diversity and as the set continues the music gets better and better, with punky tracks like ‘Money’ and funky folk numbers such as ‘Helen’s Last Bag of Chips’ getting the crowd up and dancing whilst the chilled Dub edge of ‘My World’ really impressed with the deep and sexy vocals of Maria fitting perfectly with the laid back funky groove. This was a great night in a great atmosphere and the 10 O’clock Horses really worked well here. They mix so many styles but are so good at them all, mixing the upbeat and purposeful sounds of Folk/punk with the chilled and funky sound of dub and ska. On this performance this band are one of the most fun, talented and diverse in the city right now so check them out!
http://www.10oclockhorses.co.uk/
Reviewed by: Gaz
