November 5, 2004
Having found our way to the Frog And Onion and eventually settled ourselves down with a pint-a-piece, we discovered that the band we had come to see, were in fact, the only band on. So keeping the crowd entertained for a whole evening lay solely in the hands of Grain. They didnt seem to be phased by such a challenge and with a smile, got straight on with breaking us into the first half of their set, with obviously inspired, heavily metaphoric lyrics, beautifully fragmented basslines, interesting, subtle but perfectly calculated drumming, and sweet ringing, back-porch guitar. It was hard to believe that they could have possibly have known, where each other was in the song, it genuinely looked and sounded like one immense jamming session, that was somehow constructed and accurately pre-meditated. The frontmans extravagant and expressive vocals came through really well in the smaller and cosier environment of the pub. There were a few effects used on the bass, and possibly the odd one on the guitars, but apart from those, the general sound of Grain is raw, busy, well seasoned funky, country, trip-rock.
After about half an hour, they announced a 15 minute break was to be held, which gave us just enough time to get another drink in, come up with that previous description of their sound, and stand on our tiptoes on the wall outside to catch the end of the Forest Field firework display. Beautifully timed! The second half of their set got underway, this time to a much bigger audience, as the pub abruptly filled with those coming back from watching fireworks, and despite some being a little bit too rowdy and drunk, most of the newly welcomed crowd were well and truly up for the melodic, funky hoe-down that they had suddenly found themselves in. Rounding up their complete set of 14 songs, Grain looked just as relaxed as when they first started, and they were still smiling through what surely must have been aching cheeks by now. There were plenty shows of talent, fast fingers, and changes between the mellow and the frenzied to feast the ears on throughout tonight. They played each and every song with an apparent affection for them, including the five tracks available on their Pass The Grain Ep, which were nstantly recognisable, amongst the equally individual and previously unheard stuff.
To see more pictures from this gig click here Review ~ Steph Photos ~ Glynn
Written By Steph
Photos ~ Glynn
