Filthy Dirty Rotten Fun

Dan White Present

Comedy Night
(At The Shed)

Dan White, Lily Clay,
Camel & Bad Axe

The recession is biting even the best of us in the arse and with more of us looking for cheaper alternative forms of entertainment I suggest you look no further than Dan Whites Comedy Nights at the Shed. With cheap admission, cheapish drinks live music and cans of beer for only £2 it’s a steal at half the price.

A word of warning before I go any further, the comedy nights are very much over 18’s and not for the easily offended.

I thought for the first time ever I was going arrive fashionably late for an 8pm gig poling up at 7:55ish, but no it turned out that fashionably late for an 8pm gig was actually 8:30.

The night started at 8:30 and first to be introduced to the stage was Lilly Clay and her acoustic songs, written about personal experiences. I wouldn’t call her work comedy music but at the same time she has some very funny lyrics with in her songs. Young Lilly looked confident at the front and has a very tender almost innocent voice that I loved. The one thing I did not like was the stuttering style of singing she ever so easily slipped in to during songs; Lilly you have a beautiful voice just sing.

Then came Camel, a tall, thin, long haired quirky guy that leapt into action with a smile and a bounce in his step. Surprisingly Camel is not on MySpace, Facebook or the internet anywhere, which being a comedy man I thought he was taking the piss, but no I was wrong, I think there is a phone box to call if you want him, lol. Camels music is mainly funny cover songs, but his one song about necrophilia will have you doubled over with laughter, then you quickly stop and have to question your sanity.

Bad Axe well, tie up your grannies, hide your daughters and walk away …. no runaway if you’re easily offended because Bad Axe ‘don’t give a fuck!.’ With songs like Barrack Obama Got F*cked By A Friendly Lama and Cliff Richard's Arsehole you know your in for a explicit, no holes bared night of comedy not for the fainthearted. The three piece band from Nottingham are definitely not fashion icons nor are they good role models for children or even adults for that matter, but they are devilishly funny and incredibly entertaining. Having shouted at people and for walking in front of them, blocked up a door and bang the roof with nearby stools screaming ‘shut the fuck up’ I have to say I was a little hesitant to go to the toilet. When I finally made a break for the toilet and started to pee I found to my amazement the Bad Axe bass player screaming to the guy he had just followed in ‘fucking pee you cunt, fucking pee’ and amazingly still playing his bass guitar, photo opportunity and one for the blog. I will be seeing Bad Axe again and I strongly suggest you do to.

Finally it was the birthday boy’s time to shine, celebrating his 22nd Dan White took to the stage a little intoxicated for the beginning of his comedy set. I have said this before but I’m going to say it again, the comical magic Dan brings to the stage is tremendously hilarious and childish. His laid back folk take to music really works then put into the mix his crystal clear vocals and simple but catchy melodies and you have a very talented comedy musician that will have you singing about sticking your hand up your bum in no time.

Right then lady's and gentlemen, thanks again for reading, to let you all know iwill not be making any blog post for this week because i am away on holiday, yay. When i arrive back then next blog to be posted will be about my trip to StayFree and the new Charlotte

All the best and enjoy
Adam

Becoming A Musical Warrior

Twinning Rocks

(At The Shed)

Stereo Grand, Phase 4, Smokin' The Profit,

The Truth and The Soul Smiths

Another night at the shed for a music junkie like me, I’m starting to

notice the light podge beginning to form due to all the beer!

My Beer even began speaking to me.

Well the night, I was invited along by Nick Rose from the band The Truth. Having spoken to Nick on many different occasions and bumped in to him at Sumo, I was honoured at the invite.

Again we arrived early and everybody else arrived fashionably late of course. The first thing that struck me as odd was the amount of foreign people pottering around inside. I soon found out that the head liner Stereo Grand was the Belgium winners of the 2009 Nouvelle Vague.

Phase 4 started the night with a bang, if you have never seen Phase 4 perform the first thing you will notice is the amount of members in the group, secondly is the slightly strange array of musical instruments to bring to the stage. Trumpets and trombones are not everybody’s idea of punk music, but once you listen to the rocky, ska punk music Phase 4 deliver you will be fighting the urge to jazz everything up with a bit of brass. The bouncy, youthful funk rock that quickly filled the air was amazing, reminding me of Less Than Jake. A cracking start to the night from another young and talented Leicester band.

Then came an addition to the line up The Soul Smiths, I don’t know much about the band, the music was very varied through each individual song and the vocals were great, over all some good music.

Smokin' The Profit is a well know and confident five piece band that are familiar with the lime light. The first major difference when listening to the band is the quality of the live performance which over shadows anything I had heard on MySpace prior to the night. Smokin' The Profit is as punk as you get and their enthusiasm for music shows right through the performance, a good Leicester punk band.

This is where I began to lose the plot, in the little world of Adam that I live in 95% of the time, a headliner band plays last? So when the head lining Stereo Grand took to the stage I was a little puzzled but didn’t mind as that left the space free for The Truth to play.

So on to the stage came the Belgium band Stereo Grand, all dressed in different items of red and black clothing they became visually distinctive, their presence and attitude on stage was of confidence and a strong belief in themselves and their music. Their music was great, I love how people talk with a foreign twang but sing so English. The use of mixers throughout their set was good to but just went on to long and the songs became a little to samey.

This was the moment me and Nicola had waited for all night, so desperately waiting to hear The Truth play, then the headliners started packing away the equipment so we all sat around for a not so impressive 30 minutes. I don’t know why it worked out the way it did, but I did come away with the knowledge that its best left as the headliner plays LAST!

The Truth is the most diverse group of folks I have had the honour of watching, there is no fashion style that the members stick to, all dressing how they feel most comfortable and all driven by the joint belief that music is the one true language of the world. Performing both cover tracks and their own material The Truth will have you feeling great, feeling like a real musical warrior. The lead vocalist Chrissie has an amazingly powerful voice that has to be admired and throw Deven into the mix for ‘Insecurity’ and you have one hell of a catchy song. You can’t help but become infected by the feel good factor The Truth bring to the stage, the musical warriors struck again, even receiving a memorable helping hand from Stereo Grand on backing vocals.

Fallen In A Boobytrap

Empire; Band Of The Land


(Heat 3 @ The Shed)

The Heist, Hotel Zulu, The Pickpockets,
The Boobytraps & The Waits

Band of the land has again lived up to its name, bringing a further five outstanding bands under one roof for three hours of musical perfection that fell on waiting ears.

Having readily arrived early at The Shed once more, me and Nicola had the honour of standing like two sore thumbs in amongst the sea of band members that littered the floor.

Huddling up in small groups, nattering and drinking away the five bands segregated themselves from one another. Standing tightly together in their comfy surroundings, all five bands looked as if they were subconsciously preparing for war, a musical war to be precise.

Pickpockets hit the stage first, the young four piece band from Leicester kicked off the night with their bouncy and youthful style of music.

Leading from the front with Omar on guitar and vocals, Jon laying down the funky rifts, Glenn bringing in the base and the crash of cymbals comes from Dave drumming away at the back.

Due to a last minute drop out the Pickpockets had a mere four hours notice prior to the gig starting and still they left a memorable impression on me, a band with potential for the future.

The Heist is a newly formed band to Leicester’s music seen and one with a difference. I know very little about the group and I don’t believe they are even on MySpace yet, but boy you know when you see them perform.

Using long forgotten instruments such as a tambourine and a stylish hand drum give the Heist a distinctly different sound, but the real power of the group comes from their lead singer who has an amazing voice that just has to be heard to be appreciated!

Being one member short Hotel Zulu stepped out of their rock shoes and into a more acoustic set allowing Dominic’s vocals to truly shine through.

Hotel Zulu are a well gelled band that thrives off of each others energy and banter, which when brought together produces a vey enjoyable performance.

With and epic vocal guitar fill from Dominic and a Tenacious D Tribute cover that had the whole Shed singing along.

The Waits are a small three piece band from Coalville with a big addictive indie sound. From the start this band will have your ears attentively listening, with radio worthy music you just can’t help but be impressed by. I was thoroughly im

prested with ‘What Goes Around’ and ‘Boys And Girls’ two truly outstanding songs that still to this day have me singing in the most unusual of places, all in all a great band you definitely wouldn't regret seeing.

The Boobytraps had the honour of playing last and no sooner has they taken to the stage the floor was crowed

with booby shaking, bum wiggling booby fans both male and female, all screaming and wanting a booby party.

For arelatively new band The Boobytraps have a large, dedicated following and with songs like ‘My Town’ it’s easy to see why. For a funky upbeat indie band the Boobytraps look surprisingly calm and relaxed on stage, one of Leicester's great bands that are a joy to listen to.

Before the votes were counted Richard (the event organiser) asked me to come up on stage and explain what OSOM was all about. Having not touched a mike or even stood on a stage since my acting days many many moons ago, I was overjoyed at the opportunity and quickly became a complete mess and bag of energy and just didn’t know what the hell to do with myself, so true to form I just talked and talked and talked ha ha Think that’s the last time I'll be asked up on stage lol.

Right then, the results of the night:

Taking the glory home on the night and going through to the final was

The Boobytraps.

Taking second place and having a well deserved second chance to make the final was The Waits.

Thanks again for reading, all the best, enjoy and rock on!

Adam

OSOM

Social Music Networking

(All of the above pictures came from each individual band’s MySpace)

It Was All White On The Night

Silver Bullet Promotions

(At The Sun Bar)

Silver bullet promotions at the sun bar is where I ventured this week in search of my much needed musical medicine.

Looking at the music line up I found my self getting quit excited, four new bands and the opportunity to whiteness the sun bar in a different light.

Past experiences in the sun bar have been err ….. Shit, ill be honest, this would be mainly down to a minority of people that have a habit of wondering in looking for trouble.

But I have to say I have more confidence in the new owners and also I admire their move in to live entertainment, and more so that is sourced locally through will at silver bullet promotions.

as a bar its not band, plenty of space, a small stage buy the entrance, pool table at the back, the staff are very friendly and if you like eastenders you will get on well with the young lady behind the bar who seeks her daily fix of soaps operas on the large flat screen behind the bar.

With the first band on at 8pm we arrived for about 7:15pm expecting sit down with a drink and see Rainy Days, Great Imitation, Your False Calling and Dead Centre Fold but that wasn’t to be. Due to complications the new revised and last minuet line up was Tony Alles, Dead Centre Fold, Your False Calling, Ben Johnson and Dan White.

Tony Alles started the night off with a great acoustic blues set but disappeared shortly after.

The stage was then left free for the very political Dead Centre Fold and Your False Calling who are best described as a skar/punk bands.

Ben Johnson took to the stage to lay down a terrific acoustic performance, whit his distinctively different vocals, definitely impressed me.

Finally came Dan White’s amazingly funny and memorable performance, if you have never whiteness the comical magic Dan brings to the stage then your in for a treat. From start to finish you will be wriggling around your seat with laughter listening to his jolly comical, adult and occasionally explicit lyrics.

With inspiration coming from his own experiences and strange thoughts, Dan has everything to become one of the great musical comedians right down to the crazy skull like face paint across half of his face and only 21 years of age.

Seeing its believing with Dan, and you just have to love him one you have seen him.

(Phototo above from Arts in Leicester)

Venues

Flowing up on last weeks contacted with ‘The Tavern’ pub on Narborough Road in Leicester, Debra the new owner sound to be genuinely interested in regular live music acts performing in the venue. Debra explained to me that she was looking for acoustic sets and small music performances but nothing to heavy, I am still to visit the venue, have a look around and have a deeper decision whit Debra about her aims and motivations.

Right well that’s all for now but next weeks blog will be a big one as there are many things going on.

Thanks again for reading, all the best and rock on!

Adam

OSOM

Social Music Networking