I hadn’t originally intended to write a review of this gig, having already reviewed two earlier gigs on this tour. But in the end the gig was such a blinder I just couldn’t let it go without mentioning it.
Support was Matt Stevens, the “one man wall of sound”. I’ve known him through Twitter (he’s a friend of former Panic Room bassist Alun Vaughan) and seen him before, supporting the John Lees Barclay James Harvest last November. He plays looped guitar, playing acoustic guitar through loops to build up a bigger sound; he’ll typically play a chord progression, loop it, then solo over the top. It’s remarkably effective, and far more interesting as a support than the often mediocre singer-songwriters who are all-too-common as supports for gigs at this sort of level.
Panic Room were good at York, but tonight they were just at another level, and the band simply blew the roof off. Everything I’ve said about their gigs two weeks ago is still true, only more so. Without a strict curfew there was time for a couple of extra songs, so we got to hear the bonkers “I Am A Cat”, and “Go!”, neither of which were in the set for earlier gigs. The two new songs, “Song for Tomorrow” and “Promises” are already starting to lodge themselves in the brain, and the former has all the makings of a Panic Room classic.
Good crowd too; the place was at least three-quarters full, and everyone was really enthusiastic for the music. None of the loud talkers or oblivious drunks who marred the last London gig at the O2 Academy 2. And, as Anne-Marie herself said from the stage, it’s great to be in a proper rock venue, not some place that turns into a nightclub seconds after the band finish.
Thanks Tim – great to see you man
I just posted about the gig as well:
http://mattstevensguitar.blogspot.com/2011/02/panic-room.html
It was a very fun night!
Although I was unable to get to this gig, I have seen Panic Room at The Peel on the previous two occasions. And I’ll definitely be there to see them at CRF. It’s good news that the band are already playing some new songs, and it will be even better if we get the 3rd album before the end of the year.
After that, it will be a good time for either a live album, or better still, a DVD. Three albums, Anne Marie’s Blood Red Sky, and a cover or two given the Panic Room treatment, there will easily be enough strong material to choose from. There already is. I know the band used to do a Zeppelin medly. I’ve never heard it, but I’ve probably missed the boat on this one.
Covers they’ve played over the years apart from that Zeppelin medley, “Banks of the Ohio” (also recorded by Olivia Newton-John), Massive Attack’s “Teardrop”, and perhaps most bizarrely of all, Metallica’s “Enter Sandman”.
Not sure if there are any others I’ve missed.