Soyo live

6Sep

The Wet Nuns

Acoustic Conquistador

The Dead Delta

The Monicans

Cut Your Wings

A night of ‘dirty blues rock’, is what SOYO promised, and it definitely delivered it in spades. ‘The Wet Nuns’, tonight’s headliners went out with an almighty bang. Zipping along like a crazy British alternative to Oklahoma’s Blues-rock duo ‘The Black Keys’, their set captivated the large crowd.

Tonight started however, with the low-key but equally brilliant ‘Acoustic Conquistador’. His mesmeric classical playing was a sheer joy to listen to, no more so than on the self-penned ‘Black Coffee’. A stunning piece of music, with its dramatic but intricately placed ups and downs, the Sheffield guitar maestro had everyone’s attention. His startling mix of percussive playing and classical arpeggios joins the dots between ‘John Williams’ and ‘Rodrigo Y Gabriella’.

Next up were ‘The Dead Delta’, normally a full-fledged rock n roll outfit, but with a relatively stripped down acoustic set as a duo. While many music scene critics have been quick to compare them to ‘Black Rebel Motorcycle Club’, as an acoustic act, their ‘Rolling Stones’ influence shines through the strongest, with singer Joe Hudson perfecting that classic Mick Jagger snarl. The slide guitar was brilliantly incorporated throughout and gave the songs a fresh injection of good old-fashioned Americana. They impressed thoroughly and looked more than comfortable on stage.

Following we see The Monicans, the alternative rock trio originally all the way from Australia! They have a strong musical chemistry and their songs were played with an audaciously free and natural feel. Their ambitious arrangements and subtle mix of 60’s psychedelia, grunge and indie were in broad contrast to the other four acts but it works. Undoubtedly, the highlight of their set was ‘A Beacon’, a rousing space rock jam evoking the spirit of the ‘Pink Floyd’ classic ‘Breathe’.

‘Cut Your Wings’, the penultimate act, continued tonight’s so far excellent run of exciting new music. The first thing which struck me about this band was Rob Armin’s incredible vocals, undeniably raw and vicious, he commanded the stage during their extremely polished set. The drummer, Mark Flaherty was also on top form, utilising plenty of intuitive fills and played with a ferocious intensity. Most of the songs they performed during their set were fairly short but very concise and had buckets of energy and really did not put a foot wrong.

The SOYO Live crowd are now itching for tonight’s headliner The Wet Nuns. The duo tore the roof off and delivered an exhilarating performance, their outstanding showmanship was backed up with great playing and was met with a fantastic reaction from the packed room. Seismic riffs and show stopping drum displays, and it ended with The Wet Nuns singer and guitarist launching himself off the stage into the ever grateful audience, defiantly crowd surfing his way around the venue like some sort of guitar demon while still managing to crack out riff after riff. Outstanding!!

Words: Luke Winstanley