Fokara, The Oco ,Aiden McKenzie and The Experts - Lush (Paisley) 30th September 2005
Fokara, The Oco and Aiden McKenzie With the evening being run as part of the Subsahara Charity weekend, the sense of bonhomie and goodwill filled the venue and the four acts put on a good show.
Opening act The Oco got the evening off to a loud and frenetic start with their modern take on British soul and psychedilia. The lead guitar came across extremely well and mined the influences of the Stone Roses`s "Second Coming" era and Paul Weller`s take on Traffic et al. Perhaps it is an unfortunate comparison but the vocals brought to mind the long-forgotten Glasgow act, The Gyres, but we certainly won`t hold that against The Oco.
Before leaving the stage they also managed a cover of The Libertines "Don`t Look Back Into The Sun" which had the crowd at the bar jumping along early and highlighted a different influence that was coming through from the boys on stage.
Next up were Fokara, who managed to turn in a strong acoustic showing and kept the evenings momentum going. By covering the Rolling Stones within their first couple of songs you got a fair idea of the band`s influences but their set was far more than just a karaoke performance.
The vocals were strong and filled the room with the guitars creating a strong base for the set. Without seeing the full bands line-up, it would be hard to properly judge Fokara but there was some indication that the songs and their confidence in playing in front of people would translate to a full band performance. This band is definitely one to be marked down for another listen.
Eagle eyed Mag readers may remember the name Aiden MacKenzie from last week, when he performed at The T in The Ark event. Performing indoors, later in the evening and with a welcoming crowd, he excelled again. Although listed under his own name, credit must also go to Tom McFadyen whose lead guitar runs and picks added a lot of light and colour to Aiden`s performance.
Opener "Revolution" is an impassioned stomp along type of track, which builds to a strong finish. After this, the set slowed down with a couple of armchair tracks but the barfly`s ears picked up with opening bars of Nirvanas "About A Girl". Performed slower than the original, it was a good showcase for the individual talents of the boys onstage and was a welcome addition to the set.
Promising to return before the end of the year with a full band, Aiden McKenzie seems to be enjoying himself, and importantly, so are the majority of people who see him.
With a brief halt to promote some of the charitable aspects of the night, the promoters maintained the flow of the evening with a sense of humour and, it has to be said, it was a well put together event, particularly considering the free entry.
With a few people in the venue keen to extol the virtues of The Experts, the stakes had been raised for this young band. Thankfully their straightforward rock n roll was as good as promised from the very first song.
Showing a composure and song writing maturity, the set was underpinned by frenetic drumming which the guitarists and bassist took as their cue to stretch out. The opening song featured an impressive breakdown section and the vocals were excellent throughout.
There wasn`t any immediate influences coming across from The Experts but they sounded fresh and played a set which had the crowd bouncing along excitedly. Given that the band has had some success in `battle of the band` competitions this year, its clear that other people have realised there is something to The Experts that justifies their name. It may well be prudent to check them out if you can.
So, all in all, a really well-organised and well-meant night, with four hard working and enjoyable acts.
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