Friday, 24 March 2017

A View From The Back Of The Room: The Record Company (Live Review By Paul)

The Record Company, The Fleece Bristol

Those with good memories will recall that Los Angeles based The Record Company supported Blackberry Smoke on their 2015 UK tour. If your memory is even better, you'll remember that we were blown away by their set at the London Forum where they gave the headliners a real run for their money in front of a packed house.

The band have finally returned to UK shores with a brave headline tour taking in one of my favourite venues, The Fleece in Bristol. On a night fraught with traffic problems thanks to the nighttime closure of the M32 and M4, the band helped ease the trauma with a 70 minute set which once again oozed quality.

A sparse crowd made up largely of students there to see the indie tinged support band were treated to an energetic performance by Chris Vos, Alex Stiff and Marc Cazoria. The band played a wide selection of tracks from their debut release Give It Back To You, switching between country, bluesgrass, rock and the blues with ease. Stiff's Fender bass is the platform for the band, with the opening song so solid in the rhythm section that Vos was allowed to leave the guitar in the rack. In London, Cazoria spent more time climbing the front of the drum kit and whilst he was a little calmer in approach he still managed to break off his foot pedal in the penultimate song. 

This didn't cause Vos and Stiff any problems as they improvised with ease until he had repaired the damage. Vos is a exceptional guitarist, whether bluesing it up during their homage to John Lee Hooker or when ripping the crap out of the lap steel. Those in the audience who were intent on listening to the music gave the band a deserved ovation. This band deserved a far bigger audience and one that paid full attention. Too many pissed students talking loudly throughout the set irritated immensely. However, The Record Company were superb and next time they are in town you owe it to yourself to check them out. 9/10

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