Gamlingay Records

Gamlingay Records held another acoustic night at the Crown and Cushion in Great Gransden last night. A whole host of people played in so many styles that we had lost count of them all by the end of the evening . . . or maybe that was the excellent beer!

• First up, a folk troupe including Andy from Sandy (http://www.the-musicroom-sandy.co.uk/)

• Matt White then played some classical guitar

• Jennifer Hunt played the Northumbrian Small Pipes

• Just William and the Outlaws played a short set. This band appeared at last year’s Gamlingay Records Battle of the Bands and were just as good in a (mostly) acoustic format

• Maggie, Eleanor and Jasmine Hunt played a Biffy Clyro song

• Simon Dean, back by popular request, showed off his fantastic guitar-playing and vocal talent and brought the house down with a bluesy version of Whole Lotta Rosie

• I played 2 of my own songs with Viola and Hardanger Fiddle accompaniment and 3 covers. I think I even got a clap at one point . . .

• Wayne Hipgrave and his band played all great sorts of things including a fantastic version of Whiskey in the Jar – his band having come on leaps and bounds since last outing. Wayne was his usual amazing self and was joined by Paul Currell for With or Without You

• Alexis Lloyd was suffering from a lost voice, but still got through 5 songs including 2 Adele tracks and a Pixie Lott number. Special thanks have to go to Kirsty and Michelle for traveling for an hour and half to witness the show.

• Graham and Nick played, Nick having performed at the last Crown and Cushion night

• Paul Currell played, and finally Will Day closed the evening with covers and originals.

However for the last three I was driving madly around Cambridgeshire looking for two lost grandparents, so I couldn’t tell you want they played . . .. Can anyone tell us? Anyway a great night was had by all to a packed pub

Same again please on May 4th . . .

Oh, and I don’t really know what was going on here…

This year’s winners of the Battle are. . . .

I’ll tell you in a minute.

Thanks to everyone who took part in the two heats and the final. Three awesome gigs with some really good sets in lots of different styles form the bands that took part.

The final was a great gig with 6 bands playing a 25 minute set each, and judges ranking the bands based on musicality, originality, image, marketabilty, stage presence and audience reaction. . .  and of course, x-factor

In the end, out of 350 possble points only 10 points separated the top 3 bands, with 1 point separating 1st and 2nd.

3rd place went to Neon Index

2nd place, for the second year running, went to Get Set

but this year’s winners were

A Thousand Sins

Congratulatons all, and here’s looking forward to next year’s 5th anniversary Battle. . .

The line-up is complete.

On Saturday 20th November, 6 amazing bands will go head-to-head in the 4th annual Gamlingay Records Battle of the Bands competition Grand Final at the Social Club, Waresley Rd, Gamlingay.

From 7:15 each band will have up to 25 minutes to electify an adoring audience and impress the judges with their talent. . .

The bands who are up for the challenge are (in no particular order)

1. Get Set
2. A Thousand Sins
3. Neon Index
4. Noize
5. Just William and the Outlaws
6. Lemon Escapades

By the end of the evening we will know who has slaughtered their enemies to become this years masterss of the Battlefield. . .

Come along and be part of history

Doors open at 7:00. Entrance fee £5

This years Battle was making us all wondering what it was going to go like due to the change of venue. Over the past 3 years the competition has been held at The Community Centre as a one day event. This year the event was hosted by Gamlingay Social club, which although a smaller venue, I thought did the trick! As it was smaller though the decision was made to hold heats and then a final over a few weeks. Heat 1 went well. Everyone pulled together to set up the sound and lighting and it didn’t take long to have everything in place. 5 bands turned up eager to entertain. The first band came on and after being told that this was there first gig in front of anyone, I thought they played very well. Marks were given for different categories, which I will not divulge now as it wouldn’t be fair to bands in the next heat. I enjoyed the tunes they played although I felt that they weren’t quite sure what style of music they were slotting into. Not that I am saying they have to have one, but for marketing purposes it usually helps. The second band were supposed to be a 3 piece but the drummer could not make it. Knowing this in advance the guitarist apparently recorded himself and played drums on the night with his recording playing along with the bass player that also attended. It took me a while to get my head around this one as I felt that the band should all have been there. They did, I believe, loose points for this although they made up for it with their sound and the fact they tried to get the crowd involved. The third band were nothing original but they all played well. The emotion coming from the guitarist came over now and again which I think helped them. The words ‘mad drummer’ spring into mind. The fourth band played a good line up with some covers that are rarely heard. It was a shame the singer did not realise that his guitar was out of tune though as this did mean that they lost points. After conferring with the other judges it showed that they all felt the same. The final band were a thrash band that put up props and stuck skulls on the heads of their guitars. I watched in amazement as there was synchronized head banging and the bassist putting himself in among the crowd. They did get the crowd going and there was even a small mosh pit at one point. I have to say that I really can’t stand the style of singing but putting personal preference aside I felt a fab job was done all round. There was fabulous whammy bar action going on and the deep guitar sound that can only be compared alongside Metallica. Stage presence was immense and the band were well tight with beginnings and endings. In my mind this band were definately through to the final. Well done to all that took part, commiserations to those that just missed out and congratulations to those that will be back on 20th.