REVIEW: JOHN BUTLER TRIO AT LUSTY GLAZE BEACH, NEWQUAY (10/07/11)
Imagine white sand, the evening sun bouncing off the ocean and and an incredibly talented band in your midst: this could be anywhere in the world, but this is proudly how our very own Lusty Glaze Beach in Newquay greeted Australian funk band John Butler Trio, making them feel right at home. This scene seems the perfect fit as the band play plenty of numbers from their album, Sunrise Over Sea, 2004, which hit number one in the album charts in Australia, as did their following studio albums, Grand National in 2007 and April Uprising in 2010. The eclectic trio brought us a melting pot of sounds; celebrating music from the soft, sobering sounds of the acoustic guitar, to the best funk noise of the noughties, finishing off with a rock number which left the crowd buzzing, wondering where they could have taken us next.
Supporting were Willie and the Bandits, playing slightly closer to their home turf in Plymouth, taking us on a 30 minute trip of down to earth riffs and tangible roots rock. This being a big night for our dreadlocked South Devon boys as they claim to be inspired directly by John Butler Trio themselves. The whimsical folk phenomenon, Passenger, mixed with his undeniably folk sound and profound lyrics, Passenger’s musings are also rather direct, making tongue in cheek statements such as “I hate shows like the X Factor murdering music” and “I hate it when the crowd comes to a gig and talks through every song” then treating the Newquay crowd to his sublime rendition of Paul Simon.
JBT tickled the crowd with a well thought out instrumental loiter of suspense, anticipation and raw build ups before exploding into funky riffs with an array of instruments from this band’s never ending character and talent. We saw John Butler go through an array of stringed instruments from his acoustic guitar, his beloved banjo (of which it turns out he has actually named his daughter after) and a 12 string guitar, even having a jam on some drums during an intensely percussion based instrumental led by the flamboyant drummer , Nicky Bomba. The charismatic drummer is a far throw away from the usual shy, hidden character these musicians get lumped in with, accused of hiding behind the rest of the band. The sharp witted and alluring Bomba even held out his own percussion instrumental with an array of sounds including swing, psychedelic funk and rock.
JBT have taken Australia by sand storm and haven’t ventured into the UK as much as of yet. But beware Brits, this band are threatening to take over, one sunrise at a time.
Words and photo: Michaela Howe
