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Exeter Cavern - 7/4/04

A night of loud and quiet

First on was Lloyd Williams with a solo acoustic set, if nothing else he was setting us up for symmetry tonight. One of the first things he did was to apologise for his “bluesyness” tonight, due to him losing his voice on and off during the tour. In my opinion though this is what really set him apart from many similar artists, there was an edge to his voice which made him sound a bit like Chino Moreno doing emo. The music itself was of a suitably and consistently good standard to match his voice and it was an impressive opening set. At times it sounded a bit pop ballady (to be fair though it’s hard to do much else on an acoustic) and at times it just sounded like he had a sore throat (to be fair, he actually did) but overall it was a good way to start the gig.
7 out of 10



Next was Ampersand. They are At The Drive-In/Mars Volta fans and it shows. There’s nothing wrong with this, if you’re going to emulate something it might as well be something good, but the point with these bands is that without Cedric Bixlar and Omar Rodriguez it doesn’t quite work. That’s not to say that Ampersand, or for that matter Sparta, are bad. They’re not. They’re good. But they lack that certain something that the brilliant individual skill supplied by Rodriguez and Bixlar adds to take it from good to stunning. The musicianship on show was more than good enough to impress though with some amazing keyboards and drumming in addition to the driving bass and the quite enchanting, cathartic guitar creating a very full and exciting sound, the vocals were slightly lacking in comparison and this probably explains why their final, instrumental track was by far the standout moment of the set. Ones to watch in my opinion.
8 out of 10



Acid-funk-jazz-rap fusion. Fucking brilliant. Why hasn’t it been done before? I’d seen Mad Library before so knew they were capable of making some very fun, funky and danceable music. Several very talented musicians getting together and making music that they quite obviously enjoy is always a good thing, when the audience enjoys it just as much you know it’s something special. The unknown quantity tonight was the addition of a vocalist in the form of Don Coyote. As well as rapping incredibly well I was almost surprised when he started singing with an amazing voice, he certainly added a very entertaining extra element to the already great Mad Library experience. Genuinely fantastic. If this collaboration doesn’t become a permanent, or at least regular, feature it would be a crime against music.
10 out of 10



I’ve never been a fan of the Worry Dolls, ever since I heard one of their songs. I was hoping tonight that they’d prove me wrong. Unfortunately all they achieved was in confirming my worst fears then multiplying them tenfold. They are an acoustic pop duo of competent guitarists with really impressive voices (in the classically trained singer sense). I’m sure if they were to apply for Fame Academy they would do very well. Herein lies the problem. They are incredibly dull at the best of times, sickeningly cheesy at worst. Horrible pop balladry which, to my ears at least, has nothing going in its favour. Maybe it’s just my tastes in music. Not even the addition of a rather nice sounding twelve string guitar could save it. If you want something nice, quiet and inoffensive to play at a nice, quiet, inoffensive dinner party (the kind where a large array of cheeses and crackers are offered after the meal) then buy a Corrs CD. If you can’t afford that then you’ve got the Worry Dolls as the next best thing. I really do want to like all the music I hear and give it as good a score as I can but the very fact that when they hit a high note during one song I burst out laughing in disbelief means they get…
3 out of 10

Thankfully Mr Grech was here to save the day. The whole point in Martin Grech acoustic is to showcase his voice. The voice. As such a few of the songs lacked the kick and bite they have with a full band, where every song is turned into a full on dramatic, metallic monster, which was a shame in some ways but I guess that’s why he does both acoustic and electric shows. It’s very hard to complain about this though when the thing being showcased is as wondrous and beautiful as his voice. It’s the kind of voice that makes you sigh heavily in delight for no apparent reason. The kind of voice that makes you close your eyes and just forget everything else which is going on around you. The kind of voice that bypasses you ears and goes straight to your nerve endings making every inch of you tingle like an electric shock has just coursed through your body. It’s quite good you know. The best moments of the set were the songs that really showed this off like Push, Penicillin and Notorious, songs far more suited to acoustic performance due to the fact that a full band can occasionally drown out the vocals. Here they were in their full, unadulterated beauty. The music it self is haunting and atmospheric sounding and would sound equally good played on a solo acoustic guitar, by a full band or by a symphony orchestra. Which says a lot for the standard of the song writing involved. If you haven’t seen Martin Grech yet then you must, because he’s not going to be playing little places like the Cavern for long. He’s already supported Muse at huge arenas and soon he will be headlining. For hell’s sake, when both Kerrang! And the Sunday Times both agree he’s good you know it must be special.