Devil's Gate Music
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The first thing that strikes you about Aaron Buchanan and The Cult Classics is the way in which each band member has an onstage personality. Guitarist Tom McCarthy, is resplendent in a white suit and waistcoat. Across the stage, Laurie Buchanan hidden under her trademark hat. Bassist Mart Trail is full of energy, constantly posing and moving, and behind them, drummer Paul White is the tattooed, hair flailing whirlwind of energy. Then, fronting them all in his trademark white shirt and braces, is the whipcord slim figure of the man himself. In terms of stage presence, few even come close. Balancing a cheeky relationship with the audience with awesome vocal prowess, the phrase “star quality” is totally apt.
The set is a cracker too. We get more of the songs from his past in Heaven’s Basement than usually feature in a support set, such as “Fire Fire”, “I Am Electric”, “Welcome Home”, and “Heartbreaking Son Of A Bitch”, and the reaction to them is suitably energetic.The new material more than holds it’s own though. “Left Me For Dead” opens, and is followed not long after by “The Devil That Needs You”. Three of the new songs really stand out and showcase why this band should go on to mega-stardom.
“All The Things You’ve Said And Done” is everything I want to listen to. Vocals that send a shiver down your spine, a chorus that bounces around your head long after the lights come up, and solos that scream to your inner air guitarist. “The Man With Stars On His Knees” slows things right down, and whenever I listen to it, I hear a Freddie Mercury quality to Aaron’s voice in the intro (to hear more of that analogy YouTube his version of “Love Of My Life” – just sublime) before the song builds and becomes a monster. Finally, “Dancin’ Down Below”, with it’s explosive chorus and harmonic hooks, is an absolute belter of a piece of song writing. A rather loud member of the audience waylaid me before the gig and suggested that tonight could be one of those “I was there” memories. Seeing a band that go on to become huge, in a tiny, accessible venue. He wasn’t far wrong. Time will tell. Photos and review: Rob Wilkins [gallery type='flickr' user_id='132278830@N06' view='photosets' photoset_id='72157695850439684' columns='3' tag_mode='any' sort='date-posted-desc' per_page='51' layout='square' caption='title' thumb_size='s' main_size='z' ]]]>
