The Lion roared

— Covers bands will always be judged on the quality of their renditions. Fortunately these are sometimes good.”

Cadillac Jukebox @ The Lion, Castleford

The problem with being a covers band is that your audience tends to judge you on the quality of your renditions rather than the quality of your musicianship.

Cadillac Jukebox singer Ian McMullen acknowledges this, but for him the enjoyment comes from being able to play a wide, often surprisingly eclectic repertoire. “I don’t even like playing gigs,” he claims, “I do them for the other guys.”

Cadillac Jukebox at the Lion, CastlefordCadillac Jukebox at the Lion, CastlefordCadillac Jukebox at the Lion, CastlefordCadillac Jukebox at the Lion, Castleford

Despite only playing together since March, the band has developed a distinctive sound, making their renditions personal and occasionally peculiar. McMullen’s sharp, high voice is backed by restrained guitars and fizzy keyboards, with time kept by a remarkably florid display of drumming the likes of which the pub circuit is unlikely to see elsewhere.

The music is drawn from styles as diverse as mod, disco, rock and soul. Such a mixed repertoire means taking the odd risk and not every track worked on the night. So whilst the band never seemed completely at ease with Noughties numbers, the barnstorming turns of Town Called Malice, Foxy Lady, Superstition and Land Of 1000 Dances were terrific highlights.

Comments

One response so far to The Lion roared

  1. Gravatar Cadillac Jukebox » Blog Archive » Reviews says:
    August 7th, 2009 at 9:17

    [...] http://www.mikepadgett.com/reviews/concerts/the-lion-roared/  [...]

Why not give me your comments?

You can use these tags in your comment:

<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>

(required)

See also:

Pink Martini

Pink Martini

Anything goes and anything but typical: the eclectic curiosity shop of Pink Martini in Paris.

  • Originally published: 5 Oct 2011 in Concerts

Sierra Maestra in concert

Grupo Sierra Maestra

Perhaps they were jetlagged: a muted performance from a highly praised Cuban outfit.

  • Originally published: 29 Jul 2007 in Concerts

Seun Kuti & Africa 80

Seun Kuti

After a deliciously long intro, the youngest Kuti races through a short but sweet set.

  • Originally published: 25 Oct 2008 in Concerts

Matthew Herbert Big Band

Matthew Herbert

A right Herbert: but sounds as original as these should be cherished.

  • Originally published: 3 Oct 2008 in Concerts

Rodrigo y Gabriela

Rodrigo y Gabriela

Two thrash metallers turned acoustic pickers who busked their way to stardom.

  • Originally published: 1 Dec 2008 in Concerts

Who you gonna call?

Photo

Hello you, I'm Mike Padgett. I'm not a Princeton curator, Knoxville mayoral candidate, Kentuckian pastor or Arizona journalist, I just share the same name. In fact, I am a consultant working in user experience and information design.

I also enjoy travel, concerts, films and walking.

I'm originally from Yorkshire, England but nowadays I live in Belgium. My current favourite Belgian beer is Black Albert.

Shameless self-promotion

Dopeology.org

Over a year in the making, Dopeology.org is my latest personal project: a topology of doping in thirty years of European pro road cycling.

I collected information from thousands of sources, then I modelled and published it via a lightweight user interface.

RSS feeds