Pavilions | Live at the Krazyhouse | 19/0315

 

For those of you who haven’t heard of Pavilions, stay tuned! Im about to tell you what you’ve been missing!

Pavilions are a 5 piece band based in Liverpool.  Terence Roberts takes centre stage with his impressive vocal ranges and energetic stage dives. Ryan cooper and Alex Headen lead the musical attack with a duel guitar onslaught, with their stage presence being equally as explosive (as I quickly discovered after having Ryan’s headstock miss my head by about an inch, halfway into the first song). Alex Male and Tel Earthey bring up the rear with an impressively precise and strong Bass/Drum combo.

After 3 impressive performances from Breathe in the Silence, Adelphia and Dirt, it was time for Pavilions to hit the stage. Opening the show with their song M.D.R, they quickly demonstrated their ever growing stage presence, with Terence making several impressively high jumps off the stage into the crowd as they powered into their next song, Moron Mountain. Both Alex and Ryan followed suit with a aggressive combination of guitar spins and kicks which came uncomfortably close to my head several times, but being an experienced music photographer, you have to be willing to take the risk to get the killer shots!

Following their song Tidal and after a short interlude, Pavilions launched into their song The Wave followed by ASIT, which Terence one again launched himself into the crowd, showing off his vocal abilities and interacting with the crowd. After some banter between the guys in the band and the crowd, pavilions announced a new song they wished to perform which they where calling ‘Prince’. The song was melodically powerful and demonstrated the individual talents of each member of the band. after a very positive reaction from the crowd, Pavilions closed their set with their hit song Science and Gods which naturally got everyone up and moving.

In my opinion, Pavilions are a band that are worth keeping a very close eye on. they possess great musical chemistry and deliver quality performances that get better and better with each show. I sense great things in their future and I expect to see them on major festival bills in the near future.

To see more photos of Pavilions and many other amazing artists, please visit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/lewisbarkerphotography/

Lewis

 

The Basement Effect @ District, Threshold Festival Liverpool – Gallery

               

The Basement Effect
@ The Picket
Threshold Festival 2015
Liverpool

see the full photo set on Flickr

Rob Weir

images Copyright © Robert Weir 2015

The Basement Effect @ District, Threshold Festival Liverpool

29 March, 2015

so, here I am again in Liverpool, with all of the ingredients there for all the young dudes of The Basement Effect, playing the Threshold Festival of Music & Arts 2015 @ District, with their upbeat sound & vibrant energy: this band simply exude the spontaneity that comes from a self-confident musical knowledge and bags full of potential, to rock the house

the set kicked off with the crowd favourite ‘Just Like You‘, The Effect’s first video single, a fast paced guitar driven rock number, played with aplomb.  This was followed by their latest track ‘Call it a Day‘, another rock number with a deeper, darker altogether more raucous feel, and a brilliant guitar solo which reminded me somewhat of The Hoodoo Gurus or maybe even The Only Ones

‘Ain’t it Fun‘ followed on, once more calling on the band’s rock credentials: a raw sound, Harry on drums leading the way & Freddy again with a guitar solo reminiscent of Zeppelin with it’s top end notes. Next came ‘Don’t Stop Running‘, a somehow gentler track, more rhythmic, more poppy so to speak, combining the 4 band members vocal harmonies with a great hook into the chorus and again featuring a ripping guitar solo, a real feature of the evening

track 5 saw The Effect reveling cheekily in a cover of Wheatus‘ ‘Teenage Dirtbag‘, and the set was brought to a close with ‘Call Me Home‘, which opened with a Guns & Roses-like riff, before breaking into the main track

despite all of these comparisons with other bands, The Basement Effect remain a highly original line-up, it’s hard to place exactly where they stand in terms of genre, but it is safe to say that they quite certainly have their own sound

for a band of such tender years, The Basement Effect write & perform their songs with maturity & panache. Their combination of rock, with some pop & a bit of grunge & punk thrown in for good measure, underlain by instrumental solos & vocal harmonies, as well as inspired use of cowbells on ‘Dirtbag‘ by bassist Ben, bodes well for the future

the band have got themselves into Liverpool Rocks! The Final on the 25 April, which will be well worth going along to. The semis saw The Effected, their following, show up in droves, 175 tickets sold according to manager Eric

one to watch that’s for sure

see the full photo set on Flickr

The Basement Effect’s Youtube Channel

Rob Weir

words & images Copyright © Robert Weir 2015

The Basement Effect @ the EV Arts Centre, Liverpool

20 September 2014

Harry Maitland & Freddie Johnson

it is a great thing that young bands are now being given an opportunity to play live in an establishing venue in a major city centre such as Liverpool. This is something that I never experienced in my youth. We had to play dives or at parties – we never advanced beyond a stage of self-indulgence. So it goes…

The Basement Effect, I first encountered in their previous incarnation as GUMP whilst they were busking in Liverpool, nonchalantly busking I might add, in front of a couple of hundred shoppers. I was pissing about looking for something to photograph

I’m not sure how far I that have come in 6 months as a digital photographer, but The Basement Effect have progressed enormously since that day this April. Their exponential improvement is a revelation. It makes me strive to catch up both in terms of their unadulterated musical precision &, no less, their simple joy in making & playing music

Sam Jones

Eric, their manager, whom I sent a couple of my shots to of their busking endeavours, kindly invited me to EVAC to take some images of the band. Now, I haven’t worked a gig for nearly 6 years, and last time that I did it was an analogue affair. So this was a shot in the dark for me

The band came on 2nd in the line up of 4 bands. To be blunt, their name didn’t even appear on the (EVAC) website or the tickets, as they were a last minute addition of sorts. But, and of course, & this is doubtless bias on my part: they were good

The Effected

as the Effected, their now cult following, awaited in trepidation, they came onto the stage. Their followers burst into appreciation as the first bars rang out

not only were The Basement Effect good, they were tight. They were together. They worked as an integral unit, 4 parts making a greater whole. The band somehow had a bond: an awareness of each other’s strengths that precluded a truly banging set. Bassist Ben & drummer Harry, the 2 holders of musical positions which are often marginalised, were given free leeway by Freddie the guitarist & Sam the lead singer & guitarist. Leeway & space, by the way, that is unusual even in a mature lineup. This freedom fed back into the overall sound. Freddie & Sam cross riffed marvelously to great effect which allowed an overall electric crescendo which made me smile

Ben Truman

a joy to behold & all with a massive smile & a joy, as I say, as they confidently played the audience to maximun effect

okay enough polemic & bullshit:

The Basement Effect rocked. I don’t know a better way to put it than that. The confidence of intelligent musicians way beyond their nascent years was on show

in fact, the last gig that I saw in an actual basement was The Hold Steady at Manchester Uni

I’ll tell you something

The Basement Effect held steady

certainly one to watch

see the full photo set on Flickr

Rob Weir

words & images Copyright © Robert Weir 2014