WAM Warrington Music presents Ask Elliot
WAM Warrington Music presents Ask Elliot and Special GUESTS, The A. V Club, Muddy Elephant, and Tom Brooks @ FC2 Warrington, 22 November 2021.
REVIEW BY JANET HARDING
It’s a great lineup tonight, I’ve seen all 4 perform before and all 4 are a real must-see! This is gonna be a good one. In my home town of Warrington tonight, which sits between Liverpool and Manchester, on the banks of the River Mersey, founded in Roman times it has a vast and rich history, as well as a wealth of musical talent. Well known for its wire making – the local and famous Warrington Wolves rugby league team are also known as “the Wire” due to this. Oliver Cromwell’s troops rested in the town during the English Civil War, and it’s said that Cromwell himself stayed here, at Church Street, in a building that’s still standing today. Holes in the walls of the nearby parish church are supposedly from cannon shots fired during this war. During the second world war, RAF Burtonwood in Warrington served as the largest US airbase outside the United States at that time, and Warrington also had a large ordnance factory at Risley, which stayed concealed throughout the war. It was also a huge part of the industrial revolution, and one of the first towns to have a public library and museum.
Being the largest town within Cheshire, Warrington has a pretty decent town centre: there are several areas of bars, pubs, restaurants and clubs within easy reach. Tonight’s venue FC2 (Friars Court 2) is a new venue and brings well needed live and original music to the town. Being part of Friars Court, a well established pub/club and the long-standing home of indie and alternative music in Warrington, it’s fit in perfectly and is in the adjacent building with access into each venue inside. Some great names have played at Friars Court, including the Lottery Winners, the K’s and Catfish and the Bottlemen. It’s also the hang-out for local creatives and musicians as well as a cool bar for everyone. FC2, opening in July of this year after a huge refurbishment, is now the venue of choice in the town for smaller, live music events. Some big names are lined up…Winnachi and Standinman being just 2 upcoming sold out events….but FC2, having already hosted the official Star Sailor after party and the Warrington leg of The Lathums’ Number 1 Album Tour, are already off to an impressive start. I’ve been a fair few times already, and I like it a lot. There’s a very cool, fresh, streamlined and stylish feel to this 260 capacity venue; it’s big enough for that busy ‘gig feel’ but still small enough to feel like an intimate, up close experience too. In the heart of the town centre, it’s easy to get to and is reasonably priced too, tonight’s event costing only 6 pounds on the door! It’s well worth a visit and the bands performing are always varied, original and of a very high standard…including tonight’s line up which is stellar.
First support-Tom Brooks
Warrington based performer Tom (Brooks) is also one half of the frontmen of the Nineties band, but tonight he s playing a solo electric acoustic set, and it’s a great set too. With his electric guitar – it’s a real stripped back, raw indie delight. Tom (Brooks) is very watchable and you can see he puts his heart and soul into this performance. A particular song that’s very moving and Tom says is close to his heart is “Chasing” – about a close friend of Tom’s who sadly passed away. Originally written in 2016, the friend, who had been in bands with Tom for 4 years, loved this song, so just before lockdown Tom rewrote the song, influenced more by his friend’s passing, and now always ends his set on this particular song as a tribute. It’s quite some song and goes down very well tonight.
A very controlled set, all original songs, performed exceptionally. Tom’s vocals are strong, loud and powerful, and the guitar lines are memorable and work well with his britpop style vocals. Brilliant set which has set the tone perfectly!
Setlist
Falling. Love. Morning Light. Pray to God. Motion. Chasing
Second support – Muddy Elephant
Sam Passey – vocals/guitar
Matt Webster – base/backing vocals
Carlos Jones – lead guitar
Andy Happer – drums/backing vocals
Second support is provided by 4 piece indie/glam/art pop band, Muddy Elephant. I’m a huge fan of these guys, so I’ve been waiting for this one! There’s already a huge crowd and a great vibe throughout tonight. The set starts with pounding drum beats, banging baselines and a thumping feel! These guys bring a real indie glam, retro feel, reminiscent of early 90’s indie but also a David Bowie-Esque feel too, but still keep their sound up to the minute and relevant. Very sleek and effortless seeming, they have immense stage presence…oozing cool. It’s a high energy performance; people are dancing and clapping already. Picking up the pace with our first full band performance tonight, the crowd have moved forward and it’s getting lively. Sam (Passey) has a smooth, deep, swaggering tone to his voice, almost echoing, and is very atmospheric. It’s clear Muddy Elephant have quite some following, which is well deserved; it’s bouncing in here now and all 4 members are smiling throughout the performance. Their latest release ‘When in Rome’ is a real crowd pleaser, it’s based around the saying “when in Rome do as the Romans do”. Sam explains: it’s basically saying have fun, do what you want.”It’s about falling in love and running away on holiday no matter the consequences, and for that time just enjoying life”. It’s a real ‘feel-good song, very upbeat and catchy, with an almost tropical feel, which fits in with the theme. We’re immediately drawn to thinking of beaches and cocktails! The video is set on a beach which really fits perfectly with the tone of the song. Encouraged by the band, the crowd are bouncing, it’s such a good atmosphere in here!
Finishing on what is the Muddy Elephant anthem of choice, ‘Helter Skelter, the crowd surge forward, led by Sam in a plea to create the band’s first ever mosh pit: people are pogoing and dancing….we have mosh pit effect. FC2 gave Muddy Elephant their first mosh pit !! I have no doubt whatsoever this is to be the first of a great many. This band are well worth watching: uber stylish and cool with brilliant material, a fascinating performance, very 90’s reminiscent but with something new and exciting, and very special indeed.
Setlist
Killer Bee. Cucumbers. Alice. When In Rome. Song 2. Tusk. Helter Skelter
3rd support – The A.V. Club (audiovisual)
Joe Banks – vocals/guitar
Oli Thomas – drums
Dan Turton – bass
Freya Rose Hann – vocals/guitar/keys
Warrington based, 4 piece, indie electro band, the A.V. Club are always on top form. Opening with a real surge of energy, the already well established, party vibe is carried over into this next performance. This band bring a real feeling of nostalgia, taking us back, almost, to some 80’s electro underground party, where E.T meets the Goonies, and we’re hooked! The electro is easy to hear – synths, keys and backing track sit superbly with shimmering guitar lines which bind together perfectly with Joe’s light and breezy vocal sound, and Freya’s melodic singing. It’s fizzing, effervescent, catchy, sing-along, poptastic indie tunes. On stage, the guys give off a real feeling of fun, laid back enjoyment of their craft, with a huge amount of energy injected on top. The feels are geeky but cool, it captures a real era but with their own unique twists added for very good measure. The crowd are singing along and dancing, it’s a real high vibrational set, this venue is alive! Oli smashes his drums with such vigour, he loses a drumstick first song…and this momentum happily carries on throughout. The latest release from the A.V Cub is ‘I think I’m fallin’. This track is all about anxieties in daily life, and I personally feel this resonates, particularly amidst the pandemic and post lockdown world we now find ourselves in. The band explain: “It’s about the anxieties of life, about being worried to leave the house, insomnia and all the things many of us face on a daily basis, however, there is the one person that helps you get through it all.” A theme we can all relate to in some part, and one hell of a song too! Although it’s real 80’s sounding and is electro in genre, it’s such an original song and the A.V. Club have such originality. They have huge individuality and a great identity. It’s a soft synth, fading, with crunching guitar lines and a really melodic sound. A fun band to watch with feel good and nostalgia thrown into the mix, hi-fi, stick in your head tunes. It feels like being wrapped in a comforting blanket of familiarity, which takes us right back to some early to mid 80s geeky American kids’ adventure film soundtrack, but with very current themes and sounds. Do stranger things need a sound track?….it’s pure brilliance…the A.V. Club doesn’t just deliver music, they bring an entire feeling or essence to what they do, and it’s this that makes them so different and special – they’ve taken a concept and explored every angle and avenue of it. Well and truly smashed this set as ever. Loved it guys…
Setlist
Movie screens. How I feel. More than ordinary. Hold. I think I’m fallin’. Better days
Headliner- Ask Elliot
Ream Radomes – vocals/guitar
Tom Houghton – lead guitar
Archie Rimmer –bass
Liam Shields – drums
Our final act and headliners tonight are Liverpool based, 4 piece indie pop band Ask Elliot. These guys have a pretty high profile, it’s their first time playing Warrington, but having performed in such venues as the O2 Academy Liverpool and the M & S Bank Arena as support, we’re happy to welcome them here! Gaining more than 300k streams on Spotify, and having seen them previously myself, I too can vouch that this band are well worth checking out, adding yet again to the feel good factor. Tonight’s energy continues to be of the highest frequency and real feel good. This venue lends itself perfectly to this atmosphere that all 4 acts tonight have created between them. The guys begin to play and the ripples of indie pop joy spread out among us. You can easily see that this band just love to perform: smiles from all 4 members throughout the set, happily dancing away and giving their all to every tune. It’s a very strong indie pop sound, but it feels like it’s evolving somehow too, other influences are identifiable, and the fusion really works. It’s light, high energy, really listenable stuff – soda ice cream float, sugary sweet pop sounds, flavoured with exquisite jangling guitar lines. Ream’s (Radome’s) voice is mellow, soft, lilting and on point. Again tonight, Ask Elliot demonstrate a very tight and well thought out and rehearsed performance. “Flowers of White”, Ream tells me, “is a song about trying to better yourself for another person, even though they aren’t reciprocating. It expresses a feeling of doubt within a relationship, the concept of trying to fix and hold onto something you know you should really let go of.” There’s a real identity that comes solely from the music this band make and play. No gimmicks (not that gimmicks necessarily are a bad thing), they just play, and play bloody well!
The party vibe continues, we’ve even had a break dancing on the floor directly in front of the stage! The crowd tonight have truly embraced every performance, and it’s at another level now during this headline performance. Squeezing so much content into this set, it’s been a sweet, poptastic, joy-infusing and very addictive musical experience, the vibes this band have created being absorbed into the crowd and making this an inspiring and feel good night to remember. A brilliant new venue, a great show – as can be expected from WAM Live/WAM Music – and 4 outstanding performances by exceptional and local talent !!
Setlist
Flowers of white. Take it back. She. Lost. Getaway. 2032. Straight Edge. Settle down. Olivia. By your side.