The Alice Unsigned

Friday 20th February 2009

Its been some time since we have written one of these for the Alice, with other commitments taking priority its often hard to find the time to put a review together. However last Friday at The Alice was one of those nights we simply couldn't let go by without marking.

The reason behind this was the four superb acts we had on, and when I say superb I mean outstanding. Don't misunderstand, we always have top quality bands performing at The Alice however the four we saw tonight had that special quality seen often in one out of two or three but seldom found in four all on one bill!

Carl Jackson

To open the show this evening we had the inimitable Carl Jackson, its been quite a while since we have had the pleasure of a performance by Carl so we were looking forward to his return to the Alice. This guy is definately one of a kind, and when I say that I mean it in the best possible way. Carl writes songs that punch you in the face bringing reality and humour into each one and delivering them with power and meaning. As we remembered him from previous performances we realised that he has grown over the last few months and with his now more varied repertoire is far surpassing his previous brilliant shows.

Carl is an absolute delight to watch and by the end of his set he invariably has the audience eating from his hand, tonight was no exception - with cheers and calls for more he quite easily could have carried on all night without any complaints. Now back in Teesside Carl will be performing regularly in local venues and we strongly recommend checking him out if you get the chance. To find out more about where and when he is playing please check out his MySpace page.

Lorndogs

First time at the Alice for this Middlesbrough Indie band and were we in for a suprise. The Alice Unsigned is meant to be a platform for any local original band. We pride ourselves in giving everybody who cares to contact us a gig. Quite often we are pleasantly suprised by the standard of these virtually unknown bands but tonight we were stunned by the quality of the Lorndogs. Only the 8th gig these guys have played it begs the question ... why? They were absolutely outstanding, everything an indie band promises to be and then some. The Lorndogs have a solid set of original songs which are catchy, driving and dynamic. With all four members being self taught this band is the genuine article of home grown Teesside talent and one who will go far if they continue to perform the way they played at the Alice. If we don't see more of these guys over the coming months namely at MML and Stockton Fringe it will be a travesty as we feel they are one of the most promising new comers we have had the pleasure of hosting in a long time. Get yourself along to their MySpace page to see where they are playing and go to see them live we assure you you will not regret it. The tracks they have up do not do justice to this fantastic band and hopefully we will see them recording professionally in the near future. We have already booked these guys again and we feel they are definately ones to watch in 2009.

Modern Works

Modern Works are a four piece classic mod/pop band hailing from Middlesbrough, and a band we have had the pleasure of seeing play on many occasions, the most recent being only last night at The Penny Black in Stockton! You would think that having seen them play the previous evening we would not have been so enamoured at seeing them again so soon, however this is a band that you can listen to every night of the week. Modern Works have a quality with which they can slot easily into any band night promoting any genre. They have a genuine affection for the music they are playing and this comes over to the audience infecting them with the same enthusiasm. Their original material has hints of The Jam and The Small Faces all wrapped up with frontman Ben Fishers powerful, bluesy vocals and their own contemporary style. Even though the band has had a recent change of drummer - tonight his second gig with only one practise under his belt!- they played like they had been together years, which the other three members have been! Sam has fitted into the band seamlessly and they are now back in force and ready to spread the Modern Works word. They delivered a performance to the Alice that we have come to expect and given their fresh take on the mod sound, with the right promotion we feel this band can only go from strength to strength. Watch out for them they are well worth going to see live and to find out where you can see them check out thier MySpace page.

A Fable for the Curious

A three piece from the heart of Middlesbrough, A Fable for the Curious were the icing on the cake for one of the best nights we have seen at The Alice. Without doubt one of the finest of the Nu Metal bands in the local area if not the North East. Just back from an outing to The Cavern (Yes THE Cavern) in Liverpool AFFTC treat The Alice to a fantastic extended set of powerful, original material that had the venue rocking. An extremely entertaining act, these guys know what they are doing and love what they do. Professionals to the core, they played through an over enthusiastic stage invader commandeering the mic. Funny the first time it happened after another couple of attempts we needed to remove her however, this did not detract in any way from the performance we received from A Fable. In fact it endeared them to us more with the way in which they handled the incident. Over the last few months they have played many high profile gigs and look set to be one of the rising stars of 2009. Very enjoyable, very entertaining and well worth seeing live. They put everything they have into their act and leave you wanting more. You can find out more about A Fable for the Curious by visiting their MySpace page. We are looking forward to their next appearance at The Alice and have booked them to guest at our all day charity gig at The Empire on March 29th.

Review by Angie for North East Live   

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