Set in the legendary Studio 2 in Parr Street, recording place of acts as diverse as The Spice Girls, Coldplay and Black Sabbath, the second fundraising gig from Nadal Promotions was already set to be a memorable evening.
This time featuring acoustic acts, the atmosphere was relaxed and people soon settled themselves in the soft sofas and as the lights were dimmed, the first act of the evening treated us to some fine melodies and harmonies.

T.J. and Murphy played a short set of 8 songs in all, including the beautiful ”Johanna Love”, ”Island Of The Saints”, ”Not Enough”, and ”Old Dog”, which featured some of the best acoustic guitar playing I’ve ever heard. The songs of T.J. & Murphy are so melodic and the lyrics so beautiful that their music can best be described as music for the soul. Several times I closed my eyes and was taken away to another place filled with these heavenly harmonies and touching lyrics.
Definitely an act worth seeing and their debut cd ”Weary Nights” is available for purchase from http://www.myspace.com/thomasjosephandmurphy

Next up was Black ’n’ Blues, a three-piece band doing covers of songs, ranging from ”Old Love” by Eric Clapton to ”Use Somebody” by The Kings Of Leon. They also did a fantastic version of The Beatles’ ”If I Needed Someone”, and the Carly Simon hit ”You’re So Vain”, with a spine tingling vocal from Karen Black. Other songs included ”Brown Eyed Girl”, ”I Heard It Through The Grapevine” and another heartbreakingly beautiful vocal from Karen on Snow Patrol’s ”Chasing Cars”. You can hear more of Karen’s beautiful voice on http://www.myspace.com/karenblack27

Next act featured a regular at Studio 2: Kaya Herstad. Although she sometimes plays with a small band, tonight it was just her and her acoustic guitar, playing songs from her debut album ”Balloon In A Cactus Field” which also was the track she opened with. This was followed by ”Demon Woman” and the superb track ”The Sick Champagne Waltz” about a break-up that came out of the blue. This track illustrates the massive song writing talent that Kaya possesses. She combines heartbreakingly honest lyrics with melodies that changes all the time; from soft, whispering beginnings, to raw, emotional endings.
She also sang a cover of The Animals’ ”Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood”, before finishing off her set with the lovely ”Life’s A Fickle Art”.
Kaya’s songs and gig listings can be found at www.myspace.com/kayaherstad

The only disappointing aspect of what was otherwise a very successful evening was the below par performance of the headline act. Ian McNabb stood on stage with the attitude of a rockstar, and then proceeded to give a routine of karaoke standard. His constant interrupting of his own songs in order to tell the audience to ”shut up” or go to another room was not only extremely irritating and a little embarrassing, but more over a reflection on his own inability to entertain a crowd.
He played a few of his own songs at first, ”When It All Comes Down” and ”Little Girl Lost” before the microphone failed and he had to go on without amplifiers. This, admittedly, he handled quite well, getting out amongst the audience, singing ”Stand By Me” and ”Purple Rain”, before returning to the stage, and the now fixed mic, to sing a few more of his songs, ”Hollow Horse” and ”Evangeline”. He finished off with a cover of the Bruce Springsteen song ”Hungary Heart” with special guest of the evening, Ian Prowse from the band Amsterdam. This helped a bit on the overall rating, but couldn’t outweigh his appalling treatment of the audience. A true musician can cast a spell over his or her audience by use of music and lyrics, and Ian McNabb failed to do so.
Latest news on Ian McNabbs forthcoming album and UK tour can be found at www.ianmcnabb.com.

The next charity gig is on October 25th at Zanzibar, and will be a mixed bag featuring The Mission Babies, Major Major, Untouched, Chemical Casino and Call Off The Search. Tickets are £5 on the door, 7.30-11.30pm.

written by Ida Ottesen

Since George Harrison held the world’s first charity concert in aid of the people of Bangladesh in 1971, it has become a guaranteed way to raise money, and what better way to do it?
Liverpool locals Alan Kenny and Nadeen Kemp have formed Nadal Promotions and have put together four different gigs for James Bulger House, the first one, a 60’s themed night, took place last Friday in the famous Cavern Club on Mathew Street.

First on stage was the all girl band, The Beatelles, who make sure you see The Beatles from a different point of view. Most of the songs are played as you would expect them to be, with the one notable difference of being sung by girls. It’s just a very different experience, but the harmonies are so good and spot on.
The Beatelles played songs spanning the whole of The Beatles career, from the early Twist And Shout and Can’t Buy Me Love, to the really rocking Everybody’s Got Something To Hide Except For Me And My Monkey (which, incidentally, is the longest title of a Beatles song) and a truly heartfelt version of Oh! Darling, that made me want to hear the original on repeat. This is what a good tribute band does: it reminds you how good the music is, and makes sure you go straight home and put it on.
How do The Beatelles remind you of the fabness of The Beatles? They change the songs around just enough to make them even more sexy, so the track Why Don’t We Do It In The Road? sounds as inviting as ever, and the aforementioned Oh! Darling is just mesmerising. Helter Skelter is another song the girls have changed and again the changes are brilliant; changes in the tempo of the song, highlighting the lyrics and just making listening to it a totally new experience.
After taking us through the highlights of The Beatles catalogue, the girls ended their set with A Hard Day’s Night, establishing just how good their harmonising and musicianship is. Have a listen on their myspace and see where they play next at www.myspace.com/femalebeatlestribute.

Then it was time for another tribute band; The Kinx. The band not only sounded like the Kinks, they actually looked like the guys as well, with all authentic 60’s gear and clothes (including very tight, stripy trousers).
As the singer said, the only difference between them and the real Kinks was that this band actually turned up.
Here, as with The Beatelles, the dedication to the music shines through and we were treated to such classics as All Day And All Of The Night, Waterloo Sunset, Sunny Afternoon and Dedicated Follower Of Fashion, and many more great songs from the Kinks career. Amazing to think that this band has only been together for two years, the performance was so believable and very enjoyable, you just couldn’t help smiling as the band went into a long jam over the track Lola. The band stayed in character for most of the set, providing a true 60’s feel to the night.
Go to their website to check them out on www.thekinx.com.

Next on was The Shakers, a really tight sounding band, who many have referred to as the ultimate Merseybeat sound experience, and with good reason!
The charisma and sheer joy of playing that oozes from this band is amazing and you just can’t help singing and clapping along. The set list was a mixed bag of all things 60’s: There were of course the obvious Beatles classics such as I Should Have Known Better, Please Please Me and Twist And Shout, but also songs that Lennon and McCartney gave away for other artists to record, amongst these A World Without Love (Peter and Gordon) and Bad To Me (Billy J Kramer). These songs were given new life and once again reminding us that Lennon and McCartney really knew what they were doing, even in those early days. The set also included It’s All Over Now by The Rolling Stones and Love Potion No 9 and Needles And Pins by The Searchers.
This band is a must see (or should that be hear?!) and if you’re based in Liverpool (or don’t mind a bit of driving) you’re in luck: The Shakers are on every Thursday at The Cavern Pub and every Sunday at The Cavern Club.

No 60’s night would be complete without an original band, and Nadal Promotions got The Undertakers to play a set that truly cemented the fact that the 60’s was a great decade for music. Although there have been some replacements during the years (the drummer in particular looked suspiciously young to have been playing with them in the 60’s) this couldn’t distract the audience’s attention from the fact that this band really knows how to rock. Sure, the voices sounded a bit strained at times, especially during Lucille and Long Tall Sally, but that was really just a part of the experience and the great efforts turned in by the sax player and the lead guitarist were just memorable! Other songs in the set included Hallelujah I Love Her So, Matchbox and The Letter, all good, solid, 60’s hits that got the crowds dancing and singing along.

So how do you round up an evening like that? You put on Searchin’, a band more than capable of delivering the songs from the 60’s era. From the almost sickly sweet Teenager In Love and Daydream Believer to the more rocking Some Other Guy, Money and the Creedence Clearwater Revival hit Bad Moon Rising. We were also treated to the classic When You Walk In The Room and everyone went ahead for a sing a long to both Brown Eyed Girl and Do Wah Diddy. An excellent band to end the evening with and luckily they were more than willing to provide a few encores for the crowd that just didn’t want to call it a night.

Next charity gig will be a Metal Night at The Bumper in Hardman Street on Friday 02/10. Also, there will be an Acoustic Night on 16/10 and a Mixed Bag on 25/10.
Further info at www.myspace.com/nadalpromotions

Written by Ida Ottesen

As the only band to play their own songs at Beatleday in Liverpool, The Fore would have to deliver, this after all being the hometown of not only The Beatles but also the Merseysound.
From the very first chord the audience was transported back to the Sixties and the energy put forward by the band was contagious. The chord progressions, the harmonies, the rhythm, everything was build on the early sixties sound as found in pre-65 Beatles, Beach Boys, The Searchers and Hollies, and it didn’t take the London lads long to win over the Scousers.
Even the song titles could have been chart toppers in the Sixties and ”A Girl Like You” even features the harmonica.
The Fore kicked off the gig with ”Have Me Back Again”, sung by front man and bassist Spencer Hannabus, sporting a red military jacket, just to complete the experience of the Sixties. The set was a good mix of numbers from their debut album ”Black & White” and their newest claim to fame ”Run & Hide”.
After playing a couple of fast and very catchy tunes, Hannabus announced that the next number was there for him to spare his vocal (this didn’t prevent him from letting out an energy laden scream in the middle though)! The band then tore into an instrumental with guitarists Nathan Persad and Mathew Hardy showing of their skills.
”In So Deep” could have been a Searchers song, but this is not a bad thing! Instead of coming across as someone who merely replicates the Sixties sound, it seems The Fore has found the key to why these up-beat melodies, misery-laden lyrics of unwanted love and Beach Boys inspired harmonies goes straight to your heart, and they play them so convincingly that you have to love this band.
It wouldn’t be a fair review if I didn’t mention the fantastic drummer, Simon Thompson, who makes sure the band stays on track, and who is absolutely amazing.
The stand out song was ”I Got A Girl” from their debut album, but to be honest, all these self-penned songs are worth repeat listening, and when you go to one of their shows, make sure you have a few quid with you, so you can buy their cds, you definitely will!
I didn’t know this band, but was told that I would love them, and after the first number I did! This band is so fresh, raw and exciting to watch, hear and experience that you have to seek out one (or more!) of their gigs, it’s a guaranteed way to making you feel better about life, music and put a smile on your face that lasts for days!

Www.theforeband.com
www.myspace.com/thefore

Review by Ida Ottesen