Deville + A&E Line + Cool Banana + Aaron Norton - Messclean @ The Frog On The Front, Portsmouth. 21/04/06.

One of those nights where illness has forced changes upon the line-up so it is down to Aaron Norton to ease us into the evening with his rather finely crafted tunes. Aaron is what you would term a singer/songwriter type, not quite sure what that means at the end of the day, but you probably know exactly what I mean and if you picture a young man sat on a stool with an acoustic guitar for company then you are on the right track. A string of mellow tunes are unveiled to us, warm and lush sounding and he has a fine, fine voice that can transform from soft velvety tones to powerful higher levels; he slips in a couple of cover versions for good measure and due to the fact that he has no set list and appears, like me, to find it difficult to make decisions, so has to resort to asking his good lady for suggestions on what to play next which is quite charming and amusing. The covers are "Basket Case" by Green Day and "Stigmatised" by The Calling just to show he has a rocky edge and while they are gentle distractions done with a smile, his own tunes are the real stars of his set.

Up next are some elder statesmen going by the name of Cool Banana, a loose collective of souls who have decided to pay homage to the Velvet Underground. But, as they are so keen to point out, they are not a tribute band; Cool banana have taken VU as their inspiration and do include a few of their songs but these are interspersed with original material that develops the rock template and attempts to take it to new places. The live performance is part of a much wider project that aims to take in a book, film, recordings, computer game plus whatever else springs up on the journey; the gig tonight sees the project in it's early stages and one can imagine that hen it hits its peak it will be quite a multi-media extravaganza.
But tonight we concentrate on the live set-up, five gentleman, a few of whom are probably old enough to know better, so we can rule out 'scenesters' and bandwagon jumping, all well established musicians doing this for the love of it. What does it sound like? Well, those here expecting a Velvet Underground tribute would probably have left disappointed, the covers were good but they shift the tunes into new directions. It kind of feels like VU go new age with the didgeridoo vibrating away underneath everything and the loose percussion straight out of a late night jamming session, imagine a VU born out of a post rave come down rather than dark shades and heroin. It goes down remarkably well tonight and the original tunes are equally as strong as the covers if not better as you can distance yourself from the inspiration and add into the mix the guest musicians they bring along to different gigs and you have the pleasure of not quite knowing what it will sound like. An interesting and likeable project that will be worth keeping tabs on to see how it progresses.

Keeping up the eclectic nature of the line-up tonight are the A&E Line, a seismic duo straight out of geeksville and merging the boundaries between drum machine driven off kilter indie rock and art performance. One of them strangles the life out of his guitar while the other appears as a character that works in a diner complete with paper hat and dodgy glasses, it's hard to make out where character ends and vocalist begins but one can't help but be engrossed by their performance and ever so catchy tunes.


It's eccentric and is not going to be to everyone's taste, but I find them quite fantastic as the drum machine clatters away and they babble away to an audience that treats them like the nutter on a bus where you want to look but you know you shouldn't stare but you can't help it, you smile and nod your head when they talk to you and then you escape as quickly as possible. Someone mentioned Sparks in my ear before they left and I suppose they do have that kind of dramatic edge with quirky time changes bolted on to catchy tunes, you could add in a hint of Cardiacs type madness and perhaps some They Might Be Giants kookyness but at the end of the day they just sound like A&E Line doing their own thing in their own little creative bubble; you are either going to love or hate them, if you want straight down the line middle of the road indie rock then walk on by on the other side but if you want that little touch of something that lurks outside the norm then step right up, they don't bite, well, not yet anyway and look out for a forthcoming release on the quite good Hackpen Records label.

Last minute additions to the bill are the infamous Deville, their reputations go before them like colossal shadows but tonight some of the usual Pompey attitude has been left outside and they launch into a rowdy and sometimes chaotic set that is vibrating and buzzing with energy. This gig is a chance to break in their new bass player and it has to be said that he looks the part and seems to take to the job in hand very well and while the other three members may dominate in character, particularly vocalist Ash, I'm sure he will stamp his own personality on the band in time.

There have been times where I have knocked Deville, sometimes I love them, sometimes I hate them and one can't deny that they wear their influences on their sleeves or in the case of Ash, on his skin! Think Libertines, Razorlight type indie mixed up with punk aggression and some 60s influence by way of Oasis (when they were young and urgent) and you kind of see where they are coming from, but tonight with some of the attitude left outside, we see a more relaxed yet still hyped up Deville that storm through a set of fast paced indie rockers with massive anthems for choruses, it's a chance to concentrate on the tunes rather than attention seeking antics of band and fans and it's a real treat to watch them tonight. This energy drenched set sees them sparkling and kind of has a feel of a rehearsal rather than a full on performance and it is far more rewarding for those of us lucky enough to catch this low key show. So tonight I love Deville and their chaotic bluster, the gaffa tape round the jeans, the stripped to the waist bravado and the dropping of trousers; on their day they can take on anyone with their fist in the air, testosterone filled guitar attacks...I wish they'd leave the baggage at the door more often!