Doors were at 7pm, although due to a sound check over running, they weren’t opened until about 7.05pm!!! That was OK though as I managed to have a chat with some fella about the Chatham gig while I waited for the doors.
At 7.50pm the first band takes to the stage the venue’s still pretty empty, the band are called Nemo, but they don’t let us know this til the last song, they just say "Good evening" and it's straight into the first song. I was pretty darn impressed! They had a very attractive front woman, not only was she attractive, she also had one hell of a voice, it was really stunning, oh and she could handle a guitar too! After a few songs she put the guitar down and concentrated on singing, while the bassist and drummer provided a great rhythm section and the guitarist showed off his pretty damn good guitar skills. I was very pleased I had the chance to catch them, so much so I even bought their CD.
After Nemo’s performance the second band hit the stage, using my amazing powers of deduction I reasoned they were Lyca Sleep. Well, what can I say about this band, they sported what looked like designer haircuts (well what would pass as them anyways) and flared jeans. To me, they just seemed to be posing and pouting, I really wasn’t impressed. Then they started to play and the only thing I can really recall about them other than the look was that the singer had a much higher voice than I expected. I didn’t hear much of their set as I was too busy talking to the singer from Nemo, her friend Kerry and some regular Crimea show attending peoples.
Now the time’s around about 9.15 and I get dragged down the front to witness The Crimea (twice in less than a week I might add). All I want to know is just how damn good is this band going to get? Every time I see them they seem to be better! Julz is a definite plus to the line up, allowing Davey to do what he does best and let go, oh and get out an acoustic guitar too! So, the set list, from what I can remember, and this is in no order except for All Conquering and Girl Just Died (which was their encore), was this:
All Conquering
Forgotten
Fred Flintstone
Who Knows
Lottery Winners On Acid
Allah
Utopia
Tragedy Rocks
Opposite Ends
Girl Just Died
Davey had a huge smile on his face throughout the whole set, as did I and most probably everyone in the venue, which was now packed!! It’s understandable to see the guy so happy, he’s in a band which is, as the first song suggests, all conquering. Julz adds a new level to each song without taking any of the sparkle out of them. Owen’s drumming is still as good as ever, although his hair’s not quite as great as normal. Andy’s keyboards add a touch of magic to each and every song, except perhaps All Conquering, but that was probably just because I couldn’t hear them properly. Joe’s bass work is still cool, although I’d like to see him cut loose and do at least one solo mid song. The mellower songs sound even better now with Davey taking up an acoustic guitar. And to top it all off we have Allah, a song that’s just as great as Lord, you can’t help but shake yourself when you hear one of those puppies! They left the set with Girl Just Died ringing in my ears and for me that was perfect, it’s my favourite song and it was stuck in my head. Fantastic! All the other songs were played perfectly, if only a little too quickly as the whole set ended far too soon for my liking! I really can’t do this band enough justice, they HAVE to be witnessed.
I’d like to end by saying a big thank you to Nemo and The Crimea for keeping me thoroughly entertained by playing such good music throughout the evening. Til next time then...
Review by Oli Keys, 1st March 2003.
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