Little Barrie – The Louisiana, Bristol – 1st December 2011 (Live Review)
Monday, 05 December 2011
Written by David Ball
If you’ve never heard of The Louisiana in Bristol then your first impression is also an education. The pub is adorned with framed posters showing off a who’s who of some of the last decades most influential bands boasting the likes of Kings Of Leon, The White Stripes, The Strokes, Coldplay and many, many more who spent a night of their musical apprenticeship performing in the upstairs gig room.
With a stage squashed into one end of the room and a small bar at the opposite end (the distance is probably less than 15 metres from one to the other) The Louisiana is a venue you go to if you want to feel music and tonight’s headline act, Little Barrie, are a band who insist on you feeling every note of their live performances.
First up are local four piece ‘Towns’ who provide an energetic half hour of indie rock which, in all truth is better suited to the mid 90’s than the early ‘teenies’ (someone needs to think of a name for this decade quick…). You can’t fault their enthusiasm and next single ‘Gone Are The Days’ shows they have an eye for a melody but my lasting impression is that they are wearing their influences a bit too obviously and lack their own identity at the moment.
By the time Little Barrie make their appearance around 100 expectant music fans have been shoehorned into every corner of the room and they immediately start working on warming up the freezing night.
Spreading their set liberally through their three studio albums and resisting the temptation to play safe by focussing on the critically lauded ‘King Of The Waves’, which was released earlier this year, the Nottingham threesome quite literally have the room shaking from start to finish in an hour long performance.
Lead singer and guitarist Barrie Cadogan whirls around the small amount of space he has on stage like a dervish, more than ably assisted by Lewis Wharton’s throbbing bass lines and Virgil Howe’s virtuoso drumming. Each song is an action packed event with the crowd enthusiastically bobbing and bouncing from start to finish.
Set highlights include ‘Does The Halo Rust?’ and a raucous rendition of ‘I Can’t Wait’ at which point I’m nearly blown over having taken the extremely unwise decision of standing directly in front of a speaker stack. Throughout the night you’re reminded of the power Little Barrie produce. While their recorded work has an enjoyable rawness to it you get a totally different feeling for the band when experiencing the almost violent energy they create when playing live.
The most impressive aspect though is the impromptu jam sessions at various points where all three show off their prowess as musicians. The best live shows for me are always those where you get something extra that you can never have by listening to recorded music and Little Barrie provide that in spades.
By the climax I’m pretty much deaf in one ear but it’s plenty worth it. Rarely has a band suited a venue as well as this, bands like Little Barrie make intimate venues like this what they are. Who knows, in a few years time Little Barrie might have their name adorning one of the aforementioned posters.
Little Barrie’s latest album ‘King Of The Waves’ is out now, read Stereoboard's review HERE.
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Lead singer and guitarist Barrie Cadogan whirls around the small amount of space he has on stage like a dervish, more than ably assisted by Lewis Wharton’s throbbing bass lines and Virgil Howe’s virtuoso drumming. Each song is an action packed event with the crowd enthusiastically bobbing and bouncing from start to finish.
