Undiscovered Live! Heat, Chinnery’s, Southend

Undiscovered Live! is a competition, there are heats and finals and all that but I can't find out anything about it online so I reviewed the bands I saw on Thursday 31st January 2013and ignored the poor marketing of the contest. 

This should be on Grapevine soon.

Thursday night and the seafront was quiet, fortunately I knew about a competition at Chinnery’s featuring four acts from various parts of Essex. I think it was called Undiscovered Live, apparently there have already been a couple of heats in Essex and tonight was another heat to find one band that will progress to the next stage of the competition.

I like Chinnery’s, over the years they have played host to some great bands, but tonight’s event wasn’t exactly well promoted. I didn’t know about it until one of the bands told me it was happening, but even they weren’t sure what was going on. But I’m not here to talk about the venue/competition’s online presence, I’m here to review some bands.

First up was a solo singer song writer type named Alex Fox.  Upon first hearing him I was impressed, with only a keyboard and a microphone Alex managed to perform some macabre songs that maintained the attentions of much of the audience. Vocally I’d immediately jump to Morrissey or Editors’ lead singer Tom Smith as a lazy description of Alex’s voice, but there was a uniqueness there that intrigued me and the occasional grin suggested he was enjoying himself. A couple of well worked covers including a simple staccato version of Wild Cherry’s ‘Play That Funky Music’ gave a break from the minor chords and sombre tones that Fox’s own pieces focused on. A nice bit of banter between songs kept the attendees on side as Alex came across as a nice guy doing what he likes to do. A good act to ease us in, but I didn’t know what the judges (whoever they were) were looking for so it was hard to tell if Alex had a chance of going to the next round, but I was impressed and look forward to hearing a bit more from Alex Fox in the future.

The second act was pop band Emy’s Parade. Key changes and upbeat tunes were in abundance as the four piece bopped through their set. With youthful enthusiasm from the lead singer keeping the happy pop vibe going but maybe the crowd wasn’t quite as up for it as the lead singer tried to get some crowd participation but it wasn’t really catching on, fair play for trying though. I’m guessing the likes of Avril Lavigne and Paramore are influences and like those influences Emy’s Parade’s songs were simple and a bit formulaic. The last chorus going up a key and the little break down sections before a crescendo ending are basic pop music 101 and they come across as a band wanting to have fun, which is fine by me. It was young and fun with all the associations that come with it; optimistic, confident but ultimately not mature or special enough to really wow me, a bit too much Radio 1 rather than the Radio 6 feel that is often expected at these kinds of gigs.

Calico were the third act on stage. I know Calico well, I’ve seen them many times over the past few years and although I know them I am always critical, probably more so tonight as this was supposed to be a competition. With no real following crowd to cheer them on, Calico had a room with about 30 potential new fans to convert. A strong start with a couple of jumping ska influenced tracks with some angst lined vocals and punchy rhythms. Calico are obviously a vocally led band, with two female lead singers, and there were many moments in the set that capitalised on that with some great harmonies ensuring Calico got their unique vocal style across. Some grungy power chords and almost ska-punk flourishes were well received but with limited banter between songs there were a couple of awkward quiet moments as guitars were swapped, which weakened the otherwise solid performance. Plenty of reverb and distortion with enough volume to match gave Calico the best chance of the evening so far, but there was one act left before finding out who won this heat.

A good following greeted The Ends, a bunch of lads having a bit of a laugh and there was a great energy on stage. Like early Arctic Monkeys without the social commentary, The Ends used their jangly guitar sound and splashy symbols to full effect. The laddish banter between songs matched the fast and loose sound that ran through the set. A few rhythm changes didn’t really deter from the simple shouty vocals that would suggest punk influences but the angst that one would associate with punk wasn’t there. A good fun band playing some good tracks and having the strongest following of the evening meant they got a bit of atmosphere in the crowd and even a sing along moment in their set. A very good way to finish the competition and after the uproarious finale it was time to announce a winner.

Apparently it was close, with the top three acts only having two points between them... But The Ends came out on top and go through to the next round, wherever that is, it’s difficult to find out anything about this Unsigned Live thing because there are a few competitions with similar names, but if I do find a link or something I will update this review, but for now here’s a few band links if you fancy finding out a bit about them.

Alex Fox – facebook.com/alexfox

Emy’s Parade – facebook.com/emysparade

Calico – facebook.com/calicox

The Ends - www.myspace.com/astheends

UPDATE: That Undiscovered competition does have a website, http://www.undiscovered.org.uk, and the final of the competition will be at Chinnery's... not sure when that is though.