Frequency 14th February, featuring Daniel & The Lion, The McManus Bros., and The David Gilani Experience
Frequency, AIM’s monthly night of indie and alternative live music, is a great arena for the up and coming talents from around the south coast. They mesh together opposing styles with varying performing standards that make Frequency an interesting and enjoyable mix. But tonight, the acts that AIM brought together were nothing short of outstanding.
Up first were The David Gilani Experience, an outfit consisting of David Gilani, Andy Neilson, and Rob Leane, whose set showcased an excellent mixture of quirky covers with even quirkier original material. Although they had a somewhat shaky start with a cover of ‘Sexy Chic’, the trio soon picked up their game, and the rest of the set was pretty damned exceptional. Personal highlights came in the form of the rather amusing ‘I Just Had Sex’ which was full of comic interlude, and from ‘Magna Carta’. They were full of energy and genuinely had me toe tapping throughout – certainly ones to check out next time they grace the stage.
Second up were EDGE contributors Patrick and Ciaran McManus, known on stage as the McManus Brothers, an acoustic/folk/comedy duo on guitar and ukulele (!). Like the preceding act, their opening was a little off, with a rather questionable cover of Blink 182’s ‘I Miss You’, but with the progression of the set, the brothers really found their stage presence. The dynamic between the two was amazing to watch, switching between main vocalist throughout, with each bringing a different kind of texture to the set. Aside from the introduction of a blue ukulele, The McManus Bros., had many shining moments in their set – there was a good mix of original songs with cover versions, and the very Spanish version of ‘Careless Whisper’ was a joy to behold. Proper top notch.
But nothing could overshadow the headliner tonight, Daniel & The Lion. The quintet formed in Bournemouth are an exquisite mix of indie with a dusting of folk a la Mumford and Sons and even a little bit of orchestral thrown in for good measure. They are also a band best experienced in the flesh. Their mish-mashed sound is deep, dense and multifaceted, bringing in trumpet, squeeze box, cello and glockenspiel to the standard guitars and drums set up, a complexity that simply does not come across in recording. The silky sugary female vocals weaved through the band were also beautiful, but never once detracting from the core vocals from front man Daniel Duke which were sublime and lilting throughout. They really managed to get the crowd in the bridge going tonight, with all the audience up and dancing by a rather excellent cover of The Offspring’s ‘I Want You Bad’, even causing shouts for an encore that is rarely seen in gigs on such a small scale. The dumbstruck quintet happily acquiesced, rounding off the set with ‘Goodbye’, and apt and perfect end to an exceptional evening.
Check out AIM’s next event on March 14th in the Bridge, where Kinnie The Explorer , Stone Them Crows and Dodge This will be performing, and to stay up to date, click HERE
