Gypsy's Kiss
plus support from Buffalo Fish and Jayler
Purity Bar, Wolverhampto, 2nd September 2022
Three bands for a tenner.
What a feckin' bargain!
People who know their Iron Maiden history should know about Gypsy's Kiss (also known as GK1974) and Buffalo Fish. These two bands have members who were in the embreonic phase of the mighty Maiden. Their pedigree therefore speaks for itself but so does there music today. True musicians will also create good music.
Tonight they were supported by a hot young band from Tamworth called Jayler. Wow, what a brilliant opening act! Playing a mixture of classic covers including Led Zeppelin, Lenny Kravitz and AC/DC (complete with furniture mounting guitar histronics!) as well as their own original (and good) material such as "Acid Rain". These young bucks are still in school yet perform like seasoned pros. The two guitarists James Bartholomew (also vocalist) and Tyler Arrowsmith work well together and have some great chops between them. Seeing their duelling on guitars is a blast. Drummer Ed Evans and bassist Oscar Brooks provide the backline and do a grand job too. James struggled with the on-stage sound for his microphone but he handled it well (a lesson there for other bands - stay cool and play through the issues!) Keep yer eyes and ears out for Jayler. They're ones to watch! 7/10
Buffalo Fish were on next. Anyone expecting an Iron Maiden-ish sound were gonna be dissapointed. The fishy fellas showed musical talent and a wide range of musical styles that far excelled simple Maiden-alike riffage. Terry Wapwram (who was in Maiden for a year in the very early days) is a very accomplished guitarist. Calm, controlled and musical. He seemed able to pull of everything asked of him tonight. Such is the wide range of musical styles that form Buffalo Fish's songs that a straight-ahead metaller wouldn't work. There are elements of blues, rock,jazz,funk and ethnic music all rolled in to groovy, fascinating, almost jam-like songs. Classy!
Vocalist Stitch is a real character too. With his swagger stick come voodoo pole he has an immense stage presence. Great vocalist too and also able to spank a guitar when needed!. The beat behind the boys consisted of the talented Dwight and Pete. A solid band who all played soooo well tonight. 8/10
David Smith (voc/gtr), Jonathan Morlety (gtr), Fraser Marr (gtr), Robert Gatcum, Stuart Emms (drums) and Ross Hunter (keys).
It's been a long time coming but this reformation of Gypsy's Kiss is very welcome. With a sound that is part rock,part blues, part prog there's plenty of scope for musical direction and creativity (very evident on their new album 74!). Tonight we were treated to some great GK songs plus the boys paid tribute to Midlands with covers of "Paranoid" and "Breaking The Law", Nice! Like I said, the set had to be cut short (gutted!) but they finished with an excellent version of "School's Out". This band deserve far more recognition than they get. Let's change this folks. See em, buy the album and hear some great music. 8/10 CAG
BAND LINKS:
Video footage from show can be found on our ROX TV YouTube channel:
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