Rosalie Cunningham/Goldray, The Fleece, Bristol
[Paul Hutchings]
[Paul Hutchings]
Well into summer and as another sweltering day faded into dusk, we headed across the bridge once more to one of our favourite venues, The Fleece in Bristol for an evening off swirling psychedelia. Although doors were at 19:30, it was full hour before signs of life occurred and eventually the main draw from Mrs H and I took the stage. We’d first seen Goldray (9) at Hard Rock Hell in Pwllheli a couple of years ago and had thoroughly enjoyed their set. With a new album in the pipeline, this was a semi-co-headline event although it was Cunningham who took top slot. That was fine as it was Goldray that we’d come to see and once again the band were excellent from start to finish. Driven by former Reef guitarist Kenwyn House’s crashing riffing, the London based outfit danced and span through a 45 minutes set which encompassed tracks from their 2017 debut Rising and a smattering of new songs, including the excellent The Forest.
Whilst House may drive the band forward, it’s impossible not to be bewitched by Leah Rasmussen’s glittering outfit, her shiny tiara, her diminutive figure weaving around the stage in a possessed Steve Nicks kind of way but most of all, to be totally captivated by the voice that comes out of such a petite frame. Rasmussen is stunning, her vocal delivering a hybrid morphing of Kate Bush and Grace Slick. Ethereal and fragile at times, yet powerful and controlled, she really has a remarkable gift. Anchored by a solid rhythm section which earned its stripes towards the end with a freestyle frenzied climax, the rather sparse crowd rewarded Goldray with a deserved ovation which was well deserved.
Rosalie Cunningham’s new solo album didn’t do a huge amount for me so I passed the baton to Matt for the review of the former Purson singer.
[Matt Bladen]
So this was the first time I'd seen former Purson singer/guitarist/mastermind Rosalie Cunningham (7) playing with her solo band. This was probably because it was her debut tour as a solo artist with her solo band made up of Rosco Levee - guitar, Alpha Michelle - bass, Lee Spreadbury - keyboards and Purson drummer Raphael Mura. Having seen Purson numerous times I was interested to see how her psychedelic solo record translated onto the live stage. Numbers such as Ride On My Bike, Dethroning Of The Party Queen got things off to a bouncy start the band decked out in their glam/psych/hippie finery, there were a few technical issues in the opening few songs as it seemed the band were still finding their feet despite this being one of the final three shows on this tour. The final Purson single Chocolate Money was followed by Fuck Love which in turn was followed by Desire's Magic Theatre another Purson song.
Here lies the problem, the Purson material is still superior in a live context than the solo material, which is a lot poppier influenced by The Beatles and Ziggy Stardust, only really the prog epic A Yarn From A Wheel stands up for me especially after the mesmerising Goldray who blend the psych/glam sound with a heavier riff style. Still the freaks at the front got their groove on and welcomed the solo songs like old friends though again the Purson material had the biggest reception. There's no criticism of the musicianship all the members of the band were brilliant and Rosalie's vocals are very strong but maybe because it was the first tour after her self imposed exile, or perhaps it was due to the solo material being a little lighter than anything previously but my expectations were high after numerous viewing of her previous band and though they get plus points for the playing and performance, the solo songs are better on an album, but this may change in time as they get a life of their own.
Whilst House may drive the band forward, it’s impossible not to be bewitched by Leah Rasmussen’s glittering outfit, her shiny tiara, her diminutive figure weaving around the stage in a possessed Steve Nicks kind of way but most of all, to be totally captivated by the voice that comes out of such a petite frame. Rasmussen is stunning, her vocal delivering a hybrid morphing of Kate Bush and Grace Slick. Ethereal and fragile at times, yet powerful and controlled, she really has a remarkable gift. Anchored by a solid rhythm section which earned its stripes towards the end with a freestyle frenzied climax, the rather sparse crowd rewarded Goldray with a deserved ovation which was well deserved.
Rosalie Cunningham’s new solo album didn’t do a huge amount for me so I passed the baton to Matt for the review of the former Purson singer.
[Matt Bladen]
So this was the first time I'd seen former Purson singer/guitarist/mastermind Rosalie Cunningham (7) playing with her solo band. This was probably because it was her debut tour as a solo artist with her solo band made up of Rosco Levee - guitar, Alpha Michelle - bass, Lee Spreadbury - keyboards and Purson drummer Raphael Mura. Having seen Purson numerous times I was interested to see how her psychedelic solo record translated onto the live stage. Numbers such as Ride On My Bike, Dethroning Of The Party Queen got things off to a bouncy start the band decked out in their glam/psych/hippie finery, there were a few technical issues in the opening few songs as it seemed the band were still finding their feet despite this being one of the final three shows on this tour. The final Purson single Chocolate Money was followed by Fuck Love which in turn was followed by Desire's Magic Theatre another Purson song.
Here lies the problem, the Purson material is still superior in a live context than the solo material, which is a lot poppier influenced by The Beatles and Ziggy Stardust, only really the prog epic A Yarn From A Wheel stands up for me especially after the mesmerising Goldray who blend the psych/glam sound with a heavier riff style. Still the freaks at the front got their groove on and welcomed the solo songs like old friends though again the Purson material had the biggest reception. There's no criticism of the musicianship all the members of the band were brilliant and Rosalie's vocals are very strong but maybe because it was the first tour after her self imposed exile, or perhaps it was due to the solo material being a little lighter than anything previously but my expectations were high after numerous viewing of her previous band and though they get plus points for the playing and performance, the solo songs are better on an album, but this may change in time as they get a life of their own.