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Review: Goldray, Thekla
Although based up in wild and woolly Herefordshire Raptor have an affinity for Bristol: as well as plenty of gigs here the band are often out on the town at gigs and have close ties with the local scene. They played one of those classic support sets that drew everyone present to the front of the stage for a masterclass in taking hoary old seventies classic rock tropes and bending them into intriguingly modern yet reassuringly retro groove laden tunes. Adam Fletcher (complete with Open / Closed sign on his kit – far more fun than an overblown drum kit roller coaster) laid down a rock solid beat, nimble and powerful, totally locked in with Lou Hopcutt’s bass. The pair have mastered that long forgotten art of the swinging rock rhythm section – with all the iterations of hard rock (and more so metal) many drummers presume rock needs power alone and plodding power at best whilst too many bass players riff continuously rather than playing. These boys know how to swing, how to give it some gap and how to supply a beat you can dance to if you so desire.
Kurt Fletcher’s guitar playing, however, ensures that you’re able to bang your head as you dance, peeling off riotous riffs and spiralling solos, boogieing across the stage and locked in with the rhythm section: for a young band, they have a great sense of dynamics, giving each other space and letting the songs breathe. Fletcher’s an inventive player too, when deploying a bottleneck he somehow managed to give the impression he was playing two guitars. Both tunes from the current single got an airing, Haight Street psychedelic with a noirish undertone and Ultraviolet built around the type of bouncy catchy riff Rory Gallagher specialised in on his heavier cuts. Raptor proved unequivocally that there’s plenty of life in rock and you really owe it to yourself to catch them and remind yourself just how satisfying a rock trio can be on stage. But don’t just take my word for it, Haz Wheaton spent the set at the front grooving away like a good ‘un.
is needed now More than ever
Opening with Outland it was clear from the opening riff that Goldray were gonna play a killer set. Kenwyn House (guitar and Guardsman jacket), Geoff Laurens (bass, glitter jacket and skull t-shirt) along with Adam Gammage (drums and glitter jacket) hit their groove effortlessly paving the way for the entrance of Leah Rasmussen. Resplendent in a golden cape Rasmussen looked like a Denis Wheatley priestess hoping to lure the audience in to a pyramid to resurrect Imhotep and take over the West Country. A captivating focal point for the band Rasmussen lived every moment of each song, swept up in the riffs and the beats, swirling and twisting without missing a note. Her voice was powerful throughout – full and throaty but with soul and plenty of range for the high notes. The gold cape soon disappeared to reveal a fabulous red cap / mini dress ensemble as the band grooved: visually relatively inconspicuous but audibly full throttle, the four together a perfect marriage of visuals and music.
Although debut LP Rising is still damn fresh the band are already working up new numbers: whilst Oz slotted seamlessly in to the set The Forest really stood out, taking their already excellent template of Hendrix panache married to Zeppelin heft sprinkled with British psyche and bolting on a massive chunk of Iommi – a crushing riff with a classic early Sabbaff time change half way through. Rather than the (admittedly fabulous) Glam meets Granny Takes a Trip sartorial vibe it’s the band’s ability to meld all their influences in to something unique that makes them stand out from the plethora of rock revivalists flooding the live circuit and dominating the classic rock airwaves. This band have that fearless sixties experimentalism, warping their tunes into twisted heavy pop songs that reek of the occult and tripping yer tits off, yet they are supremely catchy.
Soul Child closed the set – the band pounding out the riff as Rasmussen wrought every octave out of the tune, cape flapping, pacing the stage before the song climaxed with her launching a glitter tickertape shower over the crowd and collapsing, spent and yet still glowing. Alas a tight curfew meant no encore but there was no complaint from the crowd, raucous cheering followed by a large queue for the merch and autographs.
The fashion police and gatekeepers of taste preach about the death of guitar based rock ad nauseam and seemingly only so that every two years they can anoint some band or other as the saviours of rock. Those of us in the know realise of course that rock has remained in remarkably rude health since its inception and needs no help from the self-appointed arbitrators of taste. The show tonight proved that point once again, Raptor sculpting new sounds from old rock and Goldray summoning the spirit of the sixties and alchemising psychedelic metal. You don’t need a website or a broadsheet to find rock’s “saviours”, they’re all around us and always will be – oblivious to the zeitgeist, blowing minds and ears.
Pix by Shona Cutt
Goldray: Thekla, Saturday 1st July 2017
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