Live Music Showcase at Plymouth Regional final – Feedback
The Regional Final live music showcase in Plymouth, took place on Saturday as Plymouth Guildhall welcomed the best of unsigned talent for the latest round of the Live and Unsigned Competition.
Plymouth Guildhall provided a great atmosphere for the live shows on the 19th March, with guest act and previous Live and Unsigned Finalists Sandfire Siren headlining the showcases.
Judges presiding over the Plymouth Regional Final included Stuart Slater Rock School examiner and owner of Slater Drum School, Michael Whiddon of the Plymothian Magazine, Ade Atkinson Organiser of IVYLIVE Festival, Louise Martin of Little Miss Music Management, Drew Preston from Newquay Voice and Igloo Music’s Dielle Lodrick.
Well done to all the acts who took part in the Regional Finals for putting on a great show! Credit goes especially the few who made it through to the Live Southern England Area Final on Saturday 21st May 2011 at the Portsmouth Guildhall.
Find below feedback for the day. Please be aware views expressed by Judges are opinions and subjective to that particular Judge panel. These views in no way reflect the views of Live and Unsigned, but are published with a view to being beneficial to the performing bands and singers who performed. So please take the feedback onboard with a view to helping.
Final 1
Audiofocus –Good pace changes, a relaxed and enjoyable performance. Need to look at image. Good original sound, but more audience interaction and movement on stage would improve the performance.
Nick the Fish – Very good vocals and personality. Nice engagement with audience and lovely original material. Could work more on image
La Fin – Performance was a bit lacking in substance during first section. Good transition into cover song. Try to engage with audience more and watch tuning on instruments. Great ability, but need to keep rehearsing
Richard James – Very enjoyable performance, but try to look at the audience more. Nice tone to voice. Really good first song and excellent move on cover
DNA – Very easy on the ear. Nice sound and tight performance, but didn’t seem to go anywhere. No backing vocals/lead guitar? Could develop the duo more to give more variety. Good performance, but lacked an edge
Layla – Guitar skills need to improve, but great voice. Should be standing for this sort of performance. Try working with a guitarist
Liveo – Good line up and good material. Most energetic so far, made a real effort since auditions. Make sure you all perform!
Kelly Santini – Confident opening. Be careful with the timing of effects changes. Great voice and ability, just don’t get too carried away with your performance
Ten Zero One – A lot of music in such a young band.Image could be better. Keep rehearsing and keep up the originality. Lots of potential here, keep your feet on the ground boys
Symphonic – Good performers, buttook a few bars for you to hit the notes, started off a little flat. Work on hitting the notes straight away. Develop confidence on stage
Alex and the Underground – Nice original sound and good material. Work on balance between voices. Good cover choice but need to perform to the crowd more and work on image
Charley Pinfold – Good all round solid performance. Great voice. Consider working with a guitarist to get a better sound for your material
Operation ARD – Good frontman and good sound, but need to think about image. Performance was complex, most of it was great, but you let yourselves down on a couple of occasions. Keep rehearsing
Eva B – Really enjoyable performance, very skilled musically. Keep training your voice. Think about image
18 Up In One – Good effort, band members work well together. Work on mic technique and stage presence. Watch timing on the drums. Frontman requires more sparkle and energy
Final 2
First Requiem – Solid start to the show, good image and overall good performance. Good stage presence and use of space, develop this even more
Rich Maya – Very mature musical performance. Just work on image!
40 Seasons – Good sound, and image fits with the sound. Work on diversity and develop presence and visual performance. Good material
Amy-Louise Hudspeth– Beautiful voice, but seems very nervous. Concentrate on developing more material and try working with a guitarist. Overall lovely performance
Backhand Saloon – Really lively performance, and good audience awareness. Overall good vocally, but watch tempo control in places. Great use of space on the stage
Chris Millington – Beautiful songwriter and nice voice. Consider backing singers to add to the performanc
Big Screen Heroes – Nice tidy image. Overall good performance, but opening could be tighter. Work more on performance and audience engagement
Ellie Campbell- Great voice and use of range. Image needs some thought
Breathe – Tight performance, but voice gets a bit lost- keep training it. Needed to make the cover more original
Emily Snow – Performed the original better than the cover. Keep rehearsing to maximise vocal potential. Cover was an impersonation, needed to make it your own
Broken – Good sound and good with the crowd. Bass player has a very striking look, keep this! Develop stage presence more as it looked a bit unnatural at times
Luke Deakin – Good song choice. Nice voice, but watch timing and need to manage nerves! Keep practising
Lonely Hunters – An enjoyable performance and good sound. Good potential, but no connection with crowd, need to work on this to improve the overall performance
Hundred Days – Great sound and solid performance, really good lead vocals. Nice switch to cover. Need to think about image!
Roholio – Nice voice, but need to work on nerves and image
Messenger – Good sound. Try to enjoy the performance more. Need to have more stage presence
Six Shooter – Great energy and presence on stage. Voice could give even more with a bit more training. Good image
Sumita – Nice voice. Good songwriter, develop more material and work alongside other musicians
Stomping Goats – Interesting line up. Was expecting more variety from so many guitarists. Be careful with timing in places. Overall an enjoyable and original performance
Emma Lauran – Looks beautiful and has a great voice. Need to develop audience engagement more. Very good potential
Land of the Giants – Happiest band all day! Great energy. Voice gets a bit lost sometimes so be careful. Make sure you choose songs that are within your vocal range
Final 3
The Confused – Solid sound, but voice gets a bit lost in places. A very energetic performance. You have a bright future ahead!
Glyn Davies – Lovely performance, but try more commercial arrangements of your material. Great voice, but image could be better
The Parade – Great sound. Try a bit more bounce in your visual performance. Overall a good tight performance
The Castaways – Nice sound, brave choice of cover. Guitar was a little sloppy in places, keep practising!
The Inflicted – Very tight band, but need some image consideration. Strong stage presence, but try aiming more of it at the audience rather than each other
Joe Wander – A very talented man. Good voice. Try to enjoy your performance more and concentrate on presence
The Rising – Excellent all round performance, visually strong and great vocals. A very mature delivery
The Stone Angels – Great voice, could develop visual performance and stage presence more. Needed to make the cover more original. Good song choice for you vocal range though
The Tiny Face Experience – Very good musically, but need more of an image!
Adamcha – Great voice. Need to develop engagement with the audience more
Vivid Sky – Great stage presence and an overall confident performance. Nice to see the bass/guitar share the front of the stage, although performance was clumsy in places. Need to keep rehearsing!
The Re-treat – Big sound. Try restructuring songs to incorporate a bit more contrast. An overall solid performance. Image could be better!
Blue Room Baboons – Nice sound and energy, and good female singer. Work on overall performance as a band, and engage with the crowd
The Paisley Strays – Strong performance. Make the opening even tighter, and don’t leave the visual performance to the frontman
For those acts who didn’t get through the Regional Finals, don’t forget to use your Wildcard! All acts have been given a Wildcard in the form of a national public vote. There are two places up for grabs and just two weeks to make your mark, so keep an eye out on the website and get voting for one of those last Area Final spots!
If you’d like to come along to see some of the bands and acts that made it through to the Southern England Area Final on Saturday 21st May 2011 at the Portsmouth Guildhall www.portsmouthguildhall.co.ukgo to the Live and Unsigned website to purchase tickets with the following link;
Industry Judges
Jimi Savage
Guitar Mogul
