Live Music Showcase Midlands Regional Final- Bedford Feedback

The Regional final live music showcase in the Midlands, took place as the Bedford Corn Exchange welcomed the best unsigned talent for the latest MusicRadar Live and Unsigned Regional Final of this year’s Competition.  The Bedford Corn Exchange provided some great shows, with guest acts including The Qemists who provided blasting dance rock rifts and acoustic singer songwriter Joe Karchud.

Judges presiding over the Bedford Regional Final included Kerrang Radio’s Alex Baker, Dutch Van Spall of Big Help, Neil Haynes of Parlour Recording Studios, The Qemists’ Leon Harris, Chris Grayston of Future Music Management and Martin Family of Aston End Studios.

Well done to all the acts for putting on a great show! Credit goes especially the few who made it through to the Live Area Final shows and the Midlands Final on Saturday 7^th May 2011 at the Bedford Corn Exchange, they will now compete against the Regional Final winners from Birmingham, as well as the winners from their Regional final.

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

Final 1

Careless Chemistry- Good choice of cover and original was strong, could have worked on dynamics to drive through the hooks. Perform more

Jenna Dwyer-Nice tone, fantastic vocals and performed the track well, cover choice was a little obvious for an acoustic act. Didn’t hear a hook to the original, which was a shame

Blues Boy Kings- The music had a good groove and tight, guitarist was awesome but would have liked that usp from somewhere, either image or track, little too much like a pub band

Amy Wyke- Loved the sassy performance and looked great. Watch mic control, often too far from the mic. Good song, with a nice edge, make sure project it to the full. Cover wasn’t as strong

Flygone- Liked the lead singer’s vocals but the dynamics changed, need to sort out who is lead. Well performed and energetic band with a few tweaks could be a polished outfit

Charlene Gordon- Just needs to perform more as lacked performance and dynamics. Vocal wasn’t so clear. Film yourself or watch back the footage to see

Haunted Tranquility- Interesting choice of cover really made it their own within the mash up. Good image, guitarist drifted in and out of performing so need to stay locked on. Alex Baker thought they would benefit from a second guitarist

Geoffrey Prichard- Nice and mellow, but perhaps needed to bring it to life a little more and make it more interesting as an act

Problem Solved- Nice musically but drive that hook through, as song has real potential. Maybe rework the lyrics so not under so much pressure to fit in. Guitar work sounded sweet in places

Paris Munro- Passionate and committed performance, second song was stronger. You need to engage more with the performance, asking less for audience participation. Maybe start a band, as three judges mentioned this?

Ritchie and The Runners- Very country folk vibe, which they represented well what they stand for with the cover. Very tight band with good musicianship. Are they distinct enough or too similar to Mumford  & Sons?

Sarah Louise- Lovely tone, really talented. Turned a classic track into her own style. Just learn to work dynamics a little better bring it down and then blow us up!

The Vibe- Good drummer, but diction of the vocals in the song wasn’t clear - too many lyrics made it too hurried. Lead singer needs to get nearer the mic also. Need to work on getting the groove tight, as in places it slid

Pandorica- This duo works well musically together, good voice and if can bring together an uniformed performance and image this would progress things

PowerSurge- It was fun and they looked like they were having fun. Very tight on stage and a good front man, original was good, pick a different cover going forward as it was very dated

Jack Parker- Brilliant choice and delivery of the cover! Playing was very clean and sharp. Focus on dynamics and passion to take it to the next level

Undone- Well polished band with a solid sound, think of an unique image

Final 2

Site-Original song was catchy and engaging. With slightly stronger dynamics, could be a potentially successful single. Cover was a poor choice

American House Party- All band members must perform, good front man - needs backing from all members. Also need to work on the melodies and tightening of the rhythm section

 Daniel E Walker- Lovely voice, very heartfelt, very soulful, as per auditions. Remember to engage with the audience had your eyes close throughout the performance!

Romantic Idols- Can imagine this as a single, very catchy hook  - makes you feel like you’ve heard it before. Cover was poor in comparison

Iona Thomas- Very good use of loop pedal so effective not too much, subtle, nice harmonies and made the cover her own, excellent

Sophia- Very smooth song and a great voice, but needs to inject dynamics and drama. Had a slight blues feel and guitar playing was strong

Testsite- Funny lyrics, really catchy. Needs to perform, was really rooted to the spot. Marks lost for not doing a cover

Rusty G’s- Nice full sound packed with great energy in the performance. Think about the image need a unique edge as bit dated currently

Trevor Jones- Strong retro sound and great song, but think carefully how you line up onstage. Some players maybe need to be less visible and speak together about image so cohesive

Very Nice Harry- Musically really interesting and pleasant on the ear. Full bodied sound with a professional, tightly controlled performance

Tamara- Conveyed song well with attitude and intensity, guitar playing wasn’t always tight and suffered from timing issues.  Not sure the second guitarist was required, as it didn’t add anything to the act as a whole

Phoebe Warden- Was a little untidy and in a very strong final didn’t stand out. Fantastic playing for 3 months, but still not at a level yet to perform on such a big stage. Perhaps strum the chords rather than pick until more confident to play

Renee Hector- Lovely voice and great image. Good original song for a fantastic young talent

Lost Minute- So much guitar felt that the vocals didn’t cut through, could have also benefitted from vocal support, from somewhere else in the band. Performed well but definitely need more backing vocal

Keble Stradling- Lovely distinctive voice, need to keep dynamics consistent, seemed to go too slow and loose the thread. Needs to work on stage performance

Echoes of an Age- Original sounded a bit like a Bon Jovi classic, need to be more convincing with the performance. Possibly look at the guitar arrangements and sounds

Anne Jenkins- Loved the guitar very Jungle Book! Nice original needed to convey more emotion

Final 3

Without Reason- Performed well, cool cover and tight not so sure on the red image

Flip Like Wilson- Lots of energy in the music, catchy chorus but the performance isn’t quite matching the same energy. Bring together a unified performance

Adam Barker- Great voice with luscious mellowness and accomplished guitar playing, just tainted by a blip at the end - should always bluff over any mistakes

Sonick- Good laid back vibe, nice mix of cover, musically solid and original would have been hugely better with vocal support, little uninteresting on stage needed more to entertain visually. A performance to back up the music was needed

Oli Turner- A little on one tempo, needed dynamics to make it interesting and fun to watch. Find something that makes you unique

Destroy All Humans- Tight sounding band with strong harmonies could have played around with it a bit more to make a little different and more interesting

Set to Air- Lead vocalist has a great voice, band look good, real raw potential but look back at footage and look at what each other is doing when you perform as a bit of a mixed bag. Backing vocals gives depth but sing right up to the mic to give impact, rhythm section could be tighter

Non Nah Wiser- Song’s got potential, looked the part, production on track was good and performed it well. Remember to drive the hook through just let the track breathe a little before the chorus perhaps?

Three Bottles Behind- Great! They looked like they were enjoying themselves with tons of energy. At times the vocals worked brilliantly at other times the performance seemed chaotic, need to work on this

Eli-Jade- song has real potential, a fun song, but just feels like it needs a bit more developing as the hook is too repetitive. Slow the singing down seemed to go at 100 miles an hour

Colt- Liked the military style, catchy hook. Carried this into track 2 and they’ve cracked the essential ingredient of a hook in the song writing, that is often so lacking with urban acts. Tighten up the performance so it is completely tight, what about dancers?

Tailored- Needed performance from all in the band, looked like they need a few more performances under their belt - this experience should help and look back at footage for tips to go forward

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 Midlands Area final it’s on Saturday 7^th May 2011 at the Bedford Corn Exchangego to the Live and Unsigned website to purchase tickets with the following link; http://www.liveandunsigned.uk.com/live_shows