Live Music Showcase at Ipswich Regional final – Feedback

The Regional Final live music showcase in Ipswich, took place as the Corn Exchange welcomed the best of unsigned talent for the latest round of the Live and Unsigned Competition. Ipswich’s Corn Exchange provided a great atmosphere for the live shows on the 9^th April, with guest acts headlining the showcases. 

The headline act taking to the stage alongside Live and Unsigned Regional Finalists in Ipswich were former Live and Unsigned 2010 finalists Crumbs for Comfort who entertained the audience with their blend of folk rock. The Band have gone from strength to strength since their success in the competition last year and have just released their first EP titled The Good In You.

Judges presiding over the Ipswich Regional Final included Rupert Matthews of Monkey Puzzle House Recordings, Joe Bailey of Punch Studios, Jenny Lock from LoveMusic 24 and the Ipswich Evening Star, Steve Hawthorn from Grapevine Magazine and International Singer Jennie Cassidy.

The competition was fierce, and the standard was extremely high, well done to all the acts for putting on a great show! Credit goes especially the few who made it through to the London & East final; Sunday 15th May 2011 Towngate Theatre, Basildon.

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.

Ipswich Final 1

Jordan Jackson-Superb voice, image could be better and remember to engage with the audience, needs more confidence so keep performing to crowds!

Dirty Addiction-Very tight performance, good vocals and good energy from whole band. Keep it up!

Oliver Daltry- Good powerful vocals, needs more effort on image. Needs to also work on guitar playing and confidence. Keep practising as there is potential for the future.

Keep ‘Em keen- Need more effort with a collective image. Lots of energy from lead singer which is great. Can’t always hear vocals, drowned out by guitars so be careful. Risky trying to get audience involved, but good effort.

Alex Tooke- Nice vocals, needs more stage confidence and move to around more, don’t just stand in one place for whole performance.

Marben- Good overall performance, but needed to be tighter overall as a whole band.

Daniel Hunter-Good vocals but a bit shaky in places, need to think about image, Good cover choice.

Bob-Tight overall performance. Great energy and good vocals, good image for guitarist and bassist.

Elli Bea-Nice voice, but watch mic control in places. Remember to look at the audience. Keep rehearsing.

Dig Deep-Good lead vocals, and great guitar. Whole band need to think about collective image.

Freya Roy-Lovely vocals and good version on cover song. Think more about an image to make you stand out. Overall a very easy listening and enjoyable performance, but needs to gain confidence on stage.

Intuition-Good image and lead vocals. Good original song, but vocals break up in places, work on harmonies.

Lauren Andrews-very nice image very good vocals. Seemed nervous on stage so needs to keep rehearsing to gain confidence.

Kaleidofly- Lots of energy. Good lead vocals, but a bit shaky in places. Rehearse more and lead singer should  concentrate on vocals more than stage energy.

Lucy Sampson-Very laid back performance with great vocals. Good to see a ukulele on stage.

Show me the coastline-Vocals quite shaky, need to concentrate on singing more than jumping around. Vocals got better as performance went on, but need to make sure you are warmed up from the start.

Luke Burr-A wonderful soft warm enticing voice, and still so young! Great keyboard skills. Bright future ahead!

Rosie reeves-Lovely vocals and nice image

iCing-Nice image, vocals shaky at first, but good once you got into it. A well thought out performance.

Frost D-Very impressive performance. Good use of cover song!

Afterglow- Good energy and lead vocals. Need a little more thought into a collective image, front man looks good. Good communication with the crowd.

Final 2

Ashlee Brooks- Lovely image and lovely vocal technique, remember to look at the audience throughout performance. Free yourself from the mic stand and use the stage. Need to gain confidence.

3 rd I- Good clear lead vocals. You need to think about a collective image. Great cover choice and very well done. Band works well together overall, female vocals and keys add a good dynamic.

Nic Keeble- Good image, vocals could be stronger so keep practising. Good audience participation! Keep rehearsing vocals and guitar.

Poontang- Needed more of a collective image. Look like you enjoyed the performance, which was great. The performance itself needed more excitement. Need something to make you stand out.

Chapter of Wolves- Great power for a three piece. 2 vocals work well together and the performance had good drive and energy. Be careful on vocals in places.

Flo Irvine and Adam Dodd- Great female vocals and great guitar accompaniment. Need to engage with each other more on stage to create some chemistry. Seemed nervous on stage so keep playing in front of crowds to gain confidence.

Infuriate-Really tight overall performance with fantastic energy, and made the cover your own. Band members work very well together, keep it up!

Joseph Hughes and the voodoo Chimes-Could communicate with each other more. Great instrumentals, strong vocals and good image.

Anna Pancaldi-Lovely vocals throughout whole performance, good chemistry on stage but could have made an effort with a collective image as a duo. Use the stage more!

Drive Through Therapy-Good effort on image! Very tight performance, members work well together and have great stage presence. Original song was performed much better than the cover.

Charity Pancaldi- Very strong vocals and a lovely tone to her voice. Try to look at the crowd rather than have eyes closed. Needs to gain confidence but sounds great. More effort with image is needed to make her stand out.

Too Late the future- Very powerful lead vocals. Collective image would have been nice, but great overall sound. Vocal not always clear, so be careful. Great instrumentals.

Two Steps Twice- Fantastic performance, great energy and enthusiasm. All look like you’re having a great time on stage. Great front man and great effort with image. Well done, keep it up in the next round!

Final 3

Turning Days-Good start to the show! Great guitar and good lead vocals. Be careful as vocals aren’t always clear. Good energy, but lead singer seemed out of breath in places, so concentrate on vocals more than moving around too much. Front man looks good-the image needs to be reflected in other band members. Good cover choice.

Osian Rhys- Good vocals. Very good original song, but also needed to make some effort with a cover song to follow rules of the competition.

Poontang- Could have made more effort with image. Bass player needs to look at audience rather than at the bass the whole time. Keep practising in front of crowds.

Mastema- Good communication on stage and powerful lead vocal. Good effort with audience participation. Good choice of cover, really made it their own.

Beth White-Lovely vocal and good eye contact with crowd, would be good to see you move around the stage. Good blend of cover and original. Need something to make her stand out much more! Perhaps think about image.

The Breach-Good vocal, but watch mic control as lyrics cannot be heard in places. Take your time!! Good instrumentals. Use the stage more to give the performance more energy.

Hydrophonix- Good energy, but bass player needs to look at crowd instead of at the bass. Watch mic control in places as lyrics were not always clear. Good cover choice, suited you a lot.

Secca- Lovely tone to her voice, image needs work to make her stand out more and shes needs to use the stage.  

Tom Prior and the Gents- Good movement on stage and good lead vocals, but more backing vocals would add to the performance. Missing a collective image. Bass and guitar players need to engage with the crowd, don’t leave it to the front man.

StormWeatherMan-Good image, but could put more energy into the rapping, but good clear lyrics.

Small Acre- Lots of energy and good version of cover song. Very entertaining.

The Larks-Very laid back, nice vocals, but singing is much better than talking. Needed a collective image.  

September Rain-Very good energy. Band members need to engage with the crowd, again it is left to the lead singer, who should be concentrating on vocals more than energy!

Kitty Norman- Lovely vocal. Nice performance, but needs something to make her stand out.

Welcome to Purgatory- Really good energy, band members work well together. Definitely made the cover song your own!

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 the Area Final on Sunday 15th May 2011 at the Towngate Theatre, Basildon go to the Live and Unsigned website to purchase tickets with the following link; http://www.liveandunsigned.uk.com/live_shows