Live Music Showcase at Brighton Regional final – Feedback

The Regional Final live music showcase in Brighton took place as the Hove Centre welcomed the best of unsigned talent for the latest round of the Live and Unsigned Competition. Brighton’s Hove Centre provided a great atmosphere for the live shows on the 16th April, with some great guest acts headlining the showcases. 

The headline acts taking to the stage alongside Live and Unsigned Regional Finalists in Brighton were the Dub Pistols who entertained the audience with some rocking ska hip-hop tunes. Area finalists Panning For Gold also took to the stage as part of their prize, treating the crowd to some of their best rocking indie tunes. Ben Faux also played as a guest act at Brighton, treating the crowd to his laid back acoustic material.

Judges presiding over the Brighton Regional Finals included Founder of Sussex Vocal Academy Lucinda Bristow, Former Miss Brighton and ex Virgin music Tini Leonard, Rachel Mosleh from Warner Records and session singer for Beverly Knight, frontman of the Dub Pistols Barry Ashworth, musician Ben Faux and Chris Grayston from Future Music Management.

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 Live London & East Area Final on Sunday 15th May at 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.

Show 1

Annie Sutton- Looked every bit the pop star but guitar suffered from tuning issues which detracted from the overall performance. Nice tone to voice but not much control, take care of your diction. Going forward maybe look to have a guitar accompliment or work on smoother chord changes.

David Elphick-The electric drum machine maybe worth investing in a stand so audience can visually see his playing. David himself has a good strong voice use more support on the top notes and more dynamics could have been applied to improve the impact.

Dusty Rosko- Strong vocals, tight band and original sound with an interesting and creative mix. What could they be capable of if they work on the performance, other than just the lead vocalist who is a great front man. There is very little performance from the rest of the band. Also unified image needs looking at. Cool cover choice.

Amelie Carlyle-Lovely voice and tone, cover choice was a little dated and should have been more current to reflect your age. Work on expanding expression and stage presence to find overall improvements.

Freddie Light- Huge potential. Own the stage Freddie, learn that and you’ll have a bright future as you have a fantastic voice. Looked nervy at the start and in the transition so will need to act that out more with performance in the gaps. Also watch mic control that will improve overall sound, keep the mic tight to the mouth and engage with the audience more.

Gabriella Bishop- Don’t need two guitarists, beat sounded sluggish. Gabriella’s voice is immense, sustained the notes brilliantly remember though not to over concentrate on velocity at the expense of performance. Use the stage and the opportunity to entertain that brings. Also facial expression could be improved to convey the song better, watch the footage.

Lascel Wood- Great voice with nice licks but don’t over use. Watch mic control pulling away at times unnecessarily. Work also on original material.

Silcstone- Solid and tight band with good energy. Lovely voice on lead singer but maybe would be good to adopt more attitude and sass. Also consider an injection of uniqueness in the sound and image.

Sophie Rose- Good original and a lovely smile, just needs a little more development with dynamics and expression.

Will Hawkins-Very nervy and resulted in pitch problems which was a shame. More performance and practice will sort this out. Nice touch on the cover with the name dropping.

The Hazeltones- Cover was smoothly executed, awesome backing vocals, strong rhythm throughout that gave drive and a cool original song with much potential.

Matt & Sueleen- Very earthy and compliment each other well. Be a welcome addition to the folk festival scene.

Jasmin Bower- Loved her interpretation of the cover and sustained style on the notes nicely, just watch your diction as some of the words became lost. Consider building dynamics to add energy.

Nathan Elliot-Well they gave it a go with the performance with some nice rhythmical changes but needs to be more of a collective performance and image.

Ella Martini-Singer has a really good image but the musicians need to compliment the singer. Keyboard player looked like he was experiencing problems but needs to continue playing otherwise cannot resolve. Strong vocally just on occasions need to take care with pitch.

 Forgetting yesterday- Needs more energy! Lead vocalist needs to perform and band support. Too much looking down going on. Work on collective performance. Nothing experience can’t sort out and watching recorded footage of their performance.

Show 2

Lazer Horse- Catchy original and hook. Performed as one and made the cover their own. Maybe needs to develop a unique edge to stand out from the rest

PlayDate- The girl has attitude and presence and the band sound great as a whole. Original song could have had a more defining hook to make it catchier and could have done better in making the cover song their own.

Doctrine of Complicity- Band plays well together overall and have a great image. Should be rehearsed enough to know the lyrics by now-reading them on stage takes away from the performance.

Daryl Markham- Good expression and good tone. Has a real connection with the music. Lovely voice, but be careful with mic technique in places and pitching was a little pitchy to start with, but improved as the performance went on.

Edged- Good interaction between band members, and good frontman who used the stage well. Some timing issues but overall great performance.

Cookie Jar – Well performed, but there is something missing- seems like half a band, needs bass or possibly female vocals. Material needs to be more original.

Gutter Fly- Tight band with a full sound frame and good energy coming from all band members. Good interpretation of the cover. Image could be better, and think about tightness overall as a band.

Dr Joseph- Nice voice, but image could be better. Looks like he’s having great fun on stage! Cover choice was a little obvious for an acoustic.

Half Crown- An interesting and engaging performance with great energy. Good lead vocals, well supported vocally by other members of the band. Stopping and starting was a little messy in places, but great rhythm changes. Great potential.  

Shehzad Kunwar- Nice vocal and lovely guitar work, but needs to perform to the audience.

Kopperhed- Performed well as one, good tight band. Good frontman and very entertaining.  Obviously some thought has gone into image, but there are a few different looks in one band, a collective image would be better.

Richard Cortes- Great original song, very catchy. Cover song being sung in Spanish is not as engaging as a cover could be. Nice backing track/guitar combo-worked very well. Try not to look at the guitar, focus on the crowd.

The Great Gatsby- Another cover of an urban act interestingly done. Very furious, fantastic lead vocals and good to see vocals from all guitarists. Very creative and original.

Kirsty Fallowfield- Lovely voice, but focus on expression as you’re not letting your personality shine. Work on stage presence. Consider working with a guitar player accompanist to add to the performance. Good potential just needs to grow confidence.

The Orange Circus Band- Great image and musically good. Oldest woman looks a little lost on stage- she needs to have more of a role to play.  

JAG- Frontman is engaging and strong vocally. Catchy song and great performance. Very professional overall. Work on harmonies.

Show 3

Jekyll Hyde & Seek- Used the stage well and interacted well. Image could have been more distinctive and play around with the dynamics of the song writing, maybe have a sung chorus breakdown.

Poster Child- Both blend well with nice harmonies, strong vocals, watch guitar tuning and don’t forget to interact with the audience.

Kadan Fire & Shereece- What a voice, good song and well acted out. Be careful to watch dictation. Male rapper could be more animated at the right times. Watch some of the harmonies in the chorus maybe take some out to make it work even stronger.

Nicholas Howe-Strong and clear vocals on an obvious cover. Intense eyes to a funky little original that was a foot tapper, which was a stronger performance than the cover. Engaging performance so often lacking with acoustic acts.

Krakatoa- Tight band with attitude, but not obviously original. Very 60’s.

Elijah MC- How call is this guy! Great build up of the loop pedal well arranged and if he can really perform this could be the real deal!

Nook and the Crannies- Lead vocals needs to perform to back up her silky vocals, very unconvincing front lady needs to act it out. Band has real potential great musically but need to pull through with a collective performance and more energy.

The Baron Von Marlon- Good eye contact and good smiles throughout. Original could benefit from stronger dynamics; performance was all similar paced and would make it more interesting.

The Devices- Original has potential but cover was a bit rock karaoke.

Husky George- Nice to see an acoustic duo who engaged well together and interacted well. Have to be super tight with the guitars and it would be more interesting if they didn’t play at the same.

Billy Wears Dresses- These boys are a bit of fun! Engaging and entertaining. Confusing image which needs to be looked at.

Tubby Boy- used the stage really well, get some funky glasses to go with the personality, playing on the quirkiness will be your strength. Very likeable and great personality.

LDG- Lot of crotch holding and walking up and down, needs to be a coordinated performance. Watch the footage and learn an engaging routine. Good beats!

The Merry Gang- Good image, good interaction and chemistry. Started shakily but warmed up and finished with us wanting more. Bass player needs to engage more with the audience.

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