Live Music Showcase at Portsmouth Regional final – Feedback

The Regional Final live music showcase in Portsmouth, took place as the Guildhall welcomed the best of unsigned talent for the latest round of the Live and Unsigned Competition. Portsmouth’s Guildhall provided a great atmosphere for the live shows on the 23rd April, with guest acts We Are The Ocean and Danica Hunter  headlining the showcases. 

Judges presiding over the Portsmouth Regional Final included musician and songwriter Graeme Ennis, Dielle Lodrick, vocal coach for Igloo music UK and head of voice at Portsmouth Music festival, Stuart Slater from Drum School, Dave Phillips from South Coast Audio, International singer Rosalind Fountain, Butserfest organiser Mike Goncalves and Russell Scott from Russell Scott 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 Southern England Area final on Saturday 21st May 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

Guilded Youth– Looked composed and musically assured. Nice energy on stage and look like a band. Need to watch accuracy of harmonies on stage. Suggest vocal strengthening exercises to improve live performance.

Matt Sawyer – Distinctive and nice voice, perhaps consider a backing band. Matt would benefit from working on mic technique as some words were not clear on the second track but otherwise a good performance.

Tonight We Run – Good effort, lots of energy and potential. Nice movement on stage. A little messy in rhythm and also watch tempo. Would suggest vocal exercises to maximise potential.

Dan Breen– Nice guitar sound and unique voice although a little bit nervous – suggest nerve management techniques and training on mic. Once Dan got going there was a lot of originality and potential. Would sound awesome with a band.

The Curb– Really interesting and well delivered nice mix of tones and abilities with an energetic sound. Very good musically but consider overall image and band look

The Fringe – Confident performance, used the stage well, performed beyond your years but be careful not to be too complicated in places. Vocal wasn’t always clear but lead singer had a good voice.

Clare Sawyer – Improved as the performance progressed and showeda lot of maturity and musical awareness, beautiful tone. Aim for a greater sense of originality and confidence. Risky song to choose but made it original

Follow Wyliss – Good group energy,vocals not always clear for both singers, good performance qualities and a well settled band with a good vibe. Not always rhythmically together. Loved the cover although needs tweaking in places.

The 3rd League – Could benefit from backing vocals particularly in the cover but used range of instrumental sound well. Big sound with a tight performance.  Good effects with keyboard. Watch speed and work on more detailed focus.

David Blackburn – You look comfortable on stage lovely vocal. Guitar sounded a bit uneven when strumming. Nice strong voice, good emotion and strong potential. Work on guitar to improve performance.

Forever Summer –Well considered introduction and brave audience participation, you need a little more experience. Vocals work very well together. You have excellent potential. A little bit nervous at the start too.

Birds In Flight – Assured in all aspects but keep it simple. Nice energy on stage and great opening, perform to the audience a bit more. Singer could work on vocals feels like forcing voice at times.

Charlotte Cobb – Really good attempt to combine complex rhythmic and melodic patterns on keys and vocals, took a little time to properly project. A lot of promise overall, second half was better. Need to improve stage presence.

The Jammin’Dodgers – Very good for musicians so young, nice use of space on stage and a good sound. Vocal gets a bit lost. Try not to stand in front of guitarist when soloing. Very entertaining and energetic to watch. Lots of star quality.

Fight Like Kids – Great drumming but the band need an edge. Strong start and nice band sound. Need to do more on stage and engage with the audience.

Gideon Dowley – Lily Allen meets Billy Bragg. Nice sound, need to work on balance so guitar doesn’t drown out vocal. Distinctive style and nice feel

This Way Up – Confident all round with a higher level of musical ability and experience with clear stage presence. Watch the vocals in places.

Four Weeks Inbetween – Great sound, perform to audience more rather than each other, fun to watch but need to work on image to enhance overall look on stage.

Final 2

Katie – Nice Voice but would benefit from more variation in your song choice. Work on stage craft, nervous to start with but settled half way through. Overall a good performance, but need to improve on controlling nerves.

Lou Clover – Need to perform with a greater sense of projection. Nice voice and good audience involvement. Promising start but would suggest getting more live experience. Look to work on performance delivery.

Kristina Green – Looks comfortable on stage and nicely phased singing. Need to be a bit gentler on the guitar to compliment the tone of your singing.

Cultural Underground – Some timing issues to begin with but settled soon after, the second half was stronger than the first. Good sound and image, seemed comfortable on stage. Band need to work on image.

Laura Wolfie – Very interesting stylistically but needs to work on stage presence. Quite a catchy song with an American feel to it. Good switch between lead and backing vocals. Backing vocals added to overall performance.

Stricken 22- Sharp projection and stage presence. Very tight and solid performance. Vocals a little out so need to work on them, maybe try strengthening them? Upbeat and a catchy song. All band members could perform to the audience more, don’t leave it to the front man.

Luke Hartless – Make sure your guitar is in tune before you start. Nice vocal quality although diction needs improving. Enjoyed your original track. Try and be a bit more confident to improve overall performance.

Asp – Great guitar and riff based band. Solid and reliable in this genre but a few timing issues during the song. Great opening, vocals a little strained at some stages in the song but overall a solid performance.

Sweetchunks Blakeledge – Crowd pleasing song choice and a great voice. Interesting sound but not very comfortable. Need to improve on rhythm to make the song more stable. Very skilled playing but try not to do too much on the guitar as it is hard to correct.

New Royalty – Polished performance but need to work on song choices and delivery. Confident performance but make sure everyone is focused. Stage craft developing so keep working on it.

Louise Jordan – Lovely voice, vocals really complimented your style. Engaged well with the crowd.Could have done with a little more direction in the original song and also need to work on stage presence.

Absent Jack – A solid performance with composure and maturity. The act needs an edge. Develop stagecraft more as at times you didn’t look 100% comfortable on stage.  Overall a well delivered performance.

Zach Blues – Very reliable in this style and should do well in blues circles. You could look up more to connect with your audience. Great sound and really enjoyable to listen to.

Tommy Eye – A wellconsidered contrast between simple rhythmic flow and percussive stabs, vocally well done. Perform to the audience not just to each other to improve. Look at improving your image to look like a band.

The Monitorz – A great performance. You need to work on band timing (pulse ok but watch the togetherness for the rhythm). Great control and presence in this style. Had a catchy feel good vibe.

Final 3

Factory Dolls – Tight, solid and played with confidence. Also stylistic but for me needs an edge. Guitarist and bassist need to engage with audience more as drummer is singing.Good version of cover

Ashley Clark – Enjoyed performance but choice of songs became a bit slow and lost momentum. Suggest standing during performance so that you can use more movement. Good guitar playing and a nice voice.

Thee Chancers – Interesting guitar riffs and sounds but need to work on image as a band. Good sound and energy but watch mic drift, vocal getting as bit lost. All band members need to perform to the audience.

Waking Athena – All need to perform from the moment you go on stage use more open body language. Great Vocals and sound. Catchy track and liked the heavy bass patterns and rock style.

Luke Varndell – Comfortable but a little safe, needs to find and individual style, good stage presence but vocals could be a bit stronger. Work on the balance between vocals and guitar as the vocal can then come forward more.

The Unknown Artiste – Great vocal and drum blend and well expressed to give it contrast. Work well together but don’t move too much on stage as it is a bit frantic. Make full use of the mic as vocal was sometimes not clear.

Louisa Rae Reddin- Aim for a greater sense of dynamics and work on breathing techniques. Improved as the song went on. Nice artistic ideas throughout the performance.

Gweido – Musically tight and fairly polished overall but work on stagecraft to take it to the next level. Great energy and a solid performance with a strong opening. Perform more to the audience rather than to each other.

Lyrical Monsoon – Interesting choice of songs and very entertaining. Vocal not always clear, so make sure you are using the mic correctly for stronger voice projection. Talented but need more control

Nick Tatham – Nice voice and good interaction. Good choice of cover. Work on balance between vocal and guitar. A solid all round performance.

Crosstown – Musically strong but the lead singer’s image needs attention as they are the main focal point of the band. Show real promise for the future. Nice energy just need to work on vocals to improve all round performance.

Slick Minded Individuals– One to watch just work on greater projection. ‘Madness’ esque’ very fun and entertaining. A confident, polished and professional performance.

South Finesse – A lot of promise and great stage presence. Lots of energy with an urban feel.  Backing track overpowering the vocal. Overall good vibe and beats.

The Mojo Filters – Well rehearsed performance could benefit by stage movement as band members are very motionless. A good and confident band. Good sound just need to engage audience right from the start.

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 Southern England Area final on Saturday 21st May at the Portsmouth Guildhall go to the Live and Unsigned website to purchase tickets with the following link; http://www.liveandunsigned.uk.com/live_shows