ANIMATE

7th November  2007

Phil WING                        Lead Guitar / B/Vocals 

Chris TURNER                Vocals/Keyboard 

Graham FORRESTER     Bass / B/Vocals

Steve LEWIS                    Drums

Having got through to their web-site, their set list amounted to a lot of music I enjoy, but I also noted that this was their first gig since Chris lost his voice some weeks ago. I know that they have played at The Quaker before ( their band photos were shot here), and that I have heard are nothing but very good reports. I didn't hear the warm up and, initially, it looked as though Man Utd/Arsenal's sojourn in Europe was going to take precedence but as things progressed, so did the numbers in the audience.

Set 1.

David Bowie features quite strongly in their set list, so it was not unexpected that they led off with Ziggy Stardust from The Spiders from Mars era. Chris's vocals, whilst adequate enough for the song lacked the Bowie anguished tones, but the backing was fine and certainly was a decent enough start. A dramatic improvement came, not only with the song but in comparison with previous groups attempts at doing the classic Cream track 'The White Room'. I don't know whether it was the dramatic filling in by the keyboard or simply that these guys just performed a very good version to a very high level and so early on in the set. A number by Radiohead came next, believed to be 'The Bends', not heard here before, and certainly not by me. They seemed to know what they were doing, but I wasn't sure about the vocals, as they certainly didn't have the Tom Thorn 'bullet in the head' feel. The Rush sound was definitely there on 'Dreamline' with Phil, Graham and Steve all doing their bit, but I honestly can't say we have a Geddy-sound-alike. Chris did bring in the concern regarding his voice in the attempt on 'Sleepflower' by the Manic Street Preachers, naming it as the song that lost his voice. However with Phil providing the backing harmonies this was very close to being spot on, and Phil's solo guitar work was bang on the money. They followed this up by a blast back to 'The Seeker' by The Who. Again this range of vocals seemed to fit Chris a lot better, and combined with an energetic driving rhythm, there was definite feel of sliding back to the late 60's (O.K. some of you might not remember or weren't even born...oh well). To finish we had two numbers from Pink Floyd, the first being 'Time' from Dark Side of the Moon, though abridged, I thought to begin with the tempo was just a tad on the speedy side but as the song progressed, it audibly slowed to what I thought was exactly as it should be played. This was only a warm up for the highlight of the first half -'Comfortably Numb'. AND this is despite MARTY!!! (To be honest, and please don't let him read this - he wasn't that bad...may I burn in hell!!). Animate showed precisely why they are so good, this was very tight both vocally and musically, and Phil's solo was mind-numbingly good. A superb end to the first set.

Set 2 

An instrumental start with Rush's '2112' got us off to very good beginning  which led us into a medley based on an amalgamation of King Crimson's 21st Century Schizoid and Led Zeppelin's 'Whole Lotta Love','Kashmir' and 'Stairway to Heaven' ... there may have been more but those are the ones I spotted, before finishing on 21st Century.....This was very good and a superb example of their ability to swop modes. Rush came again to us from a track from the Snakes and Arrows album,'Farcry'. Musically, the guitar and rhythm blended superbly together, but I feel I have to get my head around that Animate are performing these Rush songs as Animate, and not trying to imitate them, because Chris's vocals do not do it for me. A modern performance and away from a 70's feel, came 'Moonage Daydream' by Bowie. This I feel is quite definitive of the Animate sound with distorted guitar providing the fill in the background, and added to the guitar solo, this was a version they can truly call their own. Porcupine Tree made an all to belated appearance at the Quaker with 'Even Less' from In Absentia. I make no bones about it they are my group of the moment and Animate played this track extremely well......my personal highlight!!! Near perfection was reached with Pink Floyd's 'Another Brick in the Wall'... terrific!! The Who's version of 'Summertime Blues' came quickly on and again this was very close, with Chris's voice getting closer to Daltry's as the night rock and rolled on. The entire backing formula should get a lot of credit for reproducing sounds that are close to the money, non more so than illustrated on 'Your Time has Come' from Audioslave, having said that singing altogether was more like the Foo Fighters, but hey that can't be a bad thing, can it? 'Spirit of the Radio'  is my favourite Rush track, and I have to say this is the best version I have heard since The Force, and Chris must have all of a sudden switched his vocal chords to the Geddy Lee mode, because this was very close. The quality of the backing vocals came very much to the fore on 'Suffragette City' by David Bowie, and added to the idea that there is room for tributing Bowie on the odd occasion. The night finished on Neil Young's 'Rocking in the Free World', but with full in your face rock treatment with accompanying sing-a-long chorus... a great finishing song.

I really enjoyed the night which is what it is all about. Animate are a very tight and gifted set of musicians and are not afraid of pushing the boat out on new material. I may have gone on a little about Chris's vocals but this is not about the quality of his voice, because as a vocalist he is good.. it's just that on a few songs it just doesn't feel right. Overrall this was a top notch performance by everyone involved and Animate are certainly a group I would go out of my way to see, especially if they continue to include Porcupine Tree in their repertoire.