Andy Champion (bass), Adrian Tilbrook (drums), Paul Edis (piano/ keyboard), Graham Wilson (baritone/tenor sax) and Mark Williams (guitar).
The first time I heard ACV I didn’t like them! If that sounds heretical please bear in mind that I have admitted (on this website) to being an ignoramus. Several gigs later, having moved from incomprehension to qualified approval, the Sage tonight was my “Damascus” (via the Bridge and Whitley Bay): I am converted! It was brilliant, from start to (all too soon) finish. I wanted to shout: “Put Soweto Kinch on hold – give us an encore”!
Throbbing bass began it on A Line Made by Walking, and an amazing bowed bass solo brought the house down at the end on Without Bones. The latter ended with a HUGE crescendo: the former ended suddenly. Endings came in two forms tonight – ones that haven’t finished when you think they have, and ones that finish before you realise. Both types caught me out (ignoramus!) and typified this band’s inventiveness and unpredictability.
Second up was a more lyrical “debut” piece called Dust Red – was this inspired by Consett Ale, I wondered? This was followed by the enigmatic anagramatical Giant Mice – more funky than lyrical - and quirky (in spades!), starting as it did with Paul’s synthesised mouse intro and leading into enthusiastically received solos from him and from Mark.
Andy’s anecdotal announcement of the next number, Nutmeg State, mentioned both Old Peculier (so last season) and Brandy-Milk Punch – hence my speculation about Consett Ale. No, I was NOT aware of the hallucinogenic properties of nutmeg, but this gave a flavour (so to speak)! In my note-pad I wrote the following: “MAD!!! Killer-bees!? Dali does jazz? ATTACK ALL INSTRUMENTS”! (And I was drinking water at the time!)
Never Ever – announced by Andy as the “total opposite” - calmed things down with an almost classical feel (piano and bowed bass) until Mark’s guitar ramped it up to a rock-style crescendo before falling away again to a quiet (and for once expected) ending.
It was the last “quiet” of the night as Fail in Wood (did I mention that the boys have a CD out by that name? Well worth buying, on tonight’s evidence!) was followed by the aforementioned Without Bones, the kamikaze pace of which left even an ignoramus impressed with the musicians’ brilliant timing.
So my first encounter prompted the comment: “I’ve never heard anything like it! ” - as did tonight’s performance, but what a world of difference in meaning between those two utterances! Jerry. (who also took the photos - ed.)
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