Da Vinci / Carol Lee Sampson @ The Marrs Bar (Worcester)
Another touch of adventure the following night at the Marrs Bar in Worcester - a premier for Battle of the Bands winner Da Vinci's rock opera 'Razorblade World'. Classy supporting set from Malvern's Carol Lee Sampson with help from West Virginia's Tyler - caught a touch of KT Tunstall to this silky set - which certainly blew a few cobwebs away.Also spotted Expedestrian's guitarist Dave who says they've nearly finished their 'Unfinishable' album - out soon! I saw a great theatrical-rock show last year with local Germano-industrial outfit The Brethren - so great expectation then for Da Vinci's set - kicked off in true rock opera style with the feel of the opening bit of 'Quadrophenia' and a touch of 5.15 - with an REM-ish mandolin. If you like prog rock then you'd have been pleased with the Marillion-esque numbers peppering the two hour long set - with an interval halfway. Can't see the point though of those idiots who spoilt the first half by airing their bronchial egos over the Under Milk Wood-type narrative between each number. Sure it was a little bit amateur dramatic but this was billed as a concept event and didn't deserve the simian guffaws - luckily absent in the second half - the highlight of which was the phenomenal Abigail on guest vocals for the final couple of numbers. In hindsight I'd say this was an excellent Frank Zappa-like show that would probably be better aired at somewhere like the Swan Theatre or the Huntingdon Hall. The lighting and back projection were pretty groovy and the sound up to the Marrs Bar's usual top-notch standard. What I didn't really take to though was the underlying theme of 'Razorblade World' which was basically about self-harming, sectioning and sedation - not exactly feelgood topics - but I would quite happily see this show again - as I think would most of the good Friday night crowd there. I'm pretty sure too that indie reviewer Toxic Pete enjoyed the set as a whole - he tapped me on the shoulder half-way through a later number - 'this one's in 7/6 time!' - and until then I'd only ever heard one other song in 7-time - 'JockoHomo' by Devo of course!
