Carlton Melton @ The Winchester Gate

 

I was lucky enough to get to see the fabulous Carlton Melton for the second time in less than a week, and they were, again and as one would expect, truly phenomenal. This time it was closer to home at another of my favourite pub/venues, the fantastic Winchester Gate in Salisbury. What I wrote regarding Carlton Melton and the qualities of their King Arthur performance remains true for tonights' gig, I'd only be repeating myself, and anyway I've already used all the available superlatives to describe this prodigious bands performances. The only difference I'd say was that whereas the Arthur performance had a wild frenetic nature to it, this evenings' was a more considered and focused affair; viva la difference I say, both were far out. It was also a treat to see Carlton Melton supported by Salisbury band Carpet. I've seen Carpet 3 times (?) previously, each a unique experience as they appear to have a wonderful fluid nature to their sound and performances; tonight they were joined by a nervous looking fellow singing in Hindi, damn fine stuff, the cultural mix of electronic psych and traditional style vocals worked well. Check Carprt out here. 

All in all another wonderful evening, great venue, two superb bands and the fine company of friends old and new; again my cap is doffed to all who made this evening the respite from modernitys' tribulations that it was.

Ebble

There's nothing like a chalk stream, crystal clear waters which are always refreshingly cold and teaming with life.  The river Ebble is one such stream. Running through the Chalk Valley, the Ebble's always a pleasure to stroll along, its banks as filled life as its waters.

Faulston Down

A badly stitched panorama, I know, the photos weren't taken to create a panorama. Though I think you still get a feel for the rolling expanses in areas of the Chase, and their beauty, something that reaches deep inside you. This is Faulston Down as viewed from Throope Hill near Coombe Bissett just west of Salisbury. Lovely. I've not been able to get out over the Chase since Geoff's arrival, him not being up to the long walks required.  So I jumped at the opportunity today, and it was marvellous! As I made my way along hidden trackways thronged with hedgerow shrubs bursting with bounties, up onto the exposed downs, I felt a connection to the land, it felt right. A smile spread across my face whilst the worries and pressures of modernity in our failing nation ebbed away.  What they say about walking and well being are well founded, I felt a different person after my walk.

Carpet @ The Winchester Gate, Salisbury, 26.7.18

I've picked up a few set lists over recent years, although never anything like this unique info-graphic set list, how cool is this! Accurate too. And, the band? One of Salisbury's finest...Carpet. Carpet are a high quality psychedelic beat combo, a band we first saw supporting west coast maestros Carlton Melton a couple of years ago. We like them. For good reason, they play a very nice line in improvised grooves, I say improvised, clearly there's a plan (the images is evidence), but you can tell by the way the band throw glances at each other that there's an element of flexibility and freedom in their performance. I felt jazz stylings as the individual band members did their things, before blending into a fabulous psychedelic whole, it was proper immersive stuff too. I don't know much background on the band, although I do know guitarist Darren also plays with those Salisbury stalwarts of 60's flavoured psyche The Neighbourhood Strange. Clearly all the musicians are proficient in their art, each band member bringing their best to the table, and all looking to be having fun. The drummer was interesting, there was something decidedly punk about his style and delivery which certainly added to the energy, the other guitarist too was really throwing himself into it...they all were. We were blown away, the whole room were loving it. As the info graphic suggests, so it was. A psyche explosion sent all the musicians hurtling out into space on their own courses, slowly coalescing into a lovely mellow groove, before the beat kicked in and a sumptuous heavy groove took hold, and that really was a lovely heavy groove to finish. Bravo! My only complaint, I wanted more. Another top night at another one of our 'not so local locals' (The Winchester Gate, Salisbury), not so not local as our primary 'not so local local' (The King Arthur, Glastonbury), but still not a local really as to be described as local. I digress. Carpet have changed and most definitely grown since we first saw them a couple of years ago, and they may well have been the support this evening, but I'd happily have turned out just to see them, and hope to catch them again real soon.Check them out here.

Carlton Melton @The Winchester Gate 25.2.18

It was just over two years ago that we'd seen American psyche-rockers Carlton Melton perform in Salisbury, and tonight they were back. Anticipation was high, as their performance in 2015 was an extraordinary evening, really, something else, and the opportunity to see them again had been a long time coming. Tonight they were playing at The Winchester Gate, a great little venue, no really, it is a little venue, though with great charm, atmosphere and low beams; Andy (Duvall, drummer/guitarist) came a cropper on one of them, gave himself a nasty knock. The Winchester Gate is one of those venues where the stage is barely higher than the floor, and being set in a small room, it makes for an intimate performance. Support was local psyche band Carpet, who may have only played one track, but it was a bloody long one, and good too.  Unfortunately being at the back I saw nought, though what I heard I enjoyed. After the support, as folk went off to the bar, we took the opportunity to secure a position front and centre. Of course, it was a good choice, allowing us to see the band working their magic at close quarters. And magic it certainly was; I suppose you could describe them as musical shaman. These three unassuming guys are accomplished masters of the deep psyche sound-scape and hypnotic drone, and there's more, their heavy psychedelic meditations are punctuated by tracks with solid rock riffs and rhythms; a fantastically complementary juxtaposition. Take their most recent release 'Mind Minerals', a beautiful album which from the opening track grabs your imagination, hypnotizes you, then four sides later you're back in the room, wondering where you were for the last hour and a half, but knowing you were all the better for it.  Don't take my word for it, buy it!  Anyway, I digress.  Interlude over, three guys with guitars take to the stage and immediately work on opening the portals to their somewhere out there musical dimension; Rich Millman (guitar/synth), Andy Duvall (guitar/drums) and Clint Golden (Bass). The scene set, we're off on our magical journey.  Andy is now behind the drums (he'll periodically move forward with his guitar again) and is bashing out some driving rhythms. Clint is doing what bass players often do, staying in the shadows, ensuring the rhythms are maintained and clean, an anchor in this reality, which he does with masterful understatement Whilst Rich plays sublime guitar, periodically twiddling knobs and pushing keys creating a synth canvas for his guitar to glide over. These guys are skilled professionals, but more importantly than that, you can see and feel the passion for their music in their performance. I know the venue was small, but still, their sound filled it to bursting, you weren't so much listening to the music as immersed in it. Standing directly in front of Rich I got to really appreciate his skill as a guitarist, as seemingly effortlessly he made his guitar make the most wonderful sounds. Andy too, moving with ease from guitar to drums and back again, looked blissed out (I suppose that could have been concussion, kidding!). They all looked like they were enjoying performing as much as we were enjoying the performance. I couldn't tell you the titles of the tracks they played, I'm rubbish like that, though be assured it was from start to finish solid gold, not a minute was filler, with each track receiving enthusiastic applause. As with all good things, all too soon it was over, safely returned to the room the audience was all smiles.  What a fantastic evening, and what lovely guys, no pretension, happy to chat with the audience, sign stuff and importantly for a band of their calibre and standing, prepared to play an out of the way tour date in a smaller venue. Kudos.  Thanks to Carlton Melton (and The Winchester Gate) for a memorable evening, I hope it's not so long before their return this time.  

Ulysses and The Neighbourhood Strange @ The Winchester Gate, Salisbury 25.11.16

Blimey! That was a night out, and some; good company, good music, good venue and if I'm honest, too much alcohol on a near empty stomach. The evening was Ulysses and The Neighbourhood Strange at The Winchester Gate in Salisbury.  We'd seen The Neighbourhood Strange supporting Carlton Melton last year in another Salisbury venue and knew them to be good, and I'd been looking forward to catching Ulysses for some time now (I was hoping to catch them earlier in the year with Magic Bus). The Winchester Gate was a new venue for us and we were pleased to find it; a fine establishment and venue by all accounts,  manned by friendly staff (who humorously served drinks in a variety of inappropriate glasses, I had shots served in a standard whiskey glass, a wine glass and several in half pint classes, by far the funniest) and equally congenial patrons. We'll be watching for more at the Winchester Gate.

First up were Ulysses, a four piece rock combo out of Bath via the 1970's. Ulysses channel a variety of rich and diverse 70's musical flavours, polish them up a touch, put a contemporary spin on them and loose them with love on an  audience.  Tonight’s audience who filled the low ceilinged room were hungry for what was being served, enjoying every bit of it, plenty of dancing smiley faces showing their approval between tracks with thunderous applause. The band played tracks of their current, and hugely listen-able, album 'Law and Order' and kept us entertained inbetween with witty banter and a story about a car which as I remember was never resolved. All round a top band both live and on cassette, yeah, that's right cassette!  A great performance, I'll be looking out for them again. Next up were The Neighbourhood Strange a psychedelic/garage beat combo out of Salisbury via the days of future past, again diverse musical flavours at play, blended with care and skill, this time from a decade earlier, there's certainly an echo of the mid/late 60's going on, what's created can only be described as, nice (as said by the Jazz guy on the fast show). I enjoyed  The Neighbourhood Strange when I saw them last, and I enjoyed them even more so this time around.  Again, the audience loved it, the room was packed with dancing smiley faces, great atmosphere, home audience an' all. The nature of the songs, the names of which are unknown to be (but for the few I've listened to online), bridged time, in essence late 60's tunes though feeling very current and contemporary, all of them beautifully crafted, were a joy to listen to. I hope there's an album on the way. Both bands created immersive atmospheres in which you could really experience and enjoy the music to its full, well, it's definitely music to be enjoyed. Top night, bravo to all involved.    

Carlton Melton + The Neighbourhood Strange + Carpet @ The Old Ale House, Salisbury

 

You'd think listening to most radio stations or what the television radiates, that our current musical landscape was entirely populated by auto-tuned generic corporate pulp. Though step outside and look beyond the barren musical landscape the media promotes and you find that that is not the case, and that there's a wonderfully rich musical world going on out there in independent venues and at small festivals. Take Carlton Melton. A good friend of mine, who's in the know on things psychedelic, turned me on to Carlton Melton and when an opportunity to see them perform life locally arose, naturally I took it.  

Carlton Melton are a three piece heavy psych band from the West coast of America: Andy Duvall on drums (although starting and finishing on guitar), Rich Millman on lead (and synth/keyboard) and bass man Clint Golden. Their set started slowly with a hypnotic number of guitar and synth, setting the stage and gently sliding you out of one reality and into the Carlton Melton-verse. Then boom!, and we were off, carried by Andy's heavy drumming and Clint's rhythmic bass we were off down the colourful psychedelic tunnels created by Rick's frantic guitar noodlings. Far f*cking out, man. Carlton Melton really know how to rock. Andy bashed away at the drums like a man possessed, Rick wasn't still long enough to get a clear shot of him, in fact, I think he was actually fazing in and out of our reality and Clint, well, Clint's conscientious deep bass vibe kept the band safely tethered in this reality.  They all appeared to be loving it; the crowd were certainly loving it, it was a sea of smiley fly catching faces, blown away by the sonic storm emanating from the stage. We were served a feast of deep psychedelic fare until we returned to where we started, with the band playing a hypnotic guitar and synth number. Then, all too soon, it was over and we were back in the room. Afterwards I took the opportunity to talk to the guys and thank them, what nice fellows, very humble. They all said they'd be back in April, so there's a date for your diary. Carlton Melton nice guys doing top shelf psychedelic music; does what it says on the label.

There were also two support bands on the bill. The first were a band called Carpet, I have to be honest and I'm ashamed to say that I wasn't paying much attention to them and so can't really do a review of justice, although what I heard sounded fine. Next were The Neighbourhood Strange. The Neighbourhood Strange sounded to me like an old style 60's psychedelic garage band, with short, fast paced numbers played with a real retro feel to them and tons of gusto. That's no criticism, I thoroughly enjoyed their set which was delivered very competently.

And the venue? The Old Ale House in Salisbury, a venue of the type I've described and enthused about in previous gig posts, a smallish, friendly pub venue with friendly staff, a good atmosphere and a willingness to put on a wide range of bands. All round a great night. I'll certainly keep my eye out for Carlton Melton and The Neighbourhood Strange, both well worth venturing out for; as well as keeping my eye on who's playing the Old Ale House.