It's kinda like Déjà vu, man, back at the King Arthur to watch Sentient, but then not so. Yeah, the King Arthur's the same, a public house/venue par excellence, populated with friendly, funny and vibrant staff and punters (more of that later). Such are the frequency of our visits for gigs, it's taken on a very comfortable homely feel. But Sentient, man, Sentient! They may have been the same four fellows up there on the stage, four musical giants of boundless talent and originality, but each time we see them they bring something new to the party. A tweak here, a nudge into a new direction there, a familiar sound forged anew. What I'm trying to say is, each time we see Sentient they just keep getting better. How the fuck do you consistently improve on what appears perfection? All I know is that they do! For those who don't know, Sentient are: Steffe Sharpstrings on guitar. Steffe's a purveyor of many musical flavours, although he's probably best known for his work with Here and Now and Planet Gong,
his glissando and noodling skills are both instantly recognizable and outstanding. Bass is provided by the
legendary Mike
Howlett, possibly most famously of Gong, although he has many more strings to his bow. When it comes to great bass players look no further, Mike's passion and skill on bass (to my mind) are hard to beat. On
drums is the magnificent Steve Cassidy notably of Planet Gong and currently Here and Now. Steve's drumming is clean and powerful, able to drive and maintain the
most rhythmic of numbers. Finally on keyboards and synth, Mr twiddly knobbery himself Joie Hinton. You'll know Joie from Ozric Tentacles, Eat Static and currently Here and Now, and, man, does he know his trippy noises. Yeah, I think you've guessed it, Sentient are a kind of counter culture super group.
The room was packed (and, why wouldn't it be!) when Steffe and Joie took to the stage and together began to create some wondrous sounds. Steffe's glissando was bliss, as was his noodling, top shelf stuff and then something new as Steffe played this guitar in a style I'd not heard him play before, fast clean rock shred licks on a jazzy tip (or some such), far out! All the time Joie, leaning into the keys was watching for cues, smiling, twiddling and tweaking, forming textures for Steffe's guitar to glide across. Way good, man. It's amazing what wonderful musical textures and soundscapes a guitar and keyboards in the hands of great musicians can create (for another great guitar/keyboard combo check out Music of the Andys.) Steffe and Joie played two tracks, both really really nice. Now Steve and Mike took to the stage to join them, and of course the sound took on new dimensions and directions. The tracks (whether they're 'tracks' or rather the framework for improvisation) appeared to have a stronger funky jazz flavour to them this time around (maybe Mike Howletts influence). I'm not complaining, mind, you gotta love the funk. The sound was rich and deeply layered, inspiration being drawn from diverse musical wells. As well as the funk and jazz elements, there's a dub, space rock, psych feel, as well as the unmistakable echo you hear in a Gong family band. It was bloody beautiful, man, the magic flowed! I love Steffe's guitar style, so natural, he makes it look like a meditation, it's pure guitar poetry, and he looks like he's loving every minute of it, feeling every note. Throughout both sets his glissando and noodling was flawless. Joie was on good form tonight too, his twiddling and tweaking consistently hitting the spot, adding some fantastic synth textures and forms to the mix, which are always welcome. As for Steve's drumming, what a very understated drummer, looking calm and relaxed whilst maintaining a solid unfaltering groove, dropping in great accents and embellishments, as and when. He drove the tracks along. Even when he's going like the clappers, he looks decidedly pedestrian, boss drummer for sure. And then there was Mike Howlett, bass player of behemothic talent and standing. What a musician, man, his funky bass licks and riffs were something else, with a consistency which was amazing. You couldn't help but stare in awe at his style and presence, faultless bass on every number, the bass flowing through him. I said it last time; the Howlett/Cassidy combination gives Sentient a rhythm section beyond compassion, and that was only re-enforced this evenings performance. I loved the glances the band throw each other, how good a musician you must have to be to improvise and freestyle to such a standard as these fellows achieve. Justifiably, the end of each track was met with loud and sustained applause, the audience were fucking loving it, it was a good audience too, as I previously mentioned, the room was packed. Then there was then a break for refreshments. I noticed a couple of musicians in the audience this evening, Andy Roger of Music of the Andys and Here and Now, and Cary Grace, whose fantastic new release 'The Uffculme Variations' (review to follow) features Steffe (it's an earworm of an album). At the end of the intermission Steve took to the stage and performed some nice solo drumming for us, before the band joined him and they were off again. The second set continued along similar lines to the first, there was a nice reggae-ish number, a rich feast of psychedelic rock flavours with thick layers of jazziness, and plenty of funky flavours too. The band were laying down some seriously sumptuous musical vibes. It was all just so good, man, such a tight sound and yet so free flowing. The band looked to be enjoying it (always nice), and the audience certainly were, most people were up dancing and everybody was certainly having a damn fine time. The evening finished off with a reworking of an old school Here and Now track, and the crowd loved it. What a spectacular performance, stellar stuff!
The room was packed (and, why wouldn't it be!) when Steffe and Joie took to the stage and together began to create some wondrous sounds. Steffe's glissando was bliss, as was his noodling, top shelf stuff and then something new as Steffe played this guitar in a style I'd not heard him play before, fast clean rock shred licks on a jazzy tip (or some such), far out! All the time Joie, leaning into the keys was watching for cues, smiling, twiddling and tweaking, forming textures for Steffe's guitar to glide across. Way good, man. It's amazing what wonderful musical textures and soundscapes a guitar and keyboards in the hands of great musicians can create (for another great guitar/keyboard combo check out Music of the Andys.) Steffe and Joie played two tracks, both really really nice. Now Steve and Mike took to the stage to join them, and of course the sound took on new dimensions and directions. The tracks (whether they're 'tracks' or rather the framework for improvisation) appeared to have a stronger funky jazz flavour to them this time around (maybe Mike Howletts influence). I'm not complaining, mind, you gotta love the funk. The sound was rich and deeply layered, inspiration being drawn from diverse musical wells. As well as the funk and jazz elements, there's a dub, space rock, psych feel, as well as the unmistakable echo you hear in a Gong family band. It was bloody beautiful, man, the magic flowed! I love Steffe's guitar style, so natural, he makes it look like a meditation, it's pure guitar poetry, and he looks like he's loving every minute of it, feeling every note. Throughout both sets his glissando and noodling was flawless. Joie was on good form tonight too, his twiddling and tweaking consistently hitting the spot, adding some fantastic synth textures and forms to the mix, which are always welcome. As for Steve's drumming, what a very understated drummer, looking calm and relaxed whilst maintaining a solid unfaltering groove, dropping in great accents and embellishments, as and when. He drove the tracks along. Even when he's going like the clappers, he looks decidedly pedestrian, boss drummer for sure. And then there was Mike Howlett, bass player of behemothic talent and standing. What a musician, man, his funky bass licks and riffs were something else, with a consistency which was amazing. You couldn't help but stare in awe at his style and presence, faultless bass on every number, the bass flowing through him. I said it last time; the Howlett/Cassidy combination gives Sentient a rhythm section beyond compassion, and that was only re-enforced this evenings performance. I loved the glances the band throw each other, how good a musician you must have to be to improvise and freestyle to such a standard as these fellows achieve. Justifiably, the end of each track was met with loud and sustained applause, the audience were fucking loving it, it was a good audience too, as I previously mentioned, the room was packed. Then there was then a break for refreshments. I noticed a couple of musicians in the audience this evening, Andy Roger of Music of the Andys and Here and Now, and Cary Grace, whose fantastic new release 'The Uffculme Variations' (review to follow) features Steffe (it's an earworm of an album). At the end of the intermission Steve took to the stage and performed some nice solo drumming for us, before the band joined him and they were off again. The second set continued along similar lines to the first, there was a nice reggae-ish number, a rich feast of psychedelic rock flavours with thick layers of jazziness, and plenty of funky flavours too. The band were laying down some seriously sumptuous musical vibes. It was all just so good, man, such a tight sound and yet so free flowing. The band looked to be enjoying it (always nice), and the audience certainly were, most people were up dancing and everybody was certainly having a damn fine time. The evening finished off with a reworking of an old school Here and Now track, and the crowd loved it. What a spectacular performance, stellar stuff!
Life can be shit sometimes, man, unrelenting heaviness can drag your spirit down; it's nights like this, that help keep that black dog muzzled. The energy from these evenings resonates far beyond the gig itself. I think Abba hit the nail on the head with, '(music) who can live without it. I ask in all honesty, what would life be?'. Word! The power of a good gig to raise and renew ones spirits cannot, and should not, be underestimated. I am truly grateful for the music. And yeah, I referenced Abba, so what! And the 'Arthur', well, as always it was a joy, every box ticked and many stars awarded. The sound guy was on top form again, you wouldn't believe the sound quality for such a small venue, clean and clear, bravo that dude! Now, if you've read any of my reviews of previous King Arthur gigs you'll know we always meet lovely friendly characters. Tonight whilst sitting in the comfy sofas towards the back of the pub, we spied a familiar face (usually we never seem to meet the same people twice). It was sweet Annie (literally from Frome) from our last visit, she was completely bewildered as to who we were, though after chatting a while I think the mists cleared. We recounted our last encounter, and remarked she was more together this time, to which she replied 'Annie, similar, yet not the same'. You've got to laugh. It was lovely to see Annie, you can't beat nice people, especially in to today's world.
Anyways, another top night was had, for which I give big love and thanks to all involved. If you've not seen Sentient or visited the King Arthur, you really need to rectify that.
