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Smoulty's Review of the Office 22/8/03
http://www.riffsonline.co.uk/colofficereview.html#Anthem
Anthem are no strangers to The Office. They played their first ever debut gig here back in May, and then followed it up with a second appearance in August. This Rush tribute band are made up of local lads that are all from the South Shields area, and as such have always pulled in good crowds. Apart from bringing along lots of friends and family, they of course attract those die-hard Rush fans who love to hear their favourite songs played live. With Rush themselves not performing in this country for almost 10 years, then there is a demand to see a group who can give justice to those songs in a live environment. Not only is that a good enough excuse to check this band out, but more importantly they also play a ‘classic’ Rush set that doesn’t include any material past their last truly great album, ‘Moving Pictures’. So essentially this is a live representation of the ‘golden age’ of Rush, and includes all the fan’s favourite numbers that even the real Rush no longer play these days. On paper this is a marvellous idea to have a band play all these great songs in your local pub, but does it work in reality? Can a bunch of local lads really breathe new life into these amazing tunes that were originally written by 3 outstanding Canadian musicians? It was always going to be a tall order for them to achieve this because apart from the stupendous musicianship of Rush, you also have the incredibly ‘unique’ high-pitched vocals of Geddy Lee. Add this together and most bands would give up at the starting post. But Anthem have worked very hard to try and give the audience a gig that will be as close to the experience of seeing Rush live as is humanly possible for them to do so.
'The sound was immaculate, with a gigantic 7k rig'
The dedication is there 100%, and I love the fact that the band will go to extremes to give a damn good show. Hence the reason why they hired in a 7k PA system plus a large lighting rig, all merely for the downstairs stage. The group want to make a big impression and hopefully have the crowd go away with the feeling that they have been part of a ‘concert’ experience, as opposed to just another pub-gig. And for that reason I have a lot of respect and admiration for their ideals. Luckily for me, Anthem aren’t greedy and were prepared to play for a standard pub fee. This meant that The Office could open the doors to the general public with no admission charges. Putting on a show like this is a labour of love for them, and the real reward isn’t a financial one, but to hopefully see the audience enjoy themselves. Nobody was expecting an enormous crowd in the building for a Sunday night, but a whole load of people did turn up to see the band play, including folk who had even travelled from York. An excellent sized crowd turned out for this night, which is a pleasant relief when you consider how much effort, time and expense the band had put towards this gig. But the rewards for it were there in full when you saw how enthusiastic this audience were. The sound was immaculate, and using the gigantic 7k PA system paid off massively in their favour. The quality of the sound was probably one of the finest that’s ever been heard in the downstairs room, and many people remarked on just how incredible it all sounded. The huge lighting show made a massive difference too, and the entire light & sound package did the band very proud. The choice of material was brilliant. Virtually every fan’s most-cherished classics were included. From ‘Bastille Day’ to ‘Red Barchetta’, and of course ‘Xanadu’ which always gets the biggest cheer of the evening. This was the very best of Rush’s music from the first 8 albums, which with the older fans will always remain the finest material that was ever released by the band.
'The rock of the band that holds it all together...'
The musicianship was also extremely good. Lindsay on guitar just keeps on getting better. As his confidence grows then so does his talent. A fine guitarist who has yet to hit his true stride on stage, but even now is very impressive at this level. I have no doubt in my mind that the more gigs that the band play will make this lad in to fantastic musician, to a point where people will be blown away by his abilities. John on bass is another great player. He’s solid and reliable, and is the rock of the band that holds it all together. Apart from showing some very nifty bass playing, he also did some great keyboard work that sounded highly authentic and true to the sounds on the albums. Mick on drums probably has the toughest job of all, trying to imitate one of rock music’s most respected drummers, Neil Peart. Mick’s drum work is excellent, and his percussion samples of the bells and chimes etc, are amazing. Yet I still can’t fully get used to him using an electronic drum kit instead of a natural wood one. Most of the drum samples (toms, bass drum, cymbals) are acceptable, but I can’t get away with the snare drum at all. I’m used to snares going “crack” or “whack”, but never “doosh”. Maybe a little too much like a ZZ Top or Def Leppard drum sound for my own personal taste. But Mick is a damn fine player, and his more than capable abilities make up for that minor niggle. Tom the vocalist still comes across as a tad uncomfortable on stage. He hasn’t got a relaxing attitude when performing, and his restlessness can be a little distracting and out of place when compared to the rest of band. Vocally he handles this insanely hard task pretty well. Maybe on some of the older material he struggles a bit to hit those ridiculously high notes that Geddy Lee used to squeal, but on latter-day numbers his tone can sound very similar.
The full experience of watching Anthem is a highly enjoyable one. This is a band that are 90% on their way to recreating the feel of a real Rush concert. The overall package with the masterful PA & lights is outstanding! More gigs and more live experience together as a unit is what they need. Essentially all the pieces are there. Some extra confidence is needed by all of the band members, and in particular the singer. Once playing a gig no longer becomes a daunting experience, and they can truly relax and fully enjoy playing the show, THEN and only then will you see this band hit their true potential. Anthem keep on improving and impressing me all the more, but I know that one day they will do a show that will knock me off my feet. I think that this day isn’t too far away now.
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