Music / alcohol-free
Review: Sober Spaces feat. No Go Stop/Snails, Bristol Beacon Foyer
It’s pretty much a truism in the live music scene – where there’s a band, there’s a bar. But what if there wasn’t? Bristol Sober Spaces launched the first of their three-monthly nights at the Beacon with two good bands, a classy DJ and not a drop of alcohol to be had. And it worked – drawing a respectable sized crowd for a fun night with a relaxed atmosphere.
Snails (photo: Tony Benjamin)
First up – after a typically eccentric warm-up set from DJ Dad – were Snails with a set of apparently unassuming songs that, on closer listening, often turned out to have a wry and troubled edge. Over the familiar forms of pop and rock music, vocalist/songwriter Dan Weltman’s easy and unpretentious lyrics roamed the the everyday business of life and love. His unfussed delivery on songs like It Doesn’t Have To Be True was disarming, while an equally well-balanced country rock soundtrack unfolded behind him. That it was all slightly nonsensical hardly mattered, in fact it added to the charm.
No Go Stop (photo: Tony Benjamin)
After such beguiling fare it was up to DJ Dad to crank up the energy levels with a hip-hop segue into African grooves, thus setting the scene for No Go Stop’s powerhouse Afrobeat sound. It seemed the band might be a bit short-handed, lacking three of their usual 12-strong line-up, but that certainly didn’t leave them underpowered. The opening bars of rich percussion, Marie Lister’s clarion vocals and the fanfare blast of Ben Plocki’s bass clarinet brought the interval-diffused crowd back together and dancing in a moment.
No Go Stop: Jackson Lapes, John Blakely, Justin Fellows, John Short (photo: Tony Benjamin)
The key to the band’s authentic evocation of classic Nigerian Afrobeat is a backline sound of three well-disciplined percussionists and solid bass playing. That provides both tightness and texture, notably whenever the band shifts up a gear to switch direction during a song, and makes for a fine environment for some fancy solo playing. Thus the song Animal took shape from a percussion interplay, layering in the other instruments before suddenly getting everything in lockstep. The song is an impassioned plea for tolerance between people and Marie’s full-throated performance ushered in an inspired guitar solo from Justin Goodall, urged on by stabs of brass harmony – a guaranteed crowd-pleaser that worked a treat.
No Go Stop (photo: Tony Benjamin)
A band like No Go Stop gives every impression of having a great time on stage, which is of course infectious. The good-time feel of the Sober Spaces crowd was exactly what you’d expect to find from a gig like this, proving that great music and good company certainly didn’t need an infusion of alcohol to make a party happen. For anyone who’s battled with that issue, opportunities like this to have collective fun somewhere where it doesn’t have to be resisted are few and far between. And for those lucky enough not have that pressure it’s good to discover that yes, you can manage without a glass in your hand at all times – plus it makes for a much cheaper night out, too!
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