The prospect of Friday night at the Dome Studio for the attractive entrance fee of £4.00 was certainly most tempting. If attendance and audience reaction are anything to go by, the Spectrum night in association with Resident Records, has found it’s niche – with ‘community’ and ‘diversity’ high on the agenda to the point where one felt as if the whole of the North Laine’s population had literally come in off the street to enjoy an evening of revelry and entertainment!

 
First on stage were Goodbye Leopold who have been praised for “their ethereal voices with choreography and a unique aesthetic while their holistic approach to delivering music stimulates all the senses” – something which sadly passed me by. With the unusual line up of three female cappella singers and a grungy guitar effects man, I was anticipating something out of the ordinary if not special but somehow their performance was strangely nervous and apprehensive almost to the point where one might have thought it was their first time on stage.
 
While the vocals were passable and mostly in tune and the songs mildly captivating if bordering on samey, Goodbye Leopold are far from being natural performers. As a trio and personality wise they did little to enhance the delivery of their songs and even the guitarist/effects person, who delivered some nice touches at times, always sounded distant and muted and was firmly stuck to his chair at the end of the stage which did nothing to embellish the show. Being enigmatic is one thing but on stage there is a responsibility to entertain if possible.
 
On the other hand the next support Leroy Horns who performed their acoustic set on the floor of the auditorium rather than the stage was full of character and bravado and the quartet of double saxophone, trombone and tuba player were clearly used to being surrounded by the audience and revelling in the touchy-feely atmosphere. Leroy Horns’ tongue in cheek humour and street style performance inspired many a ‘whoop’ and a ‘hola’ from a generous audience who did for the most part appreciate the self-penned if unimaginative arrangements. I felt this fell someway short of their own natural charisma and musicianship however, the set did pass relatively quickly with the best number left to last, managing to end on a high which is what they deserved for the ingenuity they had shown. Having listened subsequently to their recorded music I would be keen to see them live again as part of a full band.
 
Headlining the evening’s entertainment was Bunty aka Kassia Zermon, Multimos Project and the launch of the new single and video ‘We are Here’ featuring Dave the Machine. Heralded as the first recipient of the Residency Award (to help new/emerging Brighton based artists to develop their live show) it was only to be expected that Bunty would deliver the full weight of the Multimos Project. She has been developing this for some time with its AV show, flashing lights, dancers/mime artists, wandering bear and audience choir, set to a range of electro beats; occasionally, yes, to stunning effect but more often simply for show. I personally found many of the images and choreography to be naïve, gauche and derivative – which can have a certain charm but is also extremely off-putting.
 
It’s not difficult to appreciate what Bunty is trying to do, however, less is sometimes more and not everything needs to be covered in a sickly sweet colourful coating. While Bunty has charisma and enthusiasm in abundance, it may be of greater significance to focus on improving the songs, the vocals and the music than the over-embellishment of the stage show and perhaps learn more from artists who have successfully delivered this type of performance. Content is the underlying force of any successful live act and I for one could certainly have done with less of the visual theatre and razzmatazz and instead taken home with me the memory of one storming good song.
 
The Captain