While I waited I caught a stripped back set from Richard Allan II; featuring Allan, on acoustic guitar and vocals, backed up by Cameron Dawson on acoustic bass and Daniel Breadon on percussion. The group played some lovely atmospheric tracks, perfectly arranged for their stripped back instrumentation with well placed backing harmonies adding a little bit of magic. Allan is a great front man, with an easy manner that suits his laidback songs. As their set progressed, and built dynamically, the room began to fill and the crowd was clearly impressed, perfectly setting the stage for The Mojo Fins triumphant return.
The Mojo Fins played a fantastic set of songs, carefully chosen largely from ‘The Spirit EP’ and their second album ‘Shake The Darkness’. The highlight of the night had to be the three brand new tracks they tried out; ‘Exhale’ and potential singles ‘Sky At Night’ and ‘Introverts’. Many ‘Fins fans would have been surprised to see a fifth man, lurking at the back of the stage, as the band have recruited Adam Kidd, from local band Fragile Creatures, to add additional instrumentation and backing vocals to their live show. Drummer Dave Russell has also expanded his role, with the addition of drum pads allowing him to play live electronic drums and trigger backing tracks for the new songs. With the wrong group the extra set of hands and pads could result in a confused cacophony, but that was never going to be the case with a tasteful act like The Mojo Fins. Instead we were presented with a band able to recreate all the textures and detail of their beautifully produced recordings in a live setting.