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[Smooth_groover]

Sunday 17th April @ The Lemon Tree
HEADLINERS: El Presidente
SUPPORT: Eric Euan, Girl Said No


This was one of the best shows I have been to in a long time. Excellent bands, excellent venue, excellent atmosphere. Those of you who also went will surely agree.

ERIC EUAN:
The last time I seen Eric Euan live was a few years ago, and they have come along way musically since. Although not my taste in music (kinda like Jimmy Eat World/Nirvana), what they do play is done very well indeed. A great band to open up the night although at that point there wasn’t many people in the audience - which is a shame because Eric Euans stage banter would have went down better - had there been more of an audience (the venue was simply too quite for banter at that point). All in all, I think this band will go places. Each member of the band seems confident in what they are doing (and so they should) but this confidence shows through in the live performance, which can only be a good thing.

Great band, lack of audience killed the atmosphere a bit.


GIRL SAID NO:
I’ve heard many good things about this band but this was the first time I have heard them live - or even heard their music at all. Was I disappointed? No - far from it! Although a completely different genre to Eric Euan, this helped add that bit of variance into the night. By this I mean they have a more 'poppier' sound but the songs they played were extremely catchy! Girl Said No took the edge off the night, setting a relaxed tone. At this point the audience had picked up quite a bit - the perfect time for stage banter. Sadly I thought this is where the band lacked a wee bit. Compared to Eric Euan, there was next to no banter. I know I keep going on about stage/audience interaction, but it makes the show personal, and not just 'get on, play, get off'. Anyway, besides this I thought Girl Said No were again, an excellent band / choice for line-up. Who WILL go far in the music industry? As I say, this was the first time I have heard the band so maybe the lack of banter wasn’t intentional.


EL PRESIDENTE:
This is what I paid £6 to see. The Glaswegian rockers - partly from 90's band GUN. Those of you who liked Gun’s music may be put off by El Presidentes new style. Mixing rock with funkadelic with a bit of groove. But to me, this band is AMAZING! You can tell by simply looking at them, that some of the band members have been involved in the music scene for years. Their stage presence was phenomenal. Dancing to their own music and not just standing still like a lot of bands seem to do. El Presidente feed off the audience and the audience certainly fed off them! At one point the lead singer Dante, even dedicated one song to the "bunch of crazy fuckers at the front row". This brought a lot of cheers from the crowd. (There’s that band/audience interaction I keep talking about)

By the time El Presidente arrived on stage, the venue was pretty packed. The band started - and maintained the audience from beginning to end. By this I mean you simply didn’t want to look away or go anywhere in case you missed something. Each band member was buzzing with energy which again - made the show even better. Musically, El Presidente is as tight and professional as your going to get. The one criticism I do have about their performance was the lack of it. Their set was far too short for my liking. But time flies when you’re having fun



All in all, Eric Euan, Girl Said No and El Presidente provided a night of quality music and entertainment. My only grumble is that lack of audience at the start, the lack of banter in the middle and the lack of songs from El Pres. Although what we did get was truly amazing. Its shows like these that inspire you to do that little bit better if you’re in your own band.



You can find out more about El Pres here:

www.el-presidente.co.uk