Scaramoose were lucky enough to have had a fantastic written review of thier gig at the Harlyn Inn on 26th June 2008. The Exeter based writer, Juliet Reed has had her work published in the Exeter Flying Post, which was released on 17.7.08. For all those who didn't catch the Flying Post on Thursday 17th, we have it below for you. Hope you enjoy.
All the best
Scaramoose x
www.scaramoose.co.uk
It's a moody night (if I were a poet I probably call it "atmospheric") in late June when I drag two of my musician friends 80 miles away from home down to Harlyn Bay - a coastal village in North Cornwall. They've been badgered into escorting me as I embark upon my intended new career as a documentary writer and we're off to see Plymouth-based three-piece band 'Scaramoose' ("who?", my friends ask about thirteen times during the journey). I've recently seen the band play at Oceanfest and they've struck quite a chord with me (no pun intended); I love their music and style and I feel I want to write something about them.
As we roll into Harlyn Bay I get the feeling that this is going to be an awesome night. The venue is a small and rather homely local bar - The Harlyn Inn - and 100 yards down the road dedicated surfers sit feverishly hoping that the millpond they are currently drifting on will suddenly swell. The sea is a dulled turquoise and the beach has delectable off-white sands (Dulux would probably deem the colour to be "kingfisher-egg-white" or something equally pretentious). There are rolling green hills to the left and right and rocks rising in the middle distance. What a glorious location for a gig, and to start a new career; I'm seriously already in heaven and we've only just arrived.
The inside of the bar is slightly old-worldly, with features such as the item we collectively decide to name a "nautical steering wheel" above the fireplace (we can't recall the correct term). There are maybe 20 punters who are mostly glued to the TV watching the latest Euro 2008 match - little conversation passes between them as they sit seemingly absorbed in the fates of Spain and Russia (as if anyone REALLY cares). Half an hour after the advertised start of Scaramoose's set, no-one seems to have noticed that the promised music has not yet materialised. We're sat around chatting to the band about guitars, favourite musicians, and whether it might offend anyone if they starting playing. I discover that what most people don't realise is this: if you've got a host of football fans to consider you have to time your sound check and set carefully ... you don't want to potentially alienate your audience by interrupting "the beautiful game" in order to play your own not-so-beautiful game of adjusting levels and reducing feedback. The band warily decide to wait until the end of the match.
Eventually, after Spain have thundered to a highly convincing victory, the sound check gets under-way; singer John Gardner launches into an acoustic rendition of 'All Along The Watchtower' and my good vibe increases to the size of a ten-foot wave; oh yes, the swell is happening INSIDE the bar. This is my favourite song of all time! No word of a lie - check it on my Facebook profile if you don't believe me ... Five minutes of fiddling around with tuning and mixers, with some especially hard work from drummer John Eschbaecher, the guys launch into original composition 'The Alchemist', a gentle funky number with a warm-feel-good vibe. With lyrics that include references to sand and the ocean it seems a perfect track for this location. We're loving it and I'm singing along, although the rest of the audience aren't exactly warmed up yet. Probably still dreaming of penalty shoot outs. Oh well ... Song number two is 'Beneath the Sand'. From it's beautiful sitar-esque intro through it's gradual build up to a sensational slide section, this track has a certain "je-ne-sais-quois" that subtly draws you in By the time it's reaches it's climatic, powerful end, heads are starting to nod, faces are turning in the RIGHT direction (i.e. away from the damn TV screen) and attention is clearly being paid. To be honest, this band are far from in-your-face; they're laid-back and chilled-out. It's says it all that the music is so good it gets your attention before you've realised it.
What got me the first time I saw Scaramoose, and what gets me now, is the obvious sheer joy they have for playing their music. On their MySpace page the "sounds like" section reads "three guys having a great time!" and that exactly encapsulates the aura that exudes from them. Those little moments when I catch John and John smile at each other are quality. These smiles say "yeah, this is great" and get me smiling and feeling pretty fine too. It's magic. Or perhaps a more appropriate term would be alchemy; to refer back to their opening track this evening, the band certainly create chemistry with their music.
A few songs in comes a cover of Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac classic 'Oh Well'. What makes everyone laugh is that the local "Harlyn Bay-ers" are so unfamiliar with this song that they clap and cheer half-way through and don't realise when the song is actually over lol. Well, that's what you get when you're introducing quality music to the masses (or to a dozen or so Cornishmen anyway). It doesn't matter though; the band are clearly loving what they're doing and the (somewhat exaggeratedly named) "crowd" seem pretty happy, as proved when - after a fuller version of Watchtower - a break is taken and one of my friends interrogates various audience members as to their response. There's a lot of complaining to be honest, but it's about the commercialised nature of much modern music and THEN there's a lot of appreciation for the quality live music the locals are being treated to tonight. The words "amazing" and "awesome" are used repeatedly alongside the comment that Scaramoose "beat the lot" in comparison to other bands that have played the Harlyn Inn. What is more, my friends seem to have become the band's new groupies, whooping and cheering wildly. I feel slightly smug when I say I knew I'd seen something special in Scaramoose.
The second half continues to "rock" and, as the set nears the end, the band's performance of home-spun funky track 'Message' draws me. This number is an exercise in how to write and play the most funky slide guitar music, and the lyrics show that Scaramoose have something significant to say beyond just their sound: "Got soldiers fighting and dying under a flag for you / When you gonna tell them what to do?". 'Message' is more than just a song title though; it also sends a message to the listener - that this band have talent.
Another thing that strikes me about Scaramoose is how balanced they are in the sense that you notice every member equally. Bassist Clive Wade looks totally chilled out slapping away (I'm being technical now - get me!!) on his stool but you can't help but pay attention to him. His playing is unobtrusively powerful; a real skill and I can definitely notice the influence of such bass "masters" as The Red Hot Chili Peppers' Flea. You don't always notice drummers - although you'd certainly notice if they WEREN'T there - but John E consistently makes his presence felt through absolutely magnetic playing (I'm reminded somewhat of the late, great John Bonham on 'Good Times, Bad Times'). However, the enrapturing rhythm section doesn't overshadow the amazing slide guitar skills and just-"gravelly"-enough vocals of John G. They work so well together; these guys really ARE in harmony.
As the set is rounded off with Led Zeppelin's 'Bron Ayr Stomp' (another of my all time favourites - honestly, there are people out there that can verify this!), I'm beginning to wonder if the set list was written especially for me. The band have picked their songs amazingly well, showing off a range of influences and a range of skills, convincingly introducing their own work and making the covers their own. 'Bron Ayr Stomp' makes a classic ending to an awesome, if small and under-attended gig. This kind of band and this kind of music deserves to be seen and heard by a lot more people, believe me.
I sit and make my final notes whilst the band pack up and one of my companions drunkenly - and somewhat embarrassingly - drools over John's guitars (PLEASE don't do that!) and practically begs to be allowed to join the band (oh dear - flattering to them though). Instruments need to be packed away and cables need to be tidied into ... well ... whatever you call a set of tidied cables - which isn't that easy when the landlord has turned all the lights out in a blatent "please can everyone go home" move. But then, when you act as roadies for your own band, you get used to this kind of thing. What's most important is that everyone has had a really great night in a gorgeous setting; what looked like a "moody" night has become a magnificent night and my friends will certainly never ask the question "who?" about Scaramoose again. More likely they'll be out there telling everyone they know EXACTLY who these guys are. You couldn't really ask for much more and I think it'd be fair to say that, for tonight, "The Alchemist's work is done".
Abstract written by Reed, J - 17.7.08 jules-reed-writes@hotmail.co.uk
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