jeddowneymusic-blog

[jeddowneymusic-blog]

Assimilate @ The Horns 2/1/17

Last night, I ventured out to Watford to catch some quality Metal at the hands of alternative metallers Assimilate. Hosted by Peter Curtis at The Horns every Monday, Oxygen is a showcase night for originals artists based around Hertfordshire and beyond and a great time to catch some interesting acts.

This show had been announced only two days before, and involved the original opening act cancelling at short notice. Unable to find a fitting act in time, this led to a contrast in genre between the two acts, but the difference wasn’t unwelcome, the turnout was fab and the show went on in style.

Opening the show for Assimilate were Midnight Trio, a three piece blues band from Watford comprised of Vocalist/Guitarist Alex White, Bassist Matt Dinnadge and Drummer Jono Pamplin. I had seen this band many times before, and they never fail to lose the interest of the audience. If you ever wish to see incredible musicianship, then this band is definitely for you. These guys can read each other like books, making every note feel spontaneous but always exactly where it needed to be, keeping the crowd captivated in the anticipation of the next stop or transition. Highlights of the set include such gems as their soulful, chilled out cover of The Four Seasons’ Beggin’ and original songs Untitled and In The Blue. If you see this band, always expect cheeky bass and drum fills, smoky lead vocals, soothing harmonies and some beautiful solos.

After a short break, Assimilate took to the stage. Made up of Vocalist Jake Aston, Jack Harvey and Chris Dixon on Guitar, Jack Cox on bass and Drummer Chris Rush, Assimilate still hold up to be one of the most insane local shows to attend. From Rush telling jokes to having a room of people sing and shout along to most of their own material, the band’s ability to keep the crowd in their palm is beautiful. Just a couple of weeks ago, they tore up the Horn in St Albans, with Jake climbing the bar and fans crowdsurfing and moshing consistently throughout the set. Although the awkward shaping of The Horns would seem to squash their explosive ways, they adapted to the size of stage and made the room feel massive, climbing on shoulders, monitors and the tables. Highlights of the set boast the original songs Nothing to Lose and All You Do, as well as their encore in the form of an amped up version of Pass Out by Tinie Tempah. If you see this band, expect roaring vocals, aggressive riffage, tight as nails bass and drum work and also a solid night out.

You can hear more of these bands here:

Assimilate: https://assimilate.bandcamp.com/

Midnight Trio: https://soundcloud.com/midnighttrio

Also, here’s a link to The Horns’ contact details if you fancy playing there:

http://www.thehornswatford.co.uk/index.php/music/want-to-play-here

On Saturday 7th January, I’ll be at the Green Door Store in Brighton, which will be celebrating its 6th birthday with acts such as TRAAMS, Gang, Fuoco, DITZ and Spill set to play, so expect a post about that soon!

[jeddowneymusic-blog]

Hey!

My name is Jed and I’m a 20 year old musician based in Brighton, England! Last year, I made a promise to myself that I would attend more local gigs. This resulted in catching some of the most exciting performances I’d ever seen and discovering more great bands to listen to, in addition to starting to get back into the gigging circuit myself with a couple of the bands I’m involved in. This year, I thought I’d to start a blog to keep a record of the events I go to and share these experiences with others, as well as promoting my own projects and ventures and talking about any cool records I’ve come across. I’ll be making my first post after going to the first Oxygen night at the Horns in Watford tomorrow night, where the wonderful Hertfordshire based metal heads Assimilate kick off the new year with pure fury. Stay tuned folks, and have a good New Year! -Jed