The excitement and exhilaration in
every rock 'n' roll fan stems from a thrill and love of discovery,
discovery of something new, this does not have to be discovery of a
new band but of a band that is new to you. Tonight I discovered the
whirlwind sound of Little Barrie. Little Barrie are a traditional power trio in
every sense of the word, a tight well rehearsed rhythm section
fronted by a virtuoso guitar player. With a sound rooted in as many
genres as one can think of, parallels can be drawn with the groove of
early Stone Roses with bluesy lead guitar over the top. The groove
is provided by Lewis Wharton on bass and with Virgil Howe keeping a
flamboyant sound and a rock n roll visual at the back of
the stage on drums, what's not to love? The outfit are named after
and formed by part time Primal Scream guitarist Barrie Cadogon who
has the tone and dexterity heard in Cream era Clapton with a voice to
match. The trio are at there best and most engaging when spurring
crowd participation on a flurry of sing and clap along tracks that
would lend themselves to a wider popier audience if it wasn't for the
solid credibility evident in the scuzzy rock/blues tones emerging
from the guitar and the tendency of drummer Virgil Howe to throw in a fill or two. It is a wonder that little has been heard from this band in
the wake of the mainstream music holy grails of Q and NME but it is
as reassuring as ever that great music is out there if we will
ourselves to just scratch the surface.
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