As soon as I walked through the doors, Sal Kimber and her band The Rollin’ Wheel showcased slight tinges of country and folk here and there. Not quite fully being a part of that genre though, and making a statement that they were their own sound. I seem to adore more double basses when I go to gigs nowadays for some reason, and in the end the set won me over with that. I can’t put my finger on why that is so, but the crisp deep sounds of a double bass in any band are a winner in my books. Combined with her gorgeous songwriting skills and lyrics from the heart, it made a melting pot of brooding music.
Tonight marked the launch of The Tiger And Me’s latest EP, which was part one of a more ambitious project that has 3 EP’s being released with their own guiding theme. They have a huge scope of material that’s for sure, and all the guys in the band were not afraid to explain and go into detail about the stories behind songs and such. The set was kind of manic in many ways. Very jaunty tunes like ‘The Howling Fire’ and ‘The Red Road’ were played with a passively in a way which incorporated theatrics, gypsy and joyous abandon. The grandour of “Oh My Darling” in the encore made me believe that hidden talent is steaming and brooding in these little dark venues like The Toff, hidden in small buildings sandwiched between bigger buildings in the city. It’s those little things that make a night sometimes.
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