Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * *
Manchester band The Renaissance undertook their debut Liverpool gig at Zanzibar and they made themselves right at home.
Having only played seven gigs together so far the four-piece band gave the open-staged night at one of Liverpool’s oldest and finest renowned Jazz bars their all. With a simple set-up of vocals, bass guitar, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, drums and a playing-it-safe stage presence it was unbeknown to the comfortable and already previously swooned audience as what to expect.
However, lead singer and acoustic guitarist Paul Fay turned the bands expectant style of pop rock and grungy vocals into one that most would appreciate within today’s music of pop synths and repetitive loops. The audience were given 80’s rock with hints of the Undertone’s and The Buzzcock’s with their perfectly gelled harmonies and upbeat catchy hooks.
Alongside Paul was electric guitarist and vocalist Adam Cook, with whom Paul shared a great presence with on stage resulting in the delivery of fresh catchy lyrics. It’s hard to draw yourself away even though they might not seem exceptionally confident on stage together yet and they might not appear diverse in comparison to other bands in the area, The Renaissance deliver.
Their songs can be described as sincere, genuine and relatable and the band’s front man Paul writes the songs himself before working on them together with the band. The lyrics have a poetic quality to them, lines from Home for example include: “howling wind and the driving rain, I am home I’m alive again” thus proving that The Renaissance provide a raw quality to their songs, they come from experiences of relationships, love, loss and laughter, things we can all relate to making it simply effortless to enjoy and succumb to them.
Performing six of their own self-written songs clearly went down well with the audience as The Renaissance swiftly received pleas for an encore after their set which they were more than happy to deliver. Influenced by the likes of Bob Dylan and Donovan, the crowd received one final treat with High. The band actually hadn’t performed High together before, however it wasn’t obvious as they performed with ease and with as much enthusiasm as people who have been performing together for years.
It was this final performance that was the highlight of the Manchester band’s set, the crowd could see how much more comfortable they were, see how they work on stage together and how with practise and several more gigs they have the potential to grab the heart strings of many, many fans.
The Renaissance work together as a band because their music is simple, their lyrics profound but applicable, their songs memorable and the band themselves, cheerful, approachable and realistic, a band many would definitely go see again!
Naomi Campbell music