Wooden Soldiers take The Mill

Anyone who went to The Mill last Saturday expecting to see The Wooden Soldiers produce a riotous night of flying musicians and Rock and Roll chaos were in for a surprise as any mayhem was purely musical.

No silly gimmicks, no funny hats, just four lads and seven short, dynamic pop tunes that make you tap your feet and want to throw your weight around. The first two bands (The Strollers and Starki) put in good performances, but without trying to sound crass, The Wooden Soldiers made them look a little silly.

So what was different between this and their first performance? At the 12 Bar it seemed almost as if we were watching Andy Lewis and his backing band, the sound was so loud in places it was unclear and song outros were lively, long and over-extravagant.

More polished

At The Mill the band commanded the stage as well as any signed band who have played there, succeeding almost in making you believe they needed more room. The sound was much tighter and more polished than expected and the songs sounded better adapted for a live performance – often brought to a tidier and less drawn out close.

The setlist was almost identical to The 12 Bar gig if slightly shuffled, with the hasty Once A Fortnight making a much later appearance, and a well-placed drum solo allowing Gareth Jones to show off during The Late Show.

The Wooden Soldiers are by no means settled in their sound, but they clearly mean business and, at this rate, they will rise very quickly to higher reaches of the local ladder – and then who knows.

Written by Dan Jeoffroy

Photography: Dan Jeoffroy