The Big Faces - Live and unleashed

The 12 Bar last night hosted what could either be seen as the culmination of 12 months hard work on behalf bands, musicians and promoters throughout the city, or as the beginning of a musical revolution, that should by all accounts have the rest of the music industry on its knees.

The night included live sets from The Redwings, Ivan Campo, The KBC, The Clones and The Jackpot Golden Boys, all of whom gave solid performance to huge crowds.

The Redwings opened up the evening's music with an uncharacteristic acoustic set lasting a good 25 minutes. The band show a completely different edge and lacked the electric arrogance that seems to accompany their usual live show, allowing their quality to shine through. The drummer converted to bongo player for the evening and singer Matt's voice proved itself as its sedated, husky tones suited well the acoustic atmosphere.

Ivan Campo are the new boys to the Pop-clique on show last night, and stood their ground with an impressive and well-appreciated set. Listen Up last saw them in the small confines of The Railway bar, and it was encouraging to see how they transferred their deep yet inoffensive acoustic sound to the big stage. Use of the drums was much heavier than expected and helped the sound fill the venue.

Unarguably the leaders of Preston's charge towards the mainstream, The KBC were quite simply breathtaking. Fresh from a visit to London where according to the band 'everybody dances', they were lively, energetic and injected far more enthusiasm into their baggy, fuzzing funk music than ever before.

The KBC enjoyed by far the biggest crowd of the night, surely pushing 300. There were a good deal of problems, such as detuned guitars, and dodgy snare drums, but all were coped with admirably as lead singer James Mulholland even carried on singing whilst knelt down tuning his guitar.


The Clones arrived onstage looking sharply dressed and eyes a twinkling before tearing into brand new song Bayonet Blues, and playing a long set of old and new numbers, most notably Josephine in which all four members played some part in the vocal duties. Drummer Dan stood out with a stunning display that made you wonder how he didn't collapse half way through. The set closed with Wasting The Night, present on the CD, and well worth the wait.

The Jackpot Golden Boys hit the stage gone midnight and were full of the usual surprises. Opening with trademark song 'Jackpot' and went on to include choereographed dance routines, Jackpot Alex feeding Jackpot Mike chips off a stool and all the usual favourites, included Halloween, which was cruelly swiped off their Mill set last month. The band dilly-dallied a lot less in-between songs and finished triumphantly on Crank, a 50's US doo-wop number with a twist.

This cannot possibly be happening in every city in the UK, and it is clear Preston has something special - It is just a crime that not only the national press, but the local press also missed it. However, if the hard work continues, then it is only a matter of time before this city breaks into the musical big-time.

Written by Dan Jeoffroy

Photography: Dan Jeoffroy