Madhatters, Inverness, 16 May 2009

James Brown is Annie

EDINBURGH-BASED James Brown Is Annie label themselves as a Healing and Easy Listening / Minimalist / Funk band. After watching their gig I think it’s safe to conclude this is tongue in cheek. Having said that, it would be very difficult to categorise James Brown Is Annie and I think their evasiveness is appropriate.

Barry Gordon plays guitar and opened the gig with “We’ve just returned from playing Guantanamo Bay. They say it’s hard to beat a captive audience. But they did.” According to a fellow member of the audience Gordon looks a lot like Bryan Adams. Marc Mowbray is on guitar and keyboard, and impressed with his Elvis impersonation. And Isaac Sutherland’s drumming was so energetic his glasses looked like they might slide off his face from the effort.

The trio have a strong rapport while performing and it’s great to watch a band when you can tell they enjoy playing together. Unfortunately this wasn’t appreciated by the crowd at Madhatters, which had mostly dispersed by the third song. James Brown Is Annie are a mostly instrumental band and I think this break from regular rock, and the absence of a bass player, left most locals feeling a little alienated.

It wasn’t until their fourth or fifth number that Barry Gordon quietly sang into the mic. Hearing his voice I can understand why their focus isn’t on the voice and lyrics – but a weak lead singer doesn’t stop most bands. If you’ve got something to sing (and judging from their lyrics, this band does) you should be getting it out there in some form.

The one criticism I have of the gig is that it was too loud. The sound levels at Madhatters are excessive more often than not, and it’s disappointing that this sometimes drives patrons away and always distorts the music.

James Brown Is Annie won the crowd over during the last couple of songs, and by the end were playing to a fairly full house. A drum solo from Sutherland was requested and his energy and glee at getting to cut loose was obvious. The crowd suddenly realised what they’d been missing out on and when the band wrapped up their final number of a two hour set everyone was left wanting more.

© Polly Hamilton, 2009

Links

• James Brown Is Annie
• Madhatters