Even when I’m on holiday, I always try to catch live music, and The Motorsport Lounge with its great staff and vibes is my fave venue when I’m living la vida loca in North Wales. Last night’s offering showcased some great local rock and metal talent from headliners Zebedy along with Too Loud For Brian as support.
This was a debut at The Motorsport Lounge for Too Loud For Brian who brand themselves as “unapologetic, no-nonsense, and loud”. A local three piece formed just this year, they are now cutting their teeth on the grassroots scene. When I managed to grab a few minutes with them before their set, they explained to me that they have a plan to build up their catalogue by releasing a new single each month!
Their hour plus set offered up a mix of covers and originals – including the hard rocking and punk-ish Mad Soup. They certainly got the audience warmed up with AC/DC and other great rock classics, not least some notable Hendrix covers. For such a new band on the scene, I thought they were tight, had good stage presence and strong vocals from Jamie Price added to the fullness of their sound. I would really like to see these guys again when they have their own set as I think there is some real potential there.
Too Loud For Brian are Jamie Price (vocals and guitar), Richie Pond (drums and backing vocals) and Dave Barclay (bass). To find out more about them, check out their Facebook and website, which also has links to their singles and up and coming gigs.
Moving onto the main act for the evening; Zebedy are well known around here, and on the few occasions I have seen them, they have always done a great set. Having been on the scene for well over a decade, they offer up distinctive and dynamic aggressive/prog rock and metal. Their wide-ranging influences include amongst others, Architects, Black Peaks, Haken, Reuben, Rage Against The Machine and Tool. Zebedy have released several well received EPs and albums of which the latest, Waiting For The Tide (2023), was two years in the making and produced by Dan Weller (SikTh, Enter Shikari, Young Guns, Bury Tomorrow, Holding Absence).
They are a guitar driven band and their proggy openers showcased some of the technical guitar work they are known for. It was also good to see some tracks with the vocal emphasis as they are strong vocalists too. The aggressive side of the music also began to shine through early in the set. It did seem like it took them a little longer to get into their set than it would usually do, however, they had literally stepped into headline the day before (due to the previous headliner having to pull out), and they were also fronting a substitute drummer. Overall though, they offered up a good performance over the hour and quarter set, and Jonny was on form vocally and well supported by the rest of the band.
Zebedy are Jonny (vocals and guitar), Dave (bass and vocals), Ben (guitar and vocals) and Tom (drums and vocals), but on this occasion Graeme was filling in on drums. Their next gig is on 5th July in Manchester and you can find out more on their Facebook or Bandcamp, and check out some of their music via the usual platforms including Spotify.
Between them, Zebedy and Too Loud For Brian put on a great night at The Motorsport Lounge, and I have to say that once again I was left reflecting on how important our grassroots venues are for not only providing the space for new bands to enter the scene, but also for giving them the opportunity to play with time served and established bands.
