The Cold Cut

True to my word, I spent an intensely enjoyable hour watching Reverend And The Makers set at Lowlands, and within the first ten minutes it was blatantly obvious that this band is going to be huge. Reverend is a true performer, a talent which has been sadly wasted up until now- debut album The State Of Things comes out mid-September so his long wait for musical recognition is almost over. You've got to give it to the guy- rather than rushing his album to cash in on his Arctic Monkeys fame, he has crafted a great album (from the 11 or so songs that I've heard) and a brilliant backing band. The music quality live was pitch-perfect, and his voice in particular is very striking: check out 18.30 and He Said He Loved Me for proof.

Their set was full of energy, with serious contributions made by all members: at the moment the Makers are comprised of one hard working keyboard/synth player, a guitarist, bass player, drummer and my personal favourite, and all singing, all dancing hottie on keyboards/percussion. There was some definite chemistry between said woman and the Rev- their duet on close He Says He Loved Me was in my opinion the highlight of that whole hour, mostly because of the obvious fact that they are more than just band mates.

Out of all the bands I saw this weekend, this was without a doubt the one with the most energy: as soon as the band ran on stage they were all moving, and this continued throughout the set. That's pretty much what I expect from good bands- sweat and movement is a clear sign that they are putting in a huge amount of effort, and I think they should be rewarded for this. Seeing him so pumped up, jumping up and down on the spot throughout the set was great, and makes their live performance that little bit more interesting. Another great thing about this band is their interaction with the audience. The Reverend was spouting dutch phrases throughout the concert, another clear signal that he means business, and that he puts 100% into each and every performance. The Dutch certainly appreciated his "Geel Gout" and "Gounemorgen Lowlands"...