Kalieda
Live (The Action Group)
With Misty’s Big Adventure pulling out of their headline slot, the two bands on the bill found themselves shoved up the listings and playing a later King Tuts show than they were both expecting. Whilst this would have been a good experience for the acts, it probably deprived them of playing in front of a bigger and newer crowd.
The Action Group are an Edinburgh band who fully utilised their 3 guitar line-up to full effect. The opening track had a Buzzcocks vibe to it and they roared through the song and set about winning over a sparse but keen crowd.
With borrowed equipment, its asking a lot for a band to get their full sound but The Action Group seemed to do quite well, with the guitars and drums combining well, and the odd keyboard section sounding very healthy. The vocals had an American twang to them and there were many influences on the band. The early part of the set had a Kings of Leon and Secret Machines feel, with big guitar notes and fills and the pounding rhythms. The later part of the set owed more to Nirvana with the singing becoming more like Cobain and the band’s sound becoming rawer as the set continued.
For a first hearing, The Action Group came across very well and certainly merit a further examination at a gig of their own.
Newly appointed headliners Kalieda took to the stage and their look was quite noticeable for the fact that they didn’t appear to have a look at all. By quickly steaming into some funk-rock tracks, they showed that its all about the music and not the image.
The first impressions rely on the strong soul-like vocals of singer Lisa-Marie McLean and some fluid Latin-tinged guitar work. The initial songs rattled by at a quick pace with the band pogoing and jiving as much as anyone in the crowd.
‘Stalker’ was quite good, notably for the quick-tempo chorus which was a good contrast to the verses, and was one of the better up-tempo songs on display.
Whilst soundtracking what no doubt would be a good night for their friends, families and fans ( because it is sweet when band members parents get a mention from stage), there was a lack of a killer song or a major track to win people over. Kalieda had a lot of good, standard up-beat songs but the highlight of the night was the main slow track in the middle of the set. It played to the bands strengths, allowing the vocals to relax and move freely and letting the guitars and slap-like bass to slow things down and not be so frantic. A couple more songs like this one could develop the band and allow them to move onto bigger things.
Both acts dealt with their set promotions comfortably and confidently and anyone in attendance would have went away satisfied with a good evening.
Guest article by Andy R.
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