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Walking
into the Fleece last Saturday was a little like going to a family gathering.
Familiar faces in the gloom, handshakes and hugs and a general feeling of
belonging filled the old place. The extended family that is the fan base of
AFGM is still growing, unlike the band, who lost David James to other
projects during the winter.
I have
been lucky enough to hear some snatches of rehearsal recordings and was
eager to hear the way the songs would sound with only four players on the
big stage.
The band
have been rehearsing to the point of exhaustion all through the winter, and
boy did it show. They have always been noted for their musicianship but
losing the acoustic guitar has given the sound a much harder edge while
retaining the melodic craftsmanship that is evident in all of Chris
Melhuish's compositions.
As
usual, the show was full on from the first note of You're the Best, right
through to the heartrending If I lose you. Several of the crowds favorites
have been re-worked, to take account of having one less band member, the
most striking being Thank you, which has been slowed down slightly and given
a more sincere feel which suits John Telfer's voice to a tee. John was right
on the money throughout the set, but how he manages to play piano and/or
organ and sing his heart out at the same time always amazes me.
Mike
Dawe's drums and Tim Martin's bass provided the heartbeat that drove the
evening and had feet tapping and hands clapping all around the Fleece, not
to mention some frenzied dancing toward the end of the night.
Chris
Melhuish never looked like he was working hard, but then he never does,
however, the loud applause and shouts for more at the end of the evening
told a different story. The sound of his guitar work makes the hairs on the
back of your neck stand up.
It could
have been a different evening, after all, when you re-work tunes that the
fans are so familiar with it could so easily end in disaster. Not AFGM
though, everyone wanted more at the end of the set but we only got two
encores which I felt was not quite enough. Listening to conversations around
the room as the guys packed up, all I could hear was praise for the latest
stage in the evolution of AFGM. |
