25th August 2010

REVIEW: Papa Le Gal's Soul Shakedown at Lyme Regis Power Boat Club

Papa Le Gal and Easy & The Cali Five rocked the Soul Shakedown Party at the Lyme Regis Power Boat Club on Friday night, despite the worst weather of the summer.

London based Easy & The Cali Five, features former local lads Pasco Dunford-Wood on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, George Godson on lead guitar, Sam Royle on Bass, Nick Mcbrain on Drums and Mike Carter on Keys The five piece played through an hour-long set of soulful original material as well as a couple of covers. They were a perfect warm-up for the captive audience, mixing a bouncing reggae rhythm section, subtle-yet-effective keyboards and chilled out surfer melodies, as well as some impressive bluesy guitar work from Godson.

 

Considering they’ve only been playing live with any line-up for less than two years, it is impressive that many of Papa Le Gal’s original tunes are now well known dance/sing-a-long anthems to their loyal fanbase, and a testament to the musical abilities of each member of the band.

Lead vocals are now shared between the Jacques Verhaeren (also on rhythm guitar and bass guitar duties), and Grace Gillan - a more recent addition to the line-up - who provides a brilliant vocal compliment to Jacques, and also sends a small barrage of bubbles into the crowd!

Lead guitar comes from Olli Dixon (also backing vocals), who combines effortless technique with some incredible riffs on original tunes.

Drummer Greg Walters provides a tight drum section, complete with well placed solos and the occasional percussion colloboration with band mates.

Wil Benson - the first unofficial member of the band, frequently joining Jacques, Olli and Greg in earlier gigs - is now another important part of the band’s live make-up, multi-instrumenting with bass guitar, keyboards and saxophone all part of his repertoire.

Papa Le Gal took to the stage, set up in a large marquee at the back of the Power Boat Club, at about 10.15pm. Anybody who’d previously been enjoying a drink on the benches outside the marquee, or in the inside bar, promptly made their way into the tent for an incredible hour and a half of live music.

Original piece ‘Voodoo’ kicked off proceedings, and was followed by a mass sing-a-long to the Michael Jackson cover ‘Billie Jean’. Further covers followed including Toots and the Maytals’ ‘54-46 (That’s My Number)’, The Eurythmics ‘Sweet Dreams (are made of this) (which included a violin cameo from Alice Bowmer), a tongue in cheek version of Britney Spears ‘Toxic’, Creedance Clearwater Revival’s ‘Proud Mary’ and a rip-roaring take on Men At Work’s ‘Down Under’. In amongst the covers was a superb mix of Papa Le Gal’s own work, including a well received new tune. The set came to a close with another Toots and The Maytals classic, ‘Monkey Man’, and an encore including the band’s own ‘Bombay Sattire’ and the fantastic ‘Take A Step’, rounded off with a breakdown into a samba beat that wouldn’t be out of place at a Brazilian carnival.

You can always count on leaving a Papa Le Gal gig in a more cheerful mood than you arrived in. The upbeat tunes mean you can’t help but dance; and the obvious love the band have for the music they make really comes through in their live performance - professional, but one big party at the same time!

The Soul Shakedown Party at the Power Boat Club will certainly not be the last time you see Papa Le Gal in Lyme, or the West Dorset area for that matter, but make sure that you catch these guys while you can - they’re heading for bigger things. Look out for their debut EP in the coming weeks.            

By Rob Larcombe

Papa Le Gal’s full set list: Voodoo // Billie Jean // 54-46 (That’s My Number) // Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) // Monkey & Lizard // Toxic // When The Night // Proud Mary // Tel Aviv // Wake Up // Down Under // One Eye // Footsteps // Sidewinder // Monkey Man // Bombay Sattire // Take A Step

 

 

Picture: PAPA LE GAL: Wil Benson, Jacques Verhaeren, Greg Walters, Grace Gillan and Olli Dixon

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