Silverman on tour
No-one ever said being in a band was easy, but you had to feel for Silverman - playing their lo-fi softly, softly set in front of an audience of the headliners' mates with the soul intention to RAWK was not ideal. Neither was losing their guitarist at the 11th hour - "all he ever talked about was money" songwriter and drummer Martin Williams tells me - and having to draft in a man who had not played live with the band for over six months and who had to travel all the way from Nottingham just for this gig. Add to that not being able to complete their soundcheck for one reason or another and you have a very unfortunate night for the Cheltenham based band.
"You would not believe what we have gone through to get here", Martin had ventured early on in the set. "This man has only been playing guitar for twenty minutes." vocalist Anna Dennis had quipped. This was, in fact, closer to the truth than one imagines. Guitarist Mark Rolfe spent the sound check learning the chords to some new songs and trying to remember the older material, which he had played on.
I had been invited along to experience a day in the life of a band on tour and I never realised exactly how stressful things could be. The band arrive at the venue shortly after 7:00pm, unloading their vehicle as they chat to me - it soon becomes clear that all is not right in the Silverman camp. "Mark's on his way down as we speak. (Ex-guitarist) Ian left us because he expected some great big deal and lots of money." Martin is clearly annoyed and rightly so. The band spend the next half an hour waiting for headliners Meridian to finish their sound check, before beginning to set up themselves. The band are still adding the finishing touches when they are told to stop because the doors had to open. They are then told to be on stage in ten minutes. No time to get nervous then. "It's always like this" bassist Steve tells me on his way to the bar. I'm unsure as to whether I believe him or not.
Before they go onstage, I manage to grab a word with Anna - "We're going to play it safe really. We wanted to play more new stuff, but it will probably only be Ctrl-Alt-Del". As they take the stage, I can't help but be a little bit worried for them.
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The set opens with "You and Your Mouth", as chatter fills the room from behind me. This is the type of song that normally commands an icy silence, but this time it simply isn't happening. The sound engineer does his thing - guitar down a bit, glockenspiel up a bit - and sonically, things begin to come together. "Love me Too" is fantastic, but Anna is still struggling to make herself heard through the chatter in the room. By the time forthcoming single "Ctrl-Alt-Del" is played, the crowd are beginning to quieten down a bit and some people are sitting cross-legged on the floor which is a nice touch. The last two songs are definitely the highlights of the set. With the potential banana skin of the new song out of the way, I see the band visibly growing in stature and confidence with the early Sneaker Pimps echoes of "The Blue Tree" and the wistful, plodding poetry-in-motion of "Darling Darling", the latter of which gives us a rousing, captivating loud, loud, loud finale that finally gets the attention of the entire room. Anna squints, covers her ears and strains at the vocals as if trying to keep her head while all around her are losing theirs. Silverman's short performance is over. "If you didn't hear us before, you did now. We're Silverman", she tells us. Some people clap. Other people cheer. And all in all the band have triumphed over a shed-full of adversity, showing guts and balls in the process. The band seem pleased with the performance, despite all the problems they had and who knows, maybe they made a few more fans on the day too.
As for the headliners, well it was always going to happen - Meridian's brand of Reef-covering-Muse-covering-Reef draws the crowd in and there is even some crowd-surfing, which anyone who knows The Louisiana will tell you is quite an achievement. They're a good band and technically sound, but will do well to cut it on the live circuit without fifty or so mates to help them along. Don't expect to see Silverman supporting them again!
Related pages
Official Silverman Website
The band's official (and very posh looking) website.
Silverman gig and album review
A review of "Speed of Life Part 2" and the gig at Bath's Porter Cellar Bar.
Silverman album reviews
A look at Silverman's back catalogue.
