Some Velvet Morning, a London rooftop

Some Velvet Morning

DATE: Friday 30 February 2009

TIME: 12.50pm

LOCATION: London rooftop

BAND: Some Velvet Morning

TEMPERATURE: Too cold!

Undeniably the best place for live music is the great outdoors. Every year we flock in our thousands to see the best that the music industry has to offer at numerous festivals and very occasionally we fall upon a hidden gem of a band that we go on to love and support

This could be classed along the same lines…..except there were three songs not three days, there were about 50 people present, not a tent in sight and we were seven floors up on a Central London rooftop just off Oxford Street… maybe not so similar. But what is similar is that little buzz you get from that combination of fresh air and fresh new talent.

Some Velvet Morning, a new and emerging London-based band were requested to play this gig to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Beatles farewell performance in association with PRS For Music and UK Music. It was exactly 40 years to the day since this memorable performance. Some Velvet Morning have, over the past year, sold out shows globally, but they are yet to create such an impact over this side of the pond.

The event almost looked set not to happen as authorities threatened to close the event down just an hour before it took place, health and safety issues which was understandable. But thankfully with all of that out of the way the band were able to play their short but succinct set.

Some Velvet Morning kicked off their set with a Franz Ferdinand-esque bass line, a song that oozes potential as a future hit and certainly draws attention. The sound is professional and well thought out, the band have clearly worked hard on perfecting this hugely catchy sound which is an amalgamation of 70s inspired rock with a twist of indie thrown in for good measure. The basis of the song was a rhythm so strong that it threatened to reverberate around your head for the next month.

The clarity against the London skyline was sharp and crisp against the cold biting breeze, the atmosphere it created was spine-tingling against the vast horizon of rooftops and buildings.

By the time the second song started, onlookers had emerged onto rooftops all around, inquisitive as to what was going on up there. People hung out of windows and absorbed this unusual scene and free entertainment. One street-level passer by shouted up to find out what was going on, to which the band encouraged them to come down to Barfly next week to see them play. Perhaps promotion at this height was a little extreme but it certainly got people talking on this cold Friday lunchtime.

This track, a mix of The Beatles’ ‘Don’t Let Me Down’ was dangerously catchy with a bouncing bass line that would provide a challenge to anybody on the rooftop to not tap their feet. The vocals were strong and defined with a closing harmony that was vocally spot on.

This band appear to have everything to offer to allow them to compete with the likes of other indie-types in the charts. Their image is quite typically indie, a little quirky and the band certainly have star appeal.

The third and final offering was the band’s debut single ‘Losing My Mind’, opening with a soaring intro and a progressively catchy and attention-grabbing beat and rhythm. “It feels like I’m losing my mind”… and you would probably have thought that we had standing there on a rooftop on a bitterly cold lunchtime in central London, but by the time the set had drawn to a close it certainly didn’t feel that way. It felt like an hour well spent and the discovery of a hidden gem of a band that are sure to achieve great things.

Barfly next week? I’ll be there with bells on!

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