LIVE: Fred Abbott at The Forge (14/1/16)

Last night I saw my first show of the year, and what a great bunch of people and display of live music to be my first! It was the first of Fred Abbott's (ex Noah & The Whale lead guitarist and keys player) three show residency at The Forge in Camden, which continues on the 21st and 28th of January. 

Fred Abbott

First up as support act was Hollie Stephenson who was pretty captivating with just her vocals and an accompanying pianist, she's supporting at the other two shows too - with drums and bass on those shows. Second to play, and bringing the vibe up sharply was Tom Figgins, who I've been aware of for a few years but has been getting some Radio 2 airplay (including a cracking session on Richard Madeley's show last Sunday!) I saw him live a few times last year and hope everything continues to go well for him as he certainly deserves it, and last nights full band performance was superb, and finished off beautifully by a cover of David Bowie's Heroes. 

Tom Figgins

Up next was Fred, joined by his band and kicking off the set as they meant to go on with the guitar solo intro to Learn About Love, a track from his solo record Serious Poke which was released last July. Taking the crowd through most of the record including it's two two singles, Adrenaline Shot and Funny How Good It Feels, we were having as much fun as the band themselves. Fred's Noah bandmate (and easily one of the most talented musicians I've met), Tom Hobden, joined Fred and his band for a few tracks, first playing with them for Awake - easily my favourite from Fred's album, a highlight of which, for me, is Tom's string solo (listen below) so to see them play it live together was a treat! Tom stayed with the band for a couple more songs including a cover of Bruce Springsteen's Atlantic City which featured a beautiful violin solo, after which the audience demanded an encore - "You asked for it!" Fred mocked as he walked back onto the stage. A brilliant night was had by all - will definitely be trying to get along to the show on the 28th as I'll be back in Oxford by then and it'll be easier for me to get to London. 

You can catch Fred Abbott at The Forge in Camden on the 21st and 28th of January, tickets for those shows are here, Hollie Stephenson supports at both dates, with Moxie Kicks and The Villainy supporting at the two dates respectively!

GIG NEWS: Fred Abbott residency at The Forge, Camden (Jan 2016)

I'm off home for Christmas today so gigs in London are a little less accessible (far more effort to get train from home than the coach from uni) but I'm hoping that I'll be able to make it to London for one of these shows. Fred Abbott, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and former guitarist/keys player for Noah & The Whale, recently released a solo record (read my review of it here), and is playing a residency at The Forge in Camden for three nights in January. Support at each show will come from Hollie Stephenson with special guests Tom Figgins, Moxie Kicks and The Villainy making appearances at one show each, on the 14th, 21st and 28th of January respectively. Guaranteed to be a fun show with cracking guitar solos aplenty, so get down to a gig if you can! 

More info and a link to buy tickets for each of the shows here.

LIVE: Fred Abbott at The Borderline and The Sea & I at 100 Club (31/7/15)

Fred Abbott at The Borderline.

On Friday I went to London again to see Noah & The Whale guitarist and keyboard player Fred Abbott play his album launch show at The Borderline. During the day I realised that one of my favourite new bands, The Sea & I, were playing a support set at another venue a short walk away. A couple of tweets later and Irwin had put me onto the list for the sold out show as I was sure I could fit both sets in.

Though a bit of a rush between the two venues I'm really glad I caught both sets and seeing The Sea & I last minute was a great surprise. They put in as great an effort in this support set as in their residency headline shows at The Islington that I attended in June. A talented bunch of individuals, they blend together to make a really big, beautiful and unique sound. At recent shows they've been playing some new tracks (those not on their two EPs, one self titled and The Great I Am), and I'm particularly enjoying this track, Harpies. 

After their set I dashed around the corner and got to The Borderline with time to spare before Fred's set. True to the album it was the launch show for, the set was pure rock and roll music at its best, rammed full of guitar solos. I was intrigued to see how Fred would take to the role of frontman, and he seemed incredibly comfortable in front of the packed out hometown crowd. Fred jokingly  said that he doesn't "condone the schoolboy humour" of his backing band's chosen name, The Windbreakers, but their performance was anything but a joke - each helping to bring the album tracks to life to a great (and loud!) degree. Considering it was their first show together under this moniker, and in the absence of Fred's Noah bandmates who played on the record, the band played a really fun set which left the crowd wanting more.

I recorded this video of one of my favourite tracks from the record, Awake, and also took some photos at the show, which I have uploaded to my Flickr here.

You can get Fred's record Serious Poke in most music shops and online now - read my review of the record here.

LISTEN: Fred Abbott - 'Serious Poke'

With the new Friday release day for new music, Fred Abbott releases his solo record, aptly entitled Serious Poke, next Friday, 24th July. Previously guitarist and keys player of Noah & The Whale, Fred says of the new album tracks, "if you attended a Noah & The Whale soundcheck at any time in the last five years then you probably heard me, Urby, Mike and Tom jamming some of these songs." With the band on hiatus last year Fred took the opportunity to record the tracks with some Noah bandmates and other musicians, and following the Noah split "the time seems right to put this stuff out there", says Fred.

The record was co-produced by Fred and Martin Hollis (The Rolling Stones, Take That), with recording sessions over the past year taking place at British Grove Studios in West London. It is being released through independent outfit Lojinx, and an album launch is taking place at London's The Borderline on 31st July (see my post about that show here for more info.)

Source: www.lojinx.com

After a few listens, I'm feeling pretty lucky to have found the album in my inbox to review. It is a superb ten track rock record, with distinctive vocals, catchy choruses and plenty of brilliant guitar solos. Overall a refreshing record, the pace varies throughout, with the tracks mostly touching on themes of love. The striking lyrics of Don't Look Like Him are particularly memorable, highlighting the serious issue of domestic violence and offering empowerment to victims. For me, a highlight is Awake, with the wonderful guitar solos that span the record intertwined with beautiful string action from Noah-bandmate Tom Hobden bringing a certain elegance to the track.

For a preview of the record, you can view blog posts featuring the first track released from the record, Funny How Good It Feels, here, and the video for the second track, Adrenaline Shot, here. 

Most importantly - you can pre-order the record through Lojinx here.

GIG NEWS: Fred Abbott (31st July 2015)

With the impending release of his solo record, Serious Poke, through Lojinx, Noah & The Whale guitarist Fred Abbott has just announced an album launch show at The Borderline in London on 31st July. The show will be the first outing of the new record, with Fred and an 'all star band' playing tracks from the record. I've heard the record and will be writing a review of it in the next few days, it's a brilliant record featuring a superb bunch of musicians, I'd highly recommend getting along to the show if possible!

Source: https://www.facebook.com/fredabbottmusic, photo by David Secombe.

You can find the Facebook event for the show here, and buy tickets through Ticketweb here.

WATCH: Fred Abbott - 'Adrenaline Shot'

Previewed a couple of days ago, here is the video for Adrenaline Shot, the upcoming single from Noah & The Whale guitarist Fred Abbott, taken from his solo record Serious Poke. The performance video features Fred's Noah bandmates, Urby and Michael, as well as singer songwriter Tom Figgins, and was filmed on the roof of Wax Studios in Dalston. 

Serious Poke is set to be released through Lojinx on 20th July, its trackless is as follows -

Adrenaline Shot
Funny How Good It Feels
Awake
Honey
Hollywood
One Hot Night
Learn About Love
Don't Look Like Him
Still Told A Lie
Lucky People

You can preorder the record here.

LISTEN: Fred Abbott - 'Adrenaline Shot'

Premiered yesterday by Gigwise, here is the latest offering from the debut solo record, Serious Poke, of Fred Abbott (of Noah & The Whale). Alongside the first track to be shared from the record, Funny How Good It Feels, it gives a good indicator of the feel of the record, being a fun, punchy track which, whilst not straying too far from Noah's sound (which is natural as a few of Fred's Noah bandmates feature on the record) is perhaps more experimental and rock-y, showcasing the lack of creative pressures typical of an independent  label release.

Adrenaline Shot will be available on iTunes this Monday, 15th June, with Fred's debut solo record, Serious Poke, being released through Lojinx on 20th July.

LISTEN: Fred Abbott - 'Funny How Good It Feels'

Sticking with the post Noah & The Whale theme that came about with my recent review of Matt Owens debut solo record, another member of the band, Fred Abbott, is also soon to release a solo record, entitled Serious Poke. Above is the first offering from the record, the rather ironically feel-good track Funny How Good It Feels, held together by a fun drum pattern and showcasing some pretty clever guitar play. As a solo record, being released independently through Lojinx, there's far less of the commercial pressures that would've come alongside a NATW record, allowing Fred (and a few of his Noah bandmates who also played on the record) to be more experimental creatively. The track is a great hint of what's to come from Fred's album, which is expected on July 20th.