Fischers - Buffalo Bar, London, 26/1/2007

  by Anthony Strutt

published: 7 / 3 / 2007

intro

The Fischers are the new band of former Tompaulin frontman and songwriter Jamie Holman. Anthony Strutt watches them make a brilliant debut performance at the Buffalo Bar in London

The Fischers started out as being a new line up of the band Mick Travis, which featured mostly Tompaulin members and whom released a brilliant Lee Hazlewood-inspired 7" single, 'Yvonne', on Fortuna Pop some years ago. The band has as its main front man Jamie Holman, formerly of Tompaulin, and also features David Boon from Accrington-based group Maupa, Lee who is in Blackburn biggest band's The Burn and Manchester-based musician Alan Wilkes who is better known as Vinny Peculiar. Vinny Peculiar has just released a new album, 'The Rise and Fall of Vinny Peculiar'. Alan also produced the first Tompaulin album, 'The Town and City'. The band started off when their sound man opened a studio, and Jamie, David and Lee began hanging out with Alan and his fellow Vinny Peculiar band mates, Craig Gannon and Mike Joyce, both of whom were in the Smiths. The Fischers come across as both a more feedback-driven and a more mellow version of Tompaulin, but their songs still have the same brilliant human observations as Jamie's old band. The set consisted of six songs, two which were originally recorded as demos by Tompaulin, but which Amos Memom, Tompaulin's drummer, told me they just couldn't nail home. Each songs was well crafted, full of upfront vocals from Jamie,while some of the backing had more feedback and was much louder than Tompaulin ever were, because Stacey McKenna, who shared the vocals with Jamie, didn't really like that kind of song. 'Down the Days', which the Fischers also soundchecked with, opened the set. The song sounded like a male-fronted version of Tompaulin, and was perfectly played by guys whom really know their instruments. 'Call Yourself Alive' was much faster, the Fischers sounding on it like they were an old C86 band. 'Ready, Steady, Go', the first of the Tompaulin tracks, sounded 80's flavoured and had deep bass grooves, while 'Radio (Sway)', the second Tompaulin song and which was originally called 'Radio Days', is a much slower and more moody number. 'Architect' has very loud bass, the Fischers sounding on it at first like a Northern version of Hefner. As it got further in, it progressed and it finished with the Fischers sounding like the Velvets jamming with Morrissey. The last number is 'Who Knows Where the Good Times Go' which is an anthem of the toe bopping variety. This was brilliant debut gig, from a group which will undoubtedly become one of my new favourite bands. Rock on, the Fischers !

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