Live review: West Coast Gothic – Auger, Novus UK, Still Forever and Stella Wembley
Who would have thought that a virus originating on the other side of the world would mean we’d have over a year of no live music? After the gap I was chomping at the bit to get out there with my own kin and listen to some bands! Thank you West Coast Gothic for working so hard to put together this mini-festival in Blackpool so soon after the restrictions were lifted – it certainly lifted my spirits!
I arrived at the venue, Waterloo Music Bar to be greeted by a gathering of people dressed in black – how I’ve missed this! After a short introduction to everybody involved from the mastermind behind
this event Stephen Farr, and a brief overview of the guidelines for this socially distanced ticket only gig, I was free to enjoy myself. The venue would be classed as a small music venue, but in pub terms
its pretty large. It’s split into three areas, the largest of course being the stage area where the bands play. Tonight it is laid out with tables and benches as it is a seated gig to keep within government rules. Masks were to be warn once you are on your feet, the time sat at your bench you didn’t need to wear one. Servers bring the drinks to the table, but they were pretty slow in recognising when you wanted a drink – the idea was to light up an empty wine bottle when drinks were needed. We devised various methods to make sure the servers saw the lights! All adding to the fun of the evening.
Review
Stella Wembley
Stella Wembley arrives on stage to kick off the evening. She looks simply stunning, and dives straight into her characterful style. I love her singing voice, a seductive accent that just seems to somehow echo of yesteryear, a period of time perhaps in the 1930’s in my imagination. She plays keyboard and guitar on stage. She is a confident performer and conveys emotion brilliantly – I was completely mesmerised. I loved her performances of ‘Images of Death’, and if you’ve not heard this single I would urge you to give it a listen. A short set, I would have happily listened to more, a predict she has a great future ahead of her in the scene.