10 Dec 2024
Life’s not too fast for James Cameron as he catches up-and-comers High Fade at The Horn…
Happy Birthday to the Horn, 50 years old but doesn’t look a day over 27! To celebrate this milestone there have been shows from some legendary artists including the Buzzcocks! Dodgy! And, um… Hue & Cry.
Rather than seeing these established acts, though, I thought it would be more in the spirit of the venue and their support for new acts to check out a band I had never heard of previously, who have only released their debut album the week previously and who have their whole glittery career ahead of them.
Hence I found myself on a Tuesday night heading out into the cold to check out High Fade.
Before the main event we had support in the form of Strawberry Lace from Cambridge, who I knew even less about than High Fade. For a worrying moment when they came on they sounded quite prog rock, but then they turned the slap funk up to full and I could relax. Their sound was quite heavy, possibly nu metal, is that a good thing these days or an insult? They maybe sounded a bit like the Ordinary Boys, although again I don’t know if they’d value the comparison.
One thing I can appreciate is that as the singer, Ryan Benyon, was also the bassist which meant this oft-underutilised instrument was literally centre-stage.
He showed great skill on this and it drove the songs forward. As a lyricist there was an earnestness to him, but the way he wore his bucket hat over his eyes did get in the way of establishing a connection with the audience, rather like Judge Dredd.
There was a good level of energy coming from the band, and the crowd responded in kind despite it being a Tuesday night. The headbanging interlude was taken up by a section of the audience with gusto, and a good time was had by all.
They finished with a rousing cover of ‘Breathe’ by the Prodigy which certainly got the crowd moving, but it would have been nicer to see that earlier in the set and for them to finish with one of their own songs, as they certainly had enough bangers.
I did not know beforehand that High Fade were Scottish, but I should have done as they do look very Scottish. The fact that one of them was wearing a kilt and that they came on to Rod Stewart should really have tipped me off. Despite their obvious Caledonian nature there is definitely something of the West Coast to them, by which I mean California rather than Ayrshire.
They draw inspiration from the holy trinity of funk, disco and hair metal, all brought together with the sole purpose of everyone having as much fun as possible.
They are a tight three-piece, with be-kilted Calvin Davidson drumming up a storm and sharing vocal duties on some songs, Bassist Oliver Sentance channeling the funk in both his slap-heavy style and his vibrant flares and guitarist and vocalist Harry Valentino leading it all like Tenacious D-style Jack Black, one of the band’s celebrity fans apparently (along with members of Cypress Hill and Deep Purple, speaking to the range of their influences).
They kicked things off with a song about how much they loved the bassline they were playing, which set the tone for the lyrical content of the evening.
Absent were any deep ruminations on the current political morass or the nature of love, instead we had an epic tribute to the fact that a lady they knew had a fur coat and the fantastic driving rock of ‘I Hate This Road’ about the A1, sentiments those of the crowd that were old enough to drive could definitely get behind.
There was quite a mix in the audience, with young people who make up some of the band’s sizable following on Instagram (or so my son, who was along as part of his music homework, told me) rubbing shoulders with grizzled muso veterans who probably remember when the bands who form High Fade’s influence were themselves the hot new things.
In their reverence and repackaging of the exuberance of past musical movements they were like The Darkness, but played a lot straighter.
There was plenty of audience interaction, Valentino seemed pathologically worried that there might be someone present who wasn’t having an amazing time so continually checked in that we were indeed all ready to rock out.
At one point we were berated for not moving enough, which led to a group hip swing reminiscent of Trev and Simon swinging their pants. This in turn led to the delightful sight of the entire front row engaging in synchronised disco dancing.
It was a long set, about 90 minutes, and there was a noticeable drop in energy from the audience towards the end. For a band with only one album’s worth of material it’s difficult to stretch things out that much, and it reminded me of seeing Space in their early days where they had to play their singles twice as they didn’t have enough songs yet.
This issue will obviously disappear as High Fade progress on their career and build up their back catalogue, but what could have been a blistering 50 minute set did get a big saggy with some over-long solos.
Having said that, there was a drum solo of almost Whiplash-like intensity that went on for close to 15 minutes and was a wonder to behold. It seemed to nearly finish Davidson off, and by the end I wasn’t sure if there was a smoke machine on or if it was steam coming off the drummer, so fast was he going.
Vocal style varied along with the music, with Valentino equally at ease with a frisky falsetto or a Bari(White)tone. The final song of the set proper, Life’s Too Fast, put a shot of energy back into proceedings with the band embracing the rock completely like a reborn AC/DC. After a very brief break where the bassist never actually made it off the stage they came back with probably their strongest song of the night, Burnt Toast and Coffee (although I am more of a granola and green tea guy).
Like Strawberry Lace they also finished with a cover, Break Stuff by Limp Bizkit and the crowd went wild. When the lights went up there were grins all around, and High Fade can truly be said to have rocked the house. With a slightly tighter set and possibly the addition of a keyboardist to round out their sound they would be unstoppable, but as it was they were a bucketload of fun and one of the most joyous experiences I’ve had on a Tuesday.
