If you you ever wondered what would happen if you combined some of Hastings’ most notably talented musicians and booked them to play on a quiet, dark and dreary Monday evening in November then you should probably keep reading this…
I arrived at the Hastings Arms expecting it to be a sort of Blues jam night (I’d read that it was a Blues night online) however as I left the cold drizzly darkness of the street and entered the warm, welcoming pub I was greeted by a powerfully energetic yet familiar musical atmosphere; it turned out that the familiarity stemmed from the powerful, accented grooves and dynamic mastery of drummer Ed Collins combined with the pristine-clean funky and thunderous bass guitar of Andy Ingram; it was the same rhythmic section of The Deep Sea Drivers that had got so many people up on their feet and moving when I had last seen them play at The Anchor Inn a couple of months back, however masterfully handling the mid ranges and vocal performance were two incredible musicians that I hadn’t seen before although it later transpired I knew who they were from hearing about them while out and about.
Fronting the band was the absolutely incredible Hana Christine she delivered a display of pure vocal beauty and perfection, with a superior combination of emotive soulful tonality mixed with an intense passionate ferocity it was truly one of the most captivating vocal performances that I’ve been fortunate enough to experience first hand. Of course Hana wasn’t the only incredibly masterful vocal performer in the line up that night; because completing the group of four was the one and only Rufus Stone; his keyboard playing was nothing short of exceptional, he provided gorgeous tones and sonic textures that gelled excellently with the rhythmic components of the drums and bass while also showing his impressive skill with his instrument through nice melodic lead elements, managing to keep the rhythmic complexity of the funk style while still demonstrating great improvisational talent, in addition to this Rufus also executed an incredibly rich, gritty and powerful show of force through his own vocal abilities, It truly felt like a blessing to me to be able experience such an awesome collective of musical talent on a relatively quiet Monday evening!
The musical selections of the set itself was another great testament to the incredible capabilities of these performers as they demonstrated their mastery over dynamics and feel with a versatile mixture of songs spanning an array of genres and eras in time, from up-beat classic funk covers from legendary names like Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles (to name just a couple) right up to more modern chart renditions including a tastefully delivered interpretation of Jessie J’s “Price Tag”, which only served to showcase the incredibly diverse abilities of Rufus Stone with a brilliant performance of the rap backed by the incredible overall structural arrangements displayed by the band in addition to powerfully complementing vocal support from Hana throughout the song. Needless to say at this point, this was a performance that catered to a plethora of audience tastes all while maintaining a consistent feel-good groove that gradually lifted the atmosphere as the night progressed. As if great set design and performance wasn’t enough, when the audience spoke the band listened; they played off-the-cuff music in such a way that it seemed as though the called out requests were actually a part of the performance itself!
It really was a brilliantly executed set with all of the musicians demonstrating their prowess as performers, however one of the elements that really stood out to me personally was the powerful vocal performances with great tone and soulful grit; I can say with great conviction that the combined singer’s abilities in play that night produced some of the best vocal harmonic tones I’ve ever heard. Of course without the absolutely blinding skill and cohesiveness of the instrumentalists then it would basically have been a really impressive karaoke night, but no; the raw talent of each musician really shone through with the consistent yet complex rolling bass-lines of Andy Ingram and the flash and funky grooves of Ed Collins (he even slipped in some cheeky double kick at one point), the combined talent between these individuals was a recipe for success from the start. It’s not just the individual abilities of a band’s musicians that makes them great however it’s the way in which the talent is applied as a musical unit and in this case it’s safe to say they nailed it; the arrangements of all the individual musical elements were organized superbly in such a way that the dynamic progression in all the songs was incredibly smooth and fluid throughout the night.
So when I originally arrived at The Hastings Arms it was fairly quiet (in terms of the audience) but the overall atmosphere at this stage was still really nice and positive and this was a direct consequence of the band themselves; there was a really laid back vibe projected by the musicians and I felt that this was because the band had a great overall charm that’s created as a result of the musicians generally being relaxed, in their element and enjoying themselves; the overall demeanour of a band truly does resonate through the performance as a whole. As the night went on and as more people filled the initially quiet pub the energy projected by the band and in turn the audience intensified; what started off as a handful of people enjoying a few drinks at the bar was gradually transformed by the energetic feel-good grooves from what had started as a quiet Monday night in The Hastings Arms into a positively charged funky disco with people on their feet right up to the end.
After a superb flurry of energetic feel-good performances the time finally came for the finale of the set, and this was nothing short of epic, after a gorgeously gentle and soulful intro the band launched into a super-charged rendition of Florence and the machines “You’ve Got The Love”, of course after building up such an energetic momentum within the audience they weren’t ready to call it a night just yet! As a result of the blinding performance and overall atmosphere created that night the audience weren’t satisfied with just one encore but relentlessly persisted in getting yet another, even after the musicians were practically packing up to go home!
When I went to The Hastings Arms that night I really had no idea what to expect and I’d even considered going elsewhere that evening but I know now without a shadow of a doubt that I made the right choice here, if you ever get the chance to see any of these musicians, make sure you do it! You have my word that however you feel when you arrive, you’ll be leaving at the end of the night with a smile on your face!
– James Seguin, Hastings LIVE!
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