A Sad Farewell As The R V Cartel B. O. G. Off

Saturday night at the Bunch Of Grapes was an auspicious event as it marked the end of an era for renowned and respected local heavy rock outfit The RV Cartel.

After nearly 6 years of rocking the house down two members of the Cartel are packing their bags for a sunny life down under. With the summer we’ve had this year who could blame them? It was blatantly obvious the respect and admiration the crowd had for the band on the night and this was most definitely apparent at the end of their performance. In fact there was hardly a dry eye in the building when they exited.

The Bunch Of Grapes itself is a small but more than adequate venue for sonic manifestations and with its thick walls probably built during the times of Edward Longshanks was able to withstand earthquakes of up to 8.6 on the Richter Scale and by all means the musical equivalent in local rock bands!

This was my first visit to the location and the evening started off quietly with the bar not being too overcrowded. Noticing a slight Victorian feel about the place I went in search of the proverbial knees up round the upright piano to no avail but took note of the main passageway which was shaped like an upside down L. Situated at the side of the Hippodrome I expected to see half of the Broadway cast losing it on excessive amounts of alcoholic beverages before completely losing it later on, on stage.

The obvious downside to the venue was that there was hardly any room available for the audience and I was left thinking that this was hardly a suitable place for the final curtain of such a renowned and respected rock band. The lighting around the stage area, if you could call it that was not exactly strategic, but created a warm mellow atmosphere prior of course to the first band turning their ignition key. This made photographing the event difficult and I had to resort to the ultimate cardinal sin of live photographers, to use flash.

For some strange reason two lights lined the back wall which looked out of place and like the English government didn’t seem particularly switched on at any time – in fact as the night progressed it was obvious that they were about as pointless as a Paris Hilton attendance at the Oscars! I only realised they actually worked when about once during each half moon phase the bands faces would reflect the colour! Blending I’m sure would have made for a distinctive sepia effect but I stuck with ‘auto’ mode and enjoyed the rest of the performance in its entirety.

Suitable support came via Strike Eye and if they weren’t enough to cause cardiac arrest then the Cartel certainly were. Hard rock was the aim of the night and anyone who attended but didn’t know any of the bands, ahem, like myself were certainly in for a butt kickingly memorable night. Both bands played their very best and the music was appreciated by one and all -The RV Cartel definitely had the balance of power in their favour though.

At one point there was a guest slot in The Get Out’s set and one of the RV Cartel jumped in to do his karaoke bit, although appearing to get stuck on the chorus!

The evening was a fine showcase for effective, hard hitting rock although both bands offered nothing really new or unique to the genre. However their performances were remarkable and enjoyable and anyone into straight laced hard rock would not have been disappointed.

Overall a great night and for those disappointed at missing the Cartel in their original guise, they hope to be back in full swing at the end of the year, albeit, of course with a new half!

 

Review and Photos : DAVE CABLE for bristolbands.com