Revere / Mozzy Green / Capelilos

Capelilos, the first support act, take the duration of a couple of songs to get into their stride, after which they spice the three-piece band up by bringing on four "lab assistants" in white coats who provide trumpet, sax and violins. They're more of an interesting prospect now and the crowd responds warmly to the funkier "break for the border" Calexico-like vibe going on. It's a very energetic set, with the highlight being 'Bow Wow' which nicks its first line from the Cure's 'The Lovecats' – "we move like cagey tigers, we couldn't get closer than this".



The next three-piece, Mozzy Green, with guitar, drums and cello, are intense and start with a jarring, shouty sound which evolves into an interesting song about robots – 'The World is Building Robots Machines To Rule the Earth'. 'Beware of Billy's Ghost' also stands out and 'The Smile of Sally Anne' is particularly memorable, sounding like a vamped up traditional folk song. The distinctive vocals are almost spoken in places and the lyrics seem pretty thought-provoking, which, along with the brooding cello, makes for a completely absorbing performance.



The headliners, Revere, incidentally one of the 12 finalists for the Glastonbury New Talent Competition 2008, also have the intense cello and violin (strings are the recurrent theme tonight). This is in addition to three guitars, drums, keys, trumpet, a glockenspiel and the very strong emotive voice of the frontman, Stephen Ellis, which verges on a theatrical warble that wouldn’t be out of place for a leading role in a West End musical. There are eight members of the band on stage, plus one for the last song, which creates a dramatic, full sound but at times is almost overwhelming.

Their epic filmscape music is complemented by the video footage projected on to the screen behind the stage, some of which is quite disturbing – we somehow know the video for 'Skin' with the dead birds is going to end in tears (it does – the central character throws himself off a roof with a few feathers sewn in to the skin on his arms).

The band's sound is multi-layered and rises to full crescendo pitch, then drops away - in 'I Can't (Forgive Myself)' the lull in the music reveals the beat of military marching drums, and, in the quieter moments towards the end of the penultimate song 'As the Radars Sleep', are the pretty chimes of the glockenspiel.



The absolute highlight of Revere's set is the last song, 'The Escape Artist', which will be their new single. They are joined on vocals by Gabby Young, a solo artist in her own right, who has an amazing voice which really lifts the song. At one point during this track Ellis knocks over his mic stand and sings out from the front of the stage – the band are still thrashing away but he impresses by projecting his falsetto vocals above the crowd and wall of sound behind him. 'The Escape Artist' has romantic lyrics and also manages to sound almost mournful, but the emotion is a little bit swamped by the riot of noise tonight, which is a great shame because the version on their EP is stunning.

I've only seen the band play once before – a pared down "acoustic" version, which included Gabby Young for the whole set, and tonight's expanded line-up seems to have lost some of the "stop you in your tracks" beauty of the songs and breathtaking arrangements but has most definitely gained in volume, dramatic impact and sheer grandiosity.

Set List

I Bet You Want Blood
Man of Atom
Throwing Stones
Skin
I Can't (Forgive Myself)
As the Radars Sleep
The Escape Artist

FUTURE GIGS

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