Vast

The Bar Academy is a venue much too small for a band like Vast. Their music is, in a word, epic (at least their earlier work is) and, I would imagine, needs a fair bit of equipment to do it justice. The name itself, as defined by dictionary.com, means "of very great area or extent; immense: the vast reaches of outer space." It was also used as an acronym for the title or the bands first major release "Visual Audio Sensory Theatre" which doesn't sounds like it should be associated with a stage displaying anything less than galactic proportions. Alas, though, it is not meant to be. The reality is four men on a stage the size of a gnat's genitals.

The set began with some of Vast's earlier work from 'V.A.S.T' and it became obvious straight away the kind of sacrifices they're making to play in such small rooms. The chorus of choir singing, usually a backdrop for 'Temptation' and 'Touched' is gone, the violin picking up some of the missing melodies in that area, but, being for the most part too quiet to have any kind of effect. The acoustic guitar, played by John Crosby himself (the brains behind the outfit) sounded great on it's own but the electric kept completely overpowering it with palm muted aggression that, along with the fact that the violin was scarcely heard, made the whole thing sound more like a metal band doing covers of Vast songs.



Jon's singing was also a disappointment. On record he has such a distinct and powerful voice that should have been able to carry the show, despite the humble settings. This was not the case. Jon sounded weak and breathless: Quieter, more delicate melodies were sang nonchalantly, and sounded on the verge of falling apart. He even noticeably missed notes on a few occasions. When the music demanded the more aggressive of his vocal lines he sounded better but he would often change the melodies to make them less demanding. Many of the most dramatic parts in Vast come when the music reaches a crescendo and Jon holds a note until it fades to nothing. Live, though, the notes would be cut short almost instantly and so lose all effect. 'I'm Dying', perhaps the most impressive and dramatic piece from V.A.S.T if not the whole discography was completely ruined by this. Jon Crosby seemed to struggle a lot with this piece and as a result, instead of being the pinnacle of the show, it sounded impotent.



Thankfully Vast's more recent efforts are much more suited to small venues. Jon Crosby is a self confessed 'wandering minstrel' and has been writing a solo project of mostly acoustically lead songs while on tour to reflect the people and places he sees along the way. These songs and others from later albums like 'Nude' and 'April' sounded strong and contained the rare moments where the violin could be heard; the electric guitar having more of a melodic, less chord based approach.

After a very long wait for the Vast to come to the UK, save for a few enjoyable moments, this show was a colossal disappointment.

FUTURE GIGS

sorry, we currently have no gigs listed for this act.