Gig review: THE COMMONERS – Arlington Arts Centre, 25 July 2024

Back at the lovely Arlington Arts Centre for a night of blues based rock. A decent sized crowd, which had me pondering that the artists on stage are looking younger each time, yet the audience is definitely getting older…

Shout out to the Arlington Arts Centre who keep booking top rock gigs, with the likes of FM earlier this year, tonight’s gig by the Commoners and the October visit from Bywater Call.

Support came from fellow Canadian Madison Galloway, who was backed by a keys player and drummer. Madison packs a powerful bluesy, rock n roll punch with both her singing and guitar playing. The hard rocking ‘Freedom’ and ‘Devil at My Door’ particularly impressed and she certainly won over a host of new fans based on her set tonight.

Her set ended with a technical hiccup as she was looking for a lost lead, however, in true rock n roll fashion the show must go on. She then went on to deliver an impassioned version of the Black Crowes classic ‘She Talks To Angels’.

Very impressive set of blues and rock n roll from Madison Galloway who is definitely a name to watch and an artist to listen to pronto.

The Commoners are doing things the traditional way by regular tours of the UK (last seen over here supporting Troy Redfern) which is paying dividends for them as tonight’s crowd was a mixture of fans who have been there since the start and plenty of newbies, keen to see what this band is all about.

Kicking off with ‘Shake You Off’, they certainly started the set off on the front foot. A real ear worm of a blues rocker and a perfect set opener. Straight into ‘Who Are You?’ and you know this is going to be a special gig, as the band are in tune with each other, and most importantly, the audience.

They played a good chunk of their new album ‘Restless’, including the title track, one of the highlights on the album, and indeed, tonight’s gig.

‘See You Again’ has a distinct Black Crowes feel to it and is one of those songs about love and loss that resonates with everyone.

‘Body and Soul’ allowed the band to jam, treading a path to the Allman Brothers door for sure. The Planet Rock playlisted ‘Devil Teasin’ Me’ gained a warm welcome from the crowd, whilst ‘The Way I Am’ and ‘Fill My Cup’ kept the set rolling along at a good rocking pace.

In vocalist Chris Medhurst they have a livewire frontman and boy can he sing! From a blues wail, to a soothing, soulful croon, he is one heck of a talent. However, the whole band are musical adept, be it the stylish bass playing of Ben Spiller (who looks a dead ringer for Triumph bassist Mike Levine in the 1970s) or the rock solid beat of Adam Cannon.

Guitarist Ross Citrullo is in his own musical sphere on stage, playing dreamy solos, full of passion and style. On the tour they have their friend, organist Miles Evan Branagh, who did get lost in the mix at the start of the set, yet showed his worth later in the set.

The Commoners closed the night off with the Dave Mason/Traffic cover ‘Feelin’ Alright’ and we certainly did after such a powerful set of top notch blues rock with a heartbeat of soul.

This band are on the up and up. Get yourselves along to one of their remaining UK shows to say you were there at the start of something special or catch them when they are next back over here. I doubt you will be disappointed.

Review by Jason Ritchie
Photos by Paul May

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, streamed via Facebook.
In 2023 he signed a recording deal with Sony in Canada and released a new single on 15 September.

Next session: Sunday 1 December

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David Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. The show signposts forthcoming gigs and tours and latest additions at getreadytorock.com. First broadcast on 3 November 2024.

UK Blues Broadcaster of the Year (2020 and 2021 Finalist) Pete Feenstra presents his weekly Rock & Blues Show on Tuesday at 19:00 GMT as part of a five hour blues rock marathon “Tuesday is Bluesday at GRTR!”. The show is repeated on Wednesdays at 22:00, Fridays at 20:00). This show was first broadcast 29 October 2024.

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Power Plays w/c 11 November 2024

ARCANE MOON Hello Sun (indie)
S8NT ELEKTRIC XTC (Long Branch Records)
ARCANA KINGS Here We Go (Curtain Call Records)
KLOGR face The Unknown (Zeta Factory)
BEYOND UNBROKEN Dance With The Dead (FiXT)
REVENGIN Decadent Feeling (Wormholedeath)

Featured Albums w/c 11 November 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Singer Songwriter)