Wednesday 08/02/06 The Waking Eyes @ The Barfly, London

Canadian four-piece The Waking Eyes bring their mix of bluesy based rock to Camden’s Barfly with a unique flare and a singer who stands at the far end of the stage. Opening with a real blues number that screams The Faces at you, especially as they hit the keyboards you know they are totally different to anything you’ll see on the current art-rocker scene, then as they change their sound slightly to a more rockier one they even tell the audience “don’t worry it’s not going to be all blues”- since when has a blues set been a bad thing? Despite this ‘interesting’ comment they shift well from this style to a heavier one, before moving to an indie inspired number and an acoustic song that builds up to a brilliant crescendo.

Ok, so blues comment aside, The Waking Eyes are talented musicians with the bassist and rhythm guitarist taking turns to sing along and the lead guitarist/singer who plays the keyboards and trumpet (the latter instrument maybe best being left out), and handle the change from one style of rock to another with ease; something the crowd shows great appreciation for with rapturous applause.