Chantel McGregor // The Hot One Two // Live Review // Cambridge Junction
An evening with West Yorkshire’s Chantel McGregor is always dazzling, breathtaking musicianship; tonight is exceptional. The chosen support, local Cambridge band The Hot One Two, who had a nice group of their fans along with them singing and dancing enthusiastically to every song, are a band I was previously unaware of, and by the end of the first song, ‘Tie Me Down ’, I am thinking, Wow! So glad their Butlin’s days are over. These are good. Simon West leads from the front, his vocals clearly showing attitude and a Classic Rock style mixed with modern, contemporary sounds. West is a commanding frontman, delivering with poise and purpose. At one point during the set, he took the mic from his right-hand guitarist’s stand, which amused me when the guitarist began singing backup vocals into an empty mic stand! (On chatting later, West informed me that he had forgotten to fully charge his own mic, hence the steal, and the guitarist laughed at his own actions, saying he realised there was no mic but that it was just habit to go ahead and sing, and he hoped no one had noticed!) Bass man Nick Blackburn adds the thunder as he patrols the stage, his hair taking on a life of its own as it dances to the heavy dynamics. The lead guitars intertwine, making the sound vital and energetic. By the set closer, ‘Rolling Stone ’, I’ve concluded I need to see them again. The Hot One Two are at the Norwich Brickmakers early next year; I suggest that you check them out! West will ask ‘Is It Hot’, believe me when I say it will be, it might even ‘Blow Your Mind’. Great chatting to you lads, see you soon.
What can I possibly say about Chantel McGregor that hasn’t already been said? Well, here at the Junction, her voice is clear and passionate; her guitar playing is beautiful and powerful. The setlist drew on her studio discography and delivered what may be the finest performance I have seen to date.
The instrumental ‘April’ has to be my highlight as it evolved into Jazz Fusion that was mind-blowing, the breadth of musicality was insane, especially as she got compared to Carlos Santana, ‘Chantana’ maybe, she jokes with fellow band mates. A special mention goes to drummer Keith McParling, whose finesse and touch were among the finest I have ever seen. Throughout the show, a gentle ambience is projected from the stage, with dashes and flashes of girl-next-door humour that we have come to know, and even expect, so well. Tonight did lack a bit of audience participation that we normally see; however, Chantelle still manages to give us stories about her life and experiences, such as how she probably could have just biked to the venue along with Jamie as it’s so close and most notably when she regaled us with a story about her allotments, telling us how very weedy they are and this has involved a lot of bending so much so that she now can’t bend down at all, much to the amusement of all in attendance, especially boyfriend Jamie Brooks!
Most of her quite brilliant album, The Healing, was played. ‘Broken Heartless Liar’ starting things off, it is not long before we ‘Lose Control’, we know there will be ‘Tears’ but the ‘Truth Will Out’. Chantelle is a tinker with the setlist; the atmospheric ‘Echoes’ was added, and it didn’t even make the cut! I think these spontaneous changes create something special and unique; the band’s casual banter throughout, including discussions of what to play next as if there is no plan or setlist at all, adds to it. At one point, Chantelle needs a piece of equipment to sing a particular song and sends the bassist and drummer off to find her dad to get it; when they return, he is nowhere to be found, and Chantelle assumes he’s gone to the pub! That piece of equipment never materialises, and we never hear the song, but ‘Creep’ absolutely makes up for it; fantastic. Each song they launch into is immediately of the highest professional standard and always blows one away.
I am astonished that Chantel’s vocal and supreme guitar talent (she’s previously been compared to Joe Bonamassa) hasn’t taken her to much bigger venues than this; gigs at places like Junction 2 are intimate affairs indeed. Next June she will be playing the magnificent Bury St. Edmunds Apex; if you have never seen her perform, this will be the perfect venue to do so.
Review: Paul Mace
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