On my way to Noosa once again to get my Roots & Blues fix at the Noosa Villa. My dealers being The Mick McCombe Band, Cheap Fakes & Chocolate Strings. Three days later and I still have not come down from it.

Mick McComb was the best pick for first spot has he more soothed his way into the crowd of about 60 people. Mick was very professional and you could tell that from the start. Making sure that every sound was right, and it was. Goes to show how much experience stands out in a live performance.
I was told to look out for his bass player, for he had apparently been a shredder. But this bass player didn’t fit the same description, but she fitted the bill very nicely. The bass looking twice the size of her small very small frame she was in fact a shredder, all blended in with the drummer’s nicely timed rolls it was a great performance to start with, well done Mick McComb band.

Next up was the Cheap Fakes, now how can I describe these guys with out wetting myself? I felt like a 14 year-old girl at a Justin Bieber concert.
Two on the Saxophone who were Josh Appleby & Stephen Smith . Scott Bignell on Trumpet, M Sanjay Jude on Keys, Damian Campbell on Drums, and the finesse work of Hayden Andrews on the guitars & vocals.
Hayden looking like he was born with a suede suite on and a guitar around him because he was such a talented front man. The stand out track for me was Skills Pay Bills. The only problem with it was it that the song was way too short.
It was all so tempting to go out and mix it on the dance floor, but the problem with that was that I felt that I was going to get eaten by the mass of COUGARS in the venue, I felt like a little lamb to the slaughter, so I kept back on the outside of the floor hidden in the dark . My drummer Benny (from Technical Symplicity) who was with me at the time already having a few claw and bite marks on him. But in the end he got away safely…
Listening to all their tracks on their myspace and then seeing them live. Seeing them live is a MUST DO for all who read this, because your missing out if you don’t.

To finish the night off was the all so talented Chocolate Strings. More reggae compared to the other two groups who went before them, but still very good. The smallest girl who I believe was “Jungles” also had the biggest voice that I had heard in quite some time. Leaving a gap of about 40cm between her mouth and the microphone and she was still clearer. Nia, the other Vocalist who still had an amazing voice, also had more thrust than a space shuttle launch getting down to the tunes and connecting with crowd. I noticed that on the sax was Josh Appleby, also from the previous group Cheap Fakes, so he had his work cut out for him but was still thriving with the melodic solos from his sax. I enjoyed the guitar work on the track Carnival which was also the name of their Album. Vocals performed by Altecious Groove, also on the acoustic guitar. This track felt like it had a sort of deep meaning to it just by the way it was performed. Well done Chocolate Strings! A great band to end what was an enjoyable night.

Next time I venture to that venue (The Noosa Villa) I will be wearing much thicker clothing, To all males between 18 and 30 I also highly recommend it.

Wade