Reverend And The Makers (Live)

Sometimes we all have to do things we don't want to. In my case it was reviewing Reverend And The Makers for Brighton Calling. I've always said that I would try not to write negative things about the creativity of others and that's hard for me because i'm extremely cynical but I really couldn't help myself with this one. In my defense this band are already successful and I don't think i'll be damaging their reputation whilst maintaining my own integrity.




Anyone who thinks sweaty, swaggering lad-rock had finally been buried with the (timely) demise of Oasis should trying telling that to the sell out crowd at Concorde 2.

Right from the off Jon 'The Reverend' McClure is charismatically offering pearls of absolute wisdom such as "fuck the BNP" and other pseudo-political quick win quips. His generic banter isn't wasted on the crowd, however, who raise their Red Stripe clenching fists into the air and cheer. It's the second best response that could be generated by that kind of obvious statement, the first being a blanket acceptance that something needs to be done and that providing positive alternatives for voters is much more constructive than giving the BNP even more publicity by self righteously dragging their name through the mud for some cheap audience interaction. Likewise, signing off a song with "peace and fucking love" would be slightly more believable either without the expletive or if it wasn't being uttered by a Sheffield wide-boy who looks like he'd be the first to grab a bottle if it all got a bit 'heated' in a bar.

Frontman aside, the music is similarly entertaining yet unoriginal, heavily, 'borrowing' from Madchester, Punk Funk, Ska and of course Britpop. It's got a groove to it and the synthesiser provides some pleasant variety not least because it's played by the only girl in the group and she can actually sing (although she rarely gets the chance). For a band who rose to fame with indie stalwarts like Arctic Monkeys, Bloc Party and The Rakes it's impressive that they still have such a following considering the first two bands have changed their style to stay fresh and the latter have fallen by the wayside because they haven't updated their sound. Reverend And The Makers definitely fall into the 'haven't updated their sound' category and a Jon McClure acoustic solo demands a trip out to the bar for respite as much as another drink where the bar staff can be overheard critiquing the performance.

"It's like Kings Of Leon wrote an album and then Arctic Monkeys covered it" a thin shaggy haired guy offers.
"And someone's shat all over it" interjects a girl in bright red trousers.

It's unlikely that these two are freelance music critics moonlighting behind the bar but they have essentially nailed the performance. The only true originality here is the range of genres and bands that Reverend And The Makers have pilfered riffs from. Even a supposedly serious song about the disadvantages of voting for The Conservatives and the dangers of global warming sounds dated and ineffective. Try listening to Grandmaster Melle Mel's funky hip-hop 'stay off drugs' message of 'White Lines' and you'll get the idea. As a final insult to our intelligence Jon delivers an accapella rapped poem touching offensively casually on topics such as oil and war. It reeks of Nathan Barley, if a message is worth conveying then surely it's worth choosing the words with which to convey the message based on their descriptive, emotive and literary power and not whether they rhyme with 'Iran'. Again none of this matters to the assembled crowd, balding ex-Britpoppers stand shoulder to shoulder with long haired rockers, seemingly happy to have the chance to dust off their leather jackets again. In fact it's difficult to find anyone below twenty five who hasn't been accompanied by their parents. A possible explanation for The Reverend's success is that his fan base has stuck with him throughout their history and instead of relying on new fans they survive on the loyalty of their existing ones. He does seem like someone you could relate to which makes him an even less likely candidate for lecturing the masses but he wins yet more adoration by leaving the venue after the gig and continuing the performance outside under the arches. It's a nice touch but unsurprisingly unoriginal and it's making the evening even longer.

For someone who professes to be a 'Reverend' he should really be providing something slightly more prophetic than "Next time you're watching QVC and you see a toaster-oven you like, just say no because you don't really need it". A similar principle applies next time Reverend And The Makers tickets go on sale.

Reverend And The Makers - The State Of Things