Nothing quite like the John Goudge Band

JOHN GOUDGE BAND

INDIE CLUB AT THE MASONIC – FRIDAY 31 AUGUST

There is nothing quite like the John Goudge band in Auckland. A cross pollination of Blerta, Shakespeare and funky jazz rock. The beginning of the show, where the band made the sound check into a performance was reminiscent of the way the Chillis start their show, one at a time slowly jamming or three guys playing drums at the same time. The John Goudge band seems to have as much fun as the Chillis. Pixie like lead singer and owner of the John Goudge name flies about with cordless guitar and mic. If audiences don’t yet get the fun of JGB it’s not for lack of the singer trying. At one point some young patrons dared leave. Goudge followed them down the stairs still singing and playing.

JGB is a band that needs time to get their sound right. It’s a large combo of eight players, with mellow funky bass and a clean creative rhythm guitar, a solid drummer who knows how keep his levels down, and like Talking Heads, cool bongos. Backed by two female singers, one of which I believe is the sister of the lead singer, (Shades of White Stripes) This makes the JGB a real family affair. They have good sound, but the venues often seem to hinder getting the full mix of all eight. Listening to the CD later brought out the details.

There is a poetic element to Goudge’s writing that reminds me of Led Zeppelin’s later narrative phase. This shows JGB has plenty of balls. It’s hard to sell Shakespearian lyrics. If not being young and pretty slows their eventual rise to fame, having buckets of experience and talent will get probably them through, if they last the distance.

In an age where too many bands sound like My Chemical Romance or every Indie band to come out of America, i.e. ‘Nirvana wannabees,’ JGB is refreshing. However, I’d like to see them in a bigger venue, where you can get back more and hear the full sound.

Lastly, many bands fail because the lead singer hasn’t ‘got it.’ Goudge isn’t one of those. He blends humour and self-depreciation with being able to grab attention and hard rock his Gibson like any good God of Rock should.

Watch out for the John Goudge Band, currently number one on the Indie charts with ‘Coma.’

Reviewer
Geoff Allen
‘Twenty years in showbiz’