Hey Roomies!
I am so excited to be writing this live music event review! Last week, our photographer Kane and myself (Kim) were able to return once more to one of our favourite entertainment venues, the one and only Cambridge Junction. We have seen many artists perform and grow here which has been an amazing part of our journalistic journey. After a tough couple of years for all within the entertainment industry due to the Covid-19 pandemic, what better way than to kick off this year's festive season by attending a live show for a band that we love! I introduce to you, The Trials of Cato!
The band originally formed in Beirut and have been labelled as "The Sex Pistols of Folk", and this is easy to see why. They have a large and ever growing fanbase and have been regularly praised on many radio stations around the country, particularly over at BBC Radio 2 where they even picked up the award for 'Best Album' in 2019. I can agree it's an absolutely brilliant album! Probably one of the best debut albums I have ever heard in all honesty. "Hide and Hair", is one that my partner and I are always listening to, I'm pretty sure that is the album that we have in our car stereo as I'm writing this.
Upon entering the packed out venue (J1) on a rather cold Wednesday evening (1st December 2021), it was clear to see that this was a popular event. Hundreds of people were already gathered inside the venue excitingly waiting for the fun to begin as they mingled amongst themselves.
Of course The Trials of Cato weren't the only ones to be performing on the J1 stage that night. The band were joined by support act singer songwriter Chris Fox. A relatively new name on the music scene is known as a guitarist and a loop station alchemist. He has been known to perform at many venues around Cambridge and some festivals also, with each performance gaining more recognition for the artist. And quite rightly so too.
Chris played a very relaxed set, dim lighting, just him, his guitar and a loop pedal. The singer songwriter opened his set with a brief introduction before then performing the beautiful songs "Bird of Paradise" and "Who Really Loves You". In between songs, he had a great connection with the audience as he told tales of how his music came into fruition, some stories quite hilarious. Other songs he performed in J1 on this night included the brilliant pirate style shanty "We Sing Hooray" as well as "Castaway" and "Lord Franklin".
After enjoying the chilled set from Chris, a few more beverages and for some even a boogie, it reached around 9pm when the lights in the room dimmed once more for the main act of the night to take to the stage. Enter Robin, Polly and Tomas, aka The Trials of Cato.
The trio took to the stage and performed a lively instrumental number to get everyone in the room moving. It was clear to see there was an abundance of Serotonin flowing freely around in the J1 room that evening right from the get go! After a brief and joyful introduction the band went on to perform their second song of the night, titled "Have", a song sung in the Welsh language (native to two of the band's members). It then wasn't long until we got to hear a fan favourite from their debut album - "Gloria" a tale of someone finding themselves. There is a well known line from this track that sings as "I'll busk my way down to Camden Town", of course it was a great excuse for the band to cheekily slip in Cambridge Town into the lyrics instead. A simple change that had the entire room cheering with such excitement!
Throughout the hour and fifteen minutes set we were told of many folklore stories that inspired the band's music, some darker than others and their music (with lyrics or not) portray these tales perfectly. It's so incredibly easy to lose yourself in their music in the same way that you would with your eyes glued onto the pages of a book. All members are incredibly down to earth people and clearly love being on stage and this comes across while they perform, there is such a mellow, yet jolly vibe that fills any room when The Trials of Cato are playing their way through their collection of stories.
As I mentioned earlier in this review, 2020 was a very tough year for all and hit the music industry pretty damn hard. However for the members of this band, lockdown after lockdown was not going to stop them from creating music. This was when they were able to work on their upcoming second album "Gog Magog", which has been named after the well known giant in Arthurian legend as well as a Cambridgeshire hilltop. I for one am highly anticipating this! We were introduced to many new tracks which will be featuring on the second album, and of course there were many many more tales to be told, including those of Boudica, a "bonified badass bitch" (as named by band member Polly) and a little catchy tune named "Ring o Roses" based on the well known nursery rhyme and its darker tale that follows. For a song about the plague, it really is quite the foot tapper and a very infectious song (pun intended). The album is due to be started over in the US of A in February 2022. So keep your eyes and ears on standby.
So for those of you that may not be familiar with The Trials of Cato, like all music artists there are particular pieces of music that are known as fan favourites. Now in this case this band will bring you what has been called the best folk song of all time. I strongly agree with that bold statement! For those of you that are familiar with the trio's music you will know exactly what song I am about to introduce you to. Towards the end of the set we got given the glorious gift that is "Tom Payne's Bones". I have honestly never seen a more lively room. And I have been to many live music events. The video at the top of this review shows them performing the beginning of this awesome piece of music.
Shortly after the fun and frolics of "Tom Payne's Bones" the three band members took a bow and made their exit. However there was loud chanting coming from the audience demanding more. So of course in traditional live music style, the band returned for an encore performance with a song "Balls To The Wall". A brilliant one to end the night on.
I've been a fan of The Trials of Cato for a good while now, ever since my partner introduced me to their music, so I have been looking forward attending this gig in Cambridge for quite some time. It did not disappoint at all. I had the best time seeing both acts perform and the atmosphere was electric. As I said earlier, a perfect way to start off the festive season.
Written by Kim
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