Snap it up

Last weekend and another gig. This time it was Red Snapper, one of my favourite bands. I'd seen them live three or four times between 1995 and 2000 but they then broke up. And lo, for I was sad. But then they got back together at the end of 2007, started recording, produced a new album and are touring again. And there was much rejoicing.

A fusion of jazz, electronica, dub, funk, techno and trip-hop, the band consists of Ali Friend on double bass, Richard Thair on drums and David Ayres on guitar, and a succession of guest horn players, currently Tom Challenger. And, boy, can these guys play. Despite all the technical jiggery-pokery evident on their recordings, these guys are superb musicians who infuse real energy and humanity into their music.

I once saw them at an outdoor summer festival, V99 I think it was, and remember dragging my mates along. It was the middle of the afternoon and there were maybe forty or fifty people milling around by the stage. The band came on and started playing to this diminutive crowd, the guest vocalist looking a bit disgruntled at the lacklustre turnout. The band played on, great as ever, and everyone was enjoying themselves. About four or five songs in, I happened to turn around. The previously empty field behind us had filled out with people drawn by the wonderful noises of the Snapper lads. I might have felt just a little tug of smugness at that moment.

Likewise, the turnout at last weekend's gig was disappointing. The venue, an intimate place as it is, was barely half full. Red Snapper may not be a household name but I would have thought they'd have been able to draw more people than that. A bit disgruntled, I felt bad for the band. They deserve more attention.

It didn't matter in the end. The band launched into their set with customary gusto and the crowd, though small, was vocal in its appreciation, genuine fans who clearly knew and loved the band. There was a vague atmosphere of belonging to a select group privy to this brilliant band.

But still, more people should listen to Red Snapper. To this end, watch this:

And then go purchase their new "mini album", A Pale Blue Dot. And then go buy all their other records.