Crammed tightly into one corner the trio set about their task with a natural ease that comes through hard work and skilful musicianship. The ebullient Hancox gave his all as he entertained us with his excellent vocals and massively impressive guitar work. Gruff voiced bassman John Hill and silky voiced drummer Richard Rivett supported the often madcap antics of Hancox with a magnificently tight performance that never saw them break into even a slight sweat; a great achievement considering their massive and high energy input! A tasty bunch indeed!
In the main, their set concentrated on covers of some of the great songs of the last forty years - from The Stones, Led Zep, The Beatles, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Dylan and of course some downright gritty and dirty blues classics. However, they did include a couple of home grown songs which more than hinted at the changes happening within the outfit and of tasty things to come. Without doubt, Hancox and co look to be moving towards a more, dare I use the old term, 'progressive rock' sort of thing. This outfit is certainly geared up towards that experimental genre of guitar influenced rock music which requires an individuality of writing and playing. Hancox has an awesome and charismatic presence and looks totally at home and in control in his new role as out-and-out front man. This trio look to be heading in an interesting direction and with their combined talent they are sure to cause quite a lot of interest wherever they play. And yes, Hancox will always be the focal point simply due to his fantastic guitar work. But he's now showing his true ability and adaptability as a fine vocalist and pleasantly extroverted front man - and long may he continue!! He has a natural ability to reach out to an audience with his personality, cheeky friendliness and natural warmth.
For me, tonight was an eye opener. For years I'd heard about the guitar virtuosity of Melvin Hancox but until tonight I'd not managed to see the guy live. I knew only what I'd been told by ardent followers. I expected a loosely 'swamp blues' and hints of country type of thing to be strongly to the fore. I was not really expecting what I actually saw. The direction of things is changing with The Notorious Brothers and I think they'll reach out to many new fans along the way especially if they persevere with their original work. This was a great and entertaining night out with three great guys who know their trade and give all they've got.
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