Touchstone & Tinyfish at The Peel

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   Touchstone & Tinyfish at The Peel in Kingston

Saturday February 2nd 2008

After seeing my life flash before my eyes at Twickenham station, having almost been crushed to a pulp

by thousands of rugby fans, I made it to The Peel in Kingston in one slightly shaken piece, and was brought back to life, by an evening of superb music.

The Peel is a a wonderful little venue, that proudly and frequently promotes progessive rock music. In the coming months Twelfth Night and Pendragon will be making an appearence there, but tonight it was the brilliant Touchstone, and the bloody marvellous Tinyfish who had us all eating out of their hands. 

The evening kicked off with Touchstone, and I have to confess that I knew nothing of this great band before this gig. I'm surprised they've not yet made it into the archives. The band comprises Kim Seviour on vocals, Rob Cottingham on keyboards and BV's, Adam J Hodgson on Guitar, 'Moo' on Bass and Alasdair Melville on drums. All are very sound musicians, who perfom with charisma and confidence. Kims glorious vocal performance worked beautifully alongside a very solid rhythm section and excellent melodic guitar and keyboard work. Touchstone produce powerfull progressive rock, with a symphonic and classic rock backbone. The sound at he Peel was pretty damn good, and Touchstone were able to put across clarity in the vocals (harmonies & lead) and earth shaking power in the keys and bass department. As I write this, I'm, listening to the music on their 'Myspace' page, and whilst I cant provide a setlist for the gig, I seem to remember 'Black Tide' as a stand out song. Their recorded music sounds great too, and their album 'Discordant Dreams' is available from Amazon and the bands website. It'll be my next purchase, and had I not been panicking to catch the last train back, I would have bought a copy at The Peel. All in all, Touchstone certainly touched me, with their power and passion. Perhaps I would liked to have heard a little more 'light and shade' in the music at times, but they are a powerfull band. I'll be seeing them again when I can and would recommend them to anyone who loves progressive and classic rock. Thanks Touchstone!

Tinyfish followed. Now, I've been loving the Tinyfish debut album since it's release, in fact since before it's release, as frontman Simon Godfrey had kindly allowed me a sneak preview of the pre-mastered version. Tinyfish are experienced musicians with a flair for writing very memorable and emotional music. In a live context their work really comes to life. After a few technical hitches, courtesy, it seems of a ghost who lurks in the dark hall ways of The Peel, f*****g with bands reverb units, Tinyfish launched into the masterfull 'Motorville' This remains one of my favourite Tinyfish songs from the album, and is an obvious opener. Drummer Leon Camfield is a force to be reckoned with, and throughout the set he played his part in a formidable rhythm section, along with Paul Worwood on bass. Tinyfish showcased three new songs tonight, and all were at the standard we've come to expect, combining tight musicianship, intelligent lyrics courtesy of Rob Ramsey, strong melodies and an undercurrent of darkness. 

Tinyfish are old freinds, and it shows in the way they work brilliantly and instinctively with each other. Hi-lights for me were 'Nine Months on Fire' and 'All hands Lost' but I should also give an honourable mention to 'Build your own enemy' which really sent a shiver down the old spine, with a sublime build up to a perfect conclusion. Jim Sanders masterfully flying up and down the fret board in 'All hands Lost' was also a pleasure to behold. His solo in that song always makes me think of Frank Dunnery and Alan Holdsworth. 

The band's live performance is built around a combination of excellent musicianship, and a thread of often self efacing humour, which at times had an appreciative crowd in stitches. Simon Godfrey is a fine frontman, and the banter between him and drummer Leon gave us quite a few laughs. Between Simon and Leon, they decided that the best way for the crowd to request an encore, was to chant 'F*****g great yeah!' and of course we all obliged! Simon Godfreys anecdotes contrasted brilliantly with Rob Ramseys poetic spoken passages which punctuated a brilliant and varied set, which was executed with feeling and charisma. 

Thankyou very much to both bands for a fantastic evening. Here's wishing you all the best and all the success you deserve. 

Tinyfish official website

Touchstone official website

Edited by Blacksword - February 03 2008 at 10:26

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Blacksword Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: June 22 2004 Location: England Status: Offline Points: 16130	Topic: Touchstone & Tinyfish at The Peel Posted: February 03 2008 at 08:07
	Touchstone & Tinyfish at The Peel in Kingston Saturday February 2nd 2008 After seeing my life flash before my eyes at Twickenham station, having almost been crushed to a pulp by thousands of rugby fans, I made it to The Peel in Kingston in one slightly shaken piece, and was brought back to life, by an evening of superb music. The Peel is a a wonderful little venue, that proudly and frequently promotes progessive rock music. In the coming months Twelfth Night and Pendragon will be making an appearence there, but tonight it was the brilliant Touchstone, and the bloody marvellous Tinyfish who had us all eating out of their hands. The evening kicked off with Touchstone, and I have to confess that I knew nothing of this great band before this gig. I'm surprised they've not yet made it into the archives. The band comprises Kim Seviour on vocals, Rob Cottingham on keyboards and BV's, Adam J Hodgson on Guitar, 'Moo' on Bass and Alasdair Melville on drums. All are very sound musicians, who perfom with charisma and confidence. Kims glorious vocal performance worked beautifully alongside a very solid rhythm section and excellent melodic guitar and keyboard work. Touchstone produce powerfull progressive rock, with a symphonic and classic rock backbone. The sound at he Peel was pretty damn good, and Touchstone were able to put across clarity in the vocals (harmonies & lead) and earth shaking power in the keys and bass department. As I write this, I'm, listening to the music on their 'Myspace' page, and whilst I cant provide a setlist for the gig, I seem to remember 'Black Tide' as a stand out song. Their recorded music sounds great too, and their album 'Discordant Dreams' is available from Amazon and the bands website. It'll be my next purchase, and had I not been panicking to catch the last train back, I would have bought a copy at The Peel. All in all, Touchstone certainly touched me, with their power and passion. Perhaps I would liked to have heard a little more 'light and shade' in the music at times, but they are a powerfull band. I'll be seeing them again when I can and would recommend them to anyone who loves progressive and classic rock. Thanks Touchstone! Tinyfish followed. Now, I've been loving the Tinyfish debut album since it's release, in fact since before it's release, as frontman Simon Godfrey had kindly allowed me a sneak preview of the pre-mastered version. Tinyfish are experienced musicians with a flair for writing very memorable and emotional music. In a live context their work really comes to life. After a few technical hitches, courtesy, it seems of a ghost who lurks in the dark hall ways of The Peel, f***g with bands reverb units, Tinyfish launched into the masterfull 'Motorville' This remains one of my favourite Tinyfish songs from the album, and is an obvious opener. Drummer Leon Camfield is a force to be reckoned with, and throughout the set he played his part in a formidable rhythm section, along with Paul Worwood on bass. Tinyfish showcased three new songs tonight, and all were at the standard we've come to expect, combining tight musicianship, intelligent lyrics courtesy of Rob Ramsey, strong melodies and an undercurrent of darkness. Tinyfish are old freinds, and it shows in the way they work brilliantly and instinctively with each other. Hi-lights for me were 'Nine Months on Fire' and 'All hands Lost' but I should also give an honourable mention to 'Build your own enemy' which really sent a shiver down the old spine, with a sublime build up to a perfect conclusion. Jim Sanders masterfully flying up and down the fret board in 'All hands Lost' was also a pleasure to behold. His solo in that song always makes me think of Frank Dunnery and Alan Holdsworth. The band's live performance is built around a combination of excellent musicianship, and a thread of often self efacing humour, which at times had an appreciative crowd in stitches. Simon Godfrey is a fine frontman, and the banter between him and drummer Leon gave us quite a few laughs. Between Simon and Leon, they decided that the best way for the crowd to request an encore, was to chant 'F***g great yeah!' and of course we all obliged! Simon Godfreys anecdotes contrasted brilliantly with Rob Ramseys poetic spoken passages which punctuated a brilliant and varied set, which was executed with feeling and charisma. Thankyou very much to both bands for a fantastic evening. Here's wishing you all the best and all the success you deserve. Tinyfish official website Touchstone official website Edited by Blacksword - February 03 2008 at 10:26

chopper Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: July 13 2005 Location: Essex, UK Status: Offline Points: 20030	Posted: February 03 2008 at 12:38
	Yep another great gig from the Fishes. Not much I can add to an excellent review but it's nice to see prog alive and well in the unlikely surroundings of downtown Kingston. The Peel is quite a small venue (hence Tinyfish not going off stage between the last number and the encore) but the sound is excellent and I'd much rather see a band in a small venue than a cavernous Arena of some sort. Touchstone gave an excellent performance, with a guest appearance from John Mitchell on guitar. Their vocals were good, especially from Kim, who kindly consented to my mate taking her photo afterwards so he could show all his band mates what they missed! I did think they were occasionally a bit cliched and their music lacks the memorable hooks of TInyfish but definitely worth checking out. As with Andy I'm a huge fan of the Tinyfish album and the three tracks they did from the next release "The big red spark" sounded equally as impressive. They recovered from the curse of Motorville (this time Simon's guitar synth got stuck) and put in a great, if too short, performance. The banter between Simon and Leon helps to create a rapport with the audience and Simon's story about the prog fans and the strip club visitors both going into the wrong room and coming out with the same look on their faces was hilarious (The Peel has a strip club next door) (apparently). "All Hands Lost" is a potential cigarette lighter waving moment (or I suppose mobile phone waving these days) and is a definite prog epic. Having said that, they once again failed to play "Supper's Ready" as I requested. Rob Ramsey (now apparently known as Nanette Newman) once again provided the "talking bits" and Paul and Jim were in fine form. Just two bits of advice Mr Godfrey - I personally miss the wonderful harmonies from the CD (although Leon does his best) and don't let Leon leave even if you have to resort to physical violence to keep him , the guy is brilliant!

Wilcey Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member VIP Member Joined: August 11 2005 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 2696	Posted: February 03 2008 at 12:55
	Yes indeedy it was a fabulous gig, in a great venue with some lovely people! I da icklefishies xxx

Tinyfish Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Newbie Joined: December 08 2006 Status: Offline Points: 38	Posted: February 04 2008 at 10:19
	It was oodles of fun and both bands were thrilled at the turn out on the night. To walk up on stage to see members of Pendragon, Kino, Frost and It Bites in the audience too was a big rush for us. There is talk of another Tinyfish/Touchstone gig in the future as the chemistry between the bands is really good and the combination seems to be a popular one with the fans too. We spent most of the souncheck just nattering and laughing with one another. Cheers Simon. PS. Thanks to Andy (Blacksword) and Alan (Chopper) for such a cool reviews. It was also great to see you Rachel. We'll meet again in another coridoor! Edited by Tinyfish - February 04 2008 at 10:23
	Tinyfish Tinyfish Homepage

Rob Cott Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Newbie Joined: December 19 2007 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 7	Posted: February 04 2008 at 19:12
	I'd just like to echo Simon's words - we had a blast in all respects! Simon and I will be having a little chat soon, I'm sure... : ) Thanks for the cool reviews also, very much appreciated - esp. when you didn't even know about us! If you haven't heard of us - please see our website including recent award news etc - details below. And please spread the word about both bands - 'cos we love Tinyfish too! TTFN, Rob Touchstone www.touchstonemusic.co.uk www.myspace.com/touchstonemusicuk
	TTFN, Rob www.touchstonemusic.co.uk www.myspace.com/touchstonemusicuk

Rob Cott Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Newbie Joined: December 19 2007 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 7	Posted: February 08 2008 at 12:31
	Delighted to advise that Touchstone and Tinyfish will be double-headlining again on the 15th November as follows: "Rob Can confirm the gig at the Montgomery Hall, Wath Upon Dearne. Tickets will be £17 (£15 CRS subscriber advance). Doors will open early at 6.30pm for a three band gig. Will let you know third band as soon as I can. Tickets will be on sale in a few weeks time but folks can pay for them whenever they want. Looking forward to it. Martin" Splendid! See you there?
	TTFN, Rob www.touchstonemusic.co.uk www.myspace.com/touchstonemusicuk