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PIRATE CASINO
93 Feet East, Brick Lane, London, 15 October 2007

Remember the 1970s band Stray, fronted by Steve Gadd? Neither do I. Anyway, Pirate Casino contains the next generation of the Gadd bloodline with Steve's two sons, James and Sean.

For a Monday night in foreign territory (East London!) there's a lot of people in attendance for West London's Pirate Casino. In fact, they pull in the biggest crowd of the night.

Photo: Noel Buckley

Their set is initially thwarted by mis-cues and technical hitches, and at one point you're not sure if the gig's going to get off the ground. It's heart-stopping stuff for everybody involved. But fair play to the Pirates as lead singer James Gadd coolly shrugs the bugs from underneath him and gets on with the performance, professionally, like the showman he's capable of becoming.

'Leave It All' kicks off proceedings with James Gadd's smoky, whiskey-drenched vocals and Sam Yakoubi's blues-rock licks inciting vibrant dancing amongst the first-row thrall of star-struck girls. It's refreshing to really dance to rock music again, and not just dance to it but also dance with SOMEBODY to it. You want to grab that girl in front by the waist-side and go for it. The poppy hooks of 'She Pulls The Strings' and 'The Weight Of My World' arouse similar reaction as the atmosphere morphs from hushed intrigue to full tilt boogie.

Photo: Noel Buckley

Pirate Casino also deliver some heavier material as 'What You Came Here For' demonstrates. Bluesy, ballsy and full of good old-fashioned rock attitude, it's a romper-stomper of a jam with Yakoubi exercising his immense talent with a barrage of screeching, bendy riffs in the vein of Led Zep's Black Dog.

'When It's Over' was another highlight with Yakoubi's flange effected lead providing a vintage psychedelic solo and John Frusiciante-esque tones during the verse.

Photo: Noel Buckley

However, one man doesn't make the band. Rupert Shreeve's consummate time keeping and rolling drum patterns are constantly interlocked with Sean Gadd's swift moving bass figures. These two prove to be the bedrock and key to the Pirate's surprising tightness and solid structure.

A tub-thumping, raucous version of debut single 'You' also makes you realise this song is designed to soundtrack student indie club nights across the country.

Their feel-good mixture of classic American 60s/70s rock n roll and soulful vocals is undeniably catchy and nostalgic, especially for fans of Jimi Hendrix and The Beatles. With a lot of graft and a bit of luck Pirate Casino could be very big… eventually.

Review by Johnny Pop. Photos by Noel Buckley