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Cruising the Seas with The Cinnamon Band

By Taylor Cowper

The Cinnamon band aboard the MV Athena is a wonderful ensemble of very talented musicians. However, despite their obvious potential, there is still plenty of room for improvement. The band are originally from Portugal and play very much like their national soccer team: too many players and next to no cohesion. I felt a large part of the problem with this band is that even though they try to make the best possible sound, the mixing is poorly executed. Only the singers and the drums were mixed, making it extremely difficult for the musicians who can hardly hear what they are playing. The band performs well when playing the music they want to play, but drops off when playing what the cruise specified.

The cinnamon band is good at what they do but unfortunately when they are pushed outside their boundaries they tend to struggle.

Stoney Joe at Clancy’s Fish Pub

By Jim Smith
On Saturday I met up with a few friends at Clancy’s Fish Pub in Fremantle for a quick bite to eat and to see some good live music.
When I got there Kate Kelly and Pete Stone (two very good local muso’s) were playing. It has been ages since I have seen Pete Stone play and I was pretty excited to see how much his music has progressed. To be honest I found their song selection too morbid for my liking – not the kind of mood setting tunes I was hoping for on a Saturday night. I’m currently abstaining from alcohol, so I went and ordered some beer battered tiger prawns while my mates had a few drinks.
After a decent set from Kate Kelly and Pete Stone the band Stoney Joe came on. To my surprise I noticed that the ex frontman for Circus Murders (Roly Skender) was on guitar and vocals. This got me excited, as he is a fantastic muso. The sound was completely unique. Just as you are about to get bored they bring something else out. A bit of country with a modern twist and a thumping groove box in the background. They are about to release a new CD that I will be getting for sure. (Saturday 3rd of March at Fremantle Arts Centre) This is probably the best band I have seen in ages and would highly recommend you go see them. Last on stage was Lynda Smyth and the Borrowed Few. I have seen these guys a few times. I felt for them following Stoney Joe with a full house and no sound check. All I will say is that I really would like to see these guys after a good sound check. You can see they have a heap of potential.

Music at Moore and Moore

By Herman Craine
After a rather eventful house party the night before, a friend and I decided to try and abate our hangovers by enjoying a mighty breakfast in Freo. We had already missed the 11am cut-off point that many venues have, but I had heard that Moore & Moore do all-day breakfast and that the
food is epic.

We got there at around 12pm and scoped the place out. Moore & Moore has seating inside, a huge space for art galleries and a courtyard outside. The vibe is really cool thanks to the décor; you can sit on an array of couches and enjoy your meal, or have a wander and check out all
the books, records and art pieces scattered around the venue.

A duo was playing, so we decided to eat outside and listen to the band.

Initially I thought it was just a guy playing guitar with a back-up bassist, but after a couple of songs I noticed it was little more complex than that.  The guy was using multiple instruments like keyboard and the trumpet and looping them to make it sound like a 4 or 5 piece band! The duo are called Miss Bassist and Master Everything, and they played a range of Ska, Hip Hop and Pop classics that seemed to get everyone around us bobbing their heads.
Our food was awesome; I had bacon and eggs with a tomato salsa, while my partner tried the Pot of Moore – Tuscan style baked eggs with sourdough bread and salad (it looked amazing).
It turned out to be exactly what we needed: Great food, good music in a cool atmosphere. I think Sunday breakfasts at Moore & Moore are going to become a bit of a ritual now…