Highlight of the Week

Rock and Pop Concert

A replete but mask-wearing audience took their places for the first time in over two years for our non-competitive Pop and Rock music concert.

The evening started with an astonishing performance from the first Year 9 band, who chose to perform hits by Queen and Deep Purple. Ollie M played solid drums, a key element in their tight sound. On this background, Myles M sprayed fluid, swirling guitar lines including some fantastic bends, and his energetic performance, complete with rock ‘n’ roll leaps, certainly moved the audience. Oliver P’s fantastic vocal performance was reminiscent of Ozzy Ozbourne and got the whole evening off to a flying start, and set the bar very high.

The Year 8 band was up next, which featured no fewer than four guitars played by Harry D, George H, George P and Owain J. Billy R kept a steady beat on the drums. Harry D gave a sterling vocal performance. The band produced a faithful reproduction of Stereophonics’ Dakota, which became increasingly relaxed and fluid as it progressed.

The second Year 9 band, with Oliver P again on vocals, drums provided by Eric R, and guitars from Aiden B and George H, kept the rock theme going with their interpretations of Metallica and Nirvana hits. Both guitarists gave cool performances, allowing attention to focus on the vocalist as they performed their excellent work without histrionics.

The hard rock sound gave way to a more atmospheric vibe from the Year 11 band. This featured some great musicianship from Sam T on drums, which held everything together nicely, Toby S on saxophone, Kit C on guitar, James A on bass and Archie E-O as the vocal frontman. Their version of Looking out for You by Joy Again was reminiscent of the Stone Roses.

Now the older performers took to the stage, with a very enjoyable Metallica-style performance form a largely Year 12 band. Neel B’s confident, energetic vocal performance intertwined with well-integrated, ambitious guitar parts from Anna R-M, while the insouciant Jake W held his guitar almost like a ukulele. Katie B’s drumming was outstanding: she held everyone on the beat and put in some fantastic variations and trills to add excitement and energy.

Then followed an almost exclusively Year 13 line-up: Owen P, Wolfe F, Katie B and Anna R-M. It was refreshing to see them performing their own composition, which was about the stresses of going through university admissions process. Wolfe added his normal quirky humour to the performance, and Owen’s confident, smiling vocals were as magnetic as ever.

This then morphed into an Euddogwy band made up of Owen P, Wolfe F, Katie B, Daniel W and Cate V, who performed hits by The Smiths and Muse. The Year 13’s experience showed through as they delivered very polished music with casual confidence. Yet Cate’s busy bass sound played on keyboards and Daniel W’s bang-on-the-beat drumming, coupled with a devil-may-care disdain, were also highlights.

The evening came to a climactic end with the excellent Year 10 band, who performed songs by Beach House and Foals. Nathan C gave a very believable performance on drums, Ted E-O featured on bass, and the three guitarists were the cool Lucas E-T, Sam E (who reminded some in the audience of the young Brian Jones) and the highly talented Kaya U. The boxes of tricks through which his guitar sound passed were baffling, and it took some in the audience a few moments to realise that that swirling organ sound was actually Kaya’s guitar! All in all, then, a great evening which bodes well for the future. To view photos from the event, click on the link to visit the Gallery on our website.