The Voodoo Rooms
Edinburgh
27/04/2018

I grabbed the opportunity to see this wonderful band earlier on this week, when I stumbled upon the Mumble’s interview with Luke Oldfield.  He is the son of Mike Oldfield. How cool is that? Imagine having Mike Oldfield as your dad! I first witnessed Gypsy Fingers back in September, when while on a Mumble Mission to review the rather amazing Australian duo Tubular Bells For Two, Gypsy Fingers were the support act. This is where I fell in love with them. In the interim the band has expanded in numbers. The other two members of this brilliant band, Pat Kenneally on drums and Tali Trow on Bass Guitar, complimented the two front stars with a musical chemistry that is bewitching to behold. Of their arrival, Luke told the Mumble in a recent interview;

 I posted on Facebook asking if there were any drummers or multi-instrumentalists who would be interested in joining Gypsyfingers and Pat Kenneally replied saying that he plays drums and keys sometimes at the same time, which we thought would be perfect! I had met Pat on a recording session previously so I knew he was a talented musician and that we would get on so we went to see him playing with another band so Victoria could see and meet him. We had a rehearsal and it just worked Pat has been an integral part of the band and a great friend ever since. Finding a bass player was more tricky! We had three bass players before we found Simon Hedges, who used to be in a great grunge band in Bristol called Airbus. Simon hadn’t played bass for 15 years since he left Airbus but we were having a beer telling him about how our bassist had spontaneously combusted (by suddenly moving to Japan) and he piped up with “I play bass!” and he was the perfect fit. He is currently working in Brussels for the BBC so we have our fifth bass player Tali Trow playing for us currently, who is also a real asset to Gypsyfingers bringing an extra layer of vocal harmonies with him.

The Voodoo Rooms was the perfect venue to take Gypsy Fingers in for a second time. Intimate dark, warm and very welcoming. The opening song of the performance was “Eating Me” Gypsyfingers had me totally for the next 90 minutes. The most outstanding track in their repertoire “Eating Me” has been part of Divines DJ sets throughout Autumn, Winter and Spring. The whole of the debut album “Circus Life” Is fantastic and joyful on the ear. However “Eating Me” is a work of perfection. Written by and sung by the very beautiful Victoria Coughlan, Its infectious and Funky and the lyrics deeply meaningful. It still blows me away that the band opened with Eating Me and dedicated the song to myself.

The whole song is choreographed. Its great to dance to. I am a mime artist and Dancer, Bowie is my god, & Eating Me has the same descriptive quality in Victoria’s vocal content and delivery, & is very conducive to dance interpretation of the song. I love the Dancefloors in the Voodoo Rooms. Wooden and sprung. Aye this was Divines fave song of 2017. And it will be part of my Set in the Vishnu Lounge at Eden, in June. Because I knew the source material so well. It was a real treat to be so up close and witness these young masters displaying their art so beautifully. The Oldfield musical genes were very present in Luke’s expert guitar licks and treatments, while Victoria’s unique and folky, vocal delivery and beautifully played keys brought Circus Life to life. I knew that I had just witnessed something very special and that this band would not be playing venues as small as this for much longer.

Venue Choice. 5 Stars,
Entertainment Value. 5 Stars.
Presentation. 5 Stars.
So thats five stars all round..
5 Stars.
Divinexx