10 o'clock Horses @ Sumac

24/06/06 @ Sumac Centre

For those who haven't discovered the Sumac Center, it is a really cool alternative venue situated in Forest Fields. It is like walking into someone's front room, ran by volunteers, with some great beer and interesting leaflets and books on display, the band are set up in the corner of the room and softly tonight's act, the 10 o'clock Horses, start up their set with the weird sound of the digeridoo. The punters slowly shuffle away from the warm evening sun and outside sitting to jump around to Manfield's finest folk/dub/punk act.

10 o'clock Horses Website

This band are top class musicians and mix their sounds brilliantly to create a mass of energy and emotion. The first song has moving mandolin and fiddle melodies, which seem to compete for who is loudest, with the funky, bouncing bass and booming drums, this band create an awesome mix of fast folk that has a punky edge. Every song has a catchy melody and the band has some great stage presence, with the male vocalist wearing a pink dress and shouting out his lyrical messages whilst the fiddle playing female vocalist, Maria, runs round the room and chats in a relaxed manner between songs. The songs all build well, kicking in and out and changing tempo very smoothly. The band also has a mass of instrumental talent with members swapping instruments including djembe, mandolin, fiddle, acoustic and electric guitars, drums, bass, duel vocals and sax in their sound. The atmosphere slowly builds until the whole room is jumping around in glee. This is a master class of diversity and as the set continues the music gets better and better, with punky tracks like 'Money' and funky folk numbers such as 'Helen's Last Bag of Chips' getting the crowd up and dancing whilst the chilled Dub edge of 'My World' really impressed with the deep and sexy vocals of Maria fitting perfectly with the laid back funky groove. This was a great night in a great atmosphere and the 10 O'clock Horses really worked well here. They mix so many styles but are so good at them all, mixing the upbeat and purposeful sounds of Folk/punk with the chilled and funky sound of dub and ska. On this performance this band are one of the most fun, talented and diverse in the city right now so check them out!

Review By- Gaz

10’o’clock horses ep. (Hive recordings)
What is this – folk-punk,ska,latin-country? It’s not
clear. What is clear is that this is not top 40 material,
no matter how good it is . And it ain’t bad .particularly Maria
Tuckers vocals which have an attractive rasp to them. Great for shouting
Which she does on the chorus to the opening (and the best) song ebony.
Which has the hook ‘your not alone’. A warning though kids , about the
Fourth secret track which they rehearse the ‘oi!’for track three in love again,
And which finds her potty mouthed rude lady .high pavement kicks off with a
Samba beat that drifts into ska with organ and sax and tucker’s shout
‘its a beautiful day’ . in love again is the eps poppies moment, although it’s more
pogues than pop idol. They been around since 1996, motivated by
a love of ale and music   

“Good evening pissheads” is the most appropriate opening to a set I think I’ve heard in a while, and no surprises that it’s from the 10 o’clock Horses! The room has suddenly filled up and it’s full of those who have chosen to partake of the bar’s offerings in copious amounts, but the atmosphere is superb! Like baying wolves, the audiences drooling is fed a still kicking live deer of folk, punk, ska rocking stuff that moulds and resets into a different form with every tune. Dresses are changed into (by the male vocalist), large top hats are worn and the always promised bad language is delivered- even at the point of “can we have more vocals in the monitors?” being requested from Mr Vocalist does Mrs Vocalist choose to add “It’s alright- I can hear my gob ok!” Consisting of no less than a violinist, acoustic guitarist, banjoist, drummist- sorry, drummer, a vocalist, a bassist and a saxophonist you can see it’s a bit of a squeeze up there but it’s not allowed to be a problem- the band seem to throw themselves almost self-sacrificially into the heat of the event in the name of the Gods of Live Music and Beer- a religion I think we should all join up to.