Saturday night at the Basement saw four acts take to the stage to jam for the charity Jessie’s Fund. Arranged and headlined by local musician Laura Kindelan, she was joined on the night by The Mad Hatters, Panda Through The Wall and According To Eve.
Jessie’s Fund began when founder Lesley Schatzberger lost her wonderful and musically gifted daughter Jessica to a rare and inoperable brain tumour in 1993. Lesley, along with Jessica’s father Alan George, dedicated the fund to helping seriously ill and disabled children across the UK through the creative and therapeutic use of music. They continue to fund raise through concerts such as Saturday night’s.
The evening had been arranged by young local musician Laura Kindelan. As well as headlining the night, she also kicked things off with her band The Mad Hatters. The ensemble had been set up as part of a GCSE project and brought together classic and modern influences, playing a beautiful cover of Sia’s Chandelier with violin, cello, drums, key and Laura herself on guitar. The set was short but very sweet and it was clear from the outset that the evening was going to be filled with a lot of talent.
This was proved correct by instrumental fusion band Panda Through The Wall. A funky jazz four-piece, they played a set of long, roaming, groovy mostly original compositions. Some had cryptic names, such as Alpha Parrotand Complex Ambiguity, but others, such as Feel Good, needed no explanation. As an instrumental band, they successfully relied on trumpet for melody, and it would be interesting to see them recruit some guest vocals in future, á la Clean Bandit.
The final support was acoustic duo and York Calling favourites According to Eve. Eve Maule-Cole on vocals and Tim Downie on guitar played a captivating set of originals and covers ranging from Bob Marley to Paul Weller. A mellow performance was blown wide open with the lively and powerful Better Mentality at the end.
According To Eve – photo by Marc McGarraghy
Panda Through The Wall – photo by Marc McGarraghy
Laura Kindelan – photo by Marc McGarraghy
Then it was time for Laura. Clearly overwhelmed by the turn-out (the room was so packed out that a line of fans were sat right up to the stage), she took time to thank everyone for their support for Jessie’s fund and to introduce her backing band. According to Eve’s Tim Downie returned to the stage on bass and Joey Leyland set up his stool behind the drums.
The band gave Laura’s set a bigger sound that her usual acoustic only set and her opening cover of Estelle’s American Boy was given an impressive lift. Laura even went as far as including Kanye’s rap which included throwing a few hip-hop moves! She followed this with some of her originals including Dream Chaser and I’ve Been Thinking.
Laura then performed a solo set for a few songs, finishing with a delicate cover of Blackbird. Tim and Joey returned to the stage for a big finish including a cover of Girl Put Your Records On and her originals Fists. She closed the night with an incredibly upbeat rendition of her superb song Colours.
With all the new and growing talent on display on Saturday night, York’s music scene looks to be healthy for a long time to come.
The Mad Hatters, Panda Through The Wall, According To Eve and Laura Kindelan played at The Basement on Saturday 18 July 2015.