Club Drive and Mike Bladen | Gig Review | 9th September 2016 (The Islington, London)

 

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Formed of Aaron, Tommy, Steve and Christian, Hertfordshire pop/funk band Club Drive are the new band to look out for! They have been described to have vibes similar to the likes of artists such as Maroon 5.

Having only starting in February, their catchy rhythms, soulful vocals, smoothing harmonies, has led them to perform on main stage at Fusion Festival, their tracks played on international radio in over 40 countries as well as been featured/reviewed on countless blogs already, it is to no surprise that they sold out their Dangerous EP launch at The Islington on Friday.

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After discovering the band through their Instagram page, I become instantly hooked on their music, and as soon as I saw the poster for Dangerous EP Launch (above) I knew I had to book the tickets. Plus for someone that lives in Birmingham and wanted to go see gigs and check out music venues in different cities, this was perfect opportunity to do so, and especially as it was part of London I had never visited to before either!

The boys absolutely smashed their set at The Islington which consisted of all tracks from their latest EP Dangerous, and for everyone who came to gig, they received free copy of EP!

Track listing:

1. Dangerous

2. Leaving

3. Overthrown

4. What Happened – Live/Acoustic

 

Here video I took of ‘Dangerous’

Their confident and energetic set also included a couple of new songs such as ‘Running’ a great track, perhaps to be featured on future EP or album, and also while playing an instrumental to one of their tracks, lead singer Aaron began to sing lyrics of well recognisable R&B songs such as No Scrubs by TLC which certainly encouraged lots of audience participation.
They ended their night with one of my favourite tracks ‘Spare Time’, one of the first songs of the boys that I had listened to, which instantly caught my attention from first couple of seconds, with funky keyboard chords along with strong pop vocals and harmonies and when the dynamic guitar, bass and drum riffs kicked in, I was enthralled by their music.

Here video I took of ‘Spare Time’

I wish Club Drive all the best for future. Having seen how much recognition the boys have received over last few months and opportunities that have come their way, the future is certainly bright!

To keep updated, check out the boys social media pages:

Facebook

Twitter

Official Website

 

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Like with many gigs, support acts performed, which I always love to check out, as it great way to discover new music, so without a doubt, of course I must mention Chester’s charming songwriter Mike Bladen, who started off the night with some original acoustic tracks that suited his clear, mellifluous vocals.

Mike will soon be on his first solo UK Headline Tour which I am hoping to make his show in Birmingham next week! Defo recommend to go to his shows and support him!

Here is official poster with his UK tour details as well as the links to his social media pages:

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Official Website

Facebook

Twitter

Youtube

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Much love to both Club Drive and Mike Bladen! See you both at a gig soon!

Isabelle
xx