As the opening band for Train’s recent Australian tour, I hadn’t heard of Ryan Meeking and the Few before I arrived at the Forum Theatre and discovered the cleverly placed cards for a free song on top of the hairdryers in the women’s toilets. Even then, until they came on stage I really had no idea of what sort of music to expect and it was only when they made their enterance that I realised that the energetic pop-rock music produced by the band was actually very good. At one point I even made a comment to a friend who was with me that Ryan Meeking was possibly the Aussie version of Ron Pope (YouTube him, that’s definitely a complement)!
There were probably only a few in the crowd who knew enough of the words to their songs to sing along (one of which I suspect was either a mum or an aunt), but nonetheless, everyone was definitely enjoying the music. Maybe it would have been good if they covered a classic so everyone could belt out the words with them, rather than being left to stand awkwardly attempting to move to the music.
On a completely random note, the drummer, Corey Gaal was insanely enthusiastic and very entertaining to watch. He was bouncing around like there was no tomorrow and even though he was slightly hidden towards the back of the stage, his presence was definitely notable. I suppose I can’t really talk about all this and ignore the lead singer. Ryan Meeking definitely has a strong and almost haunting voice and is an all around musician playing both the guitar and keys whilst entertaining the crowd pretty well. He gets two thumbs up!
On a slightly less positive note, their EP lacks the energy and vibrancy of their live performance. It probably doesn’t help that live performances are always so much more exciting and so much louder than a CD and that I saw the band live first, but one of the things I loved about the music was its energy. Then I bought the CD and it turns out they have more of a Jason Mraz meets 3 Doors Down style with a bit more soul rather than a Matchbox Twenty vibe, which slightly disappointed me. Not because Jason Mraz and 3 Doors Down aren’t amazing musicians, but they lack that extra element of BAM!!! that I love so much.
Nonetheless, I would go and see Ryan Meeking and the Few if given the opportunity again. Their live performance is great and if you’re looking to see what they sound like, their EP doesn’t do them justice (though it does provide a good idea of just how talented they are as musicians). Maybe try YouTube for live performances instead.
There were probably only a few in the crowd who knew enough of the words to their songs to sing along (one of which I suspect was either a mum or an aunt), but nonetheless, everyone was definitely enjoying the music. Maybe it would have been good if they covered a classic so everyone could belt out the words with them, rather than being left to stand awkwardly attempting to move to the music.
On a completely random note, the drummer, Corey Gaal was insanely enthusiastic and very entertaining to watch. He was bouncing around like there was no tomorrow and even though he was slightly hidden towards the back of the stage, his presence was definitely notable. I suppose I can’t really talk about all this and ignore the lead singer. Ryan Meeking definitely has a strong and almost haunting voice and is an all around musician playing both the guitar and keys whilst entertaining the crowd pretty well. He gets two thumbs up!
On a slightly less positive note, their EP lacks the energy and vibrancy of their live performance. It probably doesn’t help that live performances are always so much more exciting and so much louder than a CD and that I saw the band live first, but one of the things I loved about the music was its energy. Then I bought the CD and it turns out they have more of a Jason Mraz meets 3 Doors Down style with a bit more soul rather than a Matchbox Twenty vibe, which slightly disappointed me. Not because Jason Mraz and 3 Doors Down aren’t amazing musicians, but they lack that extra element of BAM!!! that I love so much.
Nonetheless, I would go and see Ryan Meeking and the Few if given the opportunity again. Their live performance is great and if you’re looking to see what they sound like, their EP doesn’t do them justice (though it does provide a good idea of just how talented they are as musicians). Maybe try YouTube for live performances instead.
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