Gig review - Turning Green, Lansdown Saturday 3rd June

I haven’t got a clue what to expect of Turning Green as I approach the Lansdown Arms on Saturday night: many people have recommended the band, but nobody has been able to define what sort of music they play. The gig has already started when I arrive: I immediately find myself caught up in the funk-fueled vibrant atmosphere that the band creates. It’s sweaty in there. With their hectic grooves and heavy jamming, the bands’ energetic commitment to their own performance is totally infectious, with both the musicians and the crowd giving their absolute all. By nine o’clock this quirky little waterhole is jam-packed with enthusiastic, dancing punters getting everything they need and more: Turning Green really know how to get the crowd going.

Their style crosses a broad range of different genres to create something interesting and unique. Using guitar, bass, keys and a simple but effective drum set-up, the foursome draw influence from ‘all the music in the world, all the people in the world and all the things that ever happen’. After the gig Sam the drummer (right) tells me that each band member’s individual tastes are reflected in the group’s creativity, at times floating along with bluesy keyboard and at others skanking along manically to head-banging ska/rock. Sam tells me Turning Green will return to the Lansdown Arms ‘as soon as they can’ for another night of musical madness. I’ll be there for more. In the meantime I’ll recommend them to a lot of people. But I’ll be hard pressed to define their sound. KM