Billed as "a special night with The Trade", things couldn't have been more apt, as they had agreed to play at the venue at the request of Rudi, manager of the Junior Team, to raise funds for the Juniors. In order to make it a special event, it had been decreed to be ticket only with a limited number of audience. The band, for their part, elected to do an acoustic set - but not just any acoustic set, for sure. They'd taken thr gig very seriously and spent a load of time rehearsing. The result was both enjoyable and rewarding, in every sense of the words.
The quintet, even including drums, performed two sets of 45 minutes each whereby the mixed Trade originals and cover versions. Now I'd never before heard the band play an acoustic set before now, let alone do cover versions, but I have to say that this was seriously impressive. The original songs sounded alarmingly natural as acoustic versions, even their most rock-based tracks, including "The Dealer", coming over really strong. The sound was excellent so that you could clearly hear all the band members, while Ross's vocals show that they're improving more with every gig, and they were good to start with!! They played several band originals that they'd not dusted off for a good while, some not even played live before now, and it was a sign of the quality of playing and the standard ofd writing that you couldn't tell the difference between the rarely played" and the "seasoned veterans". But you have to admire the band's dedication to the cause when you take the cover versions into account. Now you might think that they'd gone bananas if I told you that they did a version of Nizlopi's "JCB Song", but the worrying part was that they turned a terrible, terrible slice of tripe into somwething that proved to be both fun and remarkably from the heart - the fact that I enjoyed it, even more worrying!! But for mwe there were two highlights - first, they did Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" and it has to be THE best cover of that song that I've ever heard any band do - the guitar work was exquisite, the vocals spot on, the feel and sound of the song even better than the Floyd themselves and it's almost a shame to realise that they can't let this into their normal sets incse they got known as "the band that does that Floyd cover", but, trust me, if ever they do wheel it out live, you have to be there. The other was a Snow Patrol track - the slow ballady hit thingy off the last but one album (yeh, I've forgotten the title), but they did a superb rendition of it, with the audience singing along (as they'd done with the Floyd cover) - oh yeh, "Chasing Cars", I think it was - and the band just threw themselves into this soaring acoustic rendition of the track and there was hardly a dry eye in the house.
Thoroughly enjoying every part of the set, they did themselves, their enthusiastic and devoted audience, Rudi and the Junior Team proud, on what really was a "special evening with The Trade". You had to be there.....