Ethan Thomas, twelve year-old Appleby Grammar School student and talented musician, took the stage first, with a set that for one of his age can only be described as excellent. With great potential for the future, Ethan is definitely somebody to look out for. Ethan’s set was pleasant with some Classic Blues, very capably performed, alongside some of his own songs which are well written and with some tweaks have the potential to make great chill-out tracks. Ethan’s guitar playing was good and his only hitch, a time-out for guitar tuning, gave the audience time to talk. Ethan’s vocal performance was strong with a fine melodic quality. Ethan is a young lad with a future; once he finds his direction, as singer songwriter, a guitarist like Clive Carroll or a session musician, he will do well in his field. You can check out more of Ethan Thomas at his web site or check out his youtube
After Ethan had finished his set, Jon Astral joined him to do a 12 bar Blues jam, with Ethan on the guitar and Jon on piano. This really showed off the performer’s ability to improvise. Considering it was an on the spot and spur of the moment decision, the performance was good and the audience seemed to enjoy the jam. This gave Jon Astral a good solid lead into his set. Jon’s second song “Your Hero” had a very controlled vocal and the audience responded well to the lyrics. The piano was tight and accompanied the vocal well. Another good song was “Bittersweetheart” which was one of Jon’s slower songs of the set - it was good to see some variety in set. “Bittersweetheart” had some good strong lyrics which had been well laid out and structured and I could see this working well with some soft strings and acoustic guitar. One song called the “Feeling” captured my ear with its powerful lyrics and strong chords, the song having really good dynamics which complimented the structure of the song. At the start of the second half, Jon borrowed Ethan’s guitar and played “Trapped”. You could tell this was one of Jon’s favourite songs as the vocals had real passion. To finish the night Jon played some instrumentals on the piano which rounded off the night well and really suited the venue and mood of the audience. Jon really captured the audience, with his silky vocals and heart felt lyrics. Keep checking Jon’s web site for upcoming shows and the latest news. www.jonastral.co.uk Jon’s site will be launched in the next coming weeks.
On the whole, the night was a success with some audience members saying it was the best they’d yet experienced. The audience responded well to Ethan’s and Jon’s performance, the whole night was slick with no hick-ups. The acts were very professional and knew how to move a crowd. I saw Jon at no 15 last week and this performance was even better with Jon showing mor confidence and giving a greater insight into the meanings behind his songs, which are obviously a great labour of love for him.
More videos can be found on PTV. Look forward to seeing you all at the next one on the 27th of July with Fiona Clayton. A good night is anticipated.
