Whitchurch Festival

August 3rd 2001

The Walnut Tree - Ditton

June 10th 2005

Venue: Whitchurch Festival                 Date: Friday 3rd August, 2001

Set list: Hypnotic, Ideology, Hope, Shekhakim, Finding My Way, Break On Through, Circles, Chosen Few.

Primitive Instinct had what is possibly the most difficult slot of the Whitchurch Festival; as the opening band it would be up to them to set the tone for the weekend - meanwhile people were still arriving, getting their bearings and greeting friends...

I was looking forward to seeing the band play; their latest album 'Belief' had made my personal top three of last year's releases yet, as they generally play in the south east corner of England, I had yet to see whether they could deliver the goods in a live situation...

The band took to the purple-lit stage to the accompaniment of deep toned sounds.  Guitarist and vocalist Nick Sheridan and bassist Pic taking their places and playing along to the sequenced backing track. The first piece was an instrumental, 'Hypnotic' (from the band's '94 album 'Floating Tangibility'), with a rich and surprisingly full bloodied sound.

After a brief pause, the backing track restarted and the band were straight into the more familiar 'Ideology' (from 'Belief') and the sound comes over great live.  After this song came a short break in the music giving Nick the chance to explain that Primitive Instinct were appearing as a two piece because "drummer Chris is in India" and is "playing through an ISDN link!" (in reality he had recorded the drum parts).

The pair launch into 'Hope' - and at this point my notes read "the word of the night must be atmospheric; that's really the best word to describe this band live" ... and they played an excellent version of this song.

Eastern sounds lead into 'Shekhakim'.  This is a slower paced number with an emotive and emotional chorus and an excellent light show enhances the music. Going back to my notes I comment here, "I hope that the rest of the weekend can live up to this!"

Almost immediately the band move into 'Finding My Way', which begins quietly and builds in intensity to a strong finish, and again this sounded fabulous.  After another quick word, the introduction to 'Break On Through' begins.  This is an upbeat piece with a sing along chorus and intricate instrumentation throughout and I'm impressed by the performance.

Next up a second track from 'Floating Tangibility', 'Circles', which had a generally more staccato sound and a nice guitar work section part way through - but for me, at the time, it didn't quite live up to the more familiar 'Belief' tracks.

The last number 'Chosen Few' has subdued verses set against the strong refrain and more nice guitar work provides the outro that finishes the set on a high note ... but, no ... Nick takes off his guitar, saunters across the stage to the keyboards and plays a short synth piece to close the set to strong applause.

A very fine set from Primitive Instinct and, yes, they were one of the highlights of the festival ... catch them live if you can.

Marisa

Venue: The Walnut Tree, Ditton, Maidstone    Date: Friday 10th June

The Walnut Tree is a Thai restaurant and pub situated in the village of Ditton, just outside Maidstone. It's a very unusual venue for a rock gig, yet following Primitive Instinct around the South East this is something you come to expect. This was a local gig for Primitive Instinct and so it was great to see the venue full.

Just after 9pm the band came onto the small stage to polite applause and promptly went into the instrumental ' Hypnotic'. This was followed by a personal favourite of mine, 'All That I Need'  which went down well with a very appreciative crowd. Next came a Manic Street Preachers track, 'If You Tolerate This', which I have to admit was a very good version of the original.

After this varied introduction things settled down and it was nice to see the crowd joining in with the tracks taken from Primitive Instinct's two studio albums, 'Floating Tangibility' and 'Belief'.

After just over a hour, Nick Sheridan informed the masses that it was time for a drinks break – It was a short interlude though and we barely had time to fill our glasses before they were back on stage.

First came ' Needed' which was followed by a crowd favourite ' Break on through '  which really got things back on track.  More tracks from the band's 'Belief' album followed with the crowd joining in on vocals more and more as the gig progressed. The set ended with 'Chosen Few' and the rapturous applause of the audience.

Nearly two hours of quality music, not bad value for a free gig, and then there were the encores!  The crowd just would not let them finish. We were treated to Pink Floyd, The Cult, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Coldplay, and even a touch of Black Sabbath! It was only when the landlord called time that they were forced to finish just after midnight.

This band amaze me and that they do not attract a bigger following is puzzling. It's not even as though it's a matter of money since their gigs are free!  If you get a chance to see Primitive Instinct you won't be disappointed.  They are an extremely underrated band who should be playing to a far wider audience. We were informed as we were leaving that their next gig is in September in some remote pub in Sussex -  See you there!.    

Primitive Instinct.
Nick Sheridan - Guitars and Lead vocals
Pic - Bass and backing vocals
Chris Brown - Drums and backing vocals

Mick Lloyd