First Post, Bristol Music: Muff Said

For my first post I would like to pay tribute to one of my favourite bands to see live (and I have seen quite a few bands). Muff Said are an awesome Ska band based in Bristol, their set consists completely of their own energetic works (with one cheeky and very good cover of "All that she wants" by Ace of Base thrown in).

Muff Said have a great following (lovingly dubbed "the Muffians") comfortably taking up the majority of space in all the venues they play in and around Bristol such as Mr. Wolfs & The Croft. For those of you who like to combine music with a moral grounding in charity and equality Muff Said have taken part in charity events to raise money for an array of charities and causes, in fact a charity event at Left Bank in Bristol is where I first saw them and was awed by their amazing sound.

Now after that brief introduction, onto the music. When I first saw Muff Said I stumbled in by chance whilst stolling toward Stokes Croft (best place in Bristol) with a friend. At the time they were doing a sound check and instantaniously I was wowed by a wall of horns and tight drumming. Then added to this the perfect acompanyment of some brilliantly ska bar chords from a telecaster, intricately funky bass lines and the very unique vocals of their female lead singer (I only mention sex at this point is due to vocals being the only thing really affected by the sex of a person). I had a chat with the drummer and found that they werent playing for another couple of hours so I got my hand stamped and proceeded to wander down to the shelter for a few drinks before returning at about ten.

This requires a new paragraph. I walked in and bought a beer along with my friend and sat wiggled forward in a stagebound direction (actually there's not exactly a stage but you get the idea) ready for the start. I must admit I was expecting maybe one or two fairly similar songs to the taster I had recieved earlier (which was fine by me) and maybe a couple of reinvented ska classics (I am hearing ska bands kill the specials frequently at the moment - they need to stop). However I was completely blown away by a full set of originals where each was as brilliant and energetic as the next. It was sweaty skanking mayhem at the front of the small space in left bank but the intimacy that everyone talks about in relation to small gigs was very, very apparent. The lead singer's polite and enthusiatic correspondance with the crowd is a key ingredients to the friendly environment of the Muff Said gig as you are encouraged to take part in going down - on them (you need to go to understand that one). With the seriously tight drumming and the huge sound from the horn section (currently consisting of trumpet and sax having lost their trombonist for a while) you will be jumping up and down and skanking until you are so wet with sweat you  will look like you just got thrown in a pool! After that, all that is left is to enjoy the lyrics and ska guitar while the big smile on your face gets everso much larger!

That concludes my first post, please please go have a listen if you can, you can find them on facebook!