Let’s keep this brief.
‘A picture speaks a thousand words’, so seeing Oxford’s Original Rabbit Foot Spasm Band is as important as hearing them. It is a multi sensory experience, that spins you round, throws you high to the rafters, dashes you down to the sticky club floor and they drags you up again, to repeat the process ad infinitum. They take no prisoners.
The Rabbit Foot Spasm Band – Picture courtesy of Andrew Ogilvy.
Friday night at The Jericho Tavern was no exception. The band not only belted out high octane Rabbit Foot favourites, but the seven piece also introduced their devotees to new tracks too. While perhaps not as polished as lead singer Stuart Macbeth confided afterwards he might have liked, they lacked none of the conviction or stamp of the bands more familiar material, and did nothing to let up on the dizzy roller coaster ride of a night.
Stuart Macbeth. Picture Courtesy of Johnny Moto.
Ever present was Macbeth’s ability to casts a spell and weave his magic over a crowd in an almost disturbing fashion. There is a touch of tortured soul to his wildly rolling eyes; a hint of vulnerability as he pleads with desperation and anguish into the mic. But behind that, a darker element too. A twisted, near demonic urgency; swirling around the confines of the cramped venue, holding fans under a hypnotic trance.
Robust and enveloping brass, tight and punchy arrangements and the lyrical sparring that make this one of my favourite bands to see live. I strolled back to my car exhilarated at the sheer energy of the night- but also feeling curiously vulnerable and exposed, to the charms of the rabbit….
Stuart Macbeth – Rabbit King. Photo courtesy of Andrew Ogilvy.
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