The Feeling - Carling Academy Birmingham - 1 November 2006 Who needs street cred anyway?听 The Feeling are a band from another age, unashamed fans of eighties soft rock, champions of the catchy hook and actually looking like they enjoy their work.听 And, frankly, they can really rock too. A seventy minute set at Birmingham's Carling Academy was choc full of references to singer/writer Dan Gillespie Sells favourite artists - the delicately crafted Blue Piccadilly has the songwriting touch of Ray Davies at the height of his powers with The Kinks, while next single Love It When You Call is an intentionally cheesy light rocker that would sit perfectly on a Brat Pack movie soundtrack. Some of the tracks that don't necessarily stand out on debut album Twelve Stops And Home take on fresh life in the flesh, Gillespie Sells showing real vocal flexibility on his tale of self-confidence found, Strange, and the song that may or may not be about sexuality, Ros茅. The album is laced with hits of course, Fill My Little World is a full-blown crowd-pleaser replete with Beach Boys harmonies, while Never Be Lonely just about sums up The Feeling's deliciously uncool AOR sound.听 The biggest cheer was reserved for the single that broke the band early this year - the wistful Sewn. Live their sound is unexpectedly powerful, Richard Jones' sometimes grungy bass to the fore on another underrated album track Helicopter, Kevin Jeremiah gearing up enthusiastically for guitar solos that could have been lifted from the band's major influences Supertramp, Dan Gillespie Sells himself a whirling dervish on guitar with an uncontrollable penchant for kicking Paul Stewart's cymbals, Ciaran Jeremiah nicely understated on keyboards and backing vocals - this is a group who played together for some time before the big record deal, and it shows. And their days as a covers band mean they play the most kitsch eighties tune you could ever think of - a riproaring version of Buggles' Video Killed The Radio Star that slayed the Academy, the intro provoking a sea of double takes followed by a tide of crowd participation.听 Work that crowd guys! To quote their own lyrics - "Everyone knows we're strange, so why do you feel ashamed," - well I'm not ashamed to say that the morning after the night before I was booking tickets to see The Feeling again in Wolverhampton next February.听 Catch them, they are a truly special live act. | 
