It was a bitterly cold night so all credit to the ones who did brave the weather to turn up to see these play. Blooze The Plot are a 4 piece band from Westhoughton, and play with a set list comprising of Neil Young, Jimi Hendrix, Cream and many more. I missed the 1st set due to family commitments, but walked in and sat down with a drink as the 2nd set started. The singer then announced that the 2nd set would be more of a rock set after the blues heavy 1st. They proceeded to break into The Cult's She Sells Santuary, which immediately got a few fans at the front up dancing. Right away, it was easy to tell that they were a very tight outfit who enjoy what they do, and put it across well. A lot more professional than most pub bands, they rolled their way through the 2nd set with the ease and confidence of a well established unit, although the drummer did 'mistime' a couple of intros.
They hammered a great version of The Stones's Sympathy For The Devil, and even attempted to bump the crowd by playing The Killers's All These Things That I've Done. After failing to generate the buzz from the ones who'd come to be entertained, they reverted back to blues for a few and then stamped their authority down with a fantastic and refreshingly different take on Hendrix's Voodoo Chile (Slight Return). But even with this tight, professional performance, it still failed to alight the crowd. There were tables in front of the playing area, making the majority of fans stand away from the band at the bar. I'm a staunch believer that a band generates crowd buzz from interacting with a frontal watching audience, something that they are rumoured to be addressing in Isaacs by moving the stage area to a more central position. I for one, would welcome this with open arms, and believe it would help the atmosphere when a band is 'tuned in'. Overall, the band would certainly hold their own wherever they play, and on another night would probably go down a storm, but on this cold damp night in January, I feel it just needed something extra to warm the musical tastes of the Isaacs regulars.
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