Cats in Space - Tavistock Review

As 2019 draws to a close, I have been thinking over all of the great shows I have been to this year. I am not sure that I got to quite as many as I did last year (last November and December in 2018 in particular were ridiculous) but the quality has almost always been consistently high. I will sum up my favourite gigs of the year in my customary round up of the year posts at the turn of the new year - but it is safe to say that 2019 has been another great year, both for concerts and albums. There always has to be a 'last gig' every year and, for the first time since 2015, it is a band other than The Quireboys that closes 2019 out. I have missed my customary Quireboys acoustic gig to close out the year, but a bombastic display from the British rock act Cats in Space more than made up it! Despite having been around since 2015, Cats in Space are a band that I have only got into recently. I actually saw the band open up for Deep Purple in 2017, and somewhat enjoyed their set, but at the time they did not really grab me. I had somewhat followed the band's progress since then, but really started to take notice earlier in the year when frontman Mark Pascall joined the ranks - replacing the departing Paul Manzi. Pascall lives relatively locally, so I have been running into him in various bands over the years. I think I first saw him in 2008 when his band at the time Morph opened up for someone (I forget who) at the sadly-demolished White Rabbit in Plymouth. I have since seen him in both Empire of Fools and his current band Departed. Departed a band I have become a big fan of over the past couple of years, having seen the band a handful of times supporting various people and picked up copies of both of their EPs. It was his addition to the Cats in Space ranks that made me curious enough to pick up a copy of their most-recent album Daytrip to Narnia in HMV earlier in year - and I have to say I was almost-instantly blown away by the songs. Since then I have become a big fan of the band, and a trip to Tavistock to see the band on their Christmas UK trek was a no-brainer. It does not feel that I have been out to Tavistock as many times this year as I usually do, but I always love visiting the Devon town for live music. We are extremely lucky in the South West to have a venue like Tavistock's The Wharf, as it manages to attract quite a few decent bands down this way each year. I think this was Cats in Space's first visit to the South West, with Pascall clearly managing to tempt the band down to his home county. For a Sunday night, the turnout was pretty good but I thought it could have been better for a band of Cats in Space's rising stature. There were probably a couple of hundred people in attendance, which was decent, but it would have been nicer to have seen a few more faces.

Unusually for shows at The Wharf there was a support act, as former Furyon and Colour of Noise frontman Matt Mitchell took to the stage before Cats in Space to run through around 40 minutes of music from his new album with his new backing band The Coldhearts. I have been casual fans of both Furyon and Colour of Noise over the years, even seeing the latter at the Cambridge Rock Festival a few years, so I was already familiar with Mitchell and his vocal style. Fronting his own band however, he really came alive as a frontman. Throughout the set he channelled his David Coverdale-come-Paul Rogers style, with bluesy class oozing from his voice throughout his time in stage. I had heard The Coldhearts' album a handful of times prior to the show, so was somewhat familiar with most of the material. The songs came across much heavier live, although this partly down to the band's drummer who's kit was far too high in the mix. He was clearly more used to playing metal than bluesy hard rock, and really crashed his way through the set. A more subtle approach would have been more suitable really, but at least his playing kept everything moving at a brisk pace. The live band did not have a keyboard player either, which was a shame as the album has plenty of strong keyboard work throughout. I think the songs certainly lacked a certain edge without the keyboards, so that plus the rather leaden drumming did affect my enjoyment of the set somewhat. That aside however, Mitchell was fantastic. His stage presence and voice were both excellent, and he is clearly an excellent songwriter. I was not familiar enough with the set to keep a proper setlist throughout the show, but he and the band played some of my favourites from the album, including the excellent Dare You to Watch and a fantastic rendition of the riff-heavy Black Diamonds closed out the show. An extended version of Thin Lizzy's The Rocker was also included, which unsurprisingly went down well with the growing crowd - who in general seemed reluctant to warm to Mitchell. With a better sound mix and a keyboard player, Mitchell's set would have been really great - but as it was it was just 'good'. I will certainly keep enjoying his album however, and I hope I get to see him again sometime in the future.

After half an hour or so, the lights went down and Cats in Space took to the stage to Mud's The Cat Crept In - which should tell you all you need to know about the six-piece. It would be harsh to call Cats in Space purely a throwback to British 1970s rock, but there is no doubt that Queen, ELO, Sweet, Mud, Slade etc. are the band's main musical touchstones. The band do not seem to care how obvious the comparisons sometimes can be - and wear their influences proudly on their sleeves. This was obvious from the off, with Andy Stewart (keyboards/vocals) sporting a Mad Hatter-esque outfit and the first song of the night containing a chorus that could have been on a long-lost Sweet album. Johnny Rocket was a great way to open the show, with Pascall getting the chance to show off his voice early on while guitarist Greg Hart and bassist Jeff Brown also sung a few lines of lead. Hart is the band's main songwriter, but most of the solos throughout the show were handled by former T'Pau guitarist Dean Howard who seemed to be overjoyed to be up there shredding away. The main thing that was clear from Cats in Space's set was just how much fun the band seem to have, which is always great to see. Epic stadium-worthy tracks like Too Many Gods and Narnia showcased just how many great choruses and melodies the band have packed into their three existing albums, and even slower tracks like September Rain did not skimp on melody. Pascall seemed to particularly enjoy doing September Rain, and he said it was one of the first songs he ever sang with the band. A newly-recorded version of the song with his vocals was released as a single a few months ago to introduce him to the band's fans - and he already seems to have fit perfectly into the band's ranks. He still seems to be finding his feet somewhat however, with Hart doing some of the in-between song chat with the crowd - but I am sure that Pascall will continue to grow in confidence as he gets more gigs with the band under his belt. It was testament to the band's catalogue that the set contained no weak moments. Even older tracks like Mr. Heartache were great, with the big chorus hooking everyone in, while the more cinematic epics like Jupiter Calling showcased the direction the band has been taking for the past couple of albums. There are occasional moments in Cats in Space's sound that showcase something of a progressive rock influence, and Jupiter Calling is one of the most obvious in that regard with lots of Stewart's spacey synths. The band also shine when doing all-out rock, with the driving Hologram Man being a particular highlight. No matter what style the band are attempting, there is always a big chorus to be found - and that is always sure to keep me entertained. It was a set that kept rocking to the end, with Five Minute Celebrity bringing the main set to a rollicking close. The band left the stage, but it was not long before they were back for a two-song encore. The disco-esque Thunder in the Night kept the party vibe going, before the band's new Christmas single My Kind of Christmas rounded everything off. The song is a great old-school sounding Christmas song, and should be added to playlists with all the other Christmas favourites. It went down well with the crowd, who were covered in 'snow' confetti at the end, and it ensured the evening ended on a real high. The setlist was:

Johnny Rocket
Too Many Gods
The Mad Hatter's Tea Party
Narnia
September Rain
Mr. Heartache
Timebomb
Scars
Jupiter Calling
Silver and Gold
Hologram Man
Greatest Story Never Told
Five Minute Celebrity
-
Thunder in the Night
My Kind of Christmas

It was a fantastic night of rock in Tavistock with Cats in Space, and a night that ended 2019's gigging calendar with a bang. Cats in Space are one of those bands who I will now try and see whenever I can, as their shows are just so fun. I am also interested to see how the band progress with Pascall as their singer - so I look forward to hearing their next album whenever it is ready.