By Beth Dean
Local venue, The Horn in St. Albans hosts an intimate evening of music featuring Mike Murray, Lee Royle and Dave Stone who make up Manchester three-piece Prose, and local acoustic soloist Phil Plested.
The atmosphere was ever-friendly at The Horn on Thursday the 31st. To begin, supporting PROSE was the newly solo Plested (@plestedmusic), starting the evening off with never before heard songs that had the audience entranced from the offset. Just one man and his guitar had such a presence in the small venue room of the St Albans pub, and a strong set list with memorable lyrics set a personal and intimate tone for the evening.
Next on were the headline act, Prose. An up and coming group whose style of music is almost undefinable, featuring a combination of fast paced narrative rap combined with excellently juxtaposing soulful choruses. The band opened with what I can only describe as one of the most energetic and dynamic starts to a gig I’ve ever witnessed, with frontman Murray, despite suffering from a brutal cold, throwing himself into their first song and catching his audience’s attention from the word go.
The group responded to and interacted with their audience with a funny rapport between songs, and it is rare to see three guys with such different vocal styles work together so well on stage. Despite their initial protests, the band give in to the crowd’s pleas for an encore at the end, performing an impassioned rendition of ‘Mr 1&2’, closing the gig on a high.
Speaking to the band over a drink after the set, I asked them what was next for Prose, and informing them that after a performance like that, I expected big things. They told me of their plans to play Barn on the Farm festival this summer and their current UK tour that is taking them from one end of the country to the other. The lads were super friendly and funny, ending the evening by enveloping me in a band group hug and attempting to teach us the words to their crazy fast raps.
Overall, it was an excellent evening at The Horn. The sheer contrast between Plested’s mellow folky start and the pacey and energetic close from Prose provided an electric atmosphere that left the audience buzzing. Definitely check out these two amazing acts, you won’t regret it.
