Tom Sawyer Promotions presents - SIGNALS TO THE HEMISPHERES

'What You Say About His Company'

Here's some of the feedback we've received from various sources - audience, venues, press etc - so far. If you would like to submit a comment or review of any of our gigs for submission here please send them to tomsawyer@tomsawyer.org.uk or alternatively you can leave a brief message in our guestbook (there is a limit on the amount of words you can enter in the guestbook).

"Just to say a big thank you for coming down to the Midlands - much appreciated and a cracking show!  Great stuff". Lee Regan - (The Robin, Bilston) 11/2/06

"Well done Guys a most enjoyable night… Keep up the good work" - Neil Holloway (The Robin, Bilston) 10/2/06

Review reproduced by kind permission of Riffs Online Rock Magazine

I had no intention at all of doing another review of a band that I only covered just 3 months back, yet because of the exceptional gig that Tom Sawyer played at the Office recently, then it would be an absolute crime to make no mention of it whatsoever. It was only at the back end of August when the group played their first ever show at this venue, and what amounted to one of a handful of very first outings for the band. They played a good gig back then that showed lots of promise, but often with ‘debut’ styled gigs like this, you get the feeling that it may be many months before the band hit their true stride. Yet in the space of 13 weeks they had dramatically changed to a point where they didn’t really resemble the band that I had first laid my eyes upon. They were simply that much better!

For this occasion (Friday the 25th of November) they were filling in for another act that had to pull out due to an unforeseen double-booking. So they only had a week’s notice, and it was very good that they were prepared to help out by filling in the vacant slot. I’ve got to say that I was very pleasantly surprised by how well they did on this night. The whole on-stage vibe of the band seemed to have gelled together properly now. There was a definite ‘unison’ that was visible to the crowd and not just me, plus everything just seemed to click together making this a very enjoyable gig. The sound mix was huge, coming from a powerful Mackie rig that comprised of 2 big bass bins, and 2 massive speaker towers. The full system must have been around 6k, and you could feel the power coming out of it. It was loud, but never really harsh on the ear. A big meaty mix that had a beautiful bass end to it all, and the vocals cut through effortlessly.

The band played excellently too. Tom Alexander on bass and lead vocals is a confident player. He looks the part as well as providing superior vocal lines, and some magnificent bass playing. Ian Butters on guitar played some marvellous stuff  too. His guitar solo on ‘Limelight’ was amazing, and the rest of his lead & rhythm work was also of a very high standard. His double-neck SG guitar looked every bit the part during the band’s performance of ‘Xanadu’, and he also played some nifty classical guitar work on ‘Broon’s Bane’, plus the intros to ‘The Trees’ and ‘Closer To The Heart’. Ian Rogers on drums produced some fine work, and had the unenviable task of trying to imitate one of the greatest drummers in the world. He did very well, and although it may not have been text-book perfect to the original recording, he still pulled some great stuff out of the bag that most other players wouldn’t even consider attempting. As a team they worked so much better together, and you could see improved communication within the group that kept the songs flowing perfectly.

   Ian Rogers sang lead vocals on some of the sections of ‘2112’ (which was performed almost in its entirety). Some of the people in the room weren’t particularly Rush fans, so therefore a chunk of the material played this night did go over some people’s heads. Especially the later stuff like ‘Roll The Bones’ etc, but they did provide a good selection from Rush’s many creative periods, with songs dating back from 1974 through to the early 90’s. The classic tracks always got the biggest roar from the crowd, and in my mind you can’t go wrong with any Rush song from the 70’s (and even very early 80’s).

Tom Sawyer played a cracking gig that saw them displaying qualities of a top-rate act, and if they find the right audience who will appreciate this kind of music, then I can’t see how they can go wrong. Rush are one of those bands that some live music fans simply cannot get away with, so therefore I couldn’t really consider Tom Sawyer to be a typical pub-rock group. But given the right environment, and a marvellous sound & light show (that they had on this night), then they will truly shine brightly.

Great to witness a band picking up their stride so quickly. Colin Smoult  28 / 11 / 05.

Taken from a review of our gig at The Office 18/8/05 by Colin Smoult of Riffs Online Rock Magazine:-

'This band are an 'authentic' power-trio just as the original Rush were back then (and still are today), and that means lots of hard work spread out across these 3 band members. All of them coped incredibly well.'

'The classic Rush numbers flowed well with it ranging from songs like 'Limelight' through to 'New World Man'. Most of the best-loved and well-known songs were included. As a band I thought that they performed very well. All of this trio worked hard and put on a good show.'

'Ian Butters is a very good guitarist, and his style was impressively fluent. With regards to his ability his was probably the most professional out of all the various guitarist that I've seen in 4 different Rush tribute bands.'

Ian B played some superb guitar work, and his guitar solos were very faithful to the original recordings.'

Ian R had the unenviable task of trying to reproduce the talents of Rush's Neil Peart, who is regarded as one of the very best drummers in the world. Ian did a sterling job.'

Apart from being a fine drummer he also sang lead vocals on 3 songs during their '2112' section of the show. His voice was quite stunning in that he had an awesome tone to it. He did a magnificent job. He really does have a very exceptional voice.'

'Yet it was Tom Alexander who handled most of the lead vocals and he did a superb job once again. His bass playing and keyboard work were also top class, and the fact he managed to juggle between them all with great ease was very impressive.'

My own personal highlights of the night were 'Xanadu' (I never get bored of hearing this song), '2112' (they played the entire piece with the exception of 'Oracle'), and the first half of 'Cygnus-x1.'

'None of these songs are easy to perform, yet the band managed very competently, and I witnessed very few mistakes (if any) all night long.'

'They do a damn good job, and if you're a Rush fan then I guarantee you that you won't be disappointed!

This really was a 'team' effort!'

 - Colin Smoult of Riffs Online Rock Magazine 21/8/05

'FRIDAY 22ND JULY 2005 - THE VENUE WAS THE EAGLE AT BLYTH! AWESOME - A MUST SEE FOR ALL RUSH AND TRUE ROCK FANS.THE BIRTH OF SOMETHING SPECIAL!' - Gordon Tindle 23/7/05

'So, Friday evening, around 8.30, the weekend got off to a rousing start with Tom Sawyer taking to the stage and rolling through a great set of RUSH classics. The guys played a really tight set and, considering it was their first full gig, played a blinder. Initially a slow start as non-rush fans can find them slightly obscure on first hearing them though as time went on the crowd opened up a little and I suspect most people really enjoyed it and maybe Rush gained some new fans by the end of the set!! Must express my heartfelt thanks to the guys from Tom Sawyer for stepping in at short notice, they really helped us out, thanks fellas.' - Jim at The Cumby 11/7/05

'Susan and myself only arrived at the venue as Tom Sawyer were finishing their last song. I’m not a massive Rush fan anyway, but from the audience reaction you could tell that the band were definitely doing something right.'  - Riffs 17/7/05

'Well done to Tom Sawyer for putting on a great show at The Cumby. There were very few Rush fans but it seemed to me that the audience warmed to the performance more and more as the hour ticked by - too quickly for me.
(Or maybe this was an illusion created as the effects of the rather potent Hobgoblin beer kicked in  )  and thanks for playing The Trees.  That's my wifes favourite.  Had to keep her happy, she was driving   A great night.  Me and the wife really enjoyed it.  Thanks!' - Simon 'Gandalf' Cripps, TNMS 9/7/05

'Great gig at The Cumby lads.  Sorry I couldn't hang around and tell you in person.  Bit of a tough crowd for a first gig I thought but you won them over so well done.' - Misfit, TNMS 11/7/05