A much anticipated return to my hometown of Soup &
Bread joined by Callum Simpson and Wayne Napier-Gibbins. As I had missed the
first night due to travelling elsewhere at the time, I was not going to miss
this one.
La Vie is upstairs at the Firebug pub in central
Leicester, relatively easy to park and in reach of numerous hotels, so not hard
to find if you know Leicester at all.
A rather chilly November night found us entering the main
Firebug doors. You have to enter the Firebug pub and cross the public bar to
find the staircase to the upstairs function room.
On entering La Vie you find yourself transported into the
wierd and wonderful minds of Soup and Bread! (if you know these guys you will
understand!) DJ decks high on stage at one end of a good size but “compact”
vintage feeling room. A cool black and white 60's film being projected behind
the DJ decks whilst snappy late 50’s - early 60’s RnB tunes are blasting out.
At the other end of the room there is a decent sized bar
and a standing/seating area close to the bar.
The Quorn Soul gang were already in place (Sean , Julian,
Mick, Andrea, Tracey, etc) and the tunes were flowing as people arrived.
A real cross-section of Mods were there or arriving,
showing the wide appeal of Soup and Bread and their brand of serious/crazy Mod
RnB tinged fun.
You are pretty much guaranteed great memories or moments
from these guys even if the dynamic duo are not DJ’ing, so it was an experience
for me to see them both single and double deck playing their cutting edge vinyl
Mod sounds with a healthy mix of classics thrown in.
Very well supported by Callum Simpson, bringing his POW
WOW sounds to La Vie added to that cutting edge Mod feel and as if that wasn't
enough, backed up by another of my favourite DJ’s Wayne Napier-Gibbins, who
also knows how to dig out some special non-run of the mill sounds!
Without noticing as I chatted to various people the room
was soon pretty full, Martin Derby, Rob Glover, Kass Jones, Ian and Jane
Buttery, Vicky Walsh Knightly, Sam Jackson, etc had all arrived and the dance
floor was filling nicely. The good sized wooden dance floor buzzed along all
night to the sounds of upbeat coolness. Great to meet Kev and Shirley Connellan
who live really near me but had not met before! Kev knows his RnB and gorgeous
Shirley knows how to light up a dance floor.
Many smiling faces and a great mix of dancing and
chatting soon saw the night pass too quickly.
There is a special fun feel to La Vie. The boys work hard
to put their mark onto the scene, they have a style and its not a cut and paste
formula - it is full on, enjoy it with a smile and while your at it, knock em
out style too!! Very infectious.
So if you like smiles, a cool vibe, proper RnB with
plenty of class sounds mixed in AND if you like all of this with a genuine
sense of fun and style you cannot go wrong with La Vie.
The next instalment is March 12th 2016. See you there.
