TLOBF >> Gigs

[Photos] Japandroids – Camden Barfly, 30/10/09

The Line Of Best Fit — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:16:12 +0000

The “future of rock n roll” so says our man behind the lens Valerio Berdini. Check out these stunning shots from Japandroids recent Camden Barfly show. For more black & white goodness, head on over to Live On 35mm.

Grizzly Bear w/ London Symphony Orchestra – Barbican, London 31/10/09

Adam Elmahdi — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:00:26 +0000

Grizzly Bear w/ London Symphony Orchestra by David Emery (click to enlarge)

To say expectations were running high at the Barbican tonight would be an understatement. With critical darlings Grizzly Bear accompanied by the world-renowned London Symphony Orchestra and curly-haired songstress St Vincent providing the support, this had Gig Of The Year potential scrawled all over it, possibly in giant fluorescent letters. That it failed to achieve that accolade is not to denigrate an impressive performance from Brooklyn’s finest harmonisers, but the lack of epiphanal moments that by rights should have been plentiful was a disappointment no amount of sumptuous orchestration could surmount.

St. Vincent by David Emery

The slightly underwhelming tone of the evening was set by St Vincent’s maddeningly inconsistent opening set. Ditching her band for loop pedals and a violinist (whose input was superfluous at best), Annie Clark radically re-arranged her material to accommodate this stripped down set-up with wildly varying results. The rework of ‘Jesus Saves, I Spend’ was creatively effective and ‘Marrow’ was pleasingly faithful to the original but Clark too often descended into aimless meandering that sacrificed tunefulness for “LOOK AT WHAT I CAN DO” effects geekery. With many songs rendered virtually unrecognisable (and not necessarily in a good way), her love of experimentalism served her badly on this occasion, coming across as inaccessible, even self-indulgent. A missed opportunity from an artist who could and should have been better- a claim that could also apply to the headliners, though to a far lesser degree of magnitude.

Grizzly Bear by Anika Mottershaw

That’s not to say Grizzly Bear were bad of course, far from it. Ed Droste and Daniel Rossen were on fine form throughout, although bassist Chris Taylor’s angelic falsetto particularly impressed time and time again. The percussion was nicely propulsive too, even if it did have the tendency to overpower the orchestra- a problem apparently even more pronounced toward the back of the venue. Nico Muhly’s arrangements for the LSO were generally excellent, if slightly too ostentatious; ‘Knife’s” quiet charm was almost overwhelmed by luscious but over-exuberant strings. In some cases the orchestral parts were more substantial than the tunes they were meant to enhance- for all their multitudinous talents, the songs themselves can be a little slight, structures to hang the marvelous harmonising on rather than great compositions in their own right. Indeed, it’s telling that the highlight of the set was a song they didn’t write themselves, the delightful ‘He Hit Me’ more emotionally affecting than much of their self-penned material. A rushed, anaemic ‘Two Weeks’ was the only genuine disappointment of the night (they really missed a trick not employing the orchestra) but the band’s inability to capitalise on the many opportunities to truly astonish continuously stopped this show from reaching the transcendent heights it was clearly capable of. Consistently excellent but never brilliant, Grizzly Bear promised so much, came tantalisingly close to delivering but in the end, fell short of being the all-time classic we were all hoping it’d be.

Grizzly Bear by Crazybobbles

Buy Grizzly Bear music on iTunes
Buy St. Vincent music on iTunes

[Photos] Franz Ferdinand w/ Music Go Music – Brixton Academy, London 23/10/09

The Line Of Best Fit — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 08:59:31 +0000

More black and white goodness from the lens of Valerio Berdini. This time, Franz Ferdinand’s recent show at Brixton Academy with support from TLOBF faves Music Go Music.

Music Go Music

Franz Ferdinand

Photography by Valerio Berdini, Live on 35mm.

Bloc Party – Cambridge Corn Exchange 27/10/09

Valerio Berdini — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:00:48 +0000

Photography by Valerio Berdini, Live on 35mm.

Do Make Say Think w/ Years – Scala, London 22/10/09

Ro Cemm — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:00:30 +0000

“This is the first ever Years show” says guitarist Ohad Benchetrit, shyly. “Well, there was one time back earlier this year, but that was a disaster so it doesn’t count.” With that he sits on his upturned pedal case and begins to tease out a series of fingerpicked melodies, building loops and throwing in shards of noise. Clearly nervous, occasionally he trips with his picking but eventually gets in to his stride as he is joined by a trumpet. The performance seems more restrained and organic than his self titled alum, released on Arts and Crafts earlier this year. That is until he invites the rest of Do Make Say Think to get up from the side of the stage and join him, from whence the performance gains in intensity- trumpets and sax soaring and Benchetrit’s intricate melodies and loops underpinned by Charlie Spearin’s solid bass work. Having earlier admitted that he used to ‘hide’ during DMST shows, the addition of his familiars seems to be a boost to the confidence, and the electronic swirls and loops add to a deafening crescendo that sees a woman in the front row faint to the floor.

Having seemingly been in full flow it seems odd that the band don’t just play through and begin Do Make Say Think’s set. However when they come back on they pick up where they left off, slotting effortlessly into the new album opener ‘Do’. It proves to be a powerful surge and the identikit nodding heads and beards in the front row nod along in unison. As an instrumental band on constellation, Do Make Say Think have always been roundly bracketed as post-rock, yet they have always been on the more pop side of that genre. So much of what they do tonight is carried on the fluid groove of Charlie Spearin’s bass lines, which in combination with the horn section provide surging melodies to complement the guitar attack and swooning violin. The live debut of ‘Say’ proves to be a particular highlight (even if the band themselves can’t remember if it actually is the songs debut or not). With sounds and rhythmic patterns weaving in and out, there is a hypnotic power to the performance, so much so that when things turn to the more discordant side of things late in the set it has a disorienting and dizzying effect. Before long however, the bands inherent desire to create melodies kicks in again. By the end of the show the band are so into the show that they even manage to whip out a few punk rock shapes last seen on Rock Band. With the support acts all being drawn from within the bands ranks, tonights show feels more like an extended party to which all of the heaving Scala is invited.

Oh, and by the way, if they ever release “(Post)Rock Band: The DMST edition” for X Box, I’ll be first in line.

Buy Years music on iTunes
Buy Do Make Say Think music on iTunes

Efterklang & The Britten Sinfonia – Barbican Hall, London 28/10/09

John Brainlove — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 08:10:37 +0000

It’s nice when you accidentally stumble into a show that carries a heightened significance for the performers.

I remember seeing Terrorvision in my teens at a sold-out Wolverhampton Civic, and watching their beaming faces as they revealed they’d never played a real ‘hall’ venue with a balcony before. And Los Campesinos! at ATP were so overcome with pride to be involved that their singer Gareth visibly broke down from the excitement. It adds to a sense of occasion to see a show mean something special to the players.

There might not be any tears and drama on the stage for Efterklang, but the band are visibly thrilled throughout tonight’s performance in a packed out Barbican Hall. And rightly so – they are playing with the Britten Sinfonia, performing huge, impressive arrangements of the songs from their album Parades and it’s live counterpart Performing Parades.

The band seemed to have multiplied for the occasion, with what seems like eleven or twelve members in distinctive harlequin-colour sashes, including a three-part choir and the conductor. Some of them shift between instruments, jogging from one side of the stage to the other to switch between drums and organ, trombone and guitar. The arrangements often encompass two or three sections in each song, from subtle string-plucking and organ work to expansive, emotional orchestra swells, to lonesome brass outros. There’s never a shortage of exciting sounds and things to lack at with so many performers involved.

Reference points come to mind in droves. Sometimes the lingering arrangements are like the artier moments on Björk’s seminal chamber-pop record Vespertine, but without that central show-stopping voice and persona; Casper Clausen’s lead vocal is understated by comparison, and allows the ensemble performance to take the limelight.

At other times, I’m reminded of Nico Muhly’s avant-garde string arrangements, or the subtle electronic textures of Icelandic producer Valgier Sigurðsson’s solo work; the militaristic percussion lends a sense of historic grandeur also found in Matmos’s The Civil War, or in Sons Of Noel & Adrian, who opened the evening’s bill in the foyer space.

Efterklang tonight dispel any coffee-table-electronica stigma that may have come from their earlier recordings. This is an ambitious and talented ensemble giving it their all, and it’s a sight and sound to behold. In full flow, they create an epic, utterly absorbing sound that’s nothing short of magical.

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Zun Zun Egui – The Luminaire, London 26/10/09

Adam Elmahdi — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:30:04 +0000

It must be gutting for a headliner to be so roundly outclassed by a band further down the bill, especially at their first ever London show. It’s even more of a shame given the precociously talented Our Brother The Native have impressed with their recorded output for some time now, their ethereal Panda Bear-meets-Boards Of Canada-meets-post rock both blissfully epic and beautifully subtle. But as a live entity, they’re out of their depth- they ambitiously attempt to replicate the splendour of their albums with just two people but with Joshua Bertram panicking over a myriad different effects pedals the music seems cluttered and unfocused. Whilst the resultant multi-layered compositions aren’t bad (though the vocals are often rushed and atonal), they aren’t nearly as breathtaking as you’d expect- despite their best efforts, there’s simply no denying you’d be better off sticking to the records.

That’s certainly not a conclusion that can be applied to Bristol’s mighty Zun Zun Egui, however. Their set begins with the lead singer, who’d been nonchalantly standing in the middle of the audience suddenly erupting into a trilling multi-lingual cacophony, bounding around the Luminaire like a wild-eyed madman before unleashing 35 minutes of the most eclectic, frantic tropical-experimental-funk-rock madness I’ve ever had the honour of experiencing. When a band can simultaneously remind you of Battles, Dirty Projectors, Talking Heads, Ponytail and Yeasayer you know you’ve got an original on your hands- the blistering jazz drumming, tribal chanting and brutally rhythmic bass-lines all adding up to one of the most engaging performances I’ve seen this year. The most exciting live band in Britain? Man, you better believe it.

It’d be remiss of me to ignore Tom Wilson, A.K.A Freezepuppy, who opened the show with possibly the most perplexing support set of recent times. My friend astutely summed him up as “Kevin Barnes having a mental breakdown” although personally I’d go for “an unsettling cross between Daniel Johnston and Max Tundra”. Whether his leftfield, fragmented synth-pop was any good is impossible to say- I suspect he was operating on a plane beyond the comprehension of mere mortals- but on a night that veered between the sublime and the ridiculous he seemed to fit the bill perfectly.

Los Campesinos! – Deaf Institute, Manchester, 26/10/09

Matthew Britton — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 09:15:50 +0000

With this being their first UK tour for a year, the anticipation at a Los Campesinos! gig is almost palpable. The first night of the tour to sell out, the band have never played the same venue twice in the city and tonight is no exception, with the Deaf Institute’s Music Hall being their home this time. The band come on following a rousing performance from Scottish upstarts Copy Haho, and the first thing that hits you is just how many of them there are. There’s barely room for them to move at times, and the whole performance teeters on the brink of someone crashing offstage from a mistimed step at times.

Whereas their debut album, Hold on now Youngster, was a fizzing ball of twee-pop energy, the follow-up was a more brooding, nihilistic effort, and the forthcoming third, Romance is Boring looks to delve deeper down that route. Despite the changes of tone on record, the band have kept the same spirit throughout their career when performing, and it shows. It’s still the earlier stuff that gets the loudest response, but only just. Whereas ‘You! Me! Dancing!’ descends into the kind of jumpy mosh pit you’d expect at a Paramore gig, the beautifully bitter lyrics from ‘We are beautiful, We are Doomed’ are sung along to with the vehement fervour and commitment they justify.

Earlier in the evening, the band joined support act Sparky Deathcap on stage to give his songs to fuller sound his songs so desperately deserve and the band seem to foster and thrive upon this group atmosphere. In Gareth they’ve got a front man who’s both charismatic and incredibly awkward and with constant glances over to new band member and sibling Kim, he and the band storm through an overwhelmingly enthusiastic set.

Even material from the new album, unheard by the majority of the audience, is received with warmth, but they resist the temptation to fill their set with it. Instead, fan favourites such as ‘Knee Deep at ATP’ and ‘My Year in Lists’ pepper a performance that indicate the band seem far from slipping into any lull. Indeed, if Robert ‘Sparky’ Taylor’s appearance on stage towards the climax of the gig is anything to go by, there might even be a new addition to come before the band tour again in 2010, which is certainly something to look forward to.

Photo courtesy of Miriam Baynes

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Isis & Mothlite – Koko, London, 21/10/09

Mike Copus — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 08:57:39 +0000

Arriving on British shores again in support of their latest release Wavering Radiant comes Isis, with new songs, new merchandise and most shockingly of all, a rather bedraggled looking frontman. But did all this focus on ‘new’ provide the goods?

First, a bit on Mothlite. A project notable for being masterminded by Daniel O’Sullivan (Guapo, Sunn O)))), they struggled to impress themselves upon the sparsely packed Koko despite seven members spread across the stage (including what looked like Dave Mustaine jamming out on not one, but two Macbooks). Almost immediately seeming out of their depth, the eerie, transcendent nature of debut album Flax Of The Reverie really struggled to reveal itself in the live venue.

As drunken louts started shouting for Isis before Mothlite had even had a chance to settle their nerves, things always seemed like a losing battle. And yet, despite the undeniably disappointing and alienating majority of the set, the band pulled out two resounding final songs, including a tumultuous, pounding ‘The One In The Water’ which just for a brief while silenced those eager for Isis’ less meandering progressions.

Once the headliners eventually make it out onto the stage there’s an undeniable sense of rapture. That guitar sound that they’ve made their own over their long career carves out a deafening wave on opener ‘Hall Of The Dead’. Notably, tonight’s set is extremely heavy on new album Wavering Radiant, a brave decision considering the crowd’s obvious expectations of older, classic material.

But Isis have never been ones to cave in to something as fickle as audience demands. The opener closes and lurches straight into ‘Stone To Wake A Serpent’, the band passionately indulging in the more progressive avenue that has become so influential in their recent albums. At times it isn’t the guitars that tear your eardrums to shreds, but the hovering keyboards of Bryant Clifford Meyer.

The trouble is, the new material just really doesn’t seem to cut it live. There’s still something hypnotic about watching the band perform, but it’s a struggle to say that the material from Wavering Radiant doesn’t drag at points. No sooner is this proven when the band hurl themselves into ‘Dulcinea’, undoubtedly the standout track from 06’s In The Absence Of Truth.

The double bass of Aaron Harris’ kit turns each and every stomach lining within the Koko to complete jelly, and the overwhelming conclusion almost seems to contain within it a hint of nuclear power. Furthermore, when the band plays the haunting opening notes of ‘Backlit’ from Panopticon, the reaction is undeniably one of sheer ecstasy, completely unmatched to the rest of the night.

On a performance note, this band are nigh on flawless. Captivating and mesmerising (well, that is for the remedial who decided he just had to get some photos on his pathetic iPhone camera, right in front of yours truly) and never giving the impression that they’re phoning this one in. Tonight’s main gripe comes from not how they perform, but what they choose to play. Perhaps it’s a sign of how well revered their brace of earlier albums really are, and as the band perform the last spellbinding moments of ‘Altered Course’ before they leave the stage for good, it’s really no surprise that this is the case. It would take something miraculous to top those moments.

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No Age – Scala, London 19/10/09

Sam Parfitt — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 10:35:28 +0000

No Age mean many things to many different people, self-described as ‘dream-punk’ their music is hypnotic and harmonic yet stripped-back and so noisy you probably couldn’t even tell the guitarist is only using three chords. Such was the case at the Scala on Monday night. The duo, who brought LA’s DIY punk scene to our attention back in 2008, have just released a new EP, Losing Feeling, and the place was buzzing.

Now, I couldn’t really tell you all that much about the intricacies of the gig as I spent most of it furiously slam-dancing to frenetic noise blasts, trying to decipher and sing along to the drowned, out-of-tune vocals, or with my head down and eyes-closed, lulled into a false sense of security whilst trying to navigate my way around the various projectile limbs of crowd surfers and stage divers that came my way – Most of which ended up on a direct impact with my face and lower jaw regardless (helping to transform the inside of my mouth and cheeks into a charmingly cratered scale replica of a WW1 battlefield).

But what I can say, is that they managed to unite the whole of the usually impersonal Scala to create a noticeably more intimate venue for the duration of the set by totally giving it their all, be that through Randy’s concentrated thrashings or Dean’s full-body snare hits. Their set mixed the now standard classics with newer material, showing a progression towards a more a textural and layered sound, with the closest they’ve ever come to hummable vocal melodies yet, and with the older stuff remaining as raw and as ramshackle as ever.

No Age prove that you don’t need fancy guitar skills, discernible lyrics that you can relate to, or for that matter, a bassist, to play songs that have a real profound feeling or energy. And for me, there is nothing more euphoric than the raw tangible energy created by two guys pounding the shit out of their instruments – No fancy metaphors to hide behind, just putting everything into creating a beautiful, beautiful noise.

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Doves – Roundhouse, London, 22/10/09 [Electric Proms]

Adam Elmahdi — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 08:42:36 +0000

The BBC’s Electronic Proms‘ stated aim is to “create new moments in music” and witnessing mid-level indie veterans Doves accompanied by a 40-piece Bulgarian choir could definitely be said to fit the bill. The affable Mancunians have never been the most demonstrative of live bands, a bit of a handicap given their anthemic songwriting but tonight sees them deliver a performance that’s finally worthy of their promise.

When they perform alone, they’re very good without ever threatening to be spectacular. By no means do they phone in their performance, but their musical proficiency can’t quite make up for the fact they’re just not that interesting to watch. But when the forty men and women of the London Bulgarian Choir enter the equation, bedecked in vibrant traditional costume, the show was given the extra dash of colour (both visually and musically) to elevate it to greatness.

Their multi-part harmonies had a certain shrill dissonance that seemed to perplex the more straight-laced members of Doves’ fanbase but Avshalom Caspi’s arrangements were excellently judged, never radically deviating from the originals but nonetheless adding an exotic and striking twist to the band’s otherwise unadventurous live renditions. It’s a shame that the sound mix didn’t always do the choir justice but ‘Birds Flew Backwards’ (with Indian musician Baluji Shrivastav) was a genuinely breathtaking moment, and the spectral harmonies on a celebratory ‘There Goes The Fear’ was the perfect closer to a sometimes challenging but always worthwhile set.

Support came courtesy of post-punk pioneers Magazine, performing a specially selected set of A- and B-sides. It’s always heartening to see a band who refuse to grow old gracefully, but it’s also slightly embarrassing at the same time; musically they’ve still got it, Barry Adamson’s angular bass lines impressing almost as much as Noko’s fiendish goatee but if they were ever considered “cool”, that time has long gone.

It’s difficult not to compare them to contemporaries Gang of Four. Whilst Jon King’s goofy mad uncle dancing is tempered by a manic, disconcerting edge that suggests he’d be more than capable of killing a man, the genial Howard Devoto looks too much like Paul Daniels to provide the required levels of aloof aggression. Add to the mix an inexcusable spoken word segment so awful you could almost hear the collective groans of the audience and you’ve got a set whose moments of genuine quality were too often swamped by painful self-indulgence.

Idlewild – O2 Academy, Oxford, 18/10/09

Andrew Grillo — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 07:56:39 +0000

Idlewild return to Oxford for the first time in many a year on the back of their finest album in a similar time scale; Post Electric Blues. Disproving the theory that comfort is the enemy of creativity, the band that arrive onstage to an uncharacteristically boisterous Oxford reception are comfortable in the band they have become, playing an array of material that stretches the length of their career.

Fellow Scots Xcerts open proceedings and are in contrast to what follows a band desperately scrabbling for an identity amid predictable power chords and hollow bluster. It’s wholly unspectacular emo-tinged FM rock and the warm reception it’s afforded seems more due to the prevailing excitement ahead of tonight’s headliners.

It may be October but thanks for some thermostatical mismanagement the o2 Academy has become something of a sweatbox and it’s with anticipation, but also relief, that Idlewild take to the stage. After a couple of ballads it’s onto exuberant recent single ‘Readers and Writers’ and then into ‘Actually It’s Darkness’ which sparks the inevitable singalong

Roddy Woomble is rake thin and thick bearded, and engages in well honed banter thoughout the set and while he’s at ease between songs or delivering his trademark tongue-twisting tirades he frequently lopes into the shadows during instrumental breaks to observe proceedings with a School-masterly air while the rest of the band seize the opportunity to rock out.

The real strength of tonight’s set is that the band no longer feel the need to limit themselves to celtic folk or cacophonous punk and find space in the set for offerings from each of their studio albums from the nihlistic simplicity of ‘Annihilate Now’ to the R.E.M-esque jangle of ’Younger Than America’. Woomble is in fine voice, and is ably backed by the harmonies of Rod Jones. Jones is a whirling ball of energy, flailing and slicing his guitar through the air on ‘These Wooden Ideas’ and and a ferocious and rapturously met ‘Roseability’ that sees many running for the mosh pit, even on a Sunday night.

And the hits just keep on coming; ‘You Held The World…’ brings drums like explosives and still sounds as majestic as it did on first listen and ‘When I Argue I See Shapes’ conjures memories to tracks taped from Steve Lamacq and if ‘Idea Track’ is slightly sloppy it is a perfect reminder of the dedication this band have inspired since their very first releases as it’s dedicated to some girls in the crowd you’d requested it after travelling down from Scotland for this evening.

The band are willed back onstage to deafening cries from the audience and rip into ‘A Modern Way Of Letting Go’; a highlight that sees them at their furious best musically while Woomble winds one of his obtuse lyrics to great effect and despite cries for long lost rarities with only time for one song they opt for a timeless ‘American English’ to soften the blow the end of the weekend brings.

HEALTH – Harley Hotel & Bar, Sheffield 05/10/09

Glenn Bloxham-Mundy — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 08:19:44 +0000

As abruptly as HEALTH’s capitalised name is read from the page, the quartet from Los Angeles waste no time in kicking off what will become a show that’ll leave the audience of The Harley trembling at the knees for the coming winter months. Opening with the incalculably violent drums of ‘In Heat’, the first track from their most recent album, the band’s intentions for tonight’s gig are immediately made clear: no one’s going to be going to the bar between songs.

As with many noise-rock bands, distinguishing between songs can all too-often become an arduous task, resulting in a lapse of concentration as the audience begin to tire of the monotonously repetitive soundscapes. However, as HEALTH demonstrate on Get Color, and live tonight, this doesn’t always have to be the way, with each song more than capable of holding it’s own outside of the album. Songs like ‘Die Slowly’ and ‘Death+’ ironically seem to finish too quickly for the audience, all of who crave more of the wonderfully poppy synth and pounding percussion. However, just as they are left straddling the short break between songs, salivating for more of this electronic rhythm, the band break thunderously into another sample of Get Color.

Without any member of the band visibly orchestrating the direction of the songs, they somehow manage to manoeuvre through their tightly knit set with both spontaneity and direction. Throughout, this aspect of them being so in-synch with each other, yet never seeming overly rehearsed, strikes me as truly overwhelming and I continuously find myself falling into a state vacancy, owing all my senses to the band and whichever direction they choose to take me on next.

Notably refreshing is the utter individuality displayed right across the band’s members tonight. Although completely in-tune with each other’s intended direction, each musician seems to be in a different state of mind to the other. For example, at one point Duzsik can be seen attempting yet failing to play the intro to a song. With each duff note his face screws up even tighter, until eventually he slings his guitar from his shoulders, indignantly throwing it to the ground, just in time to grab the mic and scream the first line of the song. Meanwhile, the other band memebers are doing their own thing, unaware of this mini-catastrophe. Likewise, guitarist Jupiter Keyes at one point can be seen on his knees, fiercely slapping the floor with his bare hands and then pounding himself in the stomach to the drum beat. These impulsive and unconstrained actions serve as hooks for the audience to grapple onto during this tireless and unflagging set and supply the much-needed dynamics this type of music must contain in order to succeed in a live setting.

Throughout the night, HEATH construct their songs on a foundation of unprecedented surprise, onto which glass-necked guitar riffs are built up and up into a mesmerising frenzy, battling with the ferocious kick and smash of Miller’s drumming, each note ricocheting off the other, until at last, just as the audience are on the brink of comatose, everything shatters into infinitesimal shards of minimalism. This, presumably, is why they have become notorious for outstanding live performances and, in a completely paradoxical way; it results in a feeling of unqualified relaxation.

Photos by Glenn Bloxham-Mundy

Soap&Skin – Purcell Rooms, London 20/10/09

Adam Elmahdi — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 21:25:09 +0000

Photography: Anika Mottershaw

19-year old Austrian wunderkind Anja Plaschg is quite the star in her home country, and it’s not difficult to see why. Her powerful, eccentric debut album Lovetune For Vacuum perfectly captures the essence of her idiosyncratic talents, delivering an experience that is at turns beautiful and brutal- qualities her performance tonight accentuates to the utmost.

The show begins in relatively reserved fashion, Plaschg’s vocals veering between shimmering delicacy and steely Teutonic harshness but as the show progresses her manner becomes ever more intense, the hammering on her Steinway increasingly unrestrained, her voice starting to crack with unsettling emotion. The harrowingly anguished scream that punctuates Spiracle surely sent a shiver down the spine of everyone in the room, but her more subtle moments were just as enrapturing- with just a piano and a laptop she managed to hold the audience’s full attention for the entirety of her hour-long set. At one point she leaps off the stage and marches throughout the venue, bellowing unamplified vocals in German; for ‘Marche Funebre’ she departs from her piano stool and dances like Helena Bonham Carter emulating a malfunctioning robot- and yet it works, because it fits perfectly with the unhinged nature of her music. She rarely acknowledges the audience except with the occasional furtive glance and whispered “thank you”, but if she does come across as aloof, it’s because she’s devoting herself so wholeheartedly to her performance- when a technical hitch temporarily derails her, the tears in her eyes are plain to see.

If there’s one minor criticism (and it is minor), it’s her over-reliance on laptop backing tracks- they work well during the heavier, more sinister material, but one feels lighter, more instrumental songs like ‘Cry Wolf’ would have been served better with tweaked arrangements instead. But that apart, it’s an almost flawless set from quite possibly the most exciting new talent of 2009, and I for one will be fascinated to see what she does next.

Lau – The Forge, Basingstoke, 11/10/09

Catriona Boyle — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 07:38:14 +0000

So bearing in mind I work in a theatre, you think I would have been a bit more on top of the situation. Getting into a sold-out theatre show is no mean feat – if there’s no seats, there’s no seats. After seriously considering it, I decided against showing up with my own seat though. Lucky, someone was just about on top of the situation – Lau band member and accordion wizard Martin Green in fact, who personally escorted us from the box office. And although I’m sure they weren’t, it did appear the band were actually waiting for us to arrive before they started- (again, bad planning on my part – I was aiming for an 8pm start, but it being Sunday, it was 7.45pm). And you kind of have to on time for these things – we’re not joking when we say ‘latecomers may not be admitted’.

But luckily, we found ourselves tucked up in a couple of house seats in the back row of The Forge. Bearing in mind that this band won the ‘Best Group’ award at the BBC Folk awards earlier this year, it was a bit of surprise to be able to catch them playing this cosy eighty seat venue hidden inside Basingstoke’s much bigger Anvil Theatre. Needless to say the show was sold out almost as soon as the tour dates were announced, but in such a teeny venue, even being in the back row still meant we were approximately 5 metres away from the band.

After a quick check to make sure there were no stray Alistair McGowan fans inside (who should have been suffering in the main auditorium rather than enjoying themselves with us) the boys launched into a lively set of jigs to get proceedings underway. The pace was hectic, and at times Aidan O’Rourke became a blur of flying fingers and bow as he and Kris Drever vied with each other to raise the tempo to a level that the other couldn’t match. But of course that didn’t happen – Lau have been touring this set for the best part of a year now, so the performance has been well polished. Unlike a more conventional gig which proceeds track by track, Lau tend to run two or three similar tunes together, then pause for a break while the audience catch their breath, and one of the band explains the inspiration which lead to the creation of the previous/next set.

This may sound weird to those of us more used to songs with words, but even instrumental folk music is still inspired by everyday events – a good example being ‘Horizontigo’ – penned by the group’s Scottish contingent, after trip to the flat fenlands close to Martin Green’s home city of Cambridge. Once this was explained the track makes a lot more sense. Honest. But of course Lau’s music isn’t purely instrumental. After a few more reels, the tempo slowed for ‘Winter Moon’ and we were treated to our first taste of Kris Drever’s excellent vocal capabilities, and carefully crafted lyrics. Quite a contrast from the whirling jigs and reels, but still engaging and showing another side of the band’s talents.

And so the evening proceeded – mainly with tracks from the Arc Light album, but in the second half some new unrecorded work was given an airing. Nice to know that there’s more where the current material came from. There was also an excellent cover of Ewan McColl’s ‘I’m a Freeborn Man’, which really highlighted Kris’s distinctive voice, and provided a sensitive interpretation of this folk standard. The choice of this as the only cover in the set tells us a little about the band’s view on life, which was further highlighted by their encouraging the audience to support the “Folk against Racism” cause by visiting the merchandise stall at the end of the gig.

Next time I’m definitely opting for seeing Lau in a non-seated, more traditional gig venue, not least to try and prevent the I-should-know-better theatre related mis-haps, but also because this is not music for sitting down audiences. In fact despite it being their usual set-up, the band themselves also seemed uncomfortable playing whilst seated – Aiden O’Rourke came close to crashing to the floor several times as his enthusiasm got the better of him, and Kris Drever’s left leg seemed possessed by alien forces at times as he stamped along to the frantic beat which they maintained.

Whilst the audience of predominantly old-school folkies may appreciate the slightly-more-comfortable-than average seats in the Forge, Lau are a band that have got real potential to cross over to a new, younger, folk audience, and show the young whipper-snappers how it’s done. With such amazing musicianship and finely honed song writing, it won’t be long before the Radio 2 audience will have to start venturing further than the local theatre to see them.

Wild Beasts & Blue Roses – Oxford O2 Academy, 07/10/09

Andrew Grillo — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 07:58:13 +0000

October is one of the busiest months of the year for live music, especially in a student town such as Oxford. After the summer months of festivals, the tourists have now been replaced in town by students and as the ever shortening days turn to night the streets are littered with boys and girls in fancy dress acclimatising to their new home. You would think that given the similar scenes that dominate the latest long-player from Kendal’s Wild Beasts, and the acclaim that has been heaped upon the record since it’s release, that Oxford’s Premier music venue would be rammed for a such a show, so it’s with curiosity and no little disappointment that upon arriving at the venue, it’s, well… a bit empty.

The room is still only half full when Blue Roses take to the stage and Laura Groves is ably backed by a pair of multi instrumentalists who add subtle, lush layers to her skeletal yet sophisticated compositions.

Those that are here promptly are treated to a truly wonderful set that draws heavily on the material from this year’s eponymous debut album as Groves and band send the entire room into if not stunned, then at the very least awed silence. ‘I Am Leaving’ is an early highlight and ‘Coast’ finds Groves on electric guitar to pleasing effect. It’s a cliché to talk about star quality but Groves is certainly an unusually engaging performer and while there are nods to some of the decades more prominent female solo artists but it doesn’t really matter when the songs are just so good. If there’s any justice then all of tonight’s converts will be present when she returns to town next month to headline.

Numbers are looking more respectable and there’s even a low buzz of anticipation by the time the headliners take to a darkened stage, lit only by twinkling fairly lights and crash into ‘The Fun Powder Plot’ still bathed in shadow. Hayden Thorpe is in commanding voice and the band have honed their rhythmic chops on recent tours and are now as tight a band as you’re likely to see. Nearly all of the most memorable moments of this evening’s set come when all four band members are at full pelt and firing off one another, each knowing when to lock the parts in together and when to hang back and let each other breathe.

This is well illustrated in the gap in quality between the tracks from Two Dancers and the Limbo, Panto numbers which are more reliant on vocal theatrics. There are exceptions of course and ‘Brave, Bulging, Buoyant Clairvoyants’ is met with a roar of approval which buoys the band on (sorry) and there is a great moment as the bass drops away to leave Thorpe’s falsetto standing at the track’s climax you start wonder which other band would even be capable of creating these songs.

‘We’ve Still Got The Taste…’ and ‘Hooting and Howling’ are just a tad too slow compared to the album version (a fine lesson not to record things faster than they’re played live) and feel sluggish as a result but the likes of ‘All The Kings Men’ and ‘Two Dancers(I)’ find a pummelling, vital rawness that only comes from a live performance. While frontmen Hayden and Tom Fleming are the undeniably the main attractions as they dispense slightly inebriated yet genial banter it is guitarist Ben Little and drummer Chris Talbot that are the unsung heroes. Little note perfect in wrapping swathes of delayed tones around the tracks while Talbot propels the band along with dexterous yet powerful toms work and a nice line in agitated cowbell to boot.

With twists and turns that even surprise the hardened fan it’s probably not so shocking that the casual listener hasn’t quite come around yet. And as the band close the set with a joyous cowbell heavy ‘Devil’s Crayon’ and ‘Empty Nest’ and the audience empty out into the night past the those stumbling up the Cowley Road in various states of disrepair, you realise that they are simply one of the most interesting, and strangest bands around right now and one to treasure in their ability to transform such mundane scenes into something so fantastical.

The Maccabees – UEA, Norwich 02/10/09

Alex Harvey — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 08:00:25 +0000

The Maccabees are slowly starting to make their mark on the British public after the warmly received second album Wall of Arms made it to number 13 in the charts, the recent single ‘Love you Better’ made the notoriously influential Radio 1 playlist and a summer of festival appearances included a big crowd on the Other Stage at Glastonbury. Although a few tickets were still being sold on the door for this gig, the 1500 capacity UEA is a significant step up for the band on what is their biggest headline tour to date.

The Lyre Birds were the support act tonight and having The Velvet Underground’s ‘Venus in Furs’ as walk on music was a good start. They were certainly at their most interesting when dark and brooding guitar lines built up an atmosphere in the songs, but by the midway point in there half hour set there was an air of predictability about them. In virtually every song mid tempo verses gave way for choruses that were striving for epic status akin to The Killers, but missed the mark by losing detail in a wall of sound.

The Maccabees churned out 18 tracks in a blistering 75 minute set, with a varied mix of old and new. The slow burning ‘No Kind Words’ got things going amidst dark moody lighting and exploded half way through for the “if you got no kind words to say, you should say nothing more at all” refrain. A brass section, which was present for much of the set, entered the fray for ‘One Hand Holding’. Debut single ‘X-Ray’ followed and sparked a flurry of crowd activity. Recent single ‘Can You Give it?’ received a similar reaction but ‘Young Lions’ lost some of the emotion and depth found on record giving way to a rawness more in keeping with their debut album, ‘Colour It In’. Orlando Weeks’s vulnerable sounding voice came to the fore on the brilliant ‘Wall of Arms’ and it is a vulnerability that he shows in a way that makes him look almost apologetic for being on stage and seems quite happy to let hyperactive guitarist Felix White do the showman bit.

Old favourites ‘Latchmere’ and ‘Precious Time’ provided mass sing-a-longs and the young whipper-snapper crowd even found cause to mosh and form a large circle pit for the lyrically poignant ‘Kiss and Resolve’, which was quite odd. They managed to refrain themselves from over-exertion in the lovely ‘Toothpaste Kisses’, which proved a welcome change of pace before ‘Lego’ and ‘First Love’ closed off the main set to rapturous applause.

‘Bag of Bones’, album closer from ‘Wall of Arms’ was understated and atmospheric but was cut slightly short so didn’t have the full impact of the recorded version. After ‘Seventeen Hands’, ‘Love You Better’ finished things off in triumphant fashion as the UEA rejoice in seeing a band on top of their game and who fully justified the step up to venues such as these.

Golden Silvers – The Sugarmill, Stoke 04/10/09

Andy Johnson — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 19:03:08 +0000

NME’s Radar Tour is designed as a yearly outing for relatively unknown bands in need of a leg-up. This year, however, NME has seen fit to bestow upon us not one but two Radar Tours – first there was La Roux, Magistrates, Heartbreak and the Chapman Family, now in this autumn tour we have the delectable lineup of Golden Silvers, Marina & The Diamonds, Local Natives and Yes Giantess. Glad of oppurtunity to see any show in Stoke with some potential of being half-decent, I leapt at the chance to make my debut appearance at the famed Sugarmill.

No thanks to a bus that was thirty-five minutes late, we finally made our way to the venue. With a small room, and yet a reasonably-sized stage to play on, first up was US-based Yes Giantess. Far from easing everyone gently into the show, these guys immediately pummeled us mercilessly with their towering slabs of synth – this bombast was enjoyable at first, but soon a suspicion crept in that these guys were something of a one trick pony and the feeling slowly grew. Fun enough, but Yes Giantess’ songs are a bit too samey and dayglo for my taste.

Next up were LA-based Local Natives, who were neither local nor native but emerged onto the stage with a much more organic and less synthesised sound. A fivepiece, four of their members stood in an egalitarian line in front of their drummer and belted our their pretty vocal harmonies. With an earthy, rough-and-ready look about them, the band pumped out some very ear-pleasing strident rock, culminating in a gloriously thrashy rock-out, lit only by intermittent red lights.

Thirdly came Marina & The Diamonds, who is in fact one of those singers who gives themselves a name that makes them sound like a band, when they also have a band, whose members are not included in the name. “Hi”, she said, with her backing waiting patiently behind her, “I’m Marina & The Diamonds.” Ludicrous. Anyway, clad in her American jock-jacket, the Welsh singer strutted her way through a few songs, including a blue-lit downtempo ballad and a very successful cover of Late of the Pier’s “Space and the Woods” which got everyone moving in the best moment of her set. Not bad for an act largely based around dishing out saucy looks to the crowd.

Eventually headliners Golden Silvers made their entrance. Playing an energetic and impressive set of songs from their debut album True Romance the band bestowed their unusual, hard-to-pigeonhole sound upon the Stoke gig-goers. Much has been made of the band’s doo-wop esque backing vocals, and these were out in force, really adding something to the sound. Vocals are definitely one of the band’s strong points – when the synths and drums are at their loudest and most bombastic they’re not allowed to shine, but when the music is more introspective, singer Gwilym Gold’s distinctive voice can shine through. He stood behind a keyboard on a huge decorative pedestal, making him look like some kind of angelic electro-preacher.

Although Gold dominates the band’s live sound, Ben Moorhouse’s excellent bass work occasionally takes centre stage and at all times the band sound tight and co-ordinated. With a slightly longer set than their support bands, the Silvers were able to gradually build momentum and let their more epic songs draw the crowd in, allied with an impressive and varied lightshow. The free Golden Silvers stickers and Radar Tour posters also helped make sure the audience left with smiles on their faces after this diverse, punchy show.

Yes Giantess // Local Natives //Marina & The Diamonds // Golden Silvers on MySpace

Sky Larkin – Bungalows and Bears, Sheffield 27/09/09

Glenn Bloxham-Mundy — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 08:00:19 +0000

Bungalows and Bears may not be able to facilitate the large crowds that other Sheffield venues can, and it may act as a makeshift watering hole for the local indie-scenester herd to reside around, but it certainly manages to give off a warming conviviality that suits Leeds-based band, Sky Larkin, down to the ground.

Lead-singer, Katie, chirpily leads the band to the stage; herself clad in a vivid orange t-shirt portraying legendary rapper Tupac and with her mousey-brown hair unkemptly pigtailed either side of her face. She promptly kick-starts the trio into their most recent single, ‘Fossil, I’; a quick-paced, harmony-packed tune that succinctly solicits society’s inherent ability to fossilise certain people and times through art: “Open sky, open sky/Give me wind/’cross my face/Fossil, I, Fossil, I”.

Throughout the 11 song set, their banter with the crowd is kept short and sweet, “I thought you’d melted for a second, there”, Katie softy jests with a photographer at one point, who had left a spilt pint in his place after searching for a better camera-angle, and not once do they outstay their welcome, reeling off their songs swiftly and with what seems like a truly joyous vigour. Energy itself is almost personified by self-proclaimed ‘Nestaaargh!’ (Nestor), who never failed in providing an insurmountable amount of passion on the drums, all the while pulling off some of the greatest (read: funniest) ‘drum-faces’ Sheffield has seen for quite some time.

During their set, Sky Larkin use a simple formula but generally manage to avoid being formulaic. As the night progresses, they become increasingly more reminiscent of punk-rock band Sleater Kinney, both in their biting guitar licks and their sharply delivered vocals, which is only fitting considering their album was produced by the same man who produced Sleater Kinney’s classics ‘One Beat’ and ‘All Hands On The Bad One’.

However, what is most apparent, and unique perhaps, is how similar Sky Larkin sound to how they do on CD. Standing by the stage, I could have closed my eyes and, disregarding the rather thunderous difference in volume, easily mistaken them for being on CD. Now, while this may well appeal to certain people’s tastes, for me I felt somewhat indignant to it all; almost as if I had just paid to hear them play their CD through a PA system. Now, thinking back on the best gigs I’ve been to, I notice a trend suggesting that the best performances for me rely on a certain degree of surprise or exploration; when a band or artist manages to take a song you know and cherish dearly and somehow alter it without losing what you initially loved about it, leaving you with that indebted feeling of knowing that you’re one of the few people to experience that first hand. This, sadly, is what Sky Larkin lacked for me. Although their set was tight and they succeeded in making a clamorous sound considering their petite make-up, they just lacked the exhilaration that one gets from seeing a band completely lose themselves in their material.

Although this gig felt like it never truly took off for me, this is not to say that it wasn’t enjoyable. Sky Larkin put in what was altogether a modest and pleasant performance and further highlighted some of the local talent that’s on show in and around Leeds.

Sky Larkin Official Site

Brian Wilson – The Roundhouse, London 03/09/09

Andrew Dowdall — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 08:00:43 +0000

Some misunderstandings at TLOBF Towers have delayed this report, but what’s a month when you’ve been waiting a lifetime to see Brian Wilson in concert? I’m one of those fans who go misty eyed just seeing some photos of the great man back in faultering action, and a similar broad cross-section of silverback musos, sixties survivors, and asymmetric Camden haircuts assembled to pay homage at the Roundhouse in August. Everyone from Peter Blake to Chesney Hawkes were there. It has been ten years now since the musical rehabilitation most though impossible, and it’s some of the prime movers in what Macca has called the best backing band in the world who we largely have to thank for it. They are indeed a fantastic group of multi-talented musicians, who provide Brian with the comforting and reliable environment he needs to perform. The enthusiasm with which they bring his back catalogue to life banishes any thoughts of ‘cash cow’ or ‘tribute band’. Indeed it does contrast with the accompanying rent-a-mob that would diminish my experience of a McCartney concert – something which by rights as a huge Beatles fan I should tick off the checklist one day. I just can’t bring myself to go through with that inevitable disappointment: the likes of Jimmy McCulloch and Joe English are sadly missed.

I did come close to seeing Brian Wilson live some time back when the excitement of his being back on the road was more immediate. To cut a long story short, I heard but not saw the show, ‘met’ Brian (some vague passing interaction but he wasn’t all there if you know what I mean) as he got into his car afterwards, and I had spent some time chatting to his driver. When I asked what music Brian listened to, the reply was: “Nothing. He just sings to himself and pats the dashboard.” Nice. Actually, Brian was much more compos mentis at this show than I imagined would be the case. True, the keyboards in front of him were more of a protective shield and served only as a platform for the laptop display of the lyrics, but that crutch seemed more for reasurance than absolute necessity. He never did play a note on that keyboard, but later I was surprised to see him up and rocking on bass during the encore. His voice was stronger and justifiably higher in the mix than I had expected, though of course a large number of the vocals were handled by others in the band (Jeff Foskett deserving special mention), as would have been entirely the case if the original Beach Boys were all present. Then there was the spritely banter and engagement with the front rows (also unexpected), and the gentle mimed visuals – like the tugging at his own shirt collar during ‘Sloop John B’ (”… came to take me away“). He was often childlike in his actions, and the patent delight with which he performed the simpler, earlier, surf pop songs gave the impression of a man who somehow still had not quite grown up – forever stunted at the time of his personal meltdown. If Brian had made no other contribution than the frequent gentle conducting of the emsemble, I would still have been happy to turn up and honour his genius.

How often do you go to see a show where a song, a song, gets an extended ovation. What else but ‘God only Knows’, and what a f***ing marvellous song it is. And that following on from ‘Sloop John B’ and ‘Wouldn’t It Be Nice’. It felt good to be part of an audience radiating so much love to the stage. You couldn’t help taking some back on board as a top up yourself. Nothing could be quite of a par with that glorious Sunday afternoon at Glastonbury a few years ago, but this was a rare standing venue for Brian, if a little variable in acoustics, and the audience made full use of their chance to groove when the time came. Every other intro was greated with a sigh of recognition – a sigh that encapsulates all the wonderment of actually hearing these songs live after a lifetime of radio (especially), CD plays, and cranial karaoke.

This was advertised as a “greatest hits” night out after the Pet Sounds and Smile tours of the past. Whilst the first 50 minute segment was top and tailed with ‘Do It Again’ and ‘California Girls’, it actually contained many lesser know early basic songs like ‘Custom Machine’ and ‘Salt Lake City’. The gorgeous harmonies, and solid lead from Brian, of ‘In My Room’ and the forceful ‘Sail On Sailor’ were the highlights of that first half. After the intermission, the second and encore truly lived up to the billing, but the real revelation was the four track section from recent album Lucky Old Sun that begun with ‘Midnight’s Another Day’. These tracks more than held their own and were very well received – to Brian’s obvious enjoyment. The rock’n'rolling encore had the place crackling with the sound of feet stomping on plastic beer glasses as the crowd reeled from being hit by wave upon wave of pop pheromones. Homage had been duly paid. Sorry Chesney, Brian is my one and only.

Setlist
Do It Again
Dance, Dance, Dance
Girl Don’t Tell Me
Then I Kissed Her (name check to recently departed Ellie Greenwich)
In My Room
Salt Lake City
Custom Machine
Soul Searchin’
Desert Drive
Please Let Me Wonder
Don’t Worry Baby
I Get Around
Sail On Sailor
Marcella
California Girls
—— Intermission ——
The Little Girl I Once Knew
Your Imagination
All Summer Long
Shut Down
Little Deuce Coup
Add Some Music
Do You Wanna Dance
Sloop John B
Wouldn’t It Be Nice
God Only Knows
Midnight’s Another Day
That Lucky Old Sun
Going Home
Southern California
Good Vibrations
—— First Encore ——
Surfer Girl
Johnny B Goode
Help me Rhonda
Barbara Ann
Surfin’ USA
Fun, Fun, Fun
—— Final Encore ——
Love and Mercy

Brian Wilson on MySpace
Brian Wilson’s Band on MySpace

Massive Attack – Brixton Academy, London 17/09/09

Daniel Offen — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 10:29:39 +0000

With the veteran Trip-Hop pioneers releasing new material this year, touring was always inevitable and highly anticipated, and after they announced a 3 date residency at the Brixton Academy in London I was keen to go and see them for the first time. As an immensely experienced and established act Massive Attack should always have put up a competent and enjoyable performance. What the Brixton Academy received on the 17th of September was definitely competent and in some stages enjoyable, but unfortunately it was far from excellent.

Don’t get me wrong, when Massive Attack wheeled out their old hits they certainly both got the crowd (of slightly drunk 30-somethings, I felt very young) going and were very impressive. With ‘Safe From Harm’ sounding as magical and impressive as it ever did, while ‘Unfinished Symphony’ held up the tail of the show with aplomb. These were to be the only two tracks from Massive Attack’s first album Blue Lines, a few Mezzaine and Protection hits held up the rest of the set list, ‘Angel’ provoking a very strong reception from the crown, although ‘Teardrop’ unfortunately fell rather flat. It could be said that the crowd were somewhat desperate for Massive Attack to simply play the songs that we all knew, but with as many as 4 new (and not particularly inspiring songs) littering the set, we enjoyed the performance but left with a definite feel it was not all it could have been.

Massive Attack were joined on stage by an impressive set of musicians, to help fill out their requirement for guest singers, the always wonderful Horace Andy appearing on stage, and an almost awe inspiring Deborah Miller (who was a perfect replacement for Shara Nelson). Damon Albarn (who has contributed to the recent Massive Attack material) even appeared on stage, but was a complete disappointment. Barely recognised by the crowd, his paltry contribution to new track ‘Saturday Come Slow’ was particularly uninspiring. The rest of the set was played competently as would be expected from such an experienced band, although Robert “3D” Del Naja and Grant Marshall have an annoying tendency to simply leave the stage when they are not required. This makes their entire performance seem professional (as I suppose there would be simply too many musicians on stage at times with them) but not particularly committed.

The use of lights and a screen behind the performers was however particularly well done and impressive. The screen seemed to be devoted to pushing forward the political message of Massive Attack songs. Showing quotes about freedom during Safe From Harm, and at one point a seemingly random collection of headlines such as Eddie Izzard Action Hero, followed by general headlines about how the UK government is curtailing freedom. It surpassed itself during ‘Marakesh’, showing a airport departures board of CIA extraordinary rendition flights. Whilst this display was impressive, in being so it was particularly distracting from the music which is after-all the main reason we had come to the gig.

Massive Attack were certainly far from bad, and it would be wrong to claim that they were. The audience did not seemingly go away disappointed, because at times Massive Attack were able to show us what a band they are capable of being. The new material may not be particularly awe-inspiring, and they may not have always struck completely home but the band are still enough of a musical force to keep an audience suitably entertained for two good hours.

Noah and The Whale – Manchester Academy 29/09/09

Holly Arrowsmith — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 10:06:48 +0000

At first when I walked into the Academy, 14-year-old sister in tow, I felt extremely old. The front row was full of teenage girls and their mums, probably there to hear ‘that song from last summer’. However, I was so giddy about watching Noah and the Whale that this paled into insignificance. First Days Of Spring is allegedly a concept album about the ending of singer Charlie Fink’s relationship with folk chanteuse Laura Marling, so I was pretty excited about how it was going to come across.

By the time the support act came on, the crowd had thankfully doubled in size and seemingly in age as well. Sean Rowe was excellent; beautiful, folksy Americana-infused guitar songs don’t come much better than from a man with a growly voice.

Noah and the Whale opened with the very safe ‘Give A Little Love’, followed by ‘Blue Skies’. When Charlie Fink sings, he looks as if he means every word that comes out of his mouth, and teamed with the backdrop music provided by the rest of the band, it basically sounded like perfection.

It’s obvious that Noah and the Whale have done a lot of growing up since their first album. Even a surprise rendition of happy-clappy ‘song from last summer’ ‘5 Years’ Time’ sounds as if it’s drenched in melancholy- but in a very good way. There were even a couple of moments when I found myself crying, much to the amusement of my sister. ‘Stranger’, hard enough to listen to at the best of times on record, took on whole new levels of ‘tearjerker’ when you could hear the croak in Fink’s voice as he sang “Because everything I love has gone away.”

Happy times came in the form of an extremely lively rendition of ‘Love Of An Orchestra’. When you listen to it through your headphones, it sounds a bit like a joke… live, it sounds both brilliant and hilarious all at once, and it was a fabulous aside from all the dour subject matter. ‘The hits’, for fans of old, included ‘Jocasta’ and ‘Shape of My Heart’, much to the joy of the little girls at the front.

All too soon it was going-home time, but not without an encore. ‘My Broken Heart’ was the perfect set closer in my opinion, even if half the audience didn’t know it. Now, Noah and the Whale aren’t a band famous for ‘rocking out’. Nay, you would imagine that their idea of said ‘rocking out’ would be to add an extra fiddle into a song or something. This song proves that to be a misconception, with one of the finest examples of wah-pedal style blues guitar that I have ever heard. And tonight, they made it extra fabulous by playing a special extended version. Everyone was left speechless as the lights came up, followed by many exclamations in the vein of “Bloody hell that was good!”

Darren Hayman and the Secondary Modern – Jericho Tavern, Oxford, 09/09/09

Andy Johnson — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 08:00:37 +0000

The day the Beatles remasters and Rock Band came out, I took my mind off the sorrow of not owning either by going to see Darren Hayman and the Secondary Modern at Oxford’s cosy Jericho Tavern. Having released his second album with the Secondary Modern, Pram Town, in January, the ex-Hefner man had plenty from that to play, as well as one or two more obscure Hefner tracks. All in all, it was a relaxed, intimate but fun evening, with a really interesting spread of intriguing bands – even though I can’t see the host host of bands thatd descending on the city in October, this was one show I was glad I was able to see.

The first support band was… a band I can’t remember the name of to save my life, and I can’t seem to find it on the web either, to my disgust. However, that’s not to say this band was itself unmemorable – far from it. A young folk/pop band with pleasant, childlike naive lyrics, they were chiefly driven by acoustic guitar. The two girls took charge of the singing duties in an endearingly slightly shy way, reinforcing the status of this as an incredibly nice performance. Sometimes the brass seemed a little extraneous, except for their last song which came to a wonderful climax and left everyone in the room excited for the main support. Some genuine potential on display.

Poppy and Friends were up next – with their rather unusual set up. The diminutive Poppy plays acoustic guitar and sings, while her two back-up gents play drums and… double bass. The treatment of that instrument alone was a big plus point – seeing it being lugged onto the Jericho’s tiny stage increased the anticipation, and the musicians amusing habit of slowing falling over with it as he played the end of one or two songs raised real smiles all around. Poppy herself is a real stage presence – she’s talkative and self-deprecating both in and out of her songs, which often poke fun at her own shortness as well as reference surreal fancy dress parties and “aliens” in baths. New single “Train Song” (released since the gig) was a highlight, Poppy relating a story of how she and her Friends had played the song – appropriately enough – on a train at Indietracks.

Everyone was thoroughly ready when Hayman and co swiftly turned up, the audience clamouring to get closer to the stage in this tiny venue. What really started the set off was a pleasant surprise – Hayman and his violinist played a two-song mini-set stood among the audience, strolling about casually as they played, before venturing up to the stage, at which point Hayman wielded his electric. Soon the whole band was in on it, playing Hayman’s witty, fun songs – like “Room to Grow” and “Amy and Rachel”, the latter about a musically mismatched school band. Between songs, Hayman cradled his heavily-personalised, Strummer-esque stickered guitar and kept the audience thoroughly engaged with his banter. The band members gave off an effortless aura of being deeply professional, especially Hayman’s violinist and banjo player, who were great fun to watch. The bassist looked like he was having a huge amount of fun, swaying as he played, and his enthusiasm was infectious.

This was a show that was characterised by the juxtaposition of three bands who complemented each other beautifully – all are worth tracking down to see live, such is the vibe you get from hearing them play in combination and as a trio. If Hayman was able to find local support as good as the band in Oxford for his other dates, it must have been a great tour.

Julie Doiron – The Luminaire, London 30/09/09

Adam Elmahdi — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 10:00:54 +0000

Photography: Anika Mottershaw

Another night, another great gig at Kilburn’s stellar Luminaire. First on tonight is London-based solo artiste Former Utopia, a gentleman blessed with an imposing baritone halfway between Bill Callahan and Absentee. His harsh, moody songwriting has its interestingly aggressive, discordant moments but too much of the set is devoted to mid-tempo output that meanders along pleasantly enough without leaving a lasting impression. Alas, poor Lazarus Clamp couldn’t even claim that. Having found themselves unexpectedly drummer-less, they struggled along manfully but not even decent violin arrangements could spark much life into their often monotonous balladry, though their unexpected venture into savage garage rock at the end was pretty amusing.

Much more arresting were Construction and Destruction, a charmingly lo-fi Canadian duo whose eclectic set flitted between genres with impressive élan. Commencing in a synthy Mates Of State vein, they soon shifted to more minimalist Fujiya and Miyagi territory complete with coquettishly continental vocals and buzzing guitar lines that’d do Ratatat proud. A turn towards generic indie-rock saw the set falter slightly, with Colleen Collins’ slight vocals lacking the power to match the more forceful guitar but even that couldn’t derail an intriguing and quietly engaging performance.

The night inarguably belonged to Julie Doiron, whose charismatic hour-long set could show many of Britain’s own singer-songwriters a trick or ten. Her versatile vocals are her greatest asset; although they’re often imbued with a naïve fragility somewhat akin to Chan Marshall, there’s also a steadfast confidence there that works well on the less delicate numbers. With nary an acoustic guitar to be seen, the show was definitely rockier than a fair-weather fan may expect although that’s not to say the show was devoid of subtlety – far from it. If anything, it was simple, effortlessly charming folk like “Nice To Come Home” where she was at her most mesmerising, although the harmony-heavy material from new project Daniel, Fred and Julie also impressed. A lively, vivacious character for all her nervous goofiness, she’s great fun to watch and and although her anecdotes were a tad surreal at times (dreams about babies morphing into lobsters called Christine Mactivity (?!)) they certainly fitted the pleasantly relaxed tone of the evening. True, a few more solo songs wouldn’t have gone amiss but there’s little to fault with a show that saw this Canadian songstress at the top of her game.

Invada Invasion (Mogwai, Zu, Crippled Black Phoenix) – Colston Hall, Bristol 26/09/09

Adam Elmahdi — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 13:00:57 +0000

Photo Credit: Steve @ Pit Pony

To celebrate the £20 million renovation of Bristol’s premier arts venue, Geoff Barrow of Portishead fame was asked to curate a suitable line-up of bands to inaugurate the event. Why they sanctioned so many bands who play at volumes that’d structurally endanger the most sturdy building is anyone’s guess, but at least it resulted in an excellent, if sometimes frustrating evening of EXCEPTIONAL LOUDNESS.

Thought Forms sent the tone nicely as their stately if derivative post-rock encompassed the foyer of the newly renovated hall; although they strictly adhered to the Explosions In The Sky approved soft-loud template, they were a much more palatable experience than the simply odd Team Brick. Curious if nothing else, his atonal choral-and-orchestra composition which seemed to be out-of-sync and devoid of anything approaching conventional melody was certainly “different,” although here I’d probably define “different” as “a bit shit.” One would think that the added extravagance of an orchestra would be a boon to Crippled Black Phoenix, whose music is usually as restrained as a Glenn Beck polemic but alas, it was not to be. Whilst their previous week’s London show rocked in every sense of the word, their scope and intensity seemed lost in the expanse of the Main Hall, coming across as a bit limp and self-indulgent. True, the last couple of songs were commendably epic (mainly because they actually used the orchestra in a non-stupid way) but there’s no denying this was a missed opportunity.

A cursory examination of Rome’s premier noise/free jazz/experimental metal combo Zu confirmed their just as blackly dense and unforgiving live as they are on record, but I soon departed their squalls of baritone sax and doom-y cacophonising for the more danceable delights of Zun Zun Egui. The oddly named three-piece first piqued my interest when an acquaintance described them as “tropical grunge” and indeed, that’s as good a description as any for this most idiosyncratic of bands (although personally I’d plump for “bhangra funk.”) Like a laid-back, less ear-piercing version of Ponytail, their left-field genre-mashing grooves provided a wonderful antidote to all the sledgehammer post-rock noise that otherwise dominated the event, which made it a damn shame the latter half of their set coincided with the start of headliners Mogwai. Needless to say, the Scottish post-rock veterans didn’t disappoint with a set played at such ridiculous volumes I’m sure I’ll never be able to hear certain frequencies again. Yes, most of their songs do sound the same- there’s only so much you can do with glacially-building guitar-centric crescendos but it’s delivered with such visceral force that it just doesn’t matter. The point is, if you can leave a show with a smile on your face even though you’ve just damaged your ears beyond redemption, I reckon it probably counts as a success.

TLOBF >> Gigs

[Photos] Japandroids – Camden Barfly, 30/10/09

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