Venue: The Stables, Wavendon, MK
Support: Dot Allison
Reviewer: MMT
Okay kids: Rock History 101. If you might not know who Peter Green is, I guess that’s fair enough – I only knew the half of it myself. His stitch in Rock’s Rich Tapestry™ has often come unravelled. But in a nutshell, the bald facts are:
1. He formed Fleetwood Mac in 1967. This version of “the Mac” were not the FM-radio friendly soft-rock band you probably know and maybe mistrust - Peter Green’s version were a full-on blues outfit who had such hits as “Black Magic Woman” and “Oh Well”, not to mention luxuriant instrumental “Albatross” which was the band’s only ever UK #1 single in any incarnation.
2. The more successful the band got internationally, the less he liked it – often threatening to turn them into a “charity band” who gave all their money away to more deserving causes. At this time he was also taking “large doses” of acid and wearing long flowing robes. In 1970 he left Fleetwood Mac.
3. His solo career dwindled to a standstill as the 70s went on. He dropped out of sight, working as a cemetery gardener and a hospital porter (among other things), sleeping on people’s floors and jamming in pubs. He was diagnosed with schizophrenia and underwent electro-convulsive shock therapy. In the early 80s Green was well enough to release a few more solo LPs, but in 1984 he “retired” again and sat about for the rest of the decade watching TV and attending a day care centre for the mentally ill.
4. In 1996 he played his first music for over a decade. Since then he’s been touring and recording on and off with a variety of low-key bands - under the radar in a way which he’s clearly far more comfortable with than the pressures of international rock stardom.
And that’s where we come in. Yes, it’s another fine instalment of: Matthew Goes To A Dadrock Gig At The Stables With His Dad.
First though, a male/female acoustic duo came on and did a short set of pleasant if unmemorable songs. I was left wishing they’d talk to the audience though – at least to tell us who they were! Remarkably, we discovered the next day it was Dot Allison, 40-year-old ex-singer in mid-90s dance-pop act One Dove! Man, she’s looking good for 40! I’d assumed it was a local young singer-songwriter. Having said that, you’d think by now she’d have learned a bit of stagecraft… How are you supposed to buy their CDs if they don’t tell you who they are?
Then the real deal. More than forty years on, Peter Green seems barely able to walk, talk, stand up while playing, or in any way interact with his band – but when he gets a guitar in his hands, he still knows what to do with it! Backed by a selection of more-than-competent musos, it feels like he gets through a 90+ minute set almost despite the odds. As you’d imagine, the bulk of the music is largely Dad/Trad blues-rock, but somehow his fascinating presence lifts it up to something more.
The rest of the band are solid if unspectacular. Geraint Watkins on keyboard/organ is the standout, you can tell he’s been around himself (he’s played with Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney and, er, Shakin’ Stevens among others). But “solid if unspectacular” is actually what they need to be – they are, after all, not the ‘star turn’ here. But it’s a peculiar vibe given that Peter Green himself isn’t willing or able to take centre stage - literally. Rhythm guitarist Mike Dodd fills that position (along with lead vocals on several tracks) and does all of the interaction with the crowd. He’s clearly trying his best – and you can almost feel the band looking out for Green (who’s on a stool off to one side) while they’re playing… making sure he knows where he is, that he’s still with them. And for the most part, he is.
It’s tempting to over-sentimentalise – to forego any criticism just for the very fact that Peter Green is still alive. And to the uninitiated he may look a little bit like a Pirate Henry VIII playing guitar. But I found it difficult to take my eyes off him nonetheless. Partly it’s the charisma of Living History, but partly too it’s the emotion in his playing. His voice is half-shot: at times a cracked whisper, a croak, a broken rumble. But it warmed up a few songs in and was largely fine. In fact, in the songs where Dodd took the lead with his perfectly standard blues/rock voice you somehow missed the damaged delivery of Green.
But it’s his guitar playing, while obviously not what it clearly once was – Eric Clapton once described him as “one of the best” ever and B B King said “he was the only one who gave me the cold sweats” – that’s worth the admission price alone*. Given the way he looks, how he moves, you just don’t imagine he’s able to play like he still does. I don’t know many of the songs, but most of them have a deadly cool bluesy solo in them, and Green still delivers pretty much all of them bang on. The standouts I guess are the ones I’m already familiar with – “Oh Well” is arranged into a welcome heavier number, and I find myself totally entranced by the gentle, forlorn “Albatross”.
The Stables audience, as you’d predict, is largely made up of fans old enough to remember Peter Green in his heyday. My Dad certainly remembers seeing him play a couple of times in the 60s – and I can only begin to imagine the comparison they’re able to make between the two Peter Greens. But even now, though his flickering star is burning ever fainter, it’s a star nonetheless. And there’s not many of those out here in the blackness of space. Far out.
* Well, my Dad paid for my ticket (cheers Dad!). But you know what I mean.
Tuesday, 9 March 2010
Sunday, 14 February 2010
The Further Adventures Of Vodka Boy ALBUM
“Three Drinks Ahead”: The Further Adventures Of Vodka Boy
Words by Phil Sky
It’s June 2008 and I’m sitting cross legged in the thick grass at the bottom of Beacon Point. It’s a lazy Sunday afternoon in the pale sunshine, a peaceful moment sitting with friends and a picnic, a light breeze rustling through the pond reeds. It’s also the first time I heard Thistledown, debuted here on Vodka Boy’s “Back to the Land” tour. It was one of those fragile moments when everything feels right in the world. At the end of the year the tour was immortalised with a live LP and Dill from the Dudebox wrote a glowing article on the band, but for me that performance of Thistledown was the highlight of it all. Perhaps it was the same for everyone there, maybe that’s why Thistledown became an instant fan favourite; between the broken hearts, the loneliness, the lies and the regrets, there’s always something to smile about, something beautiful.
Forty-five miles north of London, the big sprawl of Milton Keynes spreads out across the Buckinghamshire farmland; in the 1960 and 70’s three existing towns and fifteen villages were swallowed up to build our mutual hometown. Matthew Taylor used to play the Winter Gardens and other long-disappeared venues back in the early 90’s with pre-Britpop groundbreakers Rhythmic Noise Pollution and then toured with Sebastian Windsor who briefly got back together in 2009 but I sadly couldn’t make their only tour date. Martin Ibbotson also played in Sebastian Windsor and I played with them both in short lived super-band Stone Circle. From Wolverton to Bletchley, I’ve toured with The Further Adventures Of Vodka Boy countless times, joining them for the ups and the downs. It was in the Sunset Lounge in Newport Pagnell in February 2008 that I first heard Tell Her Lies, a slice of riotous Latin infused punk. It was the week after Diane came back from New Zealand and two weeks after me and Matthew recorded Space Punk Goddess with Nikki on vocals for our soon to be released double album. It was also in early 2008 that Grahame got a gig down at the Living Room in the Hub and we all tried to get in and support him but the bouncers on the door wouldn’t let us in on account of our footwear and we all grimly retired to Wetherspoons and vowed never to step foot in the Living Room. But things change, time heals all wounds and months and years can find you seeing things in perspective. Nearly two years later Vodka Boy were on the other side of the Living Room doors, performing their new regretsong.
In March 2007 I was playing bass in the now legendary Stone Circle with Matthew and Martin. We played the Zaks club in Wolverton before it burnt down and at the end of our set Dan angrily put his drumstick through his snare and the next day he was out of the band. Down to a three piece we rehearsed in the backroom of the house in Pennyland where Matthew and me recorded Sick Of Stickney and next to the room we recorded Don’t Let The Winter In a year later and where Stone Circle played both their first and last gigs. It was hear that we first played I Want You along with the other Stone Circle rarity Mavis and Silas. 2007 was also the year Facebook swept the nation and got a word check in Vodka Boy song Knee Deep In New Leaves. I particularly remember the song being played at the legendary Korfstock 2008, probably most remembered because it was followed up that evening with the Vicarage Party. We played songs under a canopy next to the face painting stall and Brian and Cathy came along.
Summer 2009 turned out to be the one, the long hot summer of love we’d all been waiting for. Matthew and Simon and Helen and Diane and Brian and Caroline and Grahame and Cathy and me all headed off to France. Back home, our stage at the Waterside Festival was the most successful yet. We played two gigs together at The Enigma Tavern; we took it in turns to headline. It was here that Vodka Boy played Me And The Heron for the first time. That summer it felt as if our waterways were being invaded by herons, I couldn’t remember ever having seen so many. It was at Furzton Lake that I bumped into Matthew’s brother Chris and we commented on the abundance of herons standing sentry, motionless at the waters edge.
At some point in 2008 it seemed that ace Seth Gordon documentary "King Of Kong" was being watched by everyone. I had to borrow Simon’s copy just to see what all the fuss was about. The documentary is also almost my only contact ever with the shadowy world of Donkey Kong. I remember the song bouncing along at Vodka Boy’s afternoon set at Waterside 2009. 2009 also saw the debut of a new Martin song in the band. There’s only a few Martin penned songs in Vodka Boy’s back catalogue, one of them famously being former Stone Circle rocker I’m So. But when I first heard Close My Eyes it was in the Living Room toward the end of last year during a particularly tumultuous time in my life. The lyrics could have been about dozens of things but during the song I found myself thinking of the people around me and how much harder life would be without them and I like to think maybe that’s what the song is about.
One of my best Vodka Boy memories is of seeing Dakota Steps performed live at the Vicarage Party in July 2008, seeing Matthew and Martin bathed in red light on the stage that Wayne built in the grounds of the old Vicarage. We’d both performed at Korfstock that day where Vodka Boy had performed two sets for some indifferent korfers but their performance at the Vicarage Party turned out to be one of their greatest triumphs. We all sat down on the grass to watch and found we were ironically sitting next to the same girls who’d run the face painting stall at Korfstock.
It was in July 2007 that Matthew first brought to our attention on his blog the mysterious stickers that began appearing on lamp-posts all over Milton Keynes with the slogan Your Sister Stayed Over. It was nearly a year before any of us had any idea of their origin.
At a recent gig at the Sno! Bar, James who used to drum with Sebastian Windsor joined Vodka Boy on stage with a beat box. I remember James’ wedding in 2007, Matthew got me into a conversation with a mate of his who’s also an avid reader of his blog and we soon got into a conversation about James’ stag do, a trip to Krakow that neither of us were at. But it was Matthew’s description of the fading summer sun setting behind the trees at Birkenau that lived with me the longest, finding beauty in such surroundings proving there is always something to smile about, something beautiful.
So what about the new album I’ve completely forgotten to review? It’s awesome! It’s a lo-fi masterpiece; great songs, great music. Check it out dudes! ;-)
Monday, 1 February 2010
Kids Picked Last ALBUM
“Rumours”: KIDS PICKED LAST
Reviewer: MMT
First of all, how exciting is it to be able to queue up in HMV and buy an album by one of your favourite local bands? “Yes, young man. I’ll take the Ladyhawke and Animal Collective albums from your “2 for £10” deal. And the slightly disappointing latest Muse album for a reasonable enough £5 too please. Oh, and while I’m here, I do believe I’ll pick up the new release by fantastic MK synth-rock combo Kids Picked Last, if you’d be so kind…” Sweet!
Monkey Kettle-watchers will be more than familiar with KPL by now – not only did they play at both the MonKeyVision Song Contest and the Monkey Kettle Stage @ The Waterside last year, but their anthem “Never Leave Me” also graces the wonderful “Monkey Kettle & Friends Vol. 2” compilation which has recently come among the world.
At their age though, twelve months is a looong time for a band, and while “Never Leave Me” and the accompanying “Death On The Trance Floor” EP were a chirpy punk-pop treat, this is an altogether harder-edged collection. Technically I suppose you’d call it a ‘mini-album’ – its eight tracks last a mere 23 (and a half!) minutes – but it’s long enough to see a definite progression has taken place.
Overall, the synths which seem to sometimes split opinion (but that're one of the major selling points for me!) are more integrated than on previous recordings – they’re part of the whole aural cake rather than being the generous top layer of sugary icing, if you’ll allow me the metaphor… And the rest of the sound is heavier, harder, more muscular. The Kids have beefed up! For the first time it’s obvious how good the choppy metal guitars are too. I’m pretty sure this maturing of their sound’ll give them wider appeal – as their impressive gig schedule for 2010 so far would seem to bear out!
Since the last EP there has also been a line-up change, seeing Toby step out from behind the drums and join Joel (“guitar & screams”) at the front, resulting in a new Linkin Park-style dual vocal scenario, one ‘soft’, one ‘hard’ as it were. This allows KPL 2.0 to be both intense and melodic at the same time, a neat trick if you can pull it off – such as on the chugging “Kite Flying” where one vocal is Auto-Tuned pop stylee and the other vocal seems to be gargled through a broken sink full of rusty water. Not to mention the exuberant crowd-chanting too – I bet that one is a killer live!
But despite the screaming and shouting, there are still pop sensibilities in the mix too. My favourite moments are still the ones where Ashley’s synth programming is to the fore: the short instrumentals “Intro”, “Rumours (reprise)” and especially the euphoric “Luced” help break up – or regulate at least – the intensity. The confident (and brilliantly-titled) “Fat People Are Harder To Kidnap” stands out: the chunky thud of the bass & geetars complemented well by the ravey electronics and the genuinely constructed tune. “To Infinity And Beyond” is good too – as close as they get to an epic ballad. And “Pirateze” is probably my favourite track, the lyrics finally intriguing, the vocals cracking with emotion and the synths (again) colouring everything fabulously sour. There’s a great bit of weird guitar / keyboard meshing together in the middle section and outro too.
Kids Picked Last are still not the finished article, as I’m sure they would admit themselves. But with “Rumours” they’ve moved another big step closer (“One Step Closer”?) – and it’s great fun watching them evolve. Right now there’s a “blipcore” remix of “Kite Flying” on their MySpace which makes me grin like a goon. How many MK guitar bands would try something like that? Not many. Skillz.
Sunday, 10 January 2010
Dudebox "Track Of The Autumn / Christmas"
Reviewers: Brian, Grahame, Matthew, Phil
Happy New Year, Dudebox fans! We’re kicking Twenty Ten off with a gigantic beast as we reveal the long-awaited latest Dudebox Track Of The Season: for the Autumny / Festive period that was Late 2009 – but this time with the added bonus that we attempted to review a bunch of MK MySpace tracks as a communal foursome!
Phil and I decided we’d like another (perhaps less overtly enthusiastic-about-everything!) voice, so we asked Brian along to temper us – and he arrived hotfoot from the pub with Grahame in tow too! As it turned out, we couldn’t use a lot of the stuff Grahame said – he’s clearly the Simon Cowell of our panel, keen on good production, accomplished musicianship, drum machines being in time etc etc. – but it was a splendid experience nonetheless, with plenty of cups of tea and much raucous laughter. And despite plenty of arguments over such subjects as how long “potential” can last before something more needs to be delivered – and loads on what constitutes “generic”, we even almost managed to come to a consensus. Plus Phil got in his now-obligatory mention of the Smashing Pumpkins. So we’re all good.
As always, thanks to the bands – almost exclusively they haven’t asked us to review their work, we’ve just done so by picking stuff almost at random off of their MySpaces. And our main aim really is just to try and bring you something new you might love. Why not try it yourself at home? The MK Music Scene – dive in!
“Sex For Cigarettes”: TOMBSTONE BULLETS
[[70s Hard Rock coming atcha from MOST of the members of MonKeyVision winners Harassing Anna]]
Grahame: “They’re playing something that really appeals to me.”
Phil: “What I like about them is they sound really noisy and really loud. The guitar sounds loud.”
Matthew: “Did you like them at the Waterside when they played [on the Monkey Kettle stage]?”
Phil: “I did. I would say I dug them. It’s interesting to compare them to Harassing Anna.”
Grahame: “They’re very very good. All of them are incredibly good instrumental players. They’ve got a really good pop sensibility.”
Brian: “It’s good, it’s accomplished, but I listen to that and I think ‘I’ve heard that all my life’”. But I’ve seen them play live, and they’re full of energy, they can really entertain a crowd.”
Matthew: “Playing Devil’s Advocate though, is there a sense that Harassing Anna are the ‘real band’ and Tombstone Bullets are them ‘having fun’? I’d be interested to know what they think.”
“Get It / M.I.A. / Used To Be (samplers)”: LIONSEX
[[Self-professed “balls-out” rockers, one of Brian’s total favourite local bands]]
Brian: “They’ve got energy, they’ve got a different look… They’re not scared to be different. They actually try and live it. They’re scuzzy Eighties throwbacks and they love their rock n’ roll. They’re very good value for money live, they know how to work a crowd. The lead singer’s got a great voice.”
Phil: “I think they’re alright. Sounds good, but it’s not really… I was never really into that anyway. I quite like the fake name thing. They’re doing their thing.”
Grahame: “They’re very tight, they’re very accomplished. I like the design of their MySpace. They’ve actually personalised it really well. Very slick.”
Matthew: “Compared to Tombstone Bullets, musically they’re doing similar things from slightly different eras - but with a different image too, I guess. They were one of the only bands at MonKeyVision that brought their own t-shirts as well, weren’t they? Which is pretty cool.”
Brian: “I own a Lionsex t-shirt, and I wear it with pride. [NB – no pun intended, we checked!] I think I’m a bona fide fan now. I reckon I’ll go and see them on a regular basis.”
“Saving Grace”: THE BITTER SUITE
[[Dark electro-pop duo who you could almost class as local music “veterans” now, having formed in 2004.]]
Matthew: “I really liked it. I’d like to go and see them play live.”
Phil: “The first time I saw them, I was drawn to the Waterside stage three years ago on account of they were playing a Smashing Pumpkins cover. The second time I saw them in Bedford – both times as a five-piece. Cure-y, Depeche Mode-y. I like it a lot.”
Brian: “It’s very much “These Guys Wear Black”. It’s not a comfortable type of music for me.”
Grahame: “You can tell they’ve been going a while, the calibre of the actual song itself is really good. I like the sound of his voice.”
“Crystals”: THE MACHINIST
[[Hard-edged prog metal six-piece still in their early days of writing and recording. In fact I think this may even be an unfinished instrumental track, so it’s probably unfair to review it at this stage. And here goes...]]
Grahame: “Musically it’s not that appealing to me. It’s played perfectly, it’s all in tune, it’s all very very well done, really nice quality recording as well, but for me… lacked the through line of a vocal.”
Brian: “They’ve got a sound, and they’ve got it down pat.”
Phil: “It’s more a tank than a sports car.”
Brian: “I think they’re going along the right lines. They need a vocalist.” [NB – they do actually have one now]
Matthew: “What I’m really keen on, we’ve been waiting a long time to see them live, and I would like to see that.”
Phil: “The influence of Tool is massive. It’s slow… but that’s the idea. I think these guys could get really really good.”
[this section of the review descends into jokes about massive tools. Sigh.]
“The Seas / Vermillion” : BOBBY WOTNOT
[[Experienced producer of electronica as featured on National Radio!… not to mention a bona fide visual artist in his own right and of course mates with Jimi Volcano]]
Phil: “Perhaps it’s not really my thing. It feels very mathematical.”
Brian: “They’re very structured tracks… very… what’s the word?”
Grahame: “A bit of a feel of Bristol… trip-hop stuff. I don’t think it’s any of our kind of music. But I would listen to that, if someone played it in a club I’d dance for a while.”
Phil: “I think it would go well as a film soundtrack sort of thing.”
Matthew: “I like it. They’re still songs, every bit as much as the other bands. In fact, there’s more variety here than with many guitar acts. Different sounds, different vibes. Works for me.”
“Limosine”: SOCIAL RESIN
[[Kinda funky acoustic three-piece who describe themselves as “Like Engine Oil For Your Eardrums”]]
Phil: “It’s the sort of thing that goes down very well in pubs.”
Matthew: “It’s not really my sort of thing.”
Grahame: “There’s not enough of bands doing this sort of thing. I know it’s quite poppy, but I mean… I like that. They’re going for quite a soulful sort of sound there.”
“KyteFlying (GoiaGoia SuperRemix)”: KIDS PICKED LAST
[[Exuberant blipcore remix from Matthew’s favourite local punk-pop laser-toting scamps. Brian has to have “blipcore” explained to him]]
Brian: “I was a champion at Tetris when I was in my early twenties at university, and I feel like I’m on Level 17.”
Matthew: “Look… that’s a photo of their album in HMV!”
Grahame: “They’re playing with sound, which is good, because they’re experimenting… I don’t think they’re ‘There’ yet. They might well get ‘There’, because they seem quite confident to explore like, different combinations of sounds and timings.”
Phil: “The first time I saw them I was really drunk and did really dig the synth…”
Matthew: “They were one of the most exciting things I’d ever seen!”
Phil: “I like the idea, but I’m not quite as keen on the reality. Having said that, the song we just heard I loved. I just couldn’t help smiling all the way through it. This is not just great, but genius.”
“Sonny Boy”: PROJECT WOLVERINE
[[More new work by prolific young Monkey Kettle fave Project W – this time just piano & vocals]]
Grahame: “I like that. It’s a really nice sweet little folky love song.”
Brian: “I’ve always been a person who’s enjoyed loud cranking guitars rather than voices… However, this guy’s thinking about the world around him, and he’s asking you to look at the world around him with him, through his eyes. And there’s not enough of that going on, so all power to his elbow.”
Matthew: “I love him for his lyrics. This song is beautiful.”
Phil: “It’s all about his lyrics. I think it’s a great song. Good stuff.”
Brian: “He’s got… he’s got something coming out of him.”
[predictable dissolution into childish laughter again]
RUNNER UP DUDEBOX TRACK OF THE SEASON
“Rebound”: FINAL CLEARANCE
[[A rare”traditional indie” local band in amongst the metal and the teen-punks, and all the better for it]]
Brian: “From that song, they’ve got a very catchy style, um… they hooked me and they had my foot tapping.”
Phil: “While I hear their influences too, I don’t mind, because I like the bands they’re influenced by. These guys don’t smile in their photos – and I know that indie bands never do smile in their photos, but um… I think it could be something they could start doing? This song pushes my buttons.”
Matthew: “It’s much more my sort of thing. I would like to see them live.”
[checks gig list on MySpace]
DUDEBOX TRACK OF THE SEASON
“Infected Lights”: 1000 HERTZ
[[Popular MK hardcore chaps, reviewed in Kerrang and everything - about to release their second album!]]
Matthew: “I like the screaming-stroke-melody of it, I liked the melody in the chorus. They’re confident in their playing. If I saw them live I would probably be quite scared… and stand near the side. But it makes me move around.”
Grahame: “Er… yeah – it was good, it was polished, it was tight, it was all those other sort of generic blank shit words you use… they’ve ticked the most boxes in terms of what I would say is good.”
Phil: “Strong drums, strong guitars. They’ve avoided all the pitfalls, really. Other bands fall in the trap of hair metal solos. It’s a great song.”
Grahame: “Confident is about right. A well put-together song.”
Brian: “I tell you what, there is something to that. There’s an awful lot of cleverness behind it, the musicians are very very tight. They’re thinkin’ about the music, I really like that. I can see me playing that in my car first thing in the morning as I was driving out of my driveway. And that’s actually a very important decision for me in my life.”
Happy New Year, Dudebox fans! We’re kicking Twenty Ten off with a gigantic beast as we reveal the long-awaited latest Dudebox Track Of The Season: for the Autumny / Festive period that was Late 2009 – but this time with the added bonus that we attempted to review a bunch of MK MySpace tracks as a communal foursome!
Phil and I decided we’d like another (perhaps less overtly enthusiastic-about-everything!) voice, so we asked Brian along to temper us – and he arrived hotfoot from the pub with Grahame in tow too! As it turned out, we couldn’t use a lot of the stuff Grahame said – he’s clearly the Simon Cowell of our panel, keen on good production, accomplished musicianship, drum machines being in time etc etc. – but it was a splendid experience nonetheless, with plenty of cups of tea and much raucous laughter. And despite plenty of arguments over such subjects as how long “potential” can last before something more needs to be delivered – and loads on what constitutes “generic”, we even almost managed to come to a consensus. Plus Phil got in his now-obligatory mention of the Smashing Pumpkins. So we’re all good.
As always, thanks to the bands – almost exclusively they haven’t asked us to review their work, we’ve just done so by picking stuff almost at random off of their MySpaces. And our main aim really is just to try and bring you something new you might love. Why not try it yourself at home? The MK Music Scene – dive in!
“Sex For Cigarettes”: TOMBSTONE BULLETS
[[70s Hard Rock coming atcha from MOST of the members of MonKeyVision winners Harassing Anna]]
Grahame: “They’re playing something that really appeals to me.”
Phil: “What I like about them is they sound really noisy and really loud. The guitar sounds loud.”
Matthew: “Did you like them at the Waterside when they played [on the Monkey Kettle stage]?”
Phil: “I did. I would say I dug them. It’s interesting to compare them to Harassing Anna.”
Grahame: “They’re very very good. All of them are incredibly good instrumental players. They’ve got a really good pop sensibility.”
Brian: “It’s good, it’s accomplished, but I listen to that and I think ‘I’ve heard that all my life’”. But I’ve seen them play live, and they’re full of energy, they can really entertain a crowd.”
Matthew: “Playing Devil’s Advocate though, is there a sense that Harassing Anna are the ‘real band’ and Tombstone Bullets are them ‘having fun’? I’d be interested to know what they think.”
“Get It / M.I.A. / Used To Be (samplers)”: LIONSEX
[[Self-professed “balls-out” rockers, one of Brian’s total favourite local bands]]
Brian: “They’ve got energy, they’ve got a different look… They’re not scared to be different. They actually try and live it. They’re scuzzy Eighties throwbacks and they love their rock n’ roll. They’re very good value for money live, they know how to work a crowd. The lead singer’s got a great voice.”
Phil: “I think they’re alright. Sounds good, but it’s not really… I was never really into that anyway. I quite like the fake name thing. They’re doing their thing.”
Grahame: “They’re very tight, they’re very accomplished. I like the design of their MySpace. They’ve actually personalised it really well. Very slick.”
Matthew: “Compared to Tombstone Bullets, musically they’re doing similar things from slightly different eras - but with a different image too, I guess. They were one of the only bands at MonKeyVision that brought their own t-shirts as well, weren’t they? Which is pretty cool.”
Brian: “I own a Lionsex t-shirt, and I wear it with pride. [NB – no pun intended, we checked!] I think I’m a bona fide fan now. I reckon I’ll go and see them on a regular basis.”
“Saving Grace”: THE BITTER SUITE
[[Dark electro-pop duo who you could almost class as local music “veterans” now, having formed in 2004.]]
Matthew: “I really liked it. I’d like to go and see them play live.”
Phil: “The first time I saw them, I was drawn to the Waterside stage three years ago on account of they were playing a Smashing Pumpkins cover. The second time I saw them in Bedford – both times as a five-piece. Cure-y, Depeche Mode-y. I like it a lot.”
Brian: “It’s very much “These Guys Wear Black”. It’s not a comfortable type of music for me.”
Grahame: “You can tell they’ve been going a while, the calibre of the actual song itself is really good. I like the sound of his voice.”
“Crystals”: THE MACHINIST
[[Hard-edged prog metal six-piece still in their early days of writing and recording. In fact I think this may even be an unfinished instrumental track, so it’s probably unfair to review it at this stage. And here goes...]]
Grahame: “Musically it’s not that appealing to me. It’s played perfectly, it’s all in tune, it’s all very very well done, really nice quality recording as well, but for me… lacked the through line of a vocal.”
Brian: “They’ve got a sound, and they’ve got it down pat.”
Phil: “It’s more a tank than a sports car.”
Brian: “I think they’re going along the right lines. They need a vocalist.” [NB – they do actually have one now]
Matthew: “What I’m really keen on, we’ve been waiting a long time to see them live, and I would like to see that.”
Phil: “The influence of Tool is massive. It’s slow… but that’s the idea. I think these guys could get really really good.”
[this section of the review descends into jokes about massive tools. Sigh.]
“The Seas / Vermillion” : BOBBY WOTNOT
[[Experienced producer of electronica as featured on National Radio!… not to mention a bona fide visual artist in his own right and of course mates with Jimi Volcano]]
Phil: “Perhaps it’s not really my thing. It feels very mathematical.”
Brian: “They’re very structured tracks… very… what’s the word?”
Grahame: “A bit of a feel of Bristol… trip-hop stuff. I don’t think it’s any of our kind of music. But I would listen to that, if someone played it in a club I’d dance for a while.”
Phil: “I think it would go well as a film soundtrack sort of thing.”
Matthew: “I like it. They’re still songs, every bit as much as the other bands. In fact, there’s more variety here than with many guitar acts. Different sounds, different vibes. Works for me.”
“Limosine”: SOCIAL RESIN
[[Kinda funky acoustic three-piece who describe themselves as “Like Engine Oil For Your Eardrums”]]
Phil: “It’s the sort of thing that goes down very well in pubs.”
Matthew: “It’s not really my sort of thing.”
Grahame: “There’s not enough of bands doing this sort of thing. I know it’s quite poppy, but I mean… I like that. They’re going for quite a soulful sort of sound there.”
“KyteFlying (GoiaGoia SuperRemix)”: KIDS PICKED LAST
[[Exuberant blipcore remix from Matthew’s favourite local punk-pop laser-toting scamps. Brian has to have “blipcore” explained to him]]
Brian: “I was a champion at Tetris when I was in my early twenties at university, and I feel like I’m on Level 17.”
Matthew: “Look… that’s a photo of their album in HMV!”
Grahame: “They’re playing with sound, which is good, because they’re experimenting… I don’t think they’re ‘There’ yet. They might well get ‘There’, because they seem quite confident to explore like, different combinations of sounds and timings.”
Phil: “The first time I saw them I was really drunk and did really dig the synth…”
Matthew: “They were one of the most exciting things I’d ever seen!”
Phil: “I like the idea, but I’m not quite as keen on the reality. Having said that, the song we just heard I loved. I just couldn’t help smiling all the way through it. This is not just great, but genius.”
“Sonny Boy”: PROJECT WOLVERINE
[[More new work by prolific young Monkey Kettle fave Project W – this time just piano & vocals]]
Grahame: “I like that. It’s a really nice sweet little folky love song.”
Brian: “I’ve always been a person who’s enjoyed loud cranking guitars rather than voices… However, this guy’s thinking about the world around him, and he’s asking you to look at the world around him with him, through his eyes. And there’s not enough of that going on, so all power to his elbow.”
Matthew: “I love him for his lyrics. This song is beautiful.”
Phil: “It’s all about his lyrics. I think it’s a great song. Good stuff.”
Brian: “He’s got… he’s got something coming out of him.”
[predictable dissolution into childish laughter again]
RUNNER UP DUDEBOX TRACK OF THE SEASON
“Rebound”: FINAL CLEARANCE
[[A rare”traditional indie” local band in amongst the metal and the teen-punks, and all the better for it]]
Brian: “From that song, they’ve got a very catchy style, um… they hooked me and they had my foot tapping.”
Phil: “While I hear their influences too, I don’t mind, because I like the bands they’re influenced by. These guys don’t smile in their photos – and I know that indie bands never do smile in their photos, but um… I think it could be something they could start doing? This song pushes my buttons.”
Matthew: “It’s much more my sort of thing. I would like to see them live.”
[checks gig list on MySpace]
DUDEBOX TRACK OF THE SEASON
“Infected Lights”: 1000 HERTZ
[[Popular MK hardcore chaps, reviewed in Kerrang and everything - about to release their second album!]]
Matthew: “I like the screaming-stroke-melody of it, I liked the melody in the chorus. They’re confident in their playing. If I saw them live I would probably be quite scared… and stand near the side. But it makes me move around.”
Grahame: “Er… yeah – it was good, it was polished, it was tight, it was all those other sort of generic blank shit words you use… they’ve ticked the most boxes in terms of what I would say is good.”
Phil: “Strong drums, strong guitars. They’ve avoided all the pitfalls, really. Other bands fall in the trap of hair metal solos. It’s a great song.”
Grahame: “Confident is about right. A well put-together song.”
Brian: “I tell you what, there is something to that. There’s an awful lot of cleverness behind it, the musicians are very very tight. They’re thinkin’ about the music, I really like that. I can see me playing that in my car first thing in the morning as I was driving out of my driveway. And that’s actually a very important decision for me in my life.”
Thursday, 26 November 2009
"The Noise Made By People": Broadcast
(SONGS FROM UNDER MY BED – Lost Classics Rediscovered)
by MMT.
#3 – “The Noise Made By People” : BROADCAST (2000)
“The Noise Made By People” was Birmingham-based Broadcast's debut, released in 2000 on the excellent indie/electronica label Warp. It didn’t even scratch the charts (there’s still relatively little about them on the internet, even now), but it did well enough critically to cement them a place in the cool fringes of Noughties alternative. I think I heard the beautiful “Papercuts” on John Peel about a year or so later, and it captivated me enough to track down the mother album – and it has stayed with me ever since, a true Lost Classic.
I was trying to think of a way of describing the whole atmosphere of the album – and absolutely truthfully I swear to God had grasped the term “Retro-Futurist” out of the air before moments later seeing the same phrase used on their Wikipedia entry! You kinda know what I (and Wikipedia!) mean by that I'm sure. It’s that envisioning from the viewpoint of the past as to what the future would be / could be / will be like. Stereolab were another excellent band who pulled off a similar sound, though never as catchily – and again the comparison is on the Wikipedia entry, I notice after making it myself! Perhaps I should read the whole Wikipedia entry before writing any more…
(does so)
Well… apparently Broadcast often use “amorphous samples” and um, “analogue dissonance” to create their “retro-futuristic sci-fi edge”. Hmm. I don’t know much about analogue dissonance, but I know what I like.
Let me try and do it in my own words, then. The crystal clarity of the vocals. That melancholic air, gazing out at both yesterday and tomorrow with equally sad and tired eyes. You can tell they listened to a lot of French Pop and movie soundtracks while they were recording it. I’m sure there’s some kind of musicology behind the chord progressions that explains how the album sounds… Though I don’t know for sure, I’ll bet a lot of them are minors.
There’s 12 tracks: opener “Long Was The Year” sets out the stall with a cold vocal from singer Trish Keenan - Broadcast’s secret weapon - laid over chiming piano and a mildly industrial set of clanks and whooshes. “Unchanging Window” is warmer – but still chilly, the Gallic influence is clearly present. “Minus One” is a bleakly regimented instrumental which feels unsettling somehow.
Then, perversely, the poppiest moment of the album arrives, with second single “Come On Let’s Go” which sounds a bit like Saint Etienne swirling down Carnaby Street in The Sixties of an alternative universe where sexy lady robots rule the world from a pod above Swingin’ London. The other single, “Echo’s Answer” lays Keenan’s deadpan vocals over an atmospheric mass of droning whirrs and glitchy strings and would surely never even be considered single-worthy by a less adventurous band. “Tower Of Our Tuning” is another instrumental, but more optimistic – deep-set percussive echoes with relentless slightly discordant music hidden way down somewhere else in the mix.
I often think a lot of great albums have a ‘centre’ though, and “The Noise Made By People”’s is just inside the second half. “Papercuts”, the song that drew me in originally is still superb – a bleeping off-kilter Sixties pop song which swoops and soars. And “You Can Fall”, which turned up on the brilliant ‘Morvern Callar’ soundtrack album (famously better than the intriguingly awkward film!) and re-invigorated my love for these songs a couple of years later on is defiantly defeatist – the vocals chiming with robotic effects, the music played by slowly dying machines. Man, I dig it.
After that, “Look Outside” is almost a change of mood into laidback retro lounge music, Keenan’s vocals approaching cheerful for a change… though further listens reveal a host of clicks and clacks under the powerful drums which hint at something more sinister. “Until Then” moves at a weary pace, backed by queasy whistles and broken electrics. “City In Progress” is akin to early 70s electro-prog like the ace Curved Air, and final track “Dead The Long Year” is a circling trip-hop groove topped with some kind of feedback and scratchy electric guitar which abruptly caves in to form a sinister ambient pulse.
I think ultimately what I love about this album is the pitch-perfect marriage between the glitch-tronica dabbled in by many of Broadcast’s label-mates on Warp (Squarepusher, Aphex Twin etc) and the ice-cool Sixties Pop vibe of much of the vocals and lyrics. There’s very few things I’ve ever heard like this. And at the end of the day, that’s what you want, innit. Groovy.
LINKS
Official website, intermittently updated
The video to Come On Let’s Go
The video to the fantastic Papercuts
by MMT.
#3 – “The Noise Made By People” : BROADCAST (2000)
“The Noise Made By People” was Birmingham-based Broadcast's debut, released in 2000 on the excellent indie/electronica label Warp. It didn’t even scratch the charts (there’s still relatively little about them on the internet, even now), but it did well enough critically to cement them a place in the cool fringes of Noughties alternative. I think I heard the beautiful “Papercuts” on John Peel about a year or so later, and it captivated me enough to track down the mother album – and it has stayed with me ever since, a true Lost Classic.
I was trying to think of a way of describing the whole atmosphere of the album – and absolutely truthfully I swear to God had grasped the term “Retro-Futurist” out of the air before moments later seeing the same phrase used on their Wikipedia entry! You kinda know what I (and Wikipedia!) mean by that I'm sure. It’s that envisioning from the viewpoint of the past as to what the future would be / could be / will be like. Stereolab were another excellent band who pulled off a similar sound, though never as catchily – and again the comparison is on the Wikipedia entry, I notice after making it myself! Perhaps I should read the whole Wikipedia entry before writing any more…
(does so)
Well… apparently Broadcast often use “amorphous samples” and um, “analogue dissonance” to create their “retro-futuristic sci-fi edge”. Hmm. I don’t know much about analogue dissonance, but I know what I like.
Let me try and do it in my own words, then. The crystal clarity of the vocals. That melancholic air, gazing out at both yesterday and tomorrow with equally sad and tired eyes. You can tell they listened to a lot of French Pop and movie soundtracks while they were recording it. I’m sure there’s some kind of musicology behind the chord progressions that explains how the album sounds… Though I don’t know for sure, I’ll bet a lot of them are minors.
There’s 12 tracks: opener “Long Was The Year” sets out the stall with a cold vocal from singer Trish Keenan - Broadcast’s secret weapon - laid over chiming piano and a mildly industrial set of clanks and whooshes. “Unchanging Window” is warmer – but still chilly, the Gallic influence is clearly present. “Minus One” is a bleakly regimented instrumental which feels unsettling somehow.
Then, perversely, the poppiest moment of the album arrives, with second single “Come On Let’s Go” which sounds a bit like Saint Etienne swirling down Carnaby Street in The Sixties of an alternative universe where sexy lady robots rule the world from a pod above Swingin’ London. The other single, “Echo’s Answer” lays Keenan’s deadpan vocals over an atmospheric mass of droning whirrs and glitchy strings and would surely never even be considered single-worthy by a less adventurous band. “Tower Of Our Tuning” is another instrumental, but more optimistic – deep-set percussive echoes with relentless slightly discordant music hidden way down somewhere else in the mix.
I often think a lot of great albums have a ‘centre’ though, and “The Noise Made By People”’s is just inside the second half. “Papercuts”, the song that drew me in originally is still superb – a bleeping off-kilter Sixties pop song which swoops and soars. And “You Can Fall”, which turned up on the brilliant ‘Morvern Callar’ soundtrack album (famously better than the intriguingly awkward film!) and re-invigorated my love for these songs a couple of years later on is defiantly defeatist – the vocals chiming with robotic effects, the music played by slowly dying machines. Man, I dig it.
After that, “Look Outside” is almost a change of mood into laidback retro lounge music, Keenan’s vocals approaching cheerful for a change… though further listens reveal a host of clicks and clacks under the powerful drums which hint at something more sinister. “Until Then” moves at a weary pace, backed by queasy whistles and broken electrics. “City In Progress” is akin to early 70s electro-prog like the ace Curved Air, and final track “Dead The Long Year” is a circling trip-hop groove topped with some kind of feedback and scratchy electric guitar which abruptly caves in to form a sinister ambient pulse.
I think ultimately what I love about this album is the pitch-perfect marriage between the glitch-tronica dabbled in by many of Broadcast’s label-mates on Warp (Squarepusher, Aphex Twin etc) and the ice-cool Sixties Pop vibe of much of the vocals and lyrics. There’s very few things I’ve ever heard like this. And at the end of the day, that’s what you want, innit. Groovy.
LINKS
Official website, intermittently updated
The video to Come On Let’s Go
The video to the fantastic Papercuts
Tuesday, 10 November 2009
Project Wolverine / Felix ALBUMS
I’m extremely biased, of course, but I think it’s been an absolutely magnificent year for music in Milton Keynes. The always-healthy Rock n’ Metal scene has provided the sturdy bassline as ever, but there’s plenty of other stuff going on right now too – the rise of the Craufurd Arms as a national venue; a Hip-Hop presence that we’re definitely vaguely aware of; certainly the extremely wide variety of ace bands we came across through the MonKeyVision Song Contest – and also the rise of what I’m going to call the New Acoustic Generation, curated by the brilliant open mics in Newport, Wolverton and now in CMK!
So what better way to tip the salute to this superlative year than by reviewing hot new albums by two of our very favourite MK-related acts? – namely rising local singer-songwriter Project Wolverine and rising national stars Felix (one half of whom hails from these parts originally and featured in the classic MK band The Holistic Cleansing Quintet who we saw at The Pitz on more than one occasion back in’t day!). Grand!
First up Project Wolverine, who we were lucky enough to have play a set for us at the most recent Vodka Boy @ The Enigma Tavern gig in September. His new full-length demo album “Life, Love, Loss & Politics” can be picked up for £3 – contact him through his MySpace if you’re interested.
He describes himself on his MySpace as “Bargin Bucket Billy Bragg”, and you can definitely hear that influence, as well as regular touches of a thrashy acoustic Jamie T bounce – his accent is present throughout, though that’s not to say he can’t sing too, cos he can. Bragg’s present too in his subject matter - you certainly don’t hear many young singers penning attacks on the Daily Mail and Rupert Murdoch’s press empire in 2009. But considering his tender years this kind of lyrical and thematic maturity is impressive.
The production is clear and sounds “live” (you can even just about hear some other band playing way down in the mix and a long way in the distance on one or two songs!) – as befits songs which are mostly one voice one guitar, or one voice one piano. There’s an ear-catching guest vocal appearance from Philippa Moyle on “Same Old Game”, her soaring theatrics counter-pointing PW’s gruffer edge to great effect.
For me though, it’s the lyrics that do it. Like a younger Brit-cousin of the fantastic Bright Eyes, you get the sense of a real person behind the songs, that they’re acoustical snapshots of a real life being lived – the rueful “Tame”, the ramshackle busk of “Chance Encounter”, and Official Dudebox Track Of The Summer “Cold Baked Beans” the best examples of this (“It’s £3.20 to get into town… you get there and realise no-one’s around…”). And how could I not love the mournful piano track “Murder Ballad” which seems to literally be a song based on one of my favourite albums of all time?
There’s even a hint at future directions - a possible wider sound - on “Critical Stage” when an electric guitar gives a fittingly emotional backdrop to the dark urgency of the protest song underneath. And the album closes with stand-out track “The Mis-Informed”, which is genuinely touching – gentle but with a steely resolve.
So – a new voice definitely worth listening to. Plus, eleven tracks for just three quid? Where’s the catch? Get involved. And watch out for him on the local circuit too…
Meanwhile in the wider world the debut album from the wonderful Felix is finally out – and on a record label based in Chicago no less! Local girl done extremely good Lucinda should be incredibly proud of herself: “You Are The One I Pick” is not only the best thing I’ve ever heard from a musician outta MK, it’s one of the best albums I’ve heard this year by anyone. So I’ll try and review it without being too gushing. Hopefully.
To be entirely honest, it is musically right up my alley anyway – laid-back intimately recorded girl vox, dramatic yet minimalist orchestration (w/ plenty of cellos and crystalline pianos), and topped off with a light sprinkling of thump-drummy drone-rock. Yes please! And all the tracks kind of flow into each other cinematically, and it swims in effortless cool. At times it even aches with some sort of calm, sad acceptance. Simply beautiful.
It’s almost tricky to pick out favourite tracks, the whole album has a very evocative sound as a whole. But “What I Learned From TV” feels just a wee bit more intimate, more wistful – and is then followed up with Dudebox Track Of The Winter “Back In Style” with its shuffling beats and oblique Twin Peaks references. So that’s definitely a high point in this already lofty plateau.
And the intertwining of Lucinda’s vocal tracks on “Bernard St” is just lovely – the closest Felix come to some kind of mainstream sound maybe, though it’d never sit quite right there. It’s too sinister somehow. Well, not quite sinister p'raps, but something to do with the weirdness of the mundane… what’s really going on behind those nice curtains in that house down your street. And that’s brilliant. It’s not easy to create this effect well, but Felix have absolutely nailed it.
Repeated listens to the album bring the lyrics out from the mix more and more, and with them this uneasy sense of the oddness of normality hangs over proceedings. The bleak side of childhood naivety. So “Ode To The Marlboro Man” becomes a nursery rhyme sung in a round about running away with a cowboy. “I Wish I Was A Pony” becomes far darker than the gently sad little song it at first appeared. And I’m still not sure after five listens, but I think in final track “Song About Zoo” they might even kill their children and escape together from their drab lives. Outstanding.
So. Proof of just what can be achieved from this humble platform, this brilliant city. Let’s see what all you other bands have got. This is the bar, up here. You can do it. Here comes 2010.
So what better way to tip the salute to this superlative year than by reviewing hot new albums by two of our very favourite MK-related acts? – namely rising local singer-songwriter Project Wolverine and rising national stars Felix (one half of whom hails from these parts originally and featured in the classic MK band The Holistic Cleansing Quintet who we saw at The Pitz on more than one occasion back in’t day!). Grand!
First up Project Wolverine, who we were lucky enough to have play a set for us at the most recent Vodka Boy @ The Enigma Tavern gig in September. His new full-length demo album “Life, Love, Loss & Politics” can be picked up for £3 – contact him through his MySpace if you’re interested.
He describes himself on his MySpace as “Bargin Bucket Billy Bragg”, and you can definitely hear that influence, as well as regular touches of a thrashy acoustic Jamie T bounce – his accent is present throughout, though that’s not to say he can’t sing too, cos he can. Bragg’s present too in his subject matter - you certainly don’t hear many young singers penning attacks on the Daily Mail and Rupert Murdoch’s press empire in 2009. But considering his tender years this kind of lyrical and thematic maturity is impressive.
The production is clear and sounds “live” (you can even just about hear some other band playing way down in the mix and a long way in the distance on one or two songs!) – as befits songs which are mostly one voice one guitar, or one voice one piano. There’s an ear-catching guest vocal appearance from Philippa Moyle on “Same Old Game”, her soaring theatrics counter-pointing PW’s gruffer edge to great effect.
For me though, it’s the lyrics that do it. Like a younger Brit-cousin of the fantastic Bright Eyes, you get the sense of a real person behind the songs, that they’re acoustical snapshots of a real life being lived – the rueful “Tame”, the ramshackle busk of “Chance Encounter”, and Official Dudebox Track Of The Summer “Cold Baked Beans” the best examples of this (“It’s £3.20 to get into town… you get there and realise no-one’s around…”). And how could I not love the mournful piano track “Murder Ballad” which seems to literally be a song based on one of my favourite albums of all time?
There’s even a hint at future directions - a possible wider sound - on “Critical Stage” when an electric guitar gives a fittingly emotional backdrop to the dark urgency of the protest song underneath. And the album closes with stand-out track “The Mis-Informed”, which is genuinely touching – gentle but with a steely resolve.
So – a new voice definitely worth listening to. Plus, eleven tracks for just three quid? Where’s the catch? Get involved. And watch out for him on the local circuit too…
Meanwhile in the wider world the debut album from the wonderful Felix is finally out – and on a record label based in Chicago no less! Local girl done extremely good Lucinda should be incredibly proud of herself: “You Are The One I Pick” is not only the best thing I’ve ever heard from a musician outta MK, it’s one of the best albums I’ve heard this year by anyone. So I’ll try and review it without being too gushing. Hopefully.
To be entirely honest, it is musically right up my alley anyway – laid-back intimately recorded girl vox, dramatic yet minimalist orchestration (w/ plenty of cellos and crystalline pianos), and topped off with a light sprinkling of thump-drummy drone-rock. Yes please! And all the tracks kind of flow into each other cinematically, and it swims in effortless cool. At times it even aches with some sort of calm, sad acceptance. Simply beautiful.
It’s almost tricky to pick out favourite tracks, the whole album has a very evocative sound as a whole. But “What I Learned From TV” feels just a wee bit more intimate, more wistful – and is then followed up with Dudebox Track Of The Winter “Back In Style” with its shuffling beats and oblique Twin Peaks references. So that’s definitely a high point in this already lofty plateau.
And the intertwining of Lucinda’s vocal tracks on “Bernard St” is just lovely – the closest Felix come to some kind of mainstream sound maybe, though it’d never sit quite right there. It’s too sinister somehow. Well, not quite sinister p'raps, but something to do with the weirdness of the mundane… what’s really going on behind those nice curtains in that house down your street. And that’s brilliant. It’s not easy to create this effect well, but Felix have absolutely nailed it.
Repeated listens to the album bring the lyrics out from the mix more and more, and with them this uneasy sense of the oddness of normality hangs over proceedings. The bleak side of childhood naivety. So “Ode To The Marlboro Man” becomes a nursery rhyme sung in a round about running away with a cowboy. “I Wish I Was A Pony” becomes far darker than the gently sad little song it at first appeared. And I’m still not sure after five listens, but I think in final track “Song About Zoo” they might even kill their children and escape together from their drab lives. Outstanding.
So. Proof of just what can be achieved from this humble platform, this brilliant city. Let’s see what all you other bands have got. This is the bar, up here. You can do it. Here comes 2010.
Thursday, 8 October 2009
THE PIXIES
Venue: Brixton Academy
Reviewer: Phil
Sepia-toned images from 1929 burn like stubble on an autumn morning against requiem violins. A man stands among giant, rusting machines; he carefully sharpens his razor. A well groomed wife takes a seat in the next room, her face tranquil and poised. The man stands behind her, taking her face in his hand, he parts the lids around her right eye. He takes the sharpened razor and holds it at her eye level. In one clean move he slices through the eyeball. Un chien andalou - an Andalusian dog.
"Do The Manta Ray!" cries Black Francis from the centre of the stage to rapturous applause. The Pixies open with four b-sides all culled from their 1989 album Doolittle before playing the album in full and in order. Black Francis sounds better than he ever did on lead vocals as he hollers, yells, barks and screams his lyrics, one minute soothing, the next shattering. Kim Deal wears a huge grin throughout, her brief words to the audience forming the only banter from the band to the crowd, her surprisingly intricate base lines providing the melody to Black Francis's sparse chords. Joey Santiago plays a mean lead guitar, occasionally grinning, looking cool and like he hasn't aged a day since the band first split in 1991. David Lovering, drummer and magician, keeps the band together with solid yet unlikely rhythms that change fluidly with Black Francis's eccentric song structures.
The Pixies Live
To be performed on a large stage. Deal plays bass, Francis plays lead vocals and guitar, Santiago plays lead guitar and Lovering drums. Behind the band a large screen projects images that correspond with each song.
Darkness. Following a screening of Un Chien Andalou, the band take to the stage.
Dancing The Manta Ray.
DEAL:
B sides.
Weird At My School, Bailey’s Walk, Manta Ray.
The screen behind the band bursts into life, displaying the word Doolittle in huge flashing letters.
Debaser, Tame.
DEAL:
It’s started.
Wave Of Mutilation, I Bleed.
DEAL:
Is it a surprise to you what’s coming next? I mean, do you guys already know it or do you have it on shuffle? It’s a surprise to me! I know, but it’s a surprise!
Here Come’s Your Man, Dead, Monkey Gone To Heaven.
DEAL:
Okay, so we’re either at the end of side one or the beginning of side two.
Mr. Grieves, Crankity Jones.
DEAL:
The dulcet tones of Mr. David Lovering.
FRANCIS:
And Joe!!!
La, La, Love You.
DEAL:
Ok, so we’re defiantly on side two now, definitely on side two.
No. 13 Baby, There Goes My Gun, Hey, Silver, Gouge Away.
DEAL:
That’s it, its over! Yeah, its over, records over!
Pixies leave the stage. Rapturous applause. After a suitable pause the band return to the stage.
DEAL:
More b-sides.
Wave of Mutilation (UK Surf), Into The White.
During the song Into The White the band are almost entirely lost in clouds of white dry ice.
The band leaves the stage for a second time. More rapturous applause. The band returns. The house lights are brought up and the band looks out over their adoring audience and grin. The house lights are left up for their final two songs.
DEAL:
New record!
Caribou, Gigantic.
After the last song, performed with the house lights up and nothing on the giant screens behind them, the band put down their instruments and walk back and forth along the edge of the stage, smiling, waving, triumphant but humble. They just look like ordinary people doing extraordinary things, stripped of all rock n roll pretension; they seem almost surprised at the adoring crowd that came to see them play.
So, how many songs did The Pixies play? They played 25 songs. And what did they play? They played the album Doolittle in its entirety, all its b-sides, plus Caribou from Come On Pilgrim and Gigantic from Surfa Rosa, their first single. And why have you found it so hard to write this review? Because frankly The Pixies were everything I could have hoped for, seeing them live was a dream come true. I was there, on the front row, leaning on the bars, and they were just fantastic. They sounded phenomenal! Did they sound like they do on their records? Yes, they did, exactly like they sound on their records only better, only louder. Not because they perform live exactly what is on the record but because they put on record exactly what they perform live. And to see them live was to see their whole vision come together. In short, to see them live was to have a teenage dream of mine come true. Did they plan any new material? No, but that’s just not the point. This was a reunion gig, a chance to see a band you never thought you’d ever get to see, to see them play like its still 1989. And it’s just difficult to some up in words just how good they were or how much the whole experience meant to me. This was a celebration of The Pixies' music and that’s exactly how it felt. Dude, it was awesome!
Reviewer: Phil
Sepia-toned images from 1929 burn like stubble on an autumn morning against requiem violins. A man stands among giant, rusting machines; he carefully sharpens his razor. A well groomed wife takes a seat in the next room, her face tranquil and poised. The man stands behind her, taking her face in his hand, he parts the lids around her right eye. He takes the sharpened razor and holds it at her eye level. In one clean move he slices through the eyeball. Un chien andalou - an Andalusian dog.
"Do The Manta Ray!" cries Black Francis from the centre of the stage to rapturous applause. The Pixies open with four b-sides all culled from their 1989 album Doolittle before playing the album in full and in order. Black Francis sounds better than he ever did on lead vocals as he hollers, yells, barks and screams his lyrics, one minute soothing, the next shattering. Kim Deal wears a huge grin throughout, her brief words to the audience forming the only banter from the band to the crowd, her surprisingly intricate base lines providing the melody to Black Francis's sparse chords. Joey Santiago plays a mean lead guitar, occasionally grinning, looking cool and like he hasn't aged a day since the band first split in 1991. David Lovering, drummer and magician, keeps the band together with solid yet unlikely rhythms that change fluidly with Black Francis's eccentric song structures.
The Pixies Live
To be performed on a large stage. Deal plays bass, Francis plays lead vocals and guitar, Santiago plays lead guitar and Lovering drums. Behind the band a large screen projects images that correspond with each song.
Darkness. Following a screening of Un Chien Andalou, the band take to the stage.
Dancing The Manta Ray.
DEAL:
B sides.
Weird At My School, Bailey’s Walk, Manta Ray.
The screen behind the band bursts into life, displaying the word Doolittle in huge flashing letters.
Debaser, Tame.
DEAL:
It’s started.
Wave Of Mutilation, I Bleed.
DEAL:
Is it a surprise to you what’s coming next? I mean, do you guys already know it or do you have it on shuffle? It’s a surprise to me! I know, but it’s a surprise!
Here Come’s Your Man, Dead, Monkey Gone To Heaven.
DEAL:
Okay, so we’re either at the end of side one or the beginning of side two.
Mr. Grieves, Crankity Jones.
DEAL:
The dulcet tones of Mr. David Lovering.
FRANCIS:
And Joe!!!
La, La, Love You.
DEAL:
Ok, so we’re defiantly on side two now, definitely on side two.
No. 13 Baby, There Goes My Gun, Hey, Silver, Gouge Away.
DEAL:
That’s it, its over! Yeah, its over, records over!
Pixies leave the stage. Rapturous applause. After a suitable pause the band return to the stage.
DEAL:
More b-sides.
Wave of Mutilation (UK Surf), Into The White.
During the song Into The White the band are almost entirely lost in clouds of white dry ice.
The band leaves the stage for a second time. More rapturous applause. The band returns. The house lights are brought up and the band looks out over their adoring audience and grin. The house lights are left up for their final two songs.
DEAL:
New record!
Caribou, Gigantic.
After the last song, performed with the house lights up and nothing on the giant screens behind them, the band put down their instruments and walk back and forth along the edge of the stage, smiling, waving, triumphant but humble. They just look like ordinary people doing extraordinary things, stripped of all rock n roll pretension; they seem almost surprised at the adoring crowd that came to see them play.
So, how many songs did The Pixies play? They played 25 songs. And what did they play? They played the album Doolittle in its entirety, all its b-sides, plus Caribou from Come On Pilgrim and Gigantic from Surfa Rosa, their first single. And why have you found it so hard to write this review? Because frankly The Pixies were everything I could have hoped for, seeing them live was a dream come true. I was there, on the front row, leaning on the bars, and they were just fantastic. They sounded phenomenal! Did they sound like they do on their records? Yes, they did, exactly like they sound on their records only better, only louder. Not because they perform live exactly what is on the record but because they put on record exactly what they perform live. And to see them live was to see their whole vision come together. In short, to see them live was to have a teenage dream of mine come true. Did they plan any new material? No, but that’s just not the point. This was a reunion gig, a chance to see a band you never thought you’d ever get to see, to see them play like its still 1989. And it’s just difficult to some up in words just how good they were or how much the whole experience meant to me. This was a celebration of The Pixies' music and that’s exactly how it felt. Dude, it was awesome!
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