THE DUDEBOX CHRONICLES, Vol.2

Venue: MADCAP, Wolverton
Bands: The White Moths / Phil Sky / The Further Adventures Of Vodka Boy / The Baron Makabre Band / Harikiri Heartbreak
Words: MMT & Phil W.

We think its criminal - given the amount of talent on show - that the recent MADCAP Fundraiser gigs have been so thin on the ground for audience. Not that we’re biased or anything, given that these gigs currently operate under the name of “The Dudebox Chronicles”! But if another one comes around, you really should check it out – whether it’s cos you dig the bands on offer, or just because it’s all for a good cause! And when you see the lights flashing and hear the sounds pumping, you’ll wish every night could be a MADCAP night!

The opening chapter of this second volume in The Dudebox Chronicles was written by THE WHITE MOTHS, who I hope won’t be offended if I describe them as having an impressively hard rock sound given that they all look very young indeed! Powerful bass and pummelling drums topped off with squalling electric riffs and very strong vocals which don’t like they should physically be able to come out of the body of the singer! I’d not seen them before, but I very much liked what I saw – definitely excited to see how they progress. Check out the live footage from this very gig on their Facebook group!

What The Dudebox Chronicles aim to do is mix together some of the best up-and-coming talent from the young bands who play in and around the MADCAP Music Centre along with some of the more established acts around. And I think the “lo-fi King of Milton Keynes” (© MK Citizen) PHIL SKY very much falls into that second category. Playing some totally new songs, the dude seemed totally at home framed by the beautiful old proscenium stage. I’m fast thinking his newish track “Supergirl” with its Evan Dando charm might be one of his best yet.

The second of the more established acts on this evening were none other than Milton Keynes's premier acoustic three-piece ‘man band’ THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF VODKA BOY, who this evening were also launching their third and probably best album yet – “Triple Filtered”. The band tore through a set of hits both old and new, plus a couple of covers reflecting the broad range of skills this band have accumulated over the last few years. I probably enjoyed the last two songs of the set best - a brilliant Eddie Cochran cover followed by their own new song “Cheerful Is The New Miserable”.

If you’ve never before seen Baron Makabre in action, I’m honestly not sure how to describe it to you! But if even if you have, if you’ve not seen him in action with THE BARON MAKABRE BAND then you totally have to! It makes the whole experience at least a thousand times better, if you can imagine such a thing! With a whole backing band of henchmen – sorry... Igors! – the songs become fully fledged monsters of rock. Literally! Plus the Baron’s use of stage props and his commitment to the role (he comperes the evening too) puts other acts to shame.

Final act of the night - HARIKIRI HEARTBREAK – seemed a little cross that their drummer couldn’t be with them because he’d gone on holiday! All sounds pretty rock n’ roll to me... We’ve seen them before as a full-on electric proposition, but it was actually interesting to see them perform as a duo, with just one acoustic guitar and a bass. The vocalist’s particular vocal technique was effective in a very different way stripped of the usual background sound. Intriguing!

All in all a fascinating night of musical variety – if you see a third volume advertised, get along. It doesn’t matter that you may not have read the first two in the series... it could still prove the read of your life! (yes... this metaphor is going to run and run!)

FOO FIGHTERS

Venue: The National Bowl, Milton Keynes
Support: Biffy Clyro / Jimmy Eat World / The Hot Rats
Words: Phil W.

Every now and then it’s nice to take in a local gig rather than always heading down to London - I’ve been telling my editor for months I’ll get round to reviewing more local gigs so when some American band called the Foo Fighters announced they’d be playing a gig just round the corner from the Furzton Lodge where my brother and me regularly meet up for a pint, we thought we might pop along and see what they sounded like.

I was vaguely aware I’d caught them live a handful of times around a decade ago and they sounded pretty decent then and they had a record called The Color And The Shape which I’d liked a lot when it came out. I know since then they’ve picked up a few more fans - somehow this dude called Dave Grohl, who used to drum for popular beat combo Nirvana before front man Kurt Cobain met with an unfortunate accident with a shotgun in his garage, has put together a band that’s reached mass appeal with everyone from the toughest rocker to the trendiest grandparents all wanting in on his shows. Reportedly some 65,000 people had descended that warm Sunday afternoon to watch Dave’s rock n roll band so it was lucky he chose the large outdoor oval we like to call our National Bowl for the gig. I know we’d have loved to have him play our gig nights down at the Slug (every second Thursday of the month dudes!!) but I don’t think we’d have been able to fit everyone inside. (Sorry Chad, we didn’t even try to ask them! I think we may have dropped the ball on that one.)

The entertainment all kicked off around 4:30 with first support act The Hot Rats - a covers band duo formed by Gaz Coombes and Danny Goffey of UK act Supergrass. They got everyone in the mood with a set of seventies standards churned out with a massive Jack White style guitar sound and they were followed by Arizona pop-punks Jimmy Eat World that similarly worked the crowd as everyone baked in the afternoon sun. Between acts we got beer and Chinese food and then settled down for a great set from Scottish rockers Biffy Clyro. I remember seeing these guys play the Soundhouse in Northampton a few years back before they had a record out, sharing the stage with now defunct MK band Noon Layer Drive, so it was nice to see them come back and play a Milton Keynes gig and they seemed to go down well with a lot of the audience. I dug them a lot but, after their set as I stood in the men’s urinals and unconsciously listened in to the conversation of the guy relieving himself next to me, I heard him say “I feel bad for the Foo Fighters really, they’ll never be able to follow a set like that!” Now I’d seen the Foos ten years ago and they put on a pretty decent show then and was already sure the band would do pretty well tonight.

I wasn’t wrong. Don’t get me wrong, I dug the Biffy Clyro set but Dave’s rock n roll band really did go down a storm performing what I might describe as a truly awesome set. Now I know I use words like “awesome” and “legendary” quite a lot but I tell you it’s not my fault if the world is generally so awesome and legendary on such a regular basis, the whole thing is out of my control. Seriously dude, I live in Milton Keynes! And what could be a more awesome way of telling you how awesome and legendary this gig was than by writing it all down in a list??

10 Awesome Reasons Why The Foos Were Truly Awesome And Legendary On Sunday Night

1. They played This Is A Call! Dude!

2. Dave Grohl!! (see later list)

3. They played Monkey Wrench!! Dude!!!

4. Pat Smear!!

5. They played Stacked Actors!!! Dude!!!

6. The stage! It had these really groovy cylindrical shaped lights with screens on them and they moved around and somehow made the stage seem big and small all at the same time! Genius!

7. Seasick Steve!! There was an awesome moment when Dave welcomed Seasick Steve to the stage! Then he introduced John Paul Jones and then he asked if he could get behind the drums! As a bewildered Seasick Steve took on the role of front man with his three string guitar he said “ya know, five years ago I didn’t even have a job! And now I’m gonna play with Dave Grohl and John Paul Jones and to all you guys! I tell ya, anything can happen!” before playing Dog House Boogie.

8. The runway!! Straight down the middle of the pit, all the way to the sound desk was a runway that Dave energetically ran back and forth along. I tell you, for a 42 year old he’s got a hell of a lot of energy! On the other side of the sound desk was a second stage where Dave could say hi to the people at the back from and play his guitar from. At one point the three guitarists had a duel, one on each corner of the stage and Dave out on his little stage in the middle of the audience. Awesome!!

9. Butch Vig!! The dude came on stage and said hi to the audience at Dave’s request!

10. Taylor Hawkins and all the rest of the Foos!! This may have been an arena gig but this was definitely not a show, it was a gig. For all the flashing lights it was just a band rocking out, playing rock n roll from a stage covered in amps. Even the keyboard player got an intro from Dave.

11. For an encore they played Everlong!!!! Dude!!!!! :-D

5 Awesome Reasons Why Dave Grohl Is Awesome

1. The dude spent the whole gig with the biggest grin on his face and his mood was infectious – throughout the gig the whole band grinned, laughed, joked and hugged each other. Cool people tend not to grin, you’ve gotta be übercool to pull off the grin. You know, the kind of cool where you really just don’t care about being cool cause you know, if you care you just aren’t cool anymore.

2. He told everyone repeatedly how much he loved them. I know there were 64,999 other people there but he made me feel special. Not a lot of entertainers can do that. Not many can include the whole audience in the collective feeling of being at a gig rather than watching one happen far away.

3. At some point he gushed in front of the audience and said “you know, you guys have always treated us like we’re the biggest band in the world. You know, I start to wonder, maybe tonight we ARE the biggest band in the world.” Somehow he still seemed humble when he said this.

4. The dude plays a mean guitar and writes a mean song, effortlessly combining the angst and the upbeat without ever sounding clichéd.

5. Dude, the dude played in Nirvana!

In the end, it was Dave Grohl’s ability to work 65,000 people and make them all seem included in the magic that turned this gig from a vast arena concert into an intimate gig with your mates Dave and Pat and Taylor and all the other Foos. I walked away feeling like I knew the guy - he was like an old friend I hadn’t seen in years. Sure, he got really popular sometime back and after that I didn’t see him as often, bands never seem as cool once your parents want to go to their gigs, but as he debated over the big screens from back stage how many songs the band should play in the encore I felt like my screams mattered, that he was at least partly talking to me. As he stood on his little stage out in the audience he said “you know, you all feel like family to me! This doesn’t seem weird! I just love you guys!” Dave is the final proof that nice guys can finish first, they may not do it as often as the nasty ones but when they do they seriously kick ass! What can I say – Dave, man, you’re a dude!

Dudebox "Track Of The Spring"

I guess this could be the last Dudebox Track Of The Season review in this format – as this year has gone on it’s become more and more apparent that MySpace is well Over. Always a slightly clunky format, it looks like it’s been finally killed off by the twin attack of YouTube and Facebook. I’m finding more and more that new bands haven’t bothered with it, and old bands aren’t updating theirs. So until Facebook allows you to listen to bands’ music without Liking them – or until I decide I’m happy to Like every single band I come across, we might be approaching a Reviewing Impasse!

Still – that doesn’t mean we haven’t got some more great local music for you to listen to right here! Get it while you can!

((As always, I am duty-bound to announce the Disclaimer that none of these bands have asked us to review their music – in fact I’d be surprised if any of them ever realise we’ve done it! – but the point of the matter is to try and shine some lights onto all the corners of this always-surprisingly-large-and-vibrant-and-various local music scene. Break out the cutlery and let’s have some dinner. A dinner of Rock!))

MMT.


“All Burned Out”: KASTAPHOR

Forget MySpace or Facebook - Kastaphor are professional enough to have their own website with music on anyway – they play gigs in London, all over the adjoining counties, and at The Stables! They’ve got that kind of ‘polished’ ‘adult’ vibe, without being dull. Singer Emma has an incredibly soulful voice, there some excellent guitar soloing, and although it’s not really my sort of music it’s unarguably an accomplished song which you can imagine going down perfectly in a smoky rock club.


“Mexican Doom”: VOMIT WHORES

We reviewed Vomit Whores way back in our first ever Dudebox Track Of The Season review a couple of years back, and at the time I wasn’t sure if they might even be a joke band – but this is much better! The kind of queasy funk-edged metal you’d expect from Mike Patton fans, muscular and relentless. A punchy treat that doesn’t take itself too seriously.


“Gangsters”: IDOLTRIBE

We discovered this on DJ Michael’s Basement Music compilation, and for me their session version of this track was the standout track on that CD. It bounces along in an incredibly jaunty semi-acoustic manner, and then when the backing vocals kick in in the chorus you think “blimey, this is something special”. There’s even a bass solo! It’s the sort of song I feel compelled to learn the words to so I can sing / chant drunkenly along to – and I can’t give much higher praise than that!


“Hold Your Own”: KEEPER OF THE RIFLE

This season’s MK Metal Korner! As hairy and intense as you’d imagine, but reassuringly still has a strong sense of melody in amongst the shouting and growling. And as we’ve noted before in these reviews, the local metal bands seem to have no problem whatsoever in producing studio-quality recordings, this could easily be a long-established national band by the sound of this track. Love the solos too. (flicks devil horns)


“Farewell Goodbye”: ROSES AND PIRATES

Another lovely song by the R&P ladeez, our Track Of The Season winners last Summer with “The Rose”. This is altogether more reflective, a gentle lullaby for the end of a long and testing night. You can almost hear the bar staff trying to clear out the audience, who won’t leave till they’ve heard the final beautiful note fade.


“Flaming Sun”: WITHOUT REASON

Surfing the quiet-loud dynamic as well as any local band I’ve heard recently, this mixes beautiful vocal harmonies, a persistent groove from the bass, a casual yet cool solo and occasional full on hard-rock choruses. Another new name to me, but I’m hoping to catch them live very soon. We don’t have enough bands who sound like this.


“Is It Real Yet?”: FALL SHORT FOR GLORY

Some beautifully intricate lead guitar ushers us right into this sugary slice of punk-pop – it feels like a sunny day in FSFG’s world and I’m happy to be in it with them! That spiralling solo effect is almost mesmerising, but the rest of the song is impressive too – melodic, upbeat, well produced and an intriguing first experience of this band for me. I’m keen to hear more.


“Don’t Believe Her Smile”: ISABELLE

One of the most prolific of local bands – I can’t believe they’ve also got time to fit in running the excellent Sno!Bar Open Mic as well as their Leighton Buzzard gigs and social lives! – are back with another new album... and they’re so prolific that thing song isn’t even on it!! I love the keyboard on this – or it could even be an actual organ! Summery, soulful, sumptuous. They can’t miss at this kind of stuff.


RUNNER UP DUDEBOX TRACK OF THE SPRING

“Red, Green, Black”: SOUTH SEA COMPANY

We may have reviewed them last time round as well, but this track especially shows a definite step on since we first heard them. It’s confident, mature (in a good way!) – the bass drives along a slowly building indie-pop gem. This is a really impressive song, indicating not just a good present but a very good future if they’re already at this standard!


DUDEBOX TRACK OF THE SPRING

“Shyrite”: HOUSE OF JOHN PLAYER

Whatever else, it’s the different stuff that I really get excited by! Loops, synths, shuffly beats and vocals drifting between emotionless droning and an emotional falsetto. This is an excellent track – a standout among a bunch of almost-equally as impressive tracks. This dude played at the Sno!Bar a month or two back and I missed it – will be looking out for him in action again though. Hypnotic, a midsummer day’s dream.