GIGS

[molasses]

Busyish week thus far:

Deep Dark Woods @ Winchester, Brighton

The Railway show was perfectly decent but suffered from the volume limitation required in the Attic room. No such issues the following night at Sticky Mikes: chalk and cheese, could almost have been a different band as DDW rocked out really rather well. Extra medals for that organ sound.

Todd Snider @ The Borderline

Only UK show and first for quite a little while so not unexpectedly the old place was sold out and packed. Unsurprisingly, TS excellent as ever.

Alabama Shakes @ The Boston Arms, Tuffnell Park

What can I say? Terrific, belting vocals from Brittany Howard, like being hit by a runaway train in the best possible way. Ooh my aching knees.

[RedRockRick]

Was Michel Stodart supporting? And if so what did you think?

[RedRockRick]

Really glad to see you made it to see the Deep Dark Woods. They are brilliant and I am guessing they won't be playing the small venues they are in on this tour for much longer. I am also sure they'd be a perfect band for End of the Road or No Direction Home. I'd be hard pressed to imagine anyone who would go either festival no liking them.

[killyourtv]

Leisure Society @ Glee Club, Birmingham -

Only caught part of their set at EOTR and have enjoyed the LP, so one not to miss at a bargain £8m. A lovely sound and consistently interesting songs, largely from the 2nd LP, but still more to admire than love I think. Same cover (me and Julio) as at EOTR, would have liked to hear Respect.

Excellent rapport with a full house (seated), though not helped by oppressive heat in the Glee Club. Might be worth catching Low there in a month.

[GTG]

Imogen Heap with The Holst Singers and the Sage Choir/Any SIlvera with the Estonian Television Girls' Choir @ Sage, Gateshead

Well, that was one of the strangest gigs I've ever been to but a marvellously varied and entertaining evening, I must say. Imogen, plus choirs, sang a live soundtrack to a (possibly!) surrealist silent film, 'The Seashell And The Clergyman', Earlier Ana performed a song cycle with a small band and the Estonian girls, and at the end they performed some stunning songs of their own, probably the highlight for me. A really refreshing change.

Nick Lowe @ Sage, Gateshead

A couple of years ago Nick played Hall One at the same venue and it was, at best, half full. This time they had moved into Hall Two which was sold out which made for a much better atmosphere and an even better gig. Last time Ron Sexsmith supported, this time it was Nick's keyboard player Geraint Watkins who played a great little set, largely of his own songs, with a lot of warmth and humour. I could watch Nick Lowe every week ( I suppose I have been watching him on and off for 40 years now!!) and he's probably got enough songs to avoid too much repetition. And what songs! Definitely one of my Top 10 all-time songwriters, a great performer and a cracking band. What's not to like? I was telling me mate to listen out for a highlight from his current album, 'Stoplight Roses', which would have been in my Top 3 songs of last year, and he walked out and went straight into it, like some little throwaway intro. Strength in depth.

[RedRockRick]

Kathleen Edwards @ Islington Academy

i think it must be four years since I last saw Kathleen Edwards, an emotional and very moving solo show at Bush Hall which I'd easily put amongst my most memorable gigs of the last ten years. When she was over last year opening for her partner Justin Vernon and Bon Iver, by all accounts she was underehearsed and ill-prepared and unsurprisingly was hardly seen at her best. Now with the new album out and, I think, only Gord Tough surviving from her last touring band, there are no such issues, apart perhaps from a flub or two which in fact go down rather well with everyone. I've been a fan a long time but two things stand out for me with Kathleen Edwards these days: one, she says what she feels and it's meant, and two, she writes great songs. A very good evening.

[RedRockRick]

The War On Drugs @ Concorde 2, Brighton

Well, this could all have ended prematurely: stone the crows, we thought, as, two songs in, main man Adam Granduciel was flung back after a very nasty shock from the microphone. Luckily, after a 10 minute delay during which the bands' extremely popular bassist handed out WOD's quota of bottled beers to a receptive front row, normal service was resumed. And very good value it was too: scheduled to start at 9.45 p.m. and finish at 11.00 p.m., WOD came on at 9.30 and went off at 11.20. I liked that. They're a lot more cosmic live than perhaps what I'd have expected from the records, with a good measure of serious wigging-out. I really rather liked this too, but unfortunately so did the most enthusiastic man in the audience, who took up position right in front of me and all evening gave a non-stop impression of hole-digging and over-the-head-earth-shovelling. The War On Drugs, Wooden Shjips, White Hills: should I really really really be enjoying this kind of stuff so much; after all, I've spent most of my listening life happily ridiculing fans of Hawkwind and their ilk? Hmmm.

Just time before heading back home to fulfill the tradition of coffee & doughnuts down on the beach at the water's edge. Very quiet waves tonight, beautiful hazy night sky, soft yellow half moon against some wispy clouds, very mild and more redolent, I mused, of harvest time than the last night of February, The flat sea mirrored twinkling and glistening spangles of light high above: surely a sighting of the northern lights? Nah. It was Hawkwind, returning from a tour of the planet Zog.

Edited March 1, 2012 by RedRockRick

[killyourtv]

Lambchop @ The Barbican

First time I've seen them, and think I'll stick to their records. I just struggled to keep attention for 90 minutes of a set with little variation in pace, however great the music is (and I love Kurt's voice). It may have been the ultra-comfortable Barbican seats, but chap next to me was asleep half-way in.

[shoebox]

I love Lambchop, but I have pretty much vowed never to see them live again. And it's not their fault. They are superb live, really amazing, but I always feel like I don't want to share them with anyone. The slightest shuffle or whisper during their set and I get upset. They've a far too intimate sound for a crowd, in my opinion. And yeah, I reckon I'd fall asleep in those Barbican seats as well.

[RedRockRick]

Robert Ellis @ the Windmill, Brixton

Photographs got a lot of praise on its release and apparently you really to need it on vinyl so you can get the proper ambience when flipping sides: side 1 is is the folk side, side 2 is the country side. Since I only have the CD version my comments I fear must therefore be treated as unreliable. I think it starts promisingly (the folk side) and then becomes pretty ordinary (the country side), where things can become so slow they almost grind to a halt. Luckily this didn't matter much tonight because 1) Robert Ellis has a pretty engaging personality and 2) he's got a bunch of better songs in the locker, which means overall it was a pretty amiable evening. If he brings his band over for EOTR, it could be very nice indeed. I'd like to think he could have done a much, much better Poncho & Lefty on Townes Van Zandt's birthday though.

Edited March 8, 2012 by RedRockRick

[perfectpassion]

Will follow your advice then on Robert Ellis then RRR

Two recent notable gigs

First Aid Kit @The Scala. They will be one of the must sees at this years EoTR. Its a long time, especially as they were only about 15yrs old, when the played EoTR in 09. This time they were unfortunatly at The Chatty Scala, which is not my fav venue for anything other than loud stuff! Support was from the endearing Samantha Craine, if you could hear her over the twats. First Aid Kit have added a drummer, which means that they are now perfect candidates for the Woods Stage, being a bit louder. It was a wonderful performance, the place was packed and everyone was respectfully listening to the band for a change!! My only slight problem, apart from the fact that it was so packed I overheated (hot flushes again) is that some of their songs just don't sound right coming out of the mouths of babes (This Old Routine).

Secondly I saw Monument Valley at the Slaughtered Lamb last week. Didn't know much about him before and was easily won over by him. I would highly recommend his Tounges ep. Support was from Emily from Emily and The Woods, and I was the sole dissenter in the camp, because I really didn't like her voice and everyone else thinks I am suffering from a severe hearing problem.

[RedRockRick]

Secondly I saw Monument Valley at the Slaughtered Lamb last week. Didn't know much about him before and was easily won over by him. I would highly recommend his Tounges ep. Support was from Emily from Emily and The Woods, and I was the sole dissenter in the camp, because I really didn't like her voice and everyone else thinks I am suffering from a severe hearing problem.

[seadragon]

PP - I'd agree with all of that, especially the bit about your dodgy hearing

No-one going to attempt a review of ATP? Or are the people from here who went still recovering?

It was the first time I've been to ATP, although I knew the format. I went more to see the Elephant 6 bands than anything else and they didn't disappoint. I didn't try to run around like a mad thing seeing as much as possible, although to be fair I think the lineup was a bit sparse so there weren't any clashes and there were definitely gaps in which there was nothing I wanted to see, but in a way this was nice because it gave you time to chill out or check out bands I didn't know.

The festival itself was exactly as I expected it'd be. Plenty of hipsters, people talking through sets (special credit to the 3 young girls who felt the need to scream "OH MY GOD!" repeatedly at the tops of their voices all the way through Jeff's first set) and people who had obviously spent most of the previous week perfecting their 'festival look'. But also lots of lovely people too and it was nice to see most of the bands walking around enjoying the weekend and happy to chat. Chalets were better than expected...we had a microwave and a dishwasher and tv's in the bedrooms!

Communication from ATP wasn't great while we were there...didn't manage to do the quiz because we didn't know you had to register a team the day before and while we were queuing for Jeff's show on Sunday the security people asked us if we had 'priority purple wristbands' which apparently were being given out somewhere during the weekend. I'd say a good 90% of the people queuing had no idea about this or where they could have got one from.

The music:

Jeff - I was sceptical before I saw him that he wouldn't live up to the hype, but he proved me wrong. I managed to get in to both his shows (I wasn't planning to see him twice, but on the strength of Friday's show I had to go back on Sunday), although I feel sorry for the people who didn't manage to get in. I've never seen a queue like it (people queued from 9pm and he wasn't on until 10.30pm) and it was one of a few things that annoyed me about ATP's organisation. Totally worth seeing though. He played all the expected songs plus a fair few not on 'aeroplane' and it was really quite surreal finally seeing those songs played live. The atmosphere couldn't have been better and I'm really looking forward to seeing him again tomorrow night at Union Chapel.

The Music Tapes - probably my band of the weekend. Julian Koster is without exception the nicest person I've ever met. He plays the singing saw pretty well too. They had Static and the Mechanical Organ Playing Tower with them which was fun. I'm glad they're supporting Jeff at the Union Chapel so I can see them again.

Boredoms - what an amazing group. I have to admit though that when I saw them on Sunday afternoon I couldn't stay long...5 drum kits and 14 guitarists really isn't bearable at the volume they play with the kind of hangover I had, but still an incredible show.

The Magnetic Fields, The Apples in Sereo and The Olivia Tremor Control were excellent too...I was smiling most of the weekend at the realisation that I could see so many Elephant 6 people at the same festival. Just disappointed that The Minders weren't there, otherwise it would have been perfect.

Low and The Fall - boring. Other people seemed to like them, but they were average. I've seen them before and they didn't excite me this time.

Lost in the Trees, A Hawk and a Hacksaw and Mount Eerie all played beautiful sets. Unfortunately I arrived too late to see the whole of A Hawk and a Hacksaw's set and couldn't see the film to which they were playing the soundtrack but would have loved to see it all.

I finished with some Group Doueh before retiring back to my chalet for a much needed cup of tea. I wanted to see Sebadoh, which I was informed afterwards was crazy, but I've seen them before and I really was ready to drop.

Overall verdict? I'm not sure I'd go to ATP again unless the lineup was unmissable, but overall it was a fun weekend with some truly memorable moments and I'm glad I went.

Edited April 5, 2012 by seadragon

[RedRockRick]

The Felice Brothers @ The Macbeth, Shoreditch

Well, I'd been looking forward to this since it was postponed from its original 5th December date, so where did it all go wrong? Let's start with the venue (my first visit). At some stage someone must have said, hey, how about putting on live music here? If the stage was at the front of the pub, where there's room, this might have been OK. It's at the back, where half the standing area is taken up by the bar, there's a support girder taking up your sight lines and there's just not enough room all round. Couple this with the execrable sound for the Felices (where I was stood at least) and it's an uphill task, whether you're having issues with your audile or visual faculties or not. For too much of the time the set was incoherent and drew too much on the most recent album (at least I assume it did since I haven't felt any desire to play it much since it originally arrived, and thus didn't recognise too many songs). They did say it was like only their 3rd show in three months, which might explain things, but didn't excuse them.

To confuse things further, Craig Finn opened and I thought the sound for him was fine. It was like the Hold Steady but introverted, and with more colour in the sound. Pretty good I thought, and I'll probably catch a full show from him when he goes down to Brighton in a couple of weeks.

Edited March 15, 2012 by RedRockRick

[perfectpassion]

The Felice Brothers @ The Macbeth, Shoreditch

Well, I'd been looking forward to this since it was postponed from its original 5th December date, so where did it all go wrong? Let's start with the venue (my first visit). At some stage someone must have said, hey, how about putting on live music here? If the stage was at the front of the pub, where there's room, this might have been OK. It's at the back, where half the standing area is taken up by the bar, there's a support girder taking up your sight lines and there's just not enough room all round. Couple this with the execrable sound for the Felices (where I was stood at least) and it's an uphill task, whether you're having issues with your audile or visual faculties or not. For too much of the time the set was incoherent and drew too much on the most recent album (at least I assume it did since I haven't felt any desire to play it much since it originally arrived, and thus didn't recognise too many songs). They did say it was like only their 3rd show in three months, which might explain things, but didn't excuse them.

To confuse things further, Craig Finn opened and I thought the sound for him was fine. It was like the Hold Steady but introverted, and with more colour in the sound. Pretty good I thought, and I'll probably catch a full show from him when he goes down to Brighton in a couple of weeks.

Edited March 15, 2012 by perfectpassion

[killyourtv]

Felice Brothers @ Academy 2, Manchester

Actually knew little about the Felices, had wanted to see AA Bondy following cancellation of solo show when the FBs last tour got cancelled (and he couldn't come this time either). Sounded like an above average pub band; feet shuffled a bit but very little in way of memorable songs. On the positive side, I really struggled to describe them when asked today. Sound was very murky in a frankly unpleasant venue, even by Students Union standards. The real ales were good though, and of course any trip to Manchester is worth the money.

Poor cover of "Darkness on the edge of town" was the signal to leave.

[seadragon]

Mmmm the two last reviews don't bode well for the Felice Brothers tomorrow at Koko for which I have tickets

I'm going to keep my fingers crossed for third time lucky though...and if by any chance there's anyone here who'd like to take a chance on it I have one (possibly two) tickets spare for this at face value. Send me a message (or a text if you have my number) if you fancy it.

[RedRockRick]

Richmond Fontaine @ The Crypt Bar, Guildford

Well, just Willy and Dan actually, fitting in a few duo shows on the back of opening up for the Jayhawks here, there and everywhere. I'm not sure where the Crypt Bar came into it: the first floor room where things happened definitely had Bronte Suite above the entrance, a reminder of the great yet so far unpublished novels set in Guildford by the sisters. I probably wouldn't list this amongst the 20 best RF shows I've attended: questionnable sound when things got ratchetted up, slightly dodgy audience, a distinct lack of atmosphere, but we did get songs which don't come out so often and a very affecting version of The Janitor. Still, only their second visit to Guildford, and it'll be some while before I see Willy and Dan again (not till May).

[Infinite Jest]

Got Shearwater at the Scala tomorrow, Other Lives at the Village Underground on Wednesday, and possibly the Windmill's Easter Friday all-dayer (Dignan Porch, Singing Adams, Sparrow and the Workshop + more and a barbecue) this week .

[RedRockRick]

Craig Finn @ The Coalition, Brighton

I think I prefer the sound Craig Finn is currently producing on his own account to what is now happening with The Hold Steady, who really seem to be getting into a bit of a rut: more colour etc. with the pedal steel, etc., whereas adding an extra guitar to replace Franz Nikolay with THS only makes you more conscious he's missing. There's some good stuff on Craig's album, but asking £15 for it is a bit much (£12 at the London show, I think).

[seadragon]

Got Shearwater at the Scala tomorrow, Other Lives at the Village Underground on Wednesday, and possibly the Windmill's Easter Friday all-dayer (Dignan Porch, Singing Adams, Sparrow and the Workshop + more and a barbecue) this week .

[Infinite Jest]

Yep, I'm going to Other Lives too and I keep umming and ahhing about the Windmill on Friday too.

[killyourtv]

Low and Lanterns on the Lake @ The Glee Club, Birmingham

An unexpectedly great night, slightly helped by1st trip to new classic pub (Post Office Valults).

Smiled like a baby when LOTL strolled on stage as unannounced (certainly to me) support. Despite reservations about Glee Club sound, they produced a much more integrated sound than I'd seen earlier, allowing their fabulous melodies to come through. A good number of sensible folk seemed to be buying their LP. Just a shame there wasn't time for "Keep on Trying", but of course under EOTR rules I wasn't allowed to shout for favourites anyway.

I don't have the full Low back catalogue, but they certainly played C'mon, which I love, pretty much in full. They made a fantastic, harmonious noise, and the sound was superb. I didn't ask for the Christmas songs.

Glee Club isn't bad but seated venues are too subdued for me.

Other Lives tomorrow !

[perfectpassion]

Other Lives @ Village Underground

Last year Ben campaigned to have them play on the Garden Stage, and he was right. For so many reasons their lush sound deserved a bigger space. They were still charming and one of the highllights of the festival for me. At St Giles later in the year they were excellent, although RRR thought the sound was bad. He would have hated last night.

I think the venue was only partially to blame. Every subtle note of their music was lost. It was too loud. You couldn't hear Jenny (vocals, violin etc). all that was audiable was Jessie's vocals above a raft of white noise. If you had heard them before you might have been left standing there as puzzled as we were.

They sounded like a band too long on the road, who had been playing the same set for many months, in too many stadium venues as a support for Radiohead. The only bit that showed how good they really were was the encore, when the mix was turned down.

It seemed like they had lost their way. Go home to Oklahoma guys and have a rest and get back to the beauty and stillness of Other Lives.

[RedRockRick]

Other Lives @ Village Underground

Last year Ben campaigned to have them play on the Garden Stage, and he was right. For so many reasons their lush sound deserved a bigger space. They were still charming and one of the highllights of the festival for me. At St Giles later in the year they were excellent, although RRR thought the sound was bad. He would have hated last night.

I think the venue was only partially to blame. Every subtle note of their music was lost. It was too loud. You couldn't hear Jenny (vocals, violin etc). all that was audiable was Jessie's vocals above a raft of white noise. If you had heard them before you might have been left standing there as puzzled as we were.

They sounded like a band too long on the road, who had been playing the same set for many months, in too many stadium venues as a support for Radiohead. The only bit that showed how good they really were was the encore, when the mix was turned down.

It seemed like they had lost their way. Go home to Oklahoma guys and have a rest and get back to the beauty and stillness of Other Lives.