tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91637067601820429572024-03-13T14:16:15.318+00:00Call Of The WyldA user's report from the UK music scene. Up and coming bands who are too good to ignore. Lives, album reviews and anything else that seems appropriate.Wyldmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06701612407581789722noreply@blogger.comBlogger324125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163706760182042957.post-4368659831934368342015-05-05T19:07:00.000+01:002015-05-05T19:07:17.270+01:00Cold in Berlin at Black Heart - May 3rd 2015<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk9X02v7SvNCcci6Srjoy1dv53KGvDs1sSIt6e_pv_r9vl5mqQbQyTcn-fF4L_npToiaJfmsVDdV0ga9DOe1RZ3wz0hohyphenhyphenCJQeJAFYxVYtDqCQtYYHvvenG9htE2LuEXjXGPKqJlEb7Mc/s1600/Cold+in+Berlin+final.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk9X02v7SvNCcci6Srjoy1dv53KGvDs1sSIt6e_pv_r9vl5mqQbQyTcn-fF4L_npToiaJfmsVDdV0ga9DOe1RZ3wz0hohyphenhyphenCJQeJAFYxVYtDqCQtYYHvvenG9htE2LuEXjXGPKqJlEb7Mc/s1600/Cold+in+Berlin+final.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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Cold in Berlin pic by Neil at <a href="http://wildblanket.com/">Wildblanket.com</a></div>
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I think that the time has come for me to close this blog
down. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I still go to gigs, I still see many great bands. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Unfortunately, what has deteriorated is my ability to write
about them in a fresh and interesting way. They deserve better, and so, reader,
do you. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I shall instead turn my attention to <a href="http://wyldman1/">Twitter</a>, and try to do
something more relevant via that medium. Frankly, in the current media world, my
role is that of one of innumerable curators. All I can legitimately say about
any act is “This band exists. I like them. Here is a link to their songs or a
video of their live performance. I hope that you like them too. Go and see them
live if you can.” <o:p></o:p></div>
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Talking of which, a final recommendation for <a href="http://callofthewyld.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/cold-in-berlin-jumping-ships-red-drapes.html">Call of theWyld stalwarts</a> <b><a href="http://www.coldinberlin.com/">Cold in Berlin</a></b>. I recently saw them play a show above the
eye-wateringly expensive Black Heart bar in Camden. <o:p></o:p></div>
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They are still a wonderful live band. They are slower and
heavier than of yore, but they remain a thrilling presence. Singer Maya is
never more comfortable than prowling through a packed audience, her powerful
voice dominating the room. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The band are now on their third album, something that I find
incredible and wonderful. They are doing their own thing, have built a small
but devoted following and bring pleasure to whoever encounters them. <o:p></o:p></div>
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That’s the ethos that I have tried to bring to this blog. I
may flirt with the big arena shows or well-established artists, but really it
is all about the new acts who are starting out, the bands that don’t get the
publicity, those who are amazed when
anyone other than immediate family and friends turns up to see them. <o:p></o:p></div>
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For those bands, I'll still be there. And I will do my best
to spread the word. <o:p></o:p><br />
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Wyldman</div>
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Wyldmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06701612407581789722noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163706760182042957.post-22159880716718831472015-04-21T18:25:00.001+01:002015-04-21T18:25:17.628+01:00Wire at The Lexington 17 April 2015<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAaAwaN-FY5dXqjE5z5xP2NTVrR8suj-sAT_eQmsPS7okqhs49XasvEmtP0ntE5c-d40H5oAC5ZjHBzL-l2fpvvIBF61r4MhcYgGeG5xsZLdxUQI3NNDBvWPPvTs6L_ETkOR3K5xGI-cE/s1600/Wire+lex+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAaAwaN-FY5dXqjE5z5xP2NTVrR8suj-sAT_eQmsPS7okqhs49XasvEmtP0ntE5c-d40H5oAC5ZjHBzL-l2fpvvIBF61r4MhcYgGeG5xsZLdxUQI3NNDBvWPPvTs6L_ETkOR3K5xGI-cE/s1600/Wire+lex+2.jpg" height="203" width="320" /></a></div>
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Wire</div>
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This is not the first time that I’ve seen <b><a href="http://www.pinkflag.com/">Wire</a></b>. This is not
even the first time that I’ve seen Wire at the Lexington. If I had been so
minded I could have caught them here five times this week. The Wire/Lexington
interface is well established.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Wire have an eponymous album out and are playing a week’s
worth of gigs here to promote it. They have a different support act each
evening. Tonight we are treated to the deliberately retro space rock stylings
of <b><a href="https://soundcloud.com/ooorlandooo">Orlando</a></b>. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The figures on stage are loosely swathed in silver tunics
and what appear to be cloaks made from bubble-wrap. This is a DIY ‘<a href="http://blakes7.com/">Blake’s 7</a>’
version of the future, a 70’s sounding pop/prog space ritual. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I like what the band do, although they have rather painted
themselves into a corner music and image-wise. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Tonight Wire arrive onstage and say that the set will be
divided into two halves. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The first part is a charge through the new album in its
entirety. It is the first time that I have heard many of these tunes and it
doesn’t detract from the Wire experience one jot. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The band are in ferocious form tonight. They are very loud
and metallic and rather grind my poor ears to mush beneath their onslaught. <o:p></o:p></div>
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All vocal duties are taken by Colin Newman, his voice an
adenoidal semi-speaking snarl. Graham Lewis stands stage left, a craggy yet
serene presence whomping out huge bass lines. Drummer Robert Grey thumps along
behind them, his eyes closed and lost in music for much of the time. ‘New Boy’
Matt Sims makes up the quartet, conceding stage space to the others, but very
much present in the angular guitar sound. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The new songs speed along very agreeable. ‘In Manchester’
has a catchy pop chorus, and things build up until we get to the end of this
part of the proceedings with a monolithic version of ‘Harpooned’, effectively
an eight and a half minute slow motion explosion of noise. <o:p></o:p></div>
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For the second half of their set, Wire are joined by Margaret
Fiedler, who often played with the band live before Sims joined on a permanent
basis. I would say that the sound gets even louder, but my by now largely
destroyed lugholes tell me this is not possible. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The songs now played span the band’s whole illustrious
career. The stand out, as so often, is the oft-mutated track ‘Drill’. Tonight’s
reading is a back to basics no frills version which nonetheless rocks you back
on your heels. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Wire say that they always go forward, never backwards. I’m
very happy to continue to march along with them. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Wyldmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06701612407581789722noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163706760182042957.post-1853611616074554752015-04-17T08:52:00.000+01:002015-04-17T08:52:13.644+01:00Jimmy Webb at Alban Arena 15 April 2015<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZc5_OS1yVwZfbEWyEVlsPr3x1D4FPzbVCbzUA3o-gAi91Kh1Ex6-0H3_vBtVs6QGVQ8MHnQqbQOwMtGY2PKZFIq9q7U0qrtR6UbSW6F7IGXkEenWGDQ7Y1Bz4H0QJd71UdivmWABVhg8/s1600/Jimmy+Webb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZc5_OS1yVwZfbEWyEVlsPr3x1D4FPzbVCbzUA3o-gAi91Kh1Ex6-0H3_vBtVs6QGVQ8MHnQqbQOwMtGY2PKZFIq9q7U0qrtR6UbSW6F7IGXkEenWGDQ7Y1Bz4H0QJd71UdivmWABVhg8/s1600/Jimmy+Webb.jpg" height="287" width="320" /></a></div>
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Jimmy Webb (pic: David Brewster)</div>
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When I get a call in the morning offering me a chance to see
<b><a href="http://www.jimmywebb.com/">Jimmy Webb</a></b> this evening, I have to think for a minute before accepting. I know
the name, but can’t quite place him. One quick scan of Wikipedia later and I am
prepared to trample the infirm to get a ticket. <o:p></o:p></div>
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So a few hours later, I’m sat in the Alban Arena marvelling
that such an iconic songwriter is still prepared to schlep around to places
like this. Shouldn’t he be lounging around a piano shaped swimming pool in
California somewhere?<o:p></o:p></div>
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Before the main act we are treated to a very enjoyable set
from <b><a href="http://deborahrose.co.uk/wp/">Deborah Rose</a></b>, a folk-inflected singer with a beautiful, clear Welsh voice
and a penchant for Victorian poets. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Many of Rose’s songs are based on adaptations of romantic
classics. She sings of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lady_of_Shalott">Lady of Shalott</a> and references other of works
Tennyson and Sir Walter Scott. It makes for a very pleasurable performance. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Jimmy Webb don’t stand on ceremony. He bellies up to a
battered piano (pronounced ‘pianner’) and tells folksy tales from his long life
as a songwriter.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s a simple set up and one that draws you in. As he talks,
his hands wander over the piano keys, finding melodies and motifs. He pays them
no mind. They seem to have a life of their own and they have served him well.<o:p></o:p></div>
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A Jimmy Webb song often drips with emotion, an aching in the
heart. Quite early on he plays ‘Galveston’, a meditation on the effects of what
the US Government couldn’t bring itself to describe as a ‘war’ in Vietnam. Webb
is still impassioned about this and rightly says that when 50,000 men die it
sure feels like a war. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Webb’s story is entwined with that of his great friend and
collaborator <a href="http://glencampbellmusic.com/">Glen Campbell</a>. Webb was a hippie and Campbell a redneck
Republican, but each recognised something in the other and glorious music
resulted. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Webb can’t quite sing the same anymore and encourages the
audience to help him out on the high notes. A version of ‘Up, Up and Away’ is
surprisingly moving, with the pianist throwing his head back, closing his eyes
and straining after the soaring tune. <o:p></o:p></div>
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He is much more comfortable with tales of everyday
heartbreak. ‘By the Time I get to Phoenix’ still packs a hefty wallop. This is
soul music in the truest sense of the word. The style may often be called
‘country’ but the songs address the very fibre of your being. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Webb closes his main set with a tale of Glen Campbell,
cruelly struck down by advanced Alzheimer’s disease, playing back to back
versions of ‘Wichita Lineman’ because the applause at the end of the first
version went on so long that Campbell forgot that he had just played it. Campbell’s
second take on the song is even better than the first.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The ‘Wichita Lineman’ that Jimmy Webb plays tonight is so fragile
that it is as bright and delicate as a crystal spider-string. The ghostly song fades
away until it is just a single piano key forlornly tap, tap, tapping in the
darkness. It is genuinely one of the most affecting songs that I have ever seen
played. <o:p></o:p></div>
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At the end of the show, Webb announces that he wants to meet
everyone outside, shake hands and sign any bit of memorabilia that comes his
way. He is a true gentleman, still humble, a master of his art. </div>
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A legend of
music in every sense of the word. <o:p></o:p><br />
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Wyldmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06701612407581789722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163706760182042957.post-61526575913599065062015-03-05T18:39:00.001+00:002015-03-05T18:39:26.330+00:00Yelle at Village Underground 04 March 2015<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivef0o1f3aiKHCibFX21F6ycQWYMEQ0Sr4EsbqNiBl9KCvSdwyoxce6zlaNVPOGu-FWVYvDslTNT_6EXba5uWhM1ngAt4sHR9_Ozx_6HiJXp51pZJblDaTZcaCTHmAc83LVqVwlQCFwro/s1600/Yelle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivef0o1f3aiKHCibFX21F6ycQWYMEQ0Sr4EsbqNiBl9KCvSdwyoxce6zlaNVPOGu-FWVYvDslTNT_6EXba5uWhM1ngAt4sHR9_Ozx_6HiJXp51pZJblDaTZcaCTHmAc83LVqVwlQCFwro/s1600/Yelle.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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Yelle</div>
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As I enter Village Underground, the support act already on
stage and comfortably into their set.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I’ve see <b><a href="http://www.nzca-lines.com/">NZCA Lines</a></b> before and<a href="http://callofthewyld.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/polica-and-nzcalines-at-heaven-20.html"> liked them. </a>Although it is
perhaps telling that I had not given the band a second thought from that day to
this. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The band play pleasant but utter unchallenging synth pop.
Singer Michael Lovett is wearing a nice crisp shirt and it is all very affable.
<o:p></o:p></div>
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There may be hints of the precisely clipped ‘white’ sound of
acts like Hot Chip or even Scritti Politti, but ultimately there just isn’t
enough here to really get your teeth into and engage with. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.yelle.fr/">Yelle</a></b> is a French electronic artist who has been producing
Gallic club bangers for a number of years.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Tonight, Yelle (aka Julie Budet) is joined by two
identically-clad male drummers. She is only armed with a microphone, although
she occasionally bashes at a third, electronic drum pad. As the racing synth
music blasts out it becomes clear that anything up to around 80% of what we
will hear tonight is backing track. <o:p></o:p></div>
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This doesn’t really matter. The drummers are primarily here
to perform dance routines, posing and throwing shapes and only sporadically
actually playing their kit.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Yelle herself has a good voice and a winning personality
that she deploys to manipulate the crowd. We are happy to clap our hands, wave
them in the air like we just don’t care and ignore the artificiality and
absurdity of it all. <o:p></o:p></div>
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What does come as a surprise is how long the band plays for.
After a minor encore on the half hour mark they play for at least as long
again. It’s cheesy fun and the biggest cheer of the night comes when the two
drummers entwine and start snogging each other’s faces off. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Yelle are very much a club act. They would be happiest on a
podium in some <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/just-one-great-long-party-1263359.html">Ibizan Manumission style dance shed</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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They’re still pretty jolly on a cold night in Shoreditch. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />Wyldmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06701612407581789722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163706760182042957.post-77941872629345052152015-02-24T18:56:00.000+00:002015-02-24T18:56:22.102+00:00The Decemberists at Brixton Academy - 21 February 2015<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj7hB_7rzGVlBwUPArsIUNJmzsCSHewwnEwZPWwToW3D4900geSl8LC_B7TfemgpFdJEEgOiX3Kvo2hLiGYBiW15ajqKa4DjzGTI76Af46UHOQ7qfA_Zmj6GazPRww7B4mne6EYD2bGxE/s1600/Decemberists-45.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj7hB_7rzGVlBwUPArsIUNJmzsCSHewwnEwZPWwToW3D4900geSl8LC_B7TfemgpFdJEEgOiX3Kvo2hLiGYBiW15ajqKa4DjzGTI76Af46UHOQ7qfA_Zmj6GazPRww7B4mne6EYD2bGxE/s1600/Decemberists-45.jpg" height="217" width="320" /></a></div>
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The Decemberists (pic <a href="http://louderthanwar.com/">Louder Than War</a>)</div>
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There are some venues that I try to avoid. One of these is
the [This week’s Sponsor’s Name] Brixton Academy. I’ve had problems in the past
with muddy sound quality and I certainly have problems in the present with the
infamous sloping floor which just murders my poor old back and legs. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13olfeD026g">What a drag it is getting old</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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And yet… here I am again. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The stage is always impressive, set amongst faux classical
columns and mysterious sculpted figures. It’s like being at an outside
amphitheatre but without being exposed to the elements. <o:p></o:p></div>
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My misgivings about the sound are initially borne out by the
sad fate of support act <b><a href="http://www.serafinasteer.com/">Serafina Steer,</a></b> who can be seen onstage making some
kind of noise, the specifics of which are lost in the cavernous space. Which is
a pity.<o:p></o:p></div>
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However, from this point on it’s good news all the way. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.decemberists.com/">The Decemberists</a></b> have been away for a while. This is partly
due to health scares (fortunately now passed) and partly because band leader
Colin Meloy doesn’t feel the pressure to record and tour in constant rotation
anymore. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The band are here to promote their excellent new album ‘What
a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World’ and their set is artfully split
between these new songs and big set piece numbers from their extensive back
catalogue. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They are dressed as befits their age and experience, in
dapper suits and evening wear. The audience too seems to have mellowed. A
Decemberists’ gig of yore would be accompanied by legions of fans dressed as
<a href="http://www.whalingmuseum.org/sites/default/files/Whales%20and%20Hunting%20landing%20page%20banner_2001.100.4443.jpg">1850’s New England fishermen, complete with inflatable whales</a>. There is none of
that tonight. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The band starts with ‘The Singer Addresses His Audience’, a
song about how bands change over time. The sound is loud and crystal clear and
remains so all evening. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Initially it appears as if we are going to get the new album
more or less in its entirety, as new songs ‘Cavalry Captain’ and ‘Philomena’
(“<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2431286/">Not about Judi Dench</a>”) follow. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are five full time Decemberists, but they are joined
tonight by two female backing singer/musicians who play a prominent role in all
the songs tonight, doing a lot of the heavy lifting for Meloy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They come to the fore in the quieter moments like ‘Carolina
Low’, picked out by a white spotlight.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There is older material too, which gives Colin Meloy the
chance to revel in his showmanship. ‘Sixteen Military Wives’ features a segment
in which he conducts the differing segments of the auditorium in synchronised
clapping. ‘The Rake’s Song’ has the whole crowd in the palm of his hand,
shouting and whispering (and thinking) the chorus. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Decemberists are a class act, still very much at the top
of their game. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And even though the next day I am as stiff as an ironing
board, it’s been totally worth it. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5LsWZL0WbGY" width="560"></iframe></div>
Wyldmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06701612407581789722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163706760182042957.post-89986702935695952522015-02-17T20:17:00.000+00:002015-02-17T20:17:31.336+00:00Girlpool, Fake Laugh, FVC at The Lexington - 16 February 2015<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieptLT4y0j6k-lbpeM7qOOYKk280Z3_jqp2fYORku71UUGXwknrw9KVC4y-QOSe351C35_tu_tQMHkwH4B22-DNEu5S0Z-w1qfyXkQoIMImm-nW59Mhyphenhyphen-l26ss4xdCXKOgOZODnd1CMP0/s1600/girlpool-blahblahblah-video.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieptLT4y0j6k-lbpeM7qOOYKk280Z3_jqp2fYORku71UUGXwknrw9KVC4y-QOSe351C35_tu_tQMHkwH4B22-DNEu5S0Z-w1qfyXkQoIMImm-nW59Mhyphenhyphen-l26ss4xdCXKOgOZODnd1CMP0/s1600/girlpool-blahblahblah-video.png" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Girlpool</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Everybody has to start somewhere. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Tonight is the first solo show by <b><a href="https://twitter.com/florencevc">Florence Van Camerjik akaFVC</a></b>. To me she seems familiar, and I eventually realise that she had been the
<a href="http://callofthewyld.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/girlpool-and-oscar-shacklewell-arms-17.html">reluctant girl singer who helped out the band Oscar on a support slot the lasttime I saw tonight’s headliners.</a><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She starts her set abruptly, rather at the mercy of her
backing music, that provides beats, melody and a vocal track over which she can
sing. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She wanders the stage, psyching herself up, her microphone
clutched close to her face. The effect has echoes of a girl trapped in her
bedroom, grabbing a hairbrush and singing along with hits on the radio. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Florence is a bit stiff and awkward at first, but gradually
loosens up, rearranges her clothing and presses on. She has an air of knowing
gaucheness that suits the material very well.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What really stands out even at this early stage is the
quality of the songs. In a short set of barely half a dozen tunes FVC
establishes herself as one to watch out for in the future.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<iframe frameborder="no" height="450" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/177177549&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true" width="100%"></iframe><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Florence is followed on stage by Kamran Khan, who is doing a
solo set as<b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/fakelaughmusic"> Fake Laugh. </a></b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Kamran is young, handsome and painfully earnest, possessed
of a beautiful clear voice that gives every song he sings the eerie intensity
of a religious work. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Unfortunately, the singer is attempting to make a silk purse
from sow’s ears. The songs, though lovely to listen to, are very humdrum, with
lyrics that are very much of the moon-June-spoon variety. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
By coincidence, both Fake Laugh and FVC have songs called
‘Little Things’. FVC’s was a pop-savvy vignette of young woman anxiety, while
this one goes ‘The little things you say / Make me want to run away’. It’s
delivered delightfully, but terribly trite.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<iframe frameborder="no" height="450" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/186009802&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true" width="100%"></iframe><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is the second time in a couple of months that I have
seen tonight’s headliners <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/GIRLPOOOL">Girlpool</a></b>. The
pairing of Cleo Tucker and Harmony Tividad is evolving all the time. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s interesting watching the dynamic between the pair.
Before Christmas, it seemed as though the flame-haired Cleo was the dominant
partner. Not so now. The spotlight is very much shared, and Harmony is much
more forceful. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s very much a joint enterprise, as all songs are sung in
tandem, a folky keening that makes their work seem traditional in nature, even
though the songs themselves are brand new.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Girlpool are only just coming to the world’s attention, and
at present it is not entirely clear what they will eventually be. They are
writing and discarding songs at a prodigious rate, with new material appearing
on the internet almost weekly. Half of the songs tonight are introduced as
‘new’ and by that the pair seem to mean ‘written in the last couple of days’. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is clearly evidence of a duo on a hot streak of
creativity, but it does also mean that their set is so much in flux that at
times it feels like a jam session between the two. They are still figuring out
what works, what doesn’t, what they like, what they don’t. The audience gets a
bit shut out during this process. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
An interesting evening then, with a variety of acts finding
their way and attempting to forge an identity. Good luck to them.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xWqzp3JGrRY" width="560"></iframe> <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
(Another song not played!)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Wyldmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06701612407581789722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163706760182042957.post-2670762634632655692015-02-05T19:19:00.000+00:002015-02-05T19:19:51.826+00:00Kælan Mikla and City Boys Band at Power Lunches - 03 February 2015<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1rnFmCova82jkwDtwSuu6jqHSr_UZel4DpEHdmMpwSfkXPzrzLSiRTiO0T98fLJ235Bxjufgi0MRf-rqObQcQtVzMD_rHkmjOqYjOJ-s1BhrDhMQsgqEDelUMHF2y2soEuXwD9FD-VVA/s1600/Kaelan+Mikla.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1rnFmCova82jkwDtwSuu6jqHSr_UZel4DpEHdmMpwSfkXPzrzLSiRTiO0T98fLJ235Bxjufgi0MRf-rqObQcQtVzMD_rHkmjOqYjOJ-s1BhrDhMQsgqEDelUMHF2y2soEuXwD9FD-VVA/s1600/Kaelan+Mikla.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Kælan Mikla (rotten photo by Wyldman)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">It’s a bitterly
cold February night and everyone is standing around shivering. I’m squished
somewhere between the bar and the toilet in <a href="http://powerlunchesltd.co.uk/">Power Lunches</a>, a tiny venue near
Dalston Junction that was once a café.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">The door to the
room is wide open to accommodate a steady stream of smokers, bands, friends and
acquaintances. I break the ice forming on the surface of my beer and struggle
my way down the stairs to the room below. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">The space is
tight and dark and even the mirrored walls do not disguise the claustrophobic
feel of the place. It’s like entering a pharaoh’s tomb. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">We start off
with a selection of short films. Without exception these are shot in black and
white and depict something indeterminately unpleasant occurring. Indistinct images
jump and flicker. The deafening atonal soundtrack amplifies the unease and
horror. Probably the best film depicts what might be some ancient hunting
ritual enacted by strangely attired girls hurling wooden spears and chasing
after some unseen quarry. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">In order to avoid
their heads getting in the way, half the audience is enticed to duck down or
sit on the floor. We hunch in the dark and it all feels very daring and arty. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">The first act
of the night eventually emerge from behind the tacked-up movie screen. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">This is <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/cityboysband?fref=photo">CityBoys Band</a></b>, two musicians who fuse distorted vocals and heavy percussion to create an
unsettling, industrial rhythm that echoes Mark Stewart’s solo work or even
Cabaret Voltaire. As such, the duo’s hypnotic sound is right up my street.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">The singer
mutters intensely, his head bowed as he hunches over an electronic console or
clatters away on a drum. The performance space at Power Lunches is so small,
and the stage area so low, that if you stand more than two rows back you are
pretty much stuffed in terms of actually seeing what is going on. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">The room is
pitch dark by now and I’m standing on a sea of discarded bottles. The room is
packed and there is a real sense of danger about the place. One moment of panic
and people could die down here. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Cool.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">I like City Boys
Band a lot, but I make sure that I’m in a better position for the next act. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LSp9gW_BiNY" width="420"></iframe><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">I’m here this
evening to see <b><a href="https://is-is.facebook.com/Kaelanmikla">Kælan Mikla</a></b>, a three piece noise outfit from Reykjavik. Such is
the speed of the internet, I only discovered they existed on Sunday afternoon,
and yet, here we all are two days later.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">The band are
young, cheery and sing emotionally in Icelandic. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">They have a
very simple set up. A drummer (Sólveig Matthildur Kristjánsdóttir) who also
sings; a thumping bassist with orange hair (Margrét Rósa Dóru- Harrysdóttir)
who occasionally screams terrifyingly off-mike; and the psyched-up singer
Laufey Soffía Þórsdóttir, who is necking a respectable quantity of beer and
whisky and who crawls around on the floor of the stage. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">It’s my idea of
heaven. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">I love acts
such as this. They are following their own idiosyncratic path to create
something that is important to themselves and if an audience likes it, so much
the better.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">As my conversational
Icelandic is sadly not up to scratch, I’m not entirely sure what Laufey and co
are singing about. I do know that it involves a fair amount of screaming and
alcohol. And that is a universal language.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">It’s been a
genuinely different and really enjoyable evening. There is an easy atmosphere
of genial chaos – things sort of start when then there is sufficient momentum
for them to do so, rather than to a set timetable. At times, this has been less of a gig than a
Sixties style Happening. It fits in with the tea bar origins of the venue.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Far out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MFW9sBIXDDQ" width="560"></iframe><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Wyldmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06701612407581789722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163706760182042957.post-24496218561628867832015-01-26T19:46:00.000+00:002015-01-26T19:46:08.468+00:00Desperate Journalist, Terminal Gods, Dressmaker at Lexington 22 January 2015<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsEkXJGne7hoQ_WPpDvOMUlCMsvYievOa3J4e5v1qjjVLlERVgC3psOwLghwLlpOowrQn58q_bZZqj8ZTmXs0vW28AXSngpz3fLX6RknXqMX7VoJjMNQ-LYdOQwQBqQti9OOTnZAxuQh4/s1600/despos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsEkXJGne7hoQ_WPpDvOMUlCMsvYievOa3J4e5v1qjjVLlERVgC3psOwLghwLlpOowrQn58q_bZZqj8ZTmXs0vW28AXSngpz3fLX6RknXqMX7VoJjMNQ-LYdOQwQBqQti9OOTnZAxuQh4/s1600/despos.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Desperate Journalist</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">The first thing
that strikes me as I enter the upstairs room that is the performance space at
the Lexington is that I haven’t been here for far too long. I had forgotten how
small it is, how the bands are almost teetering on top of you. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">My second
thought is “Bloody Hell!” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/dressmakerlondon">Dressmaker</a></b> are
onstage and doing a fair impression of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bauhaus_%28band%29">Bauhaus </a>thrashing wildly in the wreckage
of a small plane crash. The room is full of dry ice and strobes and singer and
guitarists flailing and wailing and making a fine old racket. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Vocalist
Charles Potashner is dolled up in a fetching fur bolero jacket and is snarling
in his best Lydon drawl. He’s clambering about all over the place, sometimes
down in the crowd, sometimes up on the drum kit. He’s having a blast, as are
all the band.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">All is noise
and spectacle. You couldn’t sing along to a Dressmaker song, but they’re a lot
of entertainment in a room this size. They finish with an even bigger wig –out
than before and various members of the band come barging out of the maelstrom
past me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">So thumbs up
for that one. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/6wXOcbyJPTY" width="560"></iframe><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">I’m a big fan
of the BBC’s flagship nature programme ‘<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01pqxlz/live">Winterwatch</a>’. This time around there
has been a lot of talk about how an introduced species can fill the gap in the
food chain left by other animals and thrive as a result. Winterwatch were
concerned with <a href="https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=810565282357686">Little Owls.</a> Let me make a case for Terminal Gods. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Singer Robert
Cowlin and his cohorts are clearly enthralled by the Eighties none-more-dark
machine rock of acts like <a href="http://www.the-sisters-of-mercy.com/">The Sisters of Mercy</a>, Bauhaus (them again) and The Mission.
It was full-on, histrionic music that jack-hammered along behind leather
jackets, sunglasses after dark and the certain knowledge that audiences were to
be cowed by the power and swagger of the performers. This music was often
labelled ‘goth’, but it was a world away from floaty fixations on graveyards
and vampires. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/terminalgods">Terminal Gods</a></b>
have seen that the bands that they love have largely disappeared, lost to old
age and changing fads – young men in eyeliner went ‘emo’ and left the true path
pioneered by Pete Murphy, Andrew Eldritch, Wayne Hussey and co.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">So tonight,
what could be wrongly dismissed as an exercise in revivalism instead sounds
fresh, exciting and just terrific.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Cowlin is stick
thin, his eyes obscured behind dark glasses. His deep voice rumbles like a tube
train. The rest of the band don’t merely play, but pose and flourish. They know
they are good. They know WE know they are good. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">It’s one hell
of a rollercoaster. There are huge choruses, which the fans in the audience
shout along to. There’s a really joyous atmosphere. This is a celebration of a
show. The Lexington is tiny but with these Gods on stage, it feels like
Wembley.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">So thumbs up
for that one too. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/ukVrZLm1zVQ" width="420"></iframe><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">I’m actually
here this evening to see <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/DesperateJournalist">Desperate Journalist </a></b>again. Tonight is the official
launch of their well-reviewed and highly recommended debut album. After the
bombast of the first two acts, I worry that they might seem anticlimactic. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">But not a bit
of it. Jo Bevan, Simon Drowner, Rob Hardy and Caz Hellbent take the energy
buzzing around the room and amplify it with a storming performance of their
own.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Jo’s voice
soars like an eagle and roars like a lion. The sheer power that she generates
is beyond that of any other singer out there at the moment. Meanwhile, Rob is
bent double wringing solos from his guitar and Simon hulks behind a whomping
bass. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">A huge mosh pit
forms, including personnel from the other bands. Jo firmly declares that what
Desperate Journalist is ‘Indie’ rather than rock. But they sure indie the
Casbah this evening. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">A marvellous
show, a marvellous band. I’ve run out of thumbs to put up. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Wyldmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06701612407581789722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163706760182042957.post-43677291785883980112015-01-17T13:11:00.000+00:002015-01-17T13:11:05.759+00:00Furs and Psychic Markers at The Waiting Room - 14 January 2015<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs-lvSlhWaijM-ALNy6wPjBS6Vr3TMiDpOtychGx8FxI5rdthOzqA6wPTWxLzzcEdoWvF02sR7tXM-qJbbDsxTepSIMX0y20qtHavJ6fF6wNEOYYR0AYdt_BKbHyE_eUH8fHxoJY6Riu0/s1600/Furs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs-lvSlhWaijM-ALNy6wPjBS6Vr3TMiDpOtychGx8FxI5rdthOzqA6wPTWxLzzcEdoWvF02sR7tXM-qJbbDsxTepSIMX0y20qtHavJ6fF6wNEOYYR0AYdt_BKbHyE_eUH8fHxoJY6Riu0/s1600/Furs.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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Furs</div>
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If I arbitrarily designate my base of operations in Luton as
the cradle of civilisation, then the <a href="http://www.waitingroomn16.com/">Waiting Room</a> in Stoke Newington on a wild
and blustery Wednesday night in January seems a long way removed from that cosy
centre.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The venue itself is situated in the basement of a busy
pub/restaurant that is doing a roaring trade with crowds of young men sporting
identikit <a href="http://www.nonsenselit.org/Lear/BoN/bon001.gif">Edward Lear beards</a> and tall young women clad in black. Kids, eh? <o:p></o:p></div>
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The Waiting room itself is a simple space with benches along
the walls. With Spartan décor that is either plain wood or white tiling it
resembles a cross between a sauna and a butcher’s shop. <o:p></o:p></div>
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First up are cosmic six piece <b><a href="http://psychicmarkers.bandcamp.com/">Psychic Markers.</a></b> In addition
to the usual guitars, bass and drums they have two backing singers who share a
microphone while swaying side to side and clutching bottles of beer. They all
play in other bands – Grass House, Still Corners and several others. They are
here tonight for gentle psychedelic shenanigans. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Band leader Steve Dove has the sniffles, and snuffles
disconsolately between songs. The band start off with an instrumental that
doesn’t quite work, but the set soon builds a momentum of whirling space rock
that enraptures the room.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The vocals are narrated as much as sung and the woozy charm
of proceedings sees me turn on, tune in, and stop out for the evening. My
colleague wonders if the band should fully embrace their inner Hawkwind and
have the backing singers covered only by glitter and paint. This is only a
suggestion. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<iframe frameborder="no" height="450" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/168285940&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true" width="100%"></iframe><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="https://twitter.com/fursfurs">Furs</a></b> (or F.U.R.S. depending upon which flyer you read) have
a weekly residency at this venue throughout January. They are bright and
cheerful and showcase the vocals of Elle Wade.<o:p></o:p></div>
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There’s no angle to Furs. They play proper songs with proper
verses and catchy choruses and when they have a good time on stage this
communicates through to the audience and suffuses us with a warm glow of
contentment. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Highlights include ‘Just Kids’ and ‘An Eye on the Vicious’.
It’s the kind of smooth music that is sometimes tagged ‘Adult Rock’. And there’s
nothing derogatory about that statement. <o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s this spirit of charm and wellbeing that is the band’s main
asset and it is not one to be underestimated. We are happy in their company and
they make the trip out tonight worthwhile.<o:p></o:p></div>
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And I hold on to that thought as I begin the long slog home.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<iframe frameborder="no" height="450" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/96900953&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true" width="100%"></iframe><o:p></o:p></div>
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Wyldmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06701612407581789722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163706760182042957.post-91982392372177121942014-12-31T11:03:00.000+00:002014-12-31T11:03:48.189+00:00Call of the Wyld - Review of the Year 2014<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ_QYVwX1-_s3uFMBFYDkC9kzWnBh1m3KkARp-chk5g4kbg-LmatZeQZTHi0NHKHZ6tOY3hqSlMSuXgyybyr9iO0GLgv4kUJDww2F0EyYSmim7sRTm0hts-NGcP3zcu1TUc7MWK4iyjB8/s1600/Autobahn+best.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ_QYVwX1-_s3uFMBFYDkC9kzWnBh1m3KkARp-chk5g4kbg-LmatZeQZTHi0NHKHZ6tOY3hqSlMSuXgyybyr9iO0GLgv4kUJDww2F0EyYSmim7sRTm0hts-NGcP3zcu1TUc7MWK4iyjB8/s1600/Autobahn+best.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/autobahnmusik">Autobahn: Band of the Year</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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It’s time to be reflective and think back over the past year’s
gigs. As ever it’s been a mixed bag – sherbet lemons and razorblades as always.<o:p></o:p></div>
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January and February were quiet…too quiet. I saw the
reliably wonderful<b> <a href="http://callofthewyld.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/dressmaker-skinny-girl-diet-and-abjects.html">Skinny Girl Diet at the Barfly and had my first encounter with Abjects</a>.</b> Catching this same band later in the year was a revelation –
either my radar hadn’t yet warmed up in January or else they had improved
beyond measure. <o:p></o:p></div>
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In March I saw <a href="http://callofthewyld.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/the-men-baby-strange-and-lola-colt-at.html"><b>The Men</b> at Village Underground</a>. It was the
second loudest gig I have been to in my entire life (Swans in their heyday hold
that dubious honour) and my ears were effectively ruined for the next three
days. It genuinely hurt.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Undeterred I headed to the Buffalo Bar (RIP) to relive the
mid-Eighties madness of <a href="http://callofthewyld.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/a-witness-and-cravats-at-buffalo-bar-12.html"><b>A Witness and The Cravats</b></a>. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://callofthewyld.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/ravioli-me-away-witching-waves-as-ondas.html">At Brixton Windmill I enjoyed an all-day festival and particularly the performance of <b>Ravioli Me Away,</b></a> who were dressed as KISS at
the time and have one of the songs of the year in ‘Cat Call’. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/2bh32qFUTBk" width="560"></iframe><o:p></o:p></div>
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From there I trotted off to the <a href="http://callofthewyld.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/miley-cyrus-at-o2-arena-06-may-2014.html">O2 to see<b> Miley Cyrus</b> </a>redefine
the arena experience with a show that was so gleefully over the top that there
wasn’t any point in the two hours that weren’t completely bonkers. I especially
enjoyed her tribute to her dead dog Floyd accompanied by a vast inflatable
model of the unfortunate creature that shot lasers from its eyes. It was both barmy
and deeply moving.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ4ee2x29G3SAi9p04MmkTBvViTh18vs4mw6I-I5yE9V7lVabgJgwkj_wVj1CZA805x0OYqKF5aVjsLnotKZVgmodWBTDQ9DtF3Bw1PO8P3Lnwm2DVzi3GlyDbqdkCO8Bpi2m0BAp-A-I/s1600/Miley+Floyd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ4ee2x29G3SAi9p04MmkTBvViTh18vs4mw6I-I5yE9V7lVabgJgwkj_wVj1CZA805x0OYqKF5aVjsLnotKZVgmodWBTDQ9DtF3Bw1PO8P3Lnwm2DVzi3GlyDbqdkCO8Bpi2m0BAp-A-I/s1600/Miley+Floyd.jpg" /></a></div>
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In contrast, in the Autumn I saw <a href="http://callofthewyld.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/lady-gaga-artrave-at-02-arena-23.html"><b>Lady Gaga</b></a> at the same venue
and it was like spending an evening with an Agony Aunt who occasionally shook
her ass at you. 1-0 to Miley.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I saw <a href="http://callofthewyld.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/tune-yards-and-sylvan-esso-at-village.html"><b>Tune-Yards </b>twice in 2014</a>. I was out of sorts for the
Village Underground show, grumbling about the audience having the temerity to
enjoy themselves. At a later show at Brixton Electric I was able to lighten up
and enjoy the continued genius of Merrill Garbus.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In May I had <a href="http://callofthewyld.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/white-lung-autobahn-claw-marks-at-100.html">my first encounter with <b>Autobahn</b></a><b>,</b> a full
blooded, honest-to-goodness rock band with a dynamic lead singer and a gale of
sound that pinned your ears back. I later saw them in the confined spaces of
the<a href="http://callofthewyld.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/autobahn-jeffrey-lewis-and-jrams-bad.html"> Lock Tavern on the Camden Crawl</a>. Autobahn went off like a rocket about a
foot away from my face. It was majestic and awesome and the best thing I saw
all year. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I really enjoyed this year’s Crawl and it is a great pity
that within days the whole enterprise fell apart in acrimony and unpaid debts.
It’s unlikely to be back, but I shall treasure memories of a warm day outside
the Camden Town Brewery watching <b>Jeffrey Lewis </b>frolic in the sunshine.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Another festival that went belly up was the Jabberwocky
event at the Excel Arena. I benefited by attending a hastily re-arranged<b>
</b><a href="http://callofthewyld.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/deafheaven-and-chelsea-wolfe-at-garage.html"><b>Deafheaven / Chelsea Wolfe </b>show at the Garage. </a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://callofthewyld.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/loop-and-godflesh-at-heaven-04-june-2014.html">Loop came back from nowhere at Heaven</a> and were
marvellous. I saw <a href="http://callofthewyld.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/the-fall-at-under-bridge-11-june-2014.html">The Fall for theumpteenth time at Stamford Bridge </a>and was blown away by how invigorated they
are in their current line-up. <o:p></o:p></div>
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In July I saw a<a href="http://callofthewyld.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/babymetal-at-forum-07-july-2014.html"> jaw-dropping show from Japanese rockers <b>Babymetal</b></a><b>.</b> I loved it to bits, but one clumsily worded sentence earned me the
wrath of their fans. Apologies.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Rg1_Ejv98nk" width="560"></iframe><o:p></o:p></div>
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In September I finally saw <a href="http://callofthewyld.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/tweens-desperate-journalist-and-relics.html"><b>Desperate Journalist</b> do themselves proud</a> at <a href="http://callofthewyld.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/madame-jojos-fun-while-it-lasted.html">Madame Jo Jo’s, another venue that did not survive theyear. </a></div>
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But as one venue closes, others are discovered. The latter
part of the year saw memorable shows at Oslo (<a href="http://callofthewyld.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/carter-tutti-void-and-eiiii-at-oslo.html"><b>Carter Tutti Void</b></a>, <a href="http://callofthewyld.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/stealing-sheep-and-kiran-leonard-at.html"><b>Stealing Sheep</b></a>) and – my venue of the year – <b><a href="http://www.shacklewellarms.com/">The Shacklewell Arms</a></b>. <o:p></o:p></div>
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At the Shacklewell I saw terrific performances by <a href="http://callofthewyld.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/white-lung-at-shacklewell-arms-03.html"><b>White Lung, Skinny Girl Diet, Abjects</b></a>, <b><a href="http://callofthewyld.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/girlpool-and-oscar-shacklewell-arms-17.html">Girlpool</a></b> and <b><a href="http://callofthewyld.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/the-coathangers-skinny-girl-diet.html">The Coathangers.</a></b> I’m back ther
early in 2015 for New York synth punks<b> Pop. 1280</b> and I’m excited already. <o:p></o:p></div>
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In a move that no-one could have foreseen, <b><a href="http://callofthewyld.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/kate-bush-before-dawn-hammersmith.html">Kate Bush</a></b>
returned and was utterly awesome. It was more like a lavish stage musical than
a gig, but it was wholly extraordinary, not least in that she did it entirely
on her own terms and barely played any of her most famous songs. <o:p></o:p></div>
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A claustrophobic <b><a href="http://callofthewyld.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/goat-and-lay-llamas-at-roundhouse-03.html">Goat gig at the Roundhouse </a></b>put me off that
venue for good (so no Ride in 2015).<o:p></o:p></div>
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There were two stand out shows at the end of the year. <b><a href="http://callofthewyld.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/the-pop-group-and-goodbye-leopold-at.html">ThePop Group were all kinds of magnificent at Islington Town Hall</a></b> and <b><a href="http://callofthewyld.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/charli-xcx-at-heaven-30-october-2014.html">Charli XCX blew the roof off at Heaven.</a></b><o:p></o:p></div>
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All praise too to <b><a href="http://callofthewyld.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/kero-kero-bonito-bo-en-lil-data-at.html">Kero Kero Bonito and Bo En</a></b> for a show at
Electrowerkz that completely subverted what I expected from a live performance.
<o:p></o:p></div>
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Looking back, it was a great year. Again. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Now… on to 2015.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Wyldmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06701612407581789722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163706760182042957.post-57271098793017310322014-12-20T13:48:00.000+00:002014-12-20T13:48:29.319+00:00Stealing Sheep and Kiran Leonard at Oslo - 18 December 2014<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUjgeXGajaASQPDI8nrbGgL0T1Fj2EWoGbxNgVBrGctVnzYbGQxfDYITtQbTqqGX2Yrom3c2lcLwwwHgUmlg5Q0SL3GxwEx_qsQ4ex2DLsfDw7tX91KP2vNj5en0BcyT0te-qJn-SVBXo/s1600/Stealing_Sheep_live_at_Liverpool_Sound_City.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUjgeXGajaASQPDI8nrbGgL0T1Fj2EWoGbxNgVBrGctVnzYbGQxfDYITtQbTqqGX2Yrom3c2lcLwwwHgUmlg5Q0SL3GxwEx_qsQ4ex2DLsfDw7tX91KP2vNj5en0BcyT0te-qJn-SVBXo/s1600/Stealing_Sheep_live_at_Liverpool_Sound_City.jpg" height="217" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Stealing Sheep</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s all very Christmassy. The restaurant downstairs is
doing good business. A fat guy is so drunk that he is repeatedly falling
against the table on which the DJ is perched, causing the records to jump. All
is merry and bright.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I had heard good things about <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/digitalsustain">Kiran Leonard</a></b>. What I
initially actually get is a drummer and bassist gamely accompanying a gawky,
gurning guy who is howling like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Man_Fischer">Wild Man Fischer</a> and assaulting a guitar. It’s
not entertainment so much as a possible cause for medical intervention. Not good at all. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
However, having retired to another room for what seems like
a safe period of time and then returning for his last three songs, I find the
band transformed. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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There is now a driving jungle rhythm and Leonard’s guitar is
soloing wildly over the top. The whole room is rocking and dancing. Leonard
seems much less physically awkward and is tying himself in knots to wring notes
from his instrument. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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Needless to say, this is a vast improvement over what went
before. Speaking to friends afterwards, the
general consensus seems to be that the artist started very slowly but that
everything seemed to gel and take flight about halfway through the set. So,
recommended, but with reservations. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/uZfIRi_ur-4" width="560"></iframe><o:p></o:p></div>
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We have been promised that <b><a href="http://stealingsheep.co.uk/">Stealing Sheep </a></b>would put on an
extravagant show. They certainly know how to make an entrance. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Led by a vast life size Chinese dragon, a procession of
Pharonic figures make their way around the room. There appears to be a giant
pink hippo with a fish stuck in its head. The rear of the party is brought up
by a magnificently horned white ram. I’ve been drinking – but this is
definitely real.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The three members of Stealing Sheep are almost unnoticed on
stage, but start playing as the pageant in front of them moves away. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There is an immediate problem. Stealing Sheep are polite and
pleasant but their music is so slight that they initially have difficulty in
obtaining the interest of the crowd, many of whom are just blithely ignoring
the band and are excitedly shouting into each other’s faces. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Stealing Sheep remind me rather of <a href="http://raviolimeaway.co.uk/">Ravioli Me Away</a>, another
band of women for whom the visual elements of performance are at least as
important as their music. Stealing Sheep though are more lightweight, so
unobtrusive that while they spread an undeniable vibe of bonhomie, there is
very little else to fasten on to. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
About halfway through the set, many of the musicians who had
formed part of the pageant join the band onstage to play a variety of
percussion instruments. This immediately beefs the sound up immeasurably and
adds a sense of direction and purpose to proceedings. There’s a happy
atmosphere and a warm glow about the place.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s been a very convivial evening. The visual elements will
stick in the mind longer than the music, but that’s cool too. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Merry Christmas.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Wyldmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06701612407581789722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163706760182042957.post-13469211195665146492014-12-07T16:15:00.000+00:002014-12-07T16:15:24.695+00:00Kero Kero Bonito, Bo En, Lil Data at Electrowerkz - 03 December 2014<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPxc3t8dSE9PU70Sqy9lo2aFXP1v-3xHD7lwlWWxW4fA2fm-jbDh6d4s6YdZ_dbYjMDV0vaUgDl83NTUjbiVQ5rKifA0vlGb6xIirXQcp8Js3vR5P-nCQaZTzB6sEQVCKZelfMo1SAwqM/s1600/Kero_Kero_Bonito_750_1125_90_s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPxc3t8dSE9PU70Sqy9lo2aFXP1v-3xHD7lwlWWxW4fA2fm-jbDh6d4s6YdZ_dbYjMDV0vaUgDl83NTUjbiVQ5rKifA0vlGb6xIirXQcp8Js3vR5P-nCQaZTzB6sEQVCKZelfMo1SAwqM/s1600/Kero_Kero_Bonito_750_1125_90_s.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Kero Kero Bonito</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are some gigs that are so attractive that they draw me
to them like a shark to freshly chummed waters behind a fishing boat. Tonight
the bait is<b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/kerokerobonito"> Kero Kero Bonito.</a></b> I circle Electrowerkz a couple of times and swim
in. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The First Law of gig queues is in operation. This states
that a long line of punters outside inevitably means that when you get inside
there are no more than a few handfuls of people milling about. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The first act is on. And this is where I get way out of my
knowledge zone. Those who know more about this kind of thing should feel free
to make a derisory snort at anything I type from this point onwards. <o:p></o:p></div>
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On stage is a projection of a computer screen. It swarms
with code. There are various beeping noises that occasionally become off-kilter
beats. As the code is deleted or re-typed, so the sounds change. <o:p></o:p></div>
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This is the world of <b><a href="https://twitter.com/lildata">Lil Data</a></b>, and it is as incomprehensible
to me as an airplane is to a goldfish. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The bleeps and bloops are easy enough to listen to, and the
small gaggle of guys (obviously!) who crowd around the console where Mr Data is
weaving his magic are wearing contented smiles. It’s all very Neuromancer – an
Eighties vision of the future. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRLb_tr0kxrZfs7H52Hn32lMa3e6whgVns4KPy-o7BtgToREBg2Cxbp-Xg7txCaCXpSbJTfH_HnA-yPqnv_TGlLrjTWuZovETKm5sx1xxGYOtPW5yx3n_1KY6zB9oRltknKSzPnjgTU84/s1600/Lil+DaTA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRLb_tr0kxrZfs7H52Hn32lMa3e6whgVns4KPy-o7BtgToREBg2Cxbp-Xg7txCaCXpSbJTfH_HnA-yPqnv_TGlLrjTWuZovETKm5sx1xxGYOtPW5yx3n_1KY6zB9oRltknKSzPnjgTU84/s1600/Lil+DaTA.jpg" height="320" width="308" /></a></div>
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Compared to Lil Data, the next performer, <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/boenyeah">Bo En</a></b> is normalcy
personified. Compared to anything else, he’s very unusual indeed. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Bo En stands smiling behind a bench of electronica, bathed
in a sickly fluorescent neon glow. He sings joyfully (and badly) along with
samples of ancient Japanese gaming machine themes or film scores, sometimes
duetting with squeaky disembodied hentai voices or crooning through a vocoder. <o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s simultaneously silly and clever, and hugely danceable.
The crowd leap around and marvel in recognition at various samples that are
chopped, diced and discarded in seconds. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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So small is this scene (loosely affiliated around the ‘<a href="http://pcmusic.info/">PCMusic</a>’ label) that all the artists know and collaborate with each other.
Therefore when he deconstructs and rebuilds Kero Kero Bonito’s track ‘My
Party,’ this is greeted with whoops of delight even though it will form part of
their own set in less than an hour. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Almost uniquely for an electronic act, Bo En radiates warmth
and good humour. He’s genuinely funny. And his music is great too. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<iframe frameborder="no" height="450" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/165811502&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true" width="100%"></iframe></div>
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<b>Kero Kero Bonito</b> take tonight’s Japanophilia a stage
further. They’re a bouncy, gaudy sugar rush of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kawaii">kawaii</a>. They’re extremely arch
and knowing, mimicking innocence and ditziness, but they do it in a loving and
celebratory way. There’s more than a hint of taking the mickey, but everything
is so shaken up like a soda bottle and played in good fun that all you can do
is chirp ‘Kero Kero’ and go along with it. <o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s not as if I’m in a position to decode the subtexts that
bubble beneath the bright colours and high pitched trills of anime and J-Pop
anyway. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The band are led by the permanently grinning Sarah Bonito, a
delighted and delightful singer who skips around the stage singing in a
childish voice. She is accompanied on beats by Gus and Jamie Bonito, who
occasionally pretend to be playing their equipment but are just as likely to be
doing silly dance routines or reading a book. <o:p></o:p></div>
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This is pop music and its purest and pinkest. There is a
sense of the absurd in all of this, particularly in the lyrics. In ‘Flamingo’
Sarah wonders about how many shrimps a bird must eat before it’s skin turns
pink. Or how babies are so strange. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There’s a lot of dressing up. Party hats for ‘My Party’, a
graduation robe for ‘Homework’ and a pile of boxes for ‘Build It Up’. At one
point Gus and Jamie don furry masks for a version of ‘Cat vs Dog’ that seems to
fall foul of a technical problem and is not actually played.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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It’s impossible not to enjoy Kero Kero Bonito, but they are
rather like gorging on sugary sweets and its possible that there is not really
much here beyond the silliness. <o:p></o:p></div>
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But, on the other hand... seriousness is way overrated. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/B42S91e2U-4" width="560"></iframe><o:p></o:p></div>
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Wyldmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06701612407581789722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163706760182042957.post-22650047303136549582014-11-29T16:07:00.000+00:002014-11-29T16:07:01.510+00:00Desperate Journalist, Miscalculations, Keith Top of the Pops and his etc etc - Buffalo Bar 27 November 2014<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJx76Tq2ZMnNEd6toJe35mCPPBUn2zhBz4QeqXVv-ubu_QIzzLxZAIZ5TRcugqrtTDIxzCIP8Lv1Mh3oBgMc9px_mZx7TjzeKHmjDUtLQvCD9IOyelNN0DErKmX_gAuRknFt_S7rqoSYg/s1600/Desperate+Journalist.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJx76Tq2ZMnNEd6toJe35mCPPBUn2zhBz4QeqXVv-ubu_QIzzLxZAIZ5TRcugqrtTDIxzCIP8Lv1Mh3oBgMc9px_mZx7TjzeKHmjDUtLQvCD9IOyelNN0DErKmX_gAuRknFt_S7rqoSYg/s1600/Desperate+Journalist.jpeg" height="182" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Desperate Journalist</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s a sad coincidence that I’ve been <a href="http://callofthewyld.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/madame-jojos-fun-while-it-lasted.html">banging on about thegreat times that I had in Madame JoJo’s</a>, as one of the reasons that I’m out
tonight is to say goodbye to a venue that has played a huge part in my life.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
In the early 2000’s, I used to practically live in the small
red-walled shoebox that is the <b><a href="http://www.buffalobar.co.uk/">Buffalo Bar</a></b>. It was noisy, crowded and the sound
was often awful. You could be stuck behind a pillar or a bigger person with the
result that you only had an approximate idea of what was happening onstage.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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I saw dozens of bands here, the majority of whom never went
on to play venues that were any bigger than this. I saw, amongst others, Kaito,
Electric Eel Shock, Klang, The Hotwires, Mikabomb, Help She can’t Swim, The
Long Blondes, The Grates, Bolt Action Five, The Chapman Family, Tiger Force,
The Sam I Am, The Bisons, The Mighty Roars, The Tennessee Train Crash, Cat On
Form, The Victorian English Gentlemen’s Club. I was here earlier this year for<a href="http://callofthewyld.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/a-witness-and-cravats-at-buffalo-bar-12.html">A Witness and The Senseless Things</a>. I (mostly) enjoyed them all.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I even enjoyed the gallon bottle of Buffalo Trace whiskey
that I won in a raffle here one time. It was vile, but I persevered. You could
certainly taste the Buffalo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Buffalo Bar is going to close at the end of the year, so
tonight is the chance for me to have one more rowdy evening down here.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Things start off with the loosely-organised chaos of <b><a href="https://twitter.com/keithtotp">Keith Topof the Pops and his Minor UK Indie Celebrity All-Star Backing Band</a></b>. Tonight
there are more than fifteen musicians wedged on a stage the size of two
telephone boxes. The horn section are jammed next to the toilets, a sax player
eventually has to stand on the bar. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Keith wrangles everyone as well as he can. It’s like herding
cats. The general instruction is for those who are unfamiliar with a song to
join in as best they can once it gets going. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A typical Keith TOTP song consists of a spoken/sung snark
against bands or institutions that have slighted him. Targets tonight include
The Cribs, “a band from Birmingham called Peace” and the IndieTracks Festival
(“Fuck off with your Ukulele Orchestra!” is a fine chorus). It’s all very
funny, the more so because there is a genuine bitterness underneath some of
this. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The band finish with a naturally epic sweep through ‘Two of
the Beatles are Dead’ and end in discordant triumph. A great show.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/FMNlqQmoJfQ" width="560"></iframe><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><a href="http://miscalculations.bandcamp.com/">Miscalculations</a></b> couldn’t be more of a contrast. They’re a
spare and lean four piece punk band who do not crack a smile during their
entire set. And they’re all the better for it.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fronted by Marco Palumbo Rodrigues, a searingly intense
presence tightly buttoned up in a black leather jacket adorned with badges, the
band spit out short, sharp songs that reference the first generation spiky punk
of Buzzcocks and The Clash. This is a new take on 70’s new wave music and it
sounds surprisingly fresh and powerful. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The audience certainly likes it. The front row is almost
entirely young women who dance exuberantly throughout. There’s an astringency
to Miscalculations. I find myself thoroughly enjoying them. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Headliners<b><a href="http://www.desperatejournalist.co.uk/"> Desperate Journalist </a></b>get more enthralling each
time that I see them. I can tell that we are in for a good show by the way that
singer Jo Bevan warms up by bawling and dancing along to <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFOpifdJXcs">McClusky’s ‘To HellWith Good Intentions’. </a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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This is emotional stuff. Jo has a voice that soars and
roars, and she almost hunches double with the effort required. This, together
with her bright blue hair, makes her an arresting figure. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In some ways Desperate Journalist are a ‘traditional’ indie
band, if there can be said to be such a thing. What elevates them is that their
power comes from their songs rather than particularly flashy musicianship. They
are very hard to resist, so I settle down to loving them.<o:p></o:p></div>
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If this is the last time I go to the Buffalo Bar, then it’s
been a brilliant way to bow out.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/sFuJf-6LAr4" width="420"></iframe><o:p></o:p></div>
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Wyldmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06701612407581789722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163706760182042957.post-8169748305367727532014-11-26T19:59:00.001+00:002014-11-26T19:59:36.364+00:00Madame JoJo's - Fun While It Lasted<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0HKLydZXDyZlXWeFP4j-LbxqxhYJpTUGTnfcLYvyyreEdbmdvVeixhHyNtwal4oY73REz_iM56Fwfj8jUgA5BJnDHNqCua8SudeKjcSl9Af6AhnM4T0-SZ5hSsYSjheTGeUim-9WIpfU/s1600/Madame+Jo+Jos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0HKLydZXDyZlXWeFP4j-LbxqxhYJpTUGTnfcLYvyyreEdbmdvVeixhHyNtwal4oY73REz_iM56Fwfj8jUgA5BJnDHNqCua8SudeKjcSl9Af6AhnM4T0-SZ5hSsYSjheTGeUim-9WIpfU/s1600/Madame+Jo+Jos.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Madame JoJo's. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’ve been talking to a very pleasant young lady. She wants
my assistance with a problem that she has. There is a feather that has become
stuck in an unfortunate place. Can I help her? It would be churlish not to.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Thus my first memory of<a href="http://www.madamejojos.com/"> Madame JoJo’s</a> is of the time that I
followed a naked stripper across the dance floor and pulled a long ostrich
feather out of her bum with my teeth. As was often the case at Madame JoJo’s,
there were not many people present and those that were did not bat an eyelid. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This incident occurred between sets by <b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Martini_Henry_Rifles">The Martini HenryRifles</a></b> (a brilliant band who solved the problem of having two guys who wanted
to be frontmen by having both careening and shouting at the same time) and the
much missed and totally out of control <b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrashima">Terrashima,</a></b> a band that could barely
play without getting involved in fights between themselves or with their
audience. Aside from the occasional spat on stage, it was a joyous, peaceful
night – as it always was when I went to Madame JoJos. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Westminster Council have just revoked the venue’s music
licence after an unsavoury incident involving a violent confrontation between
bouncers and a criminal gang that was operating in the street outside. There
have been claims and accusations on all sides. T<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/nov/24/madame-jojos-legendary-soho-nightclub-forced-close">he Council has been accused ofusing this incident as an excuse to close down the venue as part of an ongoinggentrification programme</a>. Other sources say that post-Olympics, Soho has been
under-policed with the result that criminals had been targeting patrons and
passers-by with impunity and that this brouhaha had been building for a while.
In many ways, who is to blame is a moot issue – Madame JoJo’s is no more. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I prefer to think of the many great bands I saw there,
mostly under the banner of <a href="http://www.whiteheatmayfair.com/"><b>White Heat</b>,</a> one of the longest running and most
excellent club nights in London. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><a href="http://callofthewyld.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/tweens-desperate-journalist-and-relics.html">Tweens/Desperate Journalist</a></b><o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><a href="http://callofthewyld.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/sky-ferreira-at-madame-jo-jos-26.html">Sky Ferreira, </a></b><o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><a href="http://callofthewyld.blogspot.co.uk/2008/10/rolo-tomassi-pre-throats-madame-jo-jos.html">Rolo Tomassi</a></b><o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><a href="http://callofthewyld.blogspot.co.uk/2009/05/duchess-says-bang-bang-eche-did-at.html">Duchess Says</a></b><o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><a href="http://callofthewyld.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/jacuzzi-boys-paws-drop-out-venus-at.html">Drop Out Venus</a></b><o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><a href="http://callofthewyld.blogspot.co.uk/2010/07/mirrors-hundred-in-hands-mndr-at-madame.html">The Hundred in the hands / MNDR</a></b><o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://callofthewyld.blogspot.co.uk/2008/08/acid-mothers-temple-shit-and-shine.html"><o:p> </o:p><b>Acid Mothers Temple/Shit & Shine</b></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><a href="http://callofthewyld.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/yuck-grave-with-no-name-slowgun-madam.html">Yuck</a></b><o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><a href="http://callofthewyld.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/blood-arm-paris-suit-yourself-great.html">The Blood Arm/Paris Suit Yourself</a></b><o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/uRdjhQEql_U" width="420"></iframe><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
Wyldmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06701612407581789722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163706760182042957.post-11302234201773306182014-11-21T16:55:00.003+00:002014-11-21T16:55:59.098+00:00Loop and Younghusband at The Garage - 19 November 2014<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0LvPO6h_daoPwgvFT3xl5BTuSip9YkTCRadFoM_s136PdtKZP6aa3Q8RXsGPZ7A_VtqwMst2250MpE0GINPT7WgYfHyYFj-lO_PPFqspqhg0Jvlz1OcH45C6WqAcPugABjAEvl5vnnwo/s1600/loop_wideangle_robhampson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0LvPO6h_daoPwgvFT3xl5BTuSip9YkTCRadFoM_s136PdtKZP6aa3Q8RXsGPZ7A_VtqwMst2250MpE0GINPT7WgYfHyYFj-lO_PPFqspqhg0Jvlz1OcH45C6WqAcPugABjAEvl5vnnwo/s1600/loop_wideangle_robhampson.jpg" height="274" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Loop pic from <a href="http://liminaleye.com/">The Liminal Eye</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m still a little taken aback by <a href="http://mamacolive.com/thegarage/">The Garage</a>. It used to be
a dusty concrete bunker of a venue, but since it re-opened a few years ago
there have been ‘improvements’. Wooden floors. Tables. Some kind of weird
black-upholstered banquette behind the mixing desk. It’s all very disconcerting
for an old fart like me.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The crowd tonight is mainly composed of men of a similar age
and hairline to myself. We reminisce about the past and gather in anticipation
of a band from yore that have recently decided that they have a future.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But first, the support. <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/YoungHusbandMusic">Younghusband </a></b>are a four piece band
of a drone-y, psychedelic disposition. The stage fills with projections of
whirling images, hidden messages and other arcana. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The band seem slightly hampered by technical difficulties
this evening. Certainly, they have difficulty in getting their three guitars to
function at the same time. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
However, there is a more fundamental problem. There’s a lot
more to this type of music than it sometimes appears, and Younghusband fall
headlong into a common trap. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Their songs don’t GO anywhere. The basic sound is OK, but
there is very little oomph, nothing that makes you sit up and pay attention.
I’m stood in front of the stage looking squarely at them and I find my mind
wandering to other matters. The overall effect is pleasant enough, but I
suspect that the band would not be content with merely ‘pleasant’. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/sNrKJd6sOfc" width="420"></iframe><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Compare and contrast with tonight’s headliners. There is
more pent up energy and anticipation in a single squall from <b><a href="http://soundheads.org/">Loop</a></b> than in the
entire Younghusband set. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Loop initially reformed about a year ago to test the waters
and, after a small number of sold out shows, founder Robert Hampson has decided
that he has unfinished business, although some other members from the reunion
are no longer present.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Loop deal in noise and repetition. A riff is usually
brutally short – sometimes no more than two notes- but bludgeoned over and over
and over again as a second or third guitar takes flight. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s enthralling stuff. The crowd lurch in unison. It’s impossible
not to be caught up in the (Wolf) flow. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There is a major buzz of excitement as the band perform the
first new Loop tune for decades. ‘Procession’ (or ‘Precession’) is a loud
staccato galloping riff that sits very comfortably with the rest of the band’s
oeuvre. More new material is promised in the New Year. Loop are clearly a going
concern again.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The volume gets ever louder, the feeling of disorientation
ever more pronounced. An irony is that with improvements in sound technology,
Loop sound clearer and crisper than they ever did back in the day when they
would lurch around in clouds of dry ice and produce a muddy rumble from giant
loudspeakers.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Loop make a lot of people very happy tonight. And there’s
more to come. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/I7c2tCyi2ns" width="560"></iframe><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p> </o:p> </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Wyldmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06701612407581789722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163706760182042957.post-57913954353384387942014-11-20T19:36:00.001+00:002014-11-20T19:36:50.894+00:00Girlpool and Oscar - Shacklewell Arms - 17 November 2014<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqH3jp9LkFkKEU2RLwdhuet2wXQYZqyUWPs4bbeg9dPQCXD8k26eO8UYVvKZJr2gwGdKdDVzVbY0CRyoJXj1jb8H5_CLjGjcQVAyDZgIiHBUnRsBmSBgTeugicGZZUP_iOEaHwTZPH6yI/s1600/Girlpool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqH3jp9LkFkKEU2RLwdhuet2wXQYZqyUWPs4bbeg9dPQCXD8k26eO8UYVvKZJr2gwGdKdDVzVbY0CRyoJXj1jb8H5_CLjGjcQVAyDZgIiHBUnRsBmSBgTeugicGZZUP_iOEaHwTZPH6yI/s1600/Girlpool.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Girlpool pic by <a href="http://www.amandamhatfield.com/">Amanda Hatfield</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m back. I’m back. I’m back at the <a href="http://www.shacklewellarms.com/">Shack</a>. This is my third
gig in a row at the Shacklewell Arms and my second in 48 hours. I’m starting to
end up here on autopilot.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s a free gig, but sold out, so I’ve been encouraged to
get here early.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
First up are <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/oscaroscar">Oscar</a></b>, who turn out to be a band rather than a
diminutive Chelsea footballer.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There’s a lot to like. The band are fronted by the very
convivial Oscar Scheller, resplendent in his new sparkly top and possessed of a
rich, deep voice and a nice line in catchy, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C86_%28album%29">C-86 </a>style pop.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Guitars jangle while the bassist multitasks and lays down
beats via a keyboard. Oscar have solved the perennial Shacklewell drummer
problem by dispensing with one altogether. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Each song bounces along complete with ridiculously memorable
choruses. Aside from the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postcard_Records">Postcard </a>bands, this kind of sweeping, emotional pop
never entirely caught the wider public imagination, but those of us who like
it, take this music to our hearts. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The band are occasionally joined onstage by an uncomfortable
looking singer named Florence. She adds to the sound but finds it difficult to
make eye contact with the audience. The rest of the band are cheerfully away of
her awkwardness and lend support. This does not stop her from hastily exiting
the stage at any moment that she is not needed.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A very relaxed and enjoyable start to proceedings. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/XY6cTtEcxXw" width="560"></iframe><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The internet moves at a staggering pace. Headliners <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/GIRLPOOOL">Girlpool</a></b>
only seemed to first hit the pages of <a href="http://pitchfork.com/">Pitchfork</a> and <a href="http://www.stereogum.com/">Stereogum</a> about two weeks
ago and yet here they are abandoning sunny Los Angeles for a damp Monday night
in Dalston. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s a simple set up. Two girls with guitars, one tall and
red haired (Cleo Tucker), one shorter and blonde (Harmony Tividad) playing
sharp sassy songs with a mocking slant. Their harmonies fall somewhere between
folk and the country-inflected pop of outfits such as <a href="http://thosedarlins.com/home/">Those Darlins’</a>. It’s a
whole heap of fun.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Despite many of tonight’s songs running less than two
minutes, they tend to be pithy vignettes that pack a punch. Literally in the
case of the track ‘Jane’ in which the eponymous heroine thumps boyfriend Johnny
for “talking out of both sides of his mouth”. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There seems to be a similar theme in a lot of the Girlpool
material as tracks ‘Slutmouth’ and ‘Blah Blah Blah’ also touch on the
consequences of trash talk. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Girlpool set is short and sweet. Even allowing for the
traditional girl band swapping of instruments, everything is over well within
half an hour. In honesty, the
performance is a little rough around the edges, but that is very much part of
their charm.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yet another good night at the Shacklewell. But I’m going to
have to go somewhere else soon…<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/dd5ON7xD2T8" width="560"></iframe><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
Wyldmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06701612407581789722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163706760182042957.post-79023770383640845482014-11-19T19:53:00.001+00:002014-11-19T19:53:40.902+00:00The Coathangers, Skinny Girl Diet, Abjects at The Shacklewell Arms - 15 November 2914<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdvn2wymShKZ6-JLqSw44M_7jZQzTVCuLV5W-koDmUNmXRKEIl_5tRFZ2pjpVCNyFMDF_EzsVd7ONOS1ptRbWSnNsJjPiHBTQ2vF4Pj6A2e1T2IJTSD458p1m_NZseFYJ99gpYOcfj1Rk/s1600/The+Coathangers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdvn2wymShKZ6-JLqSw44M_7jZQzTVCuLV5W-koDmUNmXRKEIl_5tRFZ2pjpVCNyFMDF_EzsVd7ONOS1ptRbWSnNsJjPiHBTQ2vF4Pj6A2e1T2IJTSD458p1m_NZseFYJ99gpYOcfj1Rk/s1600/The+Coathangers.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
The Coathangers</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">The first thing
you notice tonight is the quality of the lighting. There’s a harsh filter that
renders the performers almost monochrome. Glaring black and white figures
against the blood red curtain. It’s a great effect, although it doesn’t suit
everyone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">So <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/tessparksmusic">Tess Parks</a></b>,
long black hair, black lined eyes and a striped jumper resembles nothing so
much as a <a href="http://media2.firstshowing.net/firstshowing/img4/FrankenweenBWCharImagEFullm04.jpg">figurine from a Tim Burton animation</a>. Stick thin, huge eyes, she
doesn’t look real. She plucks at a guitar and rasps with a throaty growl. A good start.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/TXICXbzDOZk" width="560"></iframe><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">I saw <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Abjectsband">Abjects</a></b>
at the beginning of the year and didn’t go hugely overboard for them. In the
ten or so months since they’ve grown beyond measure. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Noemi, Yuki and
Alice are utterly commanding tonight. Where before there were hints of
uncertainty, they now exude confidence. It’s not a radically unusual sound, but
it’s put over really well and the crowd start to buzz with the joy of it all. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">The lighting
gives Noemi a set of cheek bones that could cut you open. Yuki smiles beneath a
woollen cap that makes her look like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PaRappa_the_Rapper">PaRappa the Rapper</a>. Alice clatters away at her drum kit. Good
times. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/0uNO2-oc4N0" width="560"></iframe><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Skinny-Girl-Diet/155342227835901">Skinny GirlDiet</a></b> get better each and every time I see them. In a world where most girl
bands play pop, SGD unashamedly ROCK. They have enough grunge to sink Seattle. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">The crowd
starts to mosh about, a rolling churn. The girls are as relaxed as ever,
laughing at private jokes. They look great, they sound great, they ARE great.
Skinny Girl Diet are one of the best bands in Britain, let alone the London
area. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/YdtYp6jn_ss" width="420"></iframe><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheCoathangersATL">The Coathangers</a></b>
are an odd bunch. They have a strange combination of chaotic goofiness and a
heads down almost Ramones-like dedication to a no nonsense riff. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Julia Kugel
sings half her songs in a childish ickle-girl voice that is deliberately
infuriating. Such songs are accompanied by much gurning and flapping of
hands. She only does it as the music
demands, because other songs are roared out like a banshee. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Stephanie Luke
becomes the second drummer that I’ve seen at this venue that has trouble with
the lighting. It’s clearly an ongoing problem. Once this is solved she batters
and barks through the entire set.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">The Coathangers
are funny, fierce and everything that an all-gal band should be. They even do
that thing that seems exclusively the preserve of girl bands – the swapping of
instruments so that everybody gets a turn either banging the drum kit or
strumming the guitar. It’s an odd phenomenon, girls like to share whilst boys
tend to be more possessive about their gear.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">A riotously
enjoyable set and a fine conclusion to a very good evening. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/lR3xIPpGCCg" width="560"></iframe></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Wyldmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06701612407581789722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163706760182042957.post-72610008298641442152014-11-05T19:02:00.001+00:002014-11-05T19:02:42.147+00:00White Lung at The Shacklewell Arms - 03 November 2014<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFFFwe-SaHARHHH1_Tif0nNqBsG9MDjPoDgZd7uumfaJn50T2Pkn5-pQAFzWYz-pcH4mS09EQR0Iar9jSZ508MKACdMFLFityJxpsnpNxcaS_5M2dvZkFgJ0j3YvQ27ABk8AgkyU1ADXU/s1600/White+Lung.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFFFwe-SaHARHHH1_Tif0nNqBsG9MDjPoDgZd7uumfaJn50T2Pkn5-pQAFzWYz-pcH4mS09EQR0Iar9jSZ508MKACdMFLFityJxpsnpNxcaS_5M2dvZkFgJ0j3YvQ27ABk8AgkyU1ADXU/s1600/White+Lung.png" height="214" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
White Lung</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">It’s a quiet
evening in North London. The pub that houses the venue is largely empty. The
pool table is dark.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">I’m an idiot.
I’ve been staking out the wrong door. The actual entrance is on the far side of
the bar.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Entering the
confined space in which the bands play, I swiftly discover two things. The
first is that one of the acts that I had come to see, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/tweencity">Tweens</a>, are absent this
evening and that their replacements on the bill are well into their set. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">I therefore
don’t get to see as much of The Wharves as I would have liked. That’s a pity,
because they are very enjoyable.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheWharves">The Wharves</a></b> are
an all-woman three piece who play simple songs and employ a lot of dual vocals.
They are slightly halting and uncertain and I kind of like that. On this very
brief acquaintance they come across as likeable rather than musically
interesting, but ‘likeable’ goes a long way. Certainly, their harmonies are
gorgeous. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/OvyWluIgTus" width="560"></iframe><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">This back room
at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ShacklewellArms">The Shacklewell </a>is odd to say the least. It feels like it has been through a
number of incarnations before the owners just threw their hands up and turned
it over to live performance. It looks like an Hawaiian tikki bar that has
fallen into disrepair, been turned into a jazz club and that at some time or
other they may have run a ghost train through here. Visually, it’s a mess.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">The drum kit is
set up in an alcove behind the stage. Bands go in and out of their dressing
room through a small black cubby hole that looks as though it may once have
been part of a fairy grotto.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">When <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/whitelung">White Lung</a></b>
emerge they are not impressed. They don’t like the lighting or the sound. They
do not profess themselves happy until drummer Anne-Marie Vassilou has been
plunged into darkness and is out of sight and mind. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">The band
themselves have two settings – standing on the stage chatting to each other or
screaming into your face from a few feet away in a full on assault. A White
Lung gig is not one for the casual bystander. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Singer and
chief instigator Mish Way is wearing a leopard print coat and has sprinkled her
face with what looks like a light dusting of glitter. In the sweaty confines of
this room everything starts to run together and get stuck in her hair.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">The other focal
point in the band is bassist Hether Fortune. She constantly joshes with Way and
takes great pleasure in mocking her increasingly manic appearance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">White Lung
thrive on interaction with their audience and as the set progresses Way decides
that the crowd is not doing its bit. She demands more response from those down
the front and dives down among them. This causes a wild melee with beer flying
in all directions. Way emerges even more bedraggled than previously but pleased
with the result of her intervention.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">And so it
continues. White Lung do not have any individual songs that particularly stand
out, their great strength is the verve and energy with which this music is put
across. This set is a thirty minute shot of pure adrenaline which ends with the
band eventually disappearing through the door to their grotto. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">That’s them
done for the night.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">A riotously fun
evening which the crowd enjoyed more than the band. White Lung are a blistering
live act, but you’ve got to bring your own ‘A’ game too. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/mU_OXXDjzc8" width="560"></iframe></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Wyldmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06701612407581789722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163706760182042957.post-70710267047331089552014-11-01T08:23:00.000+00:002014-11-01T08:23:04.604+00:00Charli XCX at Heaven - 30 October 2014<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiooCKlDWuUsFk5OIqLf_NDJFI1J7M4Sv6oKhPv49UdPeHHNqIQMtdpv70WkgqkwocM0-hdKTRymrsrcEtIZSHGvM0HfgE72E18r2sBLFMUsThf0my_bF42djKfkh6NG_k7fArThvxUotM/s1600/charli-xcx-heaven-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiooCKlDWuUsFk5OIqLf_NDJFI1J7M4Sv6oKhPv49UdPeHHNqIQMtdpv70WkgqkwocM0-hdKTRymrsrcEtIZSHGvM0HfgE72E18r2sBLFMUsThf0my_bF42djKfkh6NG_k7fArThvxUotM/s1600/charli-xcx-heaven-3.jpg" height="279" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Charli XCX</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’ve arrived in Heaven early. I’m not dead, it’s just that
the venue of that name likes to get its acts on in good time so that punters
can be turfed out ahead of a club night afterwards.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The place is already pretty full and the crowd is boisterous
and enthusiastic. They are enjoying a set by <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/cuckoolandermusic">CuckooLander</a></b>, a four piece pop
rock outfit that serves as the live vehicle for Holly Hardy. There’s lots to
admire.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hardy and her boys play a slinky type of guitar pop with
catchy choruses and a surprising amount of grit for an act at the more
obviously radio-friendly end of the spectrum. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Holly clutches her guitar and undulates in a black leather
sheath skirt. I’ve not heard her music before but singles ‘Dumb Dee Diddy Dumb’
and ‘What’s Out There?’ make an instant impression. One to watch for the
future.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/6POjEgFdNoU" width="560"></iframe><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s not entirely a surprise to find CuckooLander on tonight’s
bill. Holly Hardy is the ex-drummer from headliner Charli XCX’s live band.
They’ve both moved up the pop ladder.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Tonight is <b><a href="http://www.charlixcxmusic.com/">Charli XCX’</a></b>s triumphant homecoming. Her songs
have graced radios and stadiums across the world, but she’s often only been
acknowledged as an associate, an ‘also featuring’ credit on the hits that she’s
written for others. Tonight is her opportunity to take centre stage.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And how! Right from the start Charli walks on and just
bosses it. She’s rocking a cheerleader outfit with ‘Sucker’ written across it. Her
band are similarly attired. This is the title of the forthcoming album and the
first song tonight.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s a banging hit right out of the gate. Within seconds everyone’s
arms are aloft, giving the middle digit and chanting ‘Fuck You, Sucker!’ It’s
great sweary fun and from here on we are putty in her hands.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Charli primps her vast mane of black hair, adjusts her tiny
tiara and swaggers through her set with bratty brilliance and uber confidence. She
doesn’t deal in wistful lovelorn ballads, these are all in-your-face
declarations of strength and positivity. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The hits keep coming. Third song in is a riotous version of
‘I Don’t Care’, the global smash that she wrote for Icona Pop. The audience is
so uplifted that they are practically levitating.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Despite the new album being a couple of months away, this
already feels like a ‘Best Of…’ tour. There’s virtually no flab in this set at
all – ‘Stay Away’, ‘London Queen’, ‘You (Ha Ha Ha)’ are all stripped-to-the-bone
live monsters.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Charli has always had a good ear and this is shown tonight
by her only true cover version, a ramped up tear through The Flying Lizards’
take of The Beatles’ version of the Barrett Strong track ‘Money (That’s What I
Want).’ It’s all so meta that your head spins. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Just before the end of the evening a net is released and we
are bombarded by the heaviest deluge of balloons I’ve ever experienced at a
gig. It’s balloonageddon! The venue resembles an enormous pink and white
gumball machine as Charli signs off with ‘Boom Clap’, yet another massive
worldwide hit. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s been a fantastic evening. Charli XCX has arrived!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/ptrAEvUqkZQ" width="560"></iframe><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Wyldmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06701612407581789722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163706760182042957.post-48864089998170326282014-10-29T19:35:00.003+00:002014-10-29T19:35:46.922+00:00The Pop Group and Goodbye Leopold at Islington Assembly Hall - 26 October 2014<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbdRqzcMuooyObxvYMfvCDK30CkFgGo50Bj-8F7OxOxrg6trMKcI20FOIdaDj99X5DKymSIyugJppoae5Zw2tCsGCW5DUP_8bMVa6O01DvJQVmO989RogyDy-mPUkAQ4hWsZxrJec6zuQ/s1600/The+Pop+Group.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbdRqzcMuooyObxvYMfvCDK30CkFgGo50Bj-8F7OxOxrg6trMKcI20FOIdaDj99X5DKymSIyugJppoae5Zw2tCsGCW5DUP_8bMVa6O01DvJQVmO989RogyDy-mPUkAQ4hWsZxrJec6zuQ/s1600/The+Pop+Group.jpg" height="215" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
The Pop Group - pic Martyn Boston</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m standing amongst a crowd of similarly mature and
dark-clad individuals at <a href="http://www.islington.gov.uk/assemblyhall/Pages/default.aspx">Islington Assembly Hall</a>. It takes a lot to get me into
London on a Sunday night, but I wouldn’t have missed this for the world.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Starting proceedings, three extravagantly garbed women line
up across the stage. They are sheathed in splendiferously vibrant and exquisite
leotards, adorned with long tassels that hang from their arms. They look like
three rare and exotic butterflies. Somewhere, David Attenborough stirs with
excitement.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Goodbyeleopold">Goodbye Leopold.</a></b> They sing majestically acapella, a
plaintive chorus of interweaving harmonies. The room falls silent. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The sound swells. It is never entirely clear what they are
singing about, and a quick bit of research afterwards reveals that the band
have a penchant for singing backwards, which may explain it. Nevertheless,
Goodbye Leopold lift us up to a higher frame of mind.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/ai9YtSxM3hQ" width="420"></iframe><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Tonight is a benefit for <a href="https://www.caat.org.uk/">Campaign Against Arms Trade</a>. A
banner hangs across the stage, there are guest speakers and stalls in the
lobby. It’s like the agit-prop days of the late Seventies.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m here to see <b><a href="http://www.thepopgroup.net/">The Pop Group</a></b>, a band utterly unique in the
annals of British music. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’ve long been a devotee of frontman Mark Stewart, both in
his solo career and his work with <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSz4KEfRGrA">The Maffia,</a> but this is the first time I have
experienced him with the band with whom he first started out. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mick Jagger swaggers, Michael Jackson used to moonwalk. Mark
Stewart lumbers. A huge mountain of a man, he prowls around the stage
continuously, a towel around his neck. He looks more like a bemused heavyweight
boxer than a singer. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Pop Group were/are the most uncompromising and didactic
of bands that allied with the Hard Left. Their songs rail against injustice,
greed and corporate evil, their concerts were rallies to the cause. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But above all, they were funky. You got a hefty dose of
politics, but you danced your ass off. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The band start with ‘We Are Time’, Stewart’s voice a wild
electronic scream of rage and distortion. Around him, the rest of the band -
Gareth Sager, Bruce Smith, Dan Catsis – lay down an irresistible rhythm that
veers between funk, soul and dub.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The power that comes off the stage would light most of
Islington. ‘Thief of Fire’ follows, another howl of pain and anger. The crowd
are dancing so hard that you can feel the wooden floor heave beneath you like
the deck of a ship. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The band are promoting a compilation album called ‘Cabinet
of Curiosities’, a collection of rarities that are obscure even by the
standards of this band. A track called ‘Genius or Lunatic’ is introduced with
the statement that it was first performed at Westbury-on Trym Youth Club. I'll
bet they never knew what hit them.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
‘Amnesty Report III’ is a song based on an report of police
brutality against Irish prisoners. The Pop Group were angry then and remain so
now. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
‘Where There’s a Will’ is probably the single best live
moment that I’ve had at a gig this year. This music bypasses your brain and
simply jerks your body about. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There’s a certain amusement to be had from a roomful of
people chanting along to songs with titles like ‘She Is Beyond Good and Evil’
and ‘We Are All Prostitutes’. The Pop Group are a throwback from the days when
music culture and politics were expressly linked. We sang the songs, we went on
the marches, we supported the causes. Compare that to the wishy-washy stance of
the majority of acts today. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Tonight is a thumping, pumping, propulsive triumph. Mark
Stewart and co finish and stand exhausted. We cheer them to the echo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then we filter away to man the barricades…<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/GZ9cjNafWvg" width="560"></iframe><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />Wyldmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06701612407581789722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163706760182042957.post-55201437482136319032014-10-26T12:50:00.003+00:002014-10-26T12:54:39.997+00:00Lady Gaga - artRAVE at 02 Arena - 23 October 2014<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlc3nn3gzwtbNS4ivriP-dEu9Z5P721YW7yJqhiT2lEkULWQToFDKkEGpCOImw5_4xOAn7tpk3NYAnYanFkr_uluBhSmlDTvTesU6_ZfFiAwwj_TeaNlQwXi-VnrJzZ7OmOrFWntN8XCQ/s1600/lady-gaga-artpop-ball-2014-billboard-650.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlc3nn3gzwtbNS4ivriP-dEu9Z5P721YW7yJqhiT2lEkULWQToFDKkEGpCOImw5_4xOAn7tpk3NYAnYanFkr_uluBhSmlDTvTesU6_ZfFiAwwj_TeaNlQwXi-VnrJzZ7OmOrFWntN8XCQ/s1600/lady-gaga-artpop-ball-2014-billboard-650.jpg" height="211" width="320" /></a></div>
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Lady Gaga</div>
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This is my first time at a <b><a href="http://ladygaga.co.uk/">Lady Gaga</a></b> ‘ball’ and I’m not
really sure to expect. Two hours later I’m still rather flummoxed.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Things start off much as anticipated. A vast pink curtain is
pulled down to reveal a set that looks like a Peruvian adobe village fashioned
out of sugar lumps. There are runways and catwalks under which the die-hard
standing portion of the audience congregate.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Gaga has a tight but unspectacular five piece band and a
solid troupe of dancers who strut their stuff in a succession of pastel
costumes that are often adorned with random geometric shapes. They are
professional and competent, but they are individually anonymous and do not pull
focus from the star.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Lady Gaga herself first appears in a costume that looks to
have been at least partly fashioned from a giant furry crab. As might be
expected, Gaga is never one to shy away from a costume on the grounds of
unsuitability or discomfort. Her most outlandish effort tonight is a Dalmatian-spotted
creation that looks like a melted octopus. She teeters around and sings ‘Paparazzi’
and it’s all suitably odd and enjoyable.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Gaga has a powerful and technically perfect voice.
Throughout the show she constantly reiterates that she sings live and plays her
own instruments. No-one would suggest otherwise, but it appears to be an
accusation that rankles.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Tonight’s extravaganza is to promote her most recent ‘Artpop’
album and the theme is #Artrave. This laudable concept intends to foster the
idea that anyone can be an artist, and that if others don’t like it, do it
anyway. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The slight problem is that the current album has its
moments, but is nowhere near as strong in depth as Gaga’s previous works. Songs
like ‘Aurora’, ‘G.U.Y’ and ‘Venus’ are fine in themselves, but they don’t
compare to the likes of ‘Poker Face’ or ‘Americano’. When these older songs are effectively tossed
away in medleys it seems a waste. <o:p></o:p></div>
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However, the performing of songs is possibly not the main
reason why people are here nor the most important part of the show. Gaga has a
connection with her audience, her ‘Little Monsters’ that is somewhere between
den mother, agony aunt and best friend. <o:p></o:p></div>
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At all times this evening, if Gaga stops still for a moment
she is pelted with notes, messages, items of clothing and general votive
offerings. She takes a lot of time to read these out and give advice, put on
the jackets etc and to offer counselling. <o:p></o:p></div>
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There is a lengthy, but very touching interlude when Gaga
ministers to a fan who is struggling with issues surrounding a bi-polar
disorder. Gaga gets her onstage, comforts her and allows her to sit alongside
her as she performs a piano ballad version of ‘Born This Way’. While there is
no doubt that time has been built into the show for something like this to
happen, there is equally no doubt that this is a genuine gesture of affection
and solicitude. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The crowd love Gaga and she loves them back. It doesn’t
matter that the rhythm of the show is very haphazard or that things seem kind
of subdued. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Things are so laid back that once she and the band perform
the song ‘Swine’ and disappear, there is a hiatus where everyone just sits
before the house lights come up and it becomes clear that if there is going to
be an encore we might have to wait a while. Most of the crowd get up and leave
at this point, myself included.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s been a very interesting evening. I come away feeling
slightly short changed by the show, but with a much greater appreciation and
respect for Lady Gaga the person.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/TIc8GeX57hU" width="560"></iframe><o:p></o:p></div>
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Wyldmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06701612407581789722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163706760182042957.post-85673754157969670522014-10-08T19:07:00.000+01:002014-10-08T19:07:02.834+01:00Goat and Lay Llamas at Roundhouse - 03 October 2014<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc1DqbuthLmP6R2107UsaHSZXdo_4g7QdFVgfihb-KEDDuq1sEh7UBoxieY_55Wbi2DI-klkrP22JjMNZt0RhKujwv0-vgaHKTKsveYQZONJTclCv6oYqwbRjkSAXDadLrQc3zYCy9xvw/s1600/goat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc1DqbuthLmP6R2107UsaHSZXdo_4g7QdFVgfihb-KEDDuq1sEh7UBoxieY_55Wbi2DI-klkrP22JjMNZt0RhKujwv0-vgaHKTKsveYQZONJTclCv6oYqwbRjkSAXDadLrQc3zYCy9xvw/s1600/goat.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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Goat!</div>
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Things start off pretty well.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We’re at the Roundhouse to see <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/goatsweden">Goat</a></b>, but first off we have
to negotiate the support act. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/layllamas">The Lay Llamas</a></b> are a band formed around the core of Nicola
Giunta and Gioele Valenti. They are strung out across the stage in a line.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Initially, things aren’t too promising. The band are playing
a polite type of vaguely psychedelic music that seems pleasant enough but which
rather drifts by without leaving much of an impression. <o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s clearly well performed, but the singer has a rather
nondescript voice and stage presence. The songs sound as though they are
sketches for something that hasn’t been completed yet. <o:p></o:p></div>
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There is however one glorious exception. One song is an
absolute corker, a krautrock-y beast based on abrasive guitar riffs. It goes on
for about five minutes and is generally fantastic.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Unfortunately, the band go back to being ho-hum again and
eventually shuffle offstage. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/NzLZHXA5ZF0" width="560"></iframe><o:p></o:p></div>
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The venue seems unpleasantly packed this evening. We are
crushed like sardines in the middle of the floor and it soon becomes very difficult
to move or see. Or even to stand. Meanwhile, the queues to the toilets are long
and slow moving and less accessible than in a football ground. The bars too
seem unable to cope. I don’t know if the average Goat fan is unusually thirsty,
but punters are queuing fifteen deep for weak lager. <o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s an extremely uncomfortable atmosphere, as though you
are trapped in a place that could get out of hand.<o:p></o:p></div>
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When Goat take the stage, the room erupts.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Goat are an enigma wrapped in a mystery hidden behind some
very natty robes and masks. Band members are deliberately anonymised behind
elaborate costumes. Two singers chant and whirl in front of the wash of
psychedelic afro beat and wah-wah guitars behind them. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The stage makes space for an artificial tree, its angular
branches casting strange <a href="http://www.portlandart.net/archives/goya_tree.jpg">Goya-like outlines</a> on the projected backdrop, which is
itself a riot of kaleidoscopic colour.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s probably fair to say that while the totality of the
Goat live experience is wonderful, the individual tracks tend to blur together a
bit.<o:p></o:p></div>
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An exception is the fantastic ‘Run to Your Mama’ which
tonight forms the centrepiece of the Goat set. A song as vibrant and dynamic as
you will hear anywhere, tonight it is the perfect blend of crescendo and
chorus. <o:p></o:p></div>
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However, the overcrowding in the venue is just becoming
ridiculous. My colleagues gradually make their excuses and retire to the
perimeter. I stay for a while, but after an interminable trip to the loos,
spend the rest of the evening trying to meet up with a friendly face.
Bizarrely, at the edges of the crowd, people are making no pretence to watch
the band, but just natter to each other and get in the way. <o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s awful in here. I can’t move, I can’t drink, I can’t
pee. I cut my losses and leave.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Goat were good, though. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/2SyPyBHJmiI" width="560"></iframe><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />Wyldmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06701612407581789722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163706760182042957.post-56186545760280239392014-09-24T20:26:00.000+01:002014-09-24T20:26:03.988+01:00Mixtape - July to September 2014<br />
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Once a quarter I inflict a mixtape on my friends and
acquaintances. These are some of the goodies that have been floating the Call of
the Wyld boat in July to September 2014<o:p></o:p><br />
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Orange Caramel – My Copycat<o:p></o:p><br />
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Girl One and the Grease Guns – Jessica 6<o:p></o:p><br />
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Twin Peaks – I Found a New Way<o:p></o:p><br />
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BRONCHO – Class Historian<o:p></o:p><br />
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The Asteroids Galaxy Tour – My Club<o:p></o:p><br />
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18+ -Crow<o:p></o:p><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/IGUEVXqvCwM" width="560"></iframe><o:p></o:p></div>
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Eno*Hyde – Lilac<o:p></o:p></div>
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Wyldmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06701612407581789722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163706760182042957.post-70559625451333097392014-09-24T15:03:00.003+01:002014-09-24T15:03:51.014+01:00Kate Bush - Before the Dawn - Hammersmith Apollo 23 September 2014<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSAHgy2OzHssqjorBTYcn9Zebqdacoiq0e3cvXcwhhePPqCsdahMYgDwbbtjjw7oSGAC3yFJqXXeYdr_aVzRpPoGjQF4c4FCIiCNbnBaqMxx5GMwvN_kcHCapm6MV6ySBV_1fNz37Q83I/s1600/kate-bush-before-the-dawn-london-2014-billboard-650.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSAHgy2OzHssqjorBTYcn9Zebqdacoiq0e3cvXcwhhePPqCsdahMYgDwbbtjjw7oSGAC3yFJqXXeYdr_aVzRpPoGjQF4c4FCIiCNbnBaqMxx5GMwvN_kcHCapm6MV6ySBV_1fNz37Q83I/s1600/kate-bush-before-the-dawn-london-2014-billboard-650.jpg" height="211" width="320" /></a></div>
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Kate Bush (Pic: Ken McKay/Rex/REX USA)</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #c5c5c5; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 107%;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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We’ve waited a long time. Oceans have risen and fallen,
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaua%CA%BBi_%CA%BB%C5%8D%CA%BB%C5%8D">entire avian species have gone extinct</a> since <b><a href="https://www.katebush.com/">Kate Bush</a></b> last performed live. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The atmosphere in the packed Hammersmith Odeon (I’m using
old money) is breathless and excited. People are practically pinching
themselves that this is happening and that they are here to witness it. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The stage has a formidable amount of equipment on it –
multiple percussion stands, guitar racks and keyboards. A lighting rig in the
form of a formation of diamonds hangs above the stage. <o:p></o:p></div>
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And here she comes, slowly marching her band on stage. Kate
looks happy and comfortable. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Her voice is a revelation, a strong and expressive roar that
effortlessly fills the venue. Her band groove alongside, the stage illuminated
by projected flames that scorch across the lighting rig. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Second song in is ‘Hounds of Love’ and a fair proportion of
the audience die happy then and there. It’s a loping beast of a song, replete
with that oddly disturbing hunting horn sound. <o:p></o:p></div>
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‘King of the Mountain’ is an extraordinary song. There is a
real feeling of frenzy and of things out of control, the flames behind the
performers billowing as though in a hurricane. The song rises to a crescendo…<o:p></o:p></div>
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…and everything goes mad. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E06cNv55jTs">Anything can happen in the next half hour</a>, and it basically
does. What follows is a lavish and boggling rendering of ‘The Ninth Wave’, a
suite of songs from the second side of ‘Hounds of Love’. It features skeletal
fish people, a projected Kate bobbing around in a flotation tank, an interlude
in which her son Bertie argues with his ‘father’ in a living room that bobs on
the sea, a ‘helicopter’ that zooms down and hovers over the head of the
audience, a stage set that looks like a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Adam">Ken Adam</a> imagining of the inside of a
whale, and a giant automatic buoy.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s utterly bewildering, baffling and quite brilliant. The
only thing that I’ve seen remotely like it for sheer unexpectedness was a revue
at Bally’s Las Vegas where the high point was the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXeMYAUc234">sinking of the Titanic performed by showgirls. </a><o:p></o:p></div>
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The audience stands and hoots approval. A breathless Kate
then invites us back for the second half.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The second portion of the show is devoted to ‘A Sky of Honey’
a long suite of connected songs from the second disc of the album ‘Aerial’. It’s
a lengthy, challenging piece of music that thematically draws inspiration from
the flight of birds, the different moods of day and night and the struggle of
the artist to capture nature. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Visually, the section of the show is wonderful – the stage
is swathed in autumnal haze, giant projected geese and tits flap slowly above
the band. Less successfully, a wooden mannequin is manipulated through the
ranks of musicians, a figure forever struck with ‘wonder’ at the scenes around
it. It’s kind of unnecessary, and seems to reflect a worry that the music alone
would not be enough to engage the whole crowd. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Bertie appears again, as a painter, struggling with capturing
cloud formations on a giant canvas. He gains cheap applause by telling the
mannequin to ‘piss off’. <o:p></o:p></div>
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There’s a bit of a conundrum surrounding this whole segment
of the show. The music has a cumulative power but this only becomes apparent as
the sequence progresses. Until things become clear in the final sections, there
is a sense of drift and loss of momentum before the final destination is
reached. I am not overly familiar with this piece of music, which may be why I
struggle with it. <o:p></o:p></div>
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As the sequence reaches a climax, the birds are starting to
take over. There are metamorphoses among the musicians, Bush herself sprouts a
raven’s wing, before appearing to take flight as the stage lights go black.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The crowd stands and does its nut. Kate leads her band
through a version of ‘Cloudbusting’ which everyone stomps along too. <o:p></o:p></div>
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And then, still happy, still regal, still flippin’ marvellous,
she departs. It was worth the wait.</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/VerK4zwMRQw" width="420"></iframe><o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>
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Wyldmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06701612407581789722noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9163706760182042957.post-68814526295802309292014-09-18T19:09:00.000+01:002014-09-18T19:09:25.626+01:00Carter Tutti Void and EIIII at Oslo, Hackney - 16 September 2014<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu-M1WWSpdfabBfbCc1zdFGRJrOOQUTuFfwrBuqHm_RKWMoDxFvPJiRoA61w8KplJtYpqqQQRhjjdQWv262QH-TXoKBBYU0xEHfm8i3a0E2v_zRTSLWUY81j1UK68jo6POlvScMjGurAg/s1600/Carter+Tutti+Void.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu-M1WWSpdfabBfbCc1zdFGRJrOOQUTuFfwrBuqHm_RKWMoDxFvPJiRoA61w8KplJtYpqqQQRhjjdQWv262QH-TXoKBBYU0xEHfm8i3a0E2v_zRTSLWUY81j1UK68jo6POlvScMjGurAg/s1600/Carter+Tutti+Void.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Carter Tutti Void</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">There’s a lot
of black in here. We’re here to listen to a certain type of music and this
means a certain type of dress code. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">We arrive as
the first act gets started. A woman peers intently at a lap top and
occasionally makes adjustments to some equipment beside it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">This is
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/Ellllmusic">EIIII</a>, a name I have much fun pronouncing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">At first it
doesn’t appear that anything is happening and the crowd continues to chatter.
However, things start to change…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">…I’m aware
that the back of my jacket is blowing back from my body and that my ribcage
appears to be pulsing and vibrating. We are in the world of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infrasound">infrasound</a>,
frequencies that are so incredibly low that they are all but inaudible.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The crowd
continues to talk, now conscious of the noise that throbs through the room.
EIIII continues to stare at her lap top with a look of determination. She looks
like a sonar operator who has just discovered a nasty ‘blip’ on her scanner.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><iframe frameborder="no" height="450" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/157049097&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true" width="100%"></iframe><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">It’s an
interesting experience, but it still comes as a relief when the sound
occasionally whistles up into a more traditional pitch, even though this in
turn starts to make your ears bleed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><b><a href="http://www.chrisandcosey.com/cartertuttivoid/">Carter TuttiVoid</a></b> are what used to be called a supergroup. Chris Carter and Cosey fanni
Tutti are famously members of Throbbing Gristle as well as frequent
co-collaborators and Nik Colk Void is currently part of experimental
techno-rockers <a href="https://www.facebook.com/factoryfloor">Factory Floor</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Carter stands
at the back of the stage and busies himself with piles of electronic equipment.
He goes about his work unfussily, his face a mixture of gentle concentration
and the contented half-smile of a man taking pleasure in a hobby.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">He lays down
a succession of skittering rhythms and beats that flicker and thrum, propelling
the crowd into that twitchy type of dancing you do when you are really enjoying
yourself but don’t have the room to really cut loose.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Stage right,
Cosey is smartly attired in a black sparkly frock and clutches a bass guitar
that looks like a long piece of melted plastic. She gets gradually more
animated as the evening progresses and it is she who sporadically addresses the
crowd or provides a wordless vocal that is distorted and delayed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Nik Void
stands to the left, bobbing about and, as was her habit when playing with
Norwich ahead-of-their-time post punks <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KaitO">KaitO</a>, playing her guitar with a
drumstick or occasional violin bow. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Each song is
a propulsive groove which allows space for Tutti and Void to riff over. It’s
bewitching stuff.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">So compelling
is this music that it comes as a disappointment when a track has to end,
generally around the ten minute mark, with Carter either switching off his beat
or abruptly changing the pace and heading off to sonic pastures new. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The hour
flies by. Carter Tutti Void leave the stage to roars of approval, including
mine. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Wyldmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06701612407581789722noreply@blogger.com0