LENNY KRAVITZ
I was raised on Lenny Kravitz. When I try to remember the first song that I ever saw on MTV, back when MTV was just the one channel, I think of Are You Gonna Go My Way by Kravitz. I remember the lights and the female drummer. I think of the dreads. And it is not at all surprising that I think of that riff. He was always one of those acts that I'd love to see based purely on my youth, but I only bought tickets for this show due to my mum desperately wanting to see him. At £40.20 each ticket after fees I certainly wouldn't have bought tickets if it weren't for her. I was even less enthused when I found out that there would be no support. All of that money for just one man, and what turned out to be a one hour and forty-five minute set.
It wasn't really worth it. He has produced many albums each crammed with a ton of filler and the odd anthemic single. With this show destined to be used to road-test his latest album, Love Revolution, live, I understood that we would probably get half hits and half shite. Something that I did not expect however was Lenny Kravitz to bring with him his merry bunch of talented session musicians (including a brass section) and then masquerade as the new James Brown, extending his new songs into jazz-funk odysseys that were more just odd. The one saving grace was his ability to pull out a hit at just the right moment to remind me that he can write them, and with songs like Mr Cab Driver, Again and Fly Away unleashed he managed to appease me.
Well until Let Love Rule that is. Having kept the older songs to their original length previously, he decided to extend this one by continually repeating the title lyric, before he began preaching unity, brotherhood, Christianity and a need for a 'Love Revolution' to the crowd. He then asked for people to join him on stage for a mass dance along. The whole thing was painful. Looking over the faces of the crowd you could see that his search for community had been successful, it just meant that everyone was united in alienating his warmth with beautiful British cynicism. Some things are best left to the past it seems.
http://www.myspace.com/lennykravitz
Thursday, 27 March 2008
Tuesday, 25 March 2008
CASIOTONE FOR THE PAINFULLY ALONE @ BUSH HALL 05/03/08
CASIOTONE FOR THE PAINFULLY ALONE
Casiotone For The Painfully Alone are like watching that moment in City Of Angels when Meg Ryan dies and Nicholas Cage is left alone having given up an eternity for a few measly hours with her. It is like the moment when Anna leaves in The O.C. and Seth is left, tears in his eyes and his nose pressed against the glass of the airport check-in window. It is like those songs that you listen to when you break up with the kind of girl or guy who shape your life and is like when your best friend leaves for another country and you wonder how you ever coped before you met them. Casiotone For The Painfully Alone manage to harness all of that misery and emotion and melancholy and make songs out of it, songs that make your stomach tangle and your throat dry. Live this only happens quicker and more emphatically.
Drawing largely from Etiquette they only really leave out Tonight Was A Disaster from the 'must play' list of songs, but this really doesn't matter. Opening with Cold White Christmas, Owen Ashworth (the man behind CFTPA) has the audience hushed and attentive from the very off. His electro-fused emo couldn't be better suited to his sullen, almost monotone vocals that express his stories of abandonment, false hope and emptiness with aplomb. And so, when Jenny Herbinson joins him on stage to add some female vocals to the mix, it is quite a surprise to find that her innocent, borderline naive, sunshine-like personality manages to add just the right tone to the songs to give them an idea of possibility, but the kind of possibility that would never come true. The highlight of the set for me though was Hobby Holly where Owen sang alone, unaccompanied by any instrument for the vast majority of the song before a small explosion of sound toward the end. Somehow, cutting the clutter and just having the voice, broken and unashamed, singing as though it were only him and Holly in the room managed to make the whole song so much more poignant.
Somewhat coincidentally this show happened to be the very first that I went to alone. It didn't end up being at all painful however. CFTPA are a band that are best suited to having no distractions, nothing to disturb your mind from fixating on the beautiful agony of real life represented without shame or excuses, just a hope that one day a smile will see you through.
http://www.myspace.com/cftpa
Casiotone For The Painfully Alone are like watching that moment in City Of Angels when Meg Ryan dies and Nicholas Cage is left alone having given up an eternity for a few measly hours with her. It is like the moment when Anna leaves in The O.C. and Seth is left, tears in his eyes and his nose pressed against the glass of the airport check-in window. It is like those songs that you listen to when you break up with the kind of girl or guy who shape your life and is like when your best friend leaves for another country and you wonder how you ever coped before you met them. Casiotone For The Painfully Alone manage to harness all of that misery and emotion and melancholy and make songs out of it, songs that make your stomach tangle and your throat dry. Live this only happens quicker and more emphatically.
Drawing largely from Etiquette they only really leave out Tonight Was A Disaster from the 'must play' list of songs, but this really doesn't matter. Opening with Cold White Christmas, Owen Ashworth (the man behind CFTPA) has the audience hushed and attentive from the very off. His electro-fused emo couldn't be better suited to his sullen, almost monotone vocals that express his stories of abandonment, false hope and emptiness with aplomb. And so, when Jenny Herbinson joins him on stage to add some female vocals to the mix, it is quite a surprise to find that her innocent, borderline naive, sunshine-like personality manages to add just the right tone to the songs to give them an idea of possibility, but the kind of possibility that would never come true. The highlight of the set for me though was Hobby Holly where Owen sang alone, unaccompanied by any instrument for the vast majority of the song before a small explosion of sound toward the end. Somehow, cutting the clutter and just having the voice, broken and unashamed, singing as though it were only him and Holly in the room managed to make the whole song so much more poignant.
Somewhat coincidentally this show happened to be the very first that I went to alone. It didn't end up being at all painful however. CFTPA are a band that are best suited to having no distractions, nothing to disturb your mind from fixating on the beautiful agony of real life represented without shame or excuses, just a hope that one day a smile will see you through.
http://www.myspace.com/cftpa
Wednesday, 19 March 2008
SLOW CLUB/ THE WAVE PICTURES @ THE ENTERPRISE 04/03/08
SLOW CLUB
This is the third time that I've seen Slow Club in 2008 and I'm getting to a point where it is impossible to describe quite how great they are. So I will try to explain it in an alternative way. Having introduced an ex-girlfriend of mine to them at the beginning of the year and her now being just as much of a fan as I a, I decided to buy an extra ticket on this occasion too and introduce my best friend to them. To put it simply, he has asked me to not only ensure that I buy him a ticket for every gig I go to that Slow Club play in future, but also for me to introduce him to more bands that I like in the future. Apparently they're good enough to reinstate his faith in my music taste.
The band currently only have a single that has been released as well as an early demo (or at least that's all that I've been able to get my hands on) and so they draw largely from songs that will be appearing on their imminent debut album. However, where some bands might suffer with this unfamiliarity, Slow Club manage to make their music seem familiar. Perhaps this is in it's simplicity, or perhaps it is due to the catchy, pop-like elements of their acoustic, stripped-down music. Ultimately I feel that Slow Club manage to answer that age-old question of, 'If I love this band this much how can other people not feel the same?' Slow Club, it would appear, make it impossible not to like them.
I will inevitably see this band at least five or six times more this year. It seems that I'm powerless to buy tickets and desperate to see them in action. You should see them, I promise that you will start paying more attention to my recommendations if you do.
http://www.myspace.com/slowclub
THE WAVE PICTURES
When I saw The Wave Pictures supporting Slow Club just over a month ago I was a fan of the way they went about their music even if their music didn't appeal to me greatly. There was a certain swagger and light-heartedness about their performance, from the soloing on lead and bass guitars to the giggle-worthy banter between songs, all of which seems to have been lost in this performance. Perhaps the band are taking the show a little more seriously due to the packed room and their headline slot, but I feel that something vital has definitely been lost in the process.
I expected my friend - the one that I dragged along to see Slow Club - to really like The Wave Pictures. They're currently producing music that belongs in the mid-90s but seems current enough to warrant a revival. My friend, who I remember loving Suede and Supergrass and other bands that once graced the superb 'Shine' series, should lap these up. But instead he appears totally uninterested. I am too and I'm starting to feel embarrassed for expecting him to be a fan. I'm certain that he would have been had he seen them at the Borderline when they managed to impress me. Tonight we both decided to leave early instead.
http://www.myspace.com/thewavepictures
This is the third time that I've seen Slow Club in 2008 and I'm getting to a point where it is impossible to describe quite how great they are. So I will try to explain it in an alternative way. Having introduced an ex-girlfriend of mine to them at the beginning of the year and her now being just as much of a fan as I a, I decided to buy an extra ticket on this occasion too and introduce my best friend to them. To put it simply, he has asked me to not only ensure that I buy him a ticket for every gig I go to that Slow Club play in future, but also for me to introduce him to more bands that I like in the future. Apparently they're good enough to reinstate his faith in my music taste.
The band currently only have a single that has been released as well as an early demo (or at least that's all that I've been able to get my hands on) and so they draw largely from songs that will be appearing on their imminent debut album. However, where some bands might suffer with this unfamiliarity, Slow Club manage to make their music seem familiar. Perhaps this is in it's simplicity, or perhaps it is due to the catchy, pop-like elements of their acoustic, stripped-down music. Ultimately I feel that Slow Club manage to answer that age-old question of, 'If I love this band this much how can other people not feel the same?' Slow Club, it would appear, make it impossible not to like them.
I will inevitably see this band at least five or six times more this year. It seems that I'm powerless to buy tickets and desperate to see them in action. You should see them, I promise that you will start paying more attention to my recommendations if you do.
http://www.myspace.com/slowclub
THE WAVE PICTURES
When I saw The Wave Pictures supporting Slow Club just over a month ago I was a fan of the way they went about their music even if their music didn't appeal to me greatly. There was a certain swagger and light-heartedness about their performance, from the soloing on lead and bass guitars to the giggle-worthy banter between songs, all of which seems to have been lost in this performance. Perhaps the band are taking the show a little more seriously due to the packed room and their headline slot, but I feel that something vital has definitely been lost in the process.
I expected my friend - the one that I dragged along to see Slow Club - to really like The Wave Pictures. They're currently producing music that belongs in the mid-90s but seems current enough to warrant a revival. My friend, who I remember loving Suede and Supergrass and other bands that once graced the superb 'Shine' series, should lap these up. But instead he appears totally uninterested. I am too and I'm starting to feel embarrassed for expecting him to be a fan. I'm certain that he would have been had he seen them at the Borderline when they managed to impress me. Tonight we both decided to leave early instead.
http://www.myspace.com/thewavepictures
Monday, 25 February 2008
JIMMY EAT WORLD @ BRIXTON ACADEMY 18/02/08
JIMMY EAT WORLD
I have somehow always managed to not see Jimmy Eat World. I would have missed them this time too had my friend not had an extra ticket. Jimmy Eat World have been one of the most interesting and strangely pioneering bands of the last ten or so years. Walking the tight-ropes of pop-punk and emo without ever really being able to be classified as either, they have managed to produce some remarkable albums that are so far removed from the disposable products normally released from bands of either of those two genres. The fact that the majority of the crowd at Brixton are over twenty-one is the best way to emphasise quite how well respected this band are.
Jimmy Eat World take to the stage and from the off something doesn't seem quite right. My initial excitement wore thin by the end of the first song and I was left wondering what was off. They were very tight and their back catalogue, that is littered with both hits and cult classics, meant that it was never going to get boring, but at times they managed to skirt with the possibility. In their defense, I feel that it is often hard for bands to create the required atmosphere in a venue of this size, and I feel that this was Jimmy Eat World's problem. They played well but the venue was just too large.
I went to this gig with a heavy, painful cough that I needed to rest and with the sing-a-long potential of Jimmy Eat World I thought that this would be a curse. Rarely did it become so though. The big hits and my personal favourite, 23, made me move my lips but hardly belt the words out or throw my finger in the air. This was not bad but it wasn't great either.
http://www.myspace.com/jimmyeatworld
I have somehow always managed to not see Jimmy Eat World. I would have missed them this time too had my friend not had an extra ticket. Jimmy Eat World have been one of the most interesting and strangely pioneering bands of the last ten or so years. Walking the tight-ropes of pop-punk and emo without ever really being able to be classified as either, they have managed to produce some remarkable albums that are so far removed from the disposable products normally released from bands of either of those two genres. The fact that the majority of the crowd at Brixton are over twenty-one is the best way to emphasise quite how well respected this band are.
Jimmy Eat World take to the stage and from the off something doesn't seem quite right. My initial excitement wore thin by the end of the first song and I was left wondering what was off. They were very tight and their back catalogue, that is littered with both hits and cult classics, meant that it was never going to get boring, but at times they managed to skirt with the possibility. In their defense, I feel that it is often hard for bands to create the required atmosphere in a venue of this size, and I feel that this was Jimmy Eat World's problem. They played well but the venue was just too large.
I went to this gig with a heavy, painful cough that I needed to rest and with the sing-a-long potential of Jimmy Eat World I thought that this would be a curse. Rarely did it become so though. The big hits and my personal favourite, 23, made me move my lips but hardly belt the words out or throw my finger in the air. This was not bad but it wasn't great either.
http://www.myspace.com/jimmyeatworld
Tuesday, 19 February 2008
EMMY THE GREAT/ GET CAPE. WEAR CAPE. FLY @ KOKO 15/02/08
EMMY THE GREAT
First things first, I must get a huge gripe off of my chest. One thing that I hate is when people talk loud enough to drown out bands playing, especially when bands play the kind of soft, emotional and emphatically melancholic acoustic music that Emmy The Great plays. These people that jabber on throughout should fuck off to the bar and talk there, not stand at front-centre and chat the whole way through the set, laughing through songs about abortions and car crashes. It made me want to smash their skulls across the barrier as she played, to manipulate one of Emmy's lyrics.
Emmy, as a whole, failed to take my attention from the three bacteria next to me. Her songs didn't suit the size of the venue and few people had bothered to arrive early enough to see her, despite her being the main support. The sound was also far too quiet. The fact that I could hear these people next to me was bad enough, but that Emmy seemed to be able to hear them too implies that the sound was way too low. The band didn't really seem comfortable with the songs either which meant that the best moments came when it was just Emmy and her guitar.
I think that Emmy, unlike Sam Duckworth, will always suit the smaller, more intimate venues. Perhaps she will grow to become one of those artists that play Bush Hall or the Scala and charge £25 a ticket rather than play venues like Koko, but currently this tour and her impending visit to SXSW are both aimed at getting her the exposure that she deserves. My only problem is that, after this performance, she doesn't seem ready. There was no sheen on the set and not only was I left wishing that she'd performed Hypnotist's Daughter but that her set had been a little more rehearsed and a lot more confident.
http://www.myspace.com/emmythegreat
GET CAPE. WEAR CAPE. FLY.
I have never seen Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly in a big venue before. My last time seeing him was in a friend's living room and the time before that was at the Brixton Windmill in 2006 only a month or so after he had been signed. I had wanted to see him in a proper venue for a while though, to see someone who I had seen a few times when still travelling on the National Express all over the country and with just a guitar and a laptop for accompaniment, on a big stage, the kind of stage that I'd seen big acts in my past. I missed the Astoria and Forum shows and so was determined to see this one.
As soon as Sam took to the stage it was amazing. Instead of the jeans and t-shirt of old, he and his band - the last time I saw him he had no bassist and there was just one person in the brass section - were all donning suits, and then Sam picked up an electric guitar and I thought that this was his Bob Dylan moment. He thrashed his way through a new song and I didn't really enjoy it. The charm of the guy with the acoustic guitar had been lost, now he was a normal band and Get Cape sound normal in that field. The older songs still sound brilliant though and the crowd really get behind them. Towards the end I find that I'm moving further towards the back due to the amount of people pogoing and showing complete disregard for others as they show their passion for the music, and, despite the personal inconvenience, I am overcome with pride for Sam and what he has achieved. The final song of the set was a further step away from the original Get Cape sound, as they attempt an epic end to the set with some almost post-rock sound pouring from the speakers.
I'm not currently very convinced by what I've heard of the new album and this gig did nothing to build some anticipation within me, but it was nice to see a guy who has succeeded in his goals and is enjoying the life that these achievements allow him. However, on this occasion, I'm left longing for a shorter set and a little something to keep my attention.
http://www.myspace.com/getcapewearcapefly
First things first, I must get a huge gripe off of my chest. One thing that I hate is when people talk loud enough to drown out bands playing, especially when bands play the kind of soft, emotional and emphatically melancholic acoustic music that Emmy The Great plays. These people that jabber on throughout should fuck off to the bar and talk there, not stand at front-centre and chat the whole way through the set, laughing through songs about abortions and car crashes. It made me want to smash their skulls across the barrier as she played, to manipulate one of Emmy's lyrics.
Emmy, as a whole, failed to take my attention from the three bacteria next to me. Her songs didn't suit the size of the venue and few people had bothered to arrive early enough to see her, despite her being the main support. The sound was also far too quiet. The fact that I could hear these people next to me was bad enough, but that Emmy seemed to be able to hear them too implies that the sound was way too low. The band didn't really seem comfortable with the songs either which meant that the best moments came when it was just Emmy and her guitar.
I think that Emmy, unlike Sam Duckworth, will always suit the smaller, more intimate venues. Perhaps she will grow to become one of those artists that play Bush Hall or the Scala and charge £25 a ticket rather than play venues like Koko, but currently this tour and her impending visit to SXSW are both aimed at getting her the exposure that she deserves. My only problem is that, after this performance, she doesn't seem ready. There was no sheen on the set and not only was I left wishing that she'd performed Hypnotist's Daughter but that her set had been a little more rehearsed and a lot more confident.
http://www.myspace.com/emmythegreat
GET CAPE. WEAR CAPE. FLY.
I have never seen Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly in a big venue before. My last time seeing him was in a friend's living room and the time before that was at the Brixton Windmill in 2006 only a month or so after he had been signed. I had wanted to see him in a proper venue for a while though, to see someone who I had seen a few times when still travelling on the National Express all over the country and with just a guitar and a laptop for accompaniment, on a big stage, the kind of stage that I'd seen big acts in my past. I missed the Astoria and Forum shows and so was determined to see this one.
As soon as Sam took to the stage it was amazing. Instead of the jeans and t-shirt of old, he and his band - the last time I saw him he had no bassist and there was just one person in the brass section - were all donning suits, and then Sam picked up an electric guitar and I thought that this was his Bob Dylan moment. He thrashed his way through a new song and I didn't really enjoy it. The charm of the guy with the acoustic guitar had been lost, now he was a normal band and Get Cape sound normal in that field. The older songs still sound brilliant though and the crowd really get behind them. Towards the end I find that I'm moving further towards the back due to the amount of people pogoing and showing complete disregard for others as they show their passion for the music, and, despite the personal inconvenience, I am overcome with pride for Sam and what he has achieved. The final song of the set was a further step away from the original Get Cape sound, as they attempt an epic end to the set with some almost post-rock sound pouring from the speakers.
I'm not currently very convinced by what I've heard of the new album and this gig did nothing to build some anticipation within me, but it was nice to see a guy who has succeeded in his goals and is enjoying the life that these achievements allow him. However, on this occasion, I'm left longing for a shorter set and a little something to keep my attention.
http://www.myspace.com/getcapewearcapefly
SLOW CLUB/ HOT CLUB DE PARIS @ THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL 12/02/08
Before I review either band I really must talk about the venue choice. At first when buying the tickets I thought that it was a little bizarre. While it was obviously going to be in one of the smaller rooms upstairs, I still thought it was bizarre for a small label to put on a gig in a venue like this and run the risk of things being broken etc. But on second thoughts I think that it shows such a great faith that Moshi Moshi have in the fans of their label that they know them to be conscientious music lovers who are not attending gigs to get wasted and wreck some shit, but to appreciate new and exciting music. Top work and the label DJs who played songs before, in between and after the bands really helped show why Moshi Moshi have been and will inevitably continue to be incredible talent scouts and one of the best UK labels.
SLOW CLUB
I fucking love Slow Club. Not the best way to start a review but I think that it sums up my opinion both succinctly and entirely, well enough in fact for me to add nothing else and I'd feel as though I'd expressed myself adequately. They are lush and pretty and simple and other words like that. Watching them makes me feel light, as though my bone marrow has been replaced by tiny helium balloons. There is also something inherently English about their music and this makes The Royal Albert Hall seem as perfect a venue for them as a tea shop.
They have troubles tonight though. Their equipment had been doused in coffee on the way down (this was explained to us in an anecdote told to us between songs) and this caused Charles' lead to take issue with his guitar on occasion, Rebecca had a cold, and then, during their penultimate song, Charles managed to break a string which meant that they had no option but to play their final song acoustically, without microphones or percussion. But instead of letting these issues hold them back they embraced them, and the final song was one of the best of the set. Another stand-out song in their set for me was new song Trophy Room. This song managed to sound really big and had me thinking of the old Johnny Cash and June Carter duets.
Slow Club's set was far too short for me. This worked for them what with the problems that they had faced, but I was left wanting far more. Acoustic music seems to currently be either mainstream tat (Newton Faulkner), political (Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly) or else whimsical tales of every day life (Sam Isaac), but Slow Club don't really fit into any of those. They instead manage to sound refreshing, heart-crushing and uplifting throughout their set and you're left with your heart feeling bruised and your lungs needing breathe. They remind me of that feeling when you see someone on a passing train and fall in love with their face but then they're gone before love could ever let you down. Slow Club are like that feeling, love without disappointment.
http://www.myspace.com/slowclub
HOT CLUB DE PARIS
Hot Club De Paris are a three-piece from Liverpool who sit alongside Slow Club on my list of 'Must Hear Albums' of 2008. Managing to sound like a constantly crashing sea of sound, they manage to muster incredibly complex songs and then play them at twice the pace of the recorded version when playing live. I first saw Hot Club when they played in Leeds with Dartz! and you can see the similarities between the bands. Both play spiky indie music which is far more technical than it might seem, but Hot Club manage to push the technical elements far further and quite often throughout their set I'm dumbfounded by quite how good this band are as musicians.
Hot Club decide to take this opportunity to play a set that is littered with songs from the forthcoming album, using the old songs just to keep people interested here and there. I don't think that I'd have lost interest though; the new songs are extremely promising. While it would appear that they have thankfully kept the playfully humourous song titles - I Wasn't Being Heartless When I Said That Your Favourite Song Lacked Heart is a prime example of this - they seem to have matured with their song structures and the strength of the playing seems far superior to anything on Drop It 'Til It Pops.
The between song banter is, as always, hilarious. Topics covered included discussing how they were big fans of the Chicago Bulls of baseball, how Bruce Springsteen adds an extra inch to his stage height and an amusing anecdote about how The Beat are "total arseholes, the type of people who would skank on your grave." Hot Club De Paris are set to return this year and once again deliver an album that should make people pay attention.
On the back of this gig I wouldn't mind joining either band's club.
http://www.myspace.com/hotclubdeparis
SLOW CLUB
I fucking love Slow Club. Not the best way to start a review but I think that it sums up my opinion both succinctly and entirely, well enough in fact for me to add nothing else and I'd feel as though I'd expressed myself adequately. They are lush and pretty and simple and other words like that. Watching them makes me feel light, as though my bone marrow has been replaced by tiny helium balloons. There is also something inherently English about their music and this makes The Royal Albert Hall seem as perfect a venue for them as a tea shop.
They have troubles tonight though. Their equipment had been doused in coffee on the way down (this was explained to us in an anecdote told to us between songs) and this caused Charles' lead to take issue with his guitar on occasion, Rebecca had a cold, and then, during their penultimate song, Charles managed to break a string which meant that they had no option but to play their final song acoustically, without microphones or percussion. But instead of letting these issues hold them back they embraced them, and the final song was one of the best of the set. Another stand-out song in their set for me was new song Trophy Room. This song managed to sound really big and had me thinking of the old Johnny Cash and June Carter duets.
Slow Club's set was far too short for me. This worked for them what with the problems that they had faced, but I was left wanting far more. Acoustic music seems to currently be either mainstream tat (Newton Faulkner), political (Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly) or else whimsical tales of every day life (Sam Isaac), but Slow Club don't really fit into any of those. They instead manage to sound refreshing, heart-crushing and uplifting throughout their set and you're left with your heart feeling bruised and your lungs needing breathe. They remind me of that feeling when you see someone on a passing train and fall in love with their face but then they're gone before love could ever let you down. Slow Club are like that feeling, love without disappointment.
http://www.myspace.com/slowclub
HOT CLUB DE PARIS
Hot Club De Paris are a three-piece from Liverpool who sit alongside Slow Club on my list of 'Must Hear Albums' of 2008. Managing to sound like a constantly crashing sea of sound, they manage to muster incredibly complex songs and then play them at twice the pace of the recorded version when playing live. I first saw Hot Club when they played in Leeds with Dartz! and you can see the similarities between the bands. Both play spiky indie music which is far more technical than it might seem, but Hot Club manage to push the technical elements far further and quite often throughout their set I'm dumbfounded by quite how good this band are as musicians.
Hot Club decide to take this opportunity to play a set that is littered with songs from the forthcoming album, using the old songs just to keep people interested here and there. I don't think that I'd have lost interest though; the new songs are extremely promising. While it would appear that they have thankfully kept the playfully humourous song titles - I Wasn't Being Heartless When I Said That Your Favourite Song Lacked Heart is a prime example of this - they seem to have matured with their song structures and the strength of the playing seems far superior to anything on Drop It 'Til It Pops.
The between song banter is, as always, hilarious. Topics covered included discussing how they were big fans of the Chicago Bulls of baseball, how Bruce Springsteen adds an extra inch to his stage height and an amusing anecdote about how The Beat are "total arseholes, the type of people who would skank on your grave." Hot Club De Paris are set to return this year and once again deliver an album that should make people pay attention.
On the back of this gig I wouldn't mind joining either band's club.
http://www.myspace.com/hotclubdeparis
LOS CAMPESINOS!/ LES SAVY FAV @ THE ASTORIA 10/02/08
LOS CAMPESINOS!
Los Campesinos! are one of those fashionable bands that people are quick to look down on because publications like NME or Vice have been singing their praises. I'd have been tempted to avoid them too had I not actively attempted to give bands the benefit of the doubt this year. I'd read reports on them where they had been described as twee and intent on avoiding success and mainstream appeal, but with their brand of music I can't see that being possible.
I watched the band from the balcony having arrived just as they began their first song and my first thought was just how well they suited this large venue. With seven members to the band the stage hardly seemed too big but more importantly their sound really suited the acoustics, bouncing back off the walls making it seem far more epic than could ever have been intended. Musically they were very tight too which, with The Astoria's relatively poor sound and so many different instruments being played at once, was a far bigger achievement than it might seem.
Los Campesinos! sound like summer on record but tonight they sound perfect for a cold February evening. They sound dark, as though there has always been a melancholy running through their music that is only noticeable when played live. Twee? I'm not so sure. Yes they play a lot of xylophone, the female vocals are lush like meadows and the lyrics seem like wonderfully crafted cola-cubes, but twee seems to imply flimsy to me and that certainly couldn't be levelled at them. If you're suffering from a cold or cough as I am then I recommend a heavy dose of Los Campesinos! to warm your insides up.
http://www.myspace.com/loscampesinos
LES SAVY FAV
Les Savy Fav are a band that have been going since 1995 and now, twelve years later, they have broken into the mainstream and are getting the buzz that they have deserved for so long. The reason for this seems to have been the press that they have received for their fourth album, Let's Stay Friends. They seem to have created a sound that really suits them, taking the renowned New York sound and adding a steelier, heavier edge to it, perfect for dancing to but also good to sing along to in the car with friends.
Live they owe a lot to their unorthodox in every way front man. Tim Harrington is responsible only for vocals but is also the focal point of the group for their entire set. He takes to the stage dressed like the Phantom Of The Opera and then proceeds, once the first song gets under way, to shed his costume to show a Hawaiian shirt underneath. Throughout the set Tim manages to get through as many costume changes as any Mariah Carey episode of Cribs, at times being an explorer and even coming on for the encore dressed as an angel, blonde curly wig and all. But his showmanship doesn't end at outfits, Tim also spends as much time in the crowd as he does onstage, at times going as far towards the back of the room that he can no longer be seen anymore from my position on the balcony. He also has a member of the crowd join him onstage where he rides him like a horse.
With all this spectacle it would be easy for the show to turn into a shambles or for you to ignore the most important part of the show: the music, but the band are incredible throughout and Tim, despite all of his shenanigans and no matter where he might be in the venue at the time, never misses a line and always sounds as clear as a glacier. Les Savy Fav are the perfect cure for a heavy bout of tiredness and kept me thoroughly entertained in every possible way. To be both style and substance is quite an achievement and I can't wait for them to come back to these shores for more shows; I'd imagine the security staff will be less enthused to see Tim take to the stage again.
http://www.myspace.com/lessavyfav
Los Campesinos! are one of those fashionable bands that people are quick to look down on because publications like NME or Vice have been singing their praises. I'd have been tempted to avoid them too had I not actively attempted to give bands the benefit of the doubt this year. I'd read reports on them where they had been described as twee and intent on avoiding success and mainstream appeal, but with their brand of music I can't see that being possible.
I watched the band from the balcony having arrived just as they began their first song and my first thought was just how well they suited this large venue. With seven members to the band the stage hardly seemed too big but more importantly their sound really suited the acoustics, bouncing back off the walls making it seem far more epic than could ever have been intended. Musically they were very tight too which, with The Astoria's relatively poor sound and so many different instruments being played at once, was a far bigger achievement than it might seem.
Los Campesinos! sound like summer on record but tonight they sound perfect for a cold February evening. They sound dark, as though there has always been a melancholy running through their music that is only noticeable when played live. Twee? I'm not so sure. Yes they play a lot of xylophone, the female vocals are lush like meadows and the lyrics seem like wonderfully crafted cola-cubes, but twee seems to imply flimsy to me and that certainly couldn't be levelled at them. If you're suffering from a cold or cough as I am then I recommend a heavy dose of Los Campesinos! to warm your insides up.
http://www.myspace.com/loscampesinos
LES SAVY FAV
Les Savy Fav are a band that have been going since 1995 and now, twelve years later, they have broken into the mainstream and are getting the buzz that they have deserved for so long. The reason for this seems to have been the press that they have received for their fourth album, Let's Stay Friends. They seem to have created a sound that really suits them, taking the renowned New York sound and adding a steelier, heavier edge to it, perfect for dancing to but also good to sing along to in the car with friends.
Live they owe a lot to their unorthodox in every way front man. Tim Harrington is responsible only for vocals but is also the focal point of the group for their entire set. He takes to the stage dressed like the Phantom Of The Opera and then proceeds, once the first song gets under way, to shed his costume to show a Hawaiian shirt underneath. Throughout the set Tim manages to get through as many costume changes as any Mariah Carey episode of Cribs, at times being an explorer and even coming on for the encore dressed as an angel, blonde curly wig and all. But his showmanship doesn't end at outfits, Tim also spends as much time in the crowd as he does onstage, at times going as far towards the back of the room that he can no longer be seen anymore from my position on the balcony. He also has a member of the crowd join him onstage where he rides him like a horse.
With all this spectacle it would be easy for the show to turn into a shambles or for you to ignore the most important part of the show: the music, but the band are incredible throughout and Tim, despite all of his shenanigans and no matter where he might be in the venue at the time, never misses a line and always sounds as clear as a glacier. Les Savy Fav are the perfect cure for a heavy bout of tiredness and kept me thoroughly entertained in every possible way. To be both style and substance is quite an achievement and I can't wait for them to come back to these shores for more shows; I'd imagine the security staff will be less enthused to see Tim take to the stage again.
http://www.myspace.com/lessavyfav
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