Folly of Youth

YO LA TENGO @ MANCHESTER ACADEMY 2, 7 November 2009

2009-11-07T23:46:00.026Z

"Good to see Yo La Tengo are attracting a younger crowd" I thought arriving at the Students' Union building to see the queue of tweenagers waiting to get into tonight's sold out show. Then I realised they were here to see 3Oh!3 (me neither). Once inside it was much more the audience demographic I expected - and not simply a group of record store clerks as suggested mischievously by The Onion. The crowd was largely quiet and - surprisingly - reserved during the concert except for the frequent cries for 'Freebird' (will this never go away??).

Recent Yo La Tengo records, including new album "Popular Songs", tend to have roughly three types of song: the quiet and tender, the loud and fast, or the longer, ten-minute-plus, starting-quieter-ending-louder, largely instrumental jams. And tonight all three were well represented. Given the trio - Ira Kaplan guitars/keyboards, Georgia Hubley drums and James McNew bass - have been in existence since 1984 there were always going to be omissions from tonight's 1 hour and 40 minute set which I'll try not to get hung up about (but no 'Blue Line Swinger'! No 'Autumn Sweater'!).

The sound in Academy 2 was great tonight especially considering this was just a three piece band delivering it. But they had come prepared - they had a LOT of kit with them. I think I counted at least four different keyboards dotted across the stage and there was a guitar roadie on stage throughout constantly preparing and tuning a bank of guitars to hand to Ira. Only for Ira to instantly de-tune it and then give it a proper thrashing. When playing Ira contorts his body as much as the guitar, often lifting his right arm high up at shoulder to plunge it across the strings. Great to watch as ever - but surprised he hasn't got some joint problems.

New songs came across well, even ones I hadn't really paid attention to like 'Avalon or Someone Very Similar' and 'When It's Dark'. Highlights for me: an acoustic version of 'Black Flowers' with the three band members at the front of the stage - James singing and playing acoustic guitar, Georgia on percussion and Ira with electric guitar - which was hauntingly lovely. And set closer 'Pass The Hatchet, I Am Goodkind' was magnificently dark and twisted.

The large cloth backdrop for tonight was of scattered buttons, all different sizes, textures and colours. At first this was quite calming and reassuringly twee; but towards the end as they plunged into a some of the louder, fuzzier songs ('Sugarcube', 'Tom Courtenay', 'Nowhere To Hide') and as the lights starting to swirl, it became more psychedelic and even menacing. The trio of encores included a tribute to Manchester in a cover of Dylan's 'I Wanna Be Your Lover' with Euros Childs joining the band: "we couldn't think of any Manchester bands... then remembered "Bob Dylan at the Albert Hall" was recorded here". All in all, a great evening of quality music from one of America's finest. Despite those omissions.

Support was from Euros Childs touring his new album "Son of Euro Child". It was a short thirty minute, nine song set but with plenty to enjoy. His solo work smoothes out some of the psychedelic quirkiness of early Gorky's but still has a weird humour and casual charm all of its own. He is endearingly nervous at being booted off the stage and also tells some tall tales: he claims 'When I First Saw You' was co-written with Ian McShane "whilst I was house-sitting for him in the South of France". 'Outside My Window' featured guitar played through the smallest amp in the world ("watch out for the reverb") which he bought because he wanted something easy to carry not being able to drive. It sounded astonishing. A national treasure.

PERIODICALLY TRIPLE OR DOUBLE
Yo La Tengo
Popular Songs [BUY]

TOM COURTENAY
Yo La Tengo
Electr-o-pura [BUY]

LIKE THIS THEN TRY THIS
Euros Childs
Son of Euro Child [BUY]

TONIGHT IN MANCHESTER: Mark Eitzel

2009-11-05T07:28:00.006Z

In a week of 'event' gigs (Daniel Johnston at Manchester Town Hall, Grizzly Bear and St Vincent at Manchester Cathedral), this 'lesser' event may have missed your attention. Mark Eitzel, singer-songwriter, leader of American Music Club, and king of despair and heartbreak is playing in a church in Whally Range.

Promoter Hey Manchester gives a good summary of Mark's career which is handy as I haven't kept up with Mark/the reformed AMC for most of the noughties. So I can't comment on the later records but his late 80s/early 90s material is highly recommended. If you look at All Music's list of 'Moods' to describe American Music Club the first ten are: Sardonic, Brooding, Angst-Ridden, Cynical/ Sarcastic, Wry, Melancholy, Earnest, Cerebral, Literate, Acerbic, Witty. Don't be put off: the bitterness of Mark Eitzel's lyrics are off-set by the passionate delivery and the quality of song-writing. And tonight is a solo piano performance which will had a touch of grandeur to already majestic songs like 'Johnny Mathis' Feet'.

Mark Eitzel playing solo piano. Support coming from two other piano-players, Franz Nicolay (of The Hold Steady) and Aidan Smith. In St Margaret's Church in Whally Range. Perfect to shelter from the fireworks and bad weather. And most certainly an 'event'. Grab advance tickets while you can.

WESTERN SKY
Mark Eitzel
Songs of Love Live [BUY]

WISH THE WORLD AWAY

American Music Club
San Francisco [BUY]

BOWERBIRDS / MY SAD CAPTAINS @ DULCIMER 1 November 2009

2009-11-02T08:56:00.031Z

After plenty of travelling in the last few days including yesterday's trip to Cambridge, it was good to be going to a more local gig. However both tonight's bands had put in the miles to get here: My Sad Captains from London, Bowerbirds coming from slightly further away, North Carolina.

This was my third time seeing My Sad Captains (End of the Road in 2007, then earlier this year at the Windmill) but first in their slimmed down version. Now a four piece (Ed Wallis guitar/vocals, Jack Swayne bass, Nick Goss guitar/melodica, Jim Wallis drums) they are still able to replicate the beautiful and subtle orchestrations of their records but this did involve all four members, including at times Jim the drummer, also doubling up on some form of keyboard/electronic device.

If singer Ed Wallis can appear hesitant or even apologetic introducing songs, there's nothing hesitant about the music. It's timeless and superior indie-pop with a hint of Americana (and possibly - tonight's debate - The Go Betweens?). Troubled or troubling relationships, miscommunication and break-up are some of the themes of their songs but whether the atmospheric 'You Talk All Night', the poignant 'A Change of Scenery' or the pop-rush of 'All Hat No Plans' the songs are joyous to hear. Great to hear the set-closer 'Bad Decisions' - the single on Fortuna Pop where I first came across the band.

'There's another video of 'You Talk All Night' from tonight also on You Tube.

The band are touring in support of this year's debut album "Here and Elsewhere". As is the case with touring on this scale there is no money in it and bands only cover their costs if they are able to shift a few CDs, T-shirts etc on the night ("Birmingham was good; Leicester wasn't"). If you're seeing them on the remaining dates (Sheffield, Wakefield, Cardiff, Portsmouth, London, Brighton, Bristol) make sure you take some extra spends for some of the goodies on offer some of which you can't buy elsewhere (tour only CD EP! Tour poster!) and if you're not going you can still buy some music here. The album - definitely in my top ten of the year - is highly, highly recommended.

The Set List:
"They're gone and so are we?"
All Hat No Plans
You Talk All Night
Told You So
"Poor Communication?"
Here and Elsewhere
A Change of Scenery
Bad Decisions
Bowerbirds are a three piece: Phil Moore on vocals/acoustic guitar, Beth Tacular on accordion/keyboards and vocals, and Yan Westerlund on drums. They play sometimes-ragged, sometimes-soothing alt-folk pop, strong on harmonies and stuffed with references to nature and the elements.

On record Bowerbirds can be quite a demanding listen - a bit too wayward and over-doing the lyricism at times. Tonight in such an intimate setting (I am not sure I have stood this close to an accordion before) and with central duo Phil and Beth exuding a relaxed and genial air, it was a very pleasant and agreeable set. And I don't mean to damn with faint praise.

All three players had little physical tics that not only matched the quirks and rhythms of the songs but also seemed to accompany and smooth them out: the right hand side of Phil's mouth rising on certain notes, Beth's extreme arching of her back whilst playing the accordion, drummer Yan's random shoulder lifts and brow-furrows.

Their set mixed songs from both albums (I managed to lose the set list I was keeping). 'Bur Oak' seemed to be a crowd favourite but I equally enjoyed the more recent songs. They finished with unamplified three-part harmonising and then a 'plugged in' version of 'Bright Future'. All that was missing was a campfire.

ALL HAT NO PLANS
My Sad Captains
Here and Elsewhere [BUY]

TEETH

Bowerbirds
Upper Air [BUY]

THE BROKEN FAMILY BAND @ THE PORTLAND ARMS 31 October 2009

2009-11-01T16:24:00.026Z

All the best wakes are proper parties. And so it was with the final gig by The Broken Family Band. How to organise your own send-off: book the local pub in Cambridge (the one where you played your first gig), invite family and friends for one last hoorah and ask them all to wear fancy dress (it being Halloween). And then throw in a little extra: a mid-afternoon acoustic performance in the pub's lounge bar. Despite the distance from Manchester, Mr P and I felt compelled to make the journey to be there.

The Portland Arms is a cosy, oak-panelled, traditional boozer in which the trappings of the modern pub - Sky Sports, chalkboards full of offers and deals, quiz machine - are slowly invading. But this afternoon the quiz machine was switched off and cosiness prevailed as Cambridge's finest - Steven Adams - guitar/vocals, Jay Williams - guitar, Gavin Johnson - bass, and Mickey Roman - drums - gave their next to last performance. It was a performance with "no set list and no volume" claimed a nervous singer ("for the record this is terrifying"). But they did have a set-list (see below) and if no volume they certainly added plenty of emotion and passion to their playing.

With a row of costumed kids cross-legged in front of a packed bar, this hour-long set had the feel of a Halloween kids party meets a family get-together.

Old songs predominated and despite passing police sirens, a crying baby and the odd joke ("it was never about being in tune"), there was a real poignancy to the first half of the set - especially 'Poor Little Thing'. Mr P has to brush a way a tear or two at times.

They picked up the pace and the mood towards the end and even played ("as requested by Waldorf and Statler here") 'Walking Back To Jesus Part Two' - probably the one song I wanted to hear most today. It was the song that first got me hooked on The Broken Family Band.

The 4pm Acoutic Set List
Mimi
Kissing in the Rain
Queen of the Sea
Poor Little Thing
Devil in the Details
Cocktail Lounge
Give and Take
Twelve Eyes of Evil
(I Don't Have The Time To) Mess Around
Living in Sin
The Mardi Gras Rescue Mission
Don't Leave That Woman Unattended
John Belushi
Walking Back To Jesus Part Two
Song Against Robots

So a leisurely pub meal followed and then back to the hotel for a quick change into fancy dress before returning to The Portland Arms. The evening performance was in The Gig Room. This is your classic pub-back-room venue: a small, dimly-lit square room with a low riser stage against a back wall covered in randomly affixed sound-proofing tiles. Apparently it holds 100 but Mr P and I couldn't think of a smaller room that we had seen a professional gig in. Cosy.

The room was decked in 'sorry you're leaving' banners and helium-filled balloons. The audience were a motley mix of ghouls, skeletons and witches plus a bumble bee, Wonder Woman, the Pope and the Grim Reaper. When the band came just after 9pm they were greeted with warm, supportive cheers and applause.

The first five songs were a rip-roaring ride - clearly not a band going out quietly - with the audience egging them on. In closing moments of 'It's All Over' when guitarist Jay let out a howl, the audience howled back in delight. In 'The Perfect Gentleman', the line about "dressing up in women's underwear / under these clothes" brought out a chorus of wolf whistles. This genial, good-humoured atmosphere with wedding-party banter and name-checks took an abrupt turn with 'Cocktail Lounge': its bleak, alcohol-laced despair turning elation to sombre reflection. Such mood swings have always been part of the music of The Broken Family Band - sometimes even in the same song.

It was becoming a hot, sweaty room - made hotter for most by wearing fancy dress. But it didn't seem to dampen anyone's spirits as the party rolled on. "Here's another song we swore we would never play again. But these are sentimental times" led into 'Don't Leave That Woman Unattended' with Timothy Victor singing backing vocals in comedy moustache and eyebrows. It had become that kind of evening.

The room was full of girlfriends, siblings, close friends and family - Mr P and I felt very privileged to be part of this. And lucky. Begging is never dignified but this time it worked. However we also brought something to the party, namely a BFB-themed cake baked by Ms N. We handed it over to Steven pre-gig and then the cake sat proudly on top of one of the speaker cabinets before being 'presented' to the audience just before 'Song Against Robots': "the opening line is "There's no food here I can eat" but there is".

So after twenty three songs, a final four encores - although the band never actually left the stage - finishing with 'John Belushi' and a goodbye: "Thank you. We were The Broken Family Band". The four band members gave each other hug and stepped off the stage. And that was it. BFB broken up. Earlier Steven has said "after tonight we will only exist on the internet". "And in our hearts" was the lightning quick response from the crowd. How true. Thank you Broken Family Band for throwing such a good send-off party and for inviting us. And thanks too for all the good times over the years since I first heard 'Walking Back To Jesus Part Two'. Sadly, happy days will not be here again.

The Set List
It's All Over
Salivating
The Booze and the Drugs
Living in Sin
The Perfect Gentleman
Cocktail Lounge
Hey Captain
Give and Take
Dancing On The Fourth Floor
A Place You Deserve
At The Back Of The Chapel
You're Like A Woman
Where The Hell Is My Baby?
Walking Back To Jesus Part Two
Song Against Robots
Queen Of The Sea
Kissing In The Rain
(I Don't Have The Time To) Mess Around
Don't Leave That Woman Unattended
The Mardi Gras Rescue Mission
Borrowed Time
Leaps
Don't Change Your Mind
---
Happy Days Are Here Again
Please Yourself
Devil In The Details
John Belushi

WALKING BACK TO JESUS PART TWO
The Broken Family Band
Jesus Songs [BUY or BUY]

HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN
The Broken Family Band
Welcome Home Loser [BUY or BUY]

MANCHESTER GIGS IN MUSIC: November 2009 Pt.1

2009-10-31T09:33:00.006Z

Monthly mix-tape time again. A selection from bands playing Manchester this November all in one 43 minute/48MB zipped package - download link in the post following. Enjoy!

Sweet Billy Pilgrim Here It Begins (3 Nov RNCM with Portico Quartet BUY TICKETS)
Yo La Tengo Nowhere To Hide (7 Nov Academy 2 BUY TICKETS)
The Shaky Hands A New Parade (3 Nov Ruby Lounge BUY TICKETS)
My Sad Captains Great Expectations (1 Nov Dulcimer BUY TICKETS)
Blue Roses I Am Leaving (7 Nov Nexus Art Café BUY TICKETS)
Cave Singers At The Cut (17 Nov with Espers + Woods Academy 3 BUY TICKETS)
The Phantom Band Folk Song Oblivion (7 Nov Islington Mill BUY TICKETS)
Tickley Feather Don't Call, Marilyn (15 Nov Retro Bar BUY TICKETS)
Great Lake Swimmers Still (16 Nov Deaf Institute BUY TICKETS)
Wavves Beach Demon (25 Nov Deaf Institute BUY TICKETS)
Bowerbirds House of Diamonds (1 Nov Dulcimer BUY TICKETS)
Emily Loizeau L'Autre Bout Du Monde (17 Nov Band on the Wall BUY TICKETS)
Cymbals Eat Guitars ...And The Hazy Sea (17 Nov Night & Day BUY TICKETS)

And not forgetting... click on the links to buy tickets.
2 Nov Blk Jks Islington Mill / 2 Nov Luke Haines Deaf Institute / 3 Nov Portico Quartet RNCM / 3 Nov Daniel Johnston Manchester Town Hall / 4 Nov Grizzly Bear & St Vincent Manchester Cathedral / 5 Nov Mark Eitzel St Margaret’s Church / 5 Nov Cold Cave The Corner / 6 Nov Grouper Nexus Art Café / 8 Nov Paul Curreri Deaf Institute / 8 Nov Robin Williamson Dulcimer / 9 Nov Babybird Night & Day / 9 Nov A Mountain of One Deaf Institute / 10 Nov Fionn Regan Deaf Institute / 10 & 11 Nov The Fall Mo Ho Live / 10 Nov Soy un Caballo Ruby Lounge / 12 Nov Jay Reatard Roadhouse / 13 Nov William Fitzsimmons Nexus Art Café / 14 Nov Staff Benda Bilili RNCM / 14 Nov Tegan & Sara Academy / 14 Nov A Place To Bury Strangers MoHo Live / 15 Nov Alberta Cross Ruby Lounge / 16 Nov The Flaming Lips Academy 1 / 17 Nov 65 Days of Static Academy 2 / 17 Nov Shred Yr Face 3: Espers The Cave Singers Woods/ 18 Nov The Antlers Deaf Institute / 19 Nov Field Music Deaf Institute / 19 Nov Mariachi el Bronx Club Academy / 20 Nov Alabama 3 Academy 2 / 21 Nov The Duke & the King Academy Ruby Lounge / 22 Nov Jackie Leven Academy 3 / 23 Nov The Sounds Club Academy / 25 Nov We Were Promised Jetpacks The Roadhouse / 26 Nov Gay for Johnny Depp Satan’s Hollow / 26 Nov The Answering Machine Club Academy / 28 Nov Das Pop Soundcontrol / 28 Nov worriedaboutsatan Fuel / 29 Nov Peggy Sue Deaf Institute

MANCHESTER GIGS IN MUSIC: November 2009 Pt.2

2009-10-31T09:32:00.002Z

The link is here [43 min/48MB]

"A salute at the threshold of the North Sea of my mind"

2009-10-30T17:45:00.026Z

Is it too early to be starting to think of end-of-year favourite albums? Not when I have been thinking about this since August. Top the heap of last year’s Top Ten was Frightened Rabbit’s “The Midnight Organ Fight”. They won’t be in this year’s list at all: their new album is not due until Spring next year.

However in advance of that we have got the first single of that as-yet-untitled album to enjoy. “Swim Until You Can't See Land" is released on Fat Cat Records on 16 November but you can pre-order it now or listen/view it below. It’s good to report Frightened Rabbit have not cheered up.

OK so it's a bit cheerier than some of the bleaker moments of the last album, partly due to the rolling, chiming guitars and those string arrangements courtesy of Haushka, but the suggestion of being 'out of your depth' or even suicide by drowning is still clearly apparent. Hurrah! Self-hatred mixed with the maudlin and the downcast was a hallmark of “The Midnight Organ Fight”. B-side 'No Fun' continues this trend brilliantly - a wheezy folk lament including the statement that there is "nothing sadder than bad, bad sex". Double hurrah! I'm looking forward to that new album already.

And after what seemless like endless touring in North America last year and early this year, Frightened Rabbit will be playing in the UK in November and December. Next week on 6 November they preview songs from the new album at a ‘secret’ gig at The Lexington in London. Tickets, all 150 of them, go on sale on Monday morning. The tour then continues:
November:
Sat 7 Aldershot West End Centre
Mon 9 Oxford Academy 2
Tue10 York Duchess of York
Wed 11 Nottingham Bodega
Thu 12 Liverpool Academy 2
Sat 14 Coventry Kasbah
Sun 15 Northampton Roadmenders
Mon 16 Brighton Corn Exchange
Tue 17 Southampton University
Thu 19 Exeter Lemon Grove
Fri 20 London Troxy
Sat 21 Tunbridge Wells Forum
Sun 22 Cambridge Soul Tree
Tue 24 Sheffield Plug
Wed 25 Whitehaven Civic Hall
Fri 27 Fort William BA Club
Sat 28 Stirling Tolbooth
Sun 29 Inverness Ironworks
December:
Tue 1 Aberdeen Moshulu
Wed 2 Dundee Fat Sams
Sat 5 Galway Black Box
Mon 7 Dublin Academy (with Modest Mouse)
Tue 8 Dublin Academy (with Modest Mouse)
Wed 9 Belfast Mandella Hall (with Modest Mouse)
Sun 13 Manchester Ritz (with Modest Mouse)
Mon 14 London Shep Bush Empire (with Modest Mouse)
Tue 22 Glasgow ABC
Or you could try to win tickets to see them play on the London Eye here.

BE LESS RUDE (Daytrotter Session)
POKE (Daytrotter Session)
Frightened Rabbit [BUY or BUY]

'Carl Sagan Are We Doomed?' Windmill's "Epcot Starfields"

2009-10-27T23:58:00.010Z

This second album by Windmill is a suite of ten songs about dust particles, space, Carl Sagan and planetary doom. All inspired by a childhood visit to the Epcot space center in Florida.

I hope you haven't stopped reading because this is an astonishingly beautiful record: a 41 minute treatise on loneliness, love, death and the end of our planet, touchingly realised and quite moving. I've been playing this since its release last month and it is definitely nudging its way into that end-of-year album top ten chart.

Windmill’s debut "Puddle City Racing Lights" created tender, sweeping electronic orch-pop. On this his second album, Matthew Thomas Dillon’s starting point is to strip the arrangements back to mainly piano and voice with additional, sparing use of strings, electronic washes and echo. His voice is a quavering helium-squeak that will not be to everyone’s taste but here it becomes an asset - either a poignant, solitary warble or double and treble-tracked, and overlaid with choral harmonies. It creates a luscious swoon that brings to mind Jonathan Donahue at his most wide-eyed and astral-gazing. In fact a comparison with the flighty and quieter moments of Mercury Rev is a good one for the whole album.

Before watching this video to accompany 'Big Boom', I'd make a plea. Just close your eyes and listen to the song first (or just go straight to 'Photo Hemispheres' probably the key track on the record). Although I like this endearingly lofi video with its cheap space-suits, summer fetes and marching bands, it doesn't convey the child-like wonder - and fearful sadness - at the enormity of the universe as well as the music alone. The video is just a bit too earthbound.

"Epcot Starfields" is an evocative and engaging journey, like sitting in a planetarium in awe at the beauty and wonder of the universe but also feeling small, insignificant and vulnerable. And like those feelings, the mood this album creates stays with you long after it has finished.

The record is available to buy direct in numerous formats including MP3, FLAC, vinyl and CD with a T-shirt option too if you want. Sadly no space-suit option. A missed opportunity.

PHOTO HEMISPHERES
Windmill
Epcot Starfields [BUY]

THE BROKEN FAMILY BAND O2 Academy Liverpool 23 Oct 2009

2009-10-24T13:41:00.003Z

"Fuck This Band" wrote singer Steven Adams when signing the set-list at the end of tonight's gig, their fourth-to-last one before they split up. A sign of the angry resentment that fuelled that split? Or just the usual dark, cynical humour of The Broken Family Band? Who can tell.

Certainly tonight's gig, their first and also last in Liverpool, did not feel like a band imploding or running out of steam. Playing in the smaller room at the O2 Academy (Gary Moore was playing the larger one - more of him later), they delivered a typically powerful set that was as good as any I've seen in recent years. They opened with 'It's All Over' and finished the main set with 'Don't Change Your Mind' - subliminal messages about their demise? But once you start listening to their songs you realise that are FULL of allusions to leaving, separation and break-up.

As well as a set that took in early songs (lots from "Cold Water Songs" tonight) through to this year's "Please and Thank You", the band were also at their good-humoured best: "We've got nothing to prove, we've been paid". So we got digs at Gary Moore ('his people' were demanding exclusive use of the venue's toilet), put-downs of the The Wave Pictures and tales of a chance encounter with the lead singer of Editors ("Are you sneering at me?").

In fact the evening was full of Gary Moore moments: guitarist Jay sitting on the monitor for the solo in 'John Belushi', the crowd shouts for 'Parisian Walkways' and the band's response - see this video of 'Don't Change Your Mind'.

So then: great tunes, banter, commitment, and on-stage rum & cokes. A typical BFB performance. Except there won't be many more. In the words of the band 'Don't Bury Us Until We're Dead': they play Cardiff, Oxford and then their final gig at The Portland Arms in Cambridge next Saturday.

So it shouldn't be "Fuck This Band". It should read "Fuck. This band: too good to split".

The Set List (although 'Happy Day' may be in the wrong slot...)
It's All Over
Salivating
The Booze and The Drugs
Living In Sin
Poor Little Thing
A Place You Deserve
At The Back of The Chapel
Trouble
John Belushi
Happy Days Are Here Again
Hey Captain
Give And Take
Cinema vs House
Borrowed Time
The Mardi Gras Rescue Mission
St Albans Don't Change Your Mind
---
Devil In The Details
Dancing On The Fourth Floor

Support was from Chris T-T who was on fine form and his agit-prop indie-folk strum a perfect warm-up act. He started solo accapella then played lots of new songs on guitar ('Love Is Not Rescue') and at keyboards ('Nintendo') from next year's new album, his seventh. Finished with a stirring rendition of 'This English Earth' My dodgy photos make him appear much more stern that he was.

DEVIL IN THE DETAILS
The Broken Family Band
Cold Water Songs [BUY]

DANCING ON THE FOURTH FLOOR
The Broken Family Band
Hello Love [BUY]

TONIGHT IN MANCHESTER: James Yorkston & The Big Eyes Family Players

2009-10-24T07:29:00.012Z

I can't think of a recent time when James Yorkston has played Manchester and it HASN'T been Night & Day. Familiar is no bad thing, and whether solo or with full band, James Yorkston live is a captivating experience and the gloomy intimacy of Night & Day is a fitting setting.

However this tour is slightly different - not the usual backing band The Athletes but The Big Eyes Family Players accompany James, playing trad. folk tunes (and JY favourites) as performed on the recent album "Folk Songs". An album that, those following closely will remember, features the name of a certain someone from round these parts...

With support from Mary Hampton and David A Jaycock, an excellent evening of quality music is pretty much guaranteed: read more or buy tickets.

LOW DOWN IN THE BROOM
James Yorkston & The Big Eyes Family Players
Folk Songs [BUY]

And don't forget Oxjam Takeover tomorrow Sunday. Umpteen bands and artists including Liz Green, Aidan Smith, MAY68 and Paddy Steer across eight venues in the Northern Quarter with access to all gigs for just £7 advance here. Great value for a great cause.

THE MISERABLE RICH @ SALFORD SACRED TRINITY CHURCH 18 October 2009

2009-10-18T22:24:00.028Z

Going to a gig in a church lends itself to cheap jokes ("best get there early to get a good pew") or laboured analogies (shared audience experience = 'communion' etc etc). I will try and avoid both here, having made them all on the night.

Other than the bad jokes, this was a fine, fine evening at Sacred Trinity Church. It started well with a warm welcome and a real ale bar - with the vicar himself behind the bar. The next happy discovery was how intimate the church was: it is long and narrow with only 3 or 4 short rows of wooden pews either side of a centre aisle with three large bean-bags at the front. The interior was deliberately darkened with lovely green and orange lighting creating a warm glow throughout. A beautiful setting and perfect for the elegant chamber-pop of The Miserable Rich.

Ushered in by the gentle ring of a hand-bell and then a long note on the cello, The Miserable Rich started their thirteen song set with 'Early Mourning' and then mixed songs from the first album with four new songs and an Iggy Pop cover. The sound - vocals, the strings, the peal of hand-bells and the occasional tapped snare drum - was hard to fault throughout, whether the nursery-rhyme quiet of 'The Boat Song' or the brooding urgency of 'Oliver' or 'Poodle'. It was so entrancing I lost track of time.

Lead singer James de Malplaquet, wearing tails over skinny jeans and baseball boots and drinking red wine from a plastic glass, embodies the appeal of The Miserable Rich in some ways: classy elegance with a darker underbelly, rich flavours with a casual charm. But it is the playing and the quality of the songs that really sets them apart and made this such a special evening.

The Set List:
Early Mourning
Summerhill
Bye Bye Kitty
Poodle
The Boat Song
The Time That's Mine
Shades
For A Day
Monkey
Pisshead
Oliver
---
Muswell
Chestnut Sunday

Thanks to Rhys for filling in the gaps. An EP of covers will be available next month free of charge to those on their mailing list; the new album is due out next year; and there's a few more UK dates this month and next with a Red Deer Club appearance back in Manchester rumoured for 9 November. Missing ANY of these events is not advised.

A video of 'Poodle' from earlier on in the set is also on You Tube.

Support tonight was firstly the folk-pop harmonising of Liverpool's The Random Family with stand-up bass, flute, acoustic guitar and mandolin. They still spend too much time tuning up and swapping instruments (two songs using banjo? why not play them back to back?) but they do sound lovely.

Then Table. I saw them supporting Fanfarlo last month and made a mental note to see them again but didn't remember them being so SERIOUS. It's classy stuff from this six piece but every piano note, every pause, every sighing harmony suggests doom and despair. Even the song called 'Smile', a jaunty, love pledge with accordion is quite maudlin-in-a-good-way. They have their first single out in December on Humble Soul. It won't be happy but I'd suggest you'd join me in buying it.

The whole evening - the setting, the selection of bands, the convivial atmosphere and the wonderful real ale - showed a real love of live music and of creating a special evening. Less than half a mile away, tens of thousands of people were sitting in the MEN Arena. Doesn't matter who was on, you know it was over-priced evening, in a charmless, cavernous air hanger with nasty buckets of lager at a fiver a throw. Tonight's three bands at Salford Trinity Church cost £7 to get in and was nothing short of magical. Thank you Humble Soul and whoever else needs thanking.

MONKEY

The Miserable Rich
Twelve Ways To Count [BUY]

Trails and Tribulations of In The City: Monday & Tuesday

2009-10-18T15:20:00.012Z

Some more suggested trails to guide you through tomorrow's and Tuesday's bands at In The City Live 2009. Apologies to ITC - there are grids on their website, I just couldn't find them yesterday.

Monday afternoon is a bit of a no-brainer really: free show at Night & Day 12-4pm with Tim and Sam's Tim and The Sam Band with Tim and Sam, Piney Gir and Bright Light Bright Light

Then I'd suggest:
Monday Night
7pm Beat The Radar (alternative 7.20pm Copy Haho Bar 38)
7.35pm Gloria Cycles No.1 Bar
8.30 The Brute Chorus TV21 (alternative 8.40 Blind Atlas)
9.10pm Sweet Baboo Electric Boogaloo
9.30pm Taxi Taxi Cellar Vie
10.30pm Frightened Rabbit (alternative 10.40pm I Am Blackbird Bar 38)

Tuesday Night
6.30 Dan Melrose The Bay Horse
7.00 Bo Ningen TV21
7.40 Amida Space (alternative 8.15 The Great Shakes No.1 Club)
8.40 Young British Artists Night & Day
9.10 Lion Club Night & Day
10.10 Jo Rose (alternative 10.15 Tigers That Talked Cellar Vie)
11.00 Treetop Flyers Cellar Vie (alternative 11.10 The Drums Night & Day)

GREETINGS, SALUTATIONS & GOODBYE
Piney Gir
Hold Yer Horses [BUY]

HERCULES
The Brute Chorus
The Brute Chorus [BUY]

THESE ARE GOLDEN TIMES
Amida
If The Wave Loves Two Suns [BUY]

ITC are also releasing a compilation of unsigned bands - 32 tracks via iTunes for £7.99 - on sale tomorrow.

The Trails and Tribulations of In The City Live: Sunday

2009-10-17T10:49:00.018Z

The annual music industry jamboree In The City rolls into Manchester this weekend. Alongside a whole series of panel discussions and debates about future of the record industry is three day's worth of over 150 gigs (some reports suggest over 300) including many unsigned bands. "The final line-ups and downloadable grids for ITC Live 2009 are now available here" says ITC website but it's not very user-friendly, full of typos and with no links to any music. With this many gigs and this much music (plus other gigs this weekend: The Miserable Rich and Soap & Skin for starters), it's easy to get lost or give up.

So based on personal bias and at least 20 minutes of internet research here is my suggested itinerary for the first day of ITC Live for the lazy. Remember: all timings are approximate AND following this means you could miss out on dozens of other bands.

SUNDAY TRAIL

2.45pm Start at the Bay Horse for Eleanor Lou (alternative: Christopher Eatough at Space at 3pm - but allow 10 minutes to get to Nexus for...)

3.45pm Wu Lyf at Nexus Art Cafe (listen to Heavy Pop demo)

4.25pm LR Rockets then Don't Wait Animate at 5.25pm both at Dry Bar

6.20pm My First Tooth then Stagecoach at 7.10 both at Space

8pm Sweet Baboo at Cellar Vie (alternative Air Cav at The Garratt; Sweet Baboo is playing on Monday)

9pm Egyptian Hip Hop at Night & Day (alternatives: Beat The Radar at 8.30pm at The Garratt or Copy Haho at 8.30pm at TV21)

10.15pm Cate Le Bon Cellar Vie

10.40 Kong at Deaf Institute

If you here for Saturday (today) which seems be a pre-ITC day, a trail isn't required. I'd suggest you simply camp out in Night & Day for Little Red Rabbit's free show case 12-4pm (Fuzzy Lights, Anna Kashfi, Crazy Man Michael) followed by Everything Everything and Help Stamp Out Loneliness plus support from 8pm. With maybe a quick trip to see The Angel Hurricane at Nexus Art Cafe between the two.

Monday and Tuesday trails to follow tomorrow.

We Got Tazers! from Helsinki Films on Vimeo.

'The train is leaving at the same time you arrive' The Young Republic's "Balletesque"

2009-10-15T22:46:00.002Z

Out this week is the second album from The Young Republic. Having seen two of their three sets at End of The Road in 2007 and snapping up a copy of debut "12 Tales From Winter City" at the time, I've been looking forward to this release for some time.

Even on first listen, it is a different beast from that earlier record. Whilst there was a melodic, almost dreamy, quality to their take on folk Americana for their debut, "Balletesque" is a more confident, complex and punchier affair that packs a dense, panaromic variety into its 11 tracks. The cover alone suggests darker territory.

Here's what Rough Trade say: "The second album from The Young Republic is a more mature release with stronger songwriting and musicianship. Gone are the Dexy's influences and in its place is a classic sound that sits somewhere between prime Wilco and Dylan. In 2008 The Young Republic returned to their Sky Mountain studio in Nashville to start afresh... the subject matter of 'Balletesque' mines the depths of the American historical consciousness, past and present. Characters of salesmen, bootleggers, preachers, outlaws, western poets, actors, in settings of depression era New England, bloody, war-rattled Texas and mid-century Middle America"

After a couple of listens it is weaving its charms on me and this will only continue. From the gentle balladry of 'Napoleon Roses' to the rum-sodden blues-funk of 'Black Duck Blues' to the autumnal wistfulness of 'Sam Clemens', this is not an immediate record but one that is ultimately richly rewarding. If ordered from Rough Trade it comes with a bonus CD of four exclusive tracks.

And The Young Republic are hitting the UK soon starting at Swn Festival on 22 October and then continuing. Sadly like their last visit to Manchester, I am away whilst they are here. Thank goodness, I've at least got the record to console myself.

On A Bus In Austin - The Young Republic SXSW 09 from Wasp Video on Vimeo.

The Young Republic Tour Dates:
23rd October: BIRMINGHAM, The Rainbow [BUY TICKETS]
24th October: COVENTRY, Taylor John's House [BUY TICKETS]
26th October: LEEDS, The Brudenell Social Club [BUY TICKETS]
28th October: GLASGOW, Nice n' Sleazy [BUY TICKETS]
29th October: MANCHESTER, Dulcimer Folk Bar [BUY TICKETS]
30th October: MIDDLESBROUGH, Westgarth Social Club [BUY TICKETS]
31st October: NEWCASTLE, The Cumberland Arms [BUY TICKETS]
1st November: BRISTOL, Thekla [BUY TICKETS]
2nd November: LONDON, Cargo [BUY TICKETS]

THE ALCHEMIST (removed)
The Young Republic
Balletesque [BUY or BUY]

FROM THE INTRAY: Friska Viljor, The Victorian English Gentlemens Club & Martin Heslop

2009-10-11T15:03:00.005Z

A round-up of some recent(ish) singles and songs sent my way.

Friska Viljor are back this month with a new album "For New Beginnings" and the ever dependable Daniel from the band (and head of their record label Crying Bob records) sent through this song to share 'Wohlwill Strasse'. It is "a tribute to the people living at the street Wohlwill Strasse, situated next to Reeperbahn in Hamburg. Me and Joakim (the other half of the band) spent a week there a couple of years ago and fell in love with it". It's a jaunty pop travelogue complete with swinging horn section and 'whoo-hoo-hoo' chorus; and suggests the new album (pre-order here to receive a signed copy) is another must-buy from the excellent Swedish folk-pop duo. Friska Viljor are on tour in Oct and Nov across Europe (and hopefully at some point the UK?)

WOHLWILL STRASSE
Friska Viljor
For New Beginnings [BUY]

And in case you need reminding, here's Friska Viljor performing the first song from previous album "Tour de Hearts" on Swedish TV.

I reviewed elsewhere last month, The Victorian English Gentlemens Club single 'Watching The Burgulars' and loved its "ringing, jangly art-pop with an African rhythm that could easily find a home on either Abe Vigoda’s “Skeleton” or XTC’s “English Settlement”". Here is B-Side 'Polish Man' and the video for 'Parrot' both also from the album "Love On An Oil Rig".

POLISH MAN
The Victorian English Gentlemens Club
Love On An Oil Rig [BUY]

An mp3 of 'Parrot' can be yours in return for your email address at the band's website. And if none of this is enough to persuade you to buy that album, try this great review on The Line Of Best Fit. It did it for me.

And finally Martin Heslop. His record label Shipyard was in touch offering me a copy of this EP (and their first release) "As The Stories Burn". I replied (OK several weeks later) but heard nothing further from them sadly/annoyingly so no song to share here. But you can hear the whole EP on Martin's MySpace page.

My first thought before I heard a note given his name and knowing he was from Newcastle-upon-Tyne area was 'Northumbrian Folk', probably with lots of fiddle. But I was wrong - sort of. The five songs display quite a variety but they are at heart folk - but more alt than trad. 'As The Stories Burn' is a Waits-ian stroll down the wrong side of the tracks with spooked guitar and creepy, crashing percussion. And 'Mince and Potatoes' is a luckless, self-loathing take on Conor Oberst despair. Well worth a listen. But keep the lights on and a happy thought in your head.

SLOW CLUB @ MOHO LIVE 6 October 2009

2009-10-06T23:15:00.028Z

Mrs A knows I have a weakness for women who play the drums (Meg White being the exception that proves the rule). She also knew that I was going to see Slow Club tonight. But I didn't reveal that the in the duo of Charles Watson and Rebecca Taylor, who are Slow Club, Rebecca plays the drums. She not only drums but she drums STANDING UP. I do not think of this as subterfuge but I suspect my drooling admiration and the excess of photographs of Rebecca (did I mention that she drums? STANDING UP?) may be used against me at some point in the future in a divorce case. Whatever my private weaknesses, this gig was so much more than just the drumming - impressive though it was.

Given their songs veer from loud folkabilly skiffle-pop to pin-drop-quiet heartbreak, I was intrigued to see how Slow Club would fare live, especially at MoHo Live which is a functional but fairly charmless, quasi-industrial aesthetic basement. Well Slow Club started the gig by ignoring the stage completely: they began the set from the middle of the crowd. They elbowed they way in with acoustic guitar and gave us 'Wild Blue Milk' before making their way on to the stage and launching into 'Giving Up On Love'. On album this has a full-band feel, but even these louder numbers performed just on drums and amplified acoustic (or occasional electric) guitar had a surprisingly amount of 'oomph' behind. There's a loose, ramshackle feel to them (false starts, occasional missed notes or drumbeat) but precision-perfect-delivery is not what Slow Club live is about. And all the better for it.

The apparent casual approach mixed with the rambling amiable banter (tales of farting in tour vans, coping with sweaty fringes, a mini-tour diary of sorts: "Derby was rubbish, Milton Keynes was rubbish, this is alright though") reproduces not the sound of their debut album but its affable charm. Charles and Rebecca are natural, unpretentious and a pair of total charmers. No-one was going to complain when they asked us to sing 'Happy Birthday' to "tour manageress" Caz.

In my last post about Slow Club (a poor piece of scheduling? Or carefully planned preview piece?) I declared that 'When I Go' was my favourite Slow Club song. And the one that left with weak at knees. Well after tonight that affection has now been transferred to 'Boys On Their Birthdays', the 'secret' track at end of "Yeah So". (I now know this is its title rather than 'secret track' by asking Charles at the end). This is one of those slow, sad numbers sung solo by Rebecca accompanying herself on guitar (She plays guitar too!!). It was jaw-droppingly beautiful. As with the other quieter songs tonight, Slow Club ably managed the transition from louder songs to these more poignant and moving ones. An impressive trick to pull off live.

To finish it off, Slow Club had one more trick up their sleeves. They took us outside to the carpark and performed 'Christmas TV' on acoustic guitars whilst standing on a wall. A song about loneliness, performed in the Manchester drizzle, under the orange glow of the street lamps. It was magical.

A evening full of charms then which left me going home with a big dopey grin on my face. Don't miss them. The tour continues this week with dates each night until Saturday. 'Trophy Room' is released on Monday but you can pre-order it now

The Set List:

Wild Blue Milk
Giving Up On Love
I Was Unconscious, It Was A Dream
Because We're Dead
There Is No Good Way To Say I Am Leaving You
Sorry About The Doom
If We're Still Alive
Dance 'Til The Morning Light
When I Go
Boys On Their Birthdays
It Doesn't Have To Be Beautiful
Trophy Room
---
Christmas TV

GIVING UP ON LOVE
Slow Club
Yeah So [BUY]

"There are so many questions that still burn".. Slow Club's "Yeah So"

2009-10-04T15:59:00.020Z

I didn't write about the gorgeous skiffle-pop of Slow Club's debut album "Yeah So" when it came out in July. But the band are in the middle of a UK tour with a new single ('Trophy Room') due out on 12 October plus Mr S of Salford wanted to see more 'album coverage' here, so it feels appropriate to give it some attention belatedly.
I was introduced to the world of Sheffield's Slow Club, the duo of Rebecca Taylor and Charles Watson, by last year's December single 'Christmas TV' (provided to me by Last.Fm for which thanks is due). I'd missed the earlier singles in 2007 and 2008 but luckily some of those tracks are included - plus live tracks - on the 2 x CD version of "Yeah So". However it's the album itself that is the main draw and a downright charmer to boot.

In my crude categorization of the twelve songs on "Yeah So", there are three types. All of them deal with falling in and falling out of love but differ, by degrees, stylistically. The first is the uptempo, swinging rockabilly types like "It Doesn't Have To Be Beautiful" and "Giving Up On Love". Irresistable, damn-fine, party tunes.

Then there are the folky duets, stripped-back ballads sung by the two in harmony like 'Apples and Pairs' and 'When I Go'. Delicate, frail numbers that suggest the pitfalls and precariousness of love. And finally the third type: the solo-sung songs that do the same trick but to the nth degree - Charles singing 'There Is No Good Way To Say I Am Leaving You' and Rebecca singing 'Sorry About The Doom'. Total and utter heart-break.

He strums, she drums throughout, with occasional piano or full-band treatment depending on the song. This shifting between song styles can feel a bit of an uneven carousel ride at times, swapping maudlin introspection for full-throated folk-abilly at the twirl of a drumstick but it is a minor quibble. Whatever the mood or style, "Yeah So" is chock full of charm. And I can't quite put my finger on where that charm lies - in the infectious pop tunes, the interplay between the two singers, the beauty of the individual voices or the touching subject matter? Clearly it's the combination of all the above.

But the one song that nails this for me and leaves with weak in the knees is the album opener: 'When I Go'. Forgoing the shiny production elsewhere on show, this has a demo-like intimacy with Charles and Rebecca singing over acoustic guitar. It starts with a comic image of needy friends so desperate for partnership they would consider each other "if we're both not married by 24, pass me those knee-pads". It then shows each decade of their life together with the refrain "will you hold my hand when I go?". Death-bed pledges of affection always bring a lump to my throat, but it is simplicity itself and damn-near-pop-perfection: it even has whistling in it that doesn't sound embarrassing or awkward.

"Yeah So" is a great record and comes with a hearty recommendation from me. Whatever place it gets - or not - in my end of year album chart though, 'When I Go' will definitely remain one of my songs of the year. Sentimental old fool that I am. And it could just work too, for anyone about to embark on a life-journey together... you know who I mean.

The Slow Club tour continues this week (Manchester on Tuesday) with 'Trophy Room' released a week tomorrow (in advance you watch the video or pre-order the single)

WHEN I GO
Slow Club
Yeah So [BUY]

MANCHESTER GIGS IN MUSIC October 2009 Pt.1

2009-10-01T06:20:00.008Z

October is bank-balance-bashing glut of good gigs. Alongside the individual gigs below a couple of events to mention: In The City 18-20 October and John Peel Night the week before on 10 October at Night & Day.

ITC is the music industry shindig with accompanying showcases and gigs. Tomorrow (2 Oct) is the last day to buy wrist-bands at an early bird price: £20 for access to all shows over the three days. The full ITC schedule is not announced in advance (or maybe it is and I never find out in time??) but two highlights: Frightened Rabbit headline Drowned In Sound's 9th Birthday party at the Deaf Institute on 19 October and Swn Festival brings Cate Le Bon, Islets and Sweet Baboo to town on 18 October.

The Peel Day event is a Pull Yourself Together presentation: headliner Malcolm Middleton alone would make this an essential event but in addition there is Sweet Baboo again (excellent second album ‘Hello Wave’ out now), Sky Larkin, Dutch Uncles and The Loves. All for a tenner with profits going to Diabetes UK and the Musicians Benevolent Fund.

Some shows below appear to be sold out including The XX, Jonathan Richman and Los Campesinos! If looking for tickets, avoid the touts and Ebay chancers, and try Scarlet Mist the ethical ticket re-sale site.

Download the compilation below [45mins/52MB] here.

Telekinesis! Tokyo [2.53] (5 Oct Dulcimer BUY TICKETS)
Crocodiles I Wanna Kill [7.29] (21 Oct Night & Day BUY TICKETS)
The Miserable Rich The Time That's Mine [9.16] (18 Oct Sacred Trinty Church Salford BUY TICKETS)
The XX Crystalised [12.33] (4 Oct Deaf Institute BUY TICKETS)
The Mountain Goats Romans 10:9 [15.08] (11 Oct Ruby Lounge BUY TICKETS)
Los Campesinos! We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed [19.02] (26 Oct Deaf Institute BUY TICKETS)
Kill It Kid Heaven Never Seemed So Close [22.24] (4 Oct Night & Day BUY TICKETS)
Slow Club Apples and Pairs [26.08] (6 Oct MoHo Live BUY TICKETS)
Fiery Furnaces I'm Going Away [28.34] (6 Oct Night & Day BUY TICKETS)
Girls Lust For Life [30.56] (11 Oct Night & Day BUY TICKETS)
Bombay Bicycle Club Ghost [34.53] (1 Oct Academy BUY TICKETS)
James Yorkston & The Big Eyes Family Players Low Down In The Broom [37.47] (24 Oct Night & Day BUY TICKETS)
Cate Le Bon Hollow Trees House Hounds [41.18] (18 Oct Cellar Vie BUY TICKETS)
Sweet Baboo Darlin' If You Think My Songs Are Funny, Then Darlin' You Are Wrong [44.42](10 Oct Night & Day BUY TICKETS)

And not forgetting:
1 Oct Joan as Policewoman Deaf Institute / 2 Oct My Tiger My Timing Chortlon Irish Club / 2 Oct Emperor Machine Deaf Institute / 2 Oct Richard Hawley Bridgewater Hall / 3 Oct Zu & Kong Islington Mill /3 Oct Julie Fowlis RNCM / 5 & 6 Oct Jazzanova Band On The Wall / 6 Oct Wave Machines Deaf Institute / 7 Oct Health Deaf Institute / 7 Oct Trespassers William Sacred Trinity Church Salford / 7 Oct Panda Su Art of Tea Didsbury/ 8 Oct Micachu & The Shapes Deaf Institute / 8 Oct J Tillman Night & Day / 9 Oct Dan Michelson & The Coastguards Ruby Lounge / 9 Oct Wild Beasts Academy 3 / 10 Oct Rook and the Ravens Academy 3 /11 Oct Jonathan Richman Deaf Institute / 12 Oct The Slits Deaf Institute / 12 Oct The Longcut Academy 3 / 13 Oct Johnny Foreigner Deaf Institute / 13 Oct Devon Sproule Band On The Wall / 14 Oct Bat For Lashes Academy 1 / 14 Oct Casiokids Deaf Institute / 15 Oct iLiKETRAiNS Deaf Institute / 15 Oct St Etienne Ritz / 15 Oct Starless & Bibleblack Dulcimer / 16 Oct Super Furry Animals Ritz / 17 Oct Everything Everything Night & Day / 19 Oct Soap & Skin RNCM / 19 Oct Brendan Benson Academy / 19 Oct Frightened Rabbit Deaf Institute / 19 Oct & 20 The Unthanks Band On The Wall / 20 Oct Felice Brothers Academy 2 / 21 Oct The Twilight Sad Ruby Lounge / 21 Oct No Age Deaf Institute / 22 Oct Alaska in Winter Nexus Art Café / 23 Oct Tinariwen Academy 2 / 23 Oct Mico & worriedaboutsatan Kings Arms Salford / 23 Oct Les Savy Fav Deaf Institute / 24 Oct Passion Pit Academy 2 / 25 Oct Johnny Flynn Deaf Institute / 27 Oct Edwyn Collins Deaf Insitute / 28 Oct Portugal The Man Roadhouse / 29 Oct Dananananaykroyd Academy 3 / 29 Oct The Young Republic Dulcimer / 31 Oct Efterklang Deaf Institute

MANCHESTER GIGS IN MUSIC October 2009 Pt.2

2009-10-01T06:19:00.002Z

The download link [45min/52MB] here.

FANFARLO @ THE DEAF INSTITUTE 28 September 2009

2009-09-28T22:55:00.018Z

This being my first gig for a couple of weeks PLUS it being Fanfarlo - still in pole position for my favourite album of the year - meant that I had very high expectations of the evening.

However finding out on the day that Fanfarlo and support First Aid Kit were switching slots (promo duties for FAK apparently) I realised this meant a shortened set for Fanfarlo. Plus the band had only arrived back from touring the USA today, no doubt jet-lagged. And I started the afternoon two hundred miles from The Deaf Institute, now with the knowledge the band I wanted to see had an early start. It didn't have the makings of a good evening.

I am pleased to say however Fanfarlo delivered. They took to the stage just after 9pm for an acoustic three-person version of "Drowning Men" - guitar, mandolin and drums - with the rest of the band coming on stage for "I Am A Pilot". Sadly I was right - shortened set. Only nine songs - two new though with one "Noose" making its live debut apparently - with no encore and no "Fire Escape" ("we'll save it for next time").

However focusing on the positives: the band did not look as though they had just flown back to the UK. They looked well-rested and relaxed and gave their songs either the swoon, the swoop or the grandeur they have on record with a bit of live edge too. And throughout the set they showed the inventiveness that marks out "Resevoir" as exceptional (if you haven't heard it yet, drop everything to do so). "The Walls Are Coming Down" started with stomping feed and accapella introduction, new song "Atlas" featured bowed saw, "Comets" and "Luna" featured melodica and clarinet with Simon providing extra drumming for the latter, the came-too-soon final song. And throughout the touches of trumpet and violin were lovely.

"Resevoir" has too many great songs to name a favourite but this one is currently on repeat in my head:

The Set List:

First Aid Kit followed and at first I didn't really pay the duo the attention they deserved - partly because the 'main attraction' had been and gone but also because they appeared a bit tentative. But slowly their affecting solo-guitar-and-twin-voices country-blues took a hold. Being Swedish I was expecting something quite twee but they were more Loretta Lynn than Labrador Records with a quite spooky mountain folk quality to their own songs and the covers of Fleet Foxes and Buffy Saint-Marie they gave. Opinion was divided amongst the folk I was with (no attributable comments allowed) but they got a hugely positive reception from the crowd tonight. Their full-length album is out in January.

There are much better photographs on this evening from FishPlums on Flickr. And a mention to Table who started the evening. I was expecting to miss them but was so glad to catch the last four songs or so: frail, acoustic folky orch-pop performed by a six piece with four piece harmonies. Quite lovely. Local lads and lass apparently with a single out in December. Ones to watch if you like your music hushed.

DROWNING MEN
Fanfarlo
Resevoir [BUY]

Back To Our Place - the re-opening of Band On The Wall

2009-09-28T13:16:00.007Z

This weekend Band on the Wall, the legendary Manchester venue re-opened, after 4 years closed, with an opening salvo of gigs from Julian Joseph & Mica Paris, A Certain Ratio and The Bays.

I use the phrase ‘legendary’ advisedly. The city's bands and music scenesters often appear as dedicated to myth-making as to music. And any myth-making really needs some substance to back up the swagger and the stories. Luckily Band on the Wall has substance in spades and it is backed up by a phenomenal amount of genuine and heartfelt affection. Everyone who I speak to who has ever visited the Swan Street venue has a favourite memory or favourite gig to share; and seems to have had nothing but respect and eager anticipation for its re-birth.

My first thought when the refurbishment was announced was a concern it would destroy the shabby charms of the original.

Originally a Victorian pub, music started to be performed there from the 1930s when the landlord built a stage onto one wall. The current management took it over in 1975 (and provide a fuller history of the area and building on the website) and although they brought the cream of punk and post-punk to the venue alongside a heady and eclectic mix of jazz, dub reggae, folk, African and latin music, it’s true to say that investment in the crumbling building was not a priority.

Now after a £4million refurbishment (and with recording studios, mixed-media equipment and educational facilities alongside the live music space) losing some of the shabbiness may not be a bad thing. In the intervening years there have been several new entrants to the live music scene especially the Deaf Institute which has upped the stakes for comfort, design, sightlines and sound. Early reports appear good - except for some mild scepticism about the carpet.

The second thought when I saw the opening programme was: it’s just the same as it was five or even ten years ago! Familiar faces and staples like A Certain Ratio, Edward II and Kanda Bongo Man. But that initial disappointment was replaced by the realisation that this is the point of BOTW. Even with these newer venues and more eclectic programming at Bury Met or concert halls like RNCM, where else are you going to see the clinical German nu-jazz of Jazzanova, the ecstatic rhythms of Malian Bassekou Kouyate, the jazzy folk-pop charms of Devon Sproule, the timeless dub of Mad Professor, the warped Norwegian electronica of Bugge Wesseltoft or the enigmatic prog-rock of The Enid?? Exactly.

Highlights for me include recent Bella Union signing Emily Loizeau with Liz Green, two nights from The Unthanks and the High Llamas in December. All the signs are promising that BOTW has managed to preserve the right elements of what made the original so special and, well, 'original'. Truly eclectic, truly a Manchester legend, welcome back Band on the Wall. (But if you do want to wallow in nostalgia, how about Paul Morley on Joy Division in September 1978 on Rock's Back Pages?).

LADON
Bassekou Kouyate
I Speak Fula [BUY]
Performing 22 Oct BUY TICKETS

DOES THE DAY FEEL LONG?
Devon Sproule
Keep Your Silver Shined [BUY]
Performing 13 Oct: BUY TICKETS

I CAN SEE (Doc Daneeka Dub-Bump Mix)

Jazzanova
Of All The Things [BUY]
Performing 5 Oct: BUY TICKETS

Postcards From The Edge (of Whitworth Park)

2009-09-24T10:38:00.012Z

Sometimes the Manchester music scene can depress me. At its worst, it is too in love with the mythology of its recent past or it can indulge in pointless in-fighting and back-biting. And frankly, sometimes, it is just not as good as it thinks it is. This is at its WORST remember and when I'm in a glass-half-empty flunk.

Most of the time I love it. However there are a couple of extra reasons to celebrate music in Manchester this week and beyond. Later this week I’ll write about the re-opening of Band on the Wall but first let’s look at Postcards from Manchester.

This event is jointly promoted and delivered by four local and DIY promoters working together (itself something to praise): Underachievers Please Try Harder, Mushaboom, Asparagus Next Left and Pull Yourself Together. It takes place at Café Saki on Wilmslow Road right at the junction between the Whitworth Art Gallery and Park and the curry mile of Rusholme.

"Long-gone are the days of rivalry and sniping between Manchester's indie community. These days we are collaborating all over the shop and with this event, aim to highlight what we can achieve if we work towards a collective goal for the city's music scene. The past year has witnessed a vast growth in the number of interesting and exciting DIY music nights. Formed at similar times, all the people involved in this event seem to have a collective conscience and although their nights vary, each are united by a common manifesto:
* The music comes first.
* A drive to be original and different.
* To include everybody.
* A shared passion for keeping DIY culture alive.
* Being ambitious, without being self-important".

Our promoters have assembled a line-up of 13 bands playing over two floors with club nights following. All this for only £8 advance (plus a 15% discount on curries at Sangam or 10% on takeaways!). But the price or the collaboration, although noteworthy, is not what marks this out.

What does is the quality and variety of bands on offer. If you missed End of the Road, Green Man or Indietracks festivals, Postcards from Manchester is a quick primer of all the upcoming bands you would have seen on the smaller stages or opening bills, taking in noise-pop, indie-pop, folk-pop and more. Any combination of two of these bands would probably be worth the admission price but thirteen? In such a compact venue? With a discount on curry too?!

Appearing are Napoleon IIIrd, The Kabeedies, 6 Day Riot, Run Toto Run, Meursault, Monsters Build Mean Robots, Mechanical Owl, Sparky Deathcap, North Atlantic Oscillation, Young British Artists, Deaf To Van Gogh's Ear, Molly Macleod Band and Christopher Eatough.

This is a line-up put together with love and imagination. And its not trying to trade off any Mancunian mythology or jump on any zeitgeist-y bandwagon. It's about great new bands, great new music. And Tony Wilson, himself an arch Mancunian myth-maker but also fervent champion of the new, would have loved this event, as best summed up by one of the promoters:

"When I started putting on gigs, I felt that the city that celebrated the life of Tony Wilson so much, had stopped listening to the independent ethos by which he lived".
Phil Daker, 'Mushaboom' gig promoter.

Hallelujah to that. Advance tickets here. This is planned to be an annual event. And rightly so.

THE FURNACE
Meursault
Pissing on Bonfires/Kissing With Tongues [BUY]

OVATION
Young British Artists
Small Wave EP [BUY]

SO YOU’RE A WRITER?
6 Day Riot
Have A Plan [BUY]

TONIGHT IN MANCHESTER: Times New Viking

2009-09-22T06:28:00.002Z

As I write there are still some tickets left for this gig at The Corner in Withington - but I wouldn’t hang about. It’s a terrific (and terrificly noisy) line-up. As well as the exceptional Times New Viking from Columbus, Ohio there is great local support on the bill in the shape of Mazes and Young British Artists (I'm not familiar with the fourth band Lovvers or where they hail from).

Four bands of this calibre for £7.50 is pretty impressive. Especially since Times New Viking have have just released their fouth album “Born Again Revisted” which elsewhere I described as one of the underground albums of the year. It’s not for the faint-hearted though . The three-piece play heavily distorted 60s garage colliding with noisy art-rock and shot through with a dash of pop sensibility (but it's buried quite deep beneath the distortion). It is thrilling. And loud. And distorted. As they say: act now to avoid disappointment. I can’t quite believe I’m not going to be there.

And did I mention the distortion?

NO TIME, NO HOPE
CITY ON DRUGS
Times New Viking
Born Again Revisited [BUY]

"What's In Your ML/MM collection?"

2009-09-19T19:05:00.005Z

This was a question posted on As Far As We Know, the Miracle Legion/Mark Mulcahy forum, back in January 2008 (I didn't respond - I'm more of a lurker than a poster. If I did I would have mentioned the above promo poster for the "Glad" album).

AFAWK is a small but supportive community of (196 registered) long-term fans who therefore tend to own all of the Miracle Legion records (some out-of-print) and Mark Mulcahy solo material as well as assorted singles, live recordings and memorabilia. I owe this group huge thanks - for it is through this forum and the earlier Yahoo group of the same name that I managed to track down and/or swap several live recordings including the Andy Kershaw Miracle Legion sessions from 1992. This included their take on The Smiths "Reel Around The Fountain" - much sought after by me after hearing it at my only Miracle Legion gig that same year.

Sadly due to the tragic circumstances, Mark Mulcahy is back in the media spotlight just now and those on the forum and the general public can all add some more "ML/MM"-related material to our/your collections this week.

Last year, Mark's wife Melissa died suddenly leaving him and their twin three-year old daughters bereft. Mark has always had some high-profile fans (Nick Hornby and Thom Yorke being the most documented) and over the last year a whole host of musicians have been working on a benefit record "Ciao My Shining Star" aimed to raise funds so Mark can continue to write and perform music whilst bringing up his daughters. According to last week's Guardian piece this started happening without Mark's knowledge.

The Thom Yorke cover of Miracle Legion's "All For The Best" has already been released as a limited edition vinyl single. And on Monday, the 21 track album comes out on CD and digitally. Plus another 20 tracks including versions from A.C. Newman, Buffalo Tom and Laura Veirs that didn't make the album, are also available for digital download.

The track listing for the full album alone shows the calibre of support:

01 Thom Yorke – “All For The Best”
02 The National – “Ashamed Of The Story I Told”
03 Michael Stipe – “Everything’s Coming Undone”
04 David Berkeley – “Loves The Only Thing That Shuts Me Up”
05 Dinosaur Jr. – “The Backyard”
06 Chris Harford & Mr Ray Neal – “Micon The Icon”
07 Frank Black – “Bill Jocko”
08 Vic Chesnutt – “Little Man”
09 Unbelievable Truth – “Ciao My Shining Star”
10 Butterflies Of Love – “I Have Patience”
11 Chris Collingwood (Fountains Of Wayne) – “Cookie Jar”
12 Frank Turner – “The Quiet One”
13 Rocket From The Tombs – “In Pursuit Of Your Happiness”
14 Ben Kweller – “Wake Up Whispering”
15 Josh Rouse – “I Woke Up In The Mayflower”
16 Autumn Defense – “Paradise”
17 Hayden -”Happy Birthday Yesterday”
18 Juliana Hatfield – “We’re Not In Charleston Anymore”
19 Mercury Rev – “Sailors And Animals”
20 Elvis Perkins – “She Watches Over Me”
21 Sean Watkins – “A World Away From This One"

In addition tomorrow in Brooklyn this benefit concert is taking place (with a London leg rumoured for October).

Benefit records are two-a-penny these days and of variable quality however good the cause. But "Ciao My Shining Star" has all the hallmarks of an excellent record not least through the strength of the song-writing (says the fan without bias) plus the affection/adoration shown by fellow musicians. So a worthy and important record but more than likely a musically vital one too which I feel confident based on hearing three covers so far to recommend whole-heartedly. Three tracks from the album are streaming on Mark's MySpace page and The Line Of Best Fit is also streaming a track each day for you to check this out yourself.

Most of the Miracle Legion albums are out of print, victims of record company politicking, poor advice and bad timing. I did once email Loose Music (who have released Mark's three solo albums in the UK) and asked what was the chance of a ML re-issue programme. Their response was along the lines of "we'd love to - but it's a complicated, legal quagmire". Now wouldn't it be a great and fitting benefit to the man and his music (and fellow players in Miracle Legion) if these six records - "The Backyard", "Surprise, Surprise, Surprise", "Glad", "Me & Mr Ray", "Drenched" and "Portrait of a Damaged Family" - could be re-released? Or even be put on Spotify??

In the meantime some of them are available direct from Mark via his Mezzotint label (also probably the best way to ensure he gets a bigger cut of the price) and his solo material is available there or at Loose Music. And on Monday you can get your copy of "Ciao My Shining Star" here, here and here.

ALL FOR THE BEST
Miracle Legion
Surprise, Surprise, Surprise [BUY]

APARTMENT MURDERS
Mark Mulcahy
Fathering [BUY or BUY]

THE BROKEN FAMILY BAND @ KLONDYKE BOWLS CLUB, LEVENSHULME 24 March 2006

2009-09-16T12:20:00.005Z

I have been following The Broken Family Band since first album "The King Will Build A Disco". Somehow, many years too late, this gig at Klondyke Bowling Club in Levenshulme was the first time I actually saw them live. I've been thinking about this night a lot following the news that The Broken Family Band gigs I'm going to in October will be their last:

“After eight happy years The Broken Family Band has decided to give it a rest. We can’t pin it on musical differences, we’ve just decided to quit while we’re ahead. We’ve had a fantastic time being in this group together, and we’re all still friends so we haven’t ruled out doing stuff together in the future. There’s no dramatic ending, but these shows are our farewell to The Broken Family Band. We’d like to thank everyone who’s helped us out and given us so much pleasure since we started, but we’re not going to.”

As well as my first time seeing BFB this was my first visit to the Klondyke Bowls Club in Levenshulme. I remember turning into a seemingly dead-end residential street and thinking "bollocks - we've been sold tickets for a gig in a venue that doesn't exist". Somehow the cul-de-sac led into a rutted gravel path that led into a dimly lit car park and a Scooby Doo haunted house. Well actually the aforementioned Bowls Club. Inside was a proper working man's boozer: darts boards, snooker tables, a dense cloud of cigarette smoke. Is there a BAND playing here tonight??

Well there was in a side room. The room was square, unadorned and frankly in need of paint and TLC. The room had groups of people milling about quite aimlessly. We worked out where the stage might by the fact the milling seemed to be just in one half of the room. There was a barefoot woman lying on the floor too. It was all a bit weird and just didn't feel like a gig was about to take place.

However take place it did. Support was from Soft-Hearted Scientists (gentle Welsh pastoralism - sedate but quietly lovely) and possibly one other band but myself, Mr P and Ms L have racked our brains and cannot remember who it might have been. Whether it was one or two support bands, bare-footed woman continued to lay on the floor in front of the low stage.

When The Broken Family Band took the stage something magical happened. I don't whether it was the music, the crowd or the venue but something definitely changed in the atmosphere when Steven Adams said "Hello Levenshulme ...[dramatic pause]... a phrase I've waited all of my thirty two years to say". Following the laughter that provoked, things just kicked off. The band, despite having just driven up from Cambridge, tore through a set of old favs and songs from "Balls" which was just out. The crowd couldn't get close enough to the band and were dancing and singing deliriously. And everyone, band members, hard-core fans, casual audiences members had smiles on their faces. Possibly even bare-footed woman but I'd lost sight of her in the delirious melee. From the start of the evening which looked like a real non-event this became one of the best and most enjoyable gigs I've ever been too.

At the end it seemed no-one wanted to go home. The band were happy to chat and sign CDs, the crowd just didn't want to leave the room in case the spell was broken. My final memory of the evening was seeing the band after humping their gear through a fire-door into the car park, stick their heads around the door to wave at everyone with big idiot-grim faces. An emotional once-in-a-lifetime event: it was like a wedding, New Year and the best party you've ever been to rolled into one.

And now at the end of October, The Broken Family Band are splitting up. I'll get to see they twice more (once the final show: an invitation-only, fancy dress gig at the Cambridge pub they played their first gig in) and then it's over. But we'll always have the music. And we'll always have Levenshulme.

Those final tour dates are here.

IT'S ALL OVER
THE BOOZE & THE DRUGS
The Broken Family Band

Balls [BUY]