Phoning it in

Dispatches from the back of the venue

Archives: Gig Reviews

  • Peel Dream Magazine & Tulpa

    Peel Dream Magazine & Tulpa

    It’s a warm balmy evening and so even though it’s Monday there’s lots of people enjoying the last rays on Stevenson Square (you take your beer garden opportunities when they arise round these parts) but that hasn’t put off a decent crowd descending the steps into the grotty but welcoming Soup cellar – amid the scuzzy, graffiti strewn vibe (CBeebies GBs I call it) the aircon is on, the vibe is cool and slightly damp – and there’s some suitably summery rock action going down.

    First up, from Leeds, Tulpa who I’ve not had the pleasure of seeing before. They’re a four piece and I’m immediately taken by their sound which has some bendy Kevin Shields guitar noise mixed with post-punk dynamics and, importantly, catchy and memorable melodic drive. What really gets them extra points is they do something too many young bands shy away from – they aren’t afraid to get a good head of steam going and keep it locked rather than switching to the next song. Tulpa let the instrumental sections of the songs go round a few bars to give time for some nice, grungey riffage and let the twin guitars ring for a bit – not to the point of self-indulgence or (god help us) ‘jamming’, but long enough to have impact and reel the listener in. It works and they have the audience right on side. They’ve got some great material, they’re cool, they play with quiet confidence and verve. My guess is next time I see them they’ll be headlining – they’re very good indeed.

    Up next, from LA, Peel Dream Magazine. I’ve been very much enjoying their records and this is my first time seeing them live. Their music takes some cues from shoegaze, dream pop, Avant pop and the smarter, quirkier end of the American songbook (Van Dyke Parks for instance). It’s very cleverly produced, enigmatic and quietly remarkable. They have some obvious influences, they clearly have spent a great deal of time poring over the back catalogue of Stereolab (seems a reasonable way to spend your time) – but they do it in such a way that they add a whole new dimension of their own. I like it when I hear an artist reimagining music I grew up with in their own image and taking new steps those artists didn’t take. PDM have a habit of homing in on elements in music that I really like that makes me think “oh you’re hearing that the way I hear it”. PDM are so good you can imagine them being cited as an influence by future artists. That in fact, is how Pop history works kids.

    I do wonder how they might translate their elegant, multi-instrumental music in a low-budget live format. With the best will in the world, I doubt it would be financially viable for PDM to bring a vibraphone player (never mind said instrument) on a short European club tour. The answer is to take the songs and reframe them for a 4 piece guitar band – and it works a treat. They do use a bit of ‘track’, just to add some keyboard backing which the drummer fires off from his pads. Much like High Llamas (who they don’t imitate but share some musical DNA) the songs are good enough that they can stand up with a basic band format. This gives a different spin on the songs compared to their records – in fact PDM positively rock out at times, particularly when leaning into their earlier, louder songs.

    There’s a really good crowd in, in spite of the not entirely Pop-friendly Monday night and outdoorsy weather. PDM leader Joseph Stephens is a man of few words, and has said he doesn’t like gigs where people are talking. Fortunately tonight, in our musty cellar underneath the Northern Quarter people are getting into it, we’re all on the same page and, for both bands it’s very much a Listening Room.

  • Das Koolies

    Das Koolies

    Back in the early 90s music was tribal – unlike today where teenagers are getting into Toto, Taylor Swift and probably Throbbing Gristle and Test Dept on Tik Tok – back then you chose your tribe and stayed in your lane – to the point it became quite striking when Indie guitar bands started to incorporate samples and beats when Acid house and Hip Hop crossed over. It became a running joke in the weekly music press to portray this cliche of former anorak-wearing 12 string guitar bands, suddenly festooned with beads and smiley-face t-shirts, adding a funky drummer beat remix to cash in on ‘Madchester’ and ‘Indie Dance’ – the meme was “there’s always been a dance element to our music”. In the case of Super Furry Animals though, that was 100% true. Right from the off they were incorporating synths, sampled beats and acid house basslines into their songs and the band were always big on raving and partying and famously purchased an armored tank – equipped with Technics decks so they could DJ at festivals spinning tunes from the likes of Hardfloor and Orbital after their live sets. Later on the band would traditionally end their sets with each member leaving the stage to keyboardist Cian Ciaran who would close the set by performing a fantastic acid techno jam as the strobes and lasers took over – confused Indie kids found themselves at rave for 10 or 20 minutes.

    So the thing is, there’s always been a fantastic dance/electronic group hiding in plain sight behind SFA and I’d often thought they should make a purely electronic record based on some of those Welsh techno encores. Well – sans the singer and frontman Gruff Rhys 4/5 of SFA have now morphed into that techno supergroup – made the excellent ‘DK.01’ and are now onto their 2nd LP ‘Pando’. The music is majestic and is far from the generic bedroom electronica that pretty much anyone can do these days – it includes soaring vocal lines, guitar, bass and drums assembled into dance tracks. There are songs too – Vocally it’s hard to figure out who is singing – vocals are used more like samples, or as harmonic choral sweeps that remind me of Animal Collective. Check out ‘White Star’.

    It’s a super combination and sounds like music made by 4 people who have a deep love and understanding of dance music – have spent many years DJ-ing and partying and are having a lot of fun.

    With SFA on hiatus, Das Koolies have become a live act now and essentially perform as an A/V (Audio Visual) show. Their schtick is to play from behind two tall screens from which the band can just be seen peeping over – with video projections in front of them. It’s hard to see what the band are doing but Huw has a guitar, Guto has a bass, Cian is donning headphones and doing something technological and Dafydd is bashing away on some electronic drum pads. They seem to be having fun behind there and occasionally break off to acknowledge the audience, punch the air, smoke some vapes and throw some shapes.

    Sonically it is glorious – full of tension and release between trouser-flapping bass and moments of pure euphoria and soaring vocal hooks. What doesn’t quite work tonight is the A/V presentation- in a late night club setting or festival tent it would be fine but in a half-full mid week Indie venue it just becomes a somewhat irksome barrier between the band and the audience. The visuals are a bit repetitive and in this context it would be better if we could watch the band – just seeing musicians play and interact with each other is far more interesting than any video presentation. Bassist Guto is wearing a crash helmet with a Noddy Holder style mirror ball effect – which we only get a brief glimpse of – which says it all.

    The massive elephant in the room is the lack of live vocals – that small tweak would have completely transformed the whole performance which otherwise feels like a bit of a playback of the new record or a DJ set with a bit of live jamming over it. There’s no faulting the brilliant music, but mid-venue I’m surrounded by people looking at the football results on their phones or chatting and tapping a half-hearted toe. Granted there are some party people down the front getting a bit more into it – and only a boring knobhead would say “I could have just stayed at home and listened to the new LP on my headphones”. That said I’m playing the new record right now and enjoying it immensely.

  • eat-girls

    eat-girls

    This is my first gig at the former (infamous) Old Mother Macs pub, now relaunched as The Rat and Pigeon. It’s still very much an old school backstreet boozer but with enough of a facelift to make it feel friendly enough and the youthful clientele challenge the myth that ‘ver kids’ don’t like clustering around a pub table for a chinwag, a bag of crisps and a pint of mild… these lot do.

    Upstairs is a very small but well appointed gig venue, about the size of the back room of The Castle but with space for a corner bar and back room…and it has a sound and lighting rig powerful enough for a venue three times the size. Small enough for local artists and international bands taking their first steps on the circuit  – and indeed tonight’s turn is French trio eat-girls (the lower case and hyphen is important apparently), over from Lyon for their first ever UK dates.

    They start by donning those head-light things joggers wear to illuminate each member of the band and the audience – it’s a neat trick and straight away they grab your attention. The striking three piece Amélie, Elisa, and Maxence play keys, guitar and bass with everyone covering vocals – often the track drops away to them all singing in unison – their “electronic madrigals” as they put it. There’s no drummer but the backing track is punchy enough and the propulsive bass and guitars provides enough movement, spontaneity and energy to compensate for the relentless, pre-programmed beatbox. 

    I don’t want to resort to that old hackery of comparing these young artists to other, older bands but I’m going to anyway. There’s definitely an echo of early Stereolab in the taught rhythms, vocal rounds and a certain sense of utilitarian style. They draw from Post-Punk, particularly the clipped, economical tunesmithery of Wire, The Banshees and Joy Division at their most motorised. The organ drones and keyboards recall the dreamily European, cinematic swoon of Tuxedomoon or Marine.

    But enough of the comparisons – eat-girls have plenty of ideas of their own with moody synth textures and atmospheric samples and dubby FX adding to a swirly miasma. You can dance to them too – and they inspire some serious frugging in the room among the pop-crazed youngsters as the room fills and warms up. They have a deft knack of veering from total seriousness, to bopping around with abandon- often during the same song. 

    I’m totally sold on these – easily one of the best new groups I’ve seen in a long time. Their mighty fine LP ‘Area Silenzio’ is out now and don’t miss the chance to see eat-girls.

    They will haunt you. 

    https://eat-girls.bandcamp.com/album/area-silenzio

  • Pale Blue Eyes & Shaking Hand

    Pale Blue Eyes & Shaking Hand

    The Devon / Sheffield crossover Dream pop combo delight a Wednesday night crowd in Manchester

    Support comes from Shaking Hand who I’ve already seen at one of the excellent Hot Take band showcase gigs at Yes Manchester. They strike up an unhurried, circular groove and there’s something immediately appealing about them as the venue fills and people gather to listen rather than ignore, as can happen with supports. We’re in good hands with this unassuming 3 piece – guitar / vocalist playing distinctive weaving guitar parts, a drummer pattering away with jazzy flourishes but with a pleasing kick, and a bassist who frequently doubles as a twin lead – playing the higher register of the instrument. They have a post-rock edge to them, a little bit of Slint or early Tortoise perhaps, or the fabled Leeds band Hood and while the pieces they play are enjoyably drifty at times – they aren’t averse to wrong-footing us with a sudden tempo change, a burst of noise, a scrape of strings here or a cheeky rhythmic curveball there. They wear their guitars well, they play studiously but with a confidence that suggests they know how they good they are- I like them a lot and, judging by the applause, everyone else does too. There appears to be no recorded material available but hopefully they’re busy in a studio somewhere bottling that magic.

    On to the headliners. I’m a bit behind the curve with Pale Blue Eyes but Piccadilly Records piqued my interest and I’ve been enjoying their latest record ‘New Place’ which it turns out is their 3rd album so I’ve some catching up to do. For a band who trade in dreamy, shoegazey pop they have a disarmingly chummy and light hearted air about them – in fact their footwear remains un-gazed at and they spend most of the time looking and grinning at each other and the audience – it turns out PBE here to have a good time and so should we.

    The band have toured with Slowdive and they share a love of using guitars and keyboards to create a sea bed for the songs to float on but they have their own distinct sound that is sparkly, upbeat and distinctly pop-tastic. Lots of major chords, and at times this sounds like ‘The Big Music’ – think Simple Minds in their early 80s pomp but also informed by Stereolab, and the locked groove of Neu! or La Dusseldorf – but just when it seems they might lean a bit too much into that well-worn trench coat – they pull out a moody, slower number or throw in a gorgeous chord pattern or bassline that has their own distinct stamp on it. They have art college roots – and drummer Lucy, it transpires wrote a thesis about Cabaret Voltaire – so, again, we’re in safe hands and these people know what they’re doing

    There’s something very appealing and convivial about PBE – there is a husband & wife duo at the core (Matt and Lucy), who have relocated from Devon to Sheffield and the new record which is informed by upheaval and loss – and it’s hard not to be moved by the joy emanating from the stage – they feel like one of those bands that will inspire a certain amount of loyalty (I’m thinking of Sea Power who they’ve supported) and they’re going to be a bit of a regular fixture. I’m on board!

  • Spiritualized

    Spiritualized

    Pure Phase 30th Anniversary Tour

    I’m not the biggest fan of ‘Classic Album’ gigs. They can take the element of surprise and spontaneity out of show and, as is proved time and time again, what may be a perfectly sequenced album on record doesn’t always make a great night out.
    ‘Pure Phase’ is a curious choice for a live show and I’m intrigued to see what Jason Pierce and the current line up of musicians that comprise Spiritualized are going to do with it not least because in more recent years they’ve followed a more accessible path or, leaned into their most popular LP ‘Ladies & Gentlemen…’


    I’ve always been fond of ‘Pure Phase’ but it’s not an easy listen for the innocent bystander. It’s long, and it’s an uneven mix of scuzzy space rock, electronic experiments, extended blasts of noise and gospel tinged bliss outs not to mention the title track – 6 minutes of gently undulating organ drone (which reoccurs throughout the album as a backdrop and used to be used at gigs as a call to the audience to get away from the bar and assemble, ready to begin)

    Uncompromising, thrilling and perfectly out of step with the curdling of Britpop into Loaded Lad culture it was on heavy rotation on our hi-fi. I’m surprised to read it was seen as a commercial failure and Jason thinks it’s one of his most underappreciated records.

    I saw the band a lot around the time of it’s release and quite a lot of tracks weren’t performed live or were very different from the album versions which Jason famously laboured over..obsessively mixing two masters (one for each ear) and meticulously working on his perfect edit.


    Although other dates on this short tour have sold out, the idea of 2 hours of experimental, gospel-tinged swamp blues would seem to have somewhat selective appeal on a Monday night in Manchester and there are a fair few empty seats (the promoters charging 60-70 quid for seats closer to the front hasn’t helped and notably the cheap seats up in the gods are full)
    Last couple of times I saw the group they had a packed house and in fact were playing material from their more recent LPs. The audience seemed quite happy with those more song-based selections from ‘And Nothing Hurt’ and ‘Everything was Beautiful’ and there was very little looking back to the 90s – all the more surprising that Jason has chosen to go way back.

    The musicians file on and it’s clear Jason hasn’t skimped on hiring plenty of musicians to recreate this complex record – we’ve got a brass section and a string section as well as two backing vocalists joining the core band line-up. Jason walks on and gives his customary wave (a man of few words on stage) and – this is a big deal for long term fans, he’s decided to do this one standing up (rather than perched on a stool JJ Cale style). The Spaceman means business.


    The full band are put to good use and I’m immediately struck by little details – the intro to ‘Medication’ reveals the Brian Wilson influence Jason used to talk about in interviews and echoes California Girls or something from Pet Sounds – complete with odd little percussive elements before the full band crash in for the choruses with brass and strings to the fore. ‘The Slide Song’ – never played before (AFAIK) comes to life next with the brass and string elements revealing the song that was one of those most misted up by the swirling, disorientating mix on the record.

    They’ve decided to do the whole album in the recorded sequence which means they recreate the wall of noise that is ‘Electric Phase’ most effectively – this gets a big cheer (Spiritualized fans love a bit of a noise freak out and there are plenty more of those to come). ‘These Blues’ with duelling harmonicas by Jason and Doggen is perhaps the first big ‘banger’ of the night. ‘Take Good Care of It’ was already in their early 90s set in a much more traditional form that would have fitted on their debut album but the Pure Phase version was a startlingly different track – a big floating cloud of gliding sax, organs and a vaguely dubby bassline – and amazingly it is this version that they somehow manage to recreate live.

    I get the sense that this is the kind of gig Jason has always wanted to do – lots of improvisation – horns blasting, trumpet solos, beautiful strings, belting gospel harmony vocals, keyboard and piano veering into free jazz at times rather than 3 chord riffs – he’s still standing up and I can imagine that behind the shades he is really enjoying himself up there.

    The centrepiece of the set is a cover of Laurie Anderson’s ‘Born Never Asked’ segued into ‘Electric Mainline’ and this time they do veer off the rather underwhelming album version and go for a full Kosmiche rhythm driven version with countermelodies spiralling around the venue. This is followed by the euphoric ‘Lay Back in the Sun’ and ‘Good Times’ – perhaps the lightest and most song-based tracks in the set that for any other band would be staples of any gig but I can’t remember the last time I heard these played live.

    They spare us the full 6 minutes of Pure Phase on a loop but they let enough of it play out to say it was on the setlist and the final straight is two big, soulful ballads that close the LP. The Beach Boys influence reveals itself again in the intro to Feels Like Going home which with Pet Sounds percussion and – a Banjo! I hadn’t realised that was on the record but sure enough – there it is and it sounds wonderful – and with the brass section I’m struck by the idea that Spiritualized have all the equipment required to knock out a couple of Dexys numbers if they chose to Too Rye Aye it up a bit – and then come to my senses.

    They get a well deserved standing ovation and encore – for which they pull out a song from the aforementioned ‘Ladies and Gentlemen’ and it’s a mightily powerful ‘Cop Shoot Cop’ – all 15 minutes of it – going deep into a Dr John swampy groove which seems to have everyone hanging on to every note and a chance for all the musicians and singers to have one final blast.

    So it was a good idea to play Pure Phase. This isn’t really an exercise in nostalgia, rather we get to hear new life breathed into an old record and freed from the obsessive detail of the studio mix it’s quite spectacular. I’ve read that Jason wants to do more of these shows and hope he does because more people need to hear the record like this – it’d make a great live LP too.

    I see a fair few people carrying copies of the LP home into the night and hopefully they’ll discover Pure Phase for the first time or do it all over again.

  • julie

    julie

    California 3 piece julie (lower case – obvs) have the pop-crazed youngsters moshing with their iPhones in the air like they just don’t care

    julie have made quite an impression it seems and have a sold out tour of the UK ahead of them and I just make it in time to catch the unusually early start of 8.15 (which no amount of scouring the Gorilla or SJM ‘socials’ would reveal) so I’m in a narky mood as the loud strains of opera emanate from the empty stage as the capacity crowd gear up for julie. This had better be good.

    It is good. The band take to the stage to a trouser flapping bass rumble and the crowd go absolutely nuts as they crash into the first tune ‘catalogue’ (lower case).

    julie have acquired that inevtiable Shoegaze or Nu-Gaze tag but fundamentally it’s not the swoonsome Slowdive or Cocteau Twins that is the obvious inspiration here. It’s the scuzzier, Squatney, cheap cider-fuelled end – we’re talking ‘Isn’t Anything’ and ‘You Made Me Realise’ era My Bloody Valentine – hyperactive drums, waves of distorted guitar and bass – with a big nod towards Swervedriver particularly in terms of that mix of grungey guitars with warm, widescreen melodic washes – and the dissonant wanderings of Sonic Youth. Yes!

    The stage is minimally set up, no backdrop just some big amps and white light and occasional strobes. The 3 piece line up in formation – bass – guitar – drums in that order – and while they don’t say much, julie deliver a physical and visceral performance. The guitarist Keyan and singer/bass Alexandria vanish quite often either to mess with their pedals or roll around on the floor or whatever. There are long periods of tuning up and re-setting which the band wisely fill with sampled noise and a chance for their unflappable drummer Dillon to loose off some mad freeform drum fills – raising the tension before the next big riff comes in.

    The crowd is definitely a younger demographic although like me there a few veterans of the first wave of 90s Shoegaze but the pop-crazed youngsters are crushing down the front to enjoy a proper mosh – albeit with phones aloft which will make for some very shaky footage. There’s a telling moment in this video of a julie performance where someone does the very 90s thing of stage-diving – albeit the diver is filming themselves as they go down which will probably make for a great Tik Tok vid …kids today eh? That said I like this quote from Keyan in the NME which really endears me to them:

    “If more artists focused on art and music and playing live rather than social media, they’d be just fine”

    It was a literally a blast – very, very loud performance with tons of intensity and attitude and I suspect next time julie come to Manchester it’ll be New Century or The Ritz and don’t sleep on it when the tickets go on sale. They’ve clearly got what it takes to build up an audience and create a certain weirdness and mystique around themselves around them which is very difficult to to do in the 2020s. If they have one shortcoming it’s perhaps the adherence to that My Bloody Sonic Swervedriver template but I suspect they might have a change of direction up their skinny sleeves – and indeed those confrontational between-song noise-fests are an indication of how ready julie are to challenge and face-off their audience – suffice to say the kids seem ready to take whatever julie can throw at ’em.

    Fly julie fly…

  • The Look Back Bores

    The Look Back Bores

    Mark E Smith probably would not approve of a ‘tribute act’ to The Fall and so the wryly named Look Back Bores embrace that contradiction head on and just get on with the important business of creating an opportunity for fans to enjoy an unabashed celebration of the group.

    Aatma, formerly the Kraak Gallery, is a makeshift but welcoming venue tucked away off Stevenson Square amid the now sprawling Northern Quarter. The venue is filling up as Look Back Bores file on stage to a soundtrack of ‘that time Mark E Smith read the football scores’ which is a nice touch. It turns out LBB have played here several times and this is becoming a regular thing – so I’ve some catching up to do.

    The group (I don’t know any names sorry) appear to be a mixed age combo who clearly know this music inside out – drummer, two guitars, bass, keyboards and their masterstroke is a very simple but genius approach to the tricky business of filling the the enormous shoes of the fallen frontman. They have realised it is a job for two.

    There is a younger lad with loads of attitude who has nailed down the M.E.S snarl and if he donned a charity shop jumper could pass for 1970s Mark – and he’s joined by a tall geezer who doubles up on synths, and delivers the words in a more punk-poet style, spitting the lyrics more like Jason Williamson from Sleaford Mods – they alternate between taking it in turns to lead songs or doubling up for maximum effect (a lot of Fall songs have multiple vocals of course). It works a treat, it means nobody is the absolute focal point, it’s not an impersonation it’s about putting the music across with the required amount of welly and – at times you marvel at the feat of remembering all those lyrics. As they swing into a blistering ‘Pay Yr Rates’ it is clear we are in safe hands.

    The musicians are uniformly excellent, not slavishly recreating the records as this isn’t some ‘sealed knot’ re-enactment of the (post)Punk Wars – but they have the right mix of raw power and economy that Fall sound requires while also reminding us the songs are not quite as simple and straightforward as they might seem.

    The set list is all about the element of surprise and it turns out, they can play anything by The Fall so we could go anywhere in the discography. There is no such thing as ‘The Best of The Fall’ and diehard fans won’t ever agree on a perfect set. Of course, in their day The Fall would never pander to fans and in later years would seldom dip into their vast catalogue. LBB wisely try and cover lots of eras and pick from as early as ‘Container Drivers’, they play imperial phase Fall like ‘Kicker Conspiracy’ and ‘What You Need’, they play the Pop Fall like ‘Free Range’ and ‘Cruisers Creek’ but also go up to later Fall years with songs like ‘Victrola Time’ (from the final Fall LP) and ‘Blindness’ which are as much fan favourites as the classical stuff.

    They deliver those later songs with a particular ferocity, especially ‘Facebook Troll’ which reminds me of the final Fall line-up, those battle hardened musicians that Mark Smith stuck with for an unusually long time toward the end of his life. If The Fall had anthems they are probably ‘Totally Wired’ and ‘Big New Prinz’ both of which get performed with a now thoroughly bouncing audience providing the singalongs.

    Calling them a tribute band does LBB as disservice – this is more like a counter-factual Fall that never existed. The Fall would never have done such a long, crowd-pleasing set as this and LBB make no attempt to pass this off as being anything like what a Fall gig would be like – indeed if they did they’d go on 90 mins late, the singers would mess with the musicians amps, veer off the script and then walk off half way through. It is what it is, a chance to just appreciate this astonishing music and let these songs live and breathe again in the damp, Manchester night.

    As I said at the start, Mark Smith would probably hate it but then again, he’d just as likely probably offer the musicians a job playing in a future line-up of The Fall.

    Looking back, but definitely not boring

  • Autechre

    Autechre

    More orchestral manoeuvres in the dark with “the Rochdale Kraftwerk” laying down the rules and the beats

    Of the stable of artists that emerged from Warp Records’ early 90s heyday it is not the cartoonish Aphex Twin or the soft focus Boards of Canada that loom largest but Autechre, the least fathomable of the stable, who have probably been most influential on modern music making. They show no signs of letting up and for a duo well into their 40th decade they can’t be accused of resting on their laurels or relying on tracks they made in the 90s to draw a crowd. You’re about as likely to hear something played from their first few LPs as Inspiral Carpets are to do a set of Sun Ra covers.

    Their M.O. these days is to make entirely computer generated music, in sharp contrast to the contemporary trend for Modular Synthesis – an expensive hobby that’s a sort of model railway enthusiasts approach to music making and requires amassing a vast array of component parts just to make a few bleeps and drones. Autechre work entirely with their own intricate coding using customised software and have essentially built their own unique, virtual rig of music making tools – much like Kraftwerk’s mysterious Kling Klang studios, except that it lives inside Sean & Rob’s laptops.

    As a live act, they have always been a testy and somewhat challenging proposition not least because it’s hard to frame them in the right context. Their roots are very much in the underground dance scene and all-night clubbing but you can’t really dance to Ae. If there are identifiable beats, they’re mangled and maddeningly complex. They have a knack of tracing the contours of their electro and hip hop roots while being singularly un-danceable. Ae is the very definition of Electronic Listening Music but often presented, live, in a way that isn’t conducive to listening. In the past, Ae gigs tended to be after-hours affairs in sweaty clubs but perhaps with band and audience now 50-somethings there are some concessions to us ‘old-uns’. Tonight they play New Century- a regular 7-11pm gig venue – or it least it usually is. They easily sell out this 1,300 capacity venue as they do similar sized venues around the world.

    The emails start coming. Autechre will start at 10 and go on past 11pm. Is this so Autechre can hold on to some notion of being ‘after hours’? All this does is pitch tonight in a dead spot between gig and club night and make for a more expensive ride home for anyone outside the M60..for the sake of 30 mins over normal curfew. At the risk of sounding like a total square, that ain’t cool.

    The next email arrives – Autechre will play in complete darkness. Well this is something they’ve done for years, it’s part of their schtick and as a ruse it’s a simple but quite clever solution to the fact that there really is “nothing to see here”. Two blokes from Rochdale in North Face jackets fiddling with laptops is not a visual spectacle so, turn all the lights off and it becomes entirely about the sound. This time they’ve added some rules – the bar will close for the duration, do not move unnecessarily (!), no filming on phones, no flash and only put your phone light on if you need help. (To be fair some of this to make tonight more inclusive – and New Century is a properly accessible venue and has a raised area for those who need it, which is well used tonight)

    Rules of engagement established, Autechre appear and gradually the lights dim which gets a massive cheer – and we’re plunged into darkness. It’s a good trick and the only concession to staging. The pesky Fire Exit signs will always prevent Autechre getting the bible black night they want – as does the glow of their laptop screens and LEDs – so its a grey, shadowy murk rather than a total blackout. It’s quite funny that people still seem to face the stage and some daft sods point their phone cameras into the darkness, force of habit.

    You could argue why not stay at home, turn all the lights off and listen to their latest Live LPs. I guess the answer is, you get to hear it thru a very powerful soundsystem in a venue and it does sound colossal, but in many ways it feels like this gig would work better seated. Indeed Autechre did a very successful seated performance at the Barbican recently. It’s hard to immerse yourself in the music when you’re stood in a packed, humid venue trying not to bump into the person next to you. It’s also surprising they don’t use a surround sound system and the stage is the focus when there is nothing much on it, so why not set up in the middle of the room? 15 mins in, something goes wrong and the sound cuts out which rather breaks the spell. There’s an awkwardly long break while it gets sorted with a few false starts which is the cue for some gobshite near me to start complaining loudly and expressing his boring opinions- they get it going again and the sound does seem more hefty than before and drowns out the fuckwit.

    Autechre live and recorded works tend to be separate things- apart from some very early gigs they have never ever peformed tracks from their records as such – everything is semi-improvised and usually prepared specifically for each tour. However on this occasion they’ve already released some live recordings of earlier shows which means there are actually some familiar pieces in the set- to the point that cheers go up on occasion – much like a jazz band they have set pieces and themes that reoccur so amid the intense barrage of beats and soundwaves there is some order in there somewhere. And yes someone has gone to the trouble of comparing live recordings and numbering specific tracks that reoccur in sets.

    As I try and get comfortable there are times when the music is truly remarkable – this is a very beat-heavy set and occasionally threatens to slip into an almost conventional drum & bass or electro rhythm before it’s derailed by some deliberate shift or curveball. Earlier on there is a bit of light and shade and even quieter passages of synth pads and crisp lead parts before the relentless beats slam back in. There are things that resemble basslines and huge droning chords and often it becomes difficult to know what is being played, what is just forming from the clash of sounds in the air or whether my brain is filling in the gaps as it tries to make sense of the barrage of sounds and the sheer velocity of audio information thundering out of the speakers. It’s those moments where you remember why you are here. It’s not easy, it’s not comfortable but there is nothing quite like hearing Autechre in full flight in the dark.

    So, a challenging evening in several respects- and it made me think Autechre need to think about creating a truly immersive experience which needs to go beyond a gig venue or a club with speakers and a stage – and maybe just present this as what it is, an evening of contemporary experimental electronic music rather than an awkward mix of the former and a messy club night. They’re missing a trick somewhere.

    Of course they will, and should, take no notice of me and do whatever they want to do. Contrary bastards.

    Rave on!

  • High Llamas & Novelty Island

    High Llamas & Novelty Island

     

    We covered High Llamas recently and if you read that review you’ll know we werent about to pass up the chance to see them again as they enchant the people of Liverpool, for the first time in 15 years

    First up though are Novelty Island – the “surreal pop project” of one Tom McConnell who grew up between Newcastle and Liverpool – two tough port cities at opposite ends of the North with huge cultural and musical identities and a lot of inspiration to draw on.

    I was only dimly aware of the band before so I did some homework and listened to a recent release ‘Taped Over’ on Bandcamp which is a really smart record full of glorious, breezy pop hooks but with a woozy, sun-baked electronic edge and those little killer chord changes I always look for in songwriting. There also seem to be some interesting graphic nods to railways and rainbows and geography, this is sure to be good. I make sure I arrive on time to see them.

    I wasn’t sure how this would be presented – maybe a couple of musicians and a laptop – so I’m surprised to see Tom has brought a 6 piece supergroup with him – so many that their drummer is relegated to the side of the stage, on the floor and completely out of sight – we can only just glimpse some sticks flailing behind a speaker stack. Drummer and band take all this in their stride and deliver a thoroughly enjoyable set as the venue gradually fills up. I get to hear the full-band version of what Novelty Island do – big, bold and fully arranged songs like ‘Cowboy on a Bicycle’ and ‘This Bird’ – this is mighty fine stuff.

    There’s an obvious Beatle influence but specifically they remind me of the good bits of the 1970s George Harrison records (that is meant as high praise). I get also a hint of the more adventurous 70s songwriters like Andrew Gold and 10CC spring to mind – and maybe Andy Partridge’s more kaleidoscopic moments and definitely the Irish band Pugwash. This is a great fit for a crowd here to see High Llamas and they go down a treat. I pick up a cassette copy of ‘Taped Over’ at the merch table which seems apt – I now need to work my way through their expanding back catalogue , and so should you.

    High Llamas – much like the support act, tend to be regarded as a solo project for Sean O’Hagan but in fact the same core line up has been there throughout – and here tonight: Marcus Holdaway on keys, Jon Fell on bass, Rob Allum an drums. They’re joined on this tour by O’Hagan junior, Livvy who provides vocal and percussion support making this feel like even more of a family affair. For all of the complexity of the music, the performance is unassuming, informal and a little raggedy. Sean wrestles with a malfunctioning Sampler, has a minor wardrobe malfunction and while tuning-up and recounts a few past tales of mishaps at gigs all of which adds to the charm. The venue, while delightfully laid out and atmopsheric does have a bit of a flaw in that you can hear the band downstairs during quieter moments – which reminds Sean of playing in Seattle downstairs from a very loud grunge band and asking them to turn it down because “we were playing banjos!”.

    The crowd are very reverent, particularly for Liverpool who can be a right chatty lot at times- High Llamas don’t come around very often and people want to just drink it in and listen- but it’s an evening full of joy and each song is met with hearty applause. Like with the Hebden Bridge show ‘Hey Panda’ makes up a lot of the set. It’s the most critically acclaimed Llamas record in many years so I suspect most people know the songs now and it makes a great centerpiece for the set – combining, as it does, the typical baroque pop of Van Dyke Parks or Fred Neil with Sean’s fascination with contemporary hip hop & R&B. The other key work on display is the underrated ‘Snowbug’ which Sean has said is his favourite album and gets 4 tracks in the set – definitely one for a reappraisal.

    The set is pretty much the same as Hebden Bridge last year – complete with ‘Jackie’ (from ‘Here Come the Rattling Trees’) becoming an unlikely audience participation number. They encore with the song that nearly got Sean a job producing the Beach Boys – ‘Checking In, Checking Out’ .Unlike the last time I saw them this is planned and they have worked out the middle 8 and added a lovely coda for the audience to join in again. They could have played another 90 mins and still not run out of fantastic songs, such is the High Lllamas songbook, brimming over with quirky, curious song cycles and skewed grooves.

    A wondrous gig with a very appreciative crowd applauding one of the finest and most idiosyncratic songwriters of our times and his brilliant band in a city that knows one of those when it sees one.

     

  • Field Music

    Field Music

    Field Music are over 20 years into their career now – but with the telescoping of Pop Time that is about the equivalent of 6 months in the hurtling white heat of Beatle 60s or Bowie 70s. They’re 9 albums in which, aside from spin-offs and solo projects is a fairly modest output – there is serious quality control here (compared to those tedious neo-psych bands who release 9 albums before they’ve had breakfast) and each new record is clearly thought out and laboured over with obvious love.

    Their latest one ‘Limits of Language’ did not immediately grab me on first listen – the sonic shtick on this one is adding synth textures, occasionally jarring sounds and the songs seemed to be formless grooves on which to showcase the lyrical content above hooks, melody and harmony. It’s the focus of the set tonight but the diehard fans around me have clearly immersed themselves in it and greet the new songs with gusto (“here’s one from our new LP” —“yessss!”). Sure enough there are several songs tonight which come to life on stage and reveal themselves properly. ‘Guardian of Sleep’ for instance evokes XTC circa ‘The Big Express’ – that gnarly, synth-heavy mid-period release – and it clicks – the is Field Music’s gnarly, synth-heavy mid period release too and maybe I’ll be calling it a classic in 10 years time.

    Field Music have always been a brilliant, if low-key live band but for all the self-deprecating humour, prosaic asides and lyrics about shopping centres and cafes- when they get down to playing, they care and they mean it. The Brewis brothers take it in turn to front the band and take the drum stool – and the long-time touring band Andrew, Kev and Liz provide simpatico backing and the all-important vocal harmonies. It’s not too much of a stretch to compare the Brewis brothers to Becker and Fagan from Steely Dan or the likes of 10CC – filtered through Sunderland – they have a similar vocal tone and musical precision. Field Music have a deft way of playing like a bunch of massive musos without the slightest hint of flash or wankery – any solo or bit of meandering is all in service of the song.

    The encore starts without the band leaving the stage (an increasingly common occurrence at gigs which I am very much in favour of)  – and as the band say, as requests are called out, they never had any hits – so they go with ‘The Noisy Days are Over’ and ‘..A New Thing’ which are close enough for this very appreciative crowd (the band seem visibly taken aback by Manchester tonight). So just another night in the long career of Field Music – one to file in the gigography – time to go back to that under-rated 9th LP…