Earlier this year Australian art-rock group The Red Paintings released their much anticipated debut full-length album The Revolution Is Never Coming. Much has been said and written about this album, like the amount of years it took to make and the accompanying costs, but in the end The Revolution Is Never Coming is a masterpiece and it ranks high on my Album of the Year list. Another aspect of The Red Paintings is their art-inspired live show, and according to my colleague Down Under, Gilbert Potts, this was something I shouldn’t miss if the opportunity ever came along. And last night I had this opportunity as Trash McSweeney and his Red Paintings were in Edinburgh as part of their European tour supporting Mindless Self Indulgence.

When I walked in the venue opening band The Dead Betas were already playing their set of bouncy pop-punk and I noticed that I wasn’t going to be one of the younger audience members. The place was full with young teenage kids and their parents surrounding the pack keeping a close eye on their offspring. As 9 out of 10 kids were wearing a Mindless Self Indulgence t-shirt I was wondering if I was the only person there actually knowing The Red Paintings. So, when the band came on stage to kick off with ‘Wasps’, one of the singles of the album, I was indeed one of the very few nodding my head and singing along. The sound at this stage wasn’t the best, but luckily this got resolved very quickly. ‘Wasps’ is a great song and on the album it’s the fourth track at a point where the album really starts taking off, so it was an interesting set opener.

Trash McSweeney was in the company of a cellist, a violinist, a big drum kit and drummer, a bass player, a painter and another painter painting a human canvas, so the stage wasn’t particularly big as they had to stand in front of the Mindless Self Indulgence backline. But this didn’t prevent The Red Paintings in putting on a very decent effort and they effortlessly steered into the next couple of tracks ‘You’re Not One Of Them’ and ‘It Is As It Was’. Trash’s vocals were clear and understandable, and while he was singing “I’m sorry that they didn’t tell you about the world” I kept on looking around to see if anybody else was experiencing the same intensity as I was, knowing the songs of the album so well.

One of the set highlights was next with the Alice in Wonderland inspired ‘Streets Fell into My Window’, followed by ‘Dead Children’. At this point Trash took the time to address the crowd and dedicate his love to Edinburgh with its old windy cobblestone streets, and he softly started singing the opening lines to the Tears for Fears cover ‘Mad World’ that the audience knew very well (hopefully not because of the various television talent show versions), and they started singing along impressively. This also resulted in the loudest applause for The Red Paintings of their set, which was ended with a great version of the album title track ‘The Revolution Is Never Coming’.

Unfortunately this show was “only” 40 minutes long and The Red Paintings didn’t play some of the songs I was really looking forward to, such as ‘The Fall Of Rome’ and ‘Hong Kong’. But what they demonstrated at this gig is that they are able to translate the complex songs of the album into the live setting very well, and it only makes me look forward a lot to their headline gig coming up in Edinburgh in February.

I was fortunate enough to have a long and interesting chat with Trash after the gig and it was great to hear him passionately talk about his band, music and tour experience. If you get a chance to see The Red Paintings you absolutely should not think twice about it as it’s an unforgettable experience.

I ended this night watching the kids go absolutely crazy on the electropunk beats Mindless Self Indulgence were throwing at them, but I realised it wasn’t for me. I came out to see The Red Paintings and I got what I wanted. But now I want more!

Inform – Educate – Entertain

Not many bands lay claim to such a mission statement but not many bands are Public Service Broadcasting.

A two piece who weld live instrumentation and electronica elements around Public Information Films, archive footage and propaganda material to bring stories and events of the past to life.

Touring in support of the well-received debut album Inform Educate Entertain, and also a lot of recent promotion from the likes of The Telegraph, the Kentish Town Forum is impressively sold out.

To tell you the truth I didn’t know what to expect but was thoroughly excited to see how they pull this off live and on such a big stage.

For a sold out venue the Forum is remarkably empty as we stroll in half hour after doors just as first support act Story Books begin their set.

The absent crowd had the right idea as their offensively inoffensive indie pop fails to make any lasting impression.

The Joker & The Thief fare much better with a slowly filling venue, the use of neon signs, low lights and a lot of smoke machines turning the cavernous forum into a surprisingly intimate setting in which their soulful blues wins over a lot of new fans, plus points for the following line in one of their songs “I tried learning the mandolin but ended up speaking mandarin”.

But its PSB who the, by now capacity, crowd are here to see, and the stage show looks suitably impressive with a mock radio pylon central rear flanked by two huge TV screen displaying the BBC test card, Willgoose with his various instruments and drumming companion Wigglesworth have their positions in front of these screens and stage front is flanked by two stacks of old school TV sets… oh and there is a giant net of balloons hanging from the ceiling.

Before they start a spoof light hearted public information films acts as an intro asking the crowd to avoid “Wonky camera video camera recording syndrome” and (A) surprisingly works as no one seemed to be filming the show and (B) sets the tone of cheerful light heartedness which is prevalent through the next hour.

Opening with ‘London Can Take’ the screens & TV’s switching between the archive footage and the band themselves who are being filmed on stage via “shaky cam” by the projectionist.

Adding to the atmosphere of the show, the band members don’t communicate directly with the crowd but use pre-recorded speeches such as “it’s great to be playing at” –dramatic pause’ “the ruddy bloody Forum” or introducing two new songs with “These are in Dutch and about ice skating… it seemed the next logical step”

Ploughing through the majority of the ‘War Room EP’ and debut album it’s the roar of a merlin engine signalling ‘Spitfire’ that is greeted by the equally biggest roar of approval from the assembled throng before main set is completed by ‘Lit Up’.

The encore of ‘ROYGBIV’ is greeted with the arrival of said balloons of the same colour and they finish with an incredibly cheerful version of ‘Everest’ complete with a brass section made up of the roadies and the support bands.

The band exchange polite handshakes and walk off without fanfare after a job well done of delivering an uplifting and joyous experience which leaves a spring in the step that survives all the way home.

Tonight has a rather nice circular feel to it, my first encounter with the sprightly math rock of Axes was back in January on cold wet night in a pub, and now in November I’m encountering them  again  on a cold wet night in a pub (In between was the small matter of a hot summers day in field).

This time the pub is The Lexington in Angel, the size and aesthetic (Read: Beer Selection) makes this one of my favourite haunts in London town (second only to the Black Heart).

Opening proceedings to an already filling room is the grunge rock styling’s of Woahnows who perform admirably but don’t leave a lasting impression.

Not sure what was going on with the interval music but imagine Laibach covering Sonic the Hedgehog!?

Leaving an impression in more ways than one was AK/DK the initial Chemical Brothers style electro results in the crowd initially taking a step back and raising a cocked eyebrow but when they launch into the dual drum pounding rhythm they start to win people over (including me).

But enough of that as after a quick turnover Axes take to the stage and launch into ‘Manolis Hadja Manolis’ and immediately stake a claim for being the best live band in Britain with a stunning 45 minute set of energetically performed yet precision tight math rock.

Bouncing around the stage like an instrumental Dillinger Escape Plan with a sunny disposition, the obvious on stage enthusiasm and cheerful nature of the songs is infectious. We are treated to not only all seven tracks from their self-titled album (seriously buy it!) but also the live debut of three brand new songs which I’m pleased to report don’t mess with a winning formula, but all too soon they sign off with ‘Fleetwood Math’

Oh and they’ve released a Christmas Jumper, what’s not to love.

It’s November in Scotland, it’s cold and it’s raining. I’m here to see Brokeback. Technically, it’s not their show – the headliner is Daughn Gibson – but, hey, I like Brokeback.

So, anyway, here I am. The guy on the door is unreasonably excited. ‘Do you know the support band?’, he asks me. ‘Brokeback!’ he says. He has, apparently, been a big Tortoise fan¹ for years, and Doug McCombs from that band plays in Brokeback. ‘Never thought I’d see a member of Tortoise playing here!’

Well, nor me.

But first, fresh-faced young locals May He Go step up. One chap, two young ladies and a laptop. It is, I think, their first proper gig together, and they look nervous and a bit awkward. Unsurprising, really, as there are exactly three people watching. The inevitable fate of the unknown local support. Still, they forge ahead regardless with a pleasingly perky set of catchy danceable songs, intriguingly blending 80s style new romanticism with something close to mathy post-rock.

Brokeback returned, rebuilt and reformed after a ten year hiatus, with 2013’s Brokeback and the Black Rock, and tonight’s set is drawn almost entirely from that very fine album. They state, in their Facebook bio, that they laboured long and hard perfecting those songs, working out every detail, every arrangement. When they play tonight, however, it all seems entirely effortless. Hard work paying off, perhaps, or maybe just supreme confidence?

They open with ‘Will Be Arriving’, and instantly I’m removed from cold, wet Edinburgh and taken to a desert in America somewhere, Arizona or Montana, to heat and dust and endless open space. I can close my eyes and imagine a vast blue, blue sky, with buzzards. Saguaro cactus. Scorpions, and rattlesnakes basking in the heat. Coyotes. Reverb soaked guitars shimmer like heat haze on the horizon.²

They play, amongst others and in no particular order, ‘The Wire, The Rag and The Pay’, ‘Who Is Bozo Texino?’, ‘Tonight at Ten’ and its partner, ‘Tonight at Eleven’. There are a couple of songs I don’t know, either new or very old. Y’know, sometimes, when a band plays a song you don’t know in amongst a set of favourites, it can jar a bit and interrupt the flow, but not here, tonight. It’s all seamless.

There’s no flashy rock’n’roll nonsense on stage, no posing or jolly banter. It’s just the songs. Just the songs and four utterly unpretentious guys. The bass and drums are a solid, unfussy and unobtrusive canvas upon which the two guitars paint the pictures. At times, the guitar sound reminds me of Tom Verlaine (and I know that I’m not the first to mention that, but it’s true), sometimes there’s even a Hank Marvin twang, a bit of Billy Gibbons’ sleepy blues. Maybe even a touch of Dave Gilmour. But always Brokeback. Always a joy.

They don’t play long enough.

So. Daughn Gibson. I know next to nothing about Daughn Gibson, other than that he’s some kind of ‘country’ singer, and I really don’t like country music. But hey, I’m here, so I’ll give it a go. My expectations are not high, I admit.

Gibson is an imposing figure, tall, dark, unshaven³, and takes the stage accompanied by Brokeback’s drummer and guitarist. He isn’t wearing a Stetson and isn’t carrying an acoustic guitar. He operates a laptop and a box of samples. The most ‘country’ thing about him is his very distressed Garth Brooks t-shirt. And then he sings. Crikey.

Gibson has a fabulous, rich baritone voice. He sounds like a blend of Elvis, Jim Morrison, Glen Danzig (yes, really), Nick Cave and him from the Sisters of Mercy. His songs are, without a doubt, rooted in trucker country, but his voice lends them a rockier, almost gothic tone. His borrowed band are allowed to kick their heels up a bit more than they do in Brokeback, and Chris Hansen on guitar gets to play with his lap steel, an instrument which I usually despise. But tonight it’s good, dammit!

I don’t know the songs, only recognising a couple from my brief YouTube research – ‘Kissin’ On The Blacktop’ and ‘You Don’t Fade’ – but it’s all great stuff. I’m impressed. Towards the end, one of the songs – don’t ask me what it’s called – even turns into a lengthy, spacey jam of drums, lap steel and samples. It could be Hawkwind, or Earthless if they played songs less than 25 minutes long.

Well, there you go. Expectations confounded. Which is nice.

Promising youngsters, blissful desert blues and sexy goth-country. I’m off home, happy.

Bugger. It’s still raining.

Footnotes:

1. That is, a big fan of the band Tortoise, not a fan of big tortoises. (But maybe that too. Who knows?)
2. Which is all very odd, because they’re from Chicago.
3. And he has really big feet.

Yay, Future Of The Left are back in London… everyone loves Future Of The Left. What’s more exciting is that they have just released the absolutely incredible How to Stop Your Brain in an Accident so the prospect of seeing these legendary noise rockers with a few more shout alongs in their artillery is nothing short of perfect. I thought Heaven was an interesting choice of venue, the last time I actually saw them play London was late last year at the Bull & Gate in Kentish town which holds around 150 so I thought jumping to 600 was ambitious. I was wrong of course, the place was rammed and was great to see them getting the size of audience they thoroughly deserve.

First off, apologies to USA Nails and whoever’s reading this as I missed their set (sorry Ed. am I in shit?). They were on pretty early and you know what it’s like getting to a venue straight from work. I literally walked in and they walked off, I really have nothing to say but Future Of The Left like them so let’s assume they were good (sorry).

Next up were Peterborough rockers, The Wytches. A no nonsense kind of band with almost zero chat who hammered through some noisy grunge. That’s not a phrase you hear often nowadays but they definitely had a bit of Nirvana about them. Hair swung over the vocalist’s chops and there was just a general feel of a bunch of fellas who knocked around Seattle in the early 90s. It was also very noise rock and you can tell they have enjoyed the odd McClusky albumn in the past. It was ok, the trouble with a support band of this nature for Future Of The Left is that you know the main event is similar but will absolutely destroy them. However, there is certainly potential there and I dug the sleazy almost surf like guitar sound so worth keeping an eye on.

Now for the big one, there’s no point seeing Future Of The Left unless you get stuck in so I battled my way to the first couple of rows. You could tell it was going to fucking kick off. They graced the stage and opened with ‘Arming Eritrea’ from the second album, I love it when they do that. The ultimate fist pumping sing along and the room erupted into a stupidly fun mosh pit, which maintained its chaotic swirl until the bitter end of the set. The set list was perfect really, they played a whopping seven new ones which the crowd were screaming along to like they’ve known them for years. I think that says it all about the quality and consistency of the song writing. By the time they played ‘Robocop 4 – Fuck off Robocop’ about two thirds of the way through, I could have collapsed. I was having way more fun in that mosh pit than a 30 year old is entitled to, but sod it…. resistance is futile. It’s clear as this band keeps releasing music their set list is going to get better and better which resulted in me croaking “This one is my favourite” to my mate on pretty much every song, crazy.

Falco is a world class front man, absolutely hilarious, gives it 100% and an underrated musician in my opinion. He swaps instruments and belts out boundary pushing music like it ain’t no thing. He normally has a hint of disdain about him, taking the piss out of everyone and everything but there was slightly less of it this time. He seemed slightly humbled and overwhelmed to be playing their biggest headline gig and made sure he told us just that. That’s not to say he didn’t insult Metallica multiple times…. standard. He also slagged off Piers Morgan to within an inch of his life and ripped a heckler to shreds, but that’s pretty well behaved for him. He also had some rather touching words to say about the drummer having a baby 2 weeks earlier, nawww (before ripping the piss). There was shout out to the security for "Not being massive cunts" and he was right, they were polite and just left us to it when we smashed into each other like proper morons, good people. At this point I would like to big up Heaven. I stupidly assumed it would be some shit West End venue but I was wrong, nice layout and just so damn loud… loudest band I’ve seen all year and I saw Årabrot in June. Can more people put on gigs there please?

I love the band’s current lineup, it just so well balanced. It was hard to see how they would recover when Kelson left all those years ago, he was such a massive character. However, it’s now hard to remember them without Jimmy and Julia. Jimmy is an out and out nutter while Julia just pounds that bass like a hypnotic goddess, I think I love her (sorry wife). The gig ended with a mash up of ‘Singing of the Bonesaws / Lapsed Catholics / Lightsabre Cocksucking Blues', so a real celebration of all things Future Of The Left (and McClusky). By the time it was over I was nearly in tears; epic band, epic show. Then they just went mental, including Jimmy who taped beers to various members of the audiences’ heads before picking them up with Hulk like strength and pouring them over everyone (of course). He then grabbed up a weird long sausage thing and waved it as he made his way to the back of the room on someone’s shoulder before he clambered onto a balcony and just generally acted silly whilst we all let it settle in that this momentous occasion was over, class.

There are some gigs you go to where you jump up and down, have a good time then forget all about it the next day. There are others which strike a chord and leave lasting memories often intercut with random blasts of remembrance of a time well had. Then there are those that are such a life affirming event that for days after you stumble around in a daze trying to relive the moment and knowing all you have left is a feeling of loss and that you have seen something so beautiful that you know you will never see it again. One of those was Low.

Making a flying visit in support of new album The Invisible Way leading to a performance at All Tomorrow's Parties. This short tour has taken in some rather small venues. Not so at Liverpool where they take over one of the most majestic sights on Merseyside and make it theirs for the night. The Anglican Cathedral with its swooping architecture and majestic feeling suits Low down to the ground tonight as an assembled group of about 400 fans play witness to a performance which is sure to go down as one of the highlights of a rather tremendous career. Low know this by the looks on their faces and as they start proceedings with a subdued 'Words' you just know that they are going to enjoy this gig.

Quiet is a word often bandied about with Low but by second song 'On My Own', Alan Sparhawk is already dealing out waves of feedback which reverberate around the Cathedral. Images of fighter planes accentuate the surroundings enhancing the already powerful backdrop of the pulpit as he sings into the guitar strings creating a vortex of sound. It is one of many moments which blow you away.

'Plastic Cup' and 'Magic/Majesty' follow as the audience sits in reverent silence where at times you could hear a pin drop. This is slightly broken by an amusing half assed attempt to start some clapping along to the introduction of 'Just Make It Stop' which raises a wry smile from the band. It’s a moment that shows a bond between band and fan as a complicit enjoyment is reached. 

The sound tonight is like nothing you have ever heard before. The natural acoustics of the Cathedral summon up the slightest bit of instrumentation into levels you never thought existed and Mimi’s singing in particular is heartrendingly beautiful. None more so than on 'Holy Ghost' when tears welled up in this reviewers eyes. Both the quiet and the loud work to produce an emotional feeling which enriches the already perfect surroundings.

A magnificent 'Monkey' shows a darker side as a sole strobe ripples to the drum pattern being played out and the feedback creates a miasmic noise. 'Nothing But Heart' reaches for the same feelings and verges on the epic and cinematic as it reaches its crescendo. This is then alleviated by quieter songs such as the wonderful 'Sunflower' or 'Stars Gone Out' which enrapture the more hardcore fans in the audience.

It is disconcerting to hear 'Pissing' played in such austere surroundings but you get the feeling that God may just forgive them for this indiscretion due to the power of the performance. This power is then multiplied twofold for an absolutely outstanding 'Especially Me' whose pay off line of “…and probably you” is extra strong tonight. Low have a benign power about them which belies the minimalist outlook of their music and it is in the simple lines or pieces of music that they truly evoke such tremendous feelings.

And what a feeling that is…hard to put into words but somewhat akin to regressing to childhood and being lost then being found. Maybe this is what heaven might feel like for those of you with a religious viewpoint, for the rest of us it’s something we have to learn to deal with. 

Encores swiftly dealt with it is left to a cover of Rihanna’s 'Stay' to end proceedings. Not a song you expect to hear from this band, Low turn it into a hymn of such beauty that it still rings in your ears long after they have left the stage and we have stumbled out in to the cold night air. Struggling to light a cigarette in the wind, your body is a cavalcade of mixed and confused feelings as the music runs through your brain and you realise that what you have witnessed may never be heard or seen again. A truly astonishing and mesmerising performance in the most wonderful of surroundings make this gig one for the ages.

When I told a few people at work where I was going one older gent said wistfully, 'Camden to see a gig eh?', remembering "the good old days" when guitar music was in the ascendency and Camden wasn't full of latte-drinking pricks. Same old nostalgia, same old bullshit. Once again this gig proved that tales of the death of guitar music have been greatly exaggerated.

The Black Heart is hidden down an innocuous lane off Camden high Street; without the throng of dedicated smokers out the front we might have missed it. New Heavy Sounds are a club/label that unashamedly peddle "dirty, greasy riffage" and this gig ticked each box with a giant marker.

BK & Dad kicked off the night; a two-piece from Norwich they released their debut single 'Mundy' through Gravy Records in September. They set the tone and a very high standard with a voluminous set that would have had bass players in the room shitting themselves. (When you can generate this sort of aural tonnage who needs them?)

Guitar loops filled out the sound though thankfully they were used sparingly and never suffocated the riffs. There were occasional lapses into the kind of intricate but unlovable time sequences that characterize math rock, but the songs were primarily driven by energetic riffs rather than equations. 'Loggerhead' was a particularly catchy number and the delivery throughout was imperious; a raw, bludgeoning start to the night by a palpably uncompromising band that promises shitloads.

Next up were USA Nails; something of a DIY super group - with members from Mayors of Mirzaki, Death Pedals, Silent Front and others - they only played their first gig in June but are already a ferocious live act. Shit-heavy riffs pummeled from the stage while the vocals were not so much delivered as violently projectiled. They carried a real air of menace and reveled in the guttural churning they spewed forth. The pounding was relentless without ever becoming formulaic or monotonous and this had much to do with front man Steven's serial killer charm, and just the thrill of watching musicians able to unleash such fury with such precision. The vocals could have been louder but still a savage display by a force of nature. Three of their songs are available through Bandcamp; listen and love.

The night was billed as Bear Vs Manero's "EP Launch Show"; I reviewed The Bifacial before and suffice to say it's brilliant. They began with ‘Fluoride Frustration Face’, the explosive first track on the EP, and this set the tempo for the rest of the set. Bear Vs Manero bristled with energy and flailed about the stage as though driven by demons. Bass-driven riffs and slashing guitar attacks complemented Toms' vocals which mix parody, disdain and menace. As the set progressed they dispensed with the confines of the stage and wheeled into the crowd in various manic contortions.

By the time they played their final song - new track ‘Pigs in Blankets’ - they were in full flow, projecting a raw intensity and deranged abandon; a compelling live act. With their thunderously heavy riffs, devilishly catchy hooks and lyrical malice they purr like a cat, albeit a ferocious scratch-happy one.

Three inspiring bands playing music devoid of pretension and anything approximating compromise. Further evidence of the vibrant, bubbling underground scene.

Guitar music is dead? Bollox.

As I sat in an overly packed train from Edinburgh to Glasgow I was wondering if everybody else was going to see Karnivool and TesseracT at The Garage like me, especially since the majority of the people on my carriage looked like music fans. I only realised when I got off the train in Glasgow that Queens Of The Stone Age, Arcade Fire and Hayseed Dixie were all playing gigs in Glasgow that night as well! This worried me a bit as that’s some big competition to get people to come to your show. Luckily when I walked through the doors of The Garage it became clear that the majority of prog metalheads couldn’t be bothered with any of the other big names as there was a big crowd waiting to give Karnivool a warm welcome for their 4th visit to Scotland.

Opening the night was TesseracT, an English ‘djent’ prog metal band who I admittedly only knew by name and not be music. Seeing their tight live set though made me realise I need to make up for this as they played a solid set of, from what I understood, old and new material. It was good to see a huge number of TesseracT shirts in the crowd, singing along with most of the songs, confirming TesseracT’s status as a big band on the British prog metal scene.    

TesseracT

Then it was Karnivool’s turn. This is a band from Perth, Australia so they travelled quite a distance to get to Glasgow as part of their European tour to promote new album Asymmetry. I’ve followed this band for years now and I’ve always been very impressed with their blend of progressive metal, at times drawing comparisons to Tool. The new album has received mainly positive, but also slightly mixed reviews in the press and chatting to some fans before the gig also made apparent that Asymmetry is not the fan’s favourite Karnivool release.

They kicked their set off with two tracks taken of Asymmetry, ‘The Last Few’ (preceded by the short intro track ‘Amusia’) and ‘A.M. War’, before they played a trio of older songs, ‘Themata’, ‘Goliath’ and ‘Simple Boy’, and it was clear from the crowd reaction that these are among the fan’s favourites. It was hard not to see a person not singing along with the lyrics. The sound at this stage had turned slightly better as well. It was a loud gig, but from where I was standing I could hear everything fine and especially Ian Kenny’s vocals were clearly present in the mix. Also the backing vocals by both guitarists Drew Goddard and Mark Hosking were present quite clearly. The sound was quite bass heavy which wasn’t very surprising seeing Jon Stockman plucking away on various 6-string bass guitars. Drummer Steve Judd showed his many muscles behind the drum kit, hitting each piece of his kit as if it was his last gig ever. 

After this trio of oldies, Karnivool got back into the new album material with ‘Eidolon’, with guitarist Mark Hosking showing off his skills as a xylophone player as well, before they played ‘All I Know’ of previous album Sound Awake. The band was visibly enjoying themselves, being impressed with the Scottish crowd and Ian Kenny admitting to his liking of the Scottish accent. At this point he also announced the new album Asymmetry under loud applause (so there must be plenty of fans there really liking the new album as well!), and they dived into ‘Sky Machine’ of said album with special guest drummer Jay Postones of TesseracT.

Karnivool

The rest of set consisted of ‘We Are’, ‘The Refusal’, ‘Set Fire to the Hive’ and ‘Aeons’, before the band had a little break and came back for two more songs as encore, ‘Alpha Omega’ taken of Asymmetry and a cracking version of ‘New Day’, one of my favourite tracks on Sound Awake.

I really enjoyed Karnivool’s set and it was great to see them play the new songs mixed with older favourites. The new material definitely works great in a live setting and fits well combined with the older songs. It was very worthwhile commuting to Glasgow for and to travel back in an overpacked train again listening to people talking about Queens Of The Stone Age and Arcade Fire. 

Weeknight shows can be a rough time for a touring band without a big following. Recently, some friends of mine in a band brought up a couple of very, very talented bands from Oklahoma to play two shows in the area. The first show was almost completely dead, so much so that it convinced a fairly prominent member of our local scene, who had been debating retiring from playing live, to finally call it quits. The second was slightly better (and was given good reviews by JJ from The Obelisk), but both touring acts deserved far better than they got.

Such was the case at JJ’s Tavern on November 14^th, when LA’s Blaak Heat Shujaa and NYC’s Mirror Queen came to town with local support from Odds of Eden and The Nice Try. JJ’s draws a pretty good crowd on Fridays and Saturdays, but this Thursday night show drew less than ten people. Perhaps it was the lack of promotion (I found out about the show a week before it happened), perhaps it was simply that Blaak Heat Shujaa and Mirror Queen aren’t big enough names to draw on a weeknight. In any case, this was a show that more people should have seen.

The Nice Try was advertised as containing members of Dinosaur Jr. and The Unband. Both bands are too far outside of my niche to recognize their members’ names – and the names of The Nice Try’s members don’t match up with anyone I can find who was in either band, though their frontman didn’t use his real name – but their brand of punk-tinged rock ‘n’ roll certainly sounds like it would have been popular with 90’s college students. Citing influences such as Alice Cooper, David Bowie, Sex Pistols, and “anything with Andy Beresky” (meaning Palace in Thunderland and Black Pyramid), they bashed out a pretty quick set of short, driving tunes meant to get people moving. Had there been more than a few people in the venue, they might have succeeded; while I didn’t find them very impressive at first, as their set progressed I was quickly able to see the appeal and began to have more fun; the performances were tight (though marred by some technical difficulties), the musicianship was there, and frontman “Live Damage” had plenty of energy and charisma. The Nice Try might not make music that I would actively seek out, but they are certainly good at what they do.

Performing next were Odds of Eden, who brought with them a very vocal group of female fans, at least one of whom was frontman Jay Tarrant’s wife. The first notes of their poppy Sum 41-meets-Maroon 5 alternative rock made it very easy to see why they were so popular with these ladies, but their set just left me cold. As with The Nice Try, there was nothing wrong with their musicianship or their performance, but where The Nice Try made music I could get a bit into even if it wasn’t for me, Odds of Eden reminded me of two bands – Maroon 5 and Sum 41 – I actively hate. Still, I can’t fault them for finding their sound and sticking to it. They won’t win me over by following this musical path, but they shouldn’t change to impress anyone and I don’t expect them to.

Mirror Queen, however, won me over almost immediately. The Brooklyn quartet – including a western MA native in drummer Jeremy O’Brien – mixes Deep Purple and Thin Lizzy with a light-but-noticeable touch of Pink Floyd psychedelia, and the combination had The Nice Try guitarist Kurt Fedora losing his mind, if his vocal outbursts of amazement were any indication. This is a band that just flat-out knows how to kick ass, basing their sound on heavy, headbangable riffs from the guitar duo of Kenny Kreisor (also the frontman) and Phil Ortanez, and punctuated with harmonized leads, spacey atmospherics, and a few odd-time prog bits for good measure. A winning combination if there ever was one, delivered with energy and enthusiasm to spare, and capped off with a ripping cover of Iron Maiden’s ‘Phantom of the Opera’ (bassist James Corallo gets a pretty good Steve Harris-y tone out of his Rickenbacker, too). It’s a shame there weren’t more there to witness it, but they definitely left Florence having gained a few fans.

However, if anyone could top Mirror Queen’s incredible set, it was Blaak Heat Shujaa, the band I came to see and whose newest album The Edge of an Era is one of my favorites of the year. They did not disappoint, as their entrancing take on psychedelic desert rock proved to be just as impressive live as on record, if not more so. Imagine Al Cisneros writing songs with Kyuss, and you have the general idea of what Blaak Heat Shujaa are about; hypnotic bass grooves and spacey, reverb-drenched Middle Eastern-esque melodies make up the main portion of the band’s sound, but the band has more than enough hard-hitting stoner riffs to go around as well. Bassist Antoine Morel-Vulliez is part Cisneros and part Justin Chancellor, and his penchant for beautiful, melodic bass drones is arguably the biggest factor that puts Blaak Heat Shujaa in an echelon above many other modern psych bands. As a bassist myself, I may be biased as hell when I say that – and my comments should not be interpreted as a dismissal of guitarist/frontman Thomas Bellier or drummer Mark Amster, who are both very, very good at what they do – but a first listen of ‘Land of the Freaks, Home of the Brave’ or either part of ‘The Beast’ (though preferably both) will quickly reveal my reasoning behind such comments.

Blaak Heat Shujaa certainly left an impression on the people who saw them there that night, but the crowd they deserved was not the crowd they got. Such is the plight of the touring band, especially when the average fan has to get up for work the next morning. Getting a band to the point where this no longer poses a problem requires talent, dedication, and a willingness to spend a long time getting little reward for a lot of hard work, and even with all of those things, there’s still plenty of luck involved. Blaak Heat Shujaa and Mirror Queen definitely have those first two things, and based on the fact that they showed up and kicked ass despite the small crowd, I’m willing to bet they have the third as well. The fourth – luck – is a bitch, but if they perform every night like they did at JJ’s, then I’m willing to bet the cards will fall their way.

There are gigs that you go to, note ‘oh yeah, they played this, this and this, was cool’. And then there are gigs that become life-changing experiences. So far with me and A Place To Bury Strangers it’s been the latter. It might sound a tiny bit of an over the top statement, however the first time I saw them perform live (at the 1-2-3-4 Shoreditch Festival in 2009) I had absolutely no idea who they were and as the gig went on I was falling more and more in love with what I was hearing. As soon as I left the festival, I added them to my ‘favourite bands ever’ list - which for a music lover is a life changing event. I got completely addicted to the noise coming from my headphones and I cannot explain why it took me so long to see them live again.

I got to The Shacklewell Arms on a cold Sunday evening, running like a bit of a mad person from work via a constructive yet brief music focused meeting. I was running slightly late and as soon as I entered, I reminded myself of the beauty of small independent venues: the guy on the door was standing there with a pen, flicvking throigh what looked like good 6 pages of people’s names, ticking them off and scribbling something undecipherable on our arms with the aforementioned biro.

The life changing element of the gig at The Shacklewell Arms began as soon as I finally entered the room and caught the last few songs from The Lucid Dream. Their enveloping, somewhat melancholic, soft psychedelic tunes set the mood beautifully. They proved why they earned the title of masters of reverb epicness when they finished on a gloriously never ending, captivating progressive improv. A visit to their bandcamp page followed shortly afterwards.

Soon afterwards Bambara took to the stage and yet again I got swept off my feet. They started off with looping murmurs and screams and soon the vocal followed and it was that kind of vocal that’s drenched in noise and you don’t mind that all you can hear is a husky mumble, it’s that kind of a mumble that hits the spot. Bambara’s charisma was infectious. Reid Bateh, the vocalist and guitarist, would fall down on his knees to loop his voice on two sets of pedals and then punch them with full strength to create a rhythm. There was a tribal vibe to their music that reminded me of HEALTH, but on guitars. The lighting was staged dramatically and alternated between the usual dark colours and flashes of bright light that underlined the shoutier parts of songs. Utterly mesmerising. Once again, a band that I knew nothing of before entered my ‘I need to see them as many times as I can’ list.

Then A Place To Bury Strangers came on and in all honesty, I don’t know how to find words to describe what we all experienced. You know the gigs whenyou come back and recap ‘they played this, this and this, it was good?’ - this one was nothing like that. Yes, they played songs that were meant to be played, yes, there were highlights, like ‘You Are the One’ and ‘Dead Beat’, they even performed one of the Dead Moon covers, which is a rare occurrence. We were all there for the music  because we all knew and loved it, so this time around the substance very rightfully got taken over by the form. Everyone I asked about the gig afterwards has a vague memory of the songs themselves, but the experience was life-changingly one of a kind.

The moment they took to the stage, the smoke machines went off and the sound the band started to create can only be described as a hypnotic wall of noise.  There were no lights going off, no gimmicks. Just the three guys on stage and us, completely taken by what was unravelling in front of our eyes. And the noise was pouring onto us from the speakers, along with the smoke creating an enveloping, soft blanket. Everything you dream of seeing at a rock gig happened - Dion Lunadon walked with his bass right into the crowd and jumped around for a bit. Dion and Oliver Ackerman played their respective guitars in perfect harmony and behind the thicker and thicker smoke swapped them for a song or two. The cloud surrounding us was getting more and more dense. The noise kept hypnotising. At some point Dion took his bass and hit it against the stage a few times. It lay there for the rest of the night, while he grabbed another one. And then, all of a sudden, the epic finale came upon us. The noise progressed majestically, drenched in reverb. The smoke machines wouldn’t stop and soon we were all in a cloud so thick I could hardly see my hand in front of me. It was the most extraordinary multi-sensory act I ever came across. If I closed my eyes, I couldn’t see anything, but opening them wouldn’t help much. I’ve lost the sense of orientation, all I could still feel was the noise that kept coming from every direction. We all stood there, completely overcome, until it all stopped. And yes, I believe I can say with no exaggeration, after this epic performance no gig will ever feel the same.

This should have been, I think, Kwoon’s gig. They are the touring band, over from France for their first ever Scottish show, and the main reason for me being here. I’ve been waiting a long time to see Kwoon. A very long time.

But.

Their position as headliner has been usurped, it would appear, by Billy Ray Osiris. The Edinburgh/Glasgow based 5-man improv noise terrorists and their label, Good Grief, are using this gig to launch their new cassette EP, Tentacles of Doom. And why not? However, a vague but ambitious idea has acquired an unstoppable momentum, and has turned a convenient marketing opportunity into an EVENT. Yes. An upper case EVENT. More of which later.

First, a quick note regarding the topography of Bar Bloc for those of you unfamiliar with its layout. This information is significant, but not vital. You can skip if you want.

Bloc is a pub. It is divided, by a few steps and a timber balustrade, into two parts – the bar area and a raised area for band and audience. Both areas are more or less the same size. The raised area is big enough for the band, sound desk and perhaps 40 or 50 spectators. Bear this in mind.

But first, our opening act. Jonathan Snee, a solo singer/songwriter with an acoustic guitar. Looks a bit like an angry tattooed Jesus. Which is a bit ironic, really, as he sings passionately sad songs about ‘love and death in a godless universe’. I have the impression that Snee and Jesus (and his Dad) would find little common ground. Anyway, Snee sings well and plays well, and stamps his feet hard. Fine stuff.

So. Kwoon. Please bear in mind, here, that I love Kwoon. I’m here to see Kwoon. It’ll take a fuck-up of enormous proportions for me to give Kwoon a bad review.

Doesn’t happen.

Kwoon play a 60 minute set of glorious post-rock infused songs. Songs with proper words. Songs with gentle, delicate passages, tremolo guitars and swelling crescendos, front-man Sandy’s wispy, breathy vocals complementing all perfectly. They play songs from all three of their albums. They play ‘Schizophrenic’. They play a trio of ‘Wark, ‘Emily Was a Queen’ and ‘Last Trip of a Drunken Man’ from The Guillotine Show. They play an utterly, utterly gorgeous pairing of ‘I Lived on the Moon’ and ‘Blue Melody’ from their 2006 debut, Tales and Dreams. I’m 54 years old, with a shaved head and tattoos, and ‘I Lived on the Moon’ actually brings me to tears, and I’m not ashamed to admit it (it’s 2 days later, as I write this, and I’m still swooning like some dopey fangirl as I remember those two…). ‘Great Escape’ next, and then the epic instrumental finale of ‘Aryon Norya’, ten minutes of jaw-dropping joy, from its truly beautiful opening passage to its colossal soaring climax.

Kwoon’s crowd is, perhaps, a little sparse, and that’s a shame, but the applause they get is genuine and enthusiastic. Rarely, for me at least, has an hour passed so quickly and so perfectly.

And so. The EVENT.

Billy Ray Osiris (hereafter referred to as BRO, because I’m inherently lazy) are, usually, a five-piece, improvisational noise-rock band. Tonight, however, they are appearing as the Billy Ray Orkestra (also BRO, conveniently), having recruited members of Young Philadelphia, Thin Privilege, Shudder and Johnathan Snee. There are thirteen of them. Four drummers. Seven guitars. One bass. One lap-steel. A wall of amps. They fill the upper level of Bloc. Completely. This is going to be special, one way or another.

And so it is.

It’s hard to describe exactly what happens next. BRO is everywhere. The lighting is sporadic, mostly dark, and there’s a fair bit of smoke in the air. A din of tuning noises gradually coalesces into something more coherent, and they have started. Guitarist Hamish Black seems to be directing things with hand gestures, glances and nods. The four drummers – and please bear in mind here that they have only rehearsed this once – are MOSTLY keeping up with each other, and everything else develops into a pulsing, throbbing, kraut-rockish kind of beast. There isn’t any real melody to it, it’s all noise and rhythm. It’s a work in three movements, titled ‘Alienating Half the Audience (2 into 4 into 8)/Wet Wet Wet Tape/Satanic Desmond Tutu'. It’s a bruising and bewildering thing, and it is actually quite awesome.

Snapshots:

Drummer Stewart McLachlan punching his drums.

Guitarist Hamish primal screaming.

Guitarist Niall Sinclair smashing his face into the wall of amps.

Lap steel man Jonathan Snee flailing his instrument around his head and shoulders.

Drummer Sean Campbell carrying a floor tom around like someone from a marching band.

Guitarist David Scott lying on the floor clutching his head.

Drummer Grant Donaldson stabbing one of his drums to death with a drumstick.

Bassist Stewart Allan throwing down his bass and kicking it across the floor.

And then it’s over, a half hour holocaust of feral noise ending on one final Hamish Black scream and a single drum beat. I have no idea how they managed to keep it all together, but they did, more or less. The audience down in the bar area seem to be unsure of what they have just seen. The applause is a mix of wild enthusiasm and confused politeness. BRO look shattered, heads down and instruments just dropped to the floor. There is a lot of sweat. Me? I’m grinning.

After it’s all done, I overhear Hamish describing the show as his ‘most cathartic ever’ and, yes, I can believe that. Witnessing it was an experience to savour, so what it was like to take part in I can only guess. But ‘cathartic’ sounds about right.

So, whichever band is, was, or should have been the headliner, this is unquestionably one of the finest gigs I have been to this year. Kwoon were devastating and beautiful, BRO were devastating and ugly. I now have an 80 mile drive home, and I won’t get to bed until 3:00am, but I’d do it again. Right now.

From the moment I walked through the doors of Edinburgh’s Queen's Hall, it was clear that tonight’s gig was going to be an intimate one. Soft warm lights, rows of chairs where usually the standing area is and a stage with a minimal set-up. No big drums, no big amps, but instead a good selection of acoustic and electric guitars, a couple of small amps, a cello and a violin. And a microphone for Mark Lanegan of course.

Opening tonight’s procedures was Fred Lyenn, a singer/songwriter from Belgium who has British origins. He only played a short set of 4 songs, but he played these songs beautifully, getting everybody’s attention with his angelic voice and wonderful guitar playing. Next up was another solo set by Duke Garwood, who was given slightly more time to play his set, which didn’t come as a surprise since Duke released a great album with Mark Lanegan earlier this year on Ipecac Records/Heavenly Recordings.  I had never seen this singer/songwriter from London before, but he totally amazed me with his at times slight distorted bluesy guitar sound and voice.

Then it was Mark Lanegan’s turn and it was great to see both support acts be part of Mark’s band with Lyenn playing bass and occasionally guitar and Duke Garwood playing the bass clarinet and occasionally some guitar. Mark's band was further made up of another guitarist, a cellist and a violinist. Mark came on stage under loud applause proving his huge popularity with the fans and the band kicked off with ‘War Memorial’, taken of the already mentioned new album recorded with Duke Garwood called Black Pudding. Mark Lanegan doesn’t need a big band or loud drums, and big amps behind him as the strongest weapon is his warm, gravelly baritone voice. He is single-handedly able to draw everybody’s attention and mesmerise the whole audience. His voice is so deep and gravelly, it would embarrass a quarry. Four more songs of Black Pudding were played, namely ‘Mescalito’, ‘Cold Molly’, ‘Driver’ and ‘Pentacostal’, before they played the apparent crowd pleaser ‘When Your Number Isn’t Up’

An additional two older songs were played, ‘The Cherry Tree Carol’ and ‘The Gravedigger’s Song’ before they played a string of songs of the latest album Imitations, ‘Pretty Colors’, ‘Mack the Knife’, ‘You Only Live Twice’ and a beautiful version of ‘Solitaire’. Without giving much context the band started playing the opening chords of late Lou Reed’s ‘Satellite of Love’, resulting in a thunderous applause giving most people a little shiver. This was a very memorable moment putting it into context of Lou Reed’s recent passing away. Mark and band followed this by playing ‘One Hundred Days’ and ‘On Jesus’ Program’ before taking the shortest interval ever (literally a minute) to come back and play ‘Bombed’ and a brilliant version of ‘Halo of Ashes’, originally recorded by Mark’s old band The Screaming Trees.

This was a very intimate gig indeed and under a standing ovation Mark thanked the audience and left the stage. He sang beautifully tonight with a great selection of old and more recent material. He is not a man who addresses the crowd very much besides a quick introduction of his band an occasional thank you. He did however take the time to meet every single fan afterwards having photos taken and signing plenty of sold vinyls, CDs and posters. What a legend!

Last weekend a special thing happened. Three bands all associated with the label Sargent House rolled into Glasgow over two separate nights/venues. We recently reviewed the first gig featuring Russian Circles and Chelsea Wolfe (see the review here). I was also lucky enough to catch the second event, Deafheaven at Stereo in Glasgow.

This was my third time seeing the San Francisco band having reviewed them also back in May (read review of that gig here). This was the best gig yet though and great to see them headline to a sold out crowd. Further proof of their upward trajectory, considering it's only a year since they were supporting Russian Circles in the very same venue.

When I last saw them Sunbather was yet to be released, although there were snippets of what was to come. Circumstances were different then and a lot of those attending were maybe curious rather than totally sold. The band perhaps were still at the stage where although confident in Sunbather had yet to release it to what was widespread acclaim.

This time pretty much the entire album was run through from start to finish. Performed impeccably in a sweaty mess of heat and heaving bodies. Not often do the words "perfect" apply to a gig, but this was as close as it gets.

With a settled line up the tightness and cohesion was apparent, and while the country was getting battered by winds outside, Deafheaven unleashed a shitstorm on us gathered inside. George Clarke providing a lot of the focal point, eye's filled with menace and those seething vocals. At times even jumping in the front row to lietrally dance with those gathered, not to mention a bit of crowd surfing too.

Truth is though everybody excelled and were on top form. Last time I was left totally blown away by drummer Dan Tracy. So much so I put him in the top three drummers I've witnessed live. Again he proved that wasn't a knee-jerk reaction, displaying devastating power and precision. He could really do a cymbal endorsement however as lumps were knocked out of them again. Kerry McCoy and Shiv reeled off all those glorious Sunbather riffs and melodies with clarity and apparent ease. Stephen Lee Clarke looked like he was very as much fun as us while pummelling out bass riffs. McCoy, really wouldn't be out of place on a huge arena stage with the quality and performance he puts in. I was left slack jawed as the solo part on 'Vertigo's long intro was played with total ease. Just one of many moments really in basically a run through of probably my favourite album of the year. Often during quieter moments I expected the odd bit of jeering or someone unable to shut up as often happens. Not so, I think both from eagerness to experience those sweet melodies and general stunned silence.

Collectively they floored what was a mixed crowd of denim clad metal heads, indie kids and bearded post-whatever gazers. Not to mention an apparent watching Simon Neil of Scottish rockers Biffy Clyro (although unconfirmed). The night was a triumph all round, a sold out show restoring faith in taste. Also justification they deserve to be regarded so highly. No matter what "hype" is out there Deafheaven are proving they've got the talent and performances to back it all up. And then some, when they next visit I anticipate even bigger venues and crowds. Personally I can't fucking wait.

November the 1st is my wedding anniversary. We have been married for 5 years, so traditionally that calls for a gift of wood. Half a year ago it was announced Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds was playing a gig in Edinburgh’s Usher Hall on that same day. It was also my wife who just over 10 years ago got me hooked on Nick Cave’s back catalogue of music and I’ve been following his career ever since. Usher Hall has plenty of wood in it, I bought the tickets.

I had seen Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds once before, on November 24th in 2004 in Amsterdam, when they were promoting the Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus double album. This was pretty much a perfect gig that is still in my top 5 of all-time favourite gigs. Edinburgh’s Usher Hall is practically made for a band such as Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. It is a huge round concert building and the acoustics are near perfect, so the sound was no doubt going to be of high quality.

Opening the procedures was support act Shilpa Ray, who has released music with bands before (Beat the Devil and more recently the Happy Hookers), but tonight she was performing solo. This must have been quite a daunting task as Usher Hall is huge and the stage is massive. I only caught a couple of songs of her set, which were hard to hear on the account of the majority of the crowd talking loudly through it. Shilpa Ray performed some impressive songs with the only musical instrument accompanying her vocals being the Indian harmonium.

A short break later the stage was ready for Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. When they came on stage the crowd received them with a loud applause and they kicked in the opening track of the latest album Push the Sky Away called ‘ We No Who U R’, which got followed by one of the best tracks of the new album, ‘Jubilee Street’. It was clear from these opening two songs that Nick Cave was in good spirits, taking up most of the space on that huge stage, walking around, singing beautifully and clearly and looking for crowd interactions. They played a couple of older songs  (‘Midnight Man’, ‘Tupelo’ and ‘Red Right Hand’) before playing another song of the latest album ‘Mermaids’.

We got treated to a whole bunch of older tracks again, which all went down fantastically with the audience. Whilst playing ‘From Her To Eternity’, ‘Stranger Than Kindness’, Nick Cave played with his audience, walking from one side of the stage to the other, always leaning into the crowd. Then his quieter side came out when he played breath-taking versions of ‘God is in the House’, ‘He Wants You’ and ‘Into My Arms’, giving the band a bit of breathing space. This got followed by a new song ‘Higgs Boson Blues’, to a point in the set when they played my all-time favourite Nick Cave song ‘The Mercy Seat’, which got followed by an amazing version of ‘Stagger Lee’. It really was brilliant stuff we were getting and everything just ticked all the boxes. The audience, the band, the sound with Nick’s powerful voice and the choice of songs they were playing.

Two more songs of Push the Sky Away were played, namely the title track and ‘We Real Cool’, before Nick Cave started asking the audience what they should play. So were treated to a trio of older classic songs, ‘Papa Won’t Leave You, Henry’, ‘Deanna’ and ‘Breathless’, before they played their last song of the night, a brand new one called ‘Give Us A Kiss’.

At this stage I realised that they had played well over 2 hours, including a a very short break after they played ‘Push the Sky Away’. And I think they could have played another 2 hours if they wanted to. Nick Cave seemed to have endless energy reserves and as far as I could tell the Bad Seeds weren’t giving anything in either.

Nick Cave is a true showman, a great artist and musician, a very fine poet and overall an amazing entertainer. His band The Bad Seeds seem to be on the top of their game as well at the moment, playing effortlessly for over 2 hours. Multi-instrumentalist Warren Ellis was orchestrating the rest of the band brilliantly while showcasing his vast musical abilities, playing the violin, guitar, flute, tenor guitar and some sort of miniature electric guitar, while the rest of the band steadily provided the rest of the well-oiled machine that is Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds.

I couldn’t have imagined a better way to celebrate my 5th wedding anniversary.