Ok. I have to be honest. Up until the day before this show i had no idea there was even a venue in Leytonstone. This is even more of a suprise as it's only 10 minutes away from my house. The venue is not very full, which is hardly a shock as it took major detective skills to even find out where this show was happening in the first place.
Another night brings another New York band my way, but with relatively nothing in common with last night apart from geography. She Keeps Bees are much more of a blues laden affair. The origin of their name comes from the mother of singer Jessica Larrabee commenting on how when her daughters band makes it big, she can use the money to look after her. Hence she will be keeping the Larrabees in their twilight years. Yes, i know you didn't ask.
The show that the duo treat us to is short but sweet. Their latest release, Nests, comes in at under 30 minutes, so i suppose it's to be expected. Jessica makes the best she can of the rather sorry looking P.A. system to hit us with some raw steamy blues vocals and riffs, whilst drummer Andy keeps a solid backing to procedings. There is an energy and raw emotion to their performance which has, for me, not really been captured on their recorded work to date. It seems the more sparse the track, the higher the intensity. Minimal but beautiful.
Thursday, 27 August 2009
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart / Hatcham Social @ The Relentless Garage, London. 4/8/09
So, finally the refurbishment of The Garage has been completed and, as seems to be the trend around these parts, now has a sponsors branding plastered everywhere. It's only a matter of time until i end up going to see a show at the Bodyform Luminaire or suchlike.
The first band i catch tonight are Hatcham Social. They start the set in a seemingly haphazard manner, which leaves me rather bewildered, but soon get into their stride. for a London based band, they have a very North West England vibe about their sound. There is certainly an Echo & The Bunnymenesue undertone to the tunes, albeit a more quirky tilt. By the end of the set, i am interested in pursuing them further (and not in a staker like way - just to be clear).
New York has created so many buzz bands in the last few years and The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart are no exception. I managed to catch their rather splendid set at Primavera this year, so i have some fairly lofty expectations for tonights show. Their debut album is certainly one of the catchiest debuts i've encountered since The Stone Roses hit the scene, and there are even some hints of the Manchester lads in the rhythm sections laid back beats. Add some shoegaze era fuzz into the mix and some uptempo keyboards and you have a most pleasant noisepop cocktail. It's also a pleasure to see a band having fun on stage and still keeping things tight. Overall, a solid performance of a great debut album.
The first band i catch tonight are Hatcham Social. They start the set in a seemingly haphazard manner, which leaves me rather bewildered, but soon get into their stride. for a London based band, they have a very North West England vibe about their sound. There is certainly an Echo & The Bunnymenesue undertone to the tunes, albeit a more quirky tilt. By the end of the set, i am interested in pursuing them further (and not in a staker like way - just to be clear).
New York has created so many buzz bands in the last few years and The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart are no exception. I managed to catch their rather splendid set at Primavera this year, so i have some fairly lofty expectations for tonights show. Their debut album is certainly one of the catchiest debuts i've encountered since The Stone Roses hit the scene, and there are even some hints of the Manchester lads in the rhythm sections laid back beats. Add some shoegaze era fuzz into the mix and some uptempo keyboards and you have a most pleasant noisepop cocktail. It's also a pleasure to see a band having fun on stage and still keeping things tight. Overall, a solid performance of a great debut album.
Tuesday, 4 August 2009
Field Day 09 @ Victoria Park , London. 1/8/09
The first Field Day in 07 was a logistical nightmare, with toilet and bar queues that seemed to go on forever. It also suffered from some of the worst sound bleed i've ever encountered. No, that's not a dance remix comng from Laura Marling. It's an unintentional mashup of two stages. The weather was nice, though, but not a lot else. It was the first festival of this size that the promoters had put on, and it showed.
First Aid Kit kick things off. The Swedish folk siblings play a harmonious set, with a cover of Fleet Foxes (Tiger Mountain Peasant Song) thrown in for good measure, which is quite apt as they are the first act to come to mind whilst listening to the sisters do their thing. Signed to Rabid Records (owned by The Knife), expect to hear a lot more about them when the album lands in the new year.
The main stage is already running late. Fanfarlo are supposed to be on, but there is no sign of them at all. I witness the last two tunes of a shambolic East London female choir (Gaggle), before stumbling across who i assume is King Charles (set times seem to already be a very rough estimate). Looking like a Mighty Boosh character who didn't make the final cut, King Charles is a sonic delight. Playing slide guitar with a mobile phone, he injects some badly needed energy into proceedings. We even get a Billy Joel cover for good measure. I am now officially awake.
Field Day 08 had addressed a lot of these concerns but suffered from torrential rain and what had to be the coldest temperatures the capitol had ever experienced during August.
It's for these reasons that the approach of the 09 festival filled me with apprehension , rather than excitement.
First Aid Kit kick things off. The Swedish folk siblings play a harmonious set, with a cover of Fleet Foxes (Tiger Mountain Peasant Song) thrown in for good measure, which is quite apt as they are the first act to come to mind whilst listening to the sisters do their thing. Signed to Rabid Records (owned by The Knife), expect to hear a lot more about them when the album lands in the new year.The main stage is already running late. Fanfarlo are supposed to be on, but there is no sign of them at all. I witness the last two tunes of a shambolic East London female choir (Gaggle), before stumbling across who i assume is King Charles (set times seem to already be a very rough estimate). Looking like a Mighty Boosh character who didn't make the final cut, King Charles is a sonic delight. Playing slide guitar with a mobile phone, he injects some badly needed energy into proceedings. We even get a Billy Joel cover for good measure. I am now officially awake.
Fanfarlo have finally decided to grace us with an appearance. There is some kind of apology about having to break into their rehersal space to get their instruments, but the wait has been worth it. We are treated to a fairly faultless set of highlights from the debut album, Reservoir. It's the perfect soundtrack to the summer, and seems to be holding off the rain - for now.
After a swift visit to the bar (warm Red Stripe - yummy!), it's back to the main stage to check out the electronic tinkering of Errors. It's a solid set and my focus is such that it's not until they finish that I become fully conscious of the rain falling around me. At least it's fairly light, for now. Plugs fill the gap until Final Fantasy make it out on to the main stage. What was one of my most anticipated acts turned out to be a low key affair, with a set mainly featuring new material. Maybe it wasn't the perfect environment, but it did not hold my interest at all.
The XX are about to make an appearance in the excruciatingly tiny Bloggers Delight tent, so i head over there to see what all the hype is about. Their set is an uninspiring offering. The stage sound is so low that the band members are struggling to be heard over the chattering scenesters crammed inside the tarpaulin. You can hear some resemblance of tunes, but bad sound and a charisma free performance last the whole set long. Maybe the rain is not just dampening the grass, as things go from bad to worse. Micachu fails to impress, Juana Molina seems more interested in finding a way to kill the guy doing her stage sound, Little Boots is just as soulless and contrived as you would imagine and The Big Pink destroy any positives from their energetic performance by not really having the tunes to back it up.
I catch a few minutes of a lively and well received Mumford And Sons set before heading back into the quagmire that has become the main stage, where Santigold fianlly adds some professionalism to the wet afternoon. Arriving on stage just as the rain finally dies off (or as they call it, technical difficulties), we are treated to all the songs that made her debut album such a pleasure last summer, as well as a rather fine rendition of Killing An Arab by The Cure.
James Yorkston helps keep things back on track with a solid set, in spite of the heavy drinking of his band, and it's only fair that another Scot gets me warmed up nicely for the main event.
The sun has set, the rain has stopped and Mogwai have arrived to deliver a collection of tunes that totally underlines the reason why they are headlining this festival. Ignored by the Mercury awards panel, The Hawk Is Howling may not be their best album, but it's still miles ahead of anything on this years shortlist. It's time to show all the new pretenders here today how it's done. Epic instrumentals fill Victoria Park and make the warm beer and cold mud worth it. Witnessing something this brilliant feels like a reward for perseverance.
The XX are about to make an appearance in the excruciatingly tiny Bloggers Delight tent, so i head over there to see what all the hype is about. Their set is an uninspiring offering. The stage sound is so low that the band members are struggling to be heard over the chattering scenesters crammed inside the tarpaulin. You can hear some resemblance of tunes, but bad sound and a charisma free performance last the whole set long. Maybe the rain is not just dampening the grass, as things go from bad to worse. Micachu fails to impress, Juana Molina seems more interested in finding a way to kill the guy doing her stage sound, Little Boots is just as soulless and contrived as you would imagine and The Big Pink destroy any positives from their energetic performance by not really having the tunes to back it up.
I catch a few minutes of a lively and well received Mumford And Sons set before heading back into the quagmire that has become the main stage, where Santigold fianlly adds some professionalism to the wet afternoon. Arriving on stage just as the rain finally dies off (or as they call it, technical difficulties), we are treated to all the songs that made her debut album such a pleasure last summer, as well as a rather fine rendition of Killing An Arab by The Cure.
James Yorkston helps keep things back on track with a solid set, in spite of the heavy drinking of his band, and it's only fair that another Scot gets me warmed up nicely for the main event.
The sun has set, the rain has stopped and Mogwai have arrived to deliver a collection of tunes that totally underlines the reason why they are headlining this festival. Ignored by the Mercury awards panel, The Hawk Is Howling may not be their best album, but it's still miles ahead of anything on this years shortlist. It's time to show all the new pretenders here today how it's done. Epic instrumentals fill Victoria Park and make the warm beer and cold mud worth it. Witnessing something this brilliant feels like a reward for perseverance.
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