Crippled Black Phoenix @ Dingwalls, London. 14/9/09

It’s very busy in London tonight, gig-wise. There are at least 6 shows (that I know of) that I could happily be attending If I wasn’t at this one. I’m hoping this is the reason for the venue being painfully thin on punters. It still seems odd, especially as Crippled Black Phoenix (in spite of being English) are not a band who tour all that frequently. It’s a month shy of two years since their last London show. Hopefully the lack of bodies will not mean an atmosphere free evening.

The stage is just about big enough to hold the rather extended live setup of the band. As usual, there is a blend of the traditional acoustic strings mixed with a sizeable bank of electronics. As much as the strings get lost in the mix during the ear piercingly loud parts of the songs, the acoustic guitar and cello add some real beauty and melody to the quieter moments. They start strong, and the set seems to improve with every new track. It’s about as far from Post Rock by numbers as you can get, with songs that know when to end and plenty of vocals. Even the rather modest sized crowd get in on the act for a superb rendition of the choral parts of “Burnt Reynolds”. Loved it!

The Antlers @ The Lexington, London. 4/9/09

Sometimes music can be a bit of a paradox. The Antlers latest release (Hospice) is the most beautiful and uplifting record to be released this year. It’s also an album about someone close dying of cancer. After crafting the debut album on his own, Peter Silberman drafted in Michael Lerner (Drums) and Darby Cicci (Keyboards) to help with Hospice. At some point during the recording process they became fully fledged members of the band.

The finished record is an epic production, and one that takes on a whole new level of emotion charged rawness live. Tonight they are the opening act, regardless of the fact that most of the room is here to see them. The downside of this is that we are teased with a painfully short six song set. They start with a solid rendition of “Bear”, hampered by some dubious sound levels. By the time they start the second song (Thirteen) this has been rectified, and we are treated to some of the choice highlights of “Hospice” (although not playing “Kettering” is almost criminal). It would be almost impossible for them to replicate the high production values of the record on stage, but the raw sound only adds to the dynamics and atmospherics of the show – leaving the subject matter feeling even more urgent and hopeless. A blistering version of “Two” closes the set and, all too briefly, it’s over. Ears are ringing, emotions are wrought and jaws are on the floor. They are back in town at the end of Nov for some (hopefully longer) headline shows. Only a fool would miss out.

Monotonix @ Upstairs At The Relentless Garage, London. 24/8/09

The Garage has just reopened after undergoing a fairly extensive refurbishment. After spending so much on the modernisation, it seemed rather odd that they booked in the band most likely to trash the place. Hailing from Tel Aviv (and rumoured to be banned from playing any of its venues), Monotonix are an act that puts on quite a show. They forsake the stage completely and set up their gear a few feet in front of it. They are all dressed only in the tiniest shorts I have ever witnessed. What ensues is utter chaos. Within the first five minutes we have a singer playing a floor tom whilst crowdsurfing, a guitarist climbing the walls and a drummer covered in beer – and this is just them getting warmed up.

The music consists of some fairly heavy rock jams with the odd song thrown in for good measure, but the music really does come second to the theatrics, raw energy and crowd participation. Members of the audience are now holding the bass drum up in the air, with the singer standing atop of it, screaming at and mooning the audience (gives a whole new meaning to the Gaza strip). I’ve lost sight of the guitarist completely. The drummer looks about to drown in his own sweat. A photographer tries to get a close up of the singer. He beckons him closer and then spits on the camera lens. I’ve spotted the guitarist. He’s behind the bar! Suddenly an hour has passed, the music stops and normality is resumed. I leave exhausted, smiling and covered in sweat and beer.