Double whammy (well, sort of!)
Friday night's events kept me busy as I ended up at two gigs, which is probably not that big a deal for you young folk, but it's along time since I've been able to do that in Belfast! Enough about me and more about the music.
First up was the early Common Grounds show by three-fifths of Julip which was low-key, intimate and really lovely. The bigger band utilises the rhythm section from Tracer AMC but tonight's trio is Barry Peak on acoustic guitar and vocals, Johnny Ashe from Tracer on guitar and Niall Harden on various guitars. If you haven't encountered them yet their sound is centred around the post-Backwater/ Torgas Valley Reds songs of Barry which have a more countrified, downbeat feel to them. This new line-up colours these in with plenty of guitar trickery. It has a slight country folk feel, and a healthy touch of shoegaze style bliss-out, and it is all good! Some great new songs here too (check the myspace) with only the overlooked 'Appalachia' surviving from the past.
A few streets away in Lavery's Bunker things get a lot louder for Giveamanakick and
Desert Hearts. It's been such a long time since I last saw Desert Hearts that I've missed a change of drummer, an additional guitarist and by all accounts a mightily impressive beard. The latter two have gone for tonight so it's really a fairly familiar sight - the return of the power trio if you like! There's quite a lot of old material, a lot of the set is great and just crackling with energy as always. If you insist on putting regional labels on music, then this lot have been responsible for the best ever two-album run in local music history ('Let's Get Worse' and 'Hotsy Totsy Nagasaki'). If you can suggest a better one then please comment!! It's perhaps a bit depressing to see them play second on the bill in a half empty Bunker, but I really enjoyed seeing them again.
I am completely in the dark about GIveamanakick apart from the fact that they hail from Limerick and they are a duo. They are a guitar and drums two-piece and I initially thought they were going to be like Lightning Bolt as they started the first few songs with the mic-in -a-mask set up favoured by the Bolt. Giveamanakick are a lot more conventional though - short and punky and owing a lot to American hardcore of the early 90s. Some of their tunes reminded me of early Lemonheads or All but because i wasn't familiar with the material it washed over me a bit. The audience participation song was fun.
After such excitement i went home early because I'm getting on you know!
GIG REPORT: The Winding Stair/ When Pilots Eject/ Tom McShane, Belfast Empire, 14th June 2007
GIG REPORT: The Winding Stair/ When Pilots Eject/ Tom McShane, Belfast Empire, 14th June 2007
In an attempt to address the lack of music from Northern Ireland on this site (* I am from N.Ireland therefore I kinda feel guilty about this!) I went along to this eclectic line-up at the Empire in Belfast. I was really here to see Tom McShane as it had been ages since I saw him on stage. I was slightly concerned that his music may get lost or drowned out in the large venue, bit I needn't have worried. The crowd stayed quiet and listened to the subtle quiet opener so it was obvious a lot of them knew what to expect. Strangely enough I the rest of the set was more uptempo and noisier than I expected, some really strong tunes too.
I was hugely impressed with When Pilots Eject. I had had caught the end of one of their shows a while ago and I always mean to check them out, and tonight's show was really impressive. Their mix of laptop electronica and shoegazeness just hit the right spot for me, and they had some stunning visuals too.
The Winding Stair finish off proceedings as tonight is their Glastonbury warm-up. It's mightily impressive that they have been asked to play this year's Glastonbury whilst unsigned and still pretty new to the live scene. With cello, violin and acoustic guitar backing up a strong female vocal they play an eerie modern celtic folk music. Unfortunately they didn't do a lot for me, and I really didn't like their cover of Massive Attack's 'Unfinished Sympathy', but it was my first encounter with them and I never write anyone off after a first listen. The only song I actually liked was the one that was just vocals and bodhran, so maybe I have issues with the instrumentation? Who knows. Folk music and me don't always get on (although I like a lot of it I cannot stand Richard Thompson for instance!), but for me the blissed-out electronica of When Pilots Eject was what did it for me tonight.
In an attempt to address the lack of music from Northern Ireland on this site (* I am from N.Ireland therefore I kinda feel guilty about this!) I went along to this eclectic line-up at the Empire in Belfast. I was really here to see Tom McShane as it had been ages since I saw him on stage. I was slightly concerned that his music may get lost or drowned out in the large venue, bit I needn't have worried. The crowd stayed quiet and listened to the subtle quiet opener so it was obvious a lot of them knew what to expect. Strangely enough I the rest of the set was more uptempo and noisier than I expected, some really strong tunes too.
I was hugely impressed with When Pilots Eject. I had had caught the end of one of their shows a while ago and I always mean to check them out, and tonight's show was really impressive. Their mix of laptop electronica and shoegazeness just hit the right spot for me, and they had some stunning visuals too.
The Winding Stair finish off proceedings as tonight is their Glastonbury warm-up. It's mightily impressive that they have been asked to play this year's Glastonbury whilst unsigned and still pretty new to the live scene. With cello, violin and acoustic guitar backing up a strong female vocal they play an eerie modern celtic folk music. Unfortunately they didn't do a lot for me, and I really didn't like their cover of Massive Attack's 'Unfinished Sympathy', but it was my first encounter with them and I never write anyone off after a first listen. The only song I actually liked was the one that was just vocals and bodhran, so maybe I have issues with the instrumentation? Who knows. Folk music and me don't always get on (although I like a lot of it I cannot stand Richard Thompson for instance!), but for me the blissed-out electronica of When Pilots Eject was what did it for me tonight.
Peelness
I haven't forgotten about John Peel's Record Box, I've just put it on hold for a little while. Hopefully i will picking up where I left off very soon. [which is from here in case you can't find it in the menu!]
One thing this page lacks is a good links section, so I'm going to plug a few Peel driven blogs and sites right now. I am inspired to put up some of my own archives from the great man's shows over the years, I know I have many rare sessions tucked away in boxes on old cassettes.
Some Peel pages of note...
The Perfumed Garden Different archive session every week!
In Session Tonight This one makes good design use of the Peel graffiti in Belfast by the way.
Right Place, Right Time, Wrong Speed Some lengthy extracts from programmes from the 60s to 2003.
Kat's Karavan Some archive goodies here too.
The Yank Sizzler Inspired by Peel rather than a tribute to him as such, but some great music.
[I will do a links list soon, I promise]
I haven't forgotten about John Peel's Record Box, I've just put it on hold for a little while. Hopefully i will picking up where I left off very soon. [which is from here in case you can't find it in the menu!]
One thing this page lacks is a good links section, so I'm going to plug a few Peel driven blogs and sites right now. I am inspired to put up some of my own archives from the great man's shows over the years, I know I have many rare sessions tucked away in boxes on old cassettes.
Some Peel pages of note...
The Perfumed Garden Different archive session every week!
In Session Tonight This one makes good design use of the Peel graffiti in Belfast by the way.
Right Place, Right Time, Wrong Speed Some lengthy extracts from programmes from the 60s to 2003.
Kat's Karavan Some archive goodies here too.
The Yank Sizzler Inspired by Peel rather than a tribute to him as such, but some great music.
[I will do a links list soon, I promise]
GIG REVIEW: Fennesz and Mike Patton, Dublin the Village, 4th June 2007
When I first contemplated going to this gig my initial worry was about the Fennesz - Patton collaboration. None of their music has been recorded and, as I'm not a big fan of Mike Patton's various projects I was worried in case Fennesz's compositions might suffer. A quick web search put me at my ease, when I found some positive reviews and a couple of interesting youtube clips of their gigs.
The worry was only removed until I arrived at the venue to find the Faith No More fans out in force, and the chinstroking-massive taking a backseat. There was some alarming chat in the queue to get in as well - people wondering if Patton would do any FNM material. I mean, how big a fan are you?? Even I know he is working with much more left field music these days.
Inside on stage it is obviously going to be laptop electronica all the way. There are many support acts, which was good for me as I'm not from Dublin so i got a chance to be exposed to their scene in handy bite-size chunks. Apologies if I get the names and identities wrong here but no-one spoke from the stage all night so it was hard to follow.
I only caught the end of CHEQUERBOARD with JIMMY BEHAN but they seemed to be the mellowest of the three supports, pretty guitar lines and a fairly gentle take on electronica. The rockers I was standing with near the bar were aghast already. ZAKKER were up next and were more lively, with hints of Aphex Twin and especially Autechre's shifting rhythms, they got a bit techno and got some good beats going on. Finally, ZOID finished up the support section and I thought he fell a bit flat, some pleasant noodly guitar and some folkier influences, but not terribly memorable.
I watched all of these in a reasonably comfortable spot at the front, but the Patton fanclub soon descends in anticipation. Whatever way you look at it, even if you have got to grips with Fantomas and the Bjork collaboration, if you are a Mike Patton and you have never heard the music of Christian Fennesz you will be in shock - and some of them obviously are!
As far as I can tell, this partnership is rooted in Fennesz's music; he does his normal, often beautiful, post-MBV guitar and laptop manipulations, and Patton's impressive vocal dynamics propel it into a slightly different realm. The opening is quiet and spooked, Patton emitting some truncated yelps and Fennesz taking them somewhere ambient but haunted, not unlike his live Ep with Ryuchi Sakamoto. The main body of the set is one huge piece, which is probably a bit too long, but still pretty impressive although at times you do forget that Patton is there such is the presence of Fennesz, staring unblinking into his macbook.
The duo really gel on the second piece which ends the set, Patton whooping and screaming, swapping mics and FX, although never being really intrusive. His delivery tonight actually reminds me of Blixa Bargeld the last time I saw him with Neubaten. The encore is deserved and is just as good, I really hope they commit some of this to a permanent record sometime soon. Hopefully they will record it in front of a different audience than this one, a few of whom left early, a few of whom booed and one wanker even saw fit to throw a plastic glass as they were taking their final bow. Ultimately the reaction was very positive and the minority discontent in the audience didn't really spoil it for me, as I was just excited to see one of my heroes in the flesh at last.
When I first contemplated going to this gig my initial worry was about the Fennesz - Patton collaboration. None of their music has been recorded and, as I'm not a big fan of Mike Patton's various projects I was worried in case Fennesz's compositions might suffer. A quick web search put me at my ease, when I found some positive reviews and a couple of interesting youtube clips of their gigs.
The worry was only removed until I arrived at the venue to find the Faith No More fans out in force, and the chinstroking-massive taking a backseat. There was some alarming chat in the queue to get in as well - people wondering if Patton would do any FNM material. I mean, how big a fan are you?? Even I know he is working with much more left field music these days.
Inside on stage it is obviously going to be laptop electronica all the way. There are many support acts, which was good for me as I'm not from Dublin so i got a chance to be exposed to their scene in handy bite-size chunks. Apologies if I get the names and identities wrong here but no-one spoke from the stage all night so it was hard to follow.
I only caught the end of CHEQUERBOARD with JIMMY BEHAN but they seemed to be the mellowest of the three supports, pretty guitar lines and a fairly gentle take on electronica. The rockers I was standing with near the bar were aghast already. ZAKKER were up next and were more lively, with hints of Aphex Twin and especially Autechre's shifting rhythms, they got a bit techno and got some good beats going on. Finally, ZOID finished up the support section and I thought he fell a bit flat, some pleasant noodly guitar and some folkier influences, but not terribly memorable.
I watched all of these in a reasonably comfortable spot at the front, but the Patton fanclub soon descends in anticipation. Whatever way you look at it, even if you have got to grips with Fantomas and the Bjork collaboration, if you are a Mike Patton and you have never heard the music of Christian Fennesz you will be in shock - and some of them obviously are!
As far as I can tell, this partnership is rooted in Fennesz's music; he does his normal, often beautiful, post-MBV guitar and laptop manipulations, and Patton's impressive vocal dynamics propel it into a slightly different realm. The opening is quiet and spooked, Patton emitting some truncated yelps and Fennesz taking them somewhere ambient but haunted, not unlike his live Ep with Ryuchi Sakamoto. The main body of the set is one huge piece, which is probably a bit too long, but still pretty impressive although at times you do forget that Patton is there such is the presence of Fennesz, staring unblinking into his macbook.
The duo really gel on the second piece which ends the set, Patton whooping and screaming, swapping mics and FX, although never being really intrusive. His delivery tonight actually reminds me of Blixa Bargeld the last time I saw him with Neubaten. The encore is deserved and is just as good, I really hope they commit some of this to a permanent record sometime soon. Hopefully they will record it in front of a different audience than this one, a few of whom left early, a few of whom booed and one wanker even saw fit to throw a plastic glass as they were taking their final bow. Ultimately the reaction was very positive and the minority discontent in the audience didn't really spoil it for me, as I was just excited to see one of my heroes in the flesh at last.
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