I've had a bit of a live music binge this year, in total I've been to 56 gigs, three 3-day festivals and I've seen 159 individual live performances.
70% of these have been in London, although I've been to gigs in Cambridge, Belfast, and the two ATP sites at Minehead and Camber Sands.
I have tried to pick out my 20 favourite performances from these and I've put them in order below. Where possible I have linked to my review of the show and I have embedded other people's amateur video footage as well.
1. Swans, Koko, November
An amazing show. the highest compliment I can pay is that it made me not want to see any more live music for while, I couldn't see how anything could follow this.
my review (londonears.com)
Most of the performance is on youtube, though I've embedded the 49-minute version of 'The Seer' below.
2. Boredoms, ATP curated by Jeff Mangum, March
The Boredoms two extraordinary sets at Jeff Mangum's ATP had my number one space for most of the year.
my review (the 405)
Here is a spliced together video of highlights from it.
3. Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Forum, November
Delighted to see these guys on my actual birthday. A cracking set from them once again, including an epic new song which may be titled 'Behemoth'. Heavier than their earlier years, but still thrilling.
4. Jeff Mangum, ATP curated by Jeff Mangum, March
It seemed unlikely a few years ago that any of us would see Jeff Mangum play live, but to see him twice in a weekend was something else. As a lot of Elephant 6 people were in the area this was as close as anyone could have hoped to a Neutral Milk Hotel reunion. my review (the 405)
5. Deerhoof, ATP curated by the National, December
This was a performance by a band at their absolute peak, so finely honed at the end of a three month tour. The best show I've seen them play.
6. Orbital, Brixton Academy, December
Quite a spectacle with all those lasers, but perhaps the best thing about this Orbital show was the way they have invigorated their classic material to sound completely contemporary and cutting edge. A bit like Kraftwerk did with the Mix, I reckon.
7. Japandroids, Upstairs at the Garage, May/ Belfast Mandela Hall, August
Two gigs, two different cities. The London show at the start of the tour probably just shades it in terms of live experience, but both were great.
my review (slowthrills.com)
8. Dan Deacon, Scala, September
Certainly the best interactive live experience of the year. Dan Deacon took on the challenge of a sold-out Scala and made the place move on his every whim.
9. Bo Ningen, Portland Arms Cambridge, September
I saw these people twice but their slot as part of the Wish You Were Here festival in Cambridge was a revelation. A genuinely fresh approach to psychedelic noise.
10. Atlas Sound, Scala, July
A jet-lagged rambling solo show by Bradford Cox, full of surprises and underlining his prolific talent.
my review (londonears.com)
11. Cocorosie, Royal Festival Hall, August
my review (londonears.com)
12. Ty Segall, Tufnell Park Dome
13. Grizzly Bear, Cambridge Junction, August
my review (slowthrills.com)
14. Bonnie Prince Billy, Hackney Empire, February
my review (slowthrills.com)
15. Tim Hecker, St Giles Church, January
my review (slowthrills.com)
16. Sharon van Etten, Scala
my review (slowthrills.com)
17. Joanna Newsom, ATP curated by Jeff Mangum, March
my review (the 405)
18. Wild beasts, ATP curated by the National, December
Billed as a gig where they would just play 'Smother' in order, they iced the cake by playing a long encore which featured about half of 'Two Dancers'. That made my night that did.
19. Metz, the Old Blue Last, November
I checked these guys out on the recommendation of a friend and i was amazed by the reaction to them. Cameras everywhere as well, which resulted in this rowdy video.
20. Calexico, Kentish Town Forum, October
my review (the 405)
most visited venue: The Lexington, Pentonville Road, London. (6 shows) The Scala, in the same street, came second with 5 visits. Both fine music venues in my opinion.
most seen band: Bizarrely, no single act managed to make it to three viewings. The acts I have seen twice are: Perfume Genius, Sharon Van Etten, Tim Hecker, Alexander Tucker, Bo Ningen, Echo Lake, RM Hubbert, Japandroids, Public Service Broadcasting, Sir Richard Bishop, Bill Wells and Aidan Moffat, Peepholes, Darren Hayman, Jeff Mangum, Boredoms and Joanna Newsom.
best support bands: The Men (supporting Lee Ranaldo), Rob St John (supporting Meursault), Cadence Weapon (supporting Japandroids).
Showing posts with label bonnie prince billy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bonnie prince billy. Show all posts
live review: Trembling Bells with Bonnie Prince Billy, Union Chapel,6th May 2012
On the back of their recent collaborative album The Marble Downs, Trembling Bells and Bonnie Prince Billy have embarked on this short tour. A lot of the dates concentrated on venues in the South West of the country due to a tie in with May Day celebrations and the Routes South West organisation. Tonight though, it concluded in Union Chapel, a church in Islington which was recently chosen as Time Out's favourite London venue. Sadly I have no photos to record this, but the old church looked stunning as we entered just before dusk, and the natural light was still streaming through the stained glass windows. The show was sold out, but it was the eve of the May Day bank holiday and it was quiet outside.
In terms of the entertainment on offer, we were eased in gently with Harry and Katy from the vocal-only group Muldoon's Picnic, who tonight were joined for most of their set by Alex and Lavinia from Trembling Bells, and in a very brief unannounced cameo, Will Oldham himself. They sang traditional songs from all around the country - they mentioned Yorkshire, Oxford and Glasgow, and managed to work in some original material as well. The voices sounded lovely in this famous old church.
As Trembling Bells are playing with their usual line-up, Will Oldham initially assumes the role of a guest vocalist. Without an instrument, his unique stage moves are something to behold. I often forget that he is a trained actor, and tonight he has dressed down so that the only theatrical flourish to contrast with his simple grey/blue tshirt and trousers combination is that he is wearing black nail polish.
They began with their eerie atmospheric version of Robin Gibb's 'Lord Bless All', and given the setting it is a perfect choice, with evocative lines like "and when you sleep, London streets are silent".
They play the first song they released together 'New Years Eve's The Loneliest Night of the Year' before they get to tackle the Marble Downs material.
'I Made a Date (with an Open Vein)' brilliantly blends the strengths of both acts together, and now Will's voice starts to come to the fore.
The Bonnie Prince Billy song 'So Everyone' follows this and is an early crowd pleaser and a surprise for those who thought tonight may have just been a run through of the Marble Downs material.
Later in the set Will revisits the Palace Songs era for 'All Gone, All Gone' which is also notable for being the first time he picks up his guitar.
The talents of Trembling Bells aren't overlooked though, and Lavinia's musical arrangement of the Dorothy Parker poem 'Excursions into Assonance' is really lovely. It is very subtle, with simple keyboards and her and Will's voices working together beautifully for the first few minutes, before the band build on it.
Overall, the acoustics in here favoured the quieter moments as some of the noisier parts got lost, although happily I was on the right side so Mike's guitar actually came across well. Louder songs like 'Everytime I close my eyes' and 'Ain't Nothing Wrong With a little Longing' were impressive but made we want to see them somewhere smaller.
They also touched on some uptempo country music and Will even breaks out a kazoo before launching into a faithful cover of Merle Haggard's 'Tonight the Bottle let me Down'. Inevitably this leads into their witty duet 'I Can Tell You're Leaving' which name checks Haggard. It's one of the many stand-outs from the album and may well be the best bickering-couple song since 'Fairytale of New York'.
The main set ends on a reflective note with a lovely version of 'Love is a Velvet Noose'.
When they reassemble for the encore just Will and Lavinia come out and she takes the lead vocal on the bawdy 'My Husband's Got No Courage in Him', then the band creep back on and launch into a stunning version of 'Riding' from the early Palace Brothers days.
They leave us with a lovely version of BPB's recent single 'There is No God' which rounded off the 90 minute show in fine style.
Their voices sounded superb in here, however some of the appeal of Trembling Bells is that they are a loud and intense live act, and tonight some of that went swimming up into the heights of the chapel. This show was great, and their joint efforts should really yield more material, or at least a live album, but next time I'd like to see them in somewhere with a bit of a lower ceiling. That's a minor gripe, because tonight we got to witness something special.
Listen: the best album releases of the month, April edition
April turned out to be a very strong month for new albums, I had to compile the selections below from a long list of 21. Thanks to @almal100 on twitter I've been able to update this with Trembling Bells and Bonnie Prince Billy, as I hadn't noticed it on Spotify yesterday.
So I now have eleven albums that you can play via that fancy new embedded play button. The only one that can't be played is the excellent Actress album, but you can browse it over at Honest Jon's shop site.
ALBUMS AVAILABLE TO LISTEN VIA SPOTIFY
Human Don't Be Angry 'Human Don't be Angry'
my review on the 405.
"This is one of those albums that has impressed me more every time I've played it. It has managed to make Malcolm Middleton's musical range wider by showing how well he can work with instrumental melody lines whilst underlining what a fine guitar player he is. I suspect that Human Don't Be Angry may well be more than a side project for him in the future."
Lower Dens 'Nootropics'
my review on the 405.
"Weaving melodies that hark back to Jana Hunter’s solo records, with mechanical, often bleak instrumentation, the music here echoes the lyrical concerns – fear of the future, concerns for the development of the human race, and about our relationship with technology. This is an album that will reward repeated listens and unravelling and should be welcomed for its ambition."
Trembling Bells and Bonnie Prince Billy 'The Marble Downs'
It is an absolute joy that this album exists in 2012, as on the surface it is so out of place you almost have a double take at the release date. It is fantastic though, Will Oldham is in great voice and Trembling Bells are as good as ever. Some great some playing and songwriting, and it made me smile too. All good.
Death Grips 'The Money Store'
One of the most frustrated and angry releases of the year so far, a collision of distorted beats, hip-hop and industrial electronica. I didn't get around to reviewing it, but here is a link to David Zammit's fine review, also published on the 405.
Alexander Tucker 'Third Mouth'
Tucker's second album release of 2012, if you count January's collaboration with Daniel Beban under the Imbogodom name. This follows on where his last solo album 'Dorwych' left off, further developing his explorations with psych-folk, and adding some subtle electronic touches along the way.
Orbital 'Wonky'
They are well and truly back, and 'Wonky' is their best album for many a year. It's impressive that it manages to sound like Orbital whilst embracing recent musical developments such as dubstep. New collaborators like Zola Jesus and Lady Leshur underline this with their contributions.
Bear in Heaven 'I Love You, It's Cool'
This synth-based act have been working on their songwriting since their last release, as this new album is packed full of catchy and well-constructed songs.
Lightships 'Electric Cables'
Lightships is the new band led by Teenage Fanclub's Gerard Love, and this is one of the most impressive TFC-related releases for a long time. It's pitched somewhere between prime melodic TFC and the later Pastels records and it's very lovely indeed.
Sea of Bees 'Orangefarben'
Sea of Bees is essentially the alter ego of songwriter Julie Baenziger and this is her second album. It is a record that has been created in the aftermath of a relationship that has come to an end. It has some heartbeaking lyrical moments but ultimately it ends up as something quite cathartic. Brave and successful cover of Leaving on a Jet Plane as well.
Maps and Atlases 'Beware and Be Grateful'
Straddling the difficult middle ground between math-rock and catchy indie, this second album from Maps and Atlases succeeds in pleasing both parties. It manages to gel those camps together with some success.
Battles 'Dross Glop'
I guess it is a bit unusual to include a full album of remixes in this list, but I can't remember the last time I enjoyed a collection like this so much. The remixes are from the likes of Kode9, Gang Gang Dance, Hudson Mohawke, Shabazz Palaces, and eYe from Boredoms, and many of them bear little relation to the originals. Well worth hearing.
NOT AVAILABLE TO LISTEN ON SPOTIFY
Actress 'R.I.P'
The first stand-out electronica release of the year in my opinion. This is a more abstract affair than Actress's previous album 'Splazsh', it sits closer to the ambient works of Burial and Aphex Twin than conventional beats and breaks, and I reckon I need to listen to it a few more times before I have the words to do it justice. It could singlehandedly get me right back into this kind of music.
So I now have eleven albums that you can play via that fancy new embedded play button. The only one that can't be played is the excellent Actress album, but you can browse it over at Honest Jon's shop site.
ALBUMS AVAILABLE TO LISTEN VIA SPOTIFY
Human Don't Be Angry 'Human Don't be Angry'
my review on the 405.
"This is one of those albums that has impressed me more every time I've played it. It has managed to make Malcolm Middleton's musical range wider by showing how well he can work with instrumental melody lines whilst underlining what a fine guitar player he is. I suspect that Human Don't Be Angry may well be more than a side project for him in the future."
Lower Dens 'Nootropics'
my review on the 405.
"Weaving melodies that hark back to Jana Hunter’s solo records, with mechanical, often bleak instrumentation, the music here echoes the lyrical concerns – fear of the future, concerns for the development of the human race, and about our relationship with technology. This is an album that will reward repeated listens and unravelling and should be welcomed for its ambition."
Trembling Bells and Bonnie Prince Billy 'The Marble Downs'
It is an absolute joy that this album exists in 2012, as on the surface it is so out of place you almost have a double take at the release date. It is fantastic though, Will Oldham is in great voice and Trembling Bells are as good as ever. Some great some playing and songwriting, and it made me smile too. All good.
Death Grips 'The Money Store'
One of the most frustrated and angry releases of the year so far, a collision of distorted beats, hip-hop and industrial electronica. I didn't get around to reviewing it, but here is a link to David Zammit's fine review, also published on the 405.
Alexander Tucker 'Third Mouth'
Tucker's second album release of 2012, if you count January's collaboration with Daniel Beban under the Imbogodom name. This follows on where his last solo album 'Dorwych' left off, further developing his explorations with psych-folk, and adding some subtle electronic touches along the way.
Orbital 'Wonky'
They are well and truly back, and 'Wonky' is their best album for many a year. It's impressive that it manages to sound like Orbital whilst embracing recent musical developments such as dubstep. New collaborators like Zola Jesus and Lady Leshur underline this with their contributions.
Bear in Heaven 'I Love You, It's Cool'
This synth-based act have been working on their songwriting since their last release, as this new album is packed full of catchy and well-constructed songs.
Lightships 'Electric Cables'
Lightships is the new band led by Teenage Fanclub's Gerard Love, and this is one of the most impressive TFC-related releases for a long time. It's pitched somewhere between prime melodic TFC and the later Pastels records and it's very lovely indeed.
Sea of Bees 'Orangefarben'
Sea of Bees is essentially the alter ego of songwriter Julie Baenziger and this is her second album. It is a record that has been created in the aftermath of a relationship that has come to an end. It has some heartbeaking lyrical moments but ultimately it ends up as something quite cathartic. Brave and successful cover of Leaving on a Jet Plane as well.
Maps and Atlases 'Beware and Be Grateful'
Straddling the difficult middle ground between math-rock and catchy indie, this second album from Maps and Atlases succeeds in pleasing both parties. It manages to gel those camps together with some success.
Battles 'Dross Glop'
I guess it is a bit unusual to include a full album of remixes in this list, but I can't remember the last time I enjoyed a collection like this so much. The remixes are from the likes of Kode9, Gang Gang Dance, Hudson Mohawke, Shabazz Palaces, and eYe from Boredoms, and many of them bear little relation to the originals. Well worth hearing.
NOT AVAILABLE TO LISTEN ON SPOTIFY
The first stand-out electronica release of the year in my opinion. This is a more abstract affair than Actress's previous album 'Splazsh', it sits closer to the ambient works of Burial and Aphex Twin than conventional beats and breaks, and I reckon I need to listen to it a few more times before I have the words to do it justice. It could singlehandedly get me right back into this kind of music.
WATCH: Trembling Bells featuring Bonnie Prince Billy
Trembling Bells have just released their new album 'The Marble Downs' in collaboration with Bonnie 'Prince' Billy. They've also put together a video for the opening track 'I Made a Date (With An Open Vein)' which is directed by Shana Moulton and the band. It features footage of the band wearing animal masks in remote countryside, jigsaws, Will Oldham's face on a rotating cube and a Morris dancing troupe, the Belles of London City, but hey, I'm not going to spoil it for you.
Good, isn't it? All of which makes me want to see them on their UK tour in April/ May, but a lot of the dates are sold out and I've been playing the guest list gamble in terms of getting in, so fingers crossed.
Meanwhile, I'm really looking forward to hearing the album in full.
Trembling Bells Featuring Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - I Made A Date (With An Open Vein) from Honest Jon's on Vimeo.
Good, isn't it? All of which makes me want to see them on their UK tour in April/ May, but a lot of the dates are sold out and I've been playing the guest list gamble in terms of getting in, so fingers crossed.
Meanwhile, I'm really looking forward to hearing the album in full.
review: Bonnie Prince Billy, Hackney Empire, 25th January 2012
Over the years, Will Oldham has performed his music under many aliases, and although tonight is billed as simply a Bonnie “Prince” Billy show, his fully acoustic band comprise two regular members of the Cairo Gang. Emmett Kelly is there with his excellent guitar skills, as is Angel Olsen who acts as a co-vocalist with Will himself and nearly steals the show a few times.
They play material from all stages of Oldham's career over the course of their lengthy set, although the song choices do tend to favour material from their most recent albums. The soaring vocals on “Beware Your Only Friend” set the tone and show from early on how well these musicians gel together. Will is on fine form throughout, full of humorous stories and anecdotes about the horrors of the ageing process, the forecasted Mayan apocalypse and the posturing of RnB star Jason Derulo. He is also openly delighted at discovering the taste of whisky in his moustache.
There are many, many highlights, such as the old Palace Brothers tune “Pushkin”, a lovely version of “Master and Everyone” and the intricate duet between Will and Angel, “You Want That Picture”. Arguably his best known song “I See A Darkness” is given an uptempo treatment and he admits that due to the ad-libbed approach to the set-list he doesn't get around to anything from the new album “Wolfroy Goes to Town” until 40 minutes into the set. That approach also means that the extraordinary “So Everyone”, which would be fit to close anyone's show, is played mid-set and brings forth such rapturous applause that it's actually hard to follow.
They're undaunted by this and they peak again with the intense American gothic “The Seedling”, only to contrast sharply with a very moving version of “Three Questions” which closes the main set. When they return for “Merciless and Great” it becomes clear what a skilful guitarist Emmett Kelly is, but also how impressive Oldham's voice is these days. It has come far from the fragile warble of his early days and is now a much more powerful and controlled style of singing, and in combination with Angel Olsen, their voices totally fill this hall.
He finally brings the show to an end by announcing that he has a train to catch to Scotland as it is Burns Night, and then the band launch into Richard Farina's old folk song “Pack Up Your Troubles”, which is about as Scottish as Greenwich Village, but it's a great carefree tune to go out on.
So well over 90 minutes after shuffling onto the stage the band are gone; Will Oldham the last one to be seen, shuffling towards the back of the stage, guitar still around his neck, coiling his own cables. A remarkable songwriter and showman as well; tonight we were privileged to be here. This was one of those shows that just stays with you long after it is over.
gig preview: Bonnie 'Prince' Billy aka Wolfroy aka Will Oldham
Well, it looks like I'll be going to see Bonnie Prince Billy tonight at the Hackney Empire. His current album 'Wolfroy Comes to Town' is great and hopefully his gig will be along the lines of this recent French TV performance.
Bonnie Prince Billy en session privée au Trianon by telerama
This whole Wolfroy thing intrigues me though. A recent web-chat curated by the Guardian saw Bonnie Prince Billy aka Will Oldham answer his questions as 'Wolfroy', and the token weird music news item of the week is that Drag City are now selling Bonny Billy Blend coffee which comes with the "Wolfroy seal of approval" and is certified 100% organic. It comes in a half-pound bag of whole beans for $20 direct from the record company so I guess that means there won't by any on sale at the merch table tonight!
I met Will Oldham once, on his first UK tour in 1993 when his band featured David Pajo and were called the Palace Brothers. His trousers fell down mid-set and I had the memorable pleasure of interviewing him afterwards. The transcript of the interview is here, but I may as well tell you now that you will be able to hear some of that interview as part of my future plans to publish my archives. I will be banging on more about that nearer the time, though I should say the ball starts rolling on that once January's mission is over.
Meanwhile, I have a gig to look forward to....
Archive interview: Will Oldham (Palace Brothers), 1993
The Palace Brothers first visit to Ireland at the end of 1993 was a brief but busy affair, as they crammed in three shows in Dublin, plus one each in Cork and Belfast. To put things in context, they had released some great music that year - the debut album 'There Is No-One What Will Take Care of You' and the masterpiece single 'Ohio River Boat Song'. The line-up at the time included the ever present Will Oldham as well as ex-Slint (and future Tortoise, Royal Trux, Papa M) guitarist Dave Pajo. It's also worth bearing in mind that Oldham is one of the most awkward interviewees I've ever come across. Clearly he has no time for the publicity machine which drives the music industry, and back then I found him a bit childish and annoying, although I subsequently heard about his background as a method actor and it makes a bit more sense. Maybe he was just playing with us. Here's the interview then.....
- Will Oldham, the central figure in the Palace Brothers set up is clearly a man only interested in writing and performing his music. The peripheral elements of the music business have no interest for him, and who can blame him? We met up after his band's brilliant gig in Queen's Student Union Speakeasy. He's a notoriously difficult interviewee, he prefers to ignore questions and talk on random subjects instead. Bizarrely, psychoanalysis rears its head first.
Will: "If you want to talk about the songs we're going to need to talk pyschoanalysis. Do people do that still? Are there still Freudian analysts? I would love to set that Freud guy down for about a month and just talk things over."
- He's kind of discredited now though, a lot of his theories don't hold much sway anymore.
W: "You mean he's disbarred? He doesn't practice anymore?"
- Erm, he's actually dead, he died in the 1930s, I think.
W: "Oh never mind, I'll just go and see another analyst I guess."
- Do you think acoustic music is a reaction to more hi-tech stuff?
W: "It's more economical. It's much cheaper to record like that. You can buy a four track recorder and an acoustic guitar, or you can go into an expensive studio. The album ("There is No-one...") was done on 8-track really cheaply, although the next releases have been on 16 track. With the line-up changes the songs always have different people playing on each one - the line-up changes on virtually every song. Although tonight's line-up bears little resemblance to the records, that gig tonight is as hard as we rock!"
- Tonight's gig was free and there were some puzzled jocks behind me who were booing.
W: "They were booing! Would you recognise them if you saw them again? If they had any balls they would have come down the front and faced us. That's one of the drawbacks of having a free gig. They're probably students anyway, they're living the high life - it's Disneyland in high school."
- How has your music been received generally on this Irish tour?
W: "Cork and Dublin were really good, Cork was wild, it was like America! We didn't go on til after midnight. There were people listening to the music and dancing - they weren't just there for late drinking."
- What about America? Is it is easy to get your type of music heard?
W: "The advantage of Britain is that it is much more concentrated, in America it's quite hard to get anything out of your own area. There are some worthwhile outlets - fanzines like 'Forced Exposure' have been going for a while - it would have things like tour diaries from Thurston Moore and Steve Albini - it's a real Homestead ghetto."
- Were you involved with any of those musicians before the Palace Brothers?
W: "I was around, on the edge of things, in Louisville Kentucky." (trivial fact: check the credits on Slint's 'Spiderland' - Will took the cover photo!)
Talk returns to tonight's events and Will learns of a few parties and 'a dance' (he's playing with us again I think- that's a disco to you and I) going on downstairs. He seems surprised at the level of activity in Belfast which is at odds to what he has heard from recent news reports. If my memory is correct, this gig took place a few days after the Shankill Road bomb, so things are actually rather subdued. Having said that, the Palace Brothers played for ages and got a great reception - most of the first album and a few yet to be released songs. They are pretty special, and they certainly don't pander to the whims of the press.
interview by Jonathan Greer (modified from Weedbus issue 6, early 1994)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)