live review: Thurston Moore and John Moloney, Belfast, 22nd January 2013

Thurston Moore and John Moloney
Belfast the Stiff Kitten 22nd January 2013

I came to this show expecting an evening of difficult noise jams and relentless guitar and drums improvisation. After 90 varied and rambling minutes I left feeling like I just been to “An Evening With Thurston Moore.”

He is still instantly recognisable with his boyish mop of hair, as he takes the stage late because he “got lost” as it had been a while since he had “last walked these streets”. He isn't just full of idle chatter as eyewitness reports from earlier say that he bought “a lot” of vinyl in the city's small independent Dragon Records.
I'm unaware of him being in Belfast since the night in September 1990 when Sonic Youth were playing a set at the Art College, supported by a very youthful Teenage Fanclub. Unfortunately a few weeks earlier at a Warrior Soul show at the same venue someone had died in a fall from the stage, and the overly cautious stage security for the Sonic Youth gig raised the hackles of the band to such an extent that it was reported that they would never return. This could be true, as they never did.

However Thurston and John Moloney – himself last sighted in Belfast in the Pavilion bar behind the drums for Six Organs of Admittance – are here at the end of a short Irish tour, in their guise as the Caught on Tape duo. During this tour they have played varied sets, including a complete set of improvised noise at a folk club in Clonakilty and a “scary” gig at a 50 capacity venue in Limerick. Quite why they did this tour remains unclear, though at one point Moloney reveals a tattoo of his coat of arms , and a limited edition fanzine that Thurston produced for the tour has drawings of both their family crests (Moloney's is a quiver and Moore's is a “glam lion” as he describes it.)
Maybe they're on a heritage trail – who knows? One thing is for sure, they are having fun!

Thurston talks for ten minutes when he takes the stage before he strikes a note, utterly charming and at ease, praising John T Davis's semi-legendary Northern Irish punk documentary Shellshock Rock and rambling off at tangents. He also talks a lot about the recently deceased Irish poet Dennis O'Driscoll, although he stops short of reading his work because he hasn't brought any to the stage, This show is improv in a way I didn't expect!

Musically they mix it up a little. There are a couple of extended noise jams, some songs from their new band Chelsea Light Moving, and a chunk of material from Thurston's first full solo album 'Psychic Hearts'. Its title track and a CLM tune called 'Burroughs' were the most memorable of the night. He even teases that he will do a cover of the Outcasts 'Love is for Sops' when he comes back to Belfast.

The real highlight though, was seeing Thurston's guitar set-up and style of playing at such close range in this intimate setting. Seemingly minimal pedal use and the special effects came from tweaking amp and jacks to create buzz and crackle. Also, in contrast to Sonic Youth and their racks of guitars, he used only one guitar for the whole set. In a way, these sounds aren't far removed from the likes of 'Justice is Might' from the mid-80s. However, many years later, up close and away from the juggernaut of a big rock tour, it was an absolute pleasure to hear them.

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If you wish to hear 'Burroughs' by Chelsea Light Moving, click here

live review: Lee Ranaldo/ The Men, London Scala, 6th June 2012

I don't like running reviews with just a promotional pic at the top of the page, but this gig had the worst case of camera-phone mania I'd seen for a long time, so I didn't take any pics for fear of adding to that. 
The Men were up first, more 'special guests' than support band I suppose, and they definitely won a few new fans tonight. I expected straight forward garage punk, but they were actually a lot more varied than that, and they started off with a mid-paced tune that could have sat well in Crazy Horse's repertoire. As their set developed their indie-rock became a mix of ballsy punk with some arty guitar noodling as well. Shades of the Stooges, Ramones, Sonic Youth and Guided By Voices, so they were obviously a fine choice to open tonight's proceedings.
Of course, everyone is here to see Lee Ranaldo in more intimate surroundings than usual. As most people who read the small print already knew, the Lee Ranaldo Band consists of regular collaborator and improv guitarist Alan Licht, Irwin Menken on bass, and Steve Shelley on drums, which adds up to 50% of Sonic Youth. These shows aren't about the Youth though, and Lee's very fine recent album 'Between The Times and The Tides' dominates from the start, as they begin with 'Off The Wall' - the most immediate song from it - and follow it with the equally infectious 'Angles'. I was actually worrying that they might peak too soon!
Lee made a speech about his interest in the Occupy movement and his hopes for the non-violent left. He has an Occupy Athens sticker on his guitar and on the backplate he had a pic of the Canadian couple frolicking in the riots (this pic). He revealed that Occupy Wall Street was part inspiration for 'Shouts', which they played with Lori Singer's spoken word section included, which helped build the tension. 'Tomorrow Never Comes' followed and managed to sound even more like the Beatles in this live version, and Steve Shelley was really pounding this one out.
Lee revealed that 'Xtina as I Knew Her' is about a bunch of people he grew up with and didn't see for years after he moved to New York and joined Sonic Youth, it's also the first tune that has any sort of guitar wig-out on it, as the reflective memories of the lyrics gave way to the guitar interplay between Ranaldo and Licht.
'Waiting on a Dream' seems faster and more intense than the recorded version, mostly because of Shelley's drumming, and whilst the bluesy 'Hammer Blows' should have brought the intensity levels down, it was much noisier than the recorded version, and Lee brought out the violin bow and had it shredded by the end of the song.
There was a bit of light relief with a cover of Neil Young's 'Walk On' and then some homage to the heady days of post-punk NYC with a great version of Talking Heads 'Thank You For Sending Me an Angel' which blended seamlessly into Lee's own 'Fire Island'. They finished up the main set with 'Lost', one of the catchier tunes from the album.
The encore was a gentle version of the rarely performed 'Stranded', followed by the only nod to Sonic Youth of the whole evening, 'Karen Revisited', which was faithful to the original although the noise section took a different musical turn, maybe due to the presence of Alan Licht instead of Thurston on guitar duties. It also inspired the worst stage dive ever; inappropriately timed as the band went into the psych-rock crescendo, the poor guy hit the floor.
The rest of the audience were content to show less physical appreciation for the band, and I think for most people the realisation that we were seeing a legend of indie-rock in such intimate surroundings was enough. The fact that he played a pretty great show was a bonus.

Lee Ranaldo album review and related Spotify playlist

Yesterday I reviewed the new Lee Ranaldo album for the 405. As part of Matador's promotion of the album they have been asking people to put together playlists of Lee's Sonic Youth songs, so I have done my own. It's quite easy to just put all of Lee's songs back-to-back and have a thoroughly decent mix, but I tried to limit myself to ten. I couldn't manage this and I've had to add Hoarfost in at the end as a bonus, which brings in to 11.
So here is the mix on Spotify, with notes on the tracks in play order.

'Mote' from Goo, 1990
I started with this because it has the familiar "bell chime" guitar sound right at the beginning; a sound which over the years has become very assocaited with Sonic Youth. It's achieved by Lee fitting a pick-up behind the bridge of his guitar, so the high pitched untuned 'tinkle' gets amplified.

'What We Know' from The Eternal, 2009
This is a big rock song, with pounding beats and a great riff and chorus too.

'Eric's Trip' from Daydream Nation, 1988
Perhaps Lee's masterpiece. An almost literal trip with the words and music threatening to get out of control, I always love the way it ends mid-story - "theres something moving over there to the right, like nothing I've ever seen".

'In the Kingdom #19' from EVOL, 1986
This is probably the track that got him known as the 'spoken word guy', this is a story set against a squall of guitars and car racing fx.

Pipeline/ Kill Time, from Sister, 1987
Another total classic from the equally classic Sister LP. A progression from 'In the kingdom 19' and a blueprint for 'Eric's Trip'.

Wish Fulfilment, from Dirty, 1992
Lee was all over the double Daydream Nation album , but this was his major contribution to the similarly epic Dirty.

karen Koltrane, from A Thousand Leaves, 1998
An unusually dream-like song with some tasty guitar work near the end, pulling new sounds from his instrument many years into Sonic Youth's career.

Rain King. from Daydream Nation, 1988
More psych trippiness from Daydream Nation but a bit downbeat this time. The words are pure magic again.

Skip Tracer, from Washing Machine, 1996
Mainly included because Washing Machine gets overlooked, but also for the line "The guitar guy played real good feedback, and super sounding riffs." The most 'spoken-word' he had been for quite a while.

Karen Revisited, from Murray Street, 2002
A folky melody for a pretty 3 minute song which turns into an 8 minute bliss-out - it just rings in the air.

Hoarfrost, from A Thousand Leaves, 1998
I love this song, but it didn't fit the flow