Category: Live Reviews

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Live Reviews

Flogging Molly live at the Garage

29/6/11

“We’re off to Greece this weekend – they won’t know what tear gas is until they’ve seen us!” cackles Flogging Molly frontman Dave King, shortly before his band rip into the barnstormer of a title track from recent album ‘Speed Of Darkness’. Flogging Molly have sold out far bigger London venues than the Garage, and although Dave’s frequent one-liners are hardly the stuff of comic genius, they do add to the sense of intimacy that just wouldn’t exist at, say, the Shepherd’s Bush Empire.

Let’s not forget, also, that Flogging Molly cut their teeth in small bars and clubs for quite a while before their hard work started to pay off, so tonight represents something of a return to their roots. By the time they hit the stage, the booze has been flowing freely for a good couple of hours, and the sing-along for the opening ‘The Likes Of You Again’ is proof enough that the band’s loyal following hasn’t deserted them in their two-year absence from these shores.

There isn’t really much in the way of musical surprises on offer tonight, with a handful of newer songs on offer, plus most of the old favourites – the drum and banjo intro of ‘Drunken Lullabies’, in particular, inciting absolute mayhem amongst the increasingly sweaty and delighted crowd. Flogging Molly remain a true band of the people, and even if tonight sees them doing little more than what they usually do (albeit in a smaller setting), they still do it better than most other Celtic punk bands around today.

Alex Gosman

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Live Reviews

DOT-TO-DOT Festival review Bristol

28th May 2011
Bristol

With a line-up of hard hitters such as Trail of Dead, Hurts, The Joy Formidable, We Are Scientists, Dananananaykroyd, Guillemots, Ed Sheeran and a host of local talent, the Bristol leg of Dot-To-Dot seems a scintillating enough prospect even if logistically it would be improbable to catch every act.

With the weather looking a tad dubious, I was pleasantly surprised at the turnout for Allie Moss. The promising singer/songwriter played some impressive folk accompanied by some flawless vocals to a nearly full capacity Thekla.

I headed across to the O2 Academy 2 next to catch some of Bravo Brave Bats. Valiant effort from the alt-rockers but lost in the fact the sound was terrible. Local party-core The Hit-ups open up the larger Academy downstairs to a sparse reception. Synth-laden bass driven post-rap with a mixture of quirky guitar parts energises the ever emerging crowd.

Before Ed Sheeran’s set I managed to bike it up the ridiculously steep hill to The Anson Rooms in time to sample the nu-wave antics of Idles. The racket was tremendous as they weave through a brooding mix of joy division driven melody with an epileptic dash of post-punk. The rest of the festival obviously didn’t get the memo as the band played to an almost empty room.

The bike ride down the hill was definitely easier and was just enough time for Ed Sheeran. After the non- existent turn-out for Idles, I realised the punters were all congregating at the O2 Academy which by this point was rammed. Internet super star and grime aficionado Ed Sheeran is on the brink of consequential success and the turnout showed it. Acoustically in tune with Jack Johnson that intermingles swift rapping and sweeping vocal harmonies, the power is in the delivery, mesmerising the crowd with his finely crafted performance.

It was time again to head back to the Anson Rooms. By this point I was pretty knackered and catching the end of Benjamin Francis Leftwich, who played a humble and subtle folk recital, was quite comforting. In stark comparison Dananananaykroyd explode next onto the stage. The duel assault from the animated front men was a real joy to watch as they arduously execute their brand of indie-punk. It was noisy, fun and cathartic. There was even a moment when the bouncy two broke through the barrier and was amongst the crowd flailing and blaring away with infectious enthusiasm.

I decided to stick around the Anson room for The Joy Formidable whose set annoyingly clashed with We are Scientists. I didn’t regret it as The Joy Formidable were immense. The indie-rock sound was big and bold with leading lady Ritzy Bryan taking the reins and guiding us though the intimately ambitious journey. It was truly hypnotic to absorb Rizty’s presence on stage while an array of songs from their acclaimed debut album ‘Big Roar’ resonated throughout the venue.

If The Joy Formidable was an insightful look at an act destined for potential success …And You Will Know Us by The Trail of Dead are a band that over the years never seemed to meet the commercial expectations put upon them however tonight they demonstrated that 15 years and seven albums worth of experience the still exude a youthfully blistering spectacle. They open with the indulgently epic ‘Will You Smile Again’ and set the tone for a passionately engaging performance. It wasn’t until ‘It Was There (That I Saw You)’ that the density of the sound really engulfs the entire place Within the bands frequent instruments swaps and relentless grandiose noise Trail of Dead blast out some tracks from their most recent release ‘Tao of the Dead’ such as the liberating ‘Summer of All dead souls’ and the fluid and dreamy ‘ebb away’ which seems to have rejuvenated their sound. A dynamic and solid performance from the legendary post-rock veterans and a perfect end to this year’s festival.

Lionel Taplin

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Live Reviews

The Sonics and Wire at Meltdown Festival 2011

Southbank Centre, London
18th June 2011

The now prestigious Meltdown is an annual festival staged at the Southbank Centre in London. In the past, the festival has been curated by the likes of Scott Walker, Ornette Coleman and David Bowie. Jeff Buckley’s final appearance in the UK, before his death, was famously at Meltdown in 1995 but this year’s event was organised by former lead singer of The Kinks, Ray Davies and his line up didn’t disappoint.

Supporting American garage rock legends The Sonics in the Royal Festival Hall are art punk Situationists Wire. Embarking on a set filled with flurries of distortion and clanging drones, Wire’s performance contains several tracks from their latest album. The radical four-piece continue to wind down to punk’s underworld with empowering chimes and jangles. Lead singer Colin Newman’s pessimistic vocals in the title track of new album ‘Red Barked Tree’ is a highlight of the evening for the London band. ‘Outdoor Miner’, from the classic 1978 album ‘Chairs Missing’ is as gloomy and heartfelt as ever.

The London band return to the stage from an encore with their final song ‘Pink Flag’. Despite enthusiastic demands from the crowd for more songs from the band’s earlier albums, Wire are more interested in continuing to experiment and play newer material. Emphasising this new direction bassist Graham Lewis ends the song by telling the Southbank crowd that “that’s about as pink as it gets”.

Introduced by Ray Davies as a group that are a “big part of American history” and “a rock band that were around way before The Kinks even had a car” The Sonics enter the stage. Opening with thunderous renditions of The Brandos’, ‘He’s Waiting’ and Barrett Strong’s ‘Money (That’s What I Want)’ it is plain to see why the band’s stripped-down approach has influenced a lot of people in the rock music world, including the likes of Iggy Pop and Kurt Cobain.

Songs like ‘Cinderella’ and Little Richard cover ‘Keep A-Knockin’ (But You Can’t Come In)’ are delightfully raucous and garage rock classic ‘Strychnine’ prompts a large amount of the audience to swarm away from their seats and be able to dance closer to the stage. This is followed by the exhilarating ‘Lucille’ and the gut-wrenching ‘Psycho’. The latter is frantically performed and filled with lead vocalist Gerry Roslie’s signature neurotic screams.

Richard Berry’s warming ‘Louie Louie’, suitably the song that led to Ray Davies conceiving ‘You Really Got Me’, is the first song performed by the band after the encore. The sinister ‘Bad Attitude’ is the best of the bunch of new songs available on the latest EP release ‘8’ which is followed by their flagship tune ‘The Witch’. Raw and penetrative, the performance of this song epitomises what the Tacoma legends were all about. The Sonics were way ahead of their peers and predecessors, and tonight they lit the room. They played hard, they played fast, and it’s good to see them back.

Alex Penge

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Live Reviews

Joan of Arc – Live

CAMP Basement
24.06.11

Joan of Arc appear on stage looking exhausted. Their supposed 7 hour flight from Chicago was a disaster, turned into a 16 hour travel nightmare that left all of their luggage and equipment stranded in Atlanta. “I haven’t slept in 36 hours,” groans Tim Kinsella, founder and only constant member of the band, after only the first song of the night.

The conditions are far from ideal, but having been staples of Chicago’s prodigious alt. Rock scene for the past two decades, the members of Joan of Arc are more than equipped to deal with such setbacks. Borrowing the instruments and backline from Hot Club De Paris, the band are in surprisingly good spirits, as though the trauma of the day has been taken into their stride, incorporated by Kinsella’s awkward, irreverent crowd interaction. While this show might be rough around the edges, this almost suits Joan of Arc, a band who by their very nature avoid sounding clean and precise.

Beginning with a trio of songs from recent album, Life Like, fans are kept happy by what is easily some of the best work of their career. It’s difficult to objectively explain what’s so great about Joan of Arc; there are virtually no hooks, they often sound off key and their time signatures are all over the place, yet their unique take on melodic 90s emo is engaging and almost entirely of its own. The band tune up frequently between songs while Kinsella improvises with some tired attempt at banter, but the room is forgiving and full of love for this cult band.

The real highlight of the night is saved for the final stretch, though, as the band look to the past with covers of Kinsella’s previous band Owls. Running through both What Whorse You Wrote Id On and Anyone Can Have a Good Time, the mood is transformed from appreciative to a mass sing-along from one of this reviewer’s favourite records of all time. Having never seen Tim or Mike Kinsella perform in any of their many capacities, it’s an absolute joy to witness Joan of Arc celebrating different aspects of their legacy. Now, surely it’s about time we saw that Cap’n Jazz re-union come over to the UK…

Sleekly Lion.

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Live Reviews

Rick Ross – Live

Forum, London
20.06.11

Rick Ross has achieved near-God like status of late in the US, named as The Source’s Man of the Year 2010 and gathering together his Maybach Music label with the signings of Wale, Pill and Meek Mill. His return to London’s Forum saw a packed venue drenched in sweat welcome him with open arms, chanting his name before the big man had even appeared on stage. When he did, gun fingers shot up in adoration, howls of support echoed all around and the party had well and truly started.

Ricky Rozay has many, many hits and whilst his set wasn’t the longest [something those who had paid £35 complained about] it was certainly one of the most entertaining rap shows I’ve witnessed in a long time. Without a hype man on stage with him, it could have been hard between tracks, but he was ably supported by his DJ who stood behind the decks on a pedestal that bore the legend “Rick Ross / The Boss / Maybach Music / Kiss The Ring Tour” and made sure the crowd’s response to his calls were nothing short of deafening.

Running through his bangers Hustlin’, B.M.F. and MC Hammer whilst bellowing out his guest spots on Meek Mill’s Tupac Back and Lil Wayne’s John, he allowed the crowd to be as much a part of the proceedings as he was, nodding his head at the choruses being chanted back at him, wiggling his ample frame to the beat and generally exuding an aura of total control and enjoyment. He even made sure the locals [who had been told to rep their hood] were looked after by bringing out Estelle for a track, though her mic hardly allowed her voice to flourish.

By the time the show was over and the steam was rising from the crowd, there was little doubt that the man who threw his shirt off for the final track, showing off his huge belly much to the surprisingly large delight of the women in the crowd is exactly what he refers to himself as: THE BAWSE.

Abjekt.

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Live Reviews

Set Your Goals live

Bristol O2 Academy 2
16/05/11

Before their appearance at the punk rock shindig of SLAM DUNK, Set Your Goals rolled up into Bristol bringing along some friends and hopefully some fresh tracks to entertain the masses that have ascended upon the venue.

The fresh faced horde crammed up against the barrier seemed quiet unresponsive tonight and was quite noticeable for the support bands. I managed to miss Decade, who opened up the night, but caught the start of This Time Next Year who despite churning out some cheery and buoyant pop-punk failed to lift the atmosphere.

Massachusetts’ quintet A Loss For Words were up next and faired a tad better. AL4W have been on the scene for a while and with the band being added to Rise records roaster it seems they are now getting some reverence from their peers. The band possesses an abrasive edge that is flawlessly surrounded by huge melodies and really stands out on ‘stamp of approval’. Their performance tonight AL4W have potentially gained some new fans. Its tonight’s headliners the crowd are eagerly waiting for and Set Your Goals finally take to the stage to a boisterous reception.

Opening up with a brand new track, Set Your Goals blast into action and soon enough front men Jordan and Michael immediately charge towards the front, clambering on the monitors and getting right up against the crowd in unified force. Several times I had to dodge Jordan as I was crammed in the nonexistent photopit space between the monitor and barrier while also trying to photograph the band. Being so close I experienced the full force of the band, and I wasn’t surprised when they exploded into ‘Look Closer’ that it really took off, with both the front men thrusting their mics to the crowd who were enthusiastically singing word for word.

The bands energy sustained further playing old favourites such as ‘Goonies’, and from Mutiny! ‘Work in Progress’ that seamlessly progressed into ‘We Do It for the Money, Obviously!’. It was infectious to see the contrasting figures of Jordan and Michael, synchronising the vocals seamlessly, switching from mellifluous melodies to hardcore shouts, and conveyed perfectly when the band went through tracks from ‘This Will Be The Death Of Us’ such as the fiercely sharp ‘The Fallen’, the singalong anthem ‘SummerJam’, and the dynamically potent ‘Our Ethos: A Legacy To Pass On’. With the eminent release of their new album ‘Burning at Both Ends’ Set Your Goals played another new track titled ‘Start The Reactor’ which on the surface may lack the same punch that the band are known for in previous releases, however it did still retain that contagious melody so prevalent so many of their songs.

Their penultimate and heaviest song ‘Gaia Bleeds’ we even get to see guitarist Audelio Flores stepping to roar out Jon Gula’s part. The band finally ends with crowd favourite ‘mutiny!’ which gets the best cheers tonight, and also the most raucous reaction. Even with the timid atmosphere at the start of the show, it was the sheer energy of Set Your Goal’s delivery that really shined through tonight.

Words and photos Lionel Taplin

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Live Reviews

Trash Talk – Live

CAMP Basement
15.06.11

It’s three hours before show time and a group of teenage Trash Talk fans surround the band outside CAMP basement. The Promotion around tonight’s show had stated the event would be 16+, yet still a group of valid ticket holders have been refused entry despite carrying ID proving, in many cases, their age of 16 or 17 years old. While they helplessly plead their case to the venue’s security, their cause is a lost one, and there will be no Trash Talk for these kids tonight. The band apologise and spend their time pre-show hanging out with those refused entry, even bringing out posters and merch as way of consolation.

“First of all I want to say thanks to tonight’s promoters for booking the show,” says breathless frontman Lee Spielman, just a few songs in from front of stage. “But I also want to say fuck this venue…” before launching into a tirade against its owners and dedicating the next song to those who didn’t make it in.

As ever with Trash Talk shows the energy inside the venue is ramped from the start, and if anything the admission problems have only added to the intensity. Beginning as usual with the sludgy, almost apocalyptic opener Hash Wednesday from their most recent album Eyes and Nines, it doesn’t take a minute before the crowd are leaping all about the place. Amongst the bodies flying around the room Shawn Crahan (Clown from Slipknot) is spotted jumping off the stage into the now frenzied crowd. In spite of the chaos, though, the band is underpinned by the dependable, almost mechanical rhythm section of drummer Sam Bosson, flanked by guitarist Garrett Stevenson and bassist Spencer Pollard.

The band run through the highlights from Eyes and Nines as well as older live favourites including Walking Disease and Sacramento is Dead, the latter of which sees a circle pit erupt around a Spielman who is crouched in the middle of the venue’s floor. There’s also the addition of a new song to the band’s set, hinting at promising things on the horizon for their recently recorded new record. Let’s hope these are joined by one or two more when the band returns to play Hevy Festival in August.

Elsewhere its business as usual for Trash Talk, who produce another blistering 45 minutes of breathtaking hardcore. The band’s reputation now precedes them as being one of the most exciting live bands around, and as if that even needs proving, tonight is no different.

Sleekly Lion

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Live Reviews

Wu Tang Clan – Live

Forum, London
12.06.11

The line wasn’t huge when we hit up the Forum for the second of two Wu Tang dates in North London, but after a Semtex warm-up set, it was bubbling when Alabama’s Yelawolf took to the stage. It was never going to be easy for the MC to win over the whole crowd, as many of the staunch Wu fans are a world away from his quick-fire doubletime rhyme patterns, but to his credit he amped his energy levels almost as high as his solo show at XOYO the week before and certainly gained some new fans, especially when he jumped into the crowd for an impromptu pit. An undoubted talent, both on record and on stage.

So onto the Wu. Without RZA, Raekwon and Inspectah Deck, it was a depleted crew that took to the stage and, in truth, other than Method Man and Masta Killa, it was a fairly low-energy show from the majority of them. That being said, when Mef told the crowd that they would return any energy they got from the punters, the noise levels were extremely high.

Method Man is such a charismatic man that his fronting of the show made up for the relatively dull backdrop, and when he launched himself into the crowd, it came as no surprise to the delighted fans. Running through classics such as M.E.T.H.O.D. Man, Bring Da Ruckus, Clan In Da Front and the ever singable Wu Tang Clan Ain’t Nuthing Ta Fuck Wit, it was as live a crowd as you could ever hope for and when the ODB tribute part of the set arrived with Shimmy Shimmy Ya and Got Your Money, every single hand was in the air, the majority of which were held in the big W sign synonymous with the New York group.

Mixed in was a great little DJ set from Mathematics which included handcuffing his arms together and taking off his shoes [not at the same time] and Ghostface falling into a small anecdote about the strength of the pound, confusion from which was resolved when he declared that POUNDS Rule Everything Around Me, [P.R.E.A.M.] before Pretty Tony told everyone to follow him on Twitter, an order followed up by U-God.

It wasn’t the best Wu Tang show I’ve ever been to, but even with depleted numbers, they still have enough hits and hype to deliver a fun live set. Now let’s get in the Gravel Pit and have a dance.

Abjekt.
Photo by Sleekly Lion.

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Live Reviews

Animal Collective live at The Winter Garden

Eastbourne
16th May 2011

Animal Collective at the Winter Garden 2011Despite recently releasing their two most accessible albums to date in Strawberry Jam and Merriweather Post Pavilion, Animal Collective continue to break away from common ground. This is reinforced by tonight’s performance at the Winter Garden, an usual concert venue in sleepy Eastbourne. Support tonight comes from (Angel) Deradoorian of the Dirty Projectors and Western Saharans Group Doeuh.

Led by guitarist Salmou Baamar, Group Doeuh are a family consisting of singer Halima Jakani (Baamar’s wife) and keyboardist Jamaal (Baamar’s son). Their Mauritanian roots partnered with Western rock influences provide a refreshing supporting act. Salmou Baamar’s homages to James Brown and Jimi Hendrix are evident as he excites with complex and acrobatic electric guitar playing.

Entering the stage to a foray of electronic loops and colourful visualisations, Animal Collective introduce themselves with two new songs that are filled with hazy vocals. ‘Change’ and ‘Stop Thinking’ maintain the Western African feel from Group Doueh’s performance, combined with Can and Faust influences. The recognisable ‘Did You See the World?’ is next from 2005 album Feels. This is one of the last songs from the band’s varied catalogue to be performed this evening and is well appreciated.

Deakin’s dramatic synthesiser and Panda Bear’s flickery samples lead into ‘Take This Weight’ and puts the band firmly in progressive territory. The fun and friendly Merriweather Post Pavilion track ‘Brother Sport’ is echoed and savoured by the East Sussex crowd. New songs ‘Mercury’ and ‘Frights’ are testing and are a challenge for people accustomed to the band’s more accessible material from circa 2007 onwards.

An energetic rendition of ‘We Tigers’ from the breakthrough 2004 album Sung Tongs is filled with the tribe-like screams and ritual dance imagery that we’ve grown to love from the Baltimore four-piece. Arguably one of the band’s most famous songs ‘Summertime Clothes’ suitably follows. The crowd gradually evolves into a cheerful dancing parade. Certainly the highlight of the evening.

The final songs after the encore, ‘I’d Rather’ and ‘Little Kid’, are droning affairs however and there are some signs of disappointment with the omission of many favourites such as ‘My Girls’, ‘In the Flowers’ and ‘Fireworks’. Tonight’s set is almost identical to the band’s set at their curated ATP festival event in Minehead. Filled with their most experimental songs yet, this is certainly not an evening for the passive Animal Collective fan.

Words and Photo: Alex Penge

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Live Reviews

The Bookhouse Boys live

Hoxton Bar & Kitchen, London
2/6/11

the-bookhouse-boysTonight, the concept of music as a form of catharsis is made flesh in a darkened room in Hoxton. Steve Smyth may only be armed with an acoustic guitar and an impressively straggly beard, but he also seems to have a fair few inner demons to exorcise, and they’re not gonna come quietly. Alternately strumming and savaging his guitar, his Jekyll and Hyde approach to performance is just what we need to shake us out of our post-work slump.

With her debut album yet to be released, Alice Gold is already dividing opinions like Marmite, but tonight she makes a convincing case for being one to watch. Coming across like PJ Harvey’s angelic-looking little sister, her full-throated wail and raw, psychedelic guitar sound can’t hide the fact that ‘Runaway Love’ and ‘Orbiter’ are pretty catchy tunes.

The Bookhouse Boys (eight guys, one girl) both sound and look like something out of a Tarantino movie; most of them smartly dressed in black, and peddling a deliciously dark surf sound that incorporates a mariachi-esque brass section and bursts of squalling guitar. They sound impressive enough on record, but live, songs like ‘Dead’ and ‘I Just Can’t Myself’ are lent a stronger sense of ferocity and drama; Catherine Turner’s cold croon a contrast to her co-vocalist (and guitarist) Paul Van Oestren’s impassioned howl. He sounds like he has a fair few tales of liquor-stained hell weighing heavy on his conscience, and tonight we are the congregation for a myriad of confessions set to song. Truly, Nick Cave would be proud.

Just as we think we have them pegged, they crowd around the microphones for some acapella six-part piece harmonies, on a song from their recent second album ‘Tales To Be Told’. Lazy comparisons will be made with the Arcade Fire, but The Bookhouse Boys are coming from a much darker place, and sound all the more enthralling for it. With packed performances like these, you get the feeling that venues the size of the Bar & Kitchen could soon be very much behind them.

Alex Gosman