LIVE REVIEW : THE UNDERTONES AT KOKO 24/05/2013

Oh the drawbacks of living in London !!! There's so much stuff happening that you sometimes wish that you could split yourself in half and attend different gigs on the same night ! On that particular evening  I had to choose between seeing The Undertones at Koko or  the recently reformed Dream Syndicate at Dingwalls. Despite having seen The Undertones once a few years ago in a festival in France, I choose to go and see them (probably because I'm more interested in Steve Wynn's solo records than the ones he did with The Dream Syndicate). The show was advertised as an early one with support bands The Wolfhounds on at 7.30 pm and The Undertones at 8.30 with a curfew at 10. When I arrived at the venue at 7.15, the place was almost empty and The Wolfhounds were forced to play to a very sparse audience. Their gig almost didn't happen due to the bass player not managing to get his instrument working. After 15 minutes of coming and going off the stage with the dodgy bass, the problem was finally solved with Undertones bass player Michael Bradley lending his bass. They then proceeded to play a half hour set of material that sounded like a cross between Wire and The Buzzcocks (with less memorable songs). The Undertones came on stage at 8.40 to a (at last) packed room. Faces have a few more wrinkles and singer Paul Mcloone's beer belly has gained a few inches since last time I saw them (beer belly + low waist jeans = no good) but the band seemed on good form and plunged straight into a great version of "Jimmy Jimmy". The set list was centered around their eponymous debut LP and complemented with songs cherry picked from the rest of their records (including the two they have put out since reforming in 1999). Paul Mcloone and Michael Bradley did most of the inbetween song banter but unfortunately for me my ears are untrained to the northern Irish accent so most of the time the jokes were lost on me. The revelation of the gig for me was how good a guitar player Damian O'Neill is, he definitely gives Mick Jones or Steve Jones a run for their money !!!  Despite playing for just just one hour and twenty minutes they managed to cramp thirty songs in their set. If the Undertones are playing in your town go and see them, they're definitely put on the best gig of all the punk bands of the classic era that are still touring.

LIVE REVIEW : JOSH ROUSE AT ISLINGTON ASSEMBLY HALLS 22/05/2013

This was my second visit at the Assembly Halls, the first one being for the Zombies last October. Josh Rouse is touring to promote his new LP "The Happiness Waltz" which sees him return to the sound he developed on his most successful albums ("1972" and "Nashville"). Before Josh Rouse came on with his backing, we got a small opening act courtesy of Sean Rowe, singer-songwriter from New-York (state not town, he insisted on the difference). Mr Rowe has a fantastic voice (a bit similar to Chris Rea) and is a very committed performer. He did a short set of his songs and finished with two covers (one being "Long Black Veil" made famous by versions by The Band and Johnny Cash).  Rouse came on stage after a short break accompanied by his 3 piece band. He choose to open the gig with a song from his first LP "Dressed Up Like Nebraska".He introduced the song by saying that each time he played it, he was reminded of feelings of being jet-lagged and of a promoter who one disliked the song and told him in no uncertain terms. This was followed by "Domesticated Lovers" (from "Country Mouse, City House", his best album after Nashville in my opinion, sadly a bit under-represented in tonight's set list) and by a few tunes from the new LP, including new single "Julie (Come out of the rain)". Predictably it was the songs from "1972" and "Nashville" that drew the biggest crowd response. Rouse seemed in good spirits if a little tired (can't use the jet lagged excuse now that he leaves in Spain !!!). He's not a hugely communicative performer but he did attempt a few jokes  including one weird one about how bad the weather had been that the day when it had been quite good (albeit by British standards). To round off the proceedings we got a couple of tunes from Subtitulo, El turista and the Long Vacations album. The backing band was good, shining on the harmonies with every member contributing. The guitar player seemed a bit tense on a couple of solos attracting a couple of raised eyebrows from Rouse. A good gig, that by bringing together songs from almost all his albums highlighted the high standards of Rouse's songwriting through the years

ECHO AND THE BUNNYMEN / PRIMAL SCREAM AT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL 21/03/2013

Two weeks after seiing Ron Sexsmith, here I was back at the Royal Albert Hall to see Primal Scream playing within the Teenage Cancer Trust week of gigs curated this year by Noel Gallagher. To tell the truth I wasn't planning on going at first but the addition of Echo and the Bunnymen as the opening act convinced me to buy a ticket (not cheap by the way, 45 pounds for a seat right at the top of the arena, no standing tickets left by the time I had made up my mind). The gig was advertised with at 7.30pm starting time and bang on schedule Echo and the Bunnymen took the stage. Playing half the show in semi darkness (didn't manage to catch a glimpse of Will Sergeant face for the whole gig), the band stuck to the tried and tested with tracks from their 80's heyday with only one song from there reformation period ("Nothing lasts Forever" from their 1997 comeback album "Evergreen"). Mcculloch' s singing was impeccable and the band the epitome of tightness. I'm a big fan of their second period so I don't mind the slight rearranging of their 80's song in a more classic rock way but some fans might miss the "post-punk" edge that the Les Pattison-Pete de Freitas rhythm section. I'll never understand why they're not held in higher esteem when you see how many great songs they've written ("Back of Love, "The Cutter", "Killing Moon", "Lips like Sugar", "Seven Seas" anf the list goes on..). They played for just over an hour, leaving the stage at 8.30. A short break for setting Primal Scream was followed by a short speech by Noel Gallagher thanking both bands for playing that night.

I had seen Primal Scream only once prior to this gig in 2005 at the transmusicales festival in Rennes. They were going to release Riot City Blues album and had Kevin Shields from My Bloody Valentine on rhythm guitar. The show was fantastic (especially after a dismal performance by The Brianjonestown Massacre) and the tunes from the new record settled in nicely with the old favourites  ("Movin on up", " Swastika Eyes", "Jailbird"). The show at the Royal Albert Hall was also good but the the tunes from their forthcoming album "More Light" paled in comparison to the older numbers. New bass player Simone Butler is good but filling Mani's shoes is a tough job. Bobby Gillespie was his usual self, running from one of the stage to the other (I wonder how many miles he does each night). High point was a fantastic version of the bluesy ballad "Damaged" off Screamadelica. The show would have benefited of being slightly shorter but overall a good performance from the former Glaswegian rockers.

LIVE REVIEW : RON SEXSMITH AT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL 07/03/2013

I first Ron Sexsmith in 2008 in a really small venue called "La Maroquinerie" (he seems to be playing there every time in Paris). At the time he was touring his "Exit Strategy of Soul" album and due to lack of funds he was touring in a 3 piece format without a drummer. The gig was good but you couldn't help feeling that he seemed to look a bit flustered by his lack of commercial success. Fast forward four years and here I am in the Royal Albert Hall to see the last night of the UK tour that has seen Sexsmith promote his latest release "Forever Endeavour". That show was first advertised almost one year ago but without the rising record sales that Sexsmith enjoyed with his previous effort "Long Player, Late Bloomer" he never would have been able to dream of playing in such a place.

There were quite a few empty seats at the top level of the Arena but the venue was more full than what I expected it to be. This time Sexsmith was playing with a full band (with long-time drummer Don Kerr present contrary to the Paris show in 2008). Set list relied heavily on material from "Forever Endeavour" and "Long Player, Late Bloomer" (half of the almost thirty songs came from these two records). Particular highlights were an extended version of "Snake Road" with nice guitar work from Sexsmith and "Believe it when I see it" (my favourite song on LPLB). We got a sprinkling of songs from the back catalogue which included the usual staples "Secret Heart", "Strawberry Blonde" and "Whatever it takes" (covered recently by Michael Bubble which brought a few welcomed pennies to our friend Ron). It was nice to hear "Lemonade Stand" off the "Destination Unknown" collaborative LP that Sexsmith put out in 2005 with drummer Don Kerr, a good song that brought a much needed up-tempo rhythm to an set list rather heavily reliant on ballads.

I'm a big fan of the "Time Being" and "Whereabouts" albums so I was a bit disappointed that only one song from these 2 records was aired that night ("Not about to loose"). Apart from these couple of minor gripes the gig was really good with immaculate musicianship from the band and nice interaction between Sexsmith and the audience (one reviewer said that he answered every heckle from the crowd which is not far from the truth).

LIVE REVIEW : ROBYN HITCHCOCK AT THE VILLAGE UNDERGROUND 28/02/2013

This was second time I'd seen Robyn Hitchcock live. First time being in Aberdeen 3 years ago when he was touring on the back of his then current release "Propellor Time". The venue was so empty that they had to put tables in front of the stage to populate the place !!! Despite this rather slight turnout, Robyn and his band had put on a good show and he seemed pleased to have his childhood hero Mike Heron from The Incredible String Band opening for him.

Fast forward 3 years and things couldn't have been more different, the Village Underground was packed and there was no opening act due to the particular nature of the show. The gig was billed as a celebration of Hitchcock's 60th year on planet earth and a launch night for his latest LP "Love from London". Hitchcock was planning on playing one song from every album he has put out and the basic guitar-drums-bass line-up was "beefed up" with a cellist, 2 back-up singers and a keyboard player. While working his way anti clockwise through his back-catalogue, he was joined by some musician friends, the most well known being Nick Lowe. Though being nice in a kind of "pat in the back" way, the guests didn't bring much to the proceedings. The gig would have been as good without them but maybe they brought extra people through the door.

The set was divided in two halves, first one going from 2013 to 1991, ending with Nick Lowe's appearance on two songs (one of them described by Hitchcock as "a Beatles song I wrote in 1990") and the second one ending with a track from the first Soft Boys album. I'm not familiar with Hitchcock's catalogue but I managed to find a couple of songs on the web afterwards that. There was a really good version of "Ordinary Millionaire" from the "Propellor Time" album. My favourite performance of the night was a song written about his wife called "Queen Jane Approximately" which featured a nice coda with Hitchcock duelling with former Soft Boys guitar player Kimberley Rew. Most of the songs where introduced with with a short speech, "Brenda Iron Sledge" from his first solo album was described as having been written after seiing Captain Beefheart's last London gig in Victoria.

BERT JANSCH / ACOUSTIC ROUTES AT THE ICA LONDON 01/03/2012

It will be 2 years next October since Folk Singer Songwriter (and masterful guitar player) Bert Jansch has passed away. This documentary first shown on British Television in 1992 is being re-released this year in DVD in a remastered version with extra footage. Prior to the DVD release, the new version is being shown in cinemas all around the UK and I managed to catch it at the Institute of Comtemporary Arts last Friday. Far from being a movie centered round Jansch's life, it is more about his peers and the way he was perceived by them. Almost all of the protagonists in the movie get a small humourous introduction by the narrator of the documentary : scottish comedian and musician Billy Connolly. Interviews are intersped with musical performances, either by Jansch just by himself or duetting with other musicians. The range of interviewees covers pretty much every period of Jansch's carreer. We get Jansch duetting with his teenage hero Brownie Mcghee, playing "Blackwater Side" with Ann Briggs while reminiscing his days at the Howff Folk in Edinburgh, writing songs with John Renbourn in his own kitchen... and the list goes on. The highlight for me was the visit of the former site of The Howff folk club in Edinburgh where Jansch first learned to play guitar. Overall a very good documentary with just the right amount of talking, playing and humour.

COTTON MATHER : THE BIG PICTURE

Cotton Mather, America's answer to Teenage Fanclub (without the shoegaze side). Formed in Austin in the first part of the nineties, the band put out their first LP "Cotton is King" in 1994. That first incarnation of the band imploded soon after the release with only singer and rhythm guitar player Robert Harrison and lead guitar player Whit Williams left. The second album was recorded in dribs and drabs over the next two years, first by Harrison and Williams and in a later part with the help of producer Brad Jones. The album almost suffered the fate of its predecessor but thanks to the Gallagher brothers pitching the record in their interviews circa the release of "Be Here Now" (maybe to avoid discussing the shortcomings of their own release ;)), the band started getting quite good airplay on British radio and the sales picked up (not as many as "Be Here Now" but definetely an improvent over "Cotton is King").

 

 

The band spent the next couple of years touring and got to record their 3rd album in better conditions and with more time and money. Although the record hasn't got the charm and "homemade appeal" of its predecessor, it still showcases what a fantastic band Cotton Mather was. The LP starts with "Last of the Mohicans" a fine blast of power pop (not too dissimilar to "Camp Hill Operator" the opener from Kontiki) followed by a mid-tempo rocker "a la Oasis" with "Marathon Man". Although the rockers are uniformally good, it's on the slower numbers  that Harrison's songwriting surpasses itself. Songs like "Baby Freeze Queen", "Monterrey Honey", "Pine Box Builder" and "Condo Lights" belong to the same category as "Here, There and Everywhere" or "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away". There's only one slightly weaker number on the record with the half sung in Italian "Story of Anna" that still manages to redeem its corniness by its catchiness. The record ends with the anthemic Waterfalls followed by a hunting instrumental called "Running Coyote Advances". The high quality of this album is enhanced by a really good sequencing of the songs and the little snippets that link one song to the other. Following a reformation gig to celebrate the re-release of Kontiki, the band members recorded a new song. Hopefully "The Big Picture" will get a follow up.