JEFFREY LEWIS/THE WAVE PICTURES @ CLUB ACADEMY 15 SEPTEMBER 2008

Tonight's gig was a consolation prize for missing End of the Road Festival - both bands having appeared there last year and just this weekend gone. It was also a 'dream team' double bill - an inspired pairing of The Waves Pictures supporting Jeffrey Lewis (here with The Jackals) which at one point looked to be a game of two halves but it definitely finished a score draw with honours shared.

It also strikes me that this gig shows what would happen if you did took some Jonathan Richman DNA and experimented with it. Both bands can - in different ways - be seen as branches of the Richman family tree.

So about 8.20pm The Wave Pictures wander on stage, tip leads out of plastic bags, plug in, turn and face the audience and start playing. If you've heard their lo-fi, keep-the-mistakes-in recordings, it's not a surprise to see this casual approach. But it doesn't prepare you for just how tight the three piece are live.

They play a set that almost deliberately avoids the current album for the most part. They throw in some new songs, old songs, B-sides, a Jonathan Richman cover and also have drummer Jonny sing Now We Are Pregnant. Again it's misleading to think this is self-indulgent or a challenge to the (largely youthful) audience: utter joy to hear songs this good, played so well. I could listen to a whole evening of this.

The Wave Pictures Set-List:

Blue Harbour
Too Many Questions
Kiss Me
If You Leave It Alone
Hotels and Motels
Someone I Care About (J Richman cover)
Now We Are Pregnant
Instant Coffee Baby
Strange Fruit For David


Another casual start for Jeffrey Lewis and The Jackals (brother Jack on bass and barefoot Dave on drums): what I thought was some improvised sound-check jam turns into first song, a cover of Pink Floyd's Set The Controls For The Heart of The Sun as a tribute to Rick Wright who died today.
There were some false starts, duff sound and general untidiness over the next few songs but this was just 'settling in'. Over nearly 90 minutes we got the full range of Jeffrey's output: acoustic humourous songs of rejection and failure, full-band rockin' songs of rejection and failure, Modern Lovers-style wig-outs, Crass covers (great to hear the 20-something crowd singing anarchist chants) and the comic-book interludes. Especially the second one of these: "my World History of Communism Volume 5: Korea". In four minutes of hand-drawn cartoons and rhyming couplet narrative I learnt more about Korea than all my years of reading and listening to the news have amassed: particularly how the two Superpowers divided the country along the 38th Parallel in the late 1940s and installed their own puppet regimes. Inspired.

So a great night of music, humour and charm. All for a tenner. Thank you Pineapple Folk for bringing the tour to Manchester.

HOTELS AND MOTELS
The Wave Pictures
Just Like A Drummer EP [BUY]

KISS ME

The Wave Pictures
Instant Coffee Baby [BUY]

END RESULT

Jeffrey Lewis
12 Crass Songs [BUY]

IF YOU SHOOT THE HEAD, YOU KILL THE GHOUL
Jeffrey Lewis
It's The One's Who've Cracked That The Light Shines Through [BUY]

PS Trying a new hosting service for mp3s. Please let me know of any problems via Comments or email.

Rewards, Rewards, Rewards

Tonight is the first night of the (sold out) End of the Road Festival at Larmer Tree Gardens near Salisbury. After the exceptional time I had last year (see here, here and here), it's a real shame not be there again this year. But it was not to be and I'm not going to whinge about it. Well not here anyway.

Instead let's just play some music. I'm sure for those at EOTR and others elsewhere tonight there will be fireworks and explosions in the sky ...

REWARDS, REWARDS, REWARDS
Fireworks Night
As Fools We Are [BUY]

Lose Big?

So everyone tells me “that hip hop bloke” is a shoe-on. Certainly Ladbrokes think so. With Burial (‘that hip-hop bloke’) at 4/7 odd last time I looked.

Anyway out of loyalty to British Sea Power (but the money goes to Ladbrokes?) I’ve put a bet on BSP. I think it is so unlikely given the recent voting history of the award that BSP even stand a chance as an outside bet but here goes (remember here I suggested Last Shadow Puppets were the likely winner).

So not a betting person but these odds (and my sense of allegiance) demand a shout for Do You Like Rock Music? Let’s see what happens tonight …

The Mercury Music Prize BBC2 10pm

LOSE BIG

Eef Barzelay

Lose Big [BUY]

FRIGHTENED RABBIT @ NIGHT & DAY 5 SEPTEMBER 2008

I missed Frightened Rabbit at Night & Day in April. They pulled out of A Day At The Races in August (and I wasn't there anyway). So I was determined to see them this time in September. Even though on this Friday I had several other commitments; plus seeing them would be at the expense of Camera Obscura at Club Academy. Life is not fair sometimes.

It was worth the effort getting there though. I missed the support bands except for the last three songs by We Were Promised Jetpacks. They are a youthful four-piece from Glasgow, tonight apparently their first gig in England. A perfect support band: similar - but not too similar - to the headliners, playing a fast, furious, sweaty and energetic set - but not going to eclipse the main act. They belong more to the post-punk/garage-rock lineage of Glasgow bands rather than the West Coast harmonies and jangle school. Definitely worth seeing live again - interesting to hear how these breakneck-paced songs come out on record?

A three piece on record, FR are bolstered to a four piece on tour with Scott on guitars/vocals; Billy on guitar/bass/keyboards; Grant on drums and (Billy 2?) on guitar/keyboards. So this meant on the opening couple of songs you had three guitars and drums. Great stuff.

I saw lead singer Scott standing at the side of stage just before their set, with stern expression and intense, staring eyes. Was this existential angst? Nerves? Or just taking a breather? Possibly the latter because on stage, in between songs, he was genial and good-humoured, thanking everyone several times for turning up, apologising for "being so shit" when they appeared in April. However live they lose the warm-natured approach to add a bit of ferocity to the rancour and self-loathing of songs like Fast Blood and The Modern Leper.

A relatively brief set (just under an hour) that took in most of second album The Midnight Organ Fight, they kept up an absorbing level of intensity even in slower songs like Floating On The Forth (claiming tonight they had never played it live before?). The set finished with a (failed) segue into an acoustic performance of Poke from Scott standing alone on the cabinets in front of the stage. It might not have been 'electric' but it was as gripping as the other performances, with the sing-a-long from the crowd seeming to add rather than take away from its power. The band then returned to the stage to finish with Keep Yourself Warm - the bleakest anthem to sexual desperation I think I have ever heard but one of their finest moments.

The Set List:
I Feel Better
Fast Blood
Good Arms Vs Bad Arms
Old Old Fashioned
The Modern Leper
Heads Roll Off
Floating In The Forth
[something here?]
Poke
Keep Yourself Warm

The UK tour continues this month (see here) before Europe and North America in October and then back to the UK to support Death Cab For Cutie.

I FEEL BETTER
POKE
Frightened Rabbit
The Midnight Organ Fight [BUY]

NICO'S MIX CD (from SING YE FROM THE HILLSIDES!)

One of the many delightful aspects of Sing Ye From The Hillsides! was the idea of a Mix CD Bran Tub. Everyone attending was invited to bring a mix CD (no other criteria) to swap on the Sunday (see here for other items suggested to bring).

As I said two posts again, I couldn't stay for the Sunday so don't think there was any formal 'ceremony'; but on Saturday morning a cardboard box was left in the entranceway to the pub and by the evening it was close to full with a variety of CDs.

So I put my CD in. And then I didn't quite do the-properly-random-lucky-dip approach. Instead I grabbed in one go four different CDs and quickly looked them over.

Nico's Mix CD won on two counts. The first was the cover: a simple line drawing on a white background in a slimline jewel case. It was appealing, personalised and clearly put together with a degree of care (others simply had marker pen scrawled over a silver CDR) without being showy. The second was the track-listing.

Apart from Friska Viljor I hadn't heard of ANY of the bands on this sixteen track CD. And look: it has The New Violators from Norway! Cartridge from Denmark! And Velojet from Austria!

To me this is precisely the purpose of a compilation to hear new and unfamiliar music. I suspect Nico hails from continental Europe rather than these island shores; but wherever you are from and whoever you are Nico, my thanks. I don't know what songs on the CD I will continue to listen to; or what I will go on to buy; or what pales over time. But for now I'm just enjoying something new and different and refreshing. Salut! Danke!

LET GO
Chris and the Other Girls
[BUY]

BURMA
The New Violators
[BUY]

THE MONTH AHEAD: Manchester Gigs for September 2008

Photo by John the Monkey on Flickr

Well with 'summer' out of the way, there's a packed month ahead of gigs in Manchester. And I've decided to post a round-up of sorts ... and a compilation of music from artists appearing in September at the end. This may or may not be a regular occurence ...

This is not a definitive list; just gigs I am going to, I would like to go to, or just sound interesting if I had cash/time/inclination to take a chance on etc.

Now as soon as I finished the list I have seen the omissions (from Emmylou Harris to Cats In Paris), possible inaccuracies (is the Bowerbirds actually happening anywhere?) and irregularities (Magic Arm's Myspace lists the Beep Seals at Dulcimer gig but nowhere else does. Myth? Invited guests only?). So please check by standard empirical means before planning a night out around what you see below.

And watch out: there are plenty of gigs clashing throughout the month.

Thurs 4 Sept
Silver Apples at The Roadhouse [BUY TICKETS];
or
American Music Club at Academy 3 [BUY TICKETS]

Friday 5 Sept
Frightened Rabbit at Night and Day [BUY TICKETS];
or
Camera Obscura at Club Academy [BUY TICKETS]

Sun 7 Sept
The Dodos with Euros Childs at The Roadhouse [BUY TICKETS]

Tues 9 Sept
The Autumn Defense with Plush at Night and Day [BUY TICKETS];
or
Bowerbirds at Sacred Trinity Church [BUY TICKETS?]
or
Seabear and Kelley Stoltz at The Deaf Institute [BUY TICKETS]

Thurs 11 Sept
Sun Kil Moon/Mark Kozelek at The Dancehouse [BUY TICKETS];
or
The Beep Seals with Magic Arm at Dulcimer, Chorlton [BUY TICKETS?] [OTHER DATES]

Mon 15 Sept
Bon Iver at Academy 3 [BUY TICKETS];
or
Jeffrey Lewis with The Wave Pictures at Club Academy [BUY TICKETS]

Tues 16 Sept
Shearwater at The Roadhouse [BUY TICKETS]

Sun 21 Sept
Robert Forster at Royal Northern College of Music [BUY TICKETS]

Tues 23 Sept
Liz Green at Matt & Phreds [BUY TICKETS?]

Thurs 25 Sept
Fujiya & Miyagi at The Deaf Institute [BUY TICKETS]

Tues 30 Sept
Bob Log III with The Vipers, Jackie O at The Ruby Lounge [BUY TICKETS]

Well that should keep everyone busy? And to accompany the list here is a 50 minute selection of music:

MANCHESTER GIGS IN MUSIC:SEPTEMBER [DOWNLOAD]
NB: 56MB (not zipped - because I forgot)
Track-listing in comments.

SING YE FROM THE HILLSIDES @ TAN HILL INN - DAY TWO

DAY TWO: SATURDAY

The next morning we decided not to take part in the Tan Hill Olympics (ten events for teams of six) to ensure we saw the acoustic acts advertised as a 1pm start. Whilst potato rolling has it appeal, the music was the main attraction.

Instead of following the programme however the afternoon consisted of The Sounds of Science film screened in the barn, birds of prey handing and flying displays from the Cumberland Bird of Prey Centre (inspired!), more British Ale Power, veg curry and even a game of Scrabble. Plus the rumour was the story of the Arctic Monkeys secret gig had hit the press (actually The Northern Echo - see here) so it was expected Britain's highest pub was about to besieged by fans and journalists.

The acoustic sets eventually started at 5pm. This was Matt Eaton performing solo in the Snug Bar; and then joined by Hamilton on bass and Noble on drums to form three quarters of the Modern Ovens a "which are we? A covers act or a tribute band?" to Jonathan Richman.


Matt performs fairly straightforward folk revival-style songs (a great one about what would happen to all the parts of his body when he died prematurely) but with real heart and charm. The Modern Ovens then gave us four Richman songs including Buzz Buzz Buzz and a lovely Ice Cream Man to finish. So more innocence and charm in an intimate and very cosy room - great stuff.

Then into the barn for Rose Dougall, an ex-Pipette here performing solo with just keyboard accompaniment.

She has a fantastic voice, a set of love (and lost-love) songs that reference the 60s with more depth than the Pipettes, and although very agreeable to spend 30 minutes in the company of, it all left me a bit unmoved.

Sparrow and The Workshop are (I find out afterwards) based in Glasgow even though at first hearing their accents this doesn't seem likely. They are a three piece country-blues outfit with Cat Power'ish lead vocals, although not as languid, and songs that swing from bluegrass-y ballads to alt-country power trio rock. Split of opinions on this one but I thought they were excellent and well worth further listening.

Then Dirty Cakes a six- possibly seven-piece from Brighton, including for this performance Thomas White of Electric Soft Parade and Brakes. However this gave no indication of what we were about to hear. Dirty Cakes perform mutant electro-cabaret with lead singer Stuart Flynn playing at being Eartha Kitt. This didn't split any opinions: Mr P and I were unanimous in our instant dislike to it ("quite possibly the worst support band I have ever seen"). We gave them a chance to the second song - but it was more of the same featuring a chorus (a chant?) of "Flap the Flap" that sent us scurrying to the bar.

We returned for iLIKETRAiNS who had in their words "been laying low" for some time but got the invitation to play on Tuesday (there's nothing like advance playing for putting together a festival ...).

Now I have tried to like iLIKETRAiNS songs before. And I have tried to tell iLIKETRAiNS songs apart before. But I have been unable to do either. They start slowly with steady martial drumming, chiming guitars and doom-laden vocals before building up in tempo and volume and then ... well by this point I've stopped paying attention. Went down well here tonight though.

So the "double nuts" British Sea Power set. It started with a triple opening savlo: Apologies to Insect Life, Remember Me and The Scottish Wildlife Experience. As requested/predicted the crowd went double nuts. It was good-humoured, sweaty but heaving in the small barn so don't expect any good photos from me, there was little chance of standing still for even a second (but plenty of other people with proper cameras were there plus someone videoing the whole event).

The manic pace of the set did get interrupted when guitarist Noble's effects pedals seemed to pack in. So after a version of How Will I Ever Find My Home without him, there was a five minute break to plug everything back together. Noble obviously took the opportunity to crowd surf.

The set restarted with Blackout then into A Trip Out (so a change to list posted below) and soon got that manic tempo back. This was a great BSP performance - despite the technical interruptions the whole band seemed in good humour and to be really enjoying themselves. The problem with seeing them in a venue this small (200 capacity) and then having two sets to include so much from their back catalogue is that seeing them again in a normal venue for a regular set will just not match this.

Strangely Carrion was a bit underwhelming tonight but the final two songs (Lights Out For Darker Skies and No Lucifer) topped a great set. See later for Pelican ...

Following the set there was a chance to cool down and dry out in front of the bonfire whilst waiting for the fireworks to be set off. Now why can't every gig finish this way?

And then back into the barn at 1am for those surprise guests. And other surprises?

Well eventually BSP re-appeared and tore into Pelican. This then stretched into a 50 minute jam with various members of Dirty Cakes, James Ford, possibly some Klaxons (not that I'd know) and the audience joining them on stage to play and swap instruments, dance, drink and indulge in some people-flattening diving and crowd-surfing.

Still all good-humoured, it was amazing that in the chaos no-one got injured. And though enjoyable it wasn't exactly musically vital. If anyone tells you it was an outstanding musical high-point of the weekend - well it's probably the altitude sickness speaking.

Due to other commitments (Happy Birthday Miss C!), we had to miss the Sunday. The advertised programme was much quieter (Sunday roasts, a pub quiz at 3pm and BSP performing Man of Aran early evening) so although a shame not to be there, if you had to miss one day ...

So will Sing Ye From The Hillsides become a regular event? Let's hope so. Not everything that was advertised happened (no drunken catwalk competition on Saturday evening), the weather was as rubbish as the rest of August and many things did not happen on time, mainly because there was an air of we'll-see-how-it-works-on-the-day about the whole event. But this and the setting and warm feeling it generated in everyone was part of the real charm. Roll on next year ...

SPENCER PERCEVAL
iLIKETRAiNS
Elegies to Lessons Learnt [BUY]

ICE CREAM MAN
Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers
Rock 'n' Roll with The Modern Lovers [BUY]

REMEMBER ME
THE SCOTTISH WILDLIFE EXPERIENCE
NO LUCIFER
British Sea Power
[BUY] [BUY] [BUY]

SING YE FROM THE HILLSIDES @ TAN HILL INN 29-31 AUGUST 2008

Sing Ye From The Hillsides, Britain's smallest festival, was always going to be different but in addition to the bands and the advertised activities (see here), there was still a few extra surprises. Who would have expected being able to fly a Harris Hawk, wonder which yurt Mark Ronson would be sleeping in, and or discussing how to repel a siege of journalists and Arctic Monkeys fans?

DAY ONE: FRIDAY

Arriving at Friday lunchtime at Tan Hill Inn, it was only proper to enjoy a few pints of Black Sheep bitter with a baguette and chips before putting up tents. Exchanging tickets for wristbands mid-afternoon, with the first bands not on until 8pm what else was there to do but head by in to the pub to enjoy a bottle or two of British Ale Power specially brewed for the weekend by the Dent Brewery?

The music on Friday started with The Witch and The Robot. I'd seen them before supporting BSP at the Brudenell in Leeds and the memories weren't that positive. Second viewing didn't change that opinion. The three piece plus drum machine (malfunctioning tonight) are joined on stage by plastic snakes, feather boas, helium ballons, a papier-mache headed stage 'dancer', projected images (more of papier-mache head man running around the Lake District alternating with 'prose-poetry' - I'm being kind) and an entourage of more dancers wearing paper chemical suits and masks inviting the audience to write on their bodies with felt pens. So you can imagine what the music is like: a messy collision of too many ideas. They finish with song 'More Mackerel than Mineral' and this sums it up really.

The next band were completely new to me: Silvery. They are a four-piece who look like a blend of two-parts 90s indie band to one-part 60s Carnaby Street. But they sound like an update of 70s Sparks - fairground keyboards, jittery rhythms, falsetto vocals, and great fun. Very English eccentric, very arty glam rock that deserves a listen even if that description sends shivers down your spine.

British Sea Power had advertised tonight's set (the first of three over the weekend) as 'gentle': so guitarist Noble advised the crowd that they could go "double nuts" tomorrow night. However this wasn't the quiet, acoustic evening this might suggest.

The set featured lots of little played songs and old favourites all kicking off A Wooden Horse. Great to hear Childhood Memories and The Lonely live (it's been a long time for both) and Tugboat (from Rough Trade's Stop Me If You Heard This One Before compilation) was magnificent.

The crowd and the band both seemed a bit cautious in the first half of the set - it was going to be a long weekend and some sensible pacing was required. But by the end of the main part of the set, a trio of songs (Larsen B, Favours in the Beetroot Fields and A Lovely Day Tomorrow) sent everyone wild. And then the crowd-suring (band and audience) started. The final song was an extended Lately/Rock in A that took in all sorts of extras and detours - I caught a snatch of Out of My Mind and Dope and Speed but everything else flew past - it was glorious.

The Setlist:

What better way to cool down than a few more beers and to indulge in further discussion of the day's main festival gossip: that tomorrow night Sing Ye From The Hillsides would be the location for James (Simian Mobile Disco) Ford's stag-do with members of The Klaxons and Arctic Monkeys (probably performing a secret set) and Mark Ronson in attendance. Ronson would be flying in by helicopter. And probably be bringing Lily Allen. Eh?!

Part Two to follow ...

ALBERT'S EYES
THE LONELY
British Sea Power
[BUY] or [BUY]

TUGBOAT
Galaxie 500
Today [BUY]

PS A big THANK YOU to Ms N for providing us with a gift to take for the band/the weekend/the hell of it. Of course what else could it be but a cake. Of antarctic coastal ice-shelf Larsen B. With Great Skuas on.

A Lovely Day Tomorrow ...

Well I said here that I wasn't going to any festivals ...

But tomorrow is the start of Sing Ye From The Hillsides! a three day British Sea Power-curated festival for 200 people at Tan Hill Inn, Britain's highest pub (and see here for last year's report of BSP at Tan Hill Inn. And at least it's not November this year).

Entertainment for the weekend includes husky racing, duck-herding, a pub quiz, a tug of war and an attempt to record the loudest ever human voice. Plus the following instructions:

For all the brave folk coming to the Tan Hill Inn, we invite you all to bring along the following:
1) A Book – For a lucky dip book exchange
2) Mix CD – To be played on Tan Hill stereo, and for a lucky dip Mix CD exchange
3) Piece of wood – For the bonfire
4) Firework – For Hamilton's firework display
5) Cushion – The barn will be a makeshift cinema during the daytime so make yourself comfortable.
6) Card/Board Games – If you so wish
7) Special outfit, which you think embodies BSP – For drunken catwalk competition

So bags are packed, outfits chosen, and the weather outlook (see here) is looking good.

A LOVELY DAY TOMORROW
British Sea Power allied with The Ecstasy of Saint Theresa
And While We Kept On Drinking EP [BUY]

THE HIDDEN CAMERAS @ RUBY LOUNGE 24 AUGUST 2008

I've been conditioned to expect gigs these days to be curfewed, particularly at Manchester Academy venues. So I'm used to a 11pm finish. Tonight The Hidden Cameras played Club Brenda's Alternative Mardi Gras Extravaganza with doors opening at 10.30pm, first act at 11.15pm and the whole shebang finishing at 3am. Nothing a large pot of coffee before going out couldn't solve.

Now We Got Tickets is a great service, easy to use and reasonable fees. But come on. An on-screen confirmation and a print-at-home email message is NOT the same as a ticket stub!

Ruby Lounge was HEAVING. Busiest I have seen it. And it makes much more sense as a club rather than solely a live music venue; lots of corners and alcoves and sections, plenty of space to spread out.

Bit later than advertised, with a brief intro from MC The Divine David, The Hidden Cameras took to the stage. This is the first time I'd seen the band live. And I realised it was also the first time I'd actually seen what they look like. And they are a rum bunch.


In the seven piece (drums, bass, guitar, two keyboards, violin and cello) there several players who look like standard N. American indie-rock band members. Then there is Maggie the keyboard player who with vintage cotton-print dress, immaculate red hair and glossy lipstick looks like she belongs in a 1950s set drama like Madmen. Then the other keyboard player and the drummer appear to be Central Casting extras for a low-budget frat college comedy wearing between them a towelling headband, oversize baseball hat and a t-shirt with day-glo aliens on it.

Then there is band-leader Joel.

Joel was getting shouts before he even took to the stage. And you can see why. But rather than the romantic indie-gospel troubadour I was expecting he looks like a US military marine on R&R: denim jeans, tight grey t-shirt, severe cropped hair and even more severe cheek-bones. And when he sang, even on a slower number like Awoo, he appeared to be in pain: mouth contorted, neck muscles straining.

The set started slowly with two new (or new to me) songs in the first three but then things quickly picked up pace. Hidden Camera songs are big on melody and range from floaty to frenetic but live they add fierce too: lots of on-stage screaming and leaping about as well as Joel's pained facial contortions. The whole thing is infectious and jubilant. And it all peaked with the encores, first an exceptional Ban Marriage with the crowd singing, leaping and still shouting for Joel, and then synchronised dance movements to Breathe On It. "Gay church folk music" doesn't get any better.

The Set List:
[new song]
Follow These Eyes
[new song: Hypnotise?]
Awoo
Death Of A Tune
Heji
B-Boy
Day Is Dawning
Learning The Lie
Hump From Bending
A Miracle
In The Union of Wine
Smells Like Happiness
Music Is My Boyfriend
----
Ban Marriage
Breathe On It

HUMP FROM BENDING
LEARNING THE LIE
The Hidden Cameras
Awoo [BUY]

BAN MARRIAGE
The Hidden Cameras
The Smell Of Our Own [BUY]

Before we start, if we start ...

Well I finally joined Rough Trade's The Album Club after at least 12 months' of saying I would.

Basically this is a subscription service where for £12 a month RT send you their pick of the month ("The Album") together with listening notes ("The Fold") to this album plus their 9 other picks. And if you don't like The Album (they do like the definitive article) you can post it back to swap for one of the other records of the month. It's available either for CDs or digital download. And you can cancel at anytime.

Clearly this is genius. What a simple idea and as they say "it couldn't be easier to discover and own the very best new music". So I joined at the beginning of the month and then had THREE WEEKS to kill until delivery time.

The first delivery was due Friday just gone but arrived 24 hours later. Just to add to the sense of anticipation. There's new Ballboy and James Yorkston albums due in the next few weeks (both essential purchases in my book) - could these be The Album??

With eager fingers I carefully opened the jiffy bag to find ... Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve.
Eh?

Reaching for The Fold I find that this album ("3rdmynd") is a compilation of ultra-limited vinyl releases by a mystery duo who turn out to be Richard Norris of The Grid and Erol Alkan. (The Grid they had that single "Swamp Thing" didn't they? About the same time as "Cotton-Eyed Joe" ...).

Hmmm. Dance producer and a DJ. Given my listening time is finite and I have no interest in dancing, particularly to repetitive beats, I avoid most dance music and anything that refers to 'beats per minute'. My preference is for music that follows two rough templates, either
a) verse-chorus-verse-feedback; or
b) maudlin introspection-chorus-maudlin introspection-repeat maudlin introspection to fade.

So with a sense of disappointment I started listening, reluctantly, to "3rdmynd". Well blow me. It ain't dance music. It's mighty, mighty fine music. Me and my prejudice.

Here's what RT say:


I don't know exactly what Beyond The Wizzard's Sleeve have done. These tracks are not mash-ups. They are not updatings or remixes of old tracks. They appear to have found obscure psych tracks and lovingly enhanced them. That's the best way to describe it. It feels like fans playing homage.

It starts with Before We Start, If We Start which is takes a spoken word extract, loops it, speeds it up and then crashes it headfirst into feedback. This is just the beginning of the inventiveness. The music that follows is timeless and it soars and it uplifts. Truly mindbending psychedelia. And in Winter in June it blends 60s pop innocence and charm with Percy Thrower's gardening tips. 4 and 1/2 minutes where I just grinned like an idiot.

BUBBLE BURST
WINTER IN JUNE
Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve
3rdmynd [BUY]

The Album Club [JOIN]

The Fold also includes three recommendations from BTWS of records that influenced them and then the other nine recommendations. These can be streamed on the website for subscribers and, of course, all ordered for the standard price of £12.

And I thought joining might be a way to save money. It's going to cost me a fortune. But if the first CD is anything to go by, it's going to be glorious.

TONIGHT IN MANCHESTER: The Pictish Trail and 'Kwaing Creasite'

Well who could ‘Kwaing Creasite’ be?

Best value night out in Manchester to be had: Johnny Lynch aka The Pictish Trail promoting his debut album Secret Sound with support from KC, "some of The Earlies" and Sophie's Pigeons.

All at the Deaf Institute for £5 face value. [BUY TICKETS]

And to think: my 20 minutes of indecision about whether £32.50 was worth paying to see Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (doh! of course it was) cost me tickets for the November gig. Don't let apathy or indecision get in your way of attending tonight's gig.

COD LIVER OIL
SECRET SOUND #4

King Creoste & The Pictish Trail

[BUY]

RANK AMATEUR

Well I jokingly call my record collecting "archiving": keeping an ordered collection of all the music and associated items I own. The catch being it's not very ordered.

But then I saw this film about Paul Mawhinney and Record-Rama and realise that the term doesn't even come close compared to what he has done. This short film is astonishing, inspiring and deeply moving; and a sad metaphor for the possible fate of the recorded music industry ... Click on 'The Archive' below to view.


The Archive from Sean Dunne on Vimeo.

NEW MARK MULCAHY SONG!

Well sort of. Laura from the As Far As We Know forum took some video footage of the Mark Mulcahy gig at the Elevens, Northampton MA on 8/8/08. And posted it on You Tube.

Given the difference between traffic in AFAWK (the MM and Miracle Legion forum) and You Tube, this was a good move. The song is "Home in a Basket". Concentrate on the music rather than the cinematography ...



For the set list from the gig you'll have to visit the forum. Now all we have to do is wait for the new album? And a UK tour too please.

I HAVE PATIENCE
Mark Mulcahy
In Pursuit of Your Happiness [BUY]

FROM THE VINYL RACK ... "My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts" by David Byrne and Brian Eno

Released in 1981 (recorded 1979-80), this album was re-released on CD in the mid-90s and then a digitially re-mastered and expanded version was released on CD and digitally in 2006. But to me, this album is for listening to on vinyl. It is one of the records which for the life of me I cannot remember where or when I bought it (I've got a nagging feeling it might have been a large high street retailer like HMV ...) but it feels like I've always had a copy.

I started buying Talking Heads albums seriously and devotedly in around 82-83, so I guess I must have bought this about the same time. This was one of those records where I would say "you've GOT to listen to this" before playing someone a track. And I'd either get the raised eyebrows/sympathetic smile/pained expression or the "what the hell is this/this is brilliant" response. I went through a period that lasted several years where The Jezebel Spirit was an essential component of any compilation tape.

Well to read more about the extraordinary making of the record or how pioneering and influential it has been, read on to the next paragraph. But really what you should do is listen to the music. The record is an astonishing collision of East and West, of African funk and dub with electronic experimentation, with a magpie approach to sampled voices. It is always refreshing and fresh and inspiring to listen to.

So if you want the critical analysis: David Byrne talks about the making of the record here as part of the for site set up for the remaster release (here) with essays by David Toop and Paul Morley and plenty of other material.

And earlier this year there was a "will-they-won't-they" couple of months when it was suggested that Byrne and Eno were working together and might even tour together. And possibly even playing MLITBOG material?! Well here's the official announcement:

David Byrne and Brian Eno have paired up for their first record together as co-writers since the highly influential and critically acclaimed 1981 release My Life in the Bush of Ghosts. Due out August 18, Everything That Happens Will Happen Today is the culmination of a year's worth of writing, recording, and travel between New York and London. The album will be self-released and made available as a stream and digital download for purchase exclusively through everythingthathappens.com.

Everything That Happens... was conceptualized during a visit to Brian Eno's studio after the two reconnected upon Nonesuch Records' re-release of Bush of Ghosts. Byrne explains, "I recall Brian mentioning that he had a lot of largely instrumental tracks he'd accumulated, and since, in his words, he 'hates writing words,' I suggested I have a go at writing some words, and tunes over a few of them, and we see what happens." Thus the two began exchanging vocal and instrumental tracks, and the transatlantic collaboration began.Everything That Happens... is less a collage than the duo's previous effort of some 27 years ago and more a collection of songs... this latest recording almost exclusively features Byrne's lyrics and voice alongside Eno's various electronic tracks. "When we started this work, we started to think we were making something like electronic gospel: a music where singing was the central event, but whose sonic landscapes were not the type normally associated with that way of singing," says Eno. "This thought tapped into my long love affair with gospel music, which, curiously, was inadvertently initiated by David and Talking Heads."

With a Byrne tour, David Byrne, Songs of David Byrne and Brian Eno scheduled in support of the release of Everything That Happens from the fall of `08 through early `09 in the U.S., Australasia in early '09, and Europe in March 09, the focus will be on these new songs as well as Byrne's previous collaborations with Eno including some Talking Heads albums (many of which were produced by Eno). "The live shows will maybe try to draw a line linking this new material with what we did 30 years ago," explains Byrne, "a little bit anyway."

That "a little bit anyway" is telling. On the first listen to the single track available free from the ETHWHT site, this is a more straightforward collaboration, more akin to late-period Talking Heads that MLITBOG. Maybe live something special might happen ...?

THE JEZEBEL SPIRIT
MEA CULPA
MOUNTAIN OF NEEDLES
My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts [BUY]

TONIGHT IN MANCHESTER: Gossamer Albatross and Lucy & the Caterpillar

Free gig tonight at Abode in Chorlton (3 miles from city centre) from the folks at Mushaboom! Here's what they say:

Mushaboom hosts what will surely be one of our most magical nights yet with...

GOSSAMER ALBATROSS - Like a teenage Beirut..but from Hereford. Unmissable."The strings could easily have been gathered between the fingers of Owen Pallet, the words delivered from the mouth of Zach Condon. Something really special." cutandpasteandtwist.com

LUCY & THE CATERPILLAR - Drawing comparisons to Regina Spektor and Vashti Bunyan, and backed by the likes of Radio 1's Huw Stephens, Lucy is one to watch...And now you can thanks to Mushaboom! Unmissable too!

GOD'S LITTLE ESKIMO - a one man band using a blend of layered vocals, acoustic guitar, glockenspiel and whatever else is at hand to create a warm, haunted world of harmonies, rhythms and loops...and yes he's unmissable!

Three unmissables AND free entry? How can you say 'no'?

TOM WAITS' GLITTER AND DOOM TOUR - A "NEAR MISS"

Tom Waits, Edinburgh 2008. Photo by Kenny Maths on Flickr

Well here was another 'near miss' during my holidays (see previous post): whilst I was holidaying in Wales, Tom Waits was playing two gigs in Edinburgh. Only 330 miles and a 6.5 hour drive away. And I didn't have a ticket. But I reckon that's about as near a miss to seeing him live I'll have for a LONG time.

Three things make a TW gig special. Firstly the rarity: his London gig 4 yrs ago was his first in the UK for 17 yrs. I did try to get tickets, failed, and then realised the futility of this: over 200,000 other people were trying at the same time. And harder than me. For only 2,500 or so tickets. Which brings us to the second thing: he only plays theatres, not enormous air hanger-sized arenas or even big festivals. And then third is he is such a consumate performer/entertainer, not just a great singer or songwriter. Read the broadsheet reviews here, here, here and here to get a flavour of this.

But if short on time, read this excellent account of the first night at Edinburgh by Song By Toad here including set-list and links to some more top photos. And there's also this and plenty more at the same location.

If like me you missed, well hopefully in another 4 or 17 years we'll get our chance. Until then there is always this:

We at NPR are exclusively webcasting and podcasting a concert from Tom Waits’ Glitter and Doom tour. The show was recorded July 5 at the historic Fox Theater in Atlanta, GA. Here’s the link to the page to stream the show: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92916923 And you can download the show via our All Songs Considered Live in Concert podcast, here: http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast/podcast_detail.php?siteId=15842121 Enjoy!

HOIST THAT RAG

Real Gone [BUY]

EYEBALL KID
Mule Variations [BUY]

GOD'S AWAY ON BUSINESS
Blood Money [BUY]

BACK FROM HOLS!

Well back in the land of mobile phone reception and the interweb. Despite being miles from anywhere (except the beach, the Welsh mountains, waterfalls and wildlife etc) had some close misses with music-related events or locations.

Arriving in mid-Wales on Saturday, it took to Sunday to realise I was in close proximity to two music festivals. The first was Gŵyl Gardd Goll or the Lost Garden Festival near Caernarfon. More info here.

Not familiar with any of the artists other than Euros Childs and Sweet Baboo but read the blurb on the link above - sounds a superb event in an idyllic location. And only £8 for the day. One for next year maybe.

The other was in Borth only a mile or two from where I was staying: The Square Festival. 60 bands, 6 stages, 2 days said the poster, acts included Alabama 3, The Hot Puppies and The Crimea.

And then managed to drive past but not visit Andy's Records in Aberystwyth. From a moving vehicle it looked definitely worth a visit ...

So near-misses - but after all I WAS on holiday to spend time with my family (must remember this ...)

HI MEWN SOCASAU
Euros Childs
Chops [BUY]

HENRY A MATILDA SUPERMARKETSUPER
Euros Childs
Bore Da [BUY]

HYPO FULL OF LOVE (12 Step Plan)
Alabama 3
Exile On Coldharbour Lane [BUY]

BOTTLENECK AT CAPEL CURIG
Half Man Half Biscuit
Trouble Over Bridgewater [BUY]

CONTRAFLOW
The Fall
The New Real Fall LP [BUY]

A470 SONG
Soft-Hearted Scientists
Take Time To Wonder In A Whirling World [BUY]

SUMMER FUN

Escaping to the beach for a few weeks. No gigs, no internet, no blogging. And the point is?

Given the beach is in Wales and this is the Great British Summer, may be returning with trenchfoot.

Back soon.

SUMMER FUN
The Barracudas

Drop Out With The Barracudas [BUY]

MERCURY POISONING?

I really don't like awards and award ceremonies. And I particularly despise music awards. So what to make of British Sea Power being nominated for the Mercury Music Prize? Sorry - the Nationwide Mercury Music Prize (so good they had to sponsor it twice?).

The full short list is here. For the last couple of years, when I have bothered to pay the Mercurys any attention at short-list stage, there's always been a moment when I got excited about someone on that list and thought "now THEY would be a worthy winner" - see The Go! Team in 2005, Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan in 2006, The Young Knives in 2007 etc.

But nothing too interesting ever wins: the Mercurys (or any mainstream music awards) either appear to reward mediocrity and middle-of-the-road-ness (M People's 'Elegant Slumming' anyone?) or go for the 'popular-at-the-time-supposedly-alternative' option (Franz Ferdinand, Arctic Monkeys) .

Now wouldn't it be good to see this performed live at the awards ceremony as worthy winners?



Yes?! Well I don't think it is going to happen. There's some concern on the BSP forum that such awards = success = playing arenas = not being the band we loved in the first place. Well BSP are too interesting (read 'niche', 'cult') to play arenas or to win an award like this. And I don't think the short-list necessarily helps with acclaim, recognition or sales. What did it do for The Delgados and 'The Great Eastern' in 2000? Now THAT would have been a worthy winner ...

See what I mean?

Anyway to show my loyalty(?!) I think I will have a tenner on BSP at 12/1, publicly predict Laura Marling but fully accept that The Last Shadow Puppets have it sewn up.

MERCURY POISONING
Graham Parker & The Rumour
Squeezing out Sparks [BUY]

NO DANGER
The Delgados
The Great Eastern [BUY]