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Sunday, 4 April 2010
Alcoholic Faith Mission, London, 30 March 2010
What gets recorded and what a band can get out in a live setting are all too often two different sports. Very occasionally, you can be lucky enough to find a band that can not only achieve studio quality, but surpass it and bring something new and wonderful to the live arena. Tonight was one of those nights.
If you have followed my coverage of Alcoholic Faith Mission's last two albums, you will know that I found something to be quite excited about. In point of fact, I was not alone in that. The new album Let This Be The Last Night We Care has been earning glowing reviews everywhere from the blogeratti to the august pages of the Guardian newspaper.
So let's give a tiny bit of back story. The band have been together a little while, growing and metamorphosing from the original duo of Thorben and Sune to reach their present fivesome-ness. From Copenhagen, they have toured extensively in Europe but this was the first time playing in the UK. Last Tuesday night was the last of four dates. They started at Barfly in Camden on the Saturday. I wasn't there but I gather they experience some of the usual Saturday night crowd noisiness. They then took themselves to Cardiff for a night and then on to Manchester, where they supported Besnard Lakes at the Dulcimer. And thereby hangs a tale, as trombone player and electronics specialist Gustav managed to leave half his kit in Cardiff. This meant that as soon as they got off stage in Manchester, they had to drive straight back to Cardiff, pick up his missing pedals and then get their asses back to London and Wilmington. Knackered I think is the word, bringing us bang up to tonight's gig
Not really knowing what time anybody was on, I got there about eight in time to have a beer with a friend and catch the supports. The night was put on by Ant Chalmers who runs the God Don't Like It website and shows. Booking acts that are just breaking must be a lot easier to get right in hindsight, so kudos to Ant for getting this on tonight, and his usual unerring eye for quality.
First up was Russell Joslin who was a more than decent solo singer songwriter with acoustic guitar. That's not entirely accurate as he started off with banjo but managed to break it just as he was 'getting to the good bit'. Fair do's though, he finished his set playing the most worn out Gibson acoustic jumbo this side of Tennessee. Enjoyable enough to pass the time and maintain interest.
Next on were Deer Park. These were lovely americana, enlivened by lap steel. I really liked these. If it want to risk hate mail, what went through my head was that "the National could sound this good if the National weren't quite so annoying". Best song of their set was 'Running' which contain the excellent line "She said that I attract trouble ... so what does that make you?". The word 'evocative' is what I scribbled on my hand, along with 'epic', for their storytelling, and 'longing' for the emotion. That's what they did for me.
Bizarre moment of the evening happened round about here - I popped out to the loo and saw someone with definite boho flair (and hat and hair) coming in. On my way back into the bar, I could see the same person now wandering out of the door. Apparently it was none other than Adam Ant asking politely if he could get on stage and do a couple of numbers, which just wasn't going to be possible on tonight's tight bill. Let's hope he comes back, it would be a pity not to see that come to fruition in some way.
By the time Alcoholic Faith Mission got on stage, it was well past 10. Their recorded output is effect heavy, drowned in reverb, textured and layered. From the kit on stage, I anticipated that they were going to reproduce some of this on stage, which gladdened my heart. It did mean though that they were never going to spring up there and jauntily strum straight into it. That's not to say there was any huge delay, but it was all leading to the inevitable pinch point out that dreaded British institution, the 11 o'clock curfew.
The moment they started up, it was clear that they were aiming for the full magic. For a second or two I worried that Kristine's quite girly voice might not carry in here, in what was essentially the back room of a pub. I shouldn't have been concerned. First off, this 'back room' has audio quality to put bigger places to shame. The magic factor though was the energy and emotion that Kristine and Thorben poured into the vocals, and that the rest of the band brought forth too. It almost brought tears of emotion to my eyes and would have won over a queue at a bus stop. As it was, this was no bus queue, this was a fabulously enthusiastic crowd. I don't know who was producing the most whooping and hollering, band or audience. Quite some Danish contingent included, but not to my surprise camp followers, more like people that had picked up on the band at the Barfly four days earlier.
Alcoholic Faith Mission opened with 'Education'. By the time they got through the next couple of numbers to 'Honeydrip', Kristine's voice,soaring up high, and Thorben's down here on earth were really producing the goods. For someone who can sound quite wispy, in a live setting Kristine was bouncing and straining against the leashes, putting it out in a powerful way. Look at the photos, on this occasion they don't lie.
Gustav (hitherto known as the man with the flashiest shoes in rock 'n' roll) was making the trombone felt in 'I Heard You Call', producing jazz like pools of stillness at one and the same time as keeping the rest of the plates spinning. At times, it was clear that he was double tracking the bone by playing across pre-recorded pieces. There was absolute honesty in this when he put his instrument down and let the half-version keep coming out of the MacBook. I was loving it and so were the crowd by the sound and feel of it.
'Time' - one of only a couple of numbers from previous album 421 Wythe Avenue - came complete with disembodied radio voices. It also highlighted the change across to 'live' - the slight delicacy of the album version being replaced by a thwacking drum driven sound. It was the most discordant moment of the set, and suited this respectful but loudly enthusiastic crowd down to the ground.
There was a charming moment of interlude while the band cracked a bottle of champers to toast Gustav's birthday, then onto into 'Closer To Dallas', again the live production throwing me by somehow coming over all 60's girl group harmony. There were shouts from the audience for 'Got Love Got Shellfish' - possibly the most likely single contender on the new album - with Thorben assuring us it was on its way. The band were starting up for 'Nut In Your Eye', a song often thought to be about porn, and in actuality about, ahem, porn, when they were told they had time for one more song, due to that cursed curfew. I understand the reasons, but hell's teeth it is frustrating.
They played out and up to curfew, putting so much into it that chatting afterwards to Thorben I was surprised that he felt he was slightly under par tonight. They were nothing but knock out, easily one of the best gigs I've been to, at all, whenever. If they end up getting back here in late summer to play a certain festival, they alone would make a camping weekend a very tempting proposition. Lovely people, they came out to chat. Overheard comment from someone who had just bought all 3 CDs off the merch stall and was queuing for an autograph - he had heard one track on the radio a few days ago and was their new biggest fan. Yeah, I can get that, my only regret is that I didn't get to all four UK gigs.
HQ photo uploads at http://picasaweb.google.com/catshoe/AlcoholicFaithMission#
First published at altsounds http://hangout.altsounds.com/reviews/116686-alcoholic-faith-mission-at-the-wilmington-arms-london-live.html
Bleech - Wrexham 1 April 2010
Read my opinion in the TJF post below - which is very positive about Bleech
The Joy Formidable, London (24/3/10) and Wrexham (1/4/10)
A tale of two cities and a small town. That would be Manchester, London and Wrexham. Three great venues to get to see The Joy Formidable on their current tour before they head off again to Scotland, then Europe, then the States. At some point soon the album gets released (it's all finished recording) and they come back to Britain to start all over again. On tour is where they seem to spend most of their lives. It works for me as much as it apparently does for them. Why these three gigs? Manchester - first night of the tour, so it had to be done: London - the chance to see them somewhere BIG; Wrexham - well I live nearby, two of the band grew up nearby as well, it's where I saw them first and it should be some sort of homecoming gig.
For those that don't know them, the band are Rhydian Dafydd and Ritzy Bryan, school friends in rural North Wales, and drummer Matt Thomas from oh-so-sunny Wolverhampton. Rhyd and Ritzy were there to start with, through a couple of different bands, then became The Joy Formidable originally with a different drummer. Matt's been with them precisely a year, or so he said at some point in Manchester. There are drummers who do a sterling job providing the engine room but that's it. Then there are drummers who really are a huge and integral part of the band, and that's Matt. He plays so hard he has to tape up the skin on his hands and his sticks get worn down to pulp. I know because I begged a souvenir stick off him for my daughter and it's like a soggy piece of well chewed sugar cane. His fingers look the same.
I have to declare from the outset that I'm 'a bit of a fan'. At a rough count, the dates on this tour would take me up to seeing The Joy Formidable a dozen times. Not as rabid as some though. Despite their relatively short history, there are the TRULY committed that have managed to notch up 20 or more live shows even despite coming to the fold relatively recently. They must be semi-deaf by now - The Joy Formidable are one LOUD band. But that does reveal a factor with this band, more than most others. Get to hear them live just the once and there is very good chance that the foam flecks of rabid fervour will start to form during the evening, and you'll be their willing bitch for life.
And so onto the gigs.
The Ruby Lounge I have always regarded as a great venue. Top noise, PA loud without excoriating your earlugs. And in my very particular experience, decent views of the band. From comments tonight though, I have to also remember those who don't camp out on the pavement to get in the front row. Actually second row tonight, I must have been a bit tardy on the motorway into town - that's a joke if you've seen me drive. There's a bit of a choke point in front of the stage in the Ruby, if you get stuck standing further back than a set of pillars, you're not going to see much. The stage is more like a fenced in back yard, rising a majestic few inches higher than the main floor. Ritzy commented that it normally didn't bother her but tonight she was really feeling her five footness, trying to see anything but the front row. It's still a great club venue though.
Support were Baddies. I've got to say that with all due apology and respect, they did nothing to lift themselves above the ordinary. Great post punk attitude but the music and particularly the vocals were like a dull curry. I hate saying it because they wanted so much to please, and wanted so much to warm us up for the main act. Loads of the crowd loved them in all fairness, whooping as well as clapping, obviously more in the mood than yours truly.
And on to The Joy Formidable, who came on like the sonic boom of a jet fighter passing close overhead. What wonderful lovely noise, loud enough to make your guts vibrate. Within seconds of being on stage, Ritzy came up to that special level of intensity she has, like some transient possession by greater forces. If you are near enough the front there will be a moment when your are convinced she is looking straight at you and through you, eyes boring through to the back of your skull in some sort of accusation. They ploughed into Greatest Light, Cradle, Last Drop and Austere. Those are all their very oldest songs. It wasn't until they got to Ostrich that they started to come even forward in the song-book. What really surprises me is how fresh these oldest numbers always sound to me, no matter just how many times I've heard them over the past couple of years. Next we were bang up to date with Magnifying Glass; it's really quite some personal relief to that these new songs cut the mustard alongside old ones. Back then to Anemone, followed by the relative quiet (just for a moment) of Whirring, and current single Popinjay, which is (a) brand new and (b) with its repeated build up of squealing guitar line, possibly the strongest thing they've produced since those first songs.
It was an audience of two halves. I'm really aware of the ability of indie kids to just stand there at times. Hey it's not called shoegaze for nothing. Tonight had lots of that going on, with a sharp and sudden transition into a middle bit of mosh madness, like someone had stirred the middle of a chocolate mousse leaving the outer bits undisturbed. I was caught on the border of the two tribes. The only thing I would say tonight specifically about some of these would-be moshers, is that they weren't even facing the band. You got the feeling that rather than being caught up in the moment, just maybe they had it all carefully pre-planned, and that it was all about them, not about the music.
Somewhere around this point, there were shouts of "I love you Ritzy" - "No, I love you more" and I could see Rhydian give a little grin. It must be a buzz to be one half of a couple with someone as compelling as Miss Bryan. And then a cry from afar of "Ritzy....Ritzy....Ritzy". As it was repeated, I could see Ritz cock her ear, then say "I know that voice....she's only allowed out one day a year....and if she carries on it won't be Mother's Day for much longer!" It was of course Ritzy's mum Angie, a 4'11" force of nature who within seconds came burrowing at vast speed forward in the crowd heading for the barrier. My friend Shay might have thought he was safely ensconced in the front row but found himself a victim of involuntary polite reaction and making way for someone who really needed to be in the front row.
There is never a guarantee this band will automatically encore. Tonight we were treated to Greyhound In the Slips and While The Flies. From what I'm told, the audience the next night in Liverpool were not so lucky. A great start to the tour, ending for us chatting with the band round the merch stall.
The next gig for me was the Electric Ballroom in London. I was going to meet up with one of my best mates, he was supposed to be in some swanky hotel but they cocked up his booking meaning I had a very last minute phone call to ask if he could sleep on my couch. Natch of course. So we sorted that, then got our asses on the tube up to Camden. I was thrilled to see it sold out and was even inured to there being touts outside, in fact amused to hear them gruffly trying to sell me tickets to "Formidable Joy". I'll have some of that, it sounds good. This is a great venue. I broke the habit of a lifetime and left the camera(s) behind. I'm glad I did, tonight deserved no distraction from stage front.
A quick word on support. I really admired Baddies for yet again doing their best to get us going. The crowd were well up for it tonight. I was quite surprised in the gap between Baddies and the next band to able to walk straight to front, bagsy-ing places for me and Tom in the second row. I thoroughly enjoyed next support Fun. I can see why there might have been some accusations of being like Del Amitri, but I have them down as much more worthy than that, well paced American indie rock with a touch of something to lift them out of the morass.
After a short interval of rubbish DJ choices, a tech switched of a light switch at the back of the stage, converting the whole hall into electric anticipation mode. I could see movement in the wings and in the next moment the place erupted. One of the noticeable things tonight was the large number of younger fans - in their twenties. Being one of the old farts, I used to worry that the whole front row as 40+ but that sure wasn't the case tonight. From the off it was rowdy, but felt to me to be entirely focussed on what the band were doing, which was fine by me. I've been in the second row enough times to get over the embarrassment of being the ones crushing those gasping on the barrier. The set list was near enough the same as Manchester. The sound quality was great, evidence of money well spent by the theatre. The band had their problems with their own gear though. I won't say they were 'beset' as that would suggest they suffered. What actually happened was they had to stop a couple of times to get it sorted, and they got drummer Matt to fill in to comedy results. The crowd were almost entirely on board. I heard one tosser giving it "I've paid eleven quid for this". Given the massive way that The Joy Formidable have paid their dues, and continually give away music, do free gigs and all the rest, this was an insult. Luckily it was a lone voice. Eventually Ritzy's hand painted black Fender got swapped out and all was well. Chatting with her later, it wasn't actually the guitar, it was faults in quite newly bought kit, but we'll leave it there. For me, it gave them a chance to overcome, and they did. We went through a break in the set with no doubt that they were coming back for an encore.
I've seen this band give it their absolute all to embarrassingly small crowds in the early days, and they have always delivered plus plus. Tonight though, with this sold out big crowd, with the rock solid energy coming back at them, with the great support acts, I just saw them lift it up to another level. They went from great friendly people that I've got to know, and instead grew like superheroes transforming before my eyes into an important and world class rock band. It's hard to describe and that's my feeble attempt. As they got over the technical problems, the crowd got steadily more hyped and wound up with any number of kids going over our heads into the pit. Ritzy obviously felt the need. The next thing she climbed down of the stage then onto the barrier right in front of me before committing backwards into the audience. She was carried aloft with all due style until she eventually emerged back at the front, grabbing the guitar and carrying on. Luckily my friend Mardagg grabbed the moment with his camera. I think they intended more than one curtain call, rumour has it we were going to be treated to Spectrum, but the lights went up and that was it.
I haven't jumped and pogoed that much in too long a time. As we staggered out into the Camden night I was drenched in sweat. Given just how big the night felt, it was almost surreal to nip up to the Barfly for the afterparty and exchange a showbiz hug and a few words with Ritzy.
And so on to Wrexham. Things augured well with it being Easter Thursday night. I went with friends including my daughter Rose, so it was excellent to spot drummer Matt, despite his hoodie pulled forward sitting behind the merch. He might have been trying to hide, or on the other hand it was bloody chilly in there at that stage. Rose has exchanged silly words with him for a while on facebook so it was good to introduce them.
Bleech were already on stage. I was really keen to see them and I wasn't disappointed. Two girls up front, the words Riot Grrrl came to my mind. My mate Tom was making Sleater Kinney comparisons and from him that's praise indeed. They're still a tiny bit unformed, perhaps need to define themselves, but I was liking them a lot. Plenty to push them up and out of the morass. I will certainly be looking out for them again. They've got a single out and free to download from April 5th - find it via their myspace http://www.myspace.com/bleech. It's called Are You Listening and it was the highlight of their set.
Next up were Baddies (again) and (again) I wished I enjoyed them as much as I admired them. Fair do's though they were full of enthusiasm.
By the time The Joy Formidable got on stage, I was pretty darn pleased to see the venue, Central Station, looking pretty much full and up for it. I spent the first three songs hunched in the gap between the crowd barrier and the stage. It's an innovation for Wrexham, having a barrier in there. I think it works for them, pushing people back off the speakers. The sound in the place is still rough. It's the only place I go where I am half deaf for a day afterwards. Last time we saw Ritzy and the boys there, we got so ear-assailed that I sent off for several pairs of acoustic quality ear-plugs but of course only one of us had remembered them today. As I say, more than decent crowd, and so there should be, it's only 10 miles from where Ritzy and Rhydian hail from, but I've been let down there before.
Having written about them a few times before, I decided to get all management consultant with my friends after the gig and get their views of the night. What I got from them was 'white heat' and 'blissful noise'. I also got the observation that what sets The Joy Formidable apart is the way that disarmingly nice girl Ritzy transforms on stage into some sort of rock trance, but one that is 110% about being alive and burning up that energy. I'll subscribe to that.
I know what I said about crowd enthusiasm. Unfortunately at times in Wrexham it crossed over that barrier from enthusiastic to rude. The last song of the two number encore was Flies. It rocks in the middle but starts quiet and ends quiet. Ritzy was getting just a tad miffed with people talking all across this, telling them it was up to them but their loss if they couldn't concentrate for three of four minutes. We were treated to a new version of the lyrics "but these arms they tried in SHUT THE FUCK UP vain". I said to her afterwards that it was the most hacked off I'd seen her with an audience. She was chilled but it does actually matters to this band.
Magnificent stuff and a great night. Despite or even because of the number of times I've seen them, I'll keep going back.
Popinjay video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9fvl88FyX4
The Joy Formidable, Manchester 14 March 2010
First night of their tour and on cracking form. Excellent moment when Ritzy started leaning back all over the front row, at that point consisting of Mike Gray who looked a tiny bit concerned about his personal space.
Daisy Dares You, Hoxton 17 March 2010
Lots and lots of energy from this majorly hyped 17 year old. Glad I saw her but not convinced. There is only so far that hype and energy will carry you
Dimbleby And Capper, Hoxton 17 March 2010
Next up tonight were Dimbleby And Capper who were new to me. I have to say I was nicely impressed, they had a certain something over and above boob coverings made of sticky tape.
Run Toto Run at Hoxton Bar and Grill 17 March 2010
Delighted to see that Run Toto Run were playing at Hoxton tonight. It's always a pleasure to catch up with these, they are lovely people. I didn't take many photos as I was keen to hear how their sound has progressed. And it has. They now keep their twee in a box and only bring it out now and again and in small doses. They have definitely progressed in a more electro direction and it works. I stopped for a chat afterwards, but OMFG they were assailed by one after another who felt they had god given rights to offer them unasked for advice. Is it always like that? If so, I never want to be in a band
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