Last Week In London
- Posted on February 12, 2008 12:22 PM
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LAST WEEK IN LONDON: Folk, Rock, Blues and Bad News
By Peter Coulston
Hello and welcome to the latest happenings in the finest live music establishments in London. This week has been a mix of acoustic and bands, ending with a party at the 12 Bar; but more about that later. On Mondays, The Half Moon, Putney is always a good place to be for their unplugged evening. Nicely priced at £2.50, this is a great way to start the week, and I often do. Hosted by Redvers Bailey, who always gives us a few songs to warm things up, this is invariably a very pleasant gig.
The festivities opened with Ali McQueen, a singer songwriter in the Dylan/Young tradition complete with harmonica and good songs. I particularly enjoyed “Junk Shop Trader” and would check him out again. Scrub Jays feature a girl singer and an acoustic guitarist performing some dark folky material. She has a delicate voice which was a little weak in the higher register to begin with. This was probably down to nerves, as she sounded alright by the last number. “Poison Madam” was good.
Richard Fuller is another acoustic folk performer, with a very effective finger style approach to his guitar and some nice songs. He did well on ballads like “Through The Door” and “Laura”, but is equally effective in the rock/blues mode. Worth a listen. Mala are fronted by Natasha and Kazia and ably supported by cello, violin and percussion. They are influenced by Talking Heads and Cat Stevens, among others, and made a good start with the upbeat “On The Bright Side”. Vocals were good and excellent use was made of the backing musicians on the ensuing songs, especially the euro folk meets blues number “Gigolo” This is a nice band, check them out on myspace.
Hogen is from Norway via New York and it shows in his accent. His songs are very Neil Young influenced, though he sings much better than the old Canadian. He moved easily from ballads to rockier material and it was all good stuff. Upping the tempo a little, we next enjoyed We Happy Few, a blues/rockabilly band from West London consisting of two guitarists who also sing, along with upright bass and drums. “Jolene Come Home” was a good country rock ballad in the style of The Band, while the other songs were more upbeat and embraced blues and rockabilly. Check them out on myspace, they are a good band.
What can I say about Dan Smith? He plays keyboards and sings, while also performing magic tricks with his backing track equipment. He is best described as Brian Wilson meets Gilbert and Sullivan via Queen and Procul Harem. For the younger readers, throw in Muse as well. There was classical in there, along with Ghershwin, gospel, harmonica, jazz, rock, percussion, kazoo and an urban slant on the vocals. If you are now totally confused, don’t be. He is brilliant and it all comes right on the night. He even did a song with just keyboards, and yes, “Telegraph Road” was brilliant also. I could not find out much about this guy, but I intend to, and recommend that you do the same. He’s great.
Camden was calling me on Wednesday, and it found me at The Bullet Bar on Kentish Town Road. This gig is run and hosted by Aaron Short, who also opens the show with some good old songs performed with gusto. He was followed by Daniel Hammersley, who does acoustic/shoegaze/Korean pop, which presumably means using the multilayering technique like Dan Smith. Well, Daniel certainly does it well and the songs are pretty darned good too. I particularly enjoyed the gentle “All In Good Time”, but “Floods” and “Storm” were well structured and “Midwinter Blues” had a good hook. Check his myspace.
Luca Laraia had lots of supporters in the audience for his acoustic set of enjoyable and well performed songs. He has a good jazz feel in his guitar style which he should put to greater use, though his songs are good and “Wrong To Right” was particularly strong. “Rome” had it’s good parts, but was a little unstructured. Nice set overall, and he is on myspace. I first encountered Tiger Lilly at the 12 Bar last year, and said at the time that some of her songs were too complicated and lacked structure. While this has not been entirely overcome, this was a very good set and earned a well deserved encore. The singer, Danielle Moubarak, has oodles of personality and a great smile which works well with the audience. Her vocals are strong but occasionally lack control. On this occasion, some of the songs really worked, namely the rocker “Affair”, the unnamed love song, which is a classic rock ballad, and the brilliantly constructed “Thirty”. Nice set guys, keep it up.
Occasionally, I see and hear a band that blows me away. On this night, it was Arther, a French four piece who perform classic rock to the highest standard. The only problem was the sound, the drums were too loud and the guitar solos were all but lost. However, the singer could be heard and her perfectly controlled vocals were equalled by her stage presence, which is captivating. This band looks great, sounds great and is bound for great things. Don’t forget the name, they are touring the UK right now so check them out and be amazed. They are on myspace and record for Daruma Productions.
Thursday was the first Thursday of the month, and that can only mean one thing, Zarathustra at the 12 Bar. Yes, I have been here before, and shall continue to do so as long as promoter and host Zaid Joseph allows me on the premises. These shows are a mix of acoustic and bands, with each acoustic act being accorded twenty minutes and the bands half an hour. It’s a fast moving show with lots happening, not least being Charley Lancaster, the rock’n roll and jazz piano man who opens the show and fills the gaps between the acts. He is certainly a master of his craft, and his sets include old blues, Jerry Lee Lewis and Bob Dylan covers, and his own songs from his current album. Charley is certainly the icing on the cake and can be heard at many of Zaid’s other venues, including the Babalou at Brixton. This show opened with Erin D’Arcy, a fine vocalist performing country tinged folk with the help of a guitarist and bass player. “Pathway Through The Rain” and “No Promises” were excellent ballads made better by her strong, clear voice and her competent musicians. For guitar buffs, her guitarist was using an unusual looking piece which is made by Aria and is, in fact, a guitar which you can take apart when you’ve finished with it. Sounded alright though. Harry Glass must have brought half of London and the Home Counties with him, as the place was heaving during his set. This acoustic/pop performer has good songs and a great way with an audience (even if they were all his mates), and the last song, which was a combination of talking blues and Steve Miller, was great fun and had Charley joining in on piano. He has been booked back for May 1, so check it out if he doesn’t crop up anywhere else.
Apparently, Harry ended up on the bill as a result of being a mate of Olly Rob, who followed (this is starting to sound incestuous). More competent acoustic pop folk, with powerful songs and a good voice to sing them with. “Tick Tock” was a bit reggae while “Runaway” was very catchy in a dark upbeat way. Another enjoyable set. Next came the bands, starting with Great Northern Terrace from Linconshire and now based in London. This is basically a very good three piece doing country inspired rock with some Hendrix guitar. The drums were too loud and the pace a little too frantic, which is also the case on the CD that they gave me. Harmonies were good and the songs well written; they just need to settle the pace down a bit and stop the drummer from taking over. A good band who have the potential to be great.
A band that has achieved that goal already are Wrong Animal, an electro rock/punk outfit with a lead singer who spits nails. She is totally in your face and does it so well. The guitar, synths., bass and drums are spot on and the whole sound is tight and solid. Their own songs are pure techno punk and well crafted, and their cover of “Shakin All Over”, that old fifties classic from the late Johnny Kidd (and the Pirates) was a tribute to a rock legend. I must see them again. The perfect end to the evening was Orlando Seale, a singer songwriter who specialises in songs about suicide and other tragedies. The fact that his show is highly entertaining could be a reflection on what a sick lot we are. Then again, it could be that the songs are superb and his backing band of piano, trumpet, guitar, cello and violin are equally so. I saw him last November at the Troubadour, and he did many of the great songs again; notably “Christmas Song”, “I Have Forgotten” “Beautiful Moron” (assisted by Lady Antonica!), “Devils Bath”, and “Melancholy Shop Girl”; all dark comedy masterpieces to which you could either laugh or cry. This man combines Noel Coward, Gershwin, Cole Porter, Randy Newman, Tom Waites, David Byrne and Morrisey, and succeeds in being different to all of them. See him and his amazing band at your earliest opportunity.
And so ends another week, some great music but bad news regarding the fire at Camden and the possible demise of the Hawley Arms. Let’s hope that something positive will rise from the ashes, and being Camden, it probably will. In any event, stay safe and well and keep gigging. See you next week.
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