LAST WEEK IN LONDON
- Posted on March 25, 2008 10:02 AM
- 1 comment
LAST WEEK IN LONDON
Some of these Nights
by Peter Coulston
Hello and welcome to what has been quite a week on the London music scene. New international artists and rock legends have graced this fair city and I was there to tell the tale. On Tuesday, XFM put on one of it’s Xposure Live shows at the Barfly in Camden hosted by John Kennedy. I have listened to his late night show many times on the radio and John Kennedy looks exactly as he sounds. With his glasses and cardigan, he looks like somebody that you would buy a mortgage from, assuming there are still any available. It is a good show, though, and Mr Kennedy certainly knows his music, as was apparent by the choice of acts on this occasion.
To open, we had Birmingham based Johnny Foreigner playing some very competent melodramatic pop with a three piece line up that really delivered. Alexei, Junior and Kelly handle their vocals, guitar and bass like there is no tomorrow, with relentless vocals, riffs and tempo changes which all adds up to very good psychedelic punk. Check out their myspace as they have a single that’s worth a listen on Best Before Records.
Cage The Elephant come all the way from Bowling Green, Kentucky, which has had at least one song written about it, and will probably have some more if these guys have anything to say on the subject. This rock/punk/funk five piece tips it’s stetson to Lynnyrd Skynnyrd, Guns ‘n Roses and The Black Crowes among others; in fact, the singer is a bit of a ringer for a young Axel Rose. The lead guitar isn’t Slash, but he’s pretty darned good and the songs really stand out with catchy lyrics and hooks. A nice, tight country rock band who made a good job of “Psycho Killer” to close. They have a myspace, and will hopefully be this side of the pond again real soon.
I have to agree with the columnist in one of the evening freebies who, on Tuesday night, predicted that Ida Maria will be one of the biggest indie stars of 2008. This is, however, no excuse for padding out his article with a cut and paste job direct from her myspace. If he was at the Barfly on Tuesday, he will certainly not regret making that prediction as Ida and her band were on sizzling form. This Nordic lass (she’s Norwegian) is the best rock chick around at the moment and her Swedish band (she’s based in Stockholm) absolutely kick whatever is at hand. With such great songs as “Take Away My Heart” and “Morning Light”, she set the pace of the set and never let it slide for a second. Her guitarist is a powerhouse of riffs and solos as well as providing backing vocals, and the whole band is what rock is all about. She did her new single, “Stella”, which XFM loves while the Pope is not so sure (check out the lyrics). We also enjoyed her previous single “Oh My God” (here she goes again) and “Naked”. while the encore, “We’re All Going To Hell” (probably) had the audience singing along. After a great set like this we were left with the choice of going either to the pub or to confession. I’m not a Catholic, so you work it out.
There is never a bad night at the Electroacoustic Club at The Slaughtered Lamb in Barbican, it’s just that some nights are better than others. I am sure that this was the case on Wednesday, when the evening opened with Eliza Wren Payne, that incredibly talented singer songwriter from Utah who featured in my album revue a few weeks ago. Her solo acoustic set was impeccable and far too good to open. Her voice is Billie Holliday sometimes and incredibly British at other times which is unusual given that she is American. She covered much of the album material and, in my opinion, sounded even better than the record. This girl is special, check her myspace and her live gigs; and buy the album.
I last saw Blue Rose Code at the Troubadour in August last year and, despite enjoying their set a lot, felt that they were maybe a little too good to be successful; if you get my drift. I am not entirely sure what I was on about because, yes, this is a good band, and, yes, on Wednesday they certainly hit the spot with both me and the audience. There were guitars, flutes, harmonicas and violins supporting good vocals and very accessible songs. Yes it’s class and, yes, you need to concentrate; but; come on, we appreciate good music and can handle it. Go to they’re myspace and see what I mean. It’s a good band. Yaneka are a brother and sister act from Japan, but forget the White Stripes. Actually, don’t forget them, just don’t confuse them with these guys. Jack and Meg they are not. He plays guitar with the help of a loop station and she sings using similar technology. The music itself is Santana meets Japanese folk while incorporating incredible vocals with infectious guitar based riffs that just won’t go away. They look and sound great and are here to stay. Be aware, they will be big so check their myspace and be there early.
You would think that it couldn’t get any better; I did, until I heard Revere, a London based alternative rock band with excellent songs and near operatic vocals. They are influenced by the likes of Jeff Buckley, and have great songs like “Escape Artist”, “Beast In Me” and “Maybe In Time” which they did with Yaneka. They are a truly exceptional band which must succeed soon or the whole music industry might as well close down. Forget XFactor, this is real music played by real people who live in the same world as you and me. Let’s support them.
My wonderful musical week ended on Thursday at The O2 where I was lucky enough to enjoy The Eagles on what was, I think, the opening concert of their Long Road Out Of Eden Tour. They hit the stage at 7.45, looking great in their black suits and ties and white shirts, and sounding even better. They opened with “How Long” from the current album, and it just kept getting better. Faultless harmonies on “No More Walks In The Woods” were followed by “Busy Being Fabulous” and “No More Cloudy Days” from the new album and some old favourites like “Peaceful Easy Feeling” from their first album and Lyin’ Eyes (dedicated by Glenn Frey to his first wife) and the title track from their fourth album “One Of These Nights”. “Hotel California” came pretty early on, with a nice trumpet intro and the great duelling guitar section. While the current line up of Don Henley, Glen Frey, Joe Walsh and Timothy B Schmit is officially The Eagles, guitarist Stuart Smith, who co-produced their current album, appears to be unofficially their fifth member. He shares front of stage with them, joins in on the vocals and covers many of the guitar parts originally taken by former members Bernie Leadon and Don Felder. Anyway, the first half continued with examples of their various solo works, notably “Boys Of Summer” from Don Henley, and the title track of their 1977 album “The Long Run”.
The second half opened with an acoustic set that peaked with “Take It To The Limit” before an awesome version of “Long Road Out Of Eden”. Things got pretty rocky at this stage with impeccable versions of “Life In The Fast Lane”, “Witchy Woman” and some more solo numbers including a very entertaining “Life’s Been Good” from Joe Walsh and a show stopping rendition of Don Henley’s “All She Wants To Do Is Dance”. The first encore gave us Joe Walsh’s other hit “Rocky Mountain Way” and “Heartache Tonight” but we knew there had to be more. We hadn’t heard “Take It Easy” or “Desperado” so they had to come back and do at least one of them. Wouldn’t you know it; they came back and did both of them. After that, we knew it was game over, but what a night. It has been a long time since I came away from a concert with the songs still in my head the next morning. Don’t miss the chance to see these guys, they are the business.
The only downside to the evening was, despite leaving the gig at 11.10pm, we were locked out of North Greenwich tube until just before midnight due to overcrowding. And London is hosting the Olympics? Give me a break. So, all that remains is to wish you a happy Easter, stay safe and well and keep gigging.
Comments (1)
Caitlin
So jealous you saw the Eagles starting out this tour- such a classic! Any Hotel California?
Posted on March 27, 2008 6:45 PM
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