LAST WEEK IN LONDON:
- Posted on May 19, 2008 7:17 PM
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LAST WEEK IN LONDON
Rains and Boats and Pains
by Peter Coulston
Hello and welcome once again to another week of live music in what has become one of the hottest cities in Europe, in more ways than one. It’s always been the hottest for music, but the weather; great stuff or what? However long it lasts, it’s a blessing and makes the music seem even better. The week got off to a good start for this reviewer with The Red Stripe Music Awards 08 at Kentish Town Forum.
The organisers apparently scoured the country for new acts and, after listening to thousands of them, whittled it down to just four. They could have just read my column over the last year and saved themselves a whole lot of mileage, but there you go. All four acts performed prior to the presentation, though I suspect that the judges had made their minds up before hand, as I, and much of the audience, did not concur with the decision. This show suffered from the same sound problems as the INDY Awards some weeks ago, which made it difficult to assess the candidates objectively when the instruments were very out of balance. Anyway, after a great introduction and ongoing banter from XFM main man, John Kennedy, the show opened with The Down and Outs from Glasgow. They take a lot of influence from the sixties and the songs were pretty good with some clever lyrics. They sounded a bit too much like the Arctic Monkeys and the Wombats for my liking, a sound that is starting to dominate certain sectors of XFM and is getting repetitive. They were good at what they do, but I did not see them as winners.
Next up was Kiddo, an Edinburgh based Indie rock band with a style similar to The Strokes. The vocals and songs were good, and I reckon the lead guitar was as well but I had trouble hearing it over the drums and bass. The wild card was Klaus Says Buy The Record, which is Jonathan C Mills from Brighton with a band very hastily added. He started off acoustic with some quite good loop station, but the sound was awful and the band, when they appeared, seemed under rehearsed and detached. It improved with time, but still did not work for me, although I was sure that I would have enjoyed the set much more in a smaller venue as the songs sounded alright. Having said that, if you read my column you will know that I see one hell of a lot of acoustic singer/songwriters, and there was nothing new here.
Last but not least was O Fracas, a smart looking bunch of alternative indie boys from Leeds. These guys had some genuinely interesting material which they performed while carrying the audience along with them. To me, these guys had it in the bag. Before I disclose who won, I must tell you that I was given a cd on the way out which featured all four acts, and I listened to it this morning. Being able to hear them properly was nice, but it did not alter my decision. Which proved to be totally wrong, because Klaus Says Buy The Record won, which was a surprise to say the least. I will try to catch him on Friday at The Great Escape in Brighton, as I am obviously missing something.
Well, I certainly wasn’t missing anything when the headline act, Dirty Pretty Things came on. This was the first time that I had seen them live and they blew me away. They had great songs, brilliant three part harmonies and the tightest of rhythm sections. The sneaky fags when the lights were down and the cocktail bar next to the drums proved that rock ‘n roll is still alive among the under sixties. Great stuff guys, I will be seeing you again.
Tuesday night was not actually a gig night at all for me, as I was seriously overindulging at the River Rat Pack Tour Pre-Launch Party held at the London home of Gibson Guitars. The tour is a live music promotion Long Live Rock'n'Roll and Seatwave.com, and entails barges full of party animals travelling between Camden and Oxford (and back) with stops at venues in Henley, Reading and Abingdon, where Indie bands will be performing. There will be full editorial and video coverage of this event on the main Seatwave website, but I can tell you that it kicks off on June 1 and you need to visit the website to find out how to be there.
In addition to the drinks and canapés, we were treated to a few of the acts that will be taking part in the tour later in the year. First up was Jay Jay Pistolet, a Dylan/Paul Simon influenced singer/songwriter with some nice material that he sings well. He’s London based and is on www.myspace.com/jayjaypistolet. Nat Jenkins was acoustic as well, but in a more rockabilly style, having also been influenced by Dylan as well as early Elvis. More good songs here, that can be heard on www.myspace.com/natjenkins.
We had a band to finish, and I have to say that Six Nation State are tough to pin down. Influenced by The Beatles, Oasis and Simon and Garfunkle among others there was Reggae, Mexicana and all sorts mixed in with the rock and ballads. Good passionate stuff that you can hear during the tour, along with the other artists. You can also go to www.myspace.com/sixnationstatetheband.
It was back to real gigs and wet weather on Thursday when I visited The Soho Revue Bar in Walkers Court to see and hear, among others, Simon Jaymes. I have followed Simon for some time and voted for him when he was a finalist in the INDY Awards recently. On Thursday he gave a great performance as the opening act, which, as I will explain later, was a good place to be. He opened with the bluesy “She’s a Lady” and followed rapidly with “Wild Life”, which required a retune. I remembered the first time that I saw Simon in some tiny club in Muswell Hill; he attempted a retune, broke a string and then managed to do the same thing to someone else’s guitar. Not to be deterred, he dashed home to pick up another guitar to ensure that we heard the song. He was good then, and has gone from strength to strength ever since.
“All The Good Love” was a new one in a slightly lighter style, but very well structured, and “Monsters” was as good as ever. The addition of Adam on guitar was really a good move and the pair work well off each other. There is an EP that you must hear, so go to www.itallaboutsimon.com. There was more acoustic rock to come from Johnny du Toit, and, by this time, the place was filling up with, unfortunately, far too many gig tourists who were getting rather noisy. He’s a touch Jack Johnston with a summery California sound that can rock or slow down for a lullaby. Nice use of the loop station, and he can be found on www.myspace.com/johnnydutoit.
Phildel is a charming young lady who plays keys and guitar and performs indie/classical/fusion a bit like Kate Bush. She has good support from second guitar, cello and upright bass; unfortunately, she received little support from the gig tourists who, by this time, were completely oblivious to the fact that it was a live music venue and were totally absorbed in their self obsessed and very loud conversations. The songs were, for the most part, dramatic and well written and performed. With so much noise, it was difficult to make a judgement beyond that. Thanks guys, next time try the pub down the road.
I suspect that many of these very rude people were there to see The Parish Music Box, because the noise level dropped and lots of people moved to the front. This band is very professional in the lounge/country style influenced by the likes of Lambchop. The lyrics were quirkily clever but the melodies tended to be a bit repetitive. A guy standing next to me referred to it as elevator music, which I thought was a bit harsh, but it was a bit samey even for alternative country. The level of professionalism of this band cannot be denied and the front man, in his orange suit, is the perfect vocalist for this kind of material. They record for NoCarbon Records/Universal, and are on www.myspace.com/theparishmusicbox.
So ends another week in paradise; or does it? Not for this reviewer it doesn’t, as I will be at the Great Escape in Brighton on Friday and taking in the sea air and all the good music I can find. In the meantime, stay safe and well and go to a gig tonight.
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