GIGS

[Yokel Again]

Went to see Michele Stodart @ the Betsey Trotwood last night:

Lovely gig. Solo album out in February apparently. A couple of really lush songs with strings, as well as a few upbeat numbers with a sort of full (small) band. Not sure exactly how to describe it other than singer songwriter stuff with some lovely arrangements. Would fit in well @ EOTR I thought anyway.

[killyourtv]

Enjoyed Oh Ruin and Dan Mangan at Cargo; missed Beth Houghton due to travel chaos caused by Ally Pally. Both acts very engaging, even if I find "Robots" routine a bit dull (sorry folks). Good sound, spoilt during Oh Ruin's set by incessant chatter; London has a lot to learn from Midlands audiences.

[RedRockRick]

The Rockingbirds @ The Borderline, Thursday

Needed a gig fix after the Felice Brothers disappointment. Decent, solid, meat-and-potatoes show from Alan Tyler and the boys: just enough great songs amoung the routine ones to keep me happy, "Gradually Learning" being a case in point. Support from James Walbourne, who doesn't seem to know which direction he should head off in; I remain of the opinion he was at his best as third violin with the much-missed Pernice Brothers.

[MrSimonW]

Hot Snakes @ The Garage

Wrapped up this year's gigging with some hard and fast rock n roll courtesy of Hot Snakes. There's nothing particularly subtle or sophisticated about their music, but it is a hell of a lot of fun. I'm always a bit uneasy about reforming bands, but if John Reis wanted to put Rocket From the Crypt back together, I would be most happy.

[RedRockRick]

^{Is life recycling? Off tomorrow to another Fortuna Pop-py 'Allo Darling evening at the Lexington.}

[Infinite Jest]

Hmm, me too. If you see someone in a Green EoTR top white t-shirt with a picture of a turntable with a kiwifruit as the mat, say Hi

Went to Alabama 3 on NYE which was suitably fun and messy, although they didn't play enough old songs.

Edited January 5, 2012 by Infinite Jest

[shoebox]

I really, REALLY want to go to that tonight, but I can't make it. Gutted!

[perfectpassion]

^{Is life recycling? Off tomorrow to another Fortuna Pop-py 'Allo Darling evening at the Lexington.}

[RedRockRick]

Oh I missed you again! Hope it was good, very jealous

They only let me out once a month, so went to see the The Singing Adams with Laura J Martin as support last night....lovely to meet up with some great people there

[Infinite Jest]

I enjoyed the new ones, though definitely had a better reaction to the ones I knew. Mustache of Insanity (bassist from AD with big mustache on guitar along with a keyboardist playing silly fun pop songs with dodgy synth lines) were fun in support and we bought a CD (£5 for an album-length CD). Lots of jumping around and kooky lyrics about watching Predator and stuff like that.

Knickers were pretty average - draw from some decent sources (surf, early 60s pop, early 70s glam) but don't really transcend source material. Not much stage presence yet either. And I must be getting old because they seemed so young and fresh-faced (even with beards). Could turn into something interesting, I guess. They were probably late on because they had to get the DJ to cue up "Mama Said Knock You Out" as their entry music (yes, really).

Massive shout-out to the DJ (do we know who he was?) for a great selection including Beat Happening and J Richman earlier on, and a wonderful run of Grant McLennan ->Smudge ("Don't Want to Be Grant McLennan" (!)) -> The Chills -> The Go-Betweens. Which won't mean much to you guys maybe but for me was a slice of pure Australian (and New Zealand) pop heaven.

[RedRockRick]

Massive shout-out to the DJ (do we know who he was?) for a great selection including Beat Happening and J Richman earlier on, and a wonderful run of Grant McLennan ->Smudge ("Don't Want to Be Grant McLennan" (!)) -> The Chills -> The Go-Betweens. Which won't mean much to you guys maybe but for me was a slice of pure Australian (and New Zealand) pop heaven.

[GTG]

Blind guess as I was 300 miles away, but Pizzicato Five?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utHQb5ufLe0&feature=related

[RedRockRick]

Blind guess as I was 300 miles away, but Pizzicato Five?

[riverlodge]

ryan adams charging £25 for hi sheffield city hall gig in april.

thanks, but i'll pass.

[RedRockRick]

ryan adams charging £25 for hi sheffield city hall gig in april.

thanks, but i'll pass.

[killyourtv]

Lanterns on the Lake @ Static Gallery in Liverpool last night - usual enchanting set played to a more appreciative (and bigger) crowd than the last time I saw them. They do make a lovely noise, though the Galleries sound was a bit ropey. I'm not sure their set contains all the LPs and EP highlights, and they even tried to avoid playing modern classic "Just Keep Trying" due to some keyboard oddities. Some nice support acts too.

Static Gallery seems like an occasional venue; sound apart, it's a friendly place with a nice tuck-shop type cheap bar, and is surrounded by some of the best pubs you'll find anywhere.

[killyourtv]

And Lanterns on the Lake were only £6.50 !

[Infinite Jest]

Seeing them supporting Explosions in the Sky at Brixton next Friday. (Also with Blanck Mass, who are playing Mangum's ATP, and I'm quite enjoying after one listen).

[MrSimonW]

Time for a quick re-cap of January so far.

The Wave Pictures at The Lexington

The 3rd Fortuna Pop Winter Sprinter night opened with Rotifer who are so Stiff it hurts; apparently Wreckless Eric produced their album. Evans The Death were next up and not really my cup of tea. The Wave Pictures were very good, however, playing mostly songs from last year's very fine Beer in the Breakers LP.

Darren Hayman at The Hideaway

The first of 2 nights where Darren played songs from last year's January Songs project. The opening act was Ardie Collins who apparently wrote a song every day last year and it was his first ever gig. Quite good for a first time. Darren's set saw guest appearances from Elizabeth Morris and Jack Hayter but otherwise it was just Darren and his drummer (from the Secondary Modern, can't remember his name) playing songs from the first 16 days.

Jonny Kearney and Lucy Farrell at the Slaughtered Lamb

With a highly recommended album under their belts, it was time to see how they would get on live. And the answer is: very well indeed. The music is slight, but beautiful and as performers they bring out warmth and humour that isn't always evident on the record.

Darren Hayman at the Hideaway

The second night of the January Songs gigs. By his own admission, the first half had more of the "poppy" songs and the second half the more interesting songs where he tried new ideas. Personally I think I preferred the second night, not least because everybody seemed a little bit more relaxed. Guest appearances this time came from Pete Astor (who also supported) and Hannah (from Owl and Mouse) who sang No Different for Girls.

[perfectpassion]

Lanterns on the Lake My first time, kept wondering how I had missed them at EoTR, the audience at Cambridge was very quiet, good venue for this act. Lovely music to cheer you up in Jan. The singer is not what I expected, she looked at odds with the sound in a good way. Mmm LoTL it was great but you know I just cannot remember any specific tracks now I sit down to write this. Support was from local (and EoTR band Fuzzy Lights) which was a strange amalgamation of 3 guys who "think" they should be in an indie-rock band, and a very nice girl violinist/singer and a guitarist who can play.

Ron Sexsmith @ Union Chapel Cannot think of a better venue for this unassuming and hugely talented songwriter. He played an hour, solo, had a break and then came back for another hour. Charming, self-effacing and the musician's artist of choice I am never quite sure why he isn't better know? Maybe its because he is not an inyourface rock star he just wants to play and its all so low key you forget how skillful he really is. Only one track from the new not-yet-released album. The audience was full of his faithful following and he got a standing ovation.

[RedRockRick]

Tom Russell @ Farncombe Music Club The master storyteller and raconteur at work over two nights in support of his latest album, Besami, very ably supported by Thad Beckman. Always a terrific performer, and as a bonus, no longer the surly bastard who used to come over and glare at us.

Madison Violet @ The Borderline Near perfect evening of vocal harmonies from these two, accompanying themselves on national steel guitar, fiddle and acoustic 4 and 6 string guitars, marred only when we, the audience, were encouraged to join in, this being particularly irksome during my personal fave, "Small Of My Heart" from 3rd album, No Fool for Trying; as Tom Russell would have said, "Bastards!" Useless footnote for Ron Sexsmith non-fans: same night as Ron, but no escape: "Fallen By The Wayside" from the new album is a co-write, and very good it is too.

Zoe Muth & The Lost High Rollers @ The Prince Albert, Brighton Much hyped as a country(ish) star on the rise with two well-praised albums under her belt, most shows sold out on this tour, backed by her excellent band (Ethan Lawton particularly fine on mandolin) ZM played two sets with no support: she started very promisingly and remained generally perfectly fine though after a while she suffered, I thought, from being a little too one-paced. A strange evening for reasons not entirely connected with the music, and rather unnecessarily, it started snowing on the drive home.

[GTG]

The Floating Palace @ Sage, Gateshead

A most unlikely combination of musicians, all 'organised' by Robyn Hitchcock, produced a really enjoyable evening. Nothing stunning or revolutionary, but lots of fun. Robyn was joined by K T Tunstall, Martin & Eliza Carthy, Howe Gelb and the awesome Krystle Warren. They sang and played in various combinations, from duets to full ensemble, on a diverse selection of material that ranged from 'Sir Patrick Spens' to 'Staying Alive' and 'I Want You Back'. There was something quite lovely about watching Martin Carthy having a great time doing Bee Gees and Jackson 5 covers.

They arrived at the Sage straight from 'Celtic Connections' in Glasgow but I think they are doing a short tour - Warwick, Brighton, London I'm pretty sure of. Well worth a look if you fancy a couple of hours of top quality, if undemanding, entertainment.

My evening was made by having a nice chat with an old hero, Mike Heron, during the interval.

Edited February 7, 2012 by GTG

[GTG]

Anyone been to see Danny ATCOTW on their 'Pub Rock' tour? Is it the full band or just the sort of acoustic trio I saw supporting Duke & The King? I've just seen an advert for them playing at my favourite pub Saturday after next! The night after Leisure Society.

Also sitting on tickets this month for Field Music, Randy Newman, Nick Lowe and what looks like an extraordinary Imogen Heap show. Life is canny.

[Infinite Jest]

I'm thinking of seeing Danny and the Champs this weekend; will let you know if I do.

[perfectpassion]

Anyone been to see Danny ATCOTW on their 'Pub Rock' tour? Is it the full band or just the sort of acoustic trio I saw supporting Duke & The King? I've just seen an advert for them playing at my favourite pub Saturday after next! The night after Leisure Society.

Also sitting on tickets this month for Field Music, Randy Newman, Nick Lowe and what looks like an extraordinary Imogen Heap show. Life is canny.