Bad Company at the O2 Arena (the Dome), 29 October 2016

Posted on October 30, 2016 by John S

WARNING: if you are under 40 this review may make no sense at all, unless you liked your parents’ record collection.

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Tonight I succumbed to the temptation of a a huge dose of nostalgia. I saw Bad Company at the O2 Arena – the Dome. Meanwhile, later in the night, Steve van Zandt with his Soul Disciples, was playing the second venue, the Indigo. Bruce’s comrade and guitarist. I thought about going to both, but I just had this nagging feeling that Stevie’s show would be a routine soul revue, Southside Johnny lite, and I didn’t want to spoil the myth. And I had a cold, so needed to pace myself a bit. Got to respect your age, y’know. Sometimes…

My friends Dave, Fiona and Tony were doing Southside, sorry Stevie, so we met up beforehand for a quality steak at Gaucho and some fine Argentinian wines. Beats two pints of lager and a packet of crisps!

And then we went our separate ways. I’m wrote this on my tube journey home, but I’ll wager at least one of them had a snooze in their seats during Little Stevie!

So why was I going to see a blues rock band from the early-mid 70s who are best known for a tune, “Can’t get Enough”, which is one of Homer Simpson’s favourites? Well, because, at the age of 15, as I pulled away from glam and into rock, Bad Co were my favourite band. By a mile. I loved the strutting rockers and loved the ballads, the love songs, even more. It was maybe the first time I realised that the sad songs were the best. And singer, Paul Rodgers, in Free before Bad Co, had the most achingly soulful voice. More soulful than all those formula soul singers with their matching suits on Top of the Pops.

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I never saw them live at the time, so this was truly a journey back to my youth. And it’s fair to say that most of the near sell-out crowd at the O2 probably felt the same.

And the band, Paul reunited with guitarist Mick Ralphs, Mott the Hoople before Bad Co, did not disappoint. Paul, dapper and in good shape, was still in very fine voice. His range seemed as good as ever. The sound was excellent and the riffs tight and punching. Mick was rather portly in his black Hawaiian shirt, but his guitar was as cutting as ever.

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They opened with “Live for the Music”, a statement of intent, if not one of the true classics, played a couple of obscurities (which were still good) but mostly played what we were there for. The pile driving “Feel like Makin’ Love”, three songs in, set the scene. We had a beautiful version of “Ready for Love”, an anthemic “Shooting Star”, with the crowd (me included!) singing the whole of the last verse, a rocking “Moving On”, a dramatic “Burning Sky”, and, of course, second last, the rumbling “Can’t get Enough”. Not sure why it wasn’t last – maybe the band felt it was too much of a caricature.

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There were two short encores: first the rebel soul of “Bad Company”, with Paul at the keyboards,  and then a lovely acoustic version of “Seagull”. The first album was well-represented, as it should be. Nothing else they did was as good. And I know, when I write out the titles of these songs, they are a bit clunky, very, very seventies. They grew out of the British blues rock explosion, specifically from Free. And they influenced the boogie of so many US rock bands, including Lynyrd Skynyrd, who followed. That boogie was very evident tonight, in crystal clear sound.

Paul on piano for “Bad Company”.

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And kicking off “Seagull.

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So yes, this was up there with the best concerts I’ve seen this year, with Radiohead, Chvrches, Amber Arcades, Thee Oh Sees and all the rest. For different reasons, rooted in memories and not so much the here and now. But rooted in the same story.

The joy of music, whatever age you are.

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Josienne Clarke and Ben Walker at Shoreditch Town Hall, 26 October 2016

Posted on October 26, 2016 by John S

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Back in Shoreditch for another concert. At this rate I’ll have to roll my trousers up and grow a beard! A different sound altogether to Pumarosa on Monday. This time I was at Shoreditch Town Hall for Josienne Clarke and Ben Walker, the folk duo who had blown me away at End of the Road.

What I loved then was the purity and beauty of Josienne’s voice, backed by Ben’s subtle guitar. She joked about the depressing themes of their songs, but the sad songs are often the best, and for me it was uplifting.

So I was really looking forward to tonight. I was going on my own so I checked Twitter for the timings. Didn’t want to hang around in the venue too much. The beers at concerts are generally a bit rubbish, though, in fairness they had Red Stripe on the night. Had a fair bit to do at work and a blog to post, so I stayed late-ish in the office, went up to Liverpool Street, had a pint of Brooklyn lager in the Wetherspoons and wandered up to the town hall for the 9.15 start. Or so I thought, having read a tweet from Josienne at lunch time.

At the door the receptionist said to me, you’re just in time for the second half. Que? I assumed/ hoped that meant the support bands were finished and Josienne and Ben were on. It was five past nine. Phew, I thought, just got there for the start.

The concert was a showcase for the new album, and that’s what they played. I’ve got the album, but have only played it once, so wasn’t too familiar. That’s not a problem – it was a lovely hour, drifting through the songs. Those beautiful vocals, that subtle guitar, but also a piano, double bass, viola, cello and drums. With Josienne picking up a saxophone for one song. And some poetic interludes. Sophisticated, even jazzy. Lush – and just a little bit MOR. No wonder Radio 2 loves it.

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The poetic interludes.

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At End of the Road we had the raw sound. Today was the full works. Now I’m not averse to a sophisticated sound, or lush arrangements, or jazziness. In the right place, in the right mood. I sensed it would be like this from the two albums I’ve heard. But the thing that so drew me in at End of the Road was lost, to some extent, in the added layers of sophistication.

It was all over just after ten. The set seemed surprisingly short. I asked a guy sitting near to me if they’d been on before nine. Yes, he said, they came on at eight and did a set of their old songs.

Oh no! I missed half the show. What an arse! My own fault. I didn’t notice that the tweet I read was from three days ago. A later one said 8pm tonight. Durr…

Anyway, nothing I can do about it. I really enjoyed what I saw, even though it didn’t move me in quite the way as that End of the Road show.

Lessons: (1) get there for the support bands. (2) read things properly! (3) go and see them again.

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Noiseannoys!

Posted on October 26, 2016 by John S

I wanted to share this playlist with you for no other reason than it is SO DAMN GOOD! I play Lindi Ortega to move me, The Staves to soothe me, Radiohead to enthral me, Bruce Springsteen to inspire me. But when I just want to feel good about the world there is nothing better than a bit of rock’n’roll NOISE!

I called the playlist Noiseannoys after a Buzzcocks song – which isn’t noisy enough to be on the playlist. And I daresay the songs would annoy a lot of people – including the rest of my household if I play them too loud!

You’ll know some of these tracks, but maybe not all of them. So give ‘em a whirl and feel free to suggest other candidates. Not out-and-out metal. Love that too, but all of this lot has a punk edge, one way or another.

So here goes, in no particular order:

Monster Hospital – Metric

Desire, Snakehead – Dilly Dally

Old Lake – The Blind Shake

The Dream, Gelatinous Cube – Thee Oh Sees

2 Kindsa Love, Love All of Me – The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion

Feed the Mantaray – Slaves

Planet of Sound, Monkey Gone to Heaven – The Pixies

Where Boys Fear to Tread, Zero, Cherub Rock, Quiet – Smashing Pumpkins

Smells like Teen Spirit, Lithium – Nirvana

Black Math, Little Bird – The White Stripes

Waiting Room – Fugazi

Human Troll – MonoTony

The Nights of Wine and Roses, The House that Heaven Built – Japandroids

Mr Pinkus – Alice Donut

Free Speech for the Dumb – Metallica

(When you Wake) You’re Still in a Dream, Feed Me with your Kiss – My Bloody Valentine

12XU, Mr Suit – Wire

Moving Away from the Pulsebeat – Buzzcocks

Cannonball – The Breeders

And here’s the awesome “Monster Hospital” It’s from 2005, but I only discovered it this year. Video’s a bit grim but can’t stop playing this song on the iPod…

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Pumarosa at the Village Underground, Shoreditch, 24 October 2016

Posted on October 25, 2016 by John S

Pumarosa. The great space of Village Underground. Dramatically lit. Singer and guitarist is Isabel Munoz-Newsome. Second song was “Cecile”. The awesomeness of “Lion’s Den”. The dance beat of “Priestess”. A big sound, feels like a band destined for great things. There’s Siouxsie, PJ Harvey, Patti Smith, Wolf Alice in there. But that extra dance sensibility. I like the rockers best as it happens but their range could be a strength.

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Last night Jon and I continued our follow up of festival highlights, Latitude this time, with Pumarosa at the Village Underground in Shoreditch. I’d not been there before, but what great space! An old warehouse presumably. A high ceiling, with skylights which must give it an airy feel during the day. The walls of bare brick, speakers hanging from high girders. Simple and spacious, perfect for some imaginative lighting.

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And Pumarosa had that. Simple but dramatic. Singer and guitarist Isabel Munoz-Newsome has a bit of presence and the setting complemented that. She was looking a bit Goth last night (though dressed in white) until she let her hair down for the encore, so it all came together. The lights, the music, the presentation.

At Latitude, Pumarosa were first on the Sunrise Arena stage on the Saturday, my favourite spot In the Woods. But even in the early afternoon, their songs had a bit of that presence. An intriguing mix of guitars and dance beats. Indie and electro. Couldn’t help seeing a bit of Wolf Alice in them (and Ellie Rowsell in Isabel), but also plenty of Patti Smith and PJ Harvey. With those added dance sounds. A modern mix.

And last night, with an atmospheric setting, I was really impressed. It felt like they’d come on quite a bit since the summer. They had what I think of as a big sound. It filled the space. It was dynamic, confident, ambitious. I felt that I was watching a band destined for great things.

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And in Isabel, they have a charismatic lead, who can sing, plays a rocking guitar, and enjoys a few dance moves. Indie yes, but then a bit more.

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There’s no album yet, just a few singles, “Cecelia”, “Honey” and “Priestess”. “Cecilia” was one of the openers. Has a great melody and a Duran-Duran-meets-U2 guitar. “Priestess” was late in the show and is a bit of a dance beat epic live. But the highlight for me was “Lion’s Den”, a powerful, dark anthem that reminded me a bit of Savages as well as Patti Smith. Jon was getting Siouxsie and the Banshees too. Some combination! This was the song – “Priestess” too – that made me think, this band are going places.

It was all over in just under an hour, including encore. Quality, not quantity, at this stage. And enough to make their album, whenever it comes out, one I’ll be checking out with a lot of interest.

A big future beckons for Pumarosa.

Some more photos. Blurry, because when you are anywhere but the front the lights and movement make it so. But they still give a feel.

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Amber Arcades at the Moth Club Hackney, 20 October 2016

Posted on October 21, 2016 by John S

Last night my friend Jon and I went to the Moth Club in Hackney to see a band we really enjoyed at End of the Road. And whose album I have been playing incessantly recently. The album is “Fading Lines”, the band Amber Arcades, led by Annelotte de Graaf. They are from the Netherlands.

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The Moth Club is based in what seemed to be an old soldiers’ club. It had a decent bar, serving good beers, a strangely glittery ceiling and a similarly flash backdrop to the stage. The place was pretty packed for Amber Arcades and got rather warm.

We missed the first act, but saw second support Ella, who is the keyboard player in Amber Arcades. She had the band’s guitarist Manuel with her too. She played a nice set of mellow, kind of torchy tunes, mostly on her electric guitar. Annelotte joined her for the last song.

And so, on to the band themselves. Fronted by Annelotte on dreamy vocals and pristine guitar, with Manuel playing most of the shimmering guitar runs and Ella adding harmonies and a depth to the music. All backed up by a really tight bass and drum combination. I just love the melodies, Annelotte’s voice and those soaring, chugging, crystalline guitars. A wonderful sound.

The album is great, but live the songs are even better. They may not change the world, but they combine U2, Velvet Underground, Blondie, Abba, and, more obscurely perhaps, Veronica Falls for the rhythm and Mazzy Star and the lovely Hope Sandoval, for the dreamy vocals and wistful ballads. Whether all or any of these are influences, who knows. But Amber Arcades, like all good bands, absorb the influences and make the sound their own.

The whole album got an airing, I think, and of course they ended with the epic “Turning Light”. Highlights for me were inevitably “Fading Lines” – such great guitars – and “Come with Me” with its so-catchy melody. And I loved “Constant’s Dream” with Annelotte starting the song with that simply strummed electric guitar and more of those dreamy vocals.

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But it was all good. So good. I hope they have great success. They are getting a great reaction already, but there is so much competition out there. They’ll be doing a lot of gigging to build that following I guess. And when they are in a London I will be there!

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For “Turning Light” their regular guitarist, whose name I’ve now forgotten – sorry! – came on. He’s been at “school”, which I presume means university or similar.

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Augustines at Kentish Town Forum, 18 October 2016

Posted on October 19, 2016 by John S

The Augustines farewell tour! Why? They were doing so well. The official explanations suggest that it just wasn’t working financially. But they had achieved so much. It’s so sad to see them giving up when, you never know, they could have been big. Following in the footsteps of one of their undoubted influences, Bruce Springsteen. Instead, they’ve followed the example another massive inspiration, The Clash, although there is no indication that the split is for personal reasons.

So last night was a celebration – of the music and the spirit that they have created over these last six or so years. The spirit of rock’n’roll, of the faith in redemption through music. The same values that Bruce has always embodied. The belief that inspired me to write my book on music.

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I’ve lost count of the times I’ve seen Augustines. I think it is six or maybe seven. I first saw them at Latitude in the i-Arena tent in 2012, and their energy was so immense, their following already so devoted, that I had one of those this is the future of rock’n’roll moments. I saw them at Shepherd’s Bush Empire, still finding their way. I saw them on the street – Berwick Street, playing a few songs at a free concert celebrating Soho. I saw them in and out at Latitude again, balancing gigs, and, crucially at the Roundhouse in December 2014, when they were astonishingly good, playing with awesome energy, emotion and intimacy. Billy McCarthy, main man and singer/guitarist poured out his soul at that one.

And every time I loved them even more.

Last night brought it all together. Yeah, it was a bit self-indulgent in places, but why not? It was a celebration of the past – and I hope, a look to the future. All the great songs, “Book of James”, “Juarez”, “Now You Are Free”, Weary Eyes” and, of course, the awesome “Philadelphia (City of Brotherly Love)” were there and in rocking and anthemic shape. And much, much more.

One lovely moment was when drummer, Rob Allen, brought his dad, “Bob” out on the stage, to celebrate his 70th birthday. We sang “Happy Birthday” and then he went onto the spare drum set, which had been set up for a previous cameo from some old friends/ colleagues of the band from New York called Pela. And they played a cover of of the Clash’s “Guns of Brixton”. Wonderful.

Maybe the reason I like Augustines so much is that they not only have the ethos of Bruce throughout their music, but they have the same favourite bands as me, with the Clash to the fore.

A few pics here. Billy has grown his hair and wears a cap. That looks a bit like The Hold Steady, a band with which they have quite a lot in common. But Augustines have a more optimistic world view. Like Bruce, they reflect the sadness, but also the hope and aspiration.

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The celebration at the end with the whole team on plus Pela members. The Augustines family!

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There’s a film about Augustines on the road coming out in 2017. It’s bound to be good. Maybe it will revive interest and get them back together. I guess we wait and see.

In the meantime, Billy and all the band, thank you for some great music and some awesome concerts. Music we live for. The true, undying spirit of rock’n’roll. 

 

 

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Parquet Courts and Eagulls at Kentish Town Forum, 11 October 2016

Posted on October 18, 2016 by John S

Last Tuesday, Jon, his son Louis and I went to see Parquet Courts, supported by Eagulls at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town. The place we used to call the Town and Country Club. I ask you, which is the better name? There was another support band, Goat Girl, but I’m afraid we missed them. Work and school!

We saw both a couple of years ago at Latitude. I only saw a snippet of Eagulls, because I had my sequence of Augustines, Parquet Courts and War on Drugs to prioritise, but Jon and Louis both really liked them. They were excellent again. Different to what I expected. More Goth and less rowdy. And the singer, George Mitchell, looked to me to have modelled himself on Bowie, Thin White Duke style. Could be wrong, but those high waistbands and floppy hair…

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Parquet Courts were immense. They were always sharp, but now they were even sharper. When I first got into their music, it was the Strokes-like energy, coupled with a Velvet Underground sleaziness which appealed. Over time the Velvets are winning out, with an additional veering into the discordancy of, say, Sonic Youth, to keep it to New York analogies.

That Sonic Youth comparison is accentuated by the fact that guitarist Austin Brown is looking ever more like Thurston Moore, main man from the Sonics.

I was, of course, delighted that they still played the double of “Master of my Craft” and “Borrowed Time” and revived “Careers in Combat” from the “Light up Gold” album. The title track was the last song of the main set too. Parquet Courts don’t do encores – they are far too arsey for that.

And there was a good balance of songs through all of their albums. The hard, fast ones, and the meandering, discordant ones. They are truly a New York punk band. It was very loud – my good ear was ringing for quite a while.

But yeah, it was great rock’n’roll. They are one of the best bands around.

A few photos here. With my little digital camera. We weren’t near the front, where there was some impressive moshing, suggesting that they have begun to attract a younger audience – always a good sign! So they are a bit blurred, as they always are when lights are flashing. I’ve tried to make a virtue of that.

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Andrew Savage.

Version 2

Austin Brown.

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Sean Yeaton on bass, Max Savage on drums.

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lovelondonscenes 117 – The Hive, Kew Gardens

Posted on October 16, 2016 by John S

Yesterday we went to see the most recent attraction at Kew Gardens – the Hive. The Hive is a 17m high latticework of aluminium pieces which represents the structure of a bee hive. It was designed by a British artist called Wolfgang Buttress, for the UK pavilion at the Milan 2015 Expo and has now been brought back to London.  It’s fascinating from the outside, but even more so from the inside. There you are surrounded by the constant hum of a beehive, supplemented by some human voices and instrumentation which has been created by members of the psychedelic band Spiritualized. In fact there is even an album soundtrack. The Guardian reviewed it in the summer. Apparently bees hum in the key of C.

The other intriguing thing is to watch the LED lights coming on in waves around the structure. These reflect the vibrations emanating from a real beehive in another part of the gardens. The lights aren’t too visible from the outside in the daylight, but we managed to pick a time when it was pretty gloomy – in fact it started to rain quite heavily – so they became quite distinct.

A few photos below.

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A few raindrops on the next one, which is taken from the upper level, where it is open to the skies.

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Whether the man in black was overwhelmed by it all, or just wanted to get a good photo, who knows!

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lovelondonscenes 116 – the Nova development, Victoria

Posted on October 7, 2016 by John S

My office used to be in Bressenden Place, near Victoria station. I’m now on Millbank by the river. I walk up to Victoria Street from time to time – it takes about 15 minutes – but usually through the quiet back streets. So I hadn’t really noticed the latest state of the building development just opposite the station. I once wrote a blog about this, musing about how buildings ever get built, as there seem to be a lot of men standing around doing nothing on site. But built they are. Earlier this week, in beautiful autumn sunshine, one of the towers loomed before me, as I walked up Vauxhall Bridge Road. You can call this a monstrosity, out of keeping with its surroundings, or a rather stunning building, whose outer surface seems to ripple in the sunlight.

I’ll go for the latter!

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By the way, when I wrote the earlier blog, I thought Victoria was on the Crossrail route. It isn’t! This is an entirely commercial development, though I think it will also provide new access to Victoria station. Hope so – it has been an utter shambles for years.

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Have you heard? – (78) “Fading Lines” by Amber Arcades

Posted on October 6, 2016 by John S

This is my new favourite album. There are five tracks I absolutely love; and the rest is good too.

I had never heard of the band until I went to the End of the Road festival at the start of September. They were the first band we saw on Friday and they made a real impression. this is what I said in my review of the festival:

Our first band of the day was Amber Arcades on the Garden Stage. The band features Dutch singer Annelotte de Graaf on dreamy vocals and guitars. I really liked their sound. It’s hard not to lapse into clichés here, but there was a European-ness to the melodies: familiar, but infectious. There was a wooziness to it that conjured up My Bloody Valentine a bit. Maybe even Nico-era Velvet Underground. Or maybe The Delays (remember them?). Definitely one I shall research further.

Well, I have researched further!

The album is laced with lovely melodies, with Annelotte’s voice floating beautifully over the guitars. And those guitars! They shimmer, they shine. They are electric. Thinking about it now there’s maybe a bit of The Edge in U2 coming through – and that is always a big plus for me. It’s impossible to avoid a hint of a Blondie comparison – the melodies, the voice, and Annelotte’s look too. Nothing obvious, but there is a heritage. Even Abba, but only because of that European-ness which I talked about in my End of the Road blog. That sense of melody.

The songs I most like on the album, if you give it a listen, are: “Come With Me”, “Constant’s Dream”, “Fading Lines”, “Perpetuum Mobile” and “Turning Light”. Come with Me”, “Fading Lines” and “Turning Light” have the shimmering guitars and a pounding, almost-dance beat, with that voice hovering over them. “Constant’s Dream” has a simply strummed electric guitar and a really lovely, melancholy melody; while “Perpetuum Mobile” has a bass line at the beginning that made me think at End of the Road that they were going to sing “Stand by Me”, the old soul tune. Needless to say, it’s nothing of the sort.

It’s not a world-changer. But it is a great indie-pop album. Familiar in many ways, but different too. The lovechild of Abba and the Velvet Underground (or U2), maybe.

There are moments where you might want to play that invisible guitar. And the melodies, melancholy and beautiful, might just hook you too.

If you live in London, they play a place called the Moth Club in Hackney on 20 October. I’ll be there!

And here are a couple of samples of their music; “Turning Light” and “Fading Lines”.

 

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