Father John Misty - Oxford Art Factory (27/7/2012)

Let it be known that FJM (J. Tillman) loves to shake his tush.


Fact is, he cavorts and loosens up like a shaman possessed.





When I saw someone in the audience approach J. for an autograph during the night's first support act (Melodie Nelson), I knew it was a case of now or never - Dashed across the road, got myself a marker, headed back, purchased a vinyl copy of Fear Fun (When I already own the CD) and a T-shirt, all in time to catch the second support act, Mosman Alder. 
This is, after all, my favourite album of the year so far.  Count me a fanboy.

When the band opened with Fun Times in Babylon, we knew we were in for a special night. 
Jeff Frattiti (Sp?) dressed in polka dot pullover and spacey spandex, looking like a drag Cobain gone wrong, immediately challenged us visually and it was clear we weren't in Kansas anymore.
He was especially animated during Hollywood Forever Centery Sings and gestured his bass as a shovel to the lyrics' "someone's got to help me dig" .

The set consisted the entire album, only O I Long to Feel Your Arms Around Me was left out. Arrangements deviated little from that on the album; bar the extra howl and extended wig-out jam & feedback frenzy.  The band (Same lineup as that on the KEXP clip below) sounded great live. 
Highlights for me were Only Son of the Ladies' Man, Nancy from Now On and Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings

It was hilarious when Misty got foggy and forgot the beginning lyrics to Now I'm Learning to Love the War and ad-libbed on the spot.



Thank you, thank you, thank you for a night of blissful, joyous music.

Live: elbow @ Hordern Pavilion 26/3/2012

I wasn't going to go.

It being Monday night, concert at the Hordern Pavilion (Less intimate, more chances of sound going wrong, 2nd concert for the amazing "build a rocket boys!" (My #2 of 2011), expense, transport, etc., etc.

I was giving myself endless reasons to give this a miss.

As it happened, Lady Luck took a pity and a friend had a spare ticket owing to someone being out of the country.

This concert wasn't too far removed from the one I attended last year - Review here.

Guy Garvey was still perversely interested in Sydney fingers (& nails); he still gestured and pointed at audiences; he was more jovial and playful; there were sing-a-longs; hands waving and they were all clearly having a great time, as were we.

Performances were also top notch:  Guy was in fine voice and the band were sublime with the tender songs and rocked with gusto when called for.  The minor glitch when Guy repeated a chorus instead of launching into the bridge only showed how much he was in the moment; like some beauty spot on an otherwise perfect face..

They have been together some 22 years (Longer than some marriages) and this shows in their comradeship and playing; and the band even used this excuse to have a toast on stage.

It's no secret the boys like a drop.

I'd be the first to sing their praises and decry what an injustice it is that they have not taken the world by storm; but that would mean sharing them with everyone else.

Till then, I remain selfishly silent.

Some promos from their recently re-released deluxe editions of Leaders of the Free World (2005) & Cast of Thousands (2003):

build a brewery boys!

elbow's Beer Money Helps Thousands in East Africa

They're mine! All mine!

Live Review: Portugal. The Man & Givers @ The Metro 7/2/2012

Can they play?  Check.

Is the band tight?  Double check.

Do they rock?  You betcha.

Have they great songs?

Just check their CDs or my review here.

Did they do great covers?

A bulldozing rendition of The Beatles' Helter Skelter and a

rollicking version of David Bowie's All The Young Dudes.

Were they loud?

Fact is, the band was great and most songs were beefed up, given a terrific boost live; so much so, vocals (Both frontman John Gourley's and the band's backing) should have been twice as high in the mix.

I was expecting sweet psychedelic pop/rock but was surprisingly (& pleasantly) served muscular, steroided rock bordering on Metal!  Only unfortunate casualty of the night was John's sometimes soulful and funky croon which was largely drowned by a band in top form.

A much better mix on French TV:

  7.8

Special mention must go to Sydney support band Guineafowl who held their own with a great selection of indie songs and Louisiana-based Givers who shared the bill with their take on alternate Calypso-Ragga rock.  They had a track which featured flutes and was almost Canton-flavoured.  Tiffany Lamson (on percussion duties) was especially impressive as she banged on those poor drums (in unison with Kirby Campbell, drums) within an inch of their lives...

Live Review: The Horrors @ Metro Theatre 2/2/2012

Standing at 6' 5'' tall, Faris Badwan of The Horrors cuts a commanding figure.


Their heady mix of 80's synth-psychedelic-goth were equal parts Bowie, Bauhaus and Joy Division.


Playing hits from their last three albums, they had their fans jumping and singing along.





While Rhys Webb displayed some cool holding his bass upright, guitarist Joshua Hayward went apeshit during a feedback session and knocked an amp off...


After having been to so many concerts, I believe this was my first "mosh" experience. Note to self - Invest in some steel-capped boots!!

My #28 of 2011

 8.0

Live Review: Active Child @ Oxford Art Factory 29/01/2012

Video clip below.

Not many bands can boast having a multi-octave, falsetto-singing harpist as a frontman.

There are two sides to the band Active Child:  One of earlier material heavily infuenced by 80's New Wave electropop ala New Order / Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark and; the more recent, maturer, R&B-tinged soul-chamber-pop.

When Pat Grossi unexpectedly joined the audience during support act Caitlin Park's set and stood beside me, I froze not knowing what to say. 
In between songs, I managed to tell him that they were my favourite newcomer of 2011; that I really enjoyed the album; found out that he was born in Philadelphia and now based in LA; offered him a drink to which he politely declined; and wished him a good show.

In hindsight, I should have requested an interview!!

Performing tracks from their Curtis Lane EP and You Are All I See LP, the evening was filled with beautifully uplifting and hypnotic songs balanced by boppy danceable electro numbers.



8.9/10


Bio

Active Child - Hanging On [Official Video] from Active Child on Vimeo.

Watch: Radiohead - The King of Limbs Live from the Basement

Finally found this:

Radiohead - Live From the Basement 2011 by andybe29

Enjoy!

Live Review: elbow @ The Enmore Theatre 29/07/2011

 

 

Possessed of one of the most beautiful singing voices, Guy Garvey, potential poet laureate, lead singer and frontman of elbow believes Sydney has beautiful fingers.
Don't ask, you had to be there.
Fact is, judging from the crowd's response, some of those fingers were Mancunian.

elbow is not your typical rock band.  Shorn of the typical rock star egos and posturing, they are instead humble to the point of having their name in lower case.  So humble, that Guy suggested one day they would like to support their opening act, Matt Corby.  That's perhaps s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g it.

Guy's humble demeanor makes an elbow concert feel like one in which you're amongst friends.  He often pointed and gestured to acknowledge almost every individual in the crowd and when he had us going, hands were either aloft and waving, clapping to the beat or punching in the air.

Audience particpation was high on the agenda tonight as he began teaching us a song line by line until it became too long to follow but also ended as a joke!  The whistling parts in Lippy Kids were turned into a call-and-response, but he was good humoured enough and acquiesced to the audience' cheeky out-of-tune whistling.  Further rapport was forged when Guy descended from stage to shake some hands.

At one point, yours truly was moved to tears by the sheer beauty of a song.

Celebrating 20 years in the business, but only ten with a recording contract and five stupendous albums to show, there was a round of drinks on stage as the crowd appropriately sang Happy Birthday to the band.

It's criminal that they remain largely a well kept secret despite winning the below accolades:

• The 2009 Brit Award for Best British Band
• Two Ivor Novello awards
• The South Bank Show Pop award
• The NME Outstanding Contribution to British Music award, and
• The Mojo Magazine Song of the Year 2009 for One Day Like This
• The Mercury Music Prize for 'The Seldom Seen Kid in 2008
• The Mercury Music Prize nomination for Build a Rocket Boys! in 2011

It's possible they're too British for an American audience, but I love them all the more for it.

When asked what he should sing, Ralphie (Sp?) from the audience suggested Hallelujah and for a moment there, we thought we were in for a treat.  In all likelihood, they're probably brushing up on the lyrics for their next live performance.

Perhaps they could play the Sydney Opera House next?

♥,
Syd.  8.9/10

PS.  Sorry that there are no accompanying photos - They were all lost after an iPod update!
        Modern technology, right?

Many thanks to Carina N, we now have the setlist:

(Could've sworn they also included
An Audience with the Pope)

This now concludes my week of exhaustive debauched concert-going and soul-feeding.

Modest Mouse Rocks The Enmore 25/07/2011

Woo Hoo!  What a way to start my holidays! (Admittedly only 4 days this time).

It's not very often I find myself asking who the opening act was, or if their songs were originals for that matter.  Sydneysiders Deep Sea Arcade were impressive enough to have my curiosity piqued. 
Obviously schooled in Rock history, they have Beatles' flourishes and site Elliot Smith, The Doors and Stone Roses as influences.  And it shows.
A band to look out for.

Judging from the rapturous reception when Isaac Brock and co. sauntered on, I'd say I was in the midst of some serious hardcore fans, you know the ones that know the lyrics to almost every song.  Tonight's setlist was mostly a greatest hits package...

Setlist (Thanks to setlist.fm):

1. Satin a Coffin
2. The View
3. Dramamine
4. Dashboard
5. Fire It Up
6. I Came as a Rat
7. Paper Thin Walls
8. Blame It on the Tetons
9. Dance Hall
10. King Rat
11. Gravity Rides Everything
12. Poison the Well
13. Float On
Encore:

14. Bukowski
15. The Whale Song
16. Wild Packs of Family Dogs

(Could've sworn they also played The World at Large...)

Satin in a Coffin kicked the night off followed by a particularly raucous The View which nearly blew the roof off Enmore...  and we're only 2 tracks in!  The sheer energy rarely let off and was only "interrupted" when the taxidermy-fan-cum-frontman addressed the crowd and regaled us about the weather back in hometown Portland.  Rock Star attitude was in play when he carried on a little too long, but I suspect this may have been a calculated move to "egg" the crowd on.

At times, it seemed the stage could barely contain the band because they had such a huge presence.

When first notes of anthem Float On floated on, the crowd went literally beserk.
There was dancing in the aisles and ushers had a tough time showing some back to their seats.

Isaac brought out the banjo on a slightly reggaefied Bukowski.  The Whale Song (featured in 1997 movie Bent starring Clive Owen about a gay prisoner of war) started off with an odd guitar refrain which only made sense towards the end of the track.

No signs of any new songs then.

Had a blast guys!  8.3/10

Live Webcast: Elbow @ St Paul's Cathedral

Absolute Radio hosts this momentous occassion where a rock band gets a first to play the crypt in London's St Paul's Cathedral.

If, like me, you're not too keen on waking up at 4:00am to catch the radio broadcast of this event, head over to: http://www.absoluteradio.co.uk/artists/Elbow/article/3928-Elbow+at+St.+Paul's+Cathedral  to catch the concert and an interview by Dave Gorman.

This is a definite precursor to whet my appetite for July 29's concert at the Enmore Theatre.

Essential viewing.

Guy Garvey croons some.