HDIF: Pocketbooks - The Luminaire

We wander in a few moments into Pocketbooks's first song, the sound guy still tweaking the vocals.

Hmm, there's something awkward about the gaps between songs tonight.

Ooh occasionally flashes of Saint Etienne, their projection of London.

Sent using BlackBerry® from Orange

Popfest: Pocketbooks - Jam

Aw man, I've seen them about a zillion times before, and I still stand by my earlier reviews.

This evening I seem to be stood a bit close to a wall, so the music is very bass and drum heavy.

They announced Camera Obscura are headlining Indietracks.

Ooh, and they have new albums for sale. I've been listening to them play live for a while and their new material has been getting stronger and stronger.

Its a fun crowd tonight, subdued head-bobbing nearby and some genuine jumping around at the front.

Pocketbooks, The Late Greats, Half Tiger, The Kabeedies - 333MotherBar

The Late Greats


Half Tiger


The Kabeedies

Ballboy, The Smittens, Pocketbooks - The Luminaire

Its warm, warm, warm and the word on the net is that the show is sold out except for a few tickets on the door, so come early. I came an hour early, and that's how I got in. Also returned Andy Pocketbooks's capo that had been left on a train platform in the Midlands on Sunday night.

Inside, its almost like Indietracks is still going on, the same faces in the crowd, the same bands on stage, the same feelings of excitement. How long can this feeling last?

Pocketbooks are up first. My companion says they sound like a young version of Belle and Sebastian, but more upbeat.

The new songs that I wasn't sure about last week, they haven't grown on me yet. Like, their earlier stuff is packed with hooks and melody, sometimes even motifs from motown, but I think the new songs, are a little more about the tune and the texture. I'm going to have to hear them recorded so my interpretation isn't jaundiced by standing in the part of the room where the sound is pants.

My companion who hadn't heard them before thought they were nice, and liked the sound of Andy's voice.

The folk at the front of the crowd were dancing like it was still Saturday afternoon.

The Smittens on next, crikey, its like the sixth time I've seen some of them play in the past week, if I were still in the boy scouts I could get The Smitten merit badge.

We retire to seats at the back to watch them on the screens.

I think I prefered seeing them play in a club rather than at a festival, it feels more comfortable, not so much more intimate, cos you can't beat acoustic sets on train platforms, even with a stick.

They start off with an acappella number before bursting in with all instruments ablazing.

The between-song banter and introductions are the icing on the cheesecake.
"Can I have more vocals in my monitor?"
"Can I have more AC in my monitor?"
"Ooh, I can I have more sleep in mine?"
And whole shared experience of most people in the room, or at least the more vocal one, having been at Indietracks. Heck, Colin was even talking about how he'd checked Anorak and needed to point out that it was Elizabeth from Allo Darlin' who suggested playing on the platform.

I think my companion liked the Smittens the best and the song they did that was like from the Grease soundtrack.

Ooh, ooh, if I ever get together a rockabilly covers band, possibly called The Southside Wolfknuckles, we gotta do a garage cover of Gumdrops, F-C-G-Am innit?

Between bands, there's this flyer for other bands playing The Luminaire, the girls asks me if I could recommend any of them, but none of the names look familar. Except Alastair Roberts, he sat behind me in Russian class in Glasgow. How is it that the world works like that?

For the final act of the night, the sweat is dripping off the walls, it like The Woodside Social Club all over again when Ballboy hit the stage.

Ballboy's been kicking about for years, playing much the same songs too. They're great songs, "I've got pictures of you in your underwear" and "Donald in the Bushes with a Bag of Glue" and he's still coming up with the goods "Godzilla Vs The Island of Manhattan with you and I somewhere inbetween". But when I think about songs like Avante Guard, and Gordon MacIntyre's introduction to it, I can't help but think of the long running comic strip in the Khaki Shorts comic, about a chap called Gordon MacIntyre and the tribulations of his relationship with a girl who works in a record shop in Edinburgh.

The crowd are loving them tonight. The music wraps round you and carries you a small boat on a turbulant sea, the vocals a stready reassuring rudder.

The banter about how they smile at each other on stage now, so folk don't think they're just Scottish miserabilists. Its a lesson they've learnt from the days of touring with The Smittens. I can't help but feel that its a little bit like selling out. They are Scottish miserabilists, upholding a fine tradition of that type, by smiling, they're betraying themselves, pandering to the needs of the audience rather than wearing their own feelings as a badge.

Maybe we all do eventually.

Pocketbooks - Indietracks

Pocketbooks on the main stage in full effect, the place is packed, and folk in the crowd are dancing dancing.

Its the biggest stage I've seen them play on and they fill it perfectly with their summery sunshine songs, looking comfortable in their element. You can understand why folk call them the new young Belle and Sebastian. olly singing with banter, jokes, cultural references and lyrics changed to reflect rail travel in the Midlands.

Icing on the cheesecake for these guys is when they invite folk from the audience up on stage to dance, its like your favourite indie club night in the sun in the middle of the day.

Other photies
Trev Lost
Craig Boney
Nat Alice
Light-o

Pocketbooks, The Zebras, Airport Girl - Buffalo Bar

So I toddled along to the Buffalo bar, say hi to Andy and Dan from Pocketbooks, I used to has teh fear of saying hi to people in bands, cos seeing them play live six times isn't the same as actually knowing them, compare and contrast with Idlewild who I saw 16 times in 1998 and wouldn't.

Suddenly Pav from Twee A Fuck wanders out of the Buffalo and says hi. Aw man, I never got round to finishing that review of the Twee As Fuck alldayer.

So I descend into the depths of the Buffalo Bar, spot Camila from weePop, and lounge at the bar for a bit drinking Tyger. MJ Hibbett wanders over, he's jolly excited about his Exciting Life in Rock show, I'm quite excited too, it should be fun on the Friday at Indietracks, but will I make it to Edinburgh to see the proper show in its native Fringe environment?

Before long, the first band take to the stage.

Pocketbooks
I like Pocketbook, I've seen them lots of times, they're in my top ten bands I've seen most often in the past two years, and now I can say hi to them and make small talk without feeling the urge to run away, hide in the toilets sobbing to myself, this you already knew, but have you considered the effect this has on my ability to review them honestly? It could be awkward.

I liked the older songs they played, and the new songs, which were possibly having their first publis airing, they sounded alright, they'll be great after a few plays to get ingrained in ma heid.

Ian the guitarist has new effects pedals, one of them was a chorus pedal, not sure what the other was, but it sounded great.

They were playing to a crowd of very attentive folk who I've seen at gigs before. Not like the second band on, for whom the crowd swelled with lots and lots of people, some with curious accents.

The Zebras
One of the most American sounding Australian bands


Airport Girl
I saw this youtube video the other day, and now, it could just be confirmation bias, but I can spot Pachelbel's Canon in D a mile away, Airport Girl's first song, aye.


The Airportettes
More women on stage

Rip It Up: Pocketbooks, Davey Strange, Goodnight I Wish, Harvey Williams,The Postcards, Lodger, Theoretical Girl - The Socia

The Londonist website has a weekly gig round up, all the must see shows of the forthcoming seven days, with ticket prices from £8 (Pete and the Pirates) to £45 (Yazoo). This grossly misrepresents live music.

Tonight I am at The Social for Rip It Up, the Edwyn Collins/ Orange Juice tribute night, entry is 50p.

First on are Pocketbooks with a cover of "Consolation Prize". Andy the singing chap is a bit more fey than Edwyn was, and over on guitar Ian really gets into his guitar noddling. When they finish, the audience rise as one with the muttered cry of "What? Only one song each?".

How long ago was that Stephen Merrit / Magnetic Fields tribute night? That was a fair three songs each, it gave the bands time to find their groove. I'm apprehensive about the rest the night now.

I've just bought me a new notebook to write these reviews in, and have just given myself a papercut.

Davey Strange is on stage next, I don't know what the song is. I only know two Orange Juice / Edwyn Collins songs, maybe two and a half; Rip it Up, Girl Like You, and that Adidas one.

'Goodnight I Wish' were on next, a two piece, took ages to set up.

I just realised, my mobile phone is out of battery and I've no memory card in my camera, so no blurred black n white piccies tonight. Its all a bit of a shambles.

Not only are the bands all playing one song sets, but there's a 20 minute changeover time. Luckily some bands have dropped out, otherwise we'd be here all night.

Next up is Harvey Williams playing Dying Day. Tender keyboard /piano driven number, from a bearded seated gentleman. Kindof slow and not sure now it fitted with the faster songs DJ Ian from HDIF played before and after.

There's a familiar crowd in tonight, all HDIF, indiepop and Twee Ass-Fuck.

Ooh, next band have a quick turn over time, two guitars, bass and drums. They are The Postcards, playing Consolation Prize, mincing it up with spot on Edwyn vox. A bit boomy bass heavy where I was stood,but it was too crowded to move about much.

Not convinced by this new notebook, recycled paper, from Paperchase / Borders on Oxford Street. The paper's too dark to see writing on when I'm lurking in the shadows of a gig and the covers are too floppy to rest on. They flex unless you're resting on a hard surface. There's fucking hundreds of pages mind, so I could be stuck with this for a while.

The Lodger, have travelled all the way down from Leeds to play their one classic Orange Juice song, Can't Help Myself. Last time I saw The Lodger was at The Windmill in Brixton, it wasn't my cup of tea so I retired to the beer garden to chat to Tricity about Bowlie and ex-girlfriends spreading rumours.

Tonight though, its a spot on cover, with guitar all ajangle like the past 25 years were but yesterday.

Somewhat surprisingly the final act on stage tonight is Theoretical Girl also doing a cover of Can't Help Myself. I find myself wondering what happened? How come no one did Girl Like You or Rip It Up, or thatone about Adidas shoes. Did all the bands just assume someone else would do them and avoided the obvious? Was it a conscious effort to avoid the crowd pleasing favourites? Didn't anyone want to please the crowd?

Theoretical Girl's version was a shimmering backing tracked take on it with the girl playing a chorused up twelve string electric and jousting with her own pre-recorded backing vocals. It sounded like a misty dream sequence.

Ian HDIF and Twee Ass-Fuck DJs are pencilled in to take the crowd to closing time so I make a sneaky getaway, with a mind to record my own Orange Juice cover... here

Bands
Pocketbooks
Davey Strange
Goodnight I Wish
Harvey Williams
The Postcards
The Lodger
Theoretical Girl

Pete Green, Pocketbooks, The Parallelograms, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - The Betsey Trotwood

Nowt to do for a Saturday so I wandered into town for a bit of exercise and trekked along to Farringdon. Of course, I got to the venue about three hours early, so I wandered up the Road to Kings Cross and picked up a Flashman novel to read over a beer.

I'd forgotten how much I love George MacDonald Fraser, Flashy's a bit of a role model I guess. Some West Ham-based trouble breaks out in the pub, I slip out just as four police minibuses and half a dozen police cars arrive. They send in a pack of police dogs, I'm sure that'll diffuse the situation.

Time passes and I head along to the gig. Its a quaint looking place, Thor and Ladybug from Not Quite Rocket Science outside, we say hey, and inside its even more of a who's who. Trev Lost and Tom SoundsXP at the bar, the word is its going to be a bit crowded downstairs. Atomic Beat folk wandering about, MJ Hibbett materialises, beer is consumed. Topical ales include Bishop's Finger, which was nice, Kent's Best, which was okay, and Spitfire which is bogging or it could have been the Red Bull I'd been guzzling all day in lieu of food, its turned my tastebuds.

Lo! It is crowded downstairs, I get in earlish and find myself near the front. The basement is like catacombs, it is The Bards Tale, sunken booths, whitewashed walled and zombies.

Pete Green on first, it takes a few songs to get the levels right, and his guitar, tonight without layers of gaffertape sounds different to usual. Its a friendly performance in a room full of friends.

Hearing "Best British Band Supported by Shockwaves" for the first time was pretty neat, incrowd references and stuff made it. Maybe there are important questions about the nature of sponsorship in popular music which need to be addressed, not now mind. Its warm and gentle tonight.

Gah, no photies from me for this review, whilst my camera is nestled in my pocket, its battery is many miles away become charged. There are plenty of other folk with cameras and I think a chap from Dandelion Radio is taping the show for the internet.

Atomic Beat have the stage times pinned to the walls all over the place which is nice. At some point in the future it'll be square and too formal and not punk enough, but right now, its neat and appreciated. Fag break? Sure, plenty of time.

Pocketbooks on next, sounds better than last time, that show at the Enterprise. Birthday girl singer Emma fluffs her lines a few times, but they pull it off with good grace, Andy nodding to the Dandelion Radio guy he can edit it out later.

They still come over as the finely aimed bastard sons (and daughter) of Belle and Sebastian and Camera Obscura, with, I reckon, a sprinkling of the Lightning Seeds's perfect pop.

Ian the slightly new guitar player is settling into his role better, but they ought to prod the sound engineer a bit more.

As I sribble this review on the train home, a gentleman behind me says "His heart was as strong as an ox".

Last time I saw The Parallelograms was DSFAR in Nottingham just before Christmas, I was coming down with than flu that was going round and not in the best of moods. Some bloke I'd known for years barged me out of his way at the back of the crowd, and no one I knew saw me. I barely made it hom alive, let alone write up a coherent review of the bands that wouldn't get me banned from computer keyboards everywhere.

Ooh they have a standing up drummer, the guitar chap is a little drunk and the singing girl reminds me of Angelica when they're not rocking out. Its an awkward fit, teenage girl vocals and noisy guitar rock, but they pull it off with humour and single chord rock endings.

Single out on Atomic Beat Records, available in the foyer.

All the bands playing tonight roughly begin with the letter P. Its like Seasame Street, but with Anoraks instead of puppets.

I find myself stood at the back for the final band, mulling over ideas, ideas. For my final post here on LNFGIES I write about the first gig I ever went to, post all the songs I've ever recorded and I've got a few ideas for threads/indie concepts: cover version tennis, writing songs for other people, and never playing the same songs live twice.

The Pains of Being Pure At Heart, current doyennes of Anorak, they're very good, nice reverb on the vox and organy keyboards. Realy embracing stuff. I'm stood at the back, girl who looks familiar from Glasgow at 11 o'clock, names to faces all around, avoid eye contact. Avoid.

The Pains have this song with the refrain 'We will never die', the drums, maybe even the key, remind me of the mighty Roses' 'I am the Ressurrection'. The refrains have similar meanings.

As I trek home, I'm thinking More of that sort of thing.

Other reviews
here

Spiral Scratch: The Deirdres, Pocketbooks, Sparky's Magic Piano - The Enterprise

Bands
The Deirdres
Pocketbooks
Sparky's Magic Piano

Other reviews
Hey Hey Honeypop
Indie Mp3
MJ Hibbett

Other Photies
here

Alan MX, Pocketbooks, Q Without U - Nottinghill Arts Club

It was

The Indelicates, The Video Club, Pocketbooks, Aunty Doubles - Tufnells

The Tuffnel tonight, once again, a quality lineup of bands according to the flyer, no Fiona, wondering how they can ruin this. I'm pretty sure I've seen some of the bands before, IndieTracks, the Buffalo or just around.

The Slender Club's myspace said doors 19:00, its 20:30 now and they're still sound-checking. Ooh, I think the band soundchecking now are on one of the Not Quite Rocket Science podcasts I've been listening to for the past month.

Its always fascinating seeing the ways different bands soundcheck. The Younger Younger 28s' one finger one second effort, The Plimptons pick one song which features all available band members and instruments and play half of it, only as much as needed. The Wolfknuckles rattle though a couple, using the time as a last minute rehearsal, but all finish before the punter arrive. The mobs here just seem a bit half-arsed, doing two or three songs as a formality, finishing sounding the same as they started, no audible mixing desk tweaking.

Why do bands no tune up before they hit the stage, like have some semblance of being prepared.

Christ, first up are Busted, or at least some underage 4-piece who stole Busted's dance moves.

Two guitars, bass, drums and a3-man vox, the trumpet playing from the drummer was a nice touch and neat lead guitar noodles, understated rather than in your face. Once again the soundman did something evil with the bass.

I dunno, the singing sounds a little too sixth form bandy, like Jim Bean in Flyer in the Bolton Academy in '96.

Give them a few years of honing and they could be Vertigo Green for a new generation.

My favourite Busted / McFly song is Hypnotise.

Interesting the way the audience drifted away, they couldn't even muster front standing friends and family.

Crikey, I'm sweating like pig here in my pa's leather jacket, there's gotta be some other way to carry around all my paraphernalia rather than using a handbag, that way lies danger. I'll dig out my old combat pants. God knows how CrystalBall keeps her red indiecoat on in this weather.

Ooh, Jona Wintergreen is here... and his bandmates too, cool.

Pocketbooks on next, I recognise the barnet from countless other gigs, its nice when people live the music, rather than either contributing or observing.

Two keyboards, quiet guitar, too loud bass, drums, glockenspiel and melodica and boy – girl harmonies. They're either getting better each time I see them, or just more familiar.

Great pacing of the set which is a lost art. They're kinda wholesome and nice. The long-necked keyboard chap, nipping out into the crowd during songs to check the sound. Neat melodies, grab you by the hand and take you on a ride.

Like Pete Green the other week, they comment on the sparkly walls, neat gimmick from The Tuffnell management. Oh and something about the Pocketbooks being in The Grimsby Telegraph. Pah, I can still make the Bolton Evening News and I haven't lived there for a decade

Gah, its one of those crowd swapping gigs and for good reason too, whilst The Pocketbooks, my 18 month old niece, my brother and my mum could adore, this next mob, only Alan Wolfknuckle would like and he's 400 miles away. They sound like Edinburgh's The Fnords, apart from there's six of them, 8 foot tall dandy doing time-share vocal duties with a half-hearted shouty girl, Psycho Bob from Idlewild on bass, two guitarists – Buddy Holly and a guy who used to be in The Bates, Ralf Little on drums.

So percussive are the drums that its making the remaining indiepop kids cry or at least look grumpy. The band are having fun on stage, but its a shocking step change from the other bands.

Am I going deaf or are the vocals really quiet?

Time passes and they evolve into the punk shout rockabilly MJ Hibbett. Not sure what to make of them.

Time passes, until 23:30 and I can't be arsed waiting for the Indelicates to finish setting up. The look kinda cute, but I don't remember seeing them at IndieTracks. Dear readers, if anyone stayed to watch them can you leave a comment about how they were?

Thread
here

Photies
here

Stars Of Aviation, With The Owls, Pocketbooks, Pete Green, Maia Hirasawa - Buffalo Bar

The reason given for me being at this gig tonight is "I was just passing and it looked interesting," followed by "oh, I'm not staying," and if pushed, some quote from xkcd about having adventures for the sake of it rather than same old same old.

Drive 400 miles for some gig, some bands I've never heard of? you bet.

This adventure in London is less alcohol fuelled than the last time and more measured. I'm on my way to Liverpool see, for Saturady night's Plimptons gig, part of the International Pop Overthrow Festival.

And that, your honour, is why I'm standing in a quiet corner of the bar in the Buffalo Bar in Highbury for something to do with Fortuna Pop.

Crikey, as the place fills up there's a chap here who looks just like MJ Hibbett, truly there's no escape from LNFG. Seconds after being spotted he come over and says hello, jolly nice chap. Hmm, more people saying hi, this is awkward, taking about twenty seconds too long to recognise people off of the internet in real life.

First on stage is a troubador called Pete Green, was the guy in Fleetwood Mac also the same name? Its not the same chap. Rather jolly songs, Similar to Hibbett I reckon, but seen through a different looking glass. Songs like "I haven't got a MySpace, cos MySpace fucking sucks" and "Share your kit" about snotty hipster bands with all the gear and no idea. Jolly stuff.

Pocketbooks are on next, oop, the guitarist noodles the lead line from Fleetwood Mac's The Chain, Maybe it was that Pete Green. Please imagine I came up with a snide comment about the band. They were really good, a fourpiece, two keyboards, glokenspiel, guiatar, drums, bass, instrument swapping. Belle and Seb-esque boy/girl harmonies, really tight drumming, almost drum machine-ish. The girl had the neatest bob hair I've seen since Bis.

An acquaintance, Paul points out people in the crowd, someone from the Duloks, Maia from Hello Saferide, various promoters I ought to know and folk from Amelia Fletcher bands, she ought to do something about bank charges.

The first two acts were promoting new singles released on Atomic Beat Records, Paul bought them on seven inch and seemed jolly impressed.

On stage next are a dapper two piece, called The Owls, swapping guitar and bass between each other.

A wee bit dour, and rather jarring dischordant guitar.

When the Pocketbooks were on the crowd seemed restless between songs, but with the owls they did even get that courtesy.

A girl walks by who bares a striking resemblance to Natasha Smith from school, or more honestly, Uma Thurman from Pulp Fiction.

So, looking at posters advertising other gigs here... bands I've never heard of sponsored by corporate entities such as Diesel, LaCoste and Cafe2U. Crikey.

Aw man, now there's hundreds of people on stage. The Stars of Aviation, sound like Aberfeldy, all of them seemed to be armed with egg-shakers and I'm convincedt the singing chap is called Eliot, but Paul assures me he simply cannot be, much like the end of American Psycho.

They spent a good ten minutes trying to get the audience to sing along to some song in French, that wasn't singing, that was just a load of drunk peopleshouting.

"A bit too... something" says Paul, maybe too twee indie. Some of the songs were nice and jaunty, but well, others were slow and sleepy and too easy listening.

Oop, as a secret bonus, that Maia girl, from Sweden, is going to play a set with her band and I snap my own photies. I love her dimples and her theatricalness and enthusiasm and the pleading in her voice with these really personal sounding songs about friends and MySpace. And the way she stomps, rocks and reels.

There's to be DJs and music and dancing, so I leave.

An hour later, I feel regret, after the bands I could have chatted merrily from people from way back when, firming up viewer/creator relationships, offering my services as nationwide music distributor and Ivan Lendil Music head honcho. Shit, just engaging would do. Instead I bungled a hug and noddled farewell awkwardly before barging and my way out in terror.

400 miles, I have complete control over my actions, its my feelings that require more work.

Reviews
here

Photies
here
here
here