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.
Showing posts with label Spiral Scratch. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Spiral Scratch. Show all posts
Friday, 1 August 2008
Thursday, 31 January 2008
Monday, 3 December 2007
Sunday, 11 November 2007
Thursday, 16 August 2007
Wintergreen, Compute, Liechtenstein - The Albany
Starting to regret that Flyer review from Indietracks, I'm in a room with these people. Fukkit, I'm going to see them at gigs for the next ten years.
Wintergreen on stage, they sound like how I remember Spiritualised sounding like, like guitars played backwards in t rain by Talulah Gosh.
Too much technology, technical difficulties at times. But the storm through it.
I can't quite put my finger on the way he sings, like a robot stressing the melody or something.
Are all the crackles and pops part of the song or just cock ups. Odd sudden endings to songs.
Whilst other website reviewer stand at the front and chat through songs I prefer to listen and scribble notes.
I've got it, usually its the guitar that's pounding and driving, but here its the chap's vocals urging everything along.
I nipped out between bands to find out the time of the last train home, the chap at the station was very helpful. Also I made a short list of songs I'd play in my solo set if I were asked to play a gig as a last minute cancellation. Four or five songs, mostly covers or pastiches about convoluted situations.
Compute - Three electro-clash girls dancing to an iPod. I count ten folk taking photies, do they realise it doesn't count unles they have them on flickr and tagged up within twelve hours? Cool hot pants on electro-clash girl #2, nice t-shirt print on #1 and #3 has a nice face, looks like a young Purdy.
Sounds just enough like the Human League, without Phil Oakey. A breaking glass at the back of the room could have been a well placed sample. The vocals need to be higher in the mix.
They from Sweden and they do a cover of an Action Biker song. For the final song of the set they get members of Liechtenstein to join them on stage.
This one time I saw a band called Gdansk and almost gave them the three word review 'More like Minsk'. So with Liechtenstein I was hoping I could do likewise and say 'More like Monaco', but that wouldn't fit at all.
So aye, eyespy, a Flyer's here, Crystalball on the door, Lost Music, Uma Thurman, people off of the intenet and folk from Indietracks.
Liechtenstein, Swedes again, with Purdy from Compute on vocals and guitar.Music with attitude and sounds like a female-fronted 'Specials'.
Not sure about the mix, seems a bit lumpy, the vocals were nice and high up, but maybe the bass was too high up compared to the other guitars and not enough bass from the drums.
Some nice girl harmonies later on, to square them into the indiepop bracket.
Need a wee, sneaked out before the end.
Photies
here
Reviews
here
Thread
here
Video
here
Wintergreen on stage, they sound like how I remember Spiritualised sounding like, like guitars played backwards in t rain by Talulah Gosh.
Too much technology, technical difficulties at times. But the storm through it.
I can't quite put my finger on the way he sings, like a robot stressing the melody or something.
Are all the crackles and pops part of the song or just cock ups. Odd sudden endings to songs.
Whilst other website reviewer stand at the front and chat through songs I prefer to listen and scribble notes.
I've got it, usually its the guitar that's pounding and driving, but here its the chap's vocals urging everything along.
I nipped out between bands to find out the time of the last train home, the chap at the station was very helpful. Also I made a short list of songs I'd play in my solo set if I were asked to play a gig as a last minute cancellation. Four or five songs, mostly covers or pastiches about convoluted situations.
Compute - Three electro-clash girls dancing to an iPod. I count ten folk taking photies, do they realise it doesn't count unles they have them on flickr and tagged up within twelve hours? Cool hot pants on electro-clash girl #2, nice t-shirt print on #1 and #3 has a nice face, looks like a young Purdy.
Sounds just enough like the Human League, without Phil Oakey. A breaking glass at the back of the room could have been a well placed sample. The vocals need to be higher in the mix.
They from Sweden and they do a cover of an Action Biker song. For the final song of the set they get members of Liechtenstein to join them on stage.
This one time I saw a band called Gdansk and almost gave them the three word review 'More like Minsk'. So with Liechtenstein I was hoping I could do likewise and say 'More like Monaco', but that wouldn't fit at all.
So aye, eyespy, a Flyer's here, Crystalball on the door, Lost Music, Uma Thurman, people off of the intenet and folk from Indietracks.
Liechtenstein, Swedes again, with Purdy from Compute on vocals and guitar.Music with attitude and sounds like a female-fronted 'Specials'.
Not sure about the mix, seems a bit lumpy, the vocals were nice and high up, but maybe the bass was too high up compared to the other guitars and not enough bass from the drums.
Some nice girl harmonies later on, to square them into the indiepop bracket.
Need a wee, sneaked out before the end.
Photies
here
Reviews
here
Thread
here
Video
here
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