rashbre's Last.fm Journal

Decemberists - The Hazards of Love and other Great Stories

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:18:28 +0000

Thu 19 Nov – The Decemberists, Emmy the Great
Elephant and Castle. Tunnels. Long fast moving queue. Metal detectors. Corridor. Sharp Left. Bar. Murphy's.

And then to take position. We had plenty of time whilst Pink Floyd's albatross was hanging motionless upon the air. I seemed to be the only one in our group that knew the track. Meddle. Echoes.

Then a shimmy to the side and we took position for the band.

Who opened with the entire Hazards of Love album, played non stop, as one piece, complete with multiple instrument changes and all manner of swapping around on the stage.

Amazing- a complete tour-de-force. Energetically played, a kind of modernist folk story. I've heard the album many times, but as a piece played live it seemed to really come together. We all thought the same; as we sipped drinks before the second half, we chatted about how much more defined the story was for seeing it in a live performance.

Similarly the textures, from quiet mandolins and acoustic guitars, to all out whammy bar chunks of air power chords. And a great mixture of front man Colin Meloy and the rest of the band including the extra singers providing a yin and yang of styles.

Part 2.
We decided to be right at the front for part 2, which meant getting a wriggle on. We abandoned middling and used the old RHS technique to get to the very front and struck suitable seafaring poses in preparation for a second half. Which turned out to be a sort of greatest hits section, complete with good crowd conducting and the appearance and disappearance at various stages of an inflatable whale brought by some of the onlookers.

It worked though, because the band decided to play Mariner's Revenge in this section, which is seldom heard live on these fair shores.

We all screamed in the right place and could have become plankton, although fortunately we'd all prepared suitable gig names in advance so I think I became an idler roustabout.

So what do I think? They are excellent fun as a band- I'm not sure they quite knew where they were....East London seemed to be the stage consensus, but we all know it was down sarf.

I've listened to them for years and love their lyrics which create entire often edgy novel plots in a few sentences. Their front man Colin keeps a sparkle in his eyes as they perform and their whole band energy and counterpoints are quite infectious.

Tonight they are on Jools Holland performing a small piece from The Hazards of Love - during which they all beat drums. Just remember they all play dozens of instruments. Demand a full showing of a concert on our television.

full version of the review an link to pix here at rashbre central.

Amanda Palmer at Union Chapel

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 19:46:10 +0000

Sat 12 Sep – Amanda Palmer, Polly Scattergood

We took position opposite the chapel, in the library, where there were already others clothed as if not from the local area. The darkly clad man with the triangular hat and the large and slightly disturbing sock puppet were the first we noticed, followed by another puppet with black buttons for eyes. We were entering a zone where Brechtian punk cabaret seemed to be intersecting with a few characters who would be at home in Coraline or Struwwelpeter.

A Guinness and some fancy Belgian beers later and we'd spotted the pedal operated piano navigating the Islington traffic system. Eventually after the piano's return and hearing applause from an impromptu song from Amanda outside the chapel, we decided it was time for us cross the road from the pub to the event.

Two lines, so we joined the shorter one, soon to be advised by one of those very puppets that we needed to change to the longer queue, which now snaked out of the building, along the road, down some steps and finished somewhere in the gyratory system.

We good-naturedly walked the smiling faces, many people clearly dressed for the occasion and as we did so, the pianist started to have trouble with the piano which by now was belching orange flames from its interior, along with clouds of black smoke. Undeterred, he played on, accompanied by a vocalist similarly unperturbed by the change of circumstance.

Inside the chapel, we realised that those ahead of us had now filled most of the seats. We remembered the side staircase and found our way to the gallery. Ideal for a perfect view.

First was Essex-based Polly Scattergood, shimmering in silver, accessorised with pink, playing quirky songs of pills and vulnerability accompanied by a small band with some rather loud drums. We applauded in all the right places as Polly delivered around five songs from her debut album. The audience was warm, but as she mentioned the name of the act to follow there was a noticeable burst of added appreciation.

Before the main act, the chapel's organ was played by a shadowy maestro who had to sit behind the stage. A delightful interlude.

And so onto Amanda. Palmer. Neil Gaiman had already taken a spot near the front and Beth Hommel was doing things with papers and water on the stage.

Amanda appeared, moved to the front and sang unaccompanied.

Total silence from the audience until the end of the song and then a reverberation to lift the roof from the church. We could sense we were in for a great show.

Sure enough, the KurtWeil keys were then caressed and Amanda' poise became at one with the instrument which she could coax or attack as the song and mood demanded.

A blend of well-known songs from her recent excellent album and an equal mix of other choices, from other works and from friends with whom she collaborates. "Oasis" was introduced with a comment about us all going to Hell and although "Leeds United" was omitted, I'm including a video link to it anyway.

The set ran smoothly, interspersed with chatter, questions, a picture auction and a chance for Polly Scattergood to perform an unusual rendition of Puff the Magic Dragon with Amanda on keys.

There's a magic to the venue and even Amanda admitted that she'd decided she had better think out a 'proper set' for the performance, which came across as polished but with a strong rapport engaging the audience from the very start.

There was an endearing moment whilst she remembered the chords for a song someone requested. At another time, she invited her partner Neil Gaiman onstage and he sang a short 'hymn' which Amanda accompanied on piano. It certainly didn't fall flat on its face either.

Amanda ran the timing right to the 10:30 curfew wire, but then still managed to finish with another unaccompanied and wrenching version of 'the song nobody else can cover': Tori Amos's 'Me and a gun', from which I sense more than a few tears were shed. Then to boost it back up for the final number with stabbing keys and a suitably rousing finale.

After the houselights, we headed back to the bar for a further Red Stripe and a chance to chatter about the concert. Much later we left, and as we walked out, there was still a line of people snaking through the chapel towards the seat where Amanda sat signing and chatting, accompanied by Neil.

Amanda Palmer makes her own unique path through the world and music and it is great when this spirit alights even momentarily to allow us to share in the experience. I predict scaffolding and roof repairs to the chapel following the level of applause.

Come back soon.

Amanda Palmer at the Electric Ballroom, Camden, London

Sun, 15 Feb 2009 20:23:20 +0000

Wed 4 Feb – Amanda Palmer and the Danger Ensemble

A swift drink at the World's End in Camden last evening, appropriately accompanied by growling and sinister death metal from the juke-box until Julie said it was making her feel ill.

So our happy band wandered the one hundred footsteps to the Electric Ballroom which was filling with the followers of Amanda Palmer, who has been in town giving snowman construction lessons and preparing for this new European tour.

First up Göteborg's finest - Detektivbyrån - who played a sort of drum n' accordion set, punctuated with xylophone. The good natured crowd applauded well enough and then after a short refuel break, Amanda appeared. The already loud applause flipped up a few notches as she seated by the Kurt Weill, but the coolsters of Camden didn't all surge to the front and there was actually enough room to stand and enjoy.

A great blend of songs, many from the latest album, some Dresden Dolls tunes (Backstabber, Coin Operated Boy) a cover or two - somehow part of a Muse track got worked in - and also some new material. Amanda was complemented with the Danger Ensemble for some of the numbers, who performed around her and into the crowd flaunting *ahem* all manner of things during the extensive set.

A few serious moments as she talked about UK censorship and the narrowing of differences from America to UK and a tongue in cheek modification to the already ironic version of Oasis.

I know it's a flying visit to the UK, but there were some witty observations about Londoners like they didn't really know how to make snowballs until the instructions were published in the Guardian. Additions to the musical part included a picture auction and a couple from the audience being invited on stage to profess their love for one another.

There was a finale which involved "Katy Perry" and a then a mini photoshoot which has created some great flickr pictures, far better than mine.

A great evening. Amanda, don't be a stranger to the UK.

twisted christmas at the barbican

Sun, 14 Dec 2008 15:53:29 +0000

Thu 11 Dec – Twisted Christmas

It says something of my companions that they didn't think it was twisted enough (I wasn't expecting Masque of the Red Death

We were at the Barbican for a pre-Christmas touch of songs and merry mayhem. A diverse gang of musos and actors performing yuletide fayre, with Jarvis Cocker, Patrick Wolf, the festively attired Smoke Fairies and many others. The evening had been arranged by David Coulter and a fair few of the band had overlap with Black Rider - the Tom Waits extravaganza.

Our little group had hurriedly consumed too much cider by the time it started and there was some inopportune giggling during the opening moments. I'd expected this to be a something of a 'one-off' convergence of musicians and so I was expecting a few hesitations between numbers as the band had to re-plug or check the running order. A kind of village hall performance within the Barbican. So I guess I was generally entertained throughout, although during the pitstop the discussion was about the level of twistedness.

So with my expectation already set to 'reasonable' for this, when the second half featured Matthew Robins' shadow puppetry from flyboy and the planet of the ghost snowmen, I was there.

Unfortunately, also in the second half, Jarvis Cocker was rather a disappointment with a half hearted 'God Rest Ye' and a song about slush. Did I detect some sheepish embarrassment on his face for not preparing properly? And Patrick Wolf had plenty of cheers but sang without really involving the top notch band in his performance. There were plenty of Wolf-styled followers in the audience, with bohemian styling being rather prominent. I assume these two appearances were to bump the names in the performer listings rather than really showcase anything.

Overall, I'd class the show as a mixed level of performance, with strong Bonfire Madigan performing slinky cello accompanied raconteur wonders.

Also delightfully edgy cabaret performance by Mary Margaret O'Hara, who seemed to be operating at several speeds during her set -"that just fell off the bone" she commented after leading the band through a slow song where she was revving on stage like a ferrari before cutting loose with the whole band on an uptempo song.

Sandy Dillon zizzed onto stage in a silver jacket and shades and worked a Christmas song with the Smoke Fairies in accompaniment. Then a small keyboard accompanied song and again the band picked up the pace to follow the leader. The Smoke Fairies also hooked up their own guitars for a while and sang to their own tunes. Foy Vance ended the main show with a couple of numbers with reasonable takes on Christmas shopping and the music of the retailers.

My account has little in common with the actual running order and I've left out a few performances. Whether or not it was all good, and whether or not it was fully twisted, I felt suitably entertained by the time 'Fairy Tale of New York' closed the show and we all headed for the drunk tank.

blogged here at rashbre central

Michelle Shocked at Union Chapel - keep on rockin' Shel.

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 14:17:01 +0000

Fri 7 Nov – Michelle Shocked

A perfect evening; We were with a favourite troubadour artist at a favourite venue. Michelle Shocked at Union Chapel.

We met across the road from the Chapel. In the Library, which, of course was really a pub serving Belgian Monks' beer. We sat outside so that we could watch for the doors to open.

By 7:15 pm we were in the line, speculating about the support act named Shelly, whilst fireworks flashed in the November skies. We bagged some prime seats and left coats sprawled whilst we exited through a side door to the adjoining bar (no drinking of alcohol in the Chapel).
We sipped Red Stripe, until they announced the support act was ready to start. Not everyone watches support acts, but I usually do, so we headed back into the chapel.

Some surprise as a hoodied figure was already singing and playing guitar. 'Shelly' was actually Michelle Shocked, doing the support act herself. Older songs in a plain acoustic style, homage to the Campfire Tapes. Already excellent and with a fine violin accompaniment.

A short pause and then Michelle returned, minus the hooded tracksuit and now with a small band. A mix of songs, some new and plenty from the formidable back catalogue.

Michelle Shocked is a great performer, with a blend of stories and songs; plenty of narrative and good ways to relate to the audience. The band 's musicians are all highly accomplished too, and the performance has spontaneity and sufficient confidence to veer from a set list as the evening's mood dictates.

Michelle Shocked's career spans from the 1980s through to now. For this show it was great was to see the energy, enthusiasm and connection with the audience throughout the performance. Beyond simple professionalism, here is a performer who has experienced plenty and has produced an accompanying soundtrack. Always fiercely independent, convinced of her causes and creating messages within her lyrics, Shocked was on top form for this gig.

We all left the gig with big smiles from an excellent evening. It goes into my top gigs list.

laura marling at St James Church, Piccadilly

Sat, 14 Jun 2008 15:05:14 +0000

Fri 13 Jun – Laura Marling

"Cross your fingers, hold your toes, we're all gonna die when the building blows". We're part of a loyal group of followers watching Laura Marling singing, in church, on Friday the 13th, that "You're no God".

A simple plan, to meet before the gig, which somehow had a couple of us drinking on the pavement outside the Red Lion behind the church and the others dining Italian in Piccadilly.

Anyway, we all met in the line and were able to link ourselves with the tickets. St James is the church with the little market outside it most days, across the road from the Royal Academy and le Meridien. The queue of people snaked outside of the church grounds and along part of Piccadilly.

Inside, the pews filled fast and we moved from downstairs to the gallery where we grabbed seats with a pretty good view. First up was the accomplished Mumford and Sons, which is a separate band formed from parts of the group that accompany Laura Marling - confusingly it was billed as Melody and Me, so maybe its one of those collectives with rotating band members? Harmonies, plenty of varied folky instruments and a strong five number set. Short pause before a second support band, with plenty of enthusiasm although perhaps not quite the same musicality as the first group.

Laura had been sitting out front for the first act but had sidled into the backstage area during the second act and sure enough, after a short pause for candles to be lit, Laura took to the stage beginning with solo acoustic numbers before being joined by a varied selection of band members.

I've listened to 'Alas I cannot swim', Laura's first haunting album, quite a few times, and found the live versions both precise but still suitably different from the album. Laura's lyrics are quite dark and suggest a life which has felt death's breath a few times. The album is a sort of song cycle with an emotional arc in it like an 'olden days' concept album.

One can't help thinking that the themes of relationships, death and crossings simply provide an initial slightly buried "X marks the spot" from which to project forward other themes in later work. A few new tracks in the set suggested that there's plenty of ideas musically and lyrically in what one assumes to be a busy mind.

Overall a good example of a performer and friends who can just play and sing well without too much electronica to aid them. An interlude about walking around a graveyard in Birmingham added to the intrigue of some of the lyrics and reinforced my thoughts of a negative image of Emily Strange.

Laura seems to spend time inside her songs when on stage. Aside from the between song chatter, she sings in a manner which often looks to the floor rather than to the audience. The songs are strong, but its not always easy to tell the demeanor of their enigmatic singer.

I am honest now, not a shouter,
I am reformed, forgiven and reborn.
And you're been busy but you've missed me
And I plagued you mind.
You will never go outside,
You will never go back to being blind.

I need shine, I need shine, I need shine,
Step away from my light, I need shine.

Full version at : rashbre central

great gig

Sun, 28 Oct 2007 18:46:48 +0000

Fri 26 Oct – Rufus Wainwright, Scott Matthews
My review of this excellent gig is here at rashbre central

Wierd quantities of some artists

Sun, 29 Jan 2006 11:11:36 +0000

Theres some very large quantities of a few artists on here. Michele Shocked (I do like); Manics (OK, but) and a few others. I think this is when I've left the machine playing an album on repeat and then gone out for a few days.

iPod back references

Sun, 29 Jan 2006 11:09:59 +0000

SO this tracks iTunes. WHat about iPod? I expect more people listen to more music on iPod nowadays. Will Apple provide a checker so that an iPod's guilty list of last plays can be synchronised?

Finding people I know in here

Sun, 29 Jan 2006 11:08:02 +0000

This seems to rely on knowing by extra sensory perception the name of the friend to locate and add them. There must be another way?