Welcome to my music blog!
I have big plans for the future. Oh yes. Hopefully, once I’ve mastered the art of HTML (Dreamweaver), I’ll be able to create a great little gig calendar (a la playinginfog.com) for London.
But first, some reviews.
7th January, Arts Cafe
The Broken Family Band / Herman Dune / The Mendoza Line
Lodged somewhere between Dylan, The Pogues, The Mekons, and the lead singer from Hefner; the Broken Family Band are a raucous crowd of young-looking chaps, who write great little songs about being good to yer woman and stuff...
The boys from Herman Dune are clearly very excited about this new English punk-countryish band. They dance about on the edge of the stage in a manner not befitting orthodox Jewry. The Herman Dune brothers look genuinely orthodox; one of them wears dripping sideburns and both are suitably bearded and bespectacled. Both appear to be rather drunk and both clogged up on cigarette dust. The show is at times wonderful, mostly shambolic, sometimes unpleasant. Being a proud owner of two of their albums, "Turn off the lights" and "They go to the woods", I was expecting a couple of men on stools peddling out Appalachian folk; a North European Jewish Palace Brothers perhaps? But on stage they remind me a little more of Hunter S Thompson meets Black Sabbeth meets the Palace Brothers; folk music with oversized sunglasses, permanent cigarette drooping from mouth (even whilst singing), ragged Rolling Stones T-shirts. A stoned rabbinical cool. A bunch of unknown youngsters take over guitar and singing duties on stage at various moments and the band themselves occasionally appear to forget they have an audience to perform for. They’re having lots of fun, making lots of mistakes, and the girl who sings with them has a slightly annoying voice. On the whole – good fun, but it would be nice to see them really making an effort with the music. Check out the albums though – often in bargain bins, and really pretty stuff.
The Mendoza Line, a quintet from Athens, Georgia, start wonderfully with the paralysed strain of "The Queen of England". Reminds me a little of the Butterflies of Love, similarly nervous, drunken, excitable vocals. As the performance continues, and all three vocalists take turns on the microphones, there is the fear, as with Herman Dune, that the performers are having more fun than the crowd. Even worse, the gig is merely a warm-up show for tomorrow night’s "Uncut Presents" show at the Borderline. The onstage banter is alarming poor – unfunny injokes, they keep telling each other to be serious, "be serious now!" – always a little uncomfortable when everybody on stage is cracking up with laughter and the audience are losing interest. Amusingly, The Track and Field Organisation’s newsletter this evening point out that The Mendoza Line are not deserving recipients of IPC Magazine’s alt-country Name of the Month; "restless soul searching with great hooks and melodies; not just a pigeon hold for IPC media." Anyway, I enjoy the show. There’s plenty of glorious slide guitar and, yes, great hooks. I picked up the album "Lost in Revelry" for four quid yesterday in the Berwick St MVE and got the idea that perhaps I’ll enjoy them more in my own bedroom.
8th January
Windsor for the Derby
The Arts Cafe is not as busy as last night. The dad/lad Uncut crowd has disappeared and the trendy chin stroking fraternity have attended in droves. WFTD are here to promote the latest, and probably most accessible album, "The Emotional Rescue". They slow-burn; the intro fuzz lasting a small eternity before the first beat of the drums. WFTD are not a vocal band, although they sing in most songs. The human voice does little more then function as another instrument, the words are not distracting, but they add nicely to the melody. They rock a little more than I expected they would do, reminding me occasionally of Don Caballero or the Oxes, but more often something like Tristeza or even Mogwai.
9th January Playlist
At home all day, thus playing records all day.
Nina Nastasia – The Blackened Air
Silver Jews – Bright Flight
Jim O Rourke – Insignificance
The Extra Glenns – Martial Arts Weekend
Knife in the Water – Red River
Michael Krassner – s/t
Spring Heel Jack – Masses
New Pornographers – Mass Romantic
Damien Jurado – Waters Ave S.
Music News
a) I’m doing a DJ set at the Garage this Sunday! The lead singer of the headlining band, Yeast, worked at Borders with me and he’s giving me the opportunity to play my CDs all evening. Requests please.
b) Nina Nastasia is doing her third Peel session tonight. 10pm – midnight on BBC Radio One. I’m still head-over-heels in love with "The Blackened Air", the most recent Nastasia record. I’m almost set to brake the highest unwritten law of fandom, to never ever make a fan website. But the Southern Records site on Nina is so empty and dull, and I’m an obsessed fan who wants to start my web empire.... Rumours are persisting that the debut by Nastasia, Dogs, will be re-released later this year, and the 3rd record has already been recorded.
c) Looks like the Mountain Goats and James Yorkston will be touring the UK together at the end of the month!
d) According to today’s Pitchforkmedia.com newspage, Americans can get $20 from the music industry simply by filling in an application form.
e) Two new Hood compilation CDs available soon from Misplaced Music – a singles compilation and a rarities record.
posted by Matthew at 1:28 PM
