music like dirt

Time for the second in an infrequent series of sonic showdowns featuring two musical bloggers armed only with their favourite mp3’s. Last time “Stop me if you’ve heard this before” introduced me to the UK hiphop of Akala, badmouthed Gnarls Barkley, and opened my eyes to the delights of Morrissey to such an extent that I now rarely leave the house without my “Meat Is Murder” T-shirt. In return he indulged my obvious choice of bloggers favourite Beirut, got very excited about new UK wordsmith Scroobius Pip, and rudely nodded off during a genius piece of Carl Craig remix work.

This time around its the turn of Londoner “The Daily Growl“, who’s essential blog almost lives up to its “daily” moniker (putting my irregular musings to shame). In the past seven days alone he’s featured archive Jockey Slut Cd’s, The Early Years @ Madame Jo Jo’s, King Creosote in Archway, some gorgeous Gospel and of course no music blog worth its salt would be complete without a little Lily.

So to start its my first selection:

MUSIC LIKE DIRT CHOICE 1:

Stickboy - Pills for the pain (MP3)

Buy: Stickboy @ Piccadilly Records

MLD: 18 months on from his 2004 3” Demo CD “Odd Little Moments” and Stickboy continues to release gems like this on a frighteningly regular basis. Like Badly Drawn Boy before he became leaden, over 30 tracks have emerged from Craig Edmondson’s Manchester lair, each one a beguiling mix of pop, folk, and Indie. Some serious cutting will be needed for the debut Stickboy album, as I believe triple Lp’s are frowned on these days.

“Laughing at the lines on the old man’s face, and the sorrow that’s buried inside, if only he knew his life was over, the day that his true love died”
“Pills for the pain” may just be his best yet. Its not exactly cheery stuff, but if it ever gets a full release it should come with a “May Induce Goosebumps” warning sticker. This needs to be heard by more than just a few Myspacer’s. Craig sounds more like Dylan than ever (but don’t let you put you off), and it grabs the heartstrings early on before drums kick in midway to mark a much fuller sound.

Right at the death a magical loop of what sounds like an accordion floats into the mix, stealing the show, before frustratingly fading out almost as soon as its arrived. “Pills” demands the touch of a Fourtet or Theo Parrish to stretch out the accordion loop, strip the track down to its Sunday best only to rebuild it as a Balearic, chill out, Café Del Mar style monster! That’s not to say it isn’t already a classic.

Get over to Piccadilly records to buy his new sublime 11 track CD while you still can (including the wonderful “Green Eyes”), although I missed one of his limited releases before and he was kind enough to send me a cd-r but perhaps I shouldn’t encourage that!

Growl: Singer songwriters. Are there too many of them these days? Sometimes it seems like there are. I guess that we pay our money and we take our choice. There’s enough out there to keep everyone happy and tickle the parts others don’t reach.

Stickboy? Well, here’s another, and on the strength of this song, Stickboy (aka Craig Edmondson) is pretty good. I like the mournful countryish sound which sits nicely with the sad lyrics. It’s also got a pleasing lo-fi aesthetic, and it’s definitely recommended. But is there anything which stands out and makes it totally essential? Not sure.

But then again, you could probably argue the same point for artists that I’ve been pushing on my blog, like Emmy the Great and M. Craft. I love them, but they may well be only talented singer-songwriters in a sea of other talented people. Only a few will rise to fame and fortune, but that doesn’t mean that they’re the best.

DAILY GROWL CHOICE 1:

Emmy The Great - Secret Circus (MP3)

Buy: Secret Circus

Growl: Anyone who had read my blog over the past few months will know how keen I am on Emmy the Great, a Hong Kong-born north Londoner, whose grandiose name belies her slight stature. I’ve seen her three time this year so far, and each time it’s been a short but delightful set of acoustic songs. She has a fine way with words and a tune, has a good voice and is a confident and assured performer. She does dramatic tales, wistful narratives, and gorgeous folk-pop melodies.

She’s only released one 7 inch single, and this is the A-side. It’s not even her best song either. After hearing it solo acoustic, it’s a bit of a surprise to hear the other instruments – the mournful violin, the slowly building drumming, and brass, then the fade away to the gently picked guitar and hushed vocals. It’s a slightly different song, but still quite lovely.

MLD: The mp3 blog is a mixed blessing… its opened up more music than ever before, but I just don’t have the time to take it all in. The end result, if I don’t like something the first time it disappears into the mp3 pit perhaps only ever to emerge again on shuffle. Two of the Growls selections didn’t grab me at all on first listen, including this, and in all probability that would have been that - Emmy may have gone to mp3 heaven.

Thank god then that I had to listen again in order to say something more eloquent than meh! Somewhere around listen four or five something clicked and now the only debate is if I prefer the demo acoustic or this the released “band” version. The instrumentation is a treat from the lovely plucked sound on “it only hurts”, soft bells, the mournful violins, subtle guitar, and that’s just the first two minutes. At about 2′ 09 the track takes off with blasts of a repeated treated horn blast (I cant describe the instrument, any better descriptions gladly accepted :S), the military drum builds and builds, much deeper brass takes over, and Emmy’s voice soars, only to subside as suddenly - leaving you wanting more - into a lovely acoustic ending.

On this form the circus may be secret, but Emmy won’t be for much longer.

MUSIC LIKE DIRT CHOICE 2:

Brubekk - Earthshaker (MP3)

MLD: To any one who may have seen a gangly bloke dancing around his back garden last weekend… don’t worry it wasn’t Peter Crouch practising his goal celebrations… its just the combination of summer sun, and the Earthshaker effect on me.

It may be true to say that anyone can make a mash up or “Bastard Pop” tune. A basic home PC will fuse together two disparate elements into one harmonious whole, or at least that’s the theory. Sadly most end up mixing together about as well as Mills & McCartney. A select few however like Richard X or in this case the Gamm boys are 100% Paul & Linda – two combined into inseparable one.

Each Gamm release is eagerly awaited, and this is another goodie. Take one part of Jeru The Damaja’s hip hop anthem “Ya Playin’ Yaself” - stir in a few extra rhymes from Dr Dre, Snoop, The Beatnuts & Big Pun – and then play it over the top of John Gregory’s rare groove classic “Earthshaker”. The result is glorious - not a shoe horn in sight - the brass section soars, horns blast out your speakers, and on top the rappers sound as if they’re performing live to a big band backing. To label this as just a Mash-up doesn’t do it any justice at all.

Growl:
This is just the thing to re-ignite my interest in hip-hop. I used to have serious backpacker tendencies back in the day, but of late I seem to have reverted to my indie default. This however, is the business! There are big names on this record (like Dre), which often is a bad thing, but here it works so well. Nice slow buildup. Slick delivery. Then come the horns, and by the end the whole mix of beats, brass, vox and Hammond turn this into a bit of a monster. There are a couple of dodgy bits: the gangsta-isms are still there (“my bitch got the meanest ass”) and the big-name rappers trying to convince us that they’ve “still got love for the streets” (yeah right), but this is exactly what hip-hip should be – funky, fun and genuinely butt-shaking. It put a swagger in this white boy’s step as he walked along the empty platform at Lambeth North station the other day. And as fellow Scottish white boy Bobby Gillespie might say: “it’s pure soul, man”. Earthshaker indeed.

DAILY GROWL CHOICE 2:

Boards Of Canada - Dayvan Cowboy (MP3) / (Mov)

Buy: Boards Of Canada

Growl: Somehow I didn’t really notice this tune on the Boards’ album The Campfire Headphase last year, but I don’t really know how. It fits into the classic BOC formula, but there’s something extra special about it. Maybe the warm fuzzy guitar sounds at the start. Maybe the different lovely melodies that weave their way throughout the track. Maybe the layered electronic soundscapes. Maybe the whole combination – there’s so many elements to this song, and together they’re quite brilliant.

MLD: Have commercials ruined ambient music… discuss? “Dayvan Cowboy” is another electronic masterpiece from the ambient dons BOC, yet I find most of it unlistenable. I’m not sure if it has actually been used in an advert, or if this is just the kind of tune so ubiquitous in the world of 30something hoxton promo producers that it just sounds like it has? The end result through is that throughout the opening 2 minute brooding guitar refrain, mentally I’m seeing sped up images of people rushing about their business, mixed with dramatic shots of the planet… building up to one of those deep booming advert voices intoning something along the lines of “Barclaycard…?because you’re amazing!”.??
Thankfully at about 2′ 06 a more relaxed strum of guitar changes the mood, and this coupled with dramatic drums and an absolutely beautiful swirling orchestral motif saves the tune from advert hell. It makes even more sense as a track when watched with visuals (Mov/ipod/windows downloads here). Apparently its the very first BOC promo video and it fits the track perfectly using archive footage from Joseph Kittinger’s breathtaking 1960 skydive from just outside the Earth’s atmosphere.
My favourite BOC track is actually strictly speaking not by them but a remix they did of Cloudeads “Dead Dogs Two”. Its phenomenal… try to imagine what the Beatles would have sounded like if Lennon & McCartney had got into Hip Hop as well as tape loops and you’re somewhere close. Odd Nosdam from Cloudead remixes Dayvan Cowboy on the recent “Trans Canada Highway EP” from which this is taken but sadly he doesn’t return the favour creating a fairly dull unadventurous mix, that fades in and out of silence for no particular reason or effect. A chance missed.

MUSIC LIKE DIRT CHOICE 3:

Wolfmother - Woman (Avalanches Millstream Remix) (MP3)

Buy: Wolfmother

Video: Original version (YouTube)

MLD: My neighbour enquired what the hell I was listening to, while a Wolfmother fan at work made the same face I make eating olives when I played it to them on my ipod for what I thought would be their listening pleasure… but what the hell do they know… this is fantastic!

Its a joy to have the Avalanches back even if its just for a remix or two (next album please!), and they throw every one of their trademark tricks right into this mix. Old school hip hop breaks, sampled toy pianos, reversed chipmunk vocals, zeppelin style guitar stabs - all here in one massive audio soup. Snatches of the Robert Plant impersonators voice are kept, but put through the mangler, chopped, spliced, & diced.

The Avalanches may not do anything very groundbreaking, but everything they do seems precisely programmed to induce a massive cheek to cheek grin on anyone who listens. I heard the original for the first time the other day, and can safely say that at a conservative estimate this is around 4000% times better!

Growl: Oh Avalanches! Why do you tempt us so? It’s been six years since Since I Left You. Every so often, you toss out a remix to keep us reminded of how good you are. A couple of years back it was The Concretes getting the treatment. This year it’s fellow-Aussie rockers Wolfmother turn to get the Avalanches rub-down. And what a result!

Australia’s finest prove that it’s not only possible to polish a turd, it’s possible to make it into a glowing gem! Well, maybe that’s being a bit harsh. OK, the original has a fine riff and some good rock vocals, but it’s a bit of a plodder. So the Avalanches remove most traces of geetar, restricting it to regular stabs of noise, fitting in perfectly with their funky breakbeat and great little piano riff. Suddenly it’s transformed into a song for the beach rather than the moshpit. Which being summer, is a good thing.

DAILY GROWL CHOICE 3:

Celebration - Diamonds (MP3)

More info and “Stars (MP3)” over on The Daily Growl.

Buy: Celebration

Growl: From an album that may take a while to fully appreciate, this track is one of the more immediate. That’s not to say it’s pop, but there’s something about this theatrical funereal waltz, with its soaring vocals and haunting organ sounds, that totally grabbed me and worked its way into my head.

I can imagine it being performed in a dark old music hall, and if you’ve ever had the pleasure of witnessing the Celebration live experience, you’ll know that would be something special.

MLD:
“Christ… this track is really irritating and over blown” were my thoughts when first downloaded. How can I possibly review it without being offensive to the person who suggested it?
“Dear Growl… have you ever had a hearing test???”

What’s that… their main instrument is something called a guitorgan, a hybrid organ / guitar… right you’re just taking the piss now!

Again however I have to bow to the Growl’s sound judgement, “Diamonds” slowly sucked me in, but it was listening to album closer “Stars” that finally convinced. Where Diamonds is moody, funereal of pace and ultimately uneasy but rewarding listening, “Stars” is upbeat and celebratory. “Stars” also has a fantastic instrumental breakdown 4 minutes in with a mesmeric electronic pulse, and madcap percussion. Its the sort of thing that I can imagine being amazing live, in fact according to Growl its only live that they can be properly appreciated.
Anyway apologies for reviewing the wrong track, now I must dash I’m off to buy one of those Guitorgan things.

Old Auntie Beeb are spoiling us with some quality music documentaries at the moment. On Radio 2 Don Letts presents the first of a two part series on Trojan Records, otherwise known as the Motown of Reggae.

The series features music and interviews with a host of bona fide reggae legends including Ken Boothe, Bunny Lee, Derrick Harriot, Dandy Livingstone, John Holt, Ansel Collins, Derrick Morgan and my dad.

OK so the last one may not actually be a “reggae legend”, but under the moniker of Patrick T.Rojan he ran and revived Trojan during the 80’s and has a few good stories to tell. Unfortunately the one about the stresses of trying to buy cod and chips with Lee “Scratch” Perry in a small Welsh chippie isn’t included.

Its available to listen to online - Tighten Up (The Story of Trojan Records)

Also on a reggae tip, on 6music Mark Lamaar hosts an eight part “Beginners Guide To Reggae” again available online, and on 1xtra theres a look at 25 years of VP Records. Loads of music and interviews on the label’s roots in 70s Jamaica to the present day, featuring Elephant Man bigging up Will Smith, Vybz Kartel putting Sean Paul in his place and Buju Banton on what he thinks of VP.

Theres a treasure trove of essential music documentarys on the various BBC radio sites, 1xtra has a huge list from Japanese Dancehall to the history of the remix. Radio One has even more including the story of the New York Dolls, Homosexual Hip-Hop, and “Straight Outta Clichy” (French HipHop and the riots).

If you want to lose a few days explore the BBC Radio Player. Thousands of hours of on demand music, documentarys, interviews etc. The range of music is unrivaled from beat boxing to Brahm - it is quite simply the most essential source of music radio on the internet.

(Pictures by Ms.P)

Monday afternoon and I’m all set to head off to Archway for an instore performance by King Creasote at Puregroove Records. A quick check of the email and… “Congratulations! We’ve reserved you two tickets for the Scissor Sisters at The Scala tonight!”

Alternative gay club Popstarz pulled off a serious coup securing this “secret” Scissor Sisters gig previewing tracks from their eagerly awaited new album “Ta-Dah!”. The Scala only holds about 800-1000 people and tickets were unbelievably hard to come by, so those lucky enough to nab one were understandably a little overexcited during the two hour wait for the sisters to take to the stage. Even the DJ playing Morrissey failed to dampen an atmosphere approaching hysteria.

Shortly before nine the place erupted into a cacophony of whoops, yells, and frenzied applause - not for the arrival of the Sisters – but rather for the appearance of Elton John & his partner David Furnish. Covered in some serious bling Elton waved and grinned from a walkway a foot above the crowd.

This was supposed to be a low key try out of their new material, but as The Times pointed out in a four star review:

“The Scissor Sisters don’t do low-key and within a minute of the flamboyant five’s appearance on Scala’s small stage a full-scale pop party was under way. Admittedly, Scissor Sisters couldn’t have picked a better crowd had they held auditions themselves.“

The Scissor Sisters manage to pull off what in the hands of the less gifted could be extremely naff. Their sound distils almost every element of 70’s and 80’s pop from Wham to Leo Sayer, yet with modern beats and hooks galore they somehow manage to end up sounding totally unique. The same applies to what they wear.

Tonight Jake sports tight electric blue trousers and silk waistcoat matched with a yellow chiffon top that may or may not be the one Jane Torvill wore doing the Bolero in 1984. On Bass, Babydaddy looks like Omid Djalili dressed as Elvis while playing a banjo designed by Kiss. Ana Matronic has lost weight, and sporting a Harriwell-esque barnet looks fantastic, like a young Beverly D’Angelo. Meanwhile Del Marquis somehow squeezed into yellow britches buttoned up to his nipples, and a bright pink shirt. Most people would look ridiculous… but the Scissor Sisters couldn’t look cooler if they tried.

Scouring the net for reviews and blogs about the night it’s impossible to find anything but glowing praise. This was a performance from a band at the height of their powers, with the confidence that a worldwide hit album brings, coupled with now having more than just one albums worth of material to draw on.

“It’s so good to be back home“

Over and over again Ana told us how glad they were to be back in the country that first took them to their heart, while Del Marquis came over all nostalgic saying “I first came to Popstarz when I was 19!“. Ana quipping back “Oh bless, and now you still look 12!”

“Take Your Mama” got the show off to a flying start, with Jake and Ana sounding note perfect, and the pace and standard never dropped. “Tits On The Radio“, always a favourite of mine was magnificent, although how Shears hits those high notes is beyond me (they are very tight trousers). “Laura” remains an absolute classic, and newie “Paul McCartney” which Jake said came to him in a dream was more proof that the new material more than hits the spot. Karinski.net proclaimed it “the new filthy and gorgeous”.

The Live8 song “Everybody Wants The Same Thing” sounds like an attempt to crack the US market, and on tonight’s airing you wouldn’t bet against it. It’s tighter than i’ve heard them before and Del Marquis’s performance on guitar was off the scale. More to the front than on record, each song featured a large chunk of guitar… in fact you’d get fewer guitar solo’s at a Gary Moore concert than we did tonight.

New single “I Don’t Feel Like Dancin” is possibly the best thing they’ve ever done, and co-writer Elton John hollered his approval, sticking two thumbs up and waving frantically throughout. It uses that old Scissor Sisters trick of having hints of a few 80’s classics, with Spears “Dancin” like Leo Sayer. There’s more than a whiff of The Nolan Sisters in there too, which is no bad thing as far as i’m concerned, and the Buck Rodgers laser gun sound effects are simply the icing on a particularly sickly but absolutely delicious cake.

Next up and the place erupted to a performance of “Comfortably Numb” which was quite simply IMMENSE! The Scala can sometimes suffer from dodgy sound, but for Comfortably Numb it was like listening in Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound. Absolutely magical.

It took me a minute during “Music Is The Victim” to notice that they’d been joined on stage by a six year old child. Turns out he was their tour manager’s son, he may have prematurely developed some serious dad dancing moves, but he’ll have memories to treasure of the night he danced with the sisters while they brought the house down.

Skipping what I thought was the little bit dirgy ballad “Land Of A Thousand Words” they ended the night with an encore of “Filthy and Gorgeous“. As Jake stripped off his shirt, one fan evaded security and planted a huge smacker on the lips of a slightly shocked Mr Shears; unfortunately he also managed to fall off the stage taking Jake with him. It was a slightly awkward moment, but fortunately no one was hurt and Jake was quickly up and belting out the chorus.

At one point Shears on his hands and knees on the floor was straddled by Ana as she playfully spanked his backside. This is not a group who are in any danger of taking themselves too seriously.

It was a very special night in fact it’s difficult to think how they could have been much better. Too many acts seem content to turn up grunt a few words to the people who have paid to see them, put in a perfunctory and stationary performance and that’s your lot. It’s a privilege and pleasure to see a band who strain every sinew in an effort to entertain every single person in the building.

I even forgot how pissed off I was about having my camera confiscated by security for being “Too Professional”!

Pics from Scala gig:

Nice shots, and some serious Elton John bling @ Perezhilton.com

Loads of photos have been posted on the SS forum here

Moshi Moshi have superb shots, here & more here.

All rock n roll is homosexual, and pics too @ Gaypop

Armcurl & Photoneil have more on flickr.com

and more on Jeremy’s Myspace.

Finally The Sun has a close up of Jakes new blonde barnet.

Video:

Only found this little snippet on Youtube so far.

More Reviews:

Karinski.net djed right before the sisters, and as always sums up the night perfectly on her blog.

Four star in The Times

Hysteria reigns on the SS forum, quite right too

Set-list:

Take Your Mama
I Can’t Decide
Tits on the radio
She’s my man
Laura
Paul McCartney
Everybody wants the same thing
Kiss You Off
Mary
The Other Side
I Don’t Feel like Dancing
Comfortably Numb
Music is the victim
Land of A Thousand Words

Encore
Filthy Gorgeous

With about 8 decks, DJ’s, VJ’s, Video scratching, house legends, and rappers galore all crashing together in one giant stew, the Coldcut live show has to be seen to be believed, and now they want your help to improve it.

“Thinkin of a master plan, Cuz ain’t nuthin but sweat inside my hand
So I dig into my pocket, all my money is spent, So I dig deeper but still comin up with lint
So I start my mission - leave my residence, Thinkin how could I get some dead presidents”

Eric B may of thought Coldcut’s Paid In Full remix was “gay disco shit” but most regard it as one of the classic remixes of all time. Coldcut do a mean version of it live (featuring Roots Manuva when I last saw them) and they want suggestions for animations and graphics specially for it.>

“for our live version of ‘paid in full’ we thought we’d do a little animation of hip-hop heroes, using sampled heads from photos stuck onto cartoon bodies, dancing n scratching etc. Can you suggest some of your fave hip-hop heroes, and ideally point us to photos of them online? Send suggestions to them on myspace.”

“Walk A Mile (In My Shoes)” was my favourite track of 2005, and its coming out as a single soon. If there’s any justice it will be number one, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it limps to 48. Ever generous, or daft… Coldcut are sharing Tiga and Henrik Schwarz remixes of “Walk A Mile” on their Myspace. Don’t think they’ll be up long:

MP3:

“Walk A Mile (Henrik Schwartz remix dub)” - Coldcut feat. Robert Owens

“Walk A Mile (Tiga remix edit)” - Coldcut feat. Robert Owens

“Mr. Nichols” - Coldcut feat. Saul Williams
{highly recommended - absolute genius} - or alternatively as my dad reviewed it:
“Is it established why Mr Nichols wants to jump? Could it be he had to listen to this rubbish!!??
I hate songs that have a suedo sentimental ‘talkie bit’, so to have the whole song with a suedo sentimental ‘talkie bit’ defies comprehension.”

“The State We’re In”  - Coldcut feat. Lu Grady (bonus track from Japanese edition of Sound Mirrors - see here for more)

Watch:

Coldcut “Sound Mirrors” Documentary (YouTube)

Walk A Mile (In My Shoes) (Live @ Shepherds Bush Empire) / (Live @ Cargo) - Coldcut feat. Robert Owens (Google Video)

“Paid In Full” (Coldcut Remix) / (Live on MTV) - Eric B & Rakim (YouTube)

Buy: Coldcut’s superb “Sound Mirrors” album at Amazon for 9 quid.

Sandi Thom vs. Charlie Brooker vs. Popjustice

Popjustice has been investigating Tooting and Sandi Thom as “it is from her ‘basement flat’ in this unassuming south London location that she WEBCAST her AMAZING SONGS to THE WORLD.” Ignoring the fact that sarcasm is the lowest form of wit Popjustice ask… “Tooting has already given us the greatest new talent of the century - let’s see what else it has to offer“.

Meanwhile Charlie Brooker writing in The Guardian prays that it was all just clever marketing, as…

“if her sudden rise to stardom WASN’T the end result of a shrewd marketing campaign, the implications are terrifying. Because to believe the official story - that thousands of people voluntarily subjected themselves to this shit online, then recommended it to their friends - is to lose your faith in mankind completely.

There’s a simple way to settle this once and for all, and that’s for the huge crowd of people who apparently watched Thom’s inaugural bedsit webcasts to step forward and make themselves known. Come on. Hands up. I want to see your faces. And then I want you smacked to death with brooms. You people are the enemies of fun.”

Just time for a quick update on some of the music I’ve raved about recently, along with a few other snippets from the ever expanding world of the music blog.

Scroobius Pip

Great to see a few other blogs picking up on Scroobius since I posted about him a few weeks back. Lost In Your Box wants to be his special friend, and Stop Me If Youre Heard This hailed him as a “genius new discovery“. His debut album is out now, and someone called DJ Sackboy has posted some absolutely brilliant remixes on his myspace site.

The remix of “Angles” is particularly fine, sounding like early Human League taken down an alley and given a good kicking by the cLouddead. Over the top Scroobius tells the tale of a stabbing, a suicide and a security guard, and how nothing is simple as good and evil.

MP3: “Angles (DK Sackboy remix)” - Scroobius Pip : Highly recommended (myspace link so click not right click)

Buy: Scroobius Pip’s album available from his site

More remixes over on his Myspace (including 1000 Words remix).

Mama Shamone

Taking time out from recording their debut single, and putting on some of the most entertaining live shows in London, Mama Shamone have nipped into the studio to record what can only be described as unadulterated filth.

MP3: “Grandpa” - Mama Shamone X-Rated

(Warning this is a heart-warming tale of grandparents, sex lines, and coprophilia! Be Warned!)

For more visit MamaShamone X-Rated on myspace, including: “Holcroft Heights”, and “Personal Hygiene” containing sage advice on wiping front to back.

One gig, four perspectives.

Down the back of a packed Barfly are the liggers and record company reps. If you don’t spot them, you’ll definitely hear them, talking loudly throughout each and every song. Tonight is without a doubt an “I’m on the guest-list” special, and even on stage its impossible not to hear their incessant chatter.

“Hello to all the record company people back there, making the noise”. The rest of the audience extends the welcome with some sustained booing.

“Now now don’t be like that, they’ve got important stuff to discuss. You know like…”I’ve found this wonderful new act, can you help me with the marketing Tarquin”

While they talked amongst themselves, Steve Lamacq could be spotted sobbing uncontrollably to himself. Speaking later on 6music he proclaimed it an “absolutely brilliant” gig, explaining that he’d never cried at a gig before but opener “Coles Corner” simply moved him completely to tears.

Over on the Richard Hawley forum “SMCG” passed Steve a hanky, and told him to get a f@£king grip!:

“An outrageously lazy, dismissive gig. OK the songs are brilliant. he’s a great musician. the band are good. But what the F_ck was that? I’ve been to camden twice to try and get to this very gig, but this wasn’t worth the train fare.
If I’d stayed at home and listened to an album, at least I’d have been left with the idea that RH gave a sh_t about what he does, as it was, i saw more passion and more enjoyment when I saw the Tractors play Clock Face Miners Youth Club Hut in St.Helens in 1985. Now that was a gig ….SMCG “

Somewhere in between these two are the majority of the crowd, and myself, enraptured by hearing great songs performed beautifully in such a intimate venue. Its true that at various points Richard didn’t seem to be having fun, mostly down to the natterers at the back, and one presumably tanked up fan who tried to conduct excruciating banter with the star of the show.

“Fan: “You’re like a god Richard, isn’t he everyone!…do you ever feel like you were blessed with these talents by god himself Richard!?” Richard: “Errrr. No!” Fan: “Can you get us a lock-in Richard, I looovvvvveee you… please play all night” Richard: “Look I’d play all night personally but theres a curfew unfortunately”

And so it continued between every song, until booed by the crowd Richard finally “had a word”:

“Look mate, thanks and everything, but if you want a bloody interview go and speak to my manager… I’m trying to play a gig here…just f£$king shut up will you… please”.

Personally I was glad to finally get to see him live, five years after first hearing “Baby You’re My Light (mp3)” while sat in a taxi back from work. To this day I simply can’t comprehend how it didn’t go straight to the top of the charts and sit there in the manner of Gnarls Barkley until deleted to give us all a breather. Played midset it remains a timeless song, guaranteed to pull on the heart strings… for a second I almost had a Lamacq moment.

“Baby You’re my light” was a highlight, but it was only one of many. “The Only Road”, - blissfully extended out from the album version - was magnificent, “The Ocean” superb, and to end the night “Run For Me” left everyone hollering for a sadly never to come encore.

The band were sublime throughout with the double bass in particular standing out, and it was a debut night for a new drummer who did a mean impression of Alan Shearer on drums, but unfortunately got his car towed away.

Posting on the forums Richard handily summed up a mixed but mostly magical night:

“Sorry you weren’t happy what can i say? The whole day was a bit of a white knuckle ride to be honest,just to get through the day was an effort, first off…hotel… didn’t get there till four… fire alarms & firemen banging at the doors at six… had to stay out on the street in the rain till 8… radio promo started just after… surreal shit … get to the gig… new drummers first gig… all a bit nervous and tired but its cool he’s the don… supposed to rehearse the set… drummers car gets towed… spend the rest of the day getting that back………play a gig to an in general lovely crowd. Finally I was just being introduced to Roy Harper and some horrible woman with REALLY bad breath came up and shouted in my ear “you were shit” which we definitely were not……….Roy was very encouraging and inspiring and thought it was a boss gig Thanks to all who came along we vibed and our new drummers ace .“

Richard Hawley Info:

Buy: Richard Hawleys albums are about £6-8 (inc. P+P) @ Amazon… grab one or two here.

Listen: “Baby You’re My Light” (MP3) - Richard Hawley

“The Nights Are Cold (Acoustic)” (MP3) - Richard Hawley

For more free acoustic versions head over the download section of Richards site.

Watch:

Videos from the gig courtesy of Dawoodcock on the Hawley forums

“Just Like The Rain” (Live @ Barfly)

“Something Is..” (Live & Barfly)

“The Motorcycle Song” (Live @ Barfly)

“Oh My Love” (Live & Barfly) 

“Baby You’re My Light” (Mov) - Richard Hawley (unfortunately its a really crappy low quality version of an absolute genius video)

“Coles Corner” (Youtube) - Richard Hawley (Warning contains Joe Mace!!)

Look: Pics from Camden Barfly 31/05/06