Stag and Dagger, Glasgow: Take Two

Selkirk's Frightened Rabbit

May 23, 2009

Following on from successful legs in London and Leeds, with better line-ups than Glasgow, some might have you believe Stag and Dagger’s final UK stop was Glasgow (another review can be found here). With acts like Wintersleep, Evan Dando and King Creosote at both Leeds and London, you’d be forgiven for thinking they had a point. But as I briskly stride uphill to collect my wristband, I decide that anything Leeds or London can do, Glasgow can do just as well. Armed with my schedule, notepad and ink-filled vessel, the saga begins.

First stop, NME Stage at the Captain’s Rest, and I indulge in some 5pm drinking, as I will do many times before my student status is cruelly rescinded in July. I catch the last song of Over the Wall, whose mix of electronic drums, keyboards and guitar has attracted a bumper crowd despite it being early in the day.

Next up is Glasgow’s very own French Wives who since I reviewed them eight days ago, leave little new to report. Stuart’s had a haircut, they still sadly don’t count Sarkozy’s missus or that one out of the Clio ad among their number- though they are still undeniably brilliant. Deliberately detaching myself from what I generally look for in their performance, I notice drummer Jonny’s exemplary bass pedal work and Stuart’s superb lyrics. The lyrics really speak as a snapshot for the city which shaped him. Each song stands as an image as iconic as the Clyde tower, The University of Glasgow or the Kelvingrove art museum, they speak for the city, almost as well as Alex Kapranos did on Franz Ferdinand’s debut. … Continue Reading

Cryptacize, London Union Chapel

Cryptacize's Nedelle Torrisi

May 28, 2009

Preceding a sublime Final Fantasy set is Asthmatic Kitty’s Cryptacize, all the way from lovely Oakland. Featuring ex-Deerhoof guitarist Chris Cohen and the wistful, rueful vocals of Nedelle Torrisi, their songs somehow strike an awkward balance between too much and not enough.

The extremely comprehensive set evokes Camera Obscura circa Underacheivers Please Try Harder (particularly ‘New Spell’ – grammer-lover’s- dream), Beirut’s Balkan folk through soft focus and the rhythms of American vaudeville. So to go back to that earlier point, it’s strange that it should feel any part of ‘not enough’ – to expand on the point a little further, the problem lies with the way every component is conveyed with such a sense of sparseness, making it ever-difficult to engage with the variety.

Song structures veer between comfortable and predictable even though the rhythms and misnomer of an upbeat are far from easy; the performance just feels a tad tentative. Yet while maintaining this sense of perhaps deliberate restraint, parts also feel indulgent.

Cohen’s detuned guitar is mythical, almost, and Torrisi’s electronic interludes are disorientating, but the ordering of the set needs context or to be sped up.  ‘Blue Tears’ is opened with a wonderful syncopated collaborative effort, which then eases off into something too consciously psychedelic; ‘Mythomania’ is delightful but feels like a half-baked effort at showcasing Torrisi’s vocals; ‘One Block Wonders’ is strikingly stark but lacks the drive to fully carry it off. And the staticness of the bassist and drummer simply adds to this confusing dichotomy. … Continue Reading

Final Fantasy, London Union Chapel

Final Fantasy, a.k.a. Owen Pallett

May 28, 2009

Architecturally and acoustically stunning, and with the kind of reverent atmosphere that can only come from sitting in church with a host of other believers, the Union Chapel could hardly be more fitting a setting for tonight’s performance. Over the course of the evening the light flooding through the ceiling and windows gradually fades to twilight, leaving the ornate stained glass aglow behind the stage as Owen Pallett reaches for his violin and eases into ‘The Sea’.

As a live artist Pallett’s reputation precedes him; a hugely talented composer and string arranger, he is also a violinist of considerable dexterity and a dab hand (or foot) with a loop pedal. On record his classically influenced pop songs are complex, layered and repeatedly overdubbed. As a solo performer his means of recreating that density on stage is through looping individual parts to reproduce the whole – as visually as it is musically arresting. Alongside him, a friend produces charmingly ramshackle visuals with an overhead projector and scraps of paper and plastic, which dart and flit from their screen over the walls and ceiling. … Continue Reading

Maxïmo Park, London Brixton Academy

Maxïmo Park's Paul Smith

April 27, 2009

If you’re expecting a review in the typical sense, take a deep breath and forget about it.

Yesterday I realised that this Brixton Academy show makes for the 10th time I have seen this clearly dearly beloved Teesside five-piece live. Over a five-year period starting with a Futureheads support slot, I have less-than-gradually succumbed to a point where I hoard a collection of B-sides, demos, covers… look, I’m obsessed with Pavement and other such but this is different. It’s now.

From the umlaut to the stage quirks, Maxïmo Park are the sort of band it’s natural to fall in love with. And gone now is the book prop of the early days; it’s been replaced with something far more big-scale, namely professionalism. I can recall figureheads for every single one of the nine shows: Brixton Academy in 2007, A Certain Trigger is played in order, Paul Smith almost (I think ‘almost’) cries after playing ‘Acrobat’ for one of the first times; a cover of The Go-Betweens‘ ‘I Haven’t Seen Her In Ages’ at The Forum last year, in the encore; ‘Once, A Glimpse’ at the Vinyl Factory in London with different lyrics read from a book (nameless, I think).  Let’s not even get into the scissor-kick/falling-less-than-gracefully-into-a-heap-on-the-floor incident at Camden Barfly in January 2005. … Continue Reading

Antony and the Johnsons, London Hammersmith Apollo

Antony and the Johnsons

May 27th 2009

… Continue Reading

The Great Escape Festival, Brighton

Esser at The Great Escape

Brighton is a bright and lively seaside town, renowned for its party scene and memorable nights out. But today, Friday, things are not looking so bright. We arrive to find rain bucketing down from the sky and gale force winds sweeping across the sea front. Is this really a great place to escape to? We stuck around to find out…

… Continue Reading

Dot To Dot, Nottingham

Future Of The Left

It’s hot at Dot to Dot. We’re talking hottest day of the year hot, which is a double edged sword for a fully indoor festival. Thankfully, the Rescue Rooms are air conditioned and this is where we start with Mint Ive. These guys are loud. Chest constrictingly, eye polishingly loud. The Swiss boffins at CERN should experiment on these fellas to see what happens when protons are collided at sonic boom bass levels. You know when post rock bands like Explosions in the Sky slowly build to a howling crescendo? Well Mint Ive start and stay there adding in an extra layer of vocals. It’s impressive, though I feel drained by the end of their set.

Trent University’s bar stage for Hjaltalin. We arrive in time to hear a muffled announcement which we take to mean that the set has been cancelled. I suppose it’s asking a lot to come to Nottingham for a 30-minute set all the way from Iceland but mum went there last week and she had no complaints.

AC Newman starts 10 minutes early (isn’t anything on time in this country!?) in Trent’s much larger main room. He blasts through a fairly even split of tracks from both of his albums, barely stopping in the 30-minute set which is a shame as his banter is generally entertaining. He however strangely introduces himself and his band as “we’re AC Newman” about 15 times. … Continue Reading

Stag and Dagger, Glasgow: Take One

Marnie Stern

May 23, 2009

I’m not, by nature, a festival goer – too wary of getting covered in mud from top to toe, shelling out £10 for a half-cooked burger and all the other cliches/urban myths, but the idea of an indoor, city-wide(ish) festival appeals big-scale so off I trot to Glasgow on a Saturday afternoon in line with the second Stag and Dagger progressing from its first Leeds date to its first Scottish one.

The earliest shows are on at The Captain’s Rest, namely featuring multi-instrumentalist local duo Over The Wall. Rather bizarrely, they suffer a string of technical mishaps similar to the only other opening act I’ve seen at the same venue, also a local two-some (see here for more). … Continue Reading

Jamie Stewart/Cold Cave/Cryptacize, London Cargo

Jamie Stewart

May 25th 2009

… Continue Reading

Ross Clark/French Wives, Captain’s Rest Glasgow

French Wives

May 15, 2009

On a typical Glasgow night with shoes wringing from the skydiving precipitation one of the best new venues in the city paid host to some superb sonic nourishment. Up and coming promotion team Aerials, who operate in association with The List magazine, served up another fantastic night of Glasgow-based music. The night was kicked off by an acoustic set by Jonathan Sellar, main creative force behind My Cousin I Bid You Farewell. His set was peppered with songs from the imminent debut album and despite recent departures from the band, Jonathan appears to have kept his eyes firmly on the prize, the songs are incredibly well crafted Boss-esque tunes with a soulful charm and Jonny’s stunning vocals laced over the top.

From the honey-rich violins in the set opener, ‘Halloween’, to the stomping finale of ‘Me Versus Me’, French Wives display their frankly unfathomable songwriting talent, particularly in relation to their age as a band. Less than a year after forming The Wives have produced two five-track EPs, played every top night in Glasgow and even played at the last ever Connect. … Continue Reading