LIVE REVIEW: Tor Ist Das! Festival 2015 Opening Night

21 Aug 2015

Before I start the review proper I’ve just got to mention the venue. As well as being the opening night of Tor Ist Das Festival this was also the opening night of Crazy8, the new venue that has opened upstairs at The Golden Lion. Andy has made a lovely job of converting the old function room into a purpose-made venue. The sound was brilliant – not too loud and very clear – something that’s not that easy in a small venue. I look forward to seeing more bands there in the future.

Kicking off The Bongoleeros gave us … well to be honest I’m not entirely sure how to describe what they do. Surreal performance art and warped and twisted songs were part of it but there were also moments that had us laughing out loud.

These were a couple of my highlights. The Magic Shoe section – where we were encouraged to “smell the shoe” and get on board the shoe. And ‘Honk My Tonk’ a mutant punk song.

Looking at what they do objectively – although this isn’t an easy thing to do about three guys who wrap rope around themselves whilst staggering across the floor – there’s a whole load of cultural references in there. The painted jackets and Magic Shoe section, in my opinion anyway, hint at the Merry Pranksters and the “on or off the bus” thing. While the music reminded me of Otway and Barratt in places. And I can’t help but feel that they share a love of the freeform rapping that is Derek and Clive.

What I can’t work out is whether this was an exercise in how far you can go before people say “well isn’t that just messing about randomly” or whether some of it is messing about randomly or, possibly, that it’s so well put together that it just looks like it’s improvised. Your guess is as good as mine and as the performance was filmed you can watch it and make up your own minds. I would say that you had to be there, this is something you had to see in the flesh to be honest, but the video will give you some idea.

https://youtu.be/ky8iC0KQ5Lg

Overall I think I liked The Bongoleeros. I say think because it’s difficult to immerse yourself in a performance like that when you’re reviewing it and because at times I found them rather scary – there’s that edgy feeling of anything could happen in their performance. Am I on board The Magic Shoe? Well not quite, but I’m waiting for it to come round again.

I’d heard of The Family Elan but not heard anything by them before, so I was surprised. They play Anatolian sounding folk-rock that kicks into something like space-rock at times. Although only a three-piece this is a densely layered sound, Krzysztof Hładowski (on Greek bouzouki and elektrosaz) impressed me hugely. Although he uses a lot of effects they don’t overwhelm the core sound of the instruments. Nor does he drift into showing off, although there were points where I would have loved to hear him stretch out more.

Not knowing the names of the tracks they played I can only comment on the overall performance. Although most of the tracks “take off”, this is music you can dance to or you can choose to sit and listen, and appreciate. Most of the tracks start with something that does sound like Anatolian folk-rock but then works up to something else. While this may sound like I’m saying they all sounded the same they didn’t. There was definitely enough variation to keep me, and the audience, listening.

I spoke to a couple of people afterward who’d not seen them before and they thought “they were brilliant” and wondered “why didn’t they play a far longer set?”. I couldn’t find anything to disagree with in that.

Bob Dylan & The History of Rock ’n’ Roll – An Evening with Writer Michael Gray

Frank

18 Aug 2015

More a one-man show than a talk, the author of The Bob Dylan Encyclopaedia comes to Barnsley for the first time launching his UK tour of talks on Bob Dylan & the History of Rock’n’Roll. Writer Michael Gray uses great records and rare footage to trace how rock ’n’ roll arrived for the teenage Robert Zimmerman, how it disintegrated into safe and shallow pop by the time Dylan was ready to launch his own career, and how it lured him back after his folk-singing days.

Dr. Michael Gray wrote the first book ever published on Dylan’s work, SONG & DANCE MAN: The Art of Bob Dylan, way back in 1972 and has since become a highly acclaimed author of many musical icons. ‘Michael Gray’s pioneering book invented a new school of rock criticism which made most of the writing that had gone before seem superficial, irrelevant and trivial…’ (Uncut)

His talks have been a sell-out in North America, the UK & Ireland at arts theatres, arts centres, colleges and festivals and are always spontaneous, “I never use notes or cue-cards. I’m aiming to offer an entertaining, fresh account of Dylan’s achievement and a revealing take on his roots in rock ’n’ roll.”

Further information and tickets: http://www.barnsleycivic.co.uk/events/bob-dylan-the-history-of-rocknroll

REVIEW: Bang Bang Romeo – ‘Johannesburg’

Martin Higgins

12 Aug 2015

Bang Bang Romeo, a 60’s rock-influenced four-piece from South Yorkshire, are making a splash at the moment with their new single, ‘Johannesburg’ which is currently being play-listed on Xfm as well as receiving airplay on both Radio 1 and 6 Music. The hardworking Yorkshire group have been busy on the live circuit as well as with triumphant appearances at the legendary Isle of Wight festival in June, and more recently, last month’s Tramlines Festival in Sheffield.

‘Johannesburg’ is an epic-sounding rock-pop song with touches of Jefferson Airplane, ‘Back to Black’ era Amy Winehouse, and all the drama of a classic Bond theme. The twanging guitars and sun-baked mariachi horns that appear throughout the chorus also bring a Spaghetti Western feel to the song and it seems the band are certainly keen to push the cinematic qualities of their music, with bassist Joel saying the band are huge Tarantino fans. They even go as far as to cite ‘Django Unchained’ as part of the inspiration for the single.

Singer Anastasia Walker has a powerful voice and puts it to good use throughout the track, belting out the strong, catchy chorus with conviction. The rhythm section of Joel Phillips and Richard Gartland, on bass and drums respectively, lay down a crisp and tight backing for those soaring vocals and guitarist Ross Cameron adds plenty of subtle yet effective contributions to the song’s Haight Ashbury vibe, from a Morricone-style tremolo effect to a fuzzed-up atmospheric solo.

The band’s website is http://www.bangbangromeo.com/
Bang Bang Romeo on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bbromeo
Bang Bang Romeo on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bangbangromeo

REVIEW: Trash – ‘4 Miles’

Sean Kavanagh

12 Aug 2015

This Chesterfield-based youthful four-piece, recently signed to Clue, have served us up a nice refreshing slice of cheering and catchy urban indie pop with this single. But don’t let that make you think that it’s superficial and jangly, because it carries an undertone of melancholia that balances the naïve energy that underlies its construction. It got me on first listening and I’ve enjoyed every subsequent one.

Being a distinctly unyouthful old curmudgeon, I know I’m not its target audience, and yet it charmed me. This may be because it reminded me of several of my youthful faves. The lyrical delivery and content is reminiscent of The Chameleons. The zesty lead guitar licks and driving rhythm chords took me back to the territory of The Red Guitars, and the slow reprise section towards the end of the song is pure The Only Ones looking for another girl on another planet. Either these guys are well versed in the history of indie and are deliberately making nods of homage to these oldsters, or they’ve reinvented the wheel themselves. It doesn’t matter which, because what they’ve done really works.

It’s the sort of song that I imagine a car full of lads on their way to a festival will be nodding in unison and smiling to, full of hope but still with a twist of sadness in their little indie hearts. The strong rhythm section carries it all along nicely and the licks really are skilful, well produced and beautifully modulated. If it has any drawbacks, then maybe the sequential construction of the song is a little too predictable, but that’s getting picky, and after all it’s just a pop song.

One of the lyrical themes that runs through the song says, “Whatever you do, do it in style”. Well they have. Well done gents.

4 Miles is released through Clue Records on 21st August 2015 as a digital download. It will appear on their new EP ‘Urban Glow’ which will be available in September 25th on CD & as a digital download. Head here to pre-order the EP: https://www.musicglue.com/cluerecords/products/trash—urban-glow-ep/

TRASH’s on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/trashhband

Live Dates:

28th August – The Royal Oak, Manchester
3rd September – The Venue, Derby W/ CAST
3rd October – The Ferret, Preston

LIVE REVIEW: Brassed Tacks – a celebration of singing and brass band music

Andrew Smith

6 Aug 2015

On Thursday, 16th July I attended a concert in my village of Queensbury. The concert was titled ‘Brass Tacks’ and was a celebration of the talented musician’s and singers that Queensbury has to offer. The highlight of the evening was a performance by the world famous Black Dyke Mill Brass Band, one of the premier brass bands in the world.

Entering the 2nd floor of the mill was a sight that made my heart skip a beat. The stage for the performers is normally in the far right corner of the mill. However for tonight it has been enlarged and located in the middle of the mill. This gave it the feeling of a real concert at a far larger venue. And surrounding the stage was row after row of seats all full. Afterwards I found out that there were around 300 people in the concert that night.

This made for a tremendous atmosphere and it was a heart warming sight to see the mill so full of life after so many years of standing empty.

The first act on was the Foxhill Brass Band comprising of school children from Foxhill Primary School. Whilst the musical ability was not of the highest standard, only to be expected from young children, the enthusiasm and determination displayed by the youngsters was. They played their little hearts out with gusto to a warm and appreciative crowd. Parents, grandparents, siblings and plain audience members alike joined in the fun as they went through a performance of classic TV themes which brought back many a fond memory for me. At the end there was rapturous applause for all of them which was reluctantly and embarrassingly received by some of the young stars!

Next on was the highlight of the evening the world famous Black Dyke band. The Black Dyke band were formed in Queensbury in 1855 from the ashes of a former brass band based in Queensbury. John Foster owner of the Black Dyke Mills was the new benefactor for the band and gave them the solid foundations they needed.

Now over 150 years later the band are world famous and in great demand. To get them to play in the original mill where they were formed and many of their former players worked was a major coup.

The band began to play and immediately the crowd were enchanted by some of the most beautiful music played in the mill. It was a very emotional moment for many people, who had a tear in their eye, to see and hear the band that bears the name of the mill and village where it was formed.

The moment went all too quickly for all of us but a special moment was when Richard Marshall one of the finest cornet players of his generation played a truly wonderful solo. Apart from the cornet you could hear a pin drop in the mill. Nobody dare even breath in case they missed a note from this amazingly talented musician.

Then the conductor Dr Nicholas J. Childs sprang a very emotional surprise by inviting three of the children from Foxhill Brass Band to come up and play with them. This brought an approval of rapturous applause from the crowd and a feeling of genuine warmth swept through the crowd as three nervous and shy young children played with one of the best brass bands in the world.

And then they were gone, but the evening carried on. Next up were the Holy Trinity Church Choir, the last act before the interval. They belted out a selection of classic tunes with enormous energy and verve. The songs were all sung in perfect harmony, notes raising and falling as one. It was a real pleasure to listen to them.

After the interval it was the turn of the Children’s Choir to entertain assembled throng. This choir is made up of children from across the Queensbury locality. Singing their little hearts out they entertained the crowd with a selection of current popular songs. The enthusiasm that the youngsters displayed far outweighed any lack of musical talent.

The Revolution Corps Band came on next playing a mixture of brass band and drumming. If anybody was beginning to tire from the concert they were woken up with the very loud sound of drums combined with brass instruments and dancing! There was so much going both visually and musically on it was difficult to take it all in. the energy was incredible and it reverberated throughout the whole building. It was as if the mill itself was dancing to the tunes!

Next up were the Queensbury Singers, an amateur choir made up of local people, males and females of various ages. They burst into song with great gusto and energy and had the crowd dancing on their feet with a selection of popular songs from across the decades. The crowd joined in with the singing and everybody was enjoying themselves dancing in the aisles.

The final act before the finale was a brass band ensemble comprising the Foxhill Brass Band and the Revolution Corps Band. The two bands combined brilliantly and kept the crowd dancing and swaying in time with the music.

For the finale the choirs combined and as with the brass bands sang in unison as if they had sung together all their lives. The brass bands came back on once again and the whole mill was in full party mode as everybody brought the house down on a tremendous evening of entertainment.

Everybody enjoyed themselves, the concert goers, proud parents, musicians and singers. It was a shame that the Black Dyke Band were on so early as they would have been perfect to finish the night. But with many of their band members travelling long distances to play it was not possible. And will we see and hear them playing again in the famous mill from which they derived their name? Only time will tell.

But the future of music in Queensbury has a very bright future with so much talent on display. The youngsters will only get better and better and it is to be hoped that they will continue to play and sing as they get older. Some of them may even play in the Black Dyke Band.

The venue too whilst fine for the night does need some updating if it is to stage more events such as this in the future. There was only one toilet available to both males and females on the night and the heating needs updating to cope with the cold winter nights that Queensbury frequently has.

But the committee are aware of this and are making steps to ensure improvements are made and everything is in place for winter. There is a renewed buzz around Queensbury at the moment because of community events such as this and it is hoped that this new community spirit will continue into the future and concerts such as this will become a regular occurrence rather than a one off event.

For further information about the Black Dyke Mills Heritage Venue please visit: http://blackdykemillsheritagevenue.org/index.html

LIVE REVIEW: Karma Alldayer

LSF Staff Writers

4 Aug 2015

Blink and you might have missed the small door in the back streets of Leeds, but the Karma All Dayer at Temple of Boom was a lively little festival with a very friendly atmosphere. And at £10 a ticket it was incredibly good value for 15 hours of almost non-stop entertainment.

The venue was Temple of Boom’s medium-size stage area – its skeletons and deathly quotes moderated by a curtain of silver streamers, stick on moons and larger than life papier mâché mushrooms – the compact ‘Meat Locker’ rehearsal space, a laid-back bar with regular DJ acts and a pop-up beer market. All clustered around an outdoor courtyard where most of the festival goers gathered between gigs. In the early afternoon most of the audience was made up of bands supporting each other but as the day wore on it became more packed as paying ticket holders started to arrive.

Unfortunately we arrived too late to catch Val Cale (one of us overslept) a four piece psych-blues prog rock band based in Leeds, which was a pity as we were rather taken with their pleasingly reflective track Mock Moon track on Sound Cloud https://soundcloud.com/valcaleofficial. And if there was one thing that we’d have liked a little more of at this festival it was slightly less ear-blasting sounds. Perhaps we are getting old but the performance areas are pretty small for such sheer volume of noise, especially when there were insufficient bodies to absorb them, and at times it made for rather painful listening. You know that feeling when it’s like someone is playing table tennis with your vital organs, because the sound is reverberating so much….

We caught the end of Two Skies, who created a bleak, but thrillingly other-worldly sound, which fluctuated from violently screaming strings through to something plaintively dark and edgy, backed with masses of reverb. Vocalist Dan Cutts has a strong voice, and although we couldn’t make out a word of the lyrics, he offered a compelling invitation to follow him on a journey of gorgeously euphoric emptiness. Oliver Harrap on drums and Jamie Cheetham on bass, seemed equally transported to a world of their own, where the audience were merely accidental observers. There were certainly moments when we had to fight with a hypnotic inclination to rush out and sacrifice something to the gods of nihilism… But even more compelling was the urge to just get up and dance to the fierce, liberating spookiness of this music. But nobody else was, so we stayed still. And tried to look suitably cool.

Rhys Bloodjoy is a tortured soul with a lot of talent. Hunched on a stool and frequently twisted around his microphone, his grey hood often pulled completely over his eyes, he sits surrounded by FX boxes – a modern day monk of some Holy Order of Melancholia. His guitar playing has an almost jazz feel to it, and his haunting vocals – accentuated by effects – works as another instrument in this heady mix. The way he occasionally stands up, puts the instrument down and walks into the audience to observe the sounds he’s created, is both delightfully theatrical and a touch pretentious, at the same time. The music is darker than a very dark thing, and there are moments when you feel yourself needing to slip outside before you slit your wrist, but that would be a pity because the skilful way he creates such a comprehensive sound, is something worth listening to. ‘It’s very clever,’ said one onlooker afterwards. ‘it’s so easy to be indulgent with sound effects, but there’s just this one guy and he sounds like a whole band’. And another audience member commented on ‘Great use of loop and a very strong hoody’.

Tall Boy4 — Sean O’Connell of the Tall Boys Pop-up Beer Market

After such a performance we needed refreshment and visited the Tall Boys pop up Beer Market where we chatted with Sean O’Connell who told us that Karma has recently put on a couple of gigs at their bottle shop and beer cafe in Thornton’s Arcade, Leeds. Always good to hear about live music events, and the beer was pretty cheap too.

Talking of refreshment this may as well be the point where we air one gripe that was echoed by a number of festival goers. There was no food on the premises, and performers and audience members alike were having to trek out to find takeaway meals. Fortunately we’d brought our own sandwiches (just how rock and roll is that!) but bands arriving tired after long journeys were frustrated to have to go out in search of grub. It did say something about ‘Street Food’ on the programme info, and if the festival was let down by whoever was supplying this, then it seems a real shame. Hopefully that will be sorted for future events.

Wild Birds of Britain6 — Wild Birds of Britain

It’s hard to believe that Wild Birds of Britain have only been performing together for a few months. Their act is tight and polished, big and confident. It’s also shivery, down your spine West Coast influenced sound with a wonderful wah-wah reverb that makes you want to go find an open cornfield to lie in. You almost expect a sitar player to join them at any moment. However you’d want to have an umbrella to hand, because there are also dark clouds looming and while this music is spacey it certainly isn’t safe. The singer’s voice has a urgent raspy quality to it, and while the songs seem to have a lot to do with phoenix’s and other Psychedelic imagery, it has a creepy, unsettlingly powerful element to it, that makes the listener pleasurably uneasy. This band wears its influences on its sleeve – Cream, Spirit, early Fleetwoord Mac, Peter Green and Grateful Dead all come to mind – and one of us couldn’t help but hear overtones of Stairway to Heaven in one of the tracks (which the other didn’t) but it also brings something excitingly original to a contemporary audience.

We managed to get a word with singer and founder, Luke Bell and he told us that the current band had evolved out of an acoustic act with a previously very stripped back sound. ‘We’re did our first show in December, we’re still in a really raw state We’re doing lots of tunes about feelings rather than producing robotic music.’ Personally we didn’t notice the ‘rawness’ and we were told by an audience member who saw them at Live at Leeds, that for him, they’d stolen the show at the Fringe event and, once again, at this Karma All Dayer.

The Vulgarians performed in the cosy surroundings of the Meatlocker, and their punky, clashing, guttural sound was exciting and energetic, but got too much for our ageing ears. Even our photographer who used to sleep in the bass bins at Motorhead concerts had to pop out for a break after a couple of tracks. We decided we actually enjoyed them more from the other side of a heavy door and could imagine they’d be a great band to dance to, if the sound mix was right. However we were very keen to support them because their bassist was the first female we’d seen on stage that day, in this otherwise male-dominated festival. And they seemed all round nice guys who were happy to chat to us about other bands they’d seen.

There was a bit of a lull around 4ish (some acts had sadly pulled out because of injury and similar unforseeable circumstances) and the open air courtyard became a bit chilly despite the sunshine beyond the walls. So everyone was relieved to be told that Psyence was playing the main stage. This band clearly have a keen following and audience members whooped when the band announced some of their tracks, such as ‘Chemicals for Breakfast’. There was definite light and shade in the music and what we could catch of the lyrics sounded intriguing, but the singer was often drowned out by the rest of the band. There was a passion and energy in the band and many of the substantial audience were having a really good time – some even starting to dance, but neither of us quite ‘got’ this band (Maybe the cold had subdued our mood).

We took some time afterwards to ask festival goers why they’d responded so warmly to Psyence. ‘Thought it was pretty rockin” said Lewis King who together with Sarah Sim had just arrived at the event. ‘I don’t know much about Psych and Sarah got me to come along, but yeah I definitely liked them,’ he explained. And Sarah had good things to say about ‘Led Zeppelin synthesizers and top knotch guitar solos’ from the band.. ‘

Black Delta Movement12 — Black Delta Movement

Unfortunately We didn’t really warm to Black Delta Movement who were next on the main stage, and found their heavy guitar sound churning and a bit discordant. This again could have been because the volume was almost unbearable at times, but that could just be our elderly ears… However again they had a large, enthusiastic audience and sometimes you just have to accept that one person’s beloved band is another person’s ear battering. We know your fans love you guys, because one of them described you as ‘fantastic!’

Performing in a packed Meatlocker, The Blackrays‘ performance was akin to a religious experience. Swaying and weaving, and sometimes kneeling over his mic, Rhys Bloodjoy (yes, him again) intoned, and then screamed out, the lyrics over a solid wall of sound that hit you like a sonic tidal wave. Yet in that wall of sound there’s nuance – a guitar run that stabs out, a drum beat that mesmerises. This was an emotionally draining yet thrilling performance that left us wanting more.

London’s all female trio, The Abjects, have that punky garage sound with a psych edge that’s just, well, fun! To our ears the faster numbers were slightly more successful, the more psychy slower stuff just didn’t seem to gel although the sound didn’t seem to be right for them, so it would be unfair to judge them too harshly. The audience really got into them and didn’t hesitate to come right up to the stage edge when they told us not to be shy and come forward. This was their first time playing in Leeds and they promised to come again, so we’d recommend catching them if you can.

Unfortunately we only managed to hear the last half of The Mushroom Club‘s set. They seemed to go down well with the audience but their brand of psych-y jam band groove didn’t really grab us. You can’t deny that the band are talented but didn’t quite work for us.

Eagerly anticipated, The Watchmakers didn’t disappoint. The all too few numbers we managed to catch (10.30 is really an appalling early time for a last train on Saturday night ) managed to worm their way into our heads. They are undeniably psych but have a sort of indie edge.

Sadly we weren’t around to hear the headliners – FEHM, Gnod and Cult of Dom Keller, because of those unhelpful train times. We also missed Mariko Crossley (The Double Hip Club DJ Set) which was scheduled til 3am. However our overall impression was of a very packed, interesting and great value day of musical experiences and we’d recommend you look out for the next event on their FaceBook page – https://www.facebook.com/KarmaLeeds

FRANK’S COLUMN: In Search of Perfection

Frank

30 Jul 2015

I have a bit of a thing about ‘perfect moments’ in music (and also in film and TV to be honest). And what I mean by ‘perfect’ in music is things that make you want to listen again and then again, that encapsulate a genre of music, that so fittingly reflect an emotion or a situation, or that are just so beautiful that it hurts.

In this column I’m going to offer you some examples of songs and pieces of music that I consider to be ‘perfect’ (or as near as you can get). They are not restricted to any one type of music – I’m quite prepared to be open to ‘perfect’ in any sort of music- and I unashamedly include some that may come as quite a shock to ‘serious music lovers’.

I’m not going to include songs or music that are generally held to be ‘perfect’ like ‘Perfect Day’, ‘Perfect Skin’, ‘Nothing Compares 2U’ or ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ for example. Can we just take those as read.

Before we dive into the list, one of my perfect TV moments is the moment when at the end of Skins Series One the cast, for no apparent reason, burst into ‘Wild World’. It’s just so beautifully filmed and so wonderfully barmy. You can see it here on YouTube

One last thing, this isn’t a chart, there’s no particular order to these tracks.

OK so here we go, and in contrast to my last column when I wrote about music that isn’t available most of this is, and I’ve added a Spotify Playlist of the tracks at the end.

‘Dead Popstars’ Altered Images

Most people will think of Altered Images as purveyors of bright bubbly lightweight pop – ‘I Could Be Happy’ or ‘Happy Birthday’ for example. Others may think of them of as a sort of Siouxsie and the Banshees-lite for 10 year olds. I, for one, disagree. I could go on for hours about how the Altered Images’ sound bridged the gap between post-punk and Postcard bands like Orange Juice if you really wanted me to. But I suspect you don’t, so I won’t.

‘Dead Popstars’ is a perfect slice of post-punk pop that was stopped in its climb up the charts by a Radio One ban. It was banned because it came out in the same week as John Lennon was shot and the powers-that-be thought it would upset people. I’ve always thought the ‘dead’ in the song was about manufactured emotionally dead music, not actually deceased people. Perhaps this is because I listen to song lyrics.

If you hold a gun to my head I’ll admit that it does sound influenced by Siouxsie and the Banshees – although given that it was produced by Steve Severin of the Banshees this is not entirely surprising. However, Altered Images bring their own unique take to the track and Clare’s vocal is frankly quite scary:

Dead pop stars, dead pop stars
Dead pop stars, dead pop stars rotting in the studio
Hear them on the radio
Dead, dead, dead, dead, dead

Quite.

‘Spellbound’ Siouxsie and the Banshees

And talking of Siouxsie and the Banshees, I just have to include a track from their 1981 album, ‘Juju’. I love this album – mainly due to Budgie’s drumming – but this track is just so … well it just sums up the whole album in one song. My favourite moment is when Siouxsie sings:

And don’t forget
When your elders forget
To say their prayers
Take them by the legs
And throw them down the stairs

Her vocal on this is just spine tingling.

‘Shut Up’ Savages

This is my favourite track from this energetic punk girl band’s album. It’s just fabulous and it reminds me of seeing them play live. They played for around 45 minutes with no encores. At one stage all I could see was the singer’s red kitten heel kicking into the stage – perfect. What we have here is a slice of post-punk bought right up to date. Play loud.

‘Summertime’ Miles Davis

This track comes from ‘Porgy and Bess’ released in March 1959. Davis had become increasingly disillusioned with bebop in the late 50s and had began to experiment with other forms of improvisation. The ‘Porgy and Bess’ album reflects this change.

‘Summertime’ is just so achingly good, his trumpet playing so well conveys the emotional content of the lyrics, and the original melody. I’ve spoken to several people who don’t even realise that it’s a jazz arrangement. You can hear the influence of this arrangement in later versions of the song, including very strongly in Janis Joplin’s version with Big Brother and The Holding Company.

‘Whole World Window’ Cardiacs

I adore Cardiacs, I’ve adored them since I saw them circa 1983 supporting Here & Now. Frankly they blew my mind. This song always provided the finale to their sets back then and had some rather theatrical staging including confetti and people handing flowers out – do a YouTube search for Cardiacs Whole World Window and you’ll find some footage – or you could look at this YouTube Video which is a bit unclear in places but it’ll give you the idea.

It’s a ‘go to track’ – you know, the ones which you listen to when you need to hear something inspiring and emotional. It makes me feel happily sad or sadly happy depending on how I’m feeling at the time. It’s almost a ballad really. I’ve no idea really what this song is about (although the singer’s mother figures in it somehow), all I know is that whatever it is Tim – the singer – is really vocalising an emotion.

I know Cardiacs are a bit like the Marmite of music – people either really love them or hate them – but do give this one a try. After all it very nearly got into the top of the charts.

‘The Look of Love’ ABC

I could have chosen many of the songs from ‘Lexicon of Love’ but this was the first song I heard from it, and it’s stuck in my head ever since. The production, the arrangement are just too good really. Somebody I had a chat with about this song said ‘but the lyrics are so corny, and what is going on with:

If you judge a book by the cover
Then you’d judge the look by the lover
I hope you’ll soon recover
Me I go from one extreme to another

it’s sixth form poetry’. But I prefer to call it meta-pop.

If there’s one other thing that is just so perfect about this song it’s the line

When your girl has left you out on the pavement (Goodbye)

where the ‘Goodbye’ is spoken by a woman, rumoured to be the one who had left Martin Fry before he started to write the songs on ‘Lexicon of Love’. Perfect? Yes – I believe so.

‘Shooting Star’ Dollar

There – it’s out. I feel so much better now. ‘Shooting Star’ by Dollar is my guiltiest pleasure of guilty pleasures. It’s just a slice of perfect pop. Remember that Dollar were at one stage, how shall we say it, hip and trendy. Yes really they were. The voices, the arrangement and the production are just so… luscious. That’s the only word for it. I urge you to listen to this and just wallow in its utter loveliness.

‘Tangerine’ Led Zeppelin

When I am asked to name my favourite Led Zep track this is the one I say is my favourite. This usually results in the person asking looking at me in a strange way, or just going ‘Oh-Kaaay’ in that ‘you cannot be serious’ sort of way. It’s also possible they might point out that it doesn’t end properly. Actually it’s this ending that helps makes it ‘perfect’ for me – it’s a perfect imperfection.

I also love the lyrics, sparse as they are and that lilt in the line ‘Does she still remember times like these?’, and that guitar solo, and that pedal steel in the second half of the song.

So why is it perfect beyond all these things that I’ve mentioned, well it just perfectly reflects a mood, a situation, reminiscing about a past love.

‘Out of Reach’ Dumpy’s Rusty Nuts

‘Who?’ I hear you scream, or possibly, ‘how can anything by that crass bikers’ band be perfect, for ****’s sake!’, or possibly ‘oh come on, the original’s a classic’.

Just so we’re clear I am talking about the Peter Green track. And yes I bought a whole double live album mainly for this one track. The thing is that Dumpy is (or was) an extremely talented guitarist who did, on occasions, let this show. This is one of those moments and it is an once both a tribute and a track he makes his own. It does send shivers down my spine and that’s why I think it’s perfect.

Unfortunately Spotify doesn’t seem to have any DRN tracks at all available, nor is there any video available of this. You’re just going to have take my word on this one or search out a copy of ‘Somewhere In England’.

‘Faithless’ Scritti Politti

I guess many people would choose ‘The “Sweetest Girl”‘ but I think ‘Faithless’ is the more perfect track. Why – because it was written and produced to be perfect. Even the vocal effects are perfect. Personally if you wanted this to be even more perfect you’d go for the 12” version. I did.

In truth I introduced this track because I wanted to highlight something from Scritti’s early music and that is ‘Skank Bloc Bologna’ also perfect in a sort of shambling 1978 way. This is Scritti in pre-commercial political mode.

‘Next’ Sensational Alex Harvey Band

I first saw this cover of the Jacques Brel song on The Old Grey Whistle Test in 1973. Given my age at the time (and no, I’m not going to tell you that), watching the OGWT involved sneaking downstairs after my parents had gone to bed and watching it at an incredibly low volume, and given that the song is an explicit description of the experience of a soldier in an army brothel, it’s probably best that I wasn’t discovered. I’m not entirely sure that the song’s lyrics meant that much to me back then, but the delivery and performance hit me right between the eyes.

It’s widely felt to be the definitive English language version of the song and I wouldn’t disagree.

Lyrically it’s pure poetry and Alex Harvey’s delivery is pure emotion – disgust, horror, the trauma of the experience. It’s all there.

‘Glorybox’ Portishead

I’ve been saving this, because ‘Glorybox’ for me is the height of perfect. It’s one of my all time favourite tracks and I’ve been known to put all the different versions I have into a playlist and let it run on repeat. For the record my favourite version is one on the live album – the one where Beth apologises for the ‘dodgy moments’ which are her fault – although I’ve listened to it lots of times and have failed to spot any ‘dodgy moments’.

So why is it perfect? Let’s start with Beth Gibbons’ vocals – world weary, yearning, pleading. The arrangement is just brilliant – that guitar solo that turns into a throb under Beth’s voice is musical genius, the short trip-hop break. Lyrically it’s great – it’s a story with a beginning, a middle but sadly no end.

And my heart always lurches on the chorus:

Give me a reason to love you
Give me a reason to be, a woman
I just wanna be a woman

It’s that raising inflection on the last line that gets me every time.

So that’s the list, although I’ve realised it’s really only scratching the surface of what I consider perfect. I could have included lots more. Maybe there’s a second column to come on this subject…

As I said at the beginning you may disagree with my choices, in fact I’d be surprised if anyone agreed with the whole list. I’m not going to be persuaded that any of these aren’t perfect, but I am open to suggestions of ‘perfect’ from other people.

INTERVIEW: Rob Chapman

Henrietta Bond

30 Jul 2015

How do you write a 600-700 page book about Psychedelia without once offering a definition? Well if you’re Rob Chapman, from West Yorkshire, experienced music journalist and a man with a mind as fertile as rabbits in springtime, it doesn’t take much doing. So LSF was delighted to be the first to interview him about his new book Psychedelia and Other Colours, to be published by Faber and Faber on 2nd September 2015.

Covering new ground

”What the world really doesn’t need is another book about the psychedelic sixties with me regurgitating the received wisdom,” Rob explains. He believes that the media has been responsible for creating far too many myths about the 60s, based on a very elitist view of London society.

”The life enjoyed by a couple of hundred groovy young things – as Peter York says – wasn’t the life most of us were living. For every flowery shirt in Carnaby Street, there were plenty of people going to see bands in Stockport,” he says.

Rob wants his readers to think outside the Summer of Love, Jefferson Airplane and The Grateful Dead (although you can be sure there will be Jerry Garcia insights in this book). He’s keen to raise awareness of Ken Keese’s Acid Tests, the performances of The San Francisco Mime Troupe, and the more recent electronic instrumentation of bands like Broadcast.

Debunking the myths

”My motivation as a writer has always been to find a new way of looking at things, and debunking existing myths. So when people ask me ‘what else is there to say about Psychedelia?’ my response is ‘let me F’ing show you.”

In his biography, Syd Barrett: a Very Irregular Head (published 2010) Rob challenged the notion that Syd’s breakdown was as colossal as perceived wisdom claimed it to be. ”I’ve known people who have lost it totally during breakdowns but Syd was never totally bereft, he still maintained much of his talent,” Rob says.

While it’s clear that Rob is keeping some of his powder dry for the actual launch, he’s also willing to share nuggets about why he believes his book will be different from anything that’s gone before on Psychedelia.

Influences from history

In his Syd Barrett book Rob claimed that Pyschedelia was part of a much wider phenomena, and in this new book he sets out his reasons for believing this.

”People have been trying to create immersive experiences for centuries – long before the Grateful Dead,” Rob says. He sites examples such as the flickering candlelight shows happening as far back as the 14th century, Sir Isaac Newton experimenting with light in the 17th century, and László Moholy-Nagy, of the Bauhaus movement, creator of the Light-Space Modulator, which produced spectacular shadow formations using coloured and white light.

Rob explains that Psychedelia and Other Colours will encompass a wide range of influences from the Victorian and Edwardian period. He gives credit to Nicolete Gray who he describes as ‘the lost art historian’, and ‘the alternative lineage to traditional routes to pop art’. Gray was a scholar of calligraphy and wrote books about 19th century ornamented typefaces and the history of lettering. As a teacher at Central School of Art and Design in the mid-60s, Gray influenced many designers and artists of that period.

Also included in the book, and another great influencer of the imagery associated with Psychedelia, is Barbara Jones, author of a book called The Unsophisticated Arts. Jones’s innovative exhibition, Black Eyes and Lemonade, was part of the Festival of Britain in 1951. Jones focused on subjects like taxidermy, fairgrounds, canal boats, the seaside, shops, tattooing, waxworks, food decoration and toys – in other words the kind of everyday objects that previous generations wouldn’t have considered art.

”These women were recognising that things pass through stages – from unpopular to kitsch and then to collectable,” Rob says. ”Nostalgia was a key part of the 60s. Images like Penny Farthings didn’t just appear in artwork out of nowhere.”

The myth of the artist

When people talk about Psychedelia they often employ phrases like ‘he let his imagination run riot’. Rob believes that descriptions like this are missing the point because artists need to be disciplined and creative in order to achieve results. “Take someone like Syd Barrett, who was taking acid 7 days a week – when he was writing that was probably the only time his imagination was truly under control. You can be an undisciplined thinker but then you must marry that with being a focused, disciplined writer – otherwise you end up writing nonsense,” Rob says.

Rob is also keen to debunk the ‘myth’ of the Bohemian world of art school and its association with Psychedelia. ”When I was at college, we’d all be on our way to get pissed on cheap beer and we’d walk past the basements where the art students would be welding and hard at work,” Rob says. ”Art students were some of the hardest working and most disciplined people in my experience. It was just a few musicians, like Syd Barrett, who made a connection between their time at art school and what they did musically. People buy into that ‘starving artist in the garret myth’ but for many art students their hard work led to a commercial job.”

A feminist tract

One of the other nuggets Rob is keen to share is that he believes his book to be something of a ‘feminist tract’.

He believes that bands like the Beatles were responsible for the ‘feminisation of pop’ and doesn’t buy into the idea that The Beatles killed girl groups – in the way that people, like film director John Waters, have claimed.

”I think Waters was taking an American perspective because girl groups were bigger in the States than here in the UK,” Rob says. ”I’ve looked at early Beatles stuff and it’s very non-gender specific – their songs like ‘She Loves You’ could just as easily be sung by a girl. Acid kyboshed all the macho mob mentality of previous generations – by turning boys into ‘sappy drips’ and got people asking questions about is this a girl or a boy. Which I think was brilliant!”

Not defined by LSD

While acknowledging that LSD is considered pivotal to the Psychedelic movement, Rob doesn’t accept that it is the defining element. ”LSD is a metaphor,’ he explains, ”because, as Arthur Koestler says, it doesn’t last. One day you think you’ve got the answer to the universe and tomorrow it’s completely gone… So for me it was about developing an aesthetic – maybe a policy – of ephemera while writing this book. Which is why I went back to the flickering candle shows of the 14th century.”

Rob also rejects traditional views which insist that Psychedelic music has to be produced under the influence of LSD.” There were artists who didn’t take drugs but who wrote about what they thought LSD was about – the state of being chemically changed and projecting layers of meaning. If you take something like Status Quo and their ‘Pictures of Matchstick Men’ – people say it’s not ‘real Psychedelia’ because it wasn’t produced under the influence. But I don’t have a problem with it – I’m not a purist.”

Neither for nor against

Rob says he knows he’s bound to get asked lots of questions about his stand on LSD. ”This is not a book for drug banishers or drug bores’ he says, ‘because I’m neither a prohibitionist or a proselyte.’

LSD, Rod believes, gave us incredible songs like ‘God Only Knows’, ‘See Emily Play’ and ‘Itchycoo Park’ – but he’s clear that he can’t stand drug bores. He quotes George Harrison saying he expected that LSD would lead to greater enlightenment, but realised after six months that people were just as stupid.

Rob does however subscribe to the idea that the change of drugs at the end of the 60s was responsible for bringing a change to the music produced. He feels that the energy and ‘pushiness’ of people on coke created a whole new mood in the music world.

Misplaced

Rob describes himself as a libertarian when it comes to drugs, but says it’s the culture around drugs which he has less patience with. ”Timothy Leary, who went around telling people to ‘drop out’ was a dangerous man because some people couldn’t ‘drop back in again’. He was a Whisky drinking Harvard professor – a medicine show salesman who did a lot of harm to vulnerable people,” he says.

What Rob feels people like Leary should’ve been focusing on was issues such as the racism of the 60s. ”Why was the ethnic make up of the University of California only one percent black?” he asks. ”Black people were the ‘‘exotic others’’ of the sixties, but that doesn’t mean people were really doing anything to include them in society.”

Rob Chapman will be speaking at a range of venues this summer:

August 1st. Port Eliot Festival St Germans, Cornwall.
August 8th. W.A.M.E Festival Woodbridge, Suffolk
August 20th-23rd. Green Man Brecon, Wales
August 27th. Rough Trade East London
September 4-6th. End Of The Road Festival Larmer Tree Farm, Dorset
September 18th. Todmorden Library
September 20th. Good Life Experience Festival Hawarden Estate, Flintshire
September 25th-26th. Liverpool Psych Fest

FESTIVAL REVIEW: Tramlines 2015

Michael Karwowski

29 Jul 2015

An urban festival that successfully brings together a whole community in enjoyment of some of the best contemporary music is certainly revolutionary. But rather than lots of power politicking, everyone has fun and no one dies.

At this year’s festival, Tramlines’ 7th year on the run, we actually had some Karl Marx lookalikes on stage in the shape of Feral Brood. Playing on the fringe at the Crystal stage on Saturday, the wonderfully-bearded Sheffield band set the tone. Their relentless rock produced a crescendo of orchestrated sound that allowed a fortunate few to surf the wave to something close to ecstasy. It was hard to decide who enjoyed the show more: the performers or the punters.

In simple figures, Tramlines 2015 involved 200 artists entertaining 100,000 people over three days at 30 venues throughout the city, and all for a weekend pass that cost just £30. Headliners included Basement Jaxx, De La Soul, The Charlatans, and Motown queen Martha Reeves, whose anthem ‘Dancing in the Street’ best sums up the festival.

But Tramlines prides itself on always staying on the new wave side of cool with ‘hot’ acts being the exception rather than the rule. Instead, aficionados are offered the chance to spot potential stars of the future.

On the basis of visits to six venues over Saturday and Sunday, it’s fair to say that Local Sound Focus was impressed.

The sight of local folk-rockers Seven Tors at Sheffield Cathedral bathed in the light of the stained glass windows was certainly something to behold; as was that of the MC, DJ, eight horns and two percussionists of Sheffield’s Renegade Brass Band on the new Main Stage at The Ponderosa, a recreation ground just outside the city centre. So far, it was still Saturday, when the sun shone, the streets were packed, and that line about ‘one big party’ was true for once.

On the Sunday, we were back to British summertime, i.e. it rained. The drastically reduced audience was now made up exclusively of hard-core music fans determined to see their favourites. Bolton’s punk-pop band Buzzcocks, for instance, just a year away from celebrating their 40th anniversary, managed to draw a crowd to the Main Stage. Hits including ‘Ever Fallen in Love’ and ‘What Do I Get?’ were clearly enjoyed equally by old and young.

Buzzcocks was followed by another hit-maker in R&B rapper Neneh Cherry backed by electronic duo RocketNumberNine. Resplendent in charcoal shift dress and bright orange pumps, Cherry rapped to danceable clubland beats until the sun actually came out for a moment to greet her ‘Buffalo Stance’.

Tramlines’ former main stage is at Devonshire Green, a short walk from the centre, which hosted a number of Sheffield bands over the two days. Most notable, arguably, were The Sherlocks, who’ve already clocked up 500 gigs in their four years on the road.

Having already written about the band on this website (BAND FEATURE: The Sherlocks), I actually broke into a run to ensure I arrived on time for their set, The ‘boys’ as manager Brian Epstein used to call The Beatles, were nicely turned out as usual to play their tuneful guitar pop. They played a total of seven songs, including singles ‘Live for the Moment’ and ‘Escapade’, brand new song ‘Blue’, and ‘Chasing Shadows’, whose chorus remained on my lips for some time after the show.

During their set, lead singer Kiaran Crook couldn’t help mentioning the band’s recent appearance at The Leadmill. So it seemed only natural to head out to Sheffield’s iconic music venue as a grand finale to this coverage of Tramlines 2015. And, as fate would have it, the very last act on the agenda produced the outstanding performance of the weekend. Boy, are Kid Wave good!

They have a great name and a charismatic lead singer in Swede Lea Emmery, who moved to London four years ago to find a scene which matched her ambition. Suffice to say that she found it. Kid Wave also have a great rhythm section in female drummer Serra Petale and bassist Harry Deacon, a leading guitar-player in Mattias Bhatt and an indie rock sound full of hooks that hang, and choruses that linger. Oh, and they have a new album, Wonderlust, released in June by Heavenly Recordings, a record company whose name perfectly defines their music.

“It’s a lot more rock ‘n’ roll live,” says Lea. She’s right about that. In fact, Kid Wave is the sort of band that persuades you to forget your notebook and just enjoy the music. Business sometimes has to give way to pleasure!

So Lea’s move to England in the hope of playing gigs and festivals that welcome creativity provides the last word on Tramlines 2015. Because the outstanding impression left by the experience of this festival is just how incredibly rich this country is in the production of music. For a nation that is often rather too modest about its advantages, perhaps we can occasionally allow ourselves to reflect on how fortunate we are.

Frog Box Comedy Club

Henrietta Bond

24 Jul 2015

Frog Box is the brainchild of Andy (electronic artist) from Slomanmusic Promotions. Recently, while being treated for cancer at St James’s hospital in Leeds, Andy came across the children’s wards – and met the head radiographer for paediatrics, Lucy. During the visit he came across a poster, which was trying to raise £28,000 to create a chill out room for children and their parents, who are waiting for or recovering from daily treatments of radiotherapy.

‘Having gone through radiotherapy as an adult I know how gruelling it can be, and I want to help with this project to create a space where children can relax, and have many of the things like toys TVs and games that children are familiar with, which can really help to distract them. A place where the surroundings are homely and familiar, rather than clinical and hospitalised,’ Andy explains. ‘It got me thinking that there are a whole range of issues that need support and I wanted to find ways that I could start fundraising for some of these.’

As someone who has done a lot of music promotion in the past, Andy initially considered putting on fundraising music event. ’Music promotion is great but to make events a success you need a lot of outlay which can eat into money raised for charities,’ Andy says. So instead he decided to focus on another passion – which is comedy, and started asking around among friends and colleagues in the comedy sector. This included friend and colleague, Sarah Buczynski, who is closely involved with comediennes, Manchester based Laughing Cows, and was at the time working at The Golden Lion.

‘We started getting really good feedback from people who thought having charity comedy night/club was a really good idea,’ Andy says. ‘And here in Todmorden we’d love a comedy club to compliment our ever growing music and arts scene, which happens at the Golden Lion and other venues in town.’

Big thanks to Gig, the landlady of Golden Lion (known for putting on free live music ), Andy was able to build a stage in the pub’s function room. (Frank from LSF also helped to glue some of the carpet). Tony Beddows – who is a graphic artist as well as member of Reggae sound system Chapter 4, created the identity and branding for the comedy club.

Andy explains that while he is very grateful to all the people who have volunteered their time for free, he is also very keen to pay performers. Initially expenses and to ensure that they have the best treatment possible, but would like to move to a point where artists can be paid what they deserve. ‘We don’t ever want to take it for granted that performers will take part in charity events for nothing – because they have to put a lot of time and effort into preparing their acts. Even if we can’t pay their normal rate, we hope to eventually be able to do this, but whilst establishing ourselves we are looking for artists new and old, that either want to have ago at some point maybe at one of our open mic nights, plus also happy for artists to try out new material or stop over gigs and to maybe negotiate fees, based on what we are trying to achieve charity wise.

The first Frog Box Comedy Club event takes place on Sunday 30th August, in the Upstairs Room at the Golden Lion. Headlining the bill will be Sophie Willlan from the Laughing Cows, who is going from strength to strength on the comedy circuits plus, The Two Eddies and Titus Freelove. There will also be a raffle to raise money for the Yorkshire Cancer Centre and MacMillan Cancer Support and all profits from the evening will go to these charities.

A £10 ticket will include a delicious Thai Buffet and dancing afterwards to Daz and Dave’s Discotheque downstairs, after the show. Advance tickets are available from the Golden Lion, Todmorden, Hotcakes shop, 4 Hilton St, Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire HX7 6EZ, and Skiddle.co.uk.

Frog Box initially wanted to hold events quarterly but already there are a few extra events creeping into the diary. Look out for a ‘really dark’ Halloween special event with an optional fancy dress. Prize for best, scheduled for November 1st. If you fancy a break from the Jesus birthday bash. On December 27th A Burlesque, Cabaret, Comedy night and not a sprout in site.

‘In the future we will be fundraising for a range of charities,’ Andy says. ‘We are very keen to hear from performers or members of the audience/public who have a good cause in mind that they’d like Frog Bog to host an event for.’

Frog Box on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/frogboxcomedyclub

Frog Box Comedy Night
30th August 7.30pm
Golden Lion
Fielden Square
Todmorden OL146LZ

Tickets: http://www.skiddle.com/whats-on/Oldham/The-Golden-Lion/Frog-Box/12470284/

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