Tuesday 19th February 2008 - The Von Bondies

After a short break, following my 5 gigs in 5 nights effort, I was feeling thorougly refreshed and ready for more of the live. And what better band to go see than The Von Bondies, who having kept a lower profile than Lord Lucan in recent years, are making a glorious return to the British music scene, sounding tighter, brighter but definately not lighter.

The Von Bondies, in case you haven't heard of them, are a band out of Detroit, Michigan, who initially received some excellent exposure of their mad talents back in the year 2001 (yes, it really was nearly 7 years ago!), when they toured with little known obscure outfit, The White Stripes (who?! lol). Well, the world went Jack and Meg White nuts, and quite rightly so. But in all the hoo-har of those halcion days when The Stripes and The Strokes were conquering all, when freedom reigned, in the before-time, before 9/11, before government by terror, before smoking via hypothermia, before Orwell and Huxley's fancyful tales of tyranny became the pathetic reality we all live through today, in 2008, this foul year or Our Lord, we managed to almost forget about this band. The Von Bondies, if you ever pull your finger out and attend one of their shows (they're playing The Wigan Tavern on 29th February btw, which is in erm...Wigan, funnily enough), will remind of that long-forgotten musical genre known as 'grunge' (see Nirvana, Hole, Neil Young for a brief moment, and er, Nirvana - did I say Nirvana - yeah). But worry not, they all appear to know where to point their shower nozzles and actually smelled quite nice.

All joking and mockery-based humour aside, The Von Bondies are back, with old music, and new music, and it all sounds at least as good as it did back in the summer of 2001. If you wanna remember the days of freedom, of excess, heck, of good old-fashioned FUN, then well, watch 'em while they're hot - The Von Bondies. That's V, O, N, space, B, O, N, D, I, E, S, people. And I must make a special, much deserved mention of Leann Banks, the band's bassist. I was blessed to be 1 inch away from her throughout the show, and in spite of her having the hottest pair of legs I've seen in some time on a stage, I did manage to direct my eyes upwards every so often, to watch her absolutely blow ten bells out of her bass guitar. She is a bassist with immense talent and natural ability who plays those thick metal strings with the finéssé of a flemenco guitarist.

Moving on; there were two support acts as is the norm in The Night & Day Café, where you really get your money's worth on a gig night. Both supports were very cool, but a special mention must really go to a Blackburn (with Darwen of course!) band called The Sugars. Not been around long, but with a voice like Matt Bolton's on lead, a true blue wailer of the old tradition, and the sweet but strong dulcits of the majestically named, majestically talented and majestically beautiful Anna Greenaway, I know I'll be watching them again, and again and again at many fine venues in the future (not to forget their new drummer whose name I don't know yet, but will know shortly, cos anyone who can still pull of playing the drums in a knackerdy old vest like he had on has got to be worth his salt!). And that future includes venues near you, and venues near me - specifically, The Dry Bar (next door to The Night & Day Café on Oldham Street in Manchester) on Thursday, April 17th. Be there or be a manic depressive with no stereo. Also be there because I had the pleasure of talking to Matt Bolton after his set and he's a genuinely nice guy with bags of enthusiasm and a passion for singing his heart out, and you don't get that every week.

Another night of giggery, another write-up of buggeringly long proportions. Thanks for reading, keep on rockin' and if you're a Yank, vote for Obama or fear my wrath forever...just kidding. I think. Vote for him. Do what you want. No, vote for him and then do what you want, but only because I say so. Thankyou.

Thursday 31st January 2008 - Stars

Night Five - Manchester Academy Three - 31st January 2008 - Stars

Well, it ended as quickly as it started, with night number five of five coming to pass quicker than you can say 'You can't spell stalagmite without Jenny Owen Youngs' (which you can't - it's true!).

So, at least I was going to my last gig of the week with an idea of the band I was watching that was positive. And it was to stay so. You see, I've never held up Stars to be the prophets of a post-rock movement. They've been an occasional but welcome intrusion into my ears for a while now, and cosy in my head, so to see them put a lampshade on stage and turn the place into everyone's generic living room only added to the sense of cosy occasion. To top off that living room feeling, Julie Hesmondhalgh was in attendence and it was nice to say hello to her, both as someone who's had the surreal pleasure of serving many Coronation Street cast members their beers and wines in the past and as someone who whilst not being a Corrie fan, has an affection for Hayley (her character on the world's longest running soap-opera) - after all, who hasn't felt like having a sex-change every once in a while, just to show up women?!?!

Back to the business at hand - Stars. They performed, I listened. I enjoyed what I heard and so did a crowd well versed in their music. I also felt the need to drink large quantities of gin, which is no criticism of Stars, but rather a failing of my head to cope with much more music after a week of embracing one band after another. So I can't really tell you too much about Stars, other than to say they were good musical company at the end of a trip that taught me you can never have enough live music once you've fallen in love with the live music scene.

After five nights, all I have left to say is 'gin, gin, gin'; may your shows be blessed with talent and originality as most of mine were, and may the musical gods walk above the skies you walk below. We are stardust kids, and we are what we seek and that is most true in the music that comes to us - it is no more than a reflection of our own abilities to dream, to create and to hope.

Take care.

Wednesday 30th January 2008 - Nine Black Alps

Night Four - Manchester Academy Three - 30th January 2008 - Nine Black Alps

Well, it was time to head out to event number four of five - Nine Black Alps, local boys from a Manchester scene we all knew and loved in it's time. Despite this band's relative newness, given their grunge influence and Mancunian roots, it was impossible not to feel a little like I was strolling into a nostalgic evening.

The opening act whose name I forget were so utterly fucking terrible that I won't bother writing them; instead I will just pray for a disease to strike down their vocal cords, guitars, and drums and whatever other bullshit they were trying and failing to play.

Nine Black Alps lived up to their promise - familiar songs, easy listening, despite volume levels and enthusiasm from a crowd that made me wonder whether the good bar staff at the Academy hadn't spiked the water with musical M.S.G. in order to make otherwise mediocre music sound really good to everyone else. It's the only thing I can think of as I suspect I was the only person in the room not under the influence of alcohol, pot or something stronger still. I say this, because as much I would like to like a band like Nine Black Alps (they are after all, local boys come good), I just don't seem to get it. Their music, whilst being professionally laid on and in good spirit, already feels out of date and out of time. This is maybe why they are playing to Academy 3 in spite of nationwide recognition and why they aren't keeping that recognition despite the best wishes of all around the scene.

I guess this was a surprising low-point of my five days on the Mancunian musical road. I expected more to be honest, than a drunken evening for others of jumping up and down, crowd surfing (which in a venue the size of Academy 3 - I have to say - grow up a bit kids!), and lager chucking. Don't get me wrong, I love crowd-surfing and lager chucking as much as the next Manc, but fuck, it was just so tired in this room.

Best wishes Nine Black Alps, but come on - raise your bar a bit please.

Tuesday 29th January 2008 - Explosions In The Sky

Night Three - Manchester Academy One - 29th January 2008 - Explosions In The Sky

Well, it was night three, and it was time for the highlight of the 5-by-5 spectacular: Explosions In The Sky.

The first pleasant surprise was a virtually sold out Manchester Academy One for a band that when it originally booked to play last year, had been given Academy Three to play in (a fraction of the size of number one). It would appear people have been catching on in serious numbers to the idea of post-rock Texan instrumental outfits.

E.I.T.S. is an unusual evening to attend in that you don't hear a single lyric - not a word spoken in musical anger all night, and frankly, it's refreshing and uplifting. What we're dealing with in E.I.T.S. is a seriously accomplished and highly talented set of musicians who through soaring guitar capabilities allow an individual within their crowd to quietly, silently even, ascend to the level of ether-rock (two nights of ether - it's like a Michael Caine movie about being a doctor on the Eastern Seaboard - answers on a postcard to that sneeky 'name that movie' link!). Reminiscent of the divine Mercury Rev on occasions, similar switches switched that a certain Robby Krieger can switch in me during a good show of his too, Explosions are a band committed to shutting you up and making you listen, not in concentration, but in breathed relief to finally be listening to some music that you know is aimed at grown-ups who know better.

I was massively impressed by these blokes who seem to play for pleasure and the kind of pleasure that comes from picking up a musical instrument and seeing just how far they can prod and poke it into bleeding out something never quite heard by human beings previously.

Come back soon Explosions, I could spend many an hour in a musical foetal position, letting your sounds flow over me.

Monday 28th January 2008 - Robots In Disguise & Daggers

Night Two - The Roadhouse - 27th January 2008 - Robots In Disguise & Daggers

Well, long overdue is this writeup, but I've been playing sickboy for a couple of weeks, and only now feel desperate enough to write further.

The second night of my five night spectacular encompassed a couple of interesting bands in the form of Robots in Disguise (R.I.D.) and Daggers, their rather talented support group. Being in the Roadhouse was a pleasant trip back to the past, a past of mine that has enjoyed seeing bands from The Von Bonies to The Magic Numbers in that tiny little black room. It was a Monday night however, and an early start (7:30 for the first warm-up act and 8pm for Daggers, with R.I.D. taking the stage at rougly 8:50 till 10:15).

Daggers kicked off the night for me (I must confess, I chain-smoked outside during the first act!) and I was pleasently suprised to see a very confident and atmospheric band in play here. Their energy was quite intense, and they took no time in galvanising an already keen crowd into swooning support for a band whose lead singer resembled a medling of that bloke from The Bravery and a little bit of Bowie stardust sprinklings upon him. But the star of Daggers was easily the lovely keyboard player/backing vocalist - Sarah, a very sweet musician with an etheral voice and manner upon the stage, and the charming manners of a lady off-stage, happy to talk to people and share a cigarette. I see a living for these people if they keep doing what they're doing. Fame is a pointless promise to estow upon any band trying to make it in this notoriously fickle music scene of ours, where bullshit ascends and talent is left to whither on the vine all too often. Good luck Daggers - here's hoping you'll be staring at me just like that some time again, very soon.

Robots In Disguise are all they're cracked up to be. Again, energetic would be an apt phrase for them, passionate, talented too. They attract a very young crowd of teenage fans who are sincere in their support and that support isn't misplaced if you're a fan of electronically influenced indie-music, which thankfully I am. I couldn't help but be impressed with a range of uplifting songs that forced you to move with the beat regardless of whether or not you'd spent all day at work!

How far either band will get is anyone's guess, but fingers crossed, at some point soon I hope they'll be playing venues like M/cr Academy 2 and 3. They both appear to have enough in their tanks to take them that far at least.