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ventaAfter some discussion, ChrisC and I think we haven't been to a gig at SBE since we moved to West London. Which is (a) slightly more than three years and (b) a rather poor showing.
I had a friend stopping over on Friday (evening meal, bed, breakfast, lift to Heathrow - it's a service we provide), so had stayed in waiting for her to arrive. We ate moderately mediocre casserole (it was much nicer the following day) and then I headed off to SBE leaving her ensconced on the sofa with a book. Which meant I didn't get there until Twisted Wheel had only a few songs left.
They were...fine. OK. And sounded a bit like everything, ever. Which is quite a talent, really. You can stream their latest single, Ride, from their website; it sounds considerably less rocky and less Oasis-y than I remember them sounding.
I am a huge fan of the first Reverend and the Makers album, and (beyond the extraordinarily catchy hooks of lead-single Bassline) have been a little underwhelmed by the second. I'm not knocking it, it's a good record. It just didn't blow me away quite like the first did.
Imagine my surprise last week when ChrisC suddenly mentioned a whole other album I'd managed to miss entirely - the actual second album. I did some hasty listening.
So, the gig. Last time I saw Reverend and the Makers was at Glastonbury some years ago, and they were fantastic. A guitar band with a dance vibe, and a hugely charismatic front man in the Reverend himself. Sadly, this coloured my impression of last Friday: they were good. I enjoyed them. They just weren't quite as good as I'd been hoping.
The atmostphere in a packed SBE wasn't quite the dance-party which the John Peel tent was in 2008. The Reverend had the 'flu. A few of the slower songs sagged a bit, live. Which is a shame, and has left me feeling slightly down about a gig which was still, overall, pretty damn good.
I love the (admittedly, ahem, rather 90s) combination of guitars, synths and driving rhythms that make up their sound. I love the matter-of-fact documentation in the lyrics. I love the way different band members occasionally pick up the vocals to play different characters in a song (most noticeable in Bandits).
As the band left the stage, the Reverend announced that the encore would be "in the street outside, see you on Shepherd's Bush Green". You what? By the time we got outside, he was standing on an industrial wheelie bin down the side of the venue, slinging on an acoustic guitar and bumming a fag from the crowd. He was joined (increasingly precariously) by the guitarist and bassist as they strummed through Silence is Talking, then A Message To You Rudy with the crowd singing the trumpet parts for both[**]. The Reverend shuffled off, leaving the other two to an extremely ramshackle version of Together In Electric Dreams.
As the crowd was gathering, the police showed up to a chorus of boo-ing. I was wondering about the wisdom of encouraging such a large crowd to gather outside the venue... but of course, with only an acoustic guitar, the whole thing is inherently self-limiting. Without amplification, the sound only travels a very short way, and sooner or later anyone out of earshot just shuffles off bored. Ten minutes or so later, everyone had got off the wheelie bins without mishap and the crowd was milling toward the tube station, still singing the trumpet riff from Silence is Talking.
Despite my misgivings, I'd still recommend Reverend and the Makers live, I think. And I'd definitely recommend them recorded; start with The State of Things.
[*] At least, he said he did. I reckon that - regardless of professionalism - if you play a full gig you don't have the 'flu. I accept that he was ill, though :)
[**] And, I think, another song which escapes me.
I had a friend stopping over on Friday (evening meal, bed, breakfast, lift to Heathrow - it's a service we provide), so had stayed in waiting for her to arrive. We ate moderately mediocre casserole (it was much nicer the following day) and then I headed off to SBE leaving her ensconced on the sofa with a book. Which meant I didn't get there until Twisted Wheel had only a few songs left.
They were...fine. OK. And sounded a bit like everything, ever. Which is quite a talent, really. You can stream their latest single, Ride, from their website; it sounds considerably less rocky and less Oasis-y than I remember them sounding.
I am a huge fan of the first Reverend and the Makers album, and (beyond the extraordinarily catchy hooks of lead-single Bassline) have been a little underwhelmed by the second. I'm not knocking it, it's a good record. It just didn't blow me away quite like the first did.
Imagine my surprise last week when ChrisC suddenly mentioned a whole other album I'd managed to miss entirely - the actual second album. I did some hasty listening.
So, the gig. Last time I saw Reverend and the Makers was at Glastonbury some years ago, and they were fantastic. A guitar band with a dance vibe, and a hugely charismatic front man in the Reverend himself. Sadly, this coloured my impression of last Friday: they were good. I enjoyed them. They just weren't quite as good as I'd been hoping.
The atmostphere in a packed SBE wasn't quite the dance-party which the John Peel tent was in 2008. The Reverend had the 'flu. A few of the slower songs sagged a bit, live. Which is a shame, and has left me feeling slightly down about a gig which was still, overall, pretty damn good.
I love the (admittedly, ahem, rather 90s) combination of guitars, synths and driving rhythms that make up their sound. I love the matter-of-fact documentation in the lyrics. I love the way different band members occasionally pick up the vocals to play different characters in a song (most noticeable in Bandits).
As the band left the stage, the Reverend announced that the encore would be "in the street outside, see you on Shepherd's Bush Green". You what? By the time we got outside, he was standing on an industrial wheelie bin down the side of the venue, slinging on an acoustic guitar and bumming a fag from the crowd. He was joined (increasingly precariously) by the guitarist and bassist as they strummed through Silence is Talking, then A Message To You Rudy with the crowd singing the trumpet parts for both[**]. The Reverend shuffled off, leaving the other two to an extremely ramshackle version of Together In Electric Dreams.
As the crowd was gathering, the police showed up to a chorus of boo-ing. I was wondering about the wisdom of encouraging such a large crowd to gather outside the venue... but of course, with only an acoustic guitar, the whole thing is inherently self-limiting. Without amplification, the sound only travels a very short way, and sooner or later anyone out of earshot just shuffles off bored. Ten minutes or so later, everyone had got off the wheelie bins without mishap and the crowd was milling toward the tube station, still singing the trumpet riff from Silence is Talking.
Despite my misgivings, I'd still recommend Reverend and the Makers live, I think. And I'd definitely recommend them recorded; start with The State of Things.
[*] At least, he said he did. I reckon that - regardless of professionalism - if you play a full gig you don't have the 'flu. I accept that he was ill, though :)
[**] And, I think, another song which escapes me.
