venta

Hello, everyone who's been popping up to write start-of-year posts.

I haven't actually got my thoughts about 2018 or 2019 into order yet (I am confused on many topics), so instead I shall write about gigs for a change.

January is always the Winter Sprinter, which means four gigs in four evenings, three of which are followed by getting up for work. I do like to start January knackered.

If you don't like gig write ups, the tl;dr version is:

- small gigs are fun, try them out at a pub some time
- if you want a musical experience like no other (in a good way), then you should either go and see Deerful or Haiku Salut

First issue on day 1 was that ChrisC, the booker of the e-tickets, had elected to go to a different event before heading to the Lexington. Fortunately, I bowled up to the counter-cum-cloakroom that does for a box office, explained the situation, and was stamped and let in straight away.

Compare and contrast to the Pixies gig at the Roundhouse last year when, even having a totally legit paper ticket, ChrisC was unable to get into the venue without me present because I was the booker of the tickets. Despite me having rung the box office during the day to explain that I was ill, and ask about options. The options were: ChrisC doesn't go to the gig, or I get my arse out of bed and present myself and my credit card on the door to get him let in. And yeah, I get it: touting is much more of a thing for a sold-out Pixies playthrough than it is for a band most people have never heard of in a pub. But this is one of the reasons small gigs are great.

Whoa Melodic were an unknown quantity - but as is the way of a small scene - turned out to be made out of spare parts of other bands and people who looked vaguely familiar. They were enjoyable, but ultimately not especially distinctive-sounding. Perfectly nice, pleasant five-piece pop with woogly Hammond Organ (provided by Mr Simon Love).

The main singer is someone whom I'm can't quite place: he looks like a cut-price Johnny Vegas, and I really cannot figure out what band I've seen him in before.

Try it: Disappointed Pessimist [bandcamp]

It's always a delight to see Peaness, who give the impression of being incredibly happy to be onstage. And yes, you do say their name like that.

They are a straight-up three-piece guitar/bass/drums band playing the fluffiest of pop punk. All three of them sing, and most of the main melodies are delivered in two-part harmony.

Try it: Oh George [youtube]

I'm a big fan of Suggested Friends and haven't seen them in ages; they seem to have had a bit of a line-up reshuffle, and indeed roped in a supply bassist because the real one had gone off for a honeymoon. My main memory of the frontperson is of them being rather shy and awkward on stage, and they seem to have really moved into the role with much more confidence.

However, they remain enjoyable slightly shouty pop rock, despite the singer claiming that the entire band was started for a joke. And there were new songs, and I rather hope there might be a new album soon.

Try it: Chicken [bandcamp]

ChrisC and I managed to show up only just in time for Deerful coming on stage, because all the gigs of the Winter Sprinter ran disconcertingly to time. Like, advertised on-stage time of 8:15, band actually on the actual stage at 8:15. That never happens.

Afterwards we said hello to Nick and his friend Nicole; we hadn't arranged it or anything, I just ran into them at the bar. The previous day we'd done the same with Zenithed, and got to have a bit of a catchup with him, which was lovely. This is one of the reasons small gigs are great.

Deerful is one person, and when we arrived she appeared to be giving an intro to a programming language. It was, in fact, ixi lang, which is a sort of live-coding-music-making environment which looks like fun. For the rest of her set she stuck to her usual instrument - an oldskool GameBoy. No, you wouldn't really think that would work for a show, would you?

But Deerful is someone whom I would highly recommend to almost anyone: electronic backing with solo vocals, and she has an beautiful voice. She makes music that sounds like absolutely no one else's, and does it in a manner that looks completely effortless. I mean, I'm sure it isn't, but she performs onstage with a extreme air of competence which is very much at odds with her descriptions of herself.

Try it: Sunset Drive [bandcamp]

Firestations were a wholly new band to me, and I hadn't had an time to do any prevision on them. I would have described them as a four-piece, but then halfway through there was suddenly an extra fifth playing lap guitar whom I hadn't noticed (and, when I checked, ChrisC hadn't noticed him either). I never noticed him again for the rest of the set. I think he might have been a ghost. The rest of them had an Mac and a flugelhorn and the usual complement of guitars and such. And played a sort of swooshy pop that I'm going to call upbeat shoegaze. Is that a thing? It is now.

Try it: Build A Building [bandcamp]

Ever since I missed Flowers at Indietracks, the year they were the new hotness, I've had this persistent idea that I don't like them much. Whenever I see them I am surprised by (in order): 1. there are only three of them, 2. they sound like that, 3. I quite enjoy them. Also they only ever seem to permit red spotlights when they're onstage.

They are possibly actual shoegaze, being all muddy, fuzzy guitars and one singer with an extremely clear, Elizabeth Fraser sort of voice. Throughout their set I kept trying to figure out what it was about the drums: they sound unusually... thuddy. Fortunately the singer commented after one of their new songs that that had been their high hat debut. Aha, that's it. Virtually no cymbals, ever.

Flowers are definitely headliner material, but in terms of my enjoyment this lineup was basically upside down.

Try it: Pull My Arm [youtube]

Although I like Haiku Salut a lot, I had no idea at all who the two support acts were. However, for the price of the ticket it didn't really matter if they were awful - and they almost certainly wouldn't be. This is one of the reasons why small gigs are great.

Joss Cope had a four-piece backing band, that had some of the vibe of "blokey pub band" about them. He plays an acoustic guitar, and appears to have Jarvis Cocker's knees, and was overally fairly pleasant but not actually hugely memorable. I feel this is a very unfair description: if you like thoughtfully-written acoustic guitar pop then this is probably a very good example of it, I just wasn't overwhelmingly won over.

Gosh, in Googling to find a link to a song, I have just discovered that he is Julian Cope's younger brother. Apparently reviewers think his songs sound a lot like early Julian Cope. I was never that down with him, either :)

Try it: A Guy Like Me [bandcamp]

Gwenifer Raymond sort of skulked on stage without looking at the audience, did her entire set without more than a couple of mumbled sentences, and generally hid behind her long hair and tried to pretend we weren't there. Despite which I can't help noticing that holy crap can she play guitar.

Solo, instrumental, acoustic guitar (and, heaven help us, solo instrumental acoustic banjo) is not my idea of a good time, but blimey she's worth watching. Specifically watching, because if you listen to her recordings it's really not obvious that all those noises are coming from one person, with one instrument, with no loopers or other wizardry. She is, as I rather elegantly put it at the time, just doing it.

Try it: Sometimes There's Blood [youtube]

I'm pretty sure I've waxed lyrical about Haiku Salut here before: three people, a ludicrous number of instruments, and a quite amazing display of competence. They all seem play everything - accordion, brass instruments, keyboards, guitars, percussion, banks o' twiddly knobs, and a thing I am going to describe as a xylosynth although I don't know if that is a real thing. They spent the full twenty minutes between the previous act coming off stage and them starting plugging up wires. So many wires.

What comes out is unique, atmospheric, instrumental electronica.

My reference point is alwasy the Go! Team, who also swap instruments on stage while running around chaotically. Haiku Salut are absolutely nothing like that. They move calmly, quietly and serenely around stage, picking things up in exactly the nick of time. Sometimes a person is literally playing two things at once. Sometimes one of them will pick up, say, a set of drumsticks and move them from A to B for no obvious reason; several songs later, the drumsticks will be in just the right place for someone else to use them. It's basically all very advanced admin. They probably all run investment banks or something in their spare time.

And, despite the immense tangle of wires, they seem to be completely immune from technical difficulties. One of them did take three goes at setting up a ukelele loop because she messed it up, but they just smiled and calmly continued while she had another go. LIke, I dunno, professional grown-ups or something. Honestly, if they didn't also come across as really nice people they'd be quite hatable :)

Try it: Nettles [youtube, has flashing lights]

This was probably the day, musically speaking, that I was most looking forward to. It was, then, rather a disappointment that the stage times were different from the previous three days, and were incorrectly tweeted by the venue, such that we turned up just as Mikey Collins had come off stage. Bah:(

But the remaining two acts were awesome, and I got two watch them from a couple of rows back. And when people shouted things from the audience, those on stage could hear, and reply... this is one of the reasons small gigs are great :)

The Catenary Wires always remind me - musically, but very much not lyrically - of a sort of Home Counties version of The Magnetic Fields. I think there only used to be two of them, but now there are four, doing gently darkish songs about Hastings Pier, and other burning political issues. They seemed to do pretty much an entire set of new material, which threw me a bit, but otherwise enjoyable.

Try it: Was That Love [bandcamp]

Pretty much everything I want to say about the headliner Withered Hand is exactly the same as I said last time they headline the Winter Sprinter. Fantastic singalongs, clever lyrics, and a fabulous crowd. This was an awesome set, and I wish they'd do more gigs.

I'm going to recommend the same songs as last time, too:
Heart Heart or Religious Songs [youtube]

A while back, after seeing one of those Glastonbury-without-the-all-male-bands posters, I was making a point of counting gender splits at indie pop gigs. Then I became worried that I was making a big deal out of it (and also quite worried at one point that I'd misgendered someone), and stopped.

So instead, I shall just note that there was pretty decent gender representation, plus there were people who'd just crossed London, and people who'd broken down on the way from Edinburgh. Someone who was made OBE recently, and someone who'd been unemployed for a year. Shy folks, bumptious folks, some amazing talent, and some brilliant musicianship. Twelve bands. Not half bad for £32 :)