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trevorbailey61 · 7 years

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Robert Plant & The Sensational Space Shifters

Civic Hall, Wolverhampton

Monday 20th November 2017

It is a dull and drizzly Monday evening and in Cardiff Deep Purple are about to take to the stage at the 7,500 capacity Motorpoint Arena as part of what we are told will be their farewell tour. With Jon Lord sadly passing away in 2012 and Richie Blackmore seemingly content to spend the rest of his days playing madrigals, this current incarnation of the band is as close as it is possible to get to the classic early 70s line-up and they even managed to get themselves into a studio to record a some new songs. Few, however, even amongst their most die-hard fans will want to hear them, instead they go for “Smoke on the Water”, “Speed King”, “Black Night”, the heavy rock based prog that became their signature. Despite forming earlier, sounding different and working their way through multiple line-ups, Deep Purple never seemed to escape from the shadow of the behemoth that was Led Zeppelin. Both had songs that helped to define their genre and era but Led Zeppelin’s were more memorable, both had the riffs but Page’s were the ones that were more instantly recognisable, both had charismatic singers but Plant’s bare chested image was always the more striking, both were bigger in America than in their homeland but Led Zeppelin were immense. Even now as the Purps take their last celebratory victory procession, the response is; yes, filling these arenas is impressive but just think what Zep would do.

That they don’t is down to Robert Plant. The journey that he has taken since the demise of Led Zeppelin is one of the most curious but ultimately most inspiring of any of the 70s rock legends and even as he approaches his 70th birthday there is little to indicate that his exploration is anywhere nearing its end. What that makes this all the more remarkable is that even during the final days of Zeppelin, Plant seemed to have lost his instincts, his feel for the music, his judgement, even his dress sense. I missed out on the opportunity to see Zeppelin during their reign, I was far to young to catch them in their early days and by the time my concert going had started, they were mostly absent as they preferred instead the huge money spinning American tours to those at home. I could have seen them at Knebworth but chose a family holiday instead, a decision I have long since regretted but Plant has always maintained that those concerts should have been cancelled due to how poorly prepared they were. Maybe then the thought of how good it could have been is better than the memories of how it actually was. With Page a junkie and Bonham drinking himself to his early death, the onus was on Plant to put together their final album, “In Through the Out Door”, which, smothered in synths as it was, gave an indiction of the direction in which he would be heading as a solo artist. This was the era of massive albums, the final throw before music became digitalised, and with the technology available to produce a bright clean pop sound many 70s veterans found a way to make the biggest selling album of their career. Bowie had “Let’s Dance”, Springsteen “Born in the USA”, Phil Collins “No Jacket Required” but despite respectable sales, particularly for the single “Big Log”, Plant never threatened to eclipse his former band.

Ironically, it may have been a brief reunion with Page that finally convinced Plant how misguided this had been. Together they had taken early Zeppelin away from being the purely heavy rock act that most of their pale imitators were by introducing at first the acoustic feel of English folk music and later African rhythms, Indian instrumentation and melodies and a host of other sounds that would later be referred to as World Music. This reunion led to “No Quarter”, an album that included a number of rearranged Zeppelin songs which would have convinced him of two things; firstly how shallow and undemanding much of his recent music had been and secondly that he could rework Zeppelin songs in a way that would still hold his interest. Thus began his restless musical exploration, taking in the North African sounds that he had explored with Page as well as journeys into the remotest backwaters of American folk. The sounds he created were often quieter, more delicate and intricate than the bombast of Zeppelin and required him to find new voices to tell their stories; the bravado and swagger would soon be a thing of the past, replaced by something more subtle and nuanced. He collaborated with people who would challenge him, Alison Krauss, Patty Griffin, producers T Bone Burnett and Buddy Miller and a host of crack American session players, even briefly relocating to Austin in the process. His musical quest, however, is built on a strong sense of place and returning home allowed him to reconnect with the band he first worked before his American sojourn. The Sensational Space Shifters have developed into a formidable outfit, allowing him to realise the songs that have come from such a disparate range of sources. While over 7000 filed into an arena in Cardiff, less than half that number made their way through the oppressive security at the Civic Hall and most, I am sure, wouldn’t have been too put out had he not included a single Zeppelin song; we understand what he is doing and we are here just as much for the new songs as the old ones.

There were, of course, some Zeppelin songs but these were mostly played without the deconstruction and reshaping that he has applied on previous tours. A gentle acoustic strumming accompanied “That’s The Way”, still magical, and “Gallows Pole” as on the album although the latter did gain a harder edge towards the end. “Whole Lotta Love”, as so often his final song, had its usual swagger which tonight was enhanced by the violin of Seth Lakeman who, as well as his support slot, had added some wonderful textures throughout the set. The first encore “What Is and What Should Never Be” built from its quiet and delicate verses to release the power of its chorus. The exception was “Misty Mountain Hop”, so different from the recorded version it it was only the words that gave it away. Plant added some context about how is was an attempt to recapture the collective spirit as the ideals of the Woodstock generation were fading but its reworking lacked the insight he has previously shown when he turns to his back catalogue. The best of the Zeppelin songs, however, was the wonderfully lyrical interpretation of “Babe I’m Going to Leave You” illuminated by Skin Tyson’s expressive acoustic guitar and Plant for once releasing the full power of his voice.

The last time I saw Plant was just after the release of his previous album, “Lullaby …. and the Ceaseless Roar”, a highly personal album made shortly after he returned from his exile in Texas. His sense of displacement is captured in the song, “Turn It Up”; “I'm lost inside America; I’m turning inside out; I’m turning into someone else” neatly expressing his disconnection from his surroundings. Appearing early, its stuttering rhythm gives a sense of someone struggling outside of their familiar surroundings. From this album he also includes “Rainbow”, a wonderful hymn to the rugged highlands of North Wales that inspired his excursion into traditional folk in his Zeppelin days, and his reworking of “Little Maggie”, illuminated as ever by Justin Adams’ exquisite finger picking. Where previously the disorientating drone of Juldeh Camara’s ritti had helped to create the mood of the songs, that is now done by Lakeman’s violin. In tone, his most recent album, “Carry Fire” shares many similarities with its predecessor suggesting his return home has also seen some tempering of his musical wanderlust. Whilst there may be a consistency in the sound, however, “Carry Fire” feels a lot less personal, being more settled has allowed him to observe the world around him and you get the feeling that he is not too impressed with what he sees. Opener “New World” sounds like a rebuke of the “Immigrant Song”, rather than heroic warriors, the destructive will of the settlers overwhelms the land, “The great white father’s word is law”. The theme of immigration also informs the title track, its wonderfully inventive arrangement and thoughtful lyrics providing a compelling highlight. Here he takes the perspective of the pressures that cause people to leave their homeland in search of a better, or more likely, safer life and their lack of comprehension of the hostility shown to them. It is rare for Plant to be this overtly political but the sincerity and emotion conveyed makes it incredibly moving. Similarly with “Bones of Saints”, performed as the middle of three encores, which covers how arms from Britain and other western nations are used in the atrocities carried out around the world, in particular at this moment in Yemen. It is a theme that Plant doesn’t shirk from in his introduction, overcoming his tendency to ramble to make his point clearly and directly. “The May Queen” is the lightest of the songs from “Carry Fire”, a repetitive, hypnotic trance whose folk origins are enhanced by Lakeman’s fiery violin. He also includes “All the Kings Horses” from “The Mighty Rearranger”, the first album to feature the musicians who were to become the Sensational Space Shifters, and a beautifully tender “Please Read the Letter” from his collaboration with Alison Krauss.

A dull, drizzly evening and in Wolverhampton the the audience are filing out through the limited number of exits that seem to be open. Filled to its capacity, the hall had been crowded leading to some tetchiness as people struggled to gain a view. The heat from all these bodies made it obsessively hot which, despite its recent refurbishment, the Civic’s air conditioning failed to moderate. Added to that a near septuagenarian rock star had decided that we really wanted to hear his new stuff. There were so many reasons, then, why it should have gone wrong but it didn’t and what we saw was a truly inspiring performance from an artist who is still at the very top of his game. One striking thing was just how quiet and receptive the audience were, the response to each song was as enthusiastic as Plant’s reputation requires but during the songs people were there to listen, quite something in a venue that is usually notable for the volume of its background chatter. The post gig euphoria is not the best time to make comparisons with previous shows but having had chance to reflect since, I have found few reasons to doubt my initial reaction as to this being one of the best shows I have seen him do. The template for how rock stars gracefully age is still in the process of being written but there are few who manage to do it whilst still remaining important and relevant. Plant’s travels, both physical and musical, may now be a little more limited in their scope but his music remains both intriguing and important.

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myremains · 5 years

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Skindred @ Wolverhampton KK’s Steel Mill - 2/11/2019

The Virginmarys [7] did a good job of warming up for the Dred on this night, there was no messing around to be honest they came on, blasted out some of their older style punk material and from what I saw as much of it as they could physically get out in the time limit. Very little interaction which I felt was a good thing here because it just kept the music flowing through and even those who weren’t really bothered seemed to come away from the bar just to enjoy their drink while watching them, so that's a success.

Skindred [10] what else did you expect? I have never once seen a bad Skindred set even from back when they first got together, always 110% every single show. The main reason they are so successful with what they do has got to be laid at their charismatic frontmans door, Benji Webbe just does not give a fuck what people think and the confidence he commands on that stage is something I have never seen rivaled. Utilising samples of hip hop tracks, metal and rock and of course a huge clout of their own tracks which are absolutely glorious. The main takeaway from me was that with the closing of Wolverhampton Civic Hall we thought we would never get our live music back but Skindred still come, even though the Steel Mill is a new venue they still came back for the millions time and the fans turned up in their masses, I heard not one complaint as the fans put their shirts back on after the standard Newport Helicopter.

#Skindred #Virginmarys #Night of the Living Dred #Wolverhampton #KK Steel Mill #Steel Mill #KK Downing #Gigs #live music #music #metal #rock #hip hop #reggae

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latellychat · 7 years

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‘I want to travel through time, see your surprise, hold you so tight, I’m counting down the days’ Well last night did feel like I time travelled back to the 90s.

Natalie Imbruglia was my fashion icon back in the late 1990s with the short messy hair, combats trousers and hoodies…but she grew up (now longer hair, a black dress and a leather jacket) and I stayed in the 1997 with my hoodie. I’m sure we look-alike when I look in the mirror but that’s one of my many delusions along with being rich and able to speak fluent French, as somehow no one else can see our likeness.

1997 was when ‘Torn’ came out, which means I have known my hair stylist for 20 years as the local one couldn’t get the ‘Natalie’ cut right and I went to Toni & Guy for my first proper cut. Also it’s probably around 18/19 years since I saw Natalie at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall, I can’t find the ticket to confirm and Google and Timehop doesn’t go back that far, I can’t even find the photos. Yes printed photos kids! The ones where you had to wait two weeks for them to be developed to see if they turned out ok.

The O2 Institute Birmingham was more intimate than the Civic for this cool little acoustic show, it felt like a greatest hits gig and for less than £30 a ticket, that’s a bargain. This small venue was rammed fans and lucky for me – a short arse – there was no health and safety so I could stand on the stairs to watch. Being an acoustic show it was a welcome change to the big flashing lights and loads of dancers I usually see at big arena concerts, instead Natalie had a large rug and a few lamp shades which shows if you have the talent you don’t need all those special effects.

She opened with ‘Wrong Impression’ and all but one of my favourite songs was on the set list (favs in bold below), no cover of the Cure’s ‘Friday I’m in Love’. Being an acoustic show I did wonder how the up-beat songs would sound and her band of 3 made the likes of ‘Satisfied’, ‘Glorious’ and ‘Big Mistake’ sound very similar to the CD…sorry I mean download. Of course when she sang ‘Torn’, out came everyone’s phones to record this memory including mine and singing along to ‘That Day’, I think I wasn’t the only one who couldn’t keep up with her and only sang the chorus. So many words so little full stops.

Hopefully she doesn’t leave it another 20 years but she comes back to Brum. Just one minor issue that did make me mad, the support band. Standing a few steps higher than me and chatting all the way through Natalie’s set, not very respectful.

My blurry photos from the back

Set List

Wrong Impression

Stuck on The Moon

I Will Follow You Into The Dark

Satisfied

Counting Down The Days

Glorious

On The Run

That Day

Beauty On The Fire

Torn

Smoke

Lukas

Shiver

Instant Crush

Butterflies (Encore)

Intuition (Encore)

Big Mistake (Encore)

Natalie Imbruglia – O2 Institute Birmingham 17th May 2017 ‘I want to travel through time, see your surprise, hold you so tight, I’m counting down the days’

#1990s #natalie imbruglia #o2 institute birmingham #torn

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subversed-blog · 13 years

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Interview: Slaves To Gravity

Pre-gig at Wolverhampton Little Civic, 26th April 2010

You’ve overcome plenty of obstacles in the drumming department. Have you found a long-term replacement in Jason? Tommy: I certainly hope so. I hope he’s not going anywhere. We’re going to glue him to the drum seat! I think it’s really revolutionised the band, it’s so much tighter live and there’s a much more positive attitude in the band now. We’ve been the victim of getting very negative for different reasons that I won’t get into now but I think Jason’s an incredible musician and real positive influence on us all. We’re in a good place right now.

Will his time in bands like Pitchshifter bring some valuable experience to the table? Jason: I have to say I’ve never played with a bunch of talented musicians more than these guys and it’s criminal that we’re not playing stadiums yet. Mark: I thought he was going to say, “I’ve never played with a bunch of talented musicians before.” (The band laugh) Jason: From my point of view, it’s like they’ve kind of enhanced my playing as well because we’re all kind of level. What will happen to your other bands now?

Jason: Well to be honest with you Pitchshifter was an ongoing concern and it’s not really done much. There’s a few gigs here and there but I’ve been looking for a band for a long time that I can commit to musically, that’s got timeless songs really. I’ve sort of being whoring myself in session mode for the past eight years, a bit like Dr Who, don’t really make any friends – (The band laugh) What’s the story with the new album – when can we see it being released? Tommy: It’s going to be coming out sort of autumn time, we think. We don’t have a firm release date yet because we don’t have a deal yet. But we’re not going to be self-releasing, we’re going to try and find a good label that’s going to give it the support we feel it deserves. You know, not end up chucking it into a black hole and nothing ever coming of it. But it’s done. We’ve got half a song left to mix and then the first single is coming out June 21st. It’s called “Good Advice” a

nd that’s going to be a download only single and there’ll be another single just before the album drops, then the album, September or October. Is 'Last Ignition' a sign of what to expect overall? Tommy: It’s very difficult to find one song on the album that sums it up in its entirety because I think it’s a really dynamic album. It’s got a lot of different colours and moods on there so there’s no one song that’s indicative of the thing as a whole. But it’s as good a song as any in my opinion and one we thought would be a sort of corridor into the album. So it’s a taster track but not the first official single?

Tommy: Yeah. I guess we sort of nicked the idea off Alice In Chains; they did a similar thing with their new record. But it was a really cool way of doing it to usher you into the kind of vibe. Where did the name UNDERWATEROUTERSPACE come from? Tommy: I think I was probably a bit pissed (Laughs) I suppose because it’s such a dynamic record it does kind of take you on a journey from start to finish. It goes to so many different places, from the lowest of the low to super out there. A title like UNDERWATEROUTERSPACE seemed to visually bring that idea to the form. Are there any major musical shifts from “Scatter the Crow”?

Jason: I think it’s a natural evolution into the band’s sound and I think what it will hopefully do is create the band as an entity rather than another rock band. As a band with their own sound, which is so rare nowadays with all the copycat shit you see in magazines and stuff. Was there any difficulty in writing the second album? Tommy: The most difficult thing was getting into the fucking studio because we were broke and there was so much uncertainty behind the scenes with how the band was being funded because we’d done everything on our own up until that point. It costs quite a lot of money to go into the studio, hire a producer to help you make the record. So just to get to the point where we could actually go ‘Right we’re going in for three weeks’ was at times difficult. But once we were in there we did it in a third of the time that we did the first album. We were really quick, three weeks in and out, done and we were really focused the whole time. I mean everyone has off days but on the whole it was a really fucking great experience to make the album.

Does the independency in self-funding still stand up well an album in? Tommy: It’s not without it’s drawbacks. It enabled us to get an album out in a time where we looked for a straight deal for a little while and no one was making very convincing noises. So we thought we could kind of go round cap in hand begging for a deal but we just thought ‘Fuck it, let’s do it ourselves’. We’d had almost universally bad experiences with labels with other bands so at that point we said we’d figure out a way to do this on our own. I think for the way it was set out we achieved a lot. We didn’t sell oodles of copies but we built a pretty good fanbase, we got in everyone’s faces and got some great press coverage and it spring-boarded to what we’re doing now, which is taking it hopefully to a much larger audience. The one I thing I don’t think you’re going to do on your own unless you’re doing gimmicky music is become huge completely off your own back. You need that machine of a label and the weight that carries to send you into the stratosphere. It’s just hard on your own.

So you think the time you’ve invested in the album has paid off? Tommy: Well making this one was quicker than the first. The writing process was probably about a year. We were accumulating stuff while we were on the road touring the first album and when we were back home we’d be writing in the studio. Mark: It’s kind of a similar length writing wise to “Scatter the Crow” because that was about a year as well. The whole recording process was quicker. I think that was to do with Bob really, our producer, he didn’t let us look too hard into things if you know what I mean.

Do you write on the road at all or how are songs developed in most cases? Mark: We don’t really write properly on the road because there’s never really time. Tommy: If we were more pampered and travelling in a tour bus, we didn’t have to carry all our own gear and chase the promoter after the gig every night we might have more time to do it. For me I always get little ideas on the road because we hear loads of bands every night. I find like a line of melody I’ll hum into my phone and forget about it for six months, then go home and trawl through it on Garage Band or something and build a song around these little ideas. But from my perspective I can’t write lead guitar parts for shit that’s very much Mark’s department. Same for bass and drum parts, I can just put the skeleton idea out there and say here’s the basic idea. How has the tour been going so far with the reception of the new songs especially?

Jason: I think it’s been really good, the new material has gone down really positively. When you’re road testing new material you kind of worry that people won’t accept new stuff because they want to hear the old stuff. But you have to be brave and push out the new stuff to get people hooked on it. How has the new setlist been put together then for this tour? Tommy: We’ve been tweaking it a little bit as we go, I mean there’s more new stuff than old in the set. We kick off with a couple of older ones and then we launch into some new stuff and it seems to be flowing quite well. I think the set is chosen more out of the dynamics of the individual songs more than whether or not they’re new or old because we’ve a half hour or so to make our presence felt. It can be frustrating there’s so many textures and colours in the band’s sound, it’s nice when you get to play a little bit longer so you can explore more of that. You kind of get into it, there’s one of the new songs that’s going more in that direction.

Do you feel that maybe having an album under your belts should’ve earned you more than a support slot? Jason: It’s early days really. I think it would be silly to do a headline tour straight away before our machine has really kicked in because I think a lot of bands can do this, have a strategy and stick to it for six or eight months. At the moment we’ve got a good plan in place so we’re confident that when we do our own headline tour in the autumn it’ll be wicked. It’s about setting up the right tone before you embark on it.

You’ve said that Slaves to Gravity formed as a backlash to the industry. How does that ethos stand now that you have experience of the industry itself? Tommy: I think that was a catalyst for the first songs we ever wrote and obviously we’ve found one another as a result of bands breaking up. With The Ga Ga’s, me and Toshi’s old band, it was very much a result of signing a bad deal and it just killed us really in the end. But I think you’ve got to move on, I don’t want to be someone who’s just permanently bitter about the world that they work in. You have to learn to adapt and accept the system to some extent. I don’t think any musician would look at the state of the industry and say it’s fine, because it’s pretty fucked especially for a musician. But you just have to try and be smart about it and work it as much as you can to your advantage. If you’ve got a ‘Fuck you, fuck everyone’ type attitude you’re not going to make any friends, you’re just going to piss everyone off and you won’t get what you want out of it, which is a career. I don’t see it as giving in, just being more mature than throwing your toys out of the pram because it’s not going your way. It’s a huge industry and we’re right at the bottom of the food chain realistically. But if you believe you’ve got music that will make a difference to people then you just have to hold onto that and take each situation as it comes.

Do you think some songs work better stripped down or are you always more at home with a full electric set? Jason: It’s wicked to show that you can show another dimension to the band acoustically. We did a radio session in Scotland the other day, it was in the control room and there was a drum kit in there and you can adapt it really well even with a full band set up. Hopefully we’ll be on MTV Unplugged…or busking. (The band laugh) Do you see yourselves making any festival appearances over the summer? Tommy: We’d love to but I don’t think it’s going to happen this year. It might do, I’ll never say never, but because our record won’t be out till the other side of that with the festivals been and gone, they want to book bands with something to promote. You can imagine every rock band wants a slot at that festival (Download) so the competition is pretty stiff. We might if we get a little bit of luck. There’s probably more chance we’re going to be doing Sonisphere, again that’s not confirmed either but sure as shit we’ll be doing it in 2011.

Is overseas touring something you’d see yourselves doing in the near future? Tommy: Eventually yeah. For our sound I think it’d be hard to base yourselves purely in the UK forever. It lends itself quite well to, for want of a better term, American radio rock. I don’t think that’s ever been what we’ve set out to do but from the people we work with, the word is that we could get a lot of coverage and support in that market. America just seem a little more geared up for rock as a mainstream thing than people over here where it’s much more alternative. We’ll have to build it because obviously we can’t just book a tour and go over there because they’ll be like “Who the fuck are you?” Like Jay says, you have to have the plan and the whole thing figured out.

What do you think of the current state of contemporary music? Jason: I think the problem is that in this country there’s one main radio station whereas in America you’ve got sixty and most of them cater for rock. It’s probably just the fact that this country is more easily manipulated by a handful of people at the top in the pop industry and because its candyfloss nature it appeals to people who aren’t just as passionate about music and so underground stuff gets left out because it’s harder to find, isn’t it, and I think it’ll stay like that. But on a positive note there’s a lot more people listening to independent radio so in some ways Radio One would be nice but it’s not the be all or end all.

Do you think the digital tools like MySpace have helped bands like yourselves to get off the ground? Tommy: MySpace is great. It’s great to make that direct connection with people who’re into your music twenty-four hours a day. Spotify is a weird one because it depends on who you talk to. Everyone will say something different about whether or not artists actually see any of that revenue. I’ve read stories that people haven’t seen a penny. The labels have but nothing has filtered through to the artist. I couldn’t tell you the last time I got a royalty check. Jason: It’s 0.01p I think for each play, it’s ridiculous. If it gets people to a show that’s a cool thing. Tommy: It’s such a complicated thing though isn’t it, I mean, what’s next, people are just going to walk up to the merch desk and nick the t-shirt? Jason: Or steal your clothes…shit.

Originally published on GigJunkie, 26th April 2010

#slaves to gravity #interview #gigjunkie #w #wolverhampton little civic

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puppetsspace · 4 years

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THE STORY OF MILEX

19th of April, 2006 – Wolverhampton, Civic Hall. The Little Flames with Arctic Monkeys again. "Next up we had Liverpool's The Little Flames, whom Alex Turner has repeatedly praised in interviews. Now, I’m not one to question his taste..." (reviewed by 'Chris' from BBC)

"06 when the little flames supported arcticmonkeys" (from Alfie Skelly IG)

23th of April – The Little Flames at Empress Ballroom, Blackpool, as a support band. Photo by Christian Petersen

To be continued…

#arctic monkeys #arcticmonkeys #the little flames #thelittleflames #miles kane #alex turner #milex #mileskane #milexstory #thestoryofmilex #2006 #history #wpsiatwin #whatever people say i am that's what i'm not #wolverhampton #blackpool #the day is not today

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trevorbailey61 · 7 years

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Fleet Foxes

Civic Hall, Wolverhampton

Friday 24th November 2017

Robin Pecknold picks up the thermos that has been left underneath the table to his side. He unscrews the lid and pours some of the contents into a mug before carefully putting it back. It is a routine he repeats at least three more times and at the end of the set and with his guitar being left to the roadies to deal with, he carefully carries the thermos off with him. This is rock ‘n’ roll, the furtive behaviour should be a clue to the intoxicating and illicit substance that are the contents of the flask but Pecknold isn’t your typical rock star. Nearly a decade ago his debut album cut through all the noise with perfectly crafted songs showing a real emotional depth. Another album quickly followed, suffering a little from second album syndrome but still doing enough to show that despite still only being in his early 20s, he was an extraordinarily gifted artist with a bright future in front of him. Then nothing, as the world opened up in front of him with all the trappings and temptations that would offer, he did the most un-rock ‘n’ roll thing he could and went to university. As well as gaining his degree, this gave him plenty of time to plan his next move and tonight shows that he has not been idle. And that flask, most likely nothing stronger than a herbal tea to coax his voice through the songs that push him to the limits of his range.

There are few songs that have such an impact that you can remember exactly the first time you heard them. For many years I have read Uncut magazine but mostly the accompanying CD has been played just once, the songs failing to register amongst all those others that compete for your attention everyday. Occasionally, however, one demands that you reach over and press the repeat button to check, was it really that remarkable. “White Winter Hymnal” was one such song, a beautifully sparse arrangement, exquisite harmonies, wistful lyrics that, even on that first listen, sounded as if it was a song you had known for years, something that should be as old as music itself. Surely, a song of such compelling melancholy must have been created by someone with a life time of experience to draw on, a snowscape half remembered from a childhood that was now receding into the distant past. The cover of the eponymous debut album from which it was taken displayed a busy medieval scene, emphasising that these romantic ballads were passed on through generations before being picked and recorded by a group of wizened old sages. There were no pictures of the band to challenge this impression but the voices singing those harmonies sounded pure and clear, the timbre showing little indication of the ravages of time. With the album having been played relentlessly and already forming a permanent musical imprint in my mind, I decided that I needed to hear it live and on a warm July evening I stood in almost the same place as I am tonight to see the Fleet Foxes for the first time. Even though most of the band wore heavy beards, there was no disguising the fresh faces beneath, young musicians barely in their 20s creating timeless music and appealing to an audience who mostly seemed old enough to be their parents. The music was, of course, exquisite but its complexity required that instruments were retuned in between every song making for a some what disjointed evening. A few days later I saw them again, this time supporting Neil Young in Hyde Park where their perfectionism made it difficult for them to hold the large festival audience, something that was made more prominent as they followed the brash showmanship of Seasick Steve.

Robin Pecknold is someone who doesn’t appear to do anything by halves so it is likely that his diversion into academia was motivated by a passion for literature and a wish to complete his education. His time away, however, has also allowed him to reflect on his stage craft and he now seems a more confident and assured presence than he was during the last tour. In particular, stage hands are ready to change over guitars whenever retuning is needed, which inevitably he takes to moments within songs as well as in between them. He can’t resist the temptation to fiddle, however, and as the set nears its end, he finds the tension in the strings doesn’t meet his exacting standards leading to a pause as he makes the adjustments. Overall, however, the set is sharp and focused, something that it needed as in his time away, his musical vision has become grander. So many ideas are developed, so many alternative pathways explored that the self imposed dam could no longer contain the creativity and the release has been spectacular. A whole album worth of themes and moods are condensed into a single song, the titles such as the opener, “I Am All That I Need/Arroyo Seco/Thumbprint Scar” revealing the breadth in the vision behind it. Another guitar is brought on, a ripple of applause tries to force its way into a brief moment of silence but before it has a chance to build the next song has started. “Cassius”, “Naiads, Cassadies”, one medley subsumed into another medley to form an epic whole. The scale threatens to be overwhelming but so carefully is it constructed, so well do the parts merge that it the effect is thrilling.

The meticulous construction of the sound could be seen as a reflection of Pecknold’s stint in academia, an application of theory that could be a PhD thesis rather than music to lose yourself in. Delving into the lyrics offers little respite, he is keen to show of the fruits of his studies and the title track of his latest opus, “Crack Up”, covers references to F Scott Fitzgerald, the American Civil War, ancient Egypt and a host of others I am insufficiently educated to pick up. For another song suite, “Third of May/Odaigahara”, Pecknold took to genius.com to explain what he was on about, it is tempting to suggest that the time would have been better spent making his thoughts a little clearer in the first place. Then, while some songs revel in their immediacy, others are slow burners that only reveal their mysteries slowly and after several listens. “Crack Up” certainly does just that and hearing it live helps to reveal a little more of the scope of Pecknold’s creativity. That said, however, the light melody and steady rhythm of “Fools Errand” felt like a clearing had been reached in the dense forest of much of the new album. Where he gets it right, however, the orchestrations add an intensity to create a mood that is simply breathtaking, particularly on the title track, where the different and competing musical ideas are forged to make a sound that is stunning.

For all its qualities, however, the early appearance of “White Winter Hymnal” draws attention to what “Crack Up” lacks, that attention grabbing moment of pop clarity. The lush melody, sung in a round, and perfect harmonies create a dreamy feeling that is enhanced by the abstract winter scenes projected behind the band. It had made its point in July but a bitterly cold November night enhanced its wonder. The first album is filled with such moments, the haunting minor key of ”Your Protector”, the tuneful “He Doesn’t Know Why” and the delicate acoustic “Blue Ridge Mountains” all add familiar tones and moods. There are fewer such moments on the second album but “Battery Kinzie” disguises it’s bleak message with another enchanting melody and “The Shrine/An Argument” builds from the delicacy of its opening to a startling dramatic conclusion and a brilliantly atonal sax solo. The early “Mykonos” is as charming as ever, showing how much of Pecknold’s vision was there from the start. For both “Tiger Mountain Peasant Song” and the encore “Oliver James”, Pecknold is alone with just his guitar as accompaniment, adding an intimacy, that the complexity and scale of his recent music lacks, and pushing his voice to its limits. The lush arrangements may have been fascinating but here Pecknold shows that his songs can express their mood with the simplest of accompaniments.

A break of over half a decade so early in a career is not usually something that leads to longevity but then again, many of the rules by which the business works, don’t seem to apply to Robin Pecknold. Certainly, the nearly full hall indicates that he has not been forgotten and the mastery of his intricate and complex folk music helped to raise the anticipation for his return. He acknowledges his previous show at the Civic but I didn’t come across anyone else who had been there so most, I suspect, have been waiting for this opportunity since discovering the brilliance of that debut album. The set carefully places the well known songs in between the brooding intensity of his new ones meaning that when it does get a little heavy going, there is always something familiar, and mostly lighter, to follow. He does seem intent on taking the band into new terrain, somewhere were meaning is hidden by obscure references and labyrinthine orchestrations, something less fleet. It will be interesting to see where he goes next.

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Live Review: Slaves To Gravity

Wolverhampton Little Civic, 26th April 2010

For London’s celestial rockers Slaves to Gravity, the priority of this venture round the UK is road testing the bulk of what will be their long awaited sophomore album. A trial run before autumns headlining victory lap, perhaps. Playing second fiddle to the as of yet albumless hype machine of Black Spiders may seem odd at a glance but a cost-free opening slot is all part of the game plan for Slaves in Wolverhampton’s Little Civic tonight.

Amidst the backwoods sleaze rock of the rest of the line-up completed by the Black Stone Cherry-esque Liberty Lies and the slinky stoner grooves of Black Spiders themselves, Slaves’ neo-grunge approach is the notable standout from the surrounding meat and potatoes bill. Something told me that their evasion of the standard riff-chant-riff formula would go over the heads of a lot of tonight’s audience.

And true enough; despite being at home on the hard rock circuit with bands like Zico Chain and The Butterfly Effect, this wasn’t Slaves’ crowd tonight. But that didn’t stop them pulling out all the stops trying to win them over.

On another night the energy the band discharged would have been so contagious the crowd would’ve been quarantined after their performance but it wasn’t until Black Spiders hit the stage that the ball even got rolling, slowly at that. The leather-clad Londoners ripped open the firing line with the riffing hailstorm of 'Too Late' from the debut. The growling swagger of 'Big Red' followed closely behind. As a song heavily backed by Kerrang and Scuzz, it’s the closest encounter they’ve had with a hit. It’s monolithic choruses and heaviness of the underlying grooves scored the band major crossover appeal and so I was a little disheartened with the reaction compared to what I’d envisaged. It’s made of the kind of stuff that would make arenas bounce, but as I said earlier, Slaves were out to convert the crowd and slowly but surely more heads started to nod in approval.

A handful of new tracks brimming with potential including 'Misery Pills' and 'Honesty', bringing to mind 'Everlong', sustained the momentum they’d built up before throwing in the old favourite 'Mr Regulator' to perk up the tempo. “We’re trying out a few new songs, hope you don’t mind,” said frontman Tommy Gleeson. “But if you’re bored as shit, here’s an old one” ahead of launching straight into the mechanised staccato grinds of the 'Scatter the Crow' single. It was the most well received of the night and unsurprisingly so considering the attention it brought the band upon its release.

The short-lived slot was rounded off with two more from the forthcoming 'UNDERWATEROUTERSPACE'. 'Big Tits', which I assume, and really hope, is a working title, was monstrous, really allowing the new drummer Jason Bowld (of Pitchshifter) to explode. The first official single 'Good Advice' capped off the set. A melodic colossus, it proved Gleeson being in possession of a truly powerful set of lungs, but his harmonies with bassist Toshi also propelled the immediacy of the song. A spot on choice for the first single it seems. Strangely the raucous new album taster track 'Last Ignition' remained absent along with the slow-chugging mastery of 'Meantime'. But despite playing mostly unheard material to an away crowd, Slaves to Gravity undoubtedly left an impression tonight. Gaining a few fans, and reassuring the few already here was the number one goal on this stop of the warm up tour. We’ll have to wait to the summer and beyond before things really start to get messy.

Originally published on GigJunkie, 1st May 2010

#slaves to gravity #live review #gigjunkie #wolverhampton little civic

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