Gigs

[Rob Noxious]

Rage Against The Megatrain

I first heard about the precocious talent of Mark Wynn when I was out east ... south-east Essex, to be exact ... in September, 2011. Phil Burdett, a singer-songwriter based out in the Thames Delta, told me about this young man who sounded like Townes Van Zandt and how he couldn't believe his ears when he first saw Mark play in Southend. Mark has changed his style a bit these days ... he now has a quickfire acerbic sound and propels his lyrics out in a rat-a-tat-tat machine gun fashion, a bit like John Cooper Clarke with tunes. He has an endearingly askew perspective on the everyday and a particularly impressive feature of his performance is his ability to make up a song on the spot. At The Farmers Arms in Penzance on his 'February Kinda Tour,' he invited the audience to suggest a song subject to him in between his first and second sets. As he had spent over twelve hours on various buses and trains the day before courtesy of the Megabus schedules from York, I suggested that 'Rage Against The Megatrain' might be apposite. Another subject suggested was the smell of bacon emanating from the female toilets (not by me, I hasten to add) and so Mark began his second set with an amalgam of these two diverse topics in his punky minstrel performing kinda way. It was indeed a sizzling performance as Mark took us through songs of stories of exchanges with people from his past and observations of social situations he has experienced with a self-effacing but wry perspective, notably the tale of a chance meeting with someone who went to his school in the song 'I Feel Nothing.' Mark has a great knowledge of musical history too and it was a delight to hear him name-check albums and songs from my youth - 'Johnny The Fox' and 'Jimmy Jazz' amongst others - in 'Cadillac Shoes,' as well as imagine a scenario of Debbie Harry getting thrown into a police van whilst wearing hotpants in the hilarious 'Debbie Is A Vandal.' It was a great night seeing Mark play at The Farmers and I hope that the world catches on to this charming songsmith who may well be coming to a town near you soon, Megabus and trains permitting.

Mark and one of his impromptu songs > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6wYuIXv-PY

 

[Greebosan]

Went to see Matt Good (of Matthew Good Band) at The Lexington on Tuesday. Very good intimate venue, although only sold bottled beer upstairs for some reason.

Excellent gig, great crowd interaction, he waded into the crowd to do an acoustic number which was excellent, and drank an apparently neverending gin & tonic throughout - reckon he was pretty trolleyed by the end.

Virtually unknown over here, but is a Canadian megastar and well worth checking out if you get a minute.

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

[video=youtube_share;vA9Ej9qKRJY]http://youtu.be/vA9Ej9qKRJY[/video]

Excellent solo gig by Nick Lowe in Badalona last night.What's so funny about peace,love and understanding indeed?
(He didn't do Breaking Glass though).:winking:

 

[Rob Noxious]

Westcliff-based troubadour Phil Burdett played an impromptu set in one of my locals down here in Penzance last night. He was in fine form and played a track from his forthcoming "Cornish" album as well as new material for "a folky Commie" album, as he described it.

 

[shrimpstew]

Looking forward to the Leigh folk festival last Sunday in June:cheers:

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

[video=youtube_share;oQZ_oL4yqi0]http://youtu.be/oQZ_oL4yqi0[/video]

Eric's still got it.:thumbsup:

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

[video=youtube_share;afA_v1IrnRU]http://youtu.be/afA_v1IrnRU[/video]

Saw Big Mama Montse-Catalunya's very own, home grown blues singer- at a local jazz club here last night.
Since the club is only five minutes walk away from out gaff and it was their first ever blues night,it would have been rude not to go,even though I've seen BMM a few times before.Enjoyable.

 

[OldBlueLady]

Off to Chinnerys tonight for the Rifles' final acoustic gig for a while.

 

[OldBlueLady]

Fab set, as always! Few Southenders there, including the WARCHEST.

 

[Rob Noxious]

Darren Roberts and band playing in Truro yesterday. Darren is blimmin' ace - a fine guitarist and singer-songwriter. Band were really rockin' tight too. > http://www.darrenrobertsmusic.com/#

 

[GrumpyBlue]

Darren Roberts and band playing in Truro yesterday. Darren is blimmin' ace - a fine guitarist and singer-songwriter. Band were really rockin' tight too. > http://www.darrenrobertsmusic.com/#

Didn`t have much opposition though

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

Didn`t have much opposition though

Quiet night in Truro? :winking:

 

[Rob Noxious]

Didn`t have much opposition though

Hey Rich - the Cornish folk rockers who came on after were pretty good, Tredanek.

 

[Rob Noxious]

Quiet night in Truro? :winking:

A quiet afternoon in a night club --- weird.

 

[Jedi Shrimper]

Off to my first gig in just over 2 years tonight, my personal fave Akira the Don supporting Art Brut at the Scala, can't wait.

 

[Another Surrey Shrimper]

Field Day. Only saw 3 songs of Stealing Sheep but they were very good - 3 ladies doing folky 60's with good tunes and a calm stand up drummer. Chvrches were satisfying euro pop for indie kids. 2 male laptop workers and a friendly girl singer. Lies and the new single we're the stand outs. Splashh did feedback indie guitar with a bit of an Atlas Sound effect. Enjoyable but no memorable songs.

Savages have only one song - I'm not someone that needs songs but I think they need them. The singer has the look and movements of Ian Curtis and the voice of Siouxsie, the drummer is ferocious and the guitars are new wave finery but most of the time it still doesn't work. Francois and the Atlas Mountain do soft neo Paul Simon stuff with loose limbed dancing and a tucked in t shirt aura. To be fair the music was ok but looking at them made me want to hate them and as the music started to appeal I had to move on before self loathing kicked in.

Solange Knowles drew a big crowd due to her famous sister. Started well as she has a great soulful voice but then there was some slap bass and it all became like the filler tracks on a Minnie Ripperton album. I went for fairly dull risotto and rather embarrassingly failed to find the stage where Shed were performing and as I walked passed where Solange was playing her last song the crowd were all jumping on cue and loving it.

Early days of Connan Mockasin were glorious heady days of unique quirky 60's flavoured pop that over time developed into jazzy spacious epic stories that then unravelled into self indulgent dullness. Looking like they had last dibs on the dressing up box I feared the worst. They were glorious, late Talk Talk / 10cc with the full textured sound that suggests and topped with a new slab of 70's funk that was the best thing I've heard in eons. Breakthrough year.

Saw 2 Mount Kimbie tracks - nice amount of bass and squelch but vocals on the 2nd- why? Disclosure - not enough bass and squelch and was like being on a commuter tube in there so skipped over to Bat For Lashes who is very good with a much fuller sound than I expected and the Carry On belly dancer outfit can't distract from the fact that a best of set is a treat.

Do Make Say Think don't realise that pre Four Tet time is not to be wasted and use half of it up on an extended sound check. 2 drummers, 2 keyboards 2 guitars, trumpet, sax, flute, a gentle version of post rock and news that their hometown of Toronto's Mayor has been caught smoking crack on camera, but...Four Tet. One man and his machinery with the perfect blend of beats, bass, sped up vox, glitch, Afro yelps, plinks and plonks and 50 massive balloons that bounce on a sea of hands for the whole set. Always nails it, always gorgeous.

Inflatables featured in Animal Collective's set too - big multi coloured tentacle things - looked cool. Unfortunately it was their most interesting feature for the first few songs. The sound was too quiet and the delivery too calm and the song choices were poor for a headline festival gig. Four songs in and it picked up with 'My Girls' and the crowd perked up too, but even that didn't touch the recorded version's magnificence. 'Monkey Riches' should be gloriously intense live but the vocal / instrument mix was all wrong and the sit down vocals is not a patch on the extra energy when he is standing. A surprising finish on a stripped back oldie ‘Chores’ - that felt close to being a treat but various other options from Strawberry Jam would have worked better. Not a disaster but can't see them having won many people over.

 

[Jedi Shrimper]

Akira the Don/Keith Totp/Art Brut = what a cracking night out.
Bill Bailey at Cliffs Pavilion last night, fantasically funny night out.

 

[Jedi Shrimper]

[video=youtube;9-iw5Ic6nfs]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-iw5Ic6nfs[/video] Video from Wednesdays gig, I didn't video it but I am in it.

 

[pickledseal]

Say Mark Knopfler last night at RAH. Excellent show with 4 DS numbers played. Went on Echo trip and would very highly recommend with fantastic seats sorted.

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

Say Mark Knopfler last night at RAH. Excellent show with 4 DS numbers played. Went on Echo trip and would very highly recommend with fantastic seats sorted.

He's doing a couple of shows here (and in Carcassonne) in the summer.Don't think I'll bother this time.But the last time I saw him (with EmmyLou Harris)it was, (as you say), an excellent show.