Review: Reel Big Fish @ o2 Academy Newcastle

Amid an introduction of deep bass, smoke, and lights,  Sonic Boom Six are first to take the stage of this 2,000 capacity venue, to a modest rabble of supporters (the majority of the audience still held queuing outside). Within one or two songs of their dub/hip-hop tinged punk set, the audience transforms into a not-so-modest rabble of skanking, bouncing, pogoing nutters. With the addition of a second guitarist and guest appearances from Big D & The Kids Table’s horns section, SB6′s sound has grown larger, darker, and somewhat more menacing over time. Wasting very little time on introductions or needless banter, the band rip through song after song – leaving the stage after 30 minutes to rapturous applause and a collection of dancefloor injuries.

Next up are Boston’s Big D and the Kids Table. Having seen the band twice before and been remarkably unimpressed, I decided to give these guys another chance. The stage-wide banners, 2-piece horns section, backing dancer/vocalists, and poppy ska-punk stylings all make for a great show… Until David McWane opens his mouth. As the singer bounds onstage it feels like Chris Crocker has finally cheered up and come to England to tell us all about his girlfriend for 40 minutes. The band are tight, fun, and inoffensive, and as long as somebody’s enjoying themselves I suppose it’s difficult to slate them. However, I just don’t feel any definitive emotion watching them play, and if you ask me, that’s what music is supposed to be about.

A few minutes of anticipation later, and the headline act nonchalantly wander onstage, take their places at the microphones, and launch into their trademark spectacle of dancing, comedy, and joy, kicking the audience into a skanking frenzy with every well-loved song, from “She has a girlfriend” to “Beer”. As a faceless member of said audience, I am swept into the atmosphere, instantly cheered up, and made to feel I’ve had more than my money’s worth. As a fan of eclectic musical styles, I am impressed by the band’s ability to mimic as sorts of genres with “Suburban Rhythm”, and to effectively cover “Enter Sandman”. As a musician myself, I am astounded by the energy, dexterity, skill, and stamina involved over the 90 minute set. Frontman Aaron Barret shouts, runs, and jumps his way around the venue for most of the show, occasionally stopping in one place for long enough to sing a verse before rushing off again. The visual flair of the horns section, crowd interaction of Barret (and backing vocalists), and sheer excitement of the show remind me exactly why Reel Big Fish are possibly my favourite live band. Not bad considering I hated them for years for being “too happy”…

Review: Noisettes@ Newcastle University

When I first saw Noisettes I was immediately converted to fandom, blown away by their electric performance, onstage solidarity, unique musical simplicity, and the piercing shriek of Shingai Shoniwa’s voice. Thus, I couldn’t really turn down the opportunity to see them in my local city during their first major headline tour promoting second album “Wild Young Hearts”.

After local trio The Small Screen Light Show filled the room with their own brand of noisy Indie in a tight performance reminiscent of The Who & Hendrix in its energetic disorder, the stage was set for main support Mpho (pronounced M-poh). South London’s glam-pop star hit the stage with a tonne of attitude, singing from the bottom of her being, leading her band with impressive skill, and rattling through a series of well-crafted songs, including an inspired version of Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill”. Before the end of her short set, Mpho had the audience in the palm of her hand – and then it was time for the main event.

As the headline act hit the stage, it became apparent to me that all of the brotherhood, quirkiness, and individuality has been lost from Noisettes’ live show. Of all the elements I first loved about the band, only that vocal shriek remains – and Shoniwa doesn’t let us forget that the whole night. Gone is the simple 3-piece lineup of old, gone is the impression of an “all for one” outlook, and gone is the punky effect-laden guitar sound that really set Dan Smith’s style apart from the crowd.

Instead, the set is filled with crowd-pleasing circus antics, clichéd guitar solos, and hackneyed replacement of lyrics with the word “Newcastle”, to cheers from doltish members of the audience. From the “acclaimed” debut album “What’s The Time, Mr. Wolf?”, only 3 songs are deemed to be of good enough quality to be included in the set, and these are performed with a lacklustre, under-rehearsed edge that leaves the audience static and underwhelmed. For the encore, Shoniwa even pulls out my pet hate of singing from the side of the audience, diverting all attention from the band and drawing the glare of a hundred cameras to her diligently-chosen outfit.

All in all, I would say Noisettes’ set was disappointing, and although they have developed their stagecraft and know when to pull out the big hits to inspire cheap applause from their audience, I left the gig considerably unimpressed. Mpho, on the other hand, may just prove to be an act worth keeping an eye on.

Review: ‘Wild Young Hearts’

 

First off, I should say that I’ve been a huge fan of Noisettes ever since I was lucky enough to witness their explosive live set back in 2006, and subsequently bought and loved thei debut LP ‘What’s the time Mr Wolf?’. The gritty energy of tracks such as  ’Don’t Give Up’ and ‘Scratch Your Name’ appealled to me in equal measure as the softer ‘Count of Monte Cristo’ and ‘Iwe’. As you can imagine, then, I was fairly surprised when they turned up on a popular Mazda advert with a new, dance-led sound.

On first listen of the new album, the one-word summary that immediately sprung to mind was ‘schizophrenic’. Although tracks such as ‘Atticus’ and ‘Sometimes’ are reminiscent of the softer side of ‘…Mr Wolf’, the band’s second offering lacked that  edgy brute force that I especially loved. Instead, the heavily produced & arranged lead single ‘Don’t Upset The Rhythm’ gave the album a mass appeal, while 60s throwbacks such as ‘Never Forget You’ nodded towards current contemporaries Amy Winehouse & Duffy. 

However, the more I listen to ‘Wild Young Hearts’, the more concurrence presents itself between songs, and the more I like the piece as a whole. It is by no means an instant classic, but the album definitely appelas more over time (as is the case with most good music), and is well worth a listen.

My personal favourites include intimate opener ‘Sometimes’, and sweeping balled ‘Every Now And Then’. Noisettes’ sound has irrefutably developed into something a little softer, more refined, and much more mature; Whether that is a positive shift is a matter of personal opinion.

Review: …And So I Watch You From Afar@ Head of Steam, Newcastle

I went to this gig because my friend Mark recommended Maybeshewill, who have been touring with …And So I Watch You From Afar for a number of weeks. I’d heard a few tracks on their MySpace, and knew the gig would be a 3 band post-rock affair, but other than that I was pretty much going in blind.

The night kicked off with a short but enjoyable set from Guarded By Robots, a Newcastle-based power trio
whose influences range from Daft Punk to Sonic Youth, and everything in between. Although it became obvious that the band members had organised the gig (presumably to share a billing with some personal heroes) and weren’t in the same league as the big boys, Guarded By Robots put on a good show and their songs show some promising potential. All three musicians were extremely adept as players, and with a little discussion about the band image and performance angle, this band could easily make the transition to regular touring and further exposure.

Next up were the main support Maybeshewill – as far as I was concerned, the main attraction of the evening. Their professionalism was evident from the efficiency with which they set up, and as soon as the first note had been played, I got the feeling that I was witnessing something special with a band of this talent in such a small venue. The band have a strong DIY ethic; writing, recording, mixing, releasing, and promoting their music with as little outside helps as possible. This may be why they haven’t yet built up the respect they deserve.

The music is heavy, epic, technical, and laden with samples. My personal exposure to the post-rock genre is pretty minimal, but to my ears they sound very similar to Old Man Gloom and would appeal to fans of Explosions in the Sky and Godspeed you Black Emperor. As a live act they are solid as a rock, very focused, and engage fantastically with the audience – something that can generally be lacking from most instrumental music. As they left the stage I turned to Mark and said “This band are gonna have to be good to top that.” I had no idea.

ASIWYFA set up their guitar pedals halfway across the floor due to the lack of space on stage, and were therefore as close to the audience as it’s possible to be. After an un-miked vocal introduction, the band launched into the loudest, heaviest, most epic show I have ever witnessed within Head Of Steam’s confined walls. Guitarist Rory launched himself from the throngs of the audience straight to the back wall with such ferocity I thought he might end up in the street, and continued to use every inch of the venue’s (limited) floor space to maximum effect throughout the show. The band’s MySpace headline of “We are the bull; you are the China shop” couldn’t be more true, and the fact that this particular audience consisted of less than 20 people did absolutely nothing to dissuade them from their mission of destruction.

Their music is difficult to describe in terms of what you’ve heard before, as their brutal instrumentals are more like well-crafted soundscapes than actual “songs”, as such. They’re the kind of band that will take you on a wondrous journey through light and shade, soft and hard, thrills and relaxation. They’re the kind of band that paint pictures with every note. They’re the kind of band you like but don’t know why, and more importantly – they’re the kind of band that make you fall in love with music all over again. My only warning is that they’re also the kind of band that won’t fail to give you prolonged hearing damage.

Even as a bystander, with a limited knowledge of the genre, Maybeshewill and …And So I Watch You From Afar are two bands that you’d be stupid to miss. The joint tour is very much still in full swing, with dates upcoming in Sheffield, Leeds, Brighton, Lincoln, Nottingham, Derby, London, Oxford, Norwich, Liverpool, Cardiff, Bristol, Southampton, Birmingham, Exeter… The list goes on and on!

This gig was definitely well worth the £4 I paid on the door, and the reasonable prices for Merch were a bonus! I’m seriously considering going to the Southampton date when I’m down south in a couple of weeks. However, I’ll definitely be taking my earplugs.

Review: Gallows@ o2 Academy Newcastle

I started this blog because my recent foray into Twitter activity reminds me of how much I miss writing for The Fly. Therefore, I think it’s about time I wrote a review.

Tonight I went to the Gallows show at Newcastle’s o2 Academy, so that seems a sensible thing to cover. Due to their Saturday club night, the Academy opened the doors at 6pm, a while before first support Rolo Tomassi took to the stage. This band were the real reason I went to the show – I’ve been listening to them on Spotify for a while, and I really like what they do.

As the lights dimmed and the PA system spouted the most epic intro theme this side of Lord of the Rings, a modest crowd collected in front of the stage, soon to have their modest expectations bent and shattered. The rhythm section took to the stage in a flurry of noise, closely followed by the band’s backing vocalist and synth player James Spence, and his rather visually appeasing blonde sister. Eva Spence has a voice that I can only describe in terms of ancient Mongol war lords; such a powerful metal scream I have never heard coming from a body so fragile. Elizabeth I would be quaking in her boots! Rolo Tomassi’s music is of the ilk that cannot be put into words, except “Look mate, just listen to it and tell me if you like it.” For fans of mathcore bands such as Sikth and Protest The Hero, their style ranges from beautiful vocal melodies and lush guitar lines, to brutal blast-beats and time signatures to make Einstein weep. The set went from strength to strength, each song an improvement on the last. My only criticism is that they left the stage just as the relatively hostile Gallows audience had been won over and started to dance.

Next up onstage were the NY-based Southern Metal 5-piece Every Time I Die. Although a few of my close friends are enthusiastic fans of theirs, I couldn’t name a single one of their songs, and approached the set with relatively few preconceptions of their sound or what their performance may entail. I was amazed. Considering I didn’t know any of their songs, I’d never seen them before, and I’m not even especially keen on the Southern Metal genre in general, they blew me away. Filling 40 minutes with balls-to-the-wall guitars, pounding drums, screeching vocals, and athletic stage antics, this band will not be one I’ll forget in a hurry. Although by they are by absolutely no means the kind of band I would put on my iPod and listen to daily, their live show is a spectacle not to be missed.

As ETID left the stage and I collected the bottom of my jaw from the (rather sticky) floor, the time came to prepare myself for Gallows, the main act of the evening. Following two very special performances, they had a lot to prove. For the uninitiated, their singer Frank Carter has amassed a reputation for starting slagging matches and physical fights with members of the audience; as well as generally making bold claims about his talent (and of course that of his bandmates). Opinions are mixed among those I respect as to whether these claims are well founded or not – as such, I was expecting either an all-out rock show to blow my balls off, or the most Epic Fial imaginable. As it turned out, the show was a mixture of the two. The band themselves were incredibly tight, put on a great show for the crowd, and emanated an obvious passion for the music they play. Carter, however, took to the stage like a Chav defending his pregnant pre-teen sister, and proceeded to act up to the mosh pit, the roadies, the security, and anybody else in the venue that was doing him a service by being there in the first place.

For the sake of both the people I was there with and the members of the band who were holding things together and presenting some entertainment, I really wanted to stay to the bitter end. I watched as Carter feebly attempted to include local themes in the show by renaming “London is the reason” as “Newcastle is the reason”; I watched as he swung microphones around his head (much to annoyance of the techs); and I watched as he tried to make the audience sing his crappy lyrics. The final straw came – and I could watch no more – when he ran through the audience and stood on top of the venue’s side bar, turning the entire crowd to face him and soaking up the glory as if he was the risen Christ himself. Meanwhile the band shot glances at each other as if to say “Here he goes again. Remind me why we’re here?”. Never before have I actually wanted to see a homeless person; I was longing to hand over my ticket with the words;

“There you go mate, go and see the second half – it’s shit!”

A particularly apt name.