Camera Obscura -Live 229 London Club Fandango 5th September 2008

Glasgow has produced many great bands over the years. Teenage Fanclub, BMX Bandits, Belle and Sebastian and Orange Juice have all graced my turntable/cd player over the years. I'm not sure what it is about the place but to my mind it has produced some of the very best indie-pop bands in the last 25 years or so. Camera Obscura have been added to that fine roster. Formed in 1996 they have done the rounds and honed their sound and are now produce almost perfect pop with a twist.

Tonight they headline a mini indoor festival at London's 229 venue in Great Portland Street. Having stuffed ourselves in China Town my companions and I turned up just in time to see the final support bands final tune. The Clientele sounded good and I would have liked to hear more. They are definitely a band I'll be checking out on Myspace.

Camera Obscura have a lovely 60's feel to some of their songs. You only have to hear 'If Looks Could Kill' to be transported back to a sweaty 60's nightclub or dare I suggest Wigan Casino where the talc covered floors would only aid your dancing.

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'Lloyd I'm Ready To Be Heartbroken' is probably their most well known song. Written in response to Lloyd Cole and The Commotions seminal 'Are You Ready To Be Heart Broken' it has made my last two summers infinitely better belting out of my car stereo. Quirky and as catchy as a catchy thing it just makes you smile. Their version tonight, all thought devoid of the string section of the record, had their devoted following bouncing and singing along at the tops of their voices. How great it must be to be on stage with a crowd of 500 or so singing your song back to you. Bloody marvellous.The highlight for me though was the superb 'Lets Get Out Of This Country' which was introduced by Tracyanne Campbell as 'Lets Get Out Of This Thieving Country'. You can't argue with that.

Camera Obscura are well known for performing off the wall cover versions as encores and tonight was no exception. Their slowed down version of Robert Palmer's 'Some Guys Have All the Luck' was sung my Tracyanne as she read the lyrics from a sheet of crumpled paper. Apparently they had only recorded a session version for BBC 6 Music that afternoon so they weren't that up on how it went. It was a good stab at it and it was, as all cover versions should be, significantly different from the original. it was a fine gig and I'll definitely be catching them again in Colchester on their October tour. You can't beat a bit of Scottish indie-pop to put a smile on your face.

Portishead - Hammersmith Apollo 10 April 2008

Just after Tronik Youth's marvellous remix of Joy Division's 'She's Lost Control' faded away (which to my ears seems to have influenced Portishead's new single 'Machine Gun')Portishead took to the stage. They haven't released an album since 1997's 'Portishead' so news of a tour and a third album 'Third', to be released at the end of the month, has revitalised the interest in the band. Portishead have always been hard to categorise. Indie kids (and Indie adults) love them and they are the dance crowds favourite chill-out band. Their music is dark, moody and atmospheric and uses samples and programming and Adrian Utley's amazing guitar work. However it has always been Beth Gibbons vocals that have given the band such a distinctive sound.

Right form the first few bars of the first song it was clear that Portishead were going to be special tonight and although a few technical problems with the dj's decks forced them to leave the stage for about five minutes after 'Mysterons' they delivered in spades. The new songs are noticeably harder than the moody trip-hop of 'Dummy'. Eighties style synth sounds and percussion have given them a more industrial sound. The overall mood is still dark though and Beth Gibbons pours out emotion in her vocals. She has an amazing ability to sound like several different singers in one song. At times she sounds like Billie Holiday and at one stage during an amazing rendition of 'Wandering Star' she sounded like Edith Piaf. The new material bodes well for the new album but it was the material that they played from 'Dummy' that got the crowd going. 'Roads', 'Glory Box' and 'Sour Times' along with the aforementioned 'Mysterons' (with added Mysteron lights Captain Scarlett fans) and 'Wandering Star' were perfect. The gig closed with Beth jumping down into the pit to hug, kiss and shake hands with the front rows of the stalls. She really seemed to be enjoying herself. It was a fantastic night and well worth waiting 13 years for.

Glory Box

Tomorrow I get to see the fabulous Portishead for the first time. They haven't released anything since there second studio album some 11 years ago so it is all very exciting. Their debut 'Dummy' is one of my very favourite albums of all time and still makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end with its brilliance. This is one of the most eagerly anticipated gigs of the year.

I can't wait.

Half a gig for the price of two!

It has been a weird old week gig wise at Chez Marmite. I had two gigs to look forward to this time last week. I was due to see Amusement Parks On Fire on Tuesday and was to follow it up by seeing Billy Bragg on Thursday at an event called Arms Aloft at Acton Town Hall in West London.

On Tuesday I travelled up to Hoxton with my mate Jim to see APOF. I had seen half a set by them at Reading a couple of years back and had bought both there excellent albums so I was really looking forward to seeing them again. Unfortunately it didn't go exactly to plan. We arrived at Hoxton Bar and Kitchen in plenty of time but it was clear that the venue were very disorganised when it came to setting the band equipment up. APOF were due to hit the stage at 10 o'clock giving us a shot at seeing a really good set. However, because of a lot of fannying around they didn't come on until 10:30. As we had to leave at 11 for our train we only saw 30 minutes of the set. This is a shame because what we did see was very good indeed. The sound quality as superb and you could really hear the different layers of sound that APOF build up. They are part 'Post-Rock' part 'Shoegazey' and should really be checked out. I hope to see a full set by them soon. Third time lucky.

This was not the end of my 'failed to see what I paid for' week though. On Saturday my best friend from school rang and said that good mate of his had a ticket going spare for Billy Bragg at Acton Town Hall. It was a gig to commemorate the last time Joe Strummer, erstwhile lead singer of The Clash, performed on stage in London. The original gig was five years ago and was a benefit for the Fire Brigades Union. Hugh and I arrived at the venue at about 7:15, just as the doors opened and stood around chatting and having a beer. We went into the hall to watch the support band Take The Fifth a pretty decent Clash covers band and were really looking forward to seeing Billy. However, all was not well.

The support went off at about 9:30 and unfortunately we were joined by a second support band (I won't go into just how into themselves they were but it wasn't a pretty sight). As they didn't come on until 10 o'clock we started to get worried. I asked the bloke running the bar when Bragg was on and he said that he should be on at 11 o'clock!! This was not good news as my last train was at 11:18 and Hugh had a taxi booked back to darkest Buckinghamshire for 11:00. I confirmed the start time with a young woman behind the tee-shirt stall. We weren't not happy! The promoter had not made any mention of such a late finish. If they had we wouldn't have gone. it is impossible to get back from London to the 'Burbs' by public transport that late at night so we wasted £17.50 to see a covers band. Gigs in London never finish after 11:00 unless particularly specified and there was no excuse for this.

I'm sure that we weren't the only ones caught out on Thursday and it's a shame because there was no need for the gig to go on so late. I'm still paying for the travelling in extra amounts of pain which would have been worth it had I actually seen something. I hope I'll be luckier next time.

Londonitus

I read a letter in Word Magazine written by my mate Planet Mondo about a gig he went to in Cambridge featuring the wonderful John Martyn. All through the gig someone sitting behind him sang at the top of his voice out of tune and with no regard to people actually trying to enjoy the gig.

As a regular gig goer I am becoming more and more frustrated at this kind of thing. My gripe is not with singing however but people who go to gigs and then talk all the way through it. It is known by my mates and me as Londonitus and it is becoming worse and worse. It usually happens at a gig featuring a band that is being talked about and is therefore just the type of gig to be seen at. It is quite evident that some people do not really have any interest in the bands they have gone to see. Whether these are guestlisters who work in PR or the 'industry' I have no idea but I don't think they can be fans of the band.

One case in point took place a while ago now at the ICA in London when I went to see Mogwai. If you are unfamiliar with their work, Mogwai have very loud parts to their tracks and some quiet bits too. The chatter during the quiet bits of this gig (which was in a much smaller venue than Mogwai usually play in thus upping the trendiness quota) was unbelievable. What was more unbelievable was that when the band cranked the volume up the people talking raised their voices so they could be heard!! The arrogance of this is astounding. It was if the band were interrupting their conversation with their music. This isn't an isolated incident either. I have actually heard someone talking at a gig and say "I love this track" and then continue to talk all the way through it!

To attend a gig now and not here chatting all the way through is now so rare my mates and I comment on it. It shouldn't be like this of course and I really wish venues would police things better. The Luminaire in London tells punters to be quiet and as a result your enjoyment of the music is not spoilt by selfish poseurs.

I would therefore appreciate anyone who wishes to have a chit-chat during a gig to do one of two things. Either don't bother coming or, if you really must been 'seen', go and talk in the bar. I'm off to see Amusement Parks On Fire next week in ultra-trendy Hoxton and I fear the worst. I only hope the place will be full of real fans who want to hear them play.

iLiKETRAiNS LiVE The Arts Centre - Colchester

The support tonight was from the excellent Norwich band Sennan who hark back to the days of Shoegazey. Had iLiKETRAinS not turned up their set would have been worth the admission price alone. I already have a copy of their debut album and I was very excited to learn that they were playing too. It made for a very enjoyable evening to see two bands at the top of their game.

iLiKETRAiNS are a bit different to your average band. There are no songs about unrequited love or ex-girlfriends. There are no laddish lyrics about starting riots or getting pissed either. Instead the songs are about the most unlikely of subjects. 'A Rook House For Bobby' for instance is about American chess Grand Master Bobby Fischer and other songs, 'Spencer Perceval' about the only British Prime Minister to be assassinated, 'Twenty Five Sins' about the Great Fire of London and other songs are about the Great Plague, the Beeching Report which shut down half the British railway system and ill-fated attempts at sailing around the world in a yacht. Not your normal fare you'll agree. There music is dark and mournful and David Martin's lead vocals are deep and soulful.

Live they really nail it. The musicianship is excellent and the sound they produce soars and takes you with it. As they play a back projection plays montages related to each song. It adds to the whole live experience and really draws you in.

This was a superb night, great music, an excellent venue, ideally suited for the bands and great value at seven quid a pop.

Hiding In The Shadows.

Capodistria and I took a trip last night to Ipswich in darkest Suffolk. The purpose of this dangerous cross border raid from Essex was to see The Shadow Project at The Railway in the town. They are one of my new favourite bands and Capo was suffficiently taken with their debut album to come along too.

For those of you in the know Ipswich has a blackhole of a oneway system. Get lost and you may never see civilisation again!! The directions I printed off from a journey planning site were 'sketchy', so it took an hour at least once we had got into Ipswich to find the venue. Round and round we went. If you missed a turn off, which were not marked with the road number (which our directions were) it took ages to try and retrace your steps back to where you started to try and find teh right way. To bne fair to Ipswich town centre it wasn't its fault that the directions were total bollocks. The major road we had to find was a right turn at a set a traffic lights, a pretty major landmark I'll think you'll agree. Not good enough for shite website directions, oh no. There was no mention whatsoever of traffic lights, right turns or anything resembling a local landmark. We were led to believe that the road changed from the A1214 into the A137, which wasted about twenty minutes.

Anyway after quite a few examples of this we fianally arrived at a very weird looking venue. It had many posters outside for all kinds of 'tribute bands' (I use the term loosely as I reckon many of the true artists would be mortified by some of the shite that is being played in their name) and an awfully lot of Karaoke. We made our way in and I started to worry. There seemed to be no posters up saying 'Tonight all the way from just up the road The Shadow Project" There seemed to be nobody on the door taking any form of payment either (you can see where this is going can't you?) I went up to the bar and asked if the Shadow Project were indeed playing there tonight was met with confusion. It seemed that they hadn't been booked or indeed heard of. I had checked before leaving on their Myspace page and indeed when I got home I checked again. It was there in pixels and white "The Shadow Project - The Railway Ipswich". A 65 mile journey for nothing.

What to do next? We could have just driven home but neither of us hadn't had any tea (or supper if yoiu liove in Bracknell Towers) and we were a tad on the peckish side. We drove into the centre of town in search of an eatery and after dismissing an expensive Chinese and and even more expensive Indian we settled on 4 Street Fish and Chip Restaurant. It was very good indeed. I had King Prawn Tempura to start, whcih were probably the best I have ever tasted and followed it with Grilled Cod(the will grill or pan fry your fish as well as the traditional method) and Chips. Capo had Stilton Stuffed Mushrooms and Grilled Haddock. It was superb. The staff were friendly and atentive and the whole lot (with drinks) was £15 a head. Brilliant place and well worth a visit.
I had intended to write a gig review today but it has turned into a Restaurant review instead. That's a first.

The House Of Love - Live At Koko Club

The House of Love were probably the first band I went to see numerous times. It's like supporting a football team in a way, following a band around. You have to put the work in. You have to travel to distant lands (well Kent in my case). It was a fine time because the House of Love were superb band. Then they signed to a major label made a dodgy album and imploded.

Some 16 years after last seeing them I was happy to see that, as part of the Don't Look Back series of concerts where bands play one of their classic albums in their entirety. The House of Love played their seminal self-titled first album.

After a dreadful and completely inappropriate support from a pop-ska band who should remain in a pub doing parties for pissed up stag nights, we were eagerly looking forward to HoL. Once the opening bars of 'Christine' rand out it was like being transported back to 1988, when I was younger and getting back to seeing live bands again. The songs sounded as good as ever, although the intervening years have dented the Guy Chadwick's intensity a bit. Followed by 'Hope', 'Road' and the wonderful 'Sulphur' the mosh pit was soon bouncing along (although I only witnessed this from a safe distance). After the album was done the band popped off stage for a bit and returned to give us the classic singles 'Destroy The Heart' and the fantastic 'Shine On'.

It was a good night which brought back some great memories but it wasn't just a nostalgia trip. It proved that the bands that I new and loved way back when were far more inventive musically than a great deal of the current scene. And now that I sound like my Dad I'm going for a lie down.

Jesus And Mary Chain - Live Brixton Academy

Psychocandy by The Jesus and Mary Chain has always been one of my favourite albums. My old vinyl copy was virtually worn away because I played it so much. I loved the great waves of feedback that all but obliterated the vocals.

Mary Chain gigs were infamous. They were often short, chaotic, and violent with brothers Jim and William Reid usually ending up falling out (they apparently didn't get on at all). It pains me to say that I have never seen them live. It was at the time of my accident and I didn't see a gig for a few years. On Friday night though the situation was recitified.

It is always a bit worrying when you go and see a band some 15 years on, especially when you've held them in such high esteem. Can they still crack it? Will it be like your Mum and Dad going to see Freddie and the Dreamers? Well I was relieved when the Mary Chain hit the stage and opened up with 'Never Understand' there feedback ridden masterpiece. It was cleaner, and more proficient than 1985 version but still rocked and set the tone for the evening. They played most of what I would have wanted to hear, Taste Of Cindy, Just Like Honey and finisdhed with a barnstorming version of Reverence from Honey's Dead.

Three of my favourite gigs this year have turned out to be seeing bands that I first got into more than 15 years ago. This, Dinosaur Jr and Buffalo Tom earlier in the year have perhaps proved to me that the current scene is a bit lacking. I like to look forward with music because there is always something exciting that I've not heard yet, but on the evidence of Friday night I will checking the gig listings to see if any more old indie kids are strutting their stuff.