Seth Lakeman Trio @ The Sugarmill 19th March 2011

Review by Sian Eardley

I’d like to keep this review pretty small; succinct in painting words of tonight’s magical evening, just as Seth Lakeman manages to capture with his two accompniants: Benji Kirkpatrick and Cormac Byrne. To both extremes of the scale, you have Arcade Fire, a band with an army of instrumentalists who achieve the most sublime, original and thought-provoking songs, and then the impeccable simplicity of man and guitar, and sometimes the violin in this case, is phenomenal.

Now, this is the first ‘real’ and ‘adult’ gig I’ve attended in a very, very long time, and what I mean by this, is that it was pleasant not to be surrounded by inconsiderate adolescents who come for social means only. The real music fans were in tonight, and the atmosphere for this particular reason was just momentous. There really should be more enchanting nights like these (for the grown ups) at Stoke Sugarmill.

Support act: Andrew Tranter, and his acoustic guy Steven (formerly ‘The Clay Faces’) charmed and warmed the crowd; his Irish folk and slightly Michael Stipeish vocals mainly for the causes of the modern world going ‘pear’, industrial decline (song: ‘Flatline Town’), and rotting America reminded me highly of The Boss, and especially when the old harmonica made an appearance at the end of the set. Definitely keep a look out for these guys – singular, and once more their refined simplicity and elegance made for a truly enjoyable experience.

I do have to confess that before tonight, I was a Seth Lakeman virgin, but, it was already deeply rooted in my brain that he was a pretty big music deal, and now I know it’s for good reason, and I also know that I’ll now be collecting his material. A frequent visitor to The Sugarmill, (and to stop by again in May), we were privileged to be the city they’d finish up on –on their latest tour, going out on a very high noted indeed.

Onto the stage with big, beaming faces addressing the relaxed crowd highlighted that the whole affair was to be special. The way Lakeman held is violin was if making love to a woman; soft, yet passionate, knowing all the hidden places and how to get the best out of it with vigor, fervency, and adoration. Even from the opener, ‘The Hurlers’, he’d put Vanessa Mae to shame, mastering his instrument and unleashing those angelic vocals, like a dove set free into the bluest and clearest of skies.

‘Hearts and Minds’, was astounding, the way the beautifully bohemian and folksy sounds richly mixed with the words, perfumed an air of imagery of former times – Medieval specifically. If you closed your eyes, you’d be carried away to these times of old, you could see the roaring fires, the battles, royalty and their subjects (‘King and Country’), and loves such as the like of Tristan and Isolde. This isn’t just music, it’s folktales, it’s legend, and you can almost hear the lutes…

Lakeman’s multi-skilled talents of swapping tenor guitar and violin, perfectly matched with Kirkpatrick and Byrne could be fit for film; their music telling these epic stories, on an equally epic scale, full of spirit, purity and nature. The ballads added variety to the jigs that could sketch the streets of Dublin, and newbie ‘The Blacksmith’s Prayer’, was reminiscent of Ashcroft at his raw and natural best. Their ability to really hold a room and keep them gripped is also to be noted as impressive.

‘Blood Red Sky’ was a favourite for its burly beat, and ‘Bold Knight’ was bewitching for its lyrics alone: ‘The bold knight above, If he see that angel with her love”, along with ‘The Watchmaker’s Rhyme’, a story of great love. This is so much more than music, it has so many levels and you just have to open yourself up to it on a spiritual level also, to reap all the benefits.

I have to say I also liked the fact that Seth made the effort to introduce every song, which may not sound life-changing, but how damn annoying is it when you hear a brand new live song that you love, and when you get in you spend ages trying to track it down!? I also liked the fact that they didn’t indicate coming towards the closure of their set. They just played well, took a bow, and went off stage, very modestly, soon to return for the encore which consisted of two songs specifically crafted for the recent St. Paddy’s Day, which heightened the already existing good mood of the crowd. Seeing the Seth Lakeman Trio was really worthwhile, and for those of you, like me, who had not really looked into them before, you should go and embrace it upon their anticipated return over the next few months to coincide with their next release.

Faux Feet / One Room House / Undiscovered Soul @ The Sugarmill 18th March 2011

Review by Jake Carter

Photo by Kevin Percival

As far as local Stoke gigs go, the one I attended on Friday at The Sugermill has to have been one of the greatest I’ve ever had the pleasure of experiencing. Simply put, I feel the three bands who performed put the 'Stoke lad rock genre' to shame. It’s also a shame that the place wasn’t full from the beginni

ng of the night, as these are the kind of nights that Stoke needs right now.

Undiscovered Soul were the first band to take to the stage and they were very much a solid act - not really what you’d usually expect from the first band of the night, and like I said before, it was a real shame that there wasn’t more people present from the start, as this band certainly have the sound to justify a bigger crowd. They had an upbeat rocky sound with some tight sounding guitar solos and this, topped with singer Sarah Cole’s vocals which really had presence, equalled a fantastic sound and a good start to the evening.

Next up were One Room House who I can’t believe I hadn’t heard of until a couple of days ago. Maybe it’s just me, but I seem to have heard of pretty much every terrible Stoke band there is to know, yet there are gems around like this that don’t get anywhere near as much attention as they should. Something, somewhere is wrong. Anyway, the first thing I noticed was how amazing the keyboarder/lead singer was. This guy is a seriously talented musician, and backed up by the other three musicians One Room House produce a distinct blast of sound. The highlight for me had to have been ‘Small Toy’ with it’s jagged guitar and fast witty lyrics. Two more things to add: a little audience participation with banana shakers went down a treat, as did the free EPs to grab at the end. How can you not love a band with fruit shaped shakers?

Now onto headliners Faux Feet, who for such a young band showed great maturity and professionalism throughout their set. Lead singer Sian Matthews was clearly, clearly built for the limelight and showed great confidence and control of the stage. Of course, we can’t forget the other boys who provided a sturdy backbone for the music, and between them create a beautiful harmonic type of sound with lots of dynamics. It’s a sound I really enjoyed and has quite obviously been worked on to get the tone just right. ‘Frame Of Mind’ had to have been the standout track of the night and left me feeling quite exhausted - a nice kind of exhaustion that is.

The thing that impressed me the most about Faux Feet was just how much they seemed to understand music. I was standing there baffled, wondering how such a young band could ever create these well crafted songs and perform them so well. It’s something you just don’t ever expect with younger bands, and it has you wondering where this band will be in a few years time. Hopefully they’ll stick together, work on creating more great songs and hey, maybe even introduce some fruit shaped shakers to their music.

Does it offend you? Yeah @ The Sugarmill 15th March 2011

Review by Sian Eardley

Photo by Rebecca Leese

DIOYY? Well, they asked the question and here is how it went down… There were tight sets between bands coming on and off which is always a win, and main support act: ‘Hounds’ certainly made a bold impression by going to the extremes, but in an enjoyable way. Take Wolfmother in one hand, and Pendulum in the other, give it a hefty shake, and out comes a hardcore rock/dance project that I wouldn’t be half surprised to find compiled on one of The Matrix trilogy’s OSTs. With a wannabe frontman sporting a striking similarity to Keith Flint, it’s clear who inspires them, but they also add their own spin on things. And, of course it sounds modern; those jagged, aggressive electronics with a (Johnny) Rotten attitude, creating a frenzy on stage. They were more than passable, and more than ‘decent’, not to sound nonchalant, and their pulsing bass tone was credulosuly distinct. Flickers of drop-beat drumming and four-string twanging highlighted their interpretation of RATM. Interesting isn’t quite the word but curious is how I felt after seeing their performance which was simply a bristling, firey, punk tirade. Their closing track – ‘Wicked Witch’ – which yes, sampled ‘The Wizard of Oz’ at both the start and finish, was quite a wonderful exploration of their bizarre musical hybrid style. The dancing drone of: ‘There was a witch, now she’s dead and she’s under our house’, was the hypnotic chant that stayed with me for a while, matched with Rob Zombie ‘Dragula’ sounds, to sound truly ‘out there’. It did cross my mind that maybe if I’d taken certain substances it may have had more profanity, or at least offer something logical when under the influence, but don’t get me wrong, they didn’t lack allurement.

In the gap between Hounds and the headliners coming on, I was expecting Th>e Mill to fill up drastically, bit this was to no avail, this was DIOYY for Christ’s sake! Back in 2006, you couldn’t move for being smothered with NME’s rave (see what I did there!?) reviews about them, which helped them to achieve God-like statuses. Have they, as a fashion, died down? Were we just left tonight with the real fans, the ‘hangers on’ from years ‘ere gone by? Where were the neon kids waving their glow sticks about like moths to a flame? These were worrying moments, but worry I needn’t have; they soon came to life after the 80’s sci-fi intro opener, to welcome the band on stage, sounding like a deviant remix of Irene Cara’s ‘What a feeling’.

DIOYY were clearly in the mood to party, and with good cause, having released their second album: ‘Don’t Say we Didn’t Warn You’, only the day before, as well as kicking off their tour to celebrate in Newcastle. Though it did come as an awkward moment right at the beginning when James Rushent attempted to decipher between the real fans and the sellouts who had merely downloaded their latest efforts. And I should also address their very flowery language that kept cascading on the audience for the entire duration, up to the point of it becoming uncomfortable. With all this hype, I was thinking they’d perhaps be better attuned to the likes of The Underground rather than The Sugarmill – an act absolutely perfect if you want to get ‘on it’. Their indie industrial vibes of mashed up dance, may also have been better suited to a Friday/Saturday night gig to get truly into the spirit of things. If you’re into Annie Mac’s experimental/dance/drum and bass radio show, then these guys are just the ticket, offering ‘balls-out angry stuff and serene melancholic, quite depressing stuff as well. We'd rather show all our hands like that rather than write a whole album that sounds the same." (See MySpace)

With their whole cussing and arrogant air (they thought) they had working for them, it was obvious they’ve been on big tours accompanying Linkin Park and NIN, but you can’t just pull that off, especially when you’ve been off the scene for years and it’s taking so damn long to get going on your set! They became irritable, and I understand they’re hot stuff for today’s kids, and they were big in my college days, but then and even now I struggle to see what the fuss is about, and I was desperately trying to find the light.

I can only liken it to the ‘Enter Shikari’ phenomenon – they crashed onto the scene, all the cool kids fell in love with them, and now they’re nowhere to be seen, but I imagine upon their re-emergence they’d be of the same pompous swagger as DIOYY.

They just seem to miss a certain – je nais se quoi - you know, the thing that catches on, the feel-good stuff, that synapse connection where you’re totally in synch with their message and you get where they’re going, and with this failing this led to the disengagement. There’s not enough emotion, or variety, it’s just very harsh and angsty – where’s the love and the finesse? Later on they even performed a song, made specificially for Radio One (‘Moulds’? – couldn’t tell over all the swearing)- which goes to prove my point – maybe they don’t want to be commercially huge, but they’re also not accessible to everybody. They’re too concentrated.

However, when they shy away from their ferentic efforts, and go for the harmonies and guitar melodies, it’s like a whole different band on stage; a poetic metamorphisis, to which they’re actually pretty good. Up and down, up and down, I can’t say that tonight wasn’t an experience, or an education… But then they have to go and spoil it with more cussing (and hey you’re not frickin’ Ozzy!)- trying, like Pendulum to become masters of electronica, but if you think about it, Pendulum filled the gap of DIOYY’s absence.

The night became about waiting for those symphonic guitars to kick in, and I wanted to plead with them to keep going like this as it was that good; it needn’t be corroded by computer generated blah, which gets really monotonous by the third track. I have to hand it to them that yes they’re loud, they’re brazen, and if I was younger and an alleged academic, more well known as a party animal, I’d be inclined to rave on to the serious Daft Punkish anthems. I think it’d take a lot of beer or getting smacked off my proverbials to understand their means. Skinny boys is suits in the magical Tardis could produce better electronic themes, and I think DIOYY should stick to the basics and keep it simple, ‘cause their mellow stuff is brilliant, and leave it up to Hot Chip to produce alternative/electro rock, as they do the job cosmically.

‘Lets Make Out’ was one of two winners of the night, once the hysteric opener dies down and the soothing ‘I’m in love with you my baby girl’ hits the speakers, the whole thing isn’t so terrifying after all. ‘Dawn of the Dead’ really emphasized their ‘quality’ edge. A tranquil Buckley-esque ‘Hallelujiah’ temprament - but – no, wait… here comes another Godzilla moment of acid electro machines stomping over all that is good.

Their brash fashion made me feel like they were generating the graphics from The Gossip’s ‘Standing in the way of Control’ video straight from the speakers. Their experimentation was attention-grabbing, but no flowing fluidity or semi-structure, resulted in me not being sold. Reflecting back to 2006, I’m glad I chose the Klaxons path, and I desperately wanted DIOYY to prove me wrong tonight, and they didn’t.

So I wasn’t a convert, so it wasn’t my cup of tea, but that’s not to say you shouldn’t check out their array of musical offerings on the DIOYY imagination train, and, in answer to their question, I wasn’t offended, but nor was I bewitched.

Mona @ The Sugarmill 7th March 2011

Review by Sian Eardley

Photo by Martin Kaluza

Well, Monday 7th March will go down in music as quite a special day indeed. Not only had Elbow released their fifth studio album ‘Build a Rocket Boys’, which as if wasn’t enough excitement for one day to just sit in awe and wonderment at whilst playing, but the magnificent Mona was in town. And hey, with the amount of guys in line outside in checkered shirts, it was only too obvious that someone was playing. And, not on every occasion am I fortunate to say that even the support act: ‘Tape the Radio’ were superb. Full of sensual bass tones, they’re every inch tactile; you can very easily communicate with their sound; grab it, throw it around yourself and immerse yourself in it.
Imagine a sound similar to Bloc Party, but with a more complex orchestration, live, they hold they hold the energy of the early TCTC days, they had the drive of 1990’s Manics by pushing the boundaries in experimental sound, and had a hold over the crowd like the aura of the recently deceased Oceansize. The live experience of this band was incredible, they make me want to submerge my head in a water bath of Tape the Radioness, and would probably make for good listening at that hybrid of time at 1am on a Sunday morning, when partly wasted or suffering from afflictions of the heart. Recommended is their most recent single release: ‘Our Love is a Broken Heart’, and the beautifully dark ‘Heartache and Fear’ – available for free download on www.facebook.com/tapetheradio and is also the title track to their debut album, to be unleashed on April 2nd 2011.

Mona! Mona! Mona! I fear I underestimated their capabilities. I was expecting big things – another band tipped to be big for the year; and coming with the Kings of Leon attached stereotype, also hailing from that part of the world, they’re actually more thrilling and fresher, and I never, ever expected to fall in love with their sound!

Jumping straight into it with ‘Trouble on the Way’ – this is what we’ve been waiting for on the alternative scene. It’s unique and invigorating, and hits you in a personal way. More bolshie than BRMC, and as gigantic in sound as ‘Bartender and the Thief’, it’s the second band in one night that just blew me away. It’s got a country rolling chorus with a slight twang of ‘King of the Rodeo’, these guys still make it their own with added ‘oooomph!’, whilst being very proud of their roots which helps to produce their distinctive sound.

‘Teenager’ is full of big, big guitars for those who are six-string fans, permeating all the angst and energy of Jimmy Eat World’s ‘Pain’, and I’m telling you, it only takes once for you to hear every song and know it instinctively. Not many accomplished bands achieve this, but here are these young and talented gentlemen who are doing just that. Marvellous. This is what you find with ‘Listen to Your Love’ – you ears prick up instantly (again I hate to use the comparison as they’re better in their own right, but think of the intro to ‘Sex on Fire’) – it burns in you and compels you to move. This IS the summer anthem of 2011, guaranteed. They’re new and stimulating, and it’s full of bass and addictive lyrics and reeling guitars more inspirational than that of Editors, to create landscapes of sound and Nick Brown’s vocals are impeccable and husky. Even the video to the track says it’s ‘to be played loud’ – (and yes you are legally obliged to check it out!), and it couldn’t be more fitting. It’s the only way to satisfy the craving for more Mona. Forget ‘The Vaccines’ and other hot newbies ‘The Naked and Famous’, this is Mona’s year. I’m fully backing these guys: you can see yourself cruising in the summer, friends in the passenger seats on the way to any of the fantastic festivals with this on full blast, and absolutely loving it. These trashy love songs will be classic and not throwaway efforts, and that’s quite a skill to have.

And, just when the crowd thought Mona couldn’t possibly pull anything else out of the bag, ‘Shoot the Moon’ came roaring out of the speakers. This song WILL change your life. ‘A bold statement?’ you cry, well listen for yourselves; look up their performance of this little stunner at Liverpool Academy (8/3/11) on YouTube. How the duck did Ryan Adams miss an opportunity to create something like this? It’s sonorous, it’s audacious, and it’s sultry, provocative, and positively infectious. Vocals and solicitude all caught up in a whirlwind of phenomenal sound, was like watching a young Lindsey Buckingham let loose on stage. This song would definitely have Caleb Followill quaking in his little cowboy boots.

And, if that wasn’t even enough, there was an encore, which at the time seemed pretty non-sensical as they just threw a top performance and how could they possibly better that with a few more tunes? Well, they sure did. Out they came with stories of Nashville, Tennessee, and spending time at the Cash family farm (yes, THE Johnny Cash), and tore it up with rocky rhythms ten times better than KOL’s ‘Four Kicks’, transforming The Sugarmill into an American Rock Bar – the likes of ‘Roadhouse’…almost!

Mona are my favourite band for the year (even creeping into my personal music favourites), and I’m sure they’ll find a way into your hearts upon listen. They’re going to be huge, which was evident from as little as three songs in, and their journey is bound to be brilliant, I’m just sorry to everyone who missed this tonight!
Cracking!