Monday, 25 October 2010
Tuesday, 19 October 2010
Swimming / The Heartbreaks / Carl Barat @ The Sugarmill, 17th October 2010
Photo by Tish Scripps
Opening tonight’s sold out gig was ‘Swimming,’ an experimental pop 5 piece from Nottingham. Without a word they exploded straight into a techno poppy indie sound and give off instant vibes of influence from David Bowie right up to a modern day Klaxons mixed with the vocal styles of Vampire Weekend. My particular favourite track was ‘Mirromaze.’
Next up were a band that are in the middle of major hype and attention from NME magazine, ‘The Heartbreaks.’ These lads are touring with Carl Barat and it’s easy to see why they are highly rated. A band that seem to be following the increasingly popular ‘new-indie’ genre and follow in the footsteps of the likes of The Drums, Bombay Bicycle Club and The Maccabees, they certainly won over this Sugarmill crowd with their high tempo and the exhilarating playingof a guitarist who seemed to model one of the strangest haircuts I have seen in a long time, fashion is certainly changing!
This is not my particular favourite genre of music but ‘The Heartbreaks’ certainly changed my opinion and i will be giving these a future listen, and in particular their newest single, ‘Why do you always make me cry?’
Preparing for an hour long set, the arrival of Carl Barat on the stage was greeted with tremendous cheers. Perhaps many of the youngsters came to this gig hoping that Carl would play stuff from his time in previous bands, ‘Dirty Pretty Things,’ and ‘The Libertines'; but Carl gave us a treat, not only did he play samples of previous work but showed off work from his newest album which was released on 4th October.
First track of the set was his first single as a solo artist, ‘Run with the Boys.’ From the very first chords it is just Carl Barat all over, from the bassy beginnings to the 80’s style riffs in the hooky chorus which you just can’t help but sing along to. Clearly an idol to many lads in the mill tonight, the sound of Libertines anthem ‘Time for Heroes,’ was met with scenes of delirium and sent this crowd into a frenzy. This wasn’t the only ‘Libs’ track we heard tonight, with Carl also playing ‘The King who would be dead,’ and ‘Death on the Stairs’. Then out came the famous Dirty Pretty things hit, ‘Bang Bang your dead’ and Carl showed us what he’s all about with his perfectly melodical vocal performance and backed superbly by his band, this is just a song that is impossible not to love.
‘Deadwood’ saw Carl bring up the tempo and with the aggressive drumming combining with the grimy guitars which once saw this man at the top of the Britpop scene. Between these tracks of old, he showed off his new project, and how exceptional this alum is! Introducing a more soulful side to his music, he combined beautiful lyrics with music that’s a delight to the ears. Particular highlights from the new album were singles, ‘France,’ ‘The Fall’ and ‘Cloud Nine.’ It was in Mr Barats last song of the night where we saw what everyone had been waiting for, The Libertines favourite, ‘Dont look back into the sun.’ Without doubt everyone in the 'mill was dancing along and Carl, clearly enjoyed himself and couldn’t thank the audience enough for what tonight's memorable gig.
The Black Apples / The Pretty Things @ FatCat Hanley 15th October 2010
Phill Bettany and Octopus have really pulled off something rather special tonight as the Legendary 60s outfit the Pretty Things are here to play in the basement lounge venue. If you imagine a scene reminiscent of any 60s underground club you’d observe a diverse and groovy crowd from mods to rockers to hippies and the local scenesters, this is who are here tonight defying all age groups from across the rock ‘n’ roll generations. Since the last time I was here the stage has been moved, and all the better for it allowing more visibility as it takes up the left hand side of the room.
Support tonight comes from the Black Apples who themselves are a popular local draw with their incendiary garage blues. Despite a plea from guitarist Alex for the crowd to move forward during their firey performance there seems to be some hesitancy. However this does not stop the lads from firing on all cylinders as they hit us with classic songs from their debut LP for the locally based Octopus records. As usual this is a tight performance as we hear “Hypnotised”, “Take me to the station” a couple of newys and, what was the highlight for me a cover of Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac’s anthem “Oh well”. The Apples are the perfect opener for this evening representing the newer generation as they acknowledge the elderstatesman of the blues, soaking up their influence, having their own take and reinventing the sound for a younger crowd.
The Pretty Things are introduced as “the greatest rock ‘n’ roll band in the history of the universe” immediately they storm into the mod classics “Roadrunner” and “Don’t bring me down”. Unlike their mates The Stones and The Who they never quite ascended in the dizzy heights of fame ,fortune, and success however, that does not diminish their importance and influence on a sixties music scene and beyond. Tonight we are treated to a heady mix of blues, r ‘n’ b and psychedelia as they mix up their musical potions in the cauldron. Vocalist, Phil May alongside guitarist Dick Taylor remain at the heart of the band as in the beginning when they formed in
Their classic 68 LP SF Sorrow is often regarded as one of the great lost classics of the psychedelic era recorded at the same time as Sgt Pepper and Piper at the Gates of Dawn, from that period we get all the magical whimsicalness of a selection of tracks live including ‘SF Sorrow’ and ‘Baron Saturday’. Phil May relates a tale of when they were starting out and would hook up with the Stones and play these intimate little blues clubs and with acoustic guitar in hand Dick Taylor treats us to a couple of blues numbers so we can imagine, take ourselves back in time and get a feel of what it must have been like back then. The performance is sublime a real treat for everyone, blues as it should be stripped to the bone and meaningful in delivery.
We are reminded from where the Pretty Things got their name from with reference to Bo Diddley and they start to build the momentum again powering through with R ‘n’ B stomp. With a superb ‘Judgement day’ with Taylor playing slide alongside guitarist Frank Holland they later move into psychedelic mode with a stretched out £.S.D which gets rapturous applause .Their cameo appearance in ‘What’s good for the goose’ is acknowledged and tribute played to the late Norman Wisdom - star of said film. As proceedings come to an end with a ‘bring it on home’ vibe Pretty Things have thoroughly enjoyed themselves so much so that Phil May says they want to come back! A nostalgic night for some and a rare treat for us all, a truly inspirational band and one which deserves more recognition alongside the more acknowledged greats who are indebted to them also. Well done to Phil and Octopus for getting this legendary band to Stoke here’s to getting more of the same in the future.
Listen :
Black Apples : The Black Apples
Pretty Things : S.F. Sorrow
Pretty Things : Parachute
Friday, 15 October 2010
Samba Mela - Cancelled
Stoke Sounds was providing a stage at this event with 7 of the best local acts, however we are extremely disappointed that the decision has been taken to cancel the event at the last minute.
It is still unclear why this decision has been made, and we are still waiting for full details, but we'd like to take this opportunity to Thank all the bands who were playing and all of you who were planning on coming down.
Cheers
Team SS