Dear X, Greg, Chris, Chloe and Stephanie
I hope that you are all well on this bank holiday Monday. Me? I've got a bit of a cold so I'm sitting here in my PJs with a box of tissues to my left and a tall glass of orange juice to my right. Blech!
Ah! Enough about me and my snot! Let me tell you about the week I've just had .... It was a bit of a non-stop ride of musical fun and discovery that went a little like this ...
The Most Serene Republic - Great Escape Festival, Brighton (18 May 2008)
For those of you unfamiliar with Great Escape, it is an annual festival in Brighton where bands play across the city at a variety of venues over the course of a few days in May. Line-ups are varied and it can be an excellent opportunity to catch bands who are on the cusp of great and wonderful things. In all of the years I've lived in Brighton, however, I've never managed to take in the festival. Bad timings, conflicting arrangements and general laziness have always been my excuses. So when I got the invite from J&O I thought there was no better way to cap off a lovely weekend than to take in a cool (Canadian) band in the company of two friends who I will miss dearly when they move to Australia.
So on to the show... Imagine a younger, less jaded Arcade Fire and you have an exceptionally simplistic description of The Most Serene Republic. Like Arcade Fire they play a wide range of instruments rarely heard in traditional indie rock. But whereas Arcade Fire have a confidence that comes from the knowledge that they are changing/have changed indie music, I get the feeling that The Most Serene Republic are still exploring how to make all of these instruments and their varied influences come together. It's like they are still finding their feet (hey! let's try a bit of this with a bit of that and see what happens!) and, on seeing them live, you get the feeling you are witnessing something that could at any moment become bigger than you (or they) dreamed. I know that sounds really wanky, but you get swept up in the band's youthful optimism and the grand scale of their music. :) So while I enjoyed the music I was hearing on that Sunday afternoon I was also smiling because I knew this was a pretty special band. Plus the singer was kind of cute and did a mean air guitar with his trombone when he wasn't playing it .. ;)
For such a great show, it was a bit disappointing that so few people turned up. I suppose the band was competing with Brighton beach and the glorious sunshine. Of course, I'm no better. The show was later than scheduled so J, O and myself had to leave early to tend to pot-roasts and work commitments. :S I suspect we all missed out a bit.
I came to know Bon Iver and Jens Lekman through my ever reliable music friends O and IB. O was raving about Bon Iver earlier this year when I had dinner at his. IB introduced me to Jens Lekman in a flurry of cd swapping in March. He got a shedload of Ryan Adams cds and I got Jens Lekman (among others) in return. Fair swap methinks. ;) All of this to say that I'd been enjoying both of these artists for a few months now so I was wonderfully excited when IB offered me spare tickets to see both of these artists at the Scala. My emailed excitement must have read a bit like Meg Ryan's fake orgasm scene in When Harry Met Sally, but I swear I wasn't faking. I'd been kicking myself for weeks after not scoring tickets to the sold-out show so I was thrilled to be given second chance. Ok, now on to the show....
Bon Iver is the stage name of singer-songwriter Justin Vernon who recorded For Emma, Forever Ago while hibernating in a secluded cabin in Wisconsin for 4 months. He performed that night with a small group of musicians each seated low on the stage. As a result, I couldn't see anything, but perhaps this added to the mystery and beauty of the music. I was, after all, stood alone in a crowd of strangers (plus IB and his gal L) hearing the hushed songs written in those 4 months of isolation and loneliness. So I closed my eyes at times and let the music wash over me. Wonderful musicianship aside, I have to say that what I enjoyed most about his set was that I felt as though I'd been transported away from my world to that small cabin in Wisconsin. Like Sam Beam, Justin sings as though it is just you and he in the room and he is confiding a great story to you. The immediacy was powerful.
When the set finished I think we were all surprised and a bit stunned. We were back in London .. among a large group of strangers .. Surely we couldn't expect more from the evening after that? Ah, but there was more!
Jens Lekman arrived with his gang of multi-instrumentalists to remind us that music can convey both sadness and happiness. The thing I love about Jens is his playfulness in music. What could be sad and/or twee gets elevated to something beautiful and sensual through grandiose Scott Walker-style production and clever lyrics. This translated perfectly live - the musicians created a fantastic mini-symphony of pop and Jens's voice carried off the songs both with and without the band. This was no ordinary indie gig .. This was damn near perfect pop delivered by talented and dedicated musicians who performed with tremendous skill, precision and love. Add to this some fun and witty banter with the audience and I thoroughly enjoyed the show. :)
So that was my evening. Blown away not once, but twice! How often can you say that on a Tuesday night? :)
**********
Fireworks Night and Sunset Rubdown - Luminaire, London (22 May 2008)
How do you finish a week that starts with a Canadian favourite then segues into Americana and Swedish Pop? Another Canadian band in the form of Sunset Rubdown! I've got to say, I've loved this band for a while and have been very excited about the gig since booking the tickets months ago. :) My love of this band started when I got an Absolutely Kosher sampler CD in the post a few years ago... The band's name read like a filthy sexy rock combo à la Eagles of Death Metal so I was intrigued. They sounded nothing like my beloved Eagles (just leave him alone cos the boy's bad news), but their song Stadiums and Shrines II quickly became a firm favourite.
In the intimate Luminaire (best venue in town, my friends!), the band delivered the goods after following the impressive Fireworks Night. They played a great set and, as with Jens Lekman's show, I was impressed by how the non-traditional instruments ("non-indie" instruments) and the female backing vocals added warmth and feeling to the music. [By the way, I can't take credit for this observation but I agreed with IB when he said it so there you have it..] On any other Thursday night I would have gone home a happy woman after a show like that, but that Thursday the band had the misfortune of arriving after Most Serene Replubic, Bon Iver and Jens Lekman. Hard acts to follow, for sure! I had a really fun night hanging out with IB, listening to Fireworks Night and Sunset Rubdown didn't disappoint, but they didn't "wow" me either.
Furthermore, there was some drama over requests from the audience which left bit of a bad taste in my mouth. I didn't follow the whole discussion (after three gigs that week my hearing was a bit gone), but from what I could hear the audience wanted a song that the band were refusing to play. I don't expect bands to be performing monkeys and I sided whole-heartedly with Ryan Adams when he shot down whingers at his show in Birmingham. But ... for the reasons I mentioned above I often think of Eagles of Death Metal when I listen to Sunset Rubdown and I couldn't help but think of what they were like live. Back in 2007 when I saw them at the Astoria, Jesse Hughes delivered the goods and he was a total showman.. A skinny, more excitable Greg Dulli. :) He gave the people what they wanted and then a bit more because he knew deep down that was what they wanted (uh huh) .. It's old-fashioned and not very "indie", but that's what was so refreshing about it! Much as I love Sunset Rubdown's music, their moodiness and lack of humour left me a bit cold and wanting a bit more of the showmanship you get from the Jesse Hughes of the world. :)
So these were the shows I attended last week. I hope you take the time to check out their music to see what all of my fuss is about. :) Also, if you have any musical suggestions then please pass them on. :)
