Gigs Of 2010
GIGS OF 2010
Another stellar year for gigs in London. I do feel privileged to live in a city where I could go to a gig every night of the year if I so desired, and if I had the constitution of a herd of rhinos…
Before I wax lyrical, can I just say how miserable I am to have missed the following bands’ shows, despite the fact that they all played in London: Tame Impala, Citay, Ty Segall and Thee Oh Sees. Curses! Please come back…
The ones that really stood out were, in chronological order:
Local Natives at the Hoxton Bar & Kitchen on 19th January. A packed venue rewarded the band with an ecstatic reception, which they repaid with a set that just got better and better. Here’s a clip of them playing ‘World News’ at London’s Heaven nightclub, a few weeks later:
Broken Bells made their UK debut at the ICA on 3rd March, with arguably the best sound I have ever experienced at any show, anywhere! Crystalline, powerful and intimate, this was one of the gigs of the year. The encore, a double whammy of Neil Young’s ‘Don’t Let It Bring You Down’ and Tommy James and the Shondells’ psych-pop masterpiece, ‘Crimson And Clover’ left the audience drooling. To hear (and just about see) what you missed, check this clip out:
On March 13th and 14th, Grizzly Bear and Beach House played the Roundhouse in north London, a double bill made in heaven. Beach House have no stage craft per se, but were mesmerising, with their beautifully understated intensity and melodic sensibility proving a big hit with two sell out crowds, and Grizzly bear rose to the challenge by playing a typically stunning set. For me, the highlight of the first night was when Beach House’s Victoria Legrand joined GB for ‘Two Weeks’ – check out that very performance here:
Whenever Patti Smith comes to town, it’s a must see show. I’ve been going to her gigs since the ‘70s and she never lets the crowd down, whether you are a first timer or a long term fan. This year I had the privilege of seeing Patti perform at three very different venues: firstly when she appeared at Foyles, on the South Bank on March 20th. This was actually an appearance where she signed copies of her book, ‘Just Kids’. She performed several songs with just an acoustic guitar, but she was marvellous, gracious and impassioned.
The second performance occurred twenty four hours later, at Islington’s Union Chapel. She was accompanied throughout by Tony Shanahan, and Patrick Wolf and Seb Rochford on a few numbers too. Again, totally brilliant, with a rare, (at least to these ears and eyes) live rendition of ‘Birdland’.
The June 29th performance, in a tent in Hyde Park, part of a series of gigs pretentiously dubbed ‘The Serpentine Sessions’ by Live Nation, was the one though. A set which mixed familiar favourites with hidden classics was raised up by cover versions of Jim Carroll’s ‘People Who Died’; The Rolling Stones’ ‘Play With Fire’ and Lou Reed’s ‘Perfect Day’. Click here for a truly majestic version of ‘My Blakean Year’ from the Hyde Park show:
May turned out to be the best all-round month for shows in London and the UK, with Iggy And The Stooges playing two barnstorming shows at Hammersmith Apollo, on May 2nd and 3rd. The entire ‘Raw Power’ album was not so much revived as beaten to death by a band who played like teenagers. Added to the set list were the highlights from ‘Kill City’ and ‘Metallic KO’, click here for ‘Raw Power’ from the first night:
Deerhunter returned to London on May 6th, and blew the minds of all in attendance. For a taste of what it was like to be there, here is a link to the performance of ‘Fluorescent Grey’ from that night:
Two of the best gigs of the past few years, not just 2010, took place on May 14th and 16th May at Shepherd’s Bush Empire and Birmingham Academy 2, respectively. Brian Jonestown Massacre played two indescribably great shows – here’s ‘Supersonic’ from the London show:
…And here’s ‘Sailor’ from the Birmingham gig:
The Pixies reunion bandwagon rolled into town on June 3rd and 4th, and both nights were celebratory affairs with the band never sounding better, old faves and obscure fan requests all sounding glorious. Here’s ‘Here Comes Your Man’ from the first of those two nights:
It felt like a very Canadian influenced year, and two outstanding shows were delivered by Elephant Stone at a packed Macbeth in Shoreditch on July 1st, and by Arcade Fire, in the very intimate setting of the Hackney Empire six days later. We don’t have a live clip of Elephant Stone, but here’s their wonderful video for their track ‘I Am Blind’ (2009):
Arcade Fire’s anthemic ‘Wake Up’ was met with joyous anticipation at the Hackney Empire gig, here it is in all its glory:
August’s best show was a low key set by California’s Avi Buffalo, a magical trio who delivered their bittersweet tales with such unimposing passion that only the coldest of hearts would have been left unmoved. Once again, we couldn’t find any footage from the show, but here’s the soft-summer-psych of their beautiful ‘What’s In It For’, recorded and filmed earlier in the year, when they were still a quartet…
Wilco have been on the live circuit for over a decade now, but just keep getting better. A breathtaking two hour show at London’s Royal Festival Hall on September 14th covered the band’s entire career, and whilst this clip of their performance of ‘Impossible Germany’ is visually below par, the sound quality is good, and the playing immaculate:
Ben Sommers has been on the UK gig circuit for three or four years now, both with his band and as part of the duo, (and occasional trio) Mozzy Green. 2010 saw him launch his career as far as the outside world are concerned, with three self directed videos, and a brilliant debut single, ‘Hillary, Oh Hillary’. He also played several memorable shows, none more impressive than his performance at Hoxton Bar & Kitchen on September 16th, with the wonderful Pandora’s Box acting as his backing band. Here’s Ben’s stop-motion video masterpiece for his single:
Steve Miller Band Returns
STEVE MILLER BAND RETURNS
ROYAL ALBERT HALL, LONDON
Thursday 7th October 2010
What a curious career Stevie ‘Guitar’ Miller has had. Despite being born in Wisconsin, Miller spent his formative years in Texas, and his guitar tone retains that Texan blues sound to this day. His father’s relationship with legendary musical icons Les Paul and T-Bone Walker ensured a righteous and prodigious path, and whilst still a teenager, Steve moved to Chicago to play the blues with another two musical giants, Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf. In the mid sixties Miller hooked up with Barry Goldberg to form the short-lived Goldberg-Miller Blues Band. After another short spell in Texas, he took the bus to San Francisco, and became part of the burgeoning SF psychedelic scene, with his new band, named after himself. The first recordings released as The Steve Miller Band were on a Chuck Berry live album, as they had backed Berry at his Fillmore shows in 1967. In 1968, the first true Miller Band album ‘Children Of The Future’ was released, and in the next two and a half years a string of classic tripped out blues albums were issued: ‘Sailor’, ‘Brave New World’, ‘Your Saving Grace’ and ‘Number 5′ still rank among his finest work, and were followed by ‘Rock Love’ and ‘Recall The Beginning’, both failing to achieve the sales or critical acclaim afforded their predecessors. 1973′s ‘The Joker’ restored Miller’s waning reputation, and gave him his first major hit with the title track, whilst simultaneously ushering in a new era of radio friendly pop rock that would indelibly mark his next two albums, ‘Fly Like An Eagle’, and it’s sister record ‘Book Of Dreams’. A four year period of inactivity was broken by ‘Circle Of Love’ and a year later came ‘Abracadabra’ whose titles track once again saw Miller topping charts round the globe. The rest of the eighties saw a disappointing glut of compilations, a turgid live album, and a couple of forgettable studio records. The nineties yielded the solitary studio album ‘Wide River’, another round of compilations and reissues and a long absence from recording, which remained unbroken until this year’s ‘Bingo’ another highly disposable release of blues covers.
Thursday night’s show was a must see for me, having been a fan of the man, his records, and guitar playing for almost forty years. The show did hold some trepidation for me though, as I realised that this was the first time he had played in the UK for 28 years, and that I hadn’t liked an album he had made for even longer.
Opening with the crowd pleasing ‘Jet Airliner’, Miller was in fine voice, but the uplifting impact of familiarity combined with a great sound and loving audience reaction was tempered by the ludicrous shape throwing and mugging of vocalist Sonny Charles (he of Checkmates Ltd. Fame). I must confess I spent the first few numbers trying to avert my gaze from the rest of the band apart from Miller, as guitarist Kenny Lee Lewis seemed to have mutated into a mulleted drongo, affecting a look somewhere between Billy Ray Cyrus and Kenny Powers; the keyboard player was wearing a sequined top that would have caused Ru Paul to blush in the ’80s; a drummer who sacrificed subtlety for flash and an overactive use of tom toms…
Miraculously, the evening was still a success, due mainly to Miller’s stunning guitar playing, beautiful vocals, and a well judged song selection. Highlights were an acoustic ‘Seasons’, a rollicking ‘Rock’n Me’, a subtle ‘Wild Mountain Honey’ and sublime readings of ‘The Stake’ and ‘Jungle Love’, with a storming ending that included ‘Abracadabra’ and ‘The Joker’. Special mention for a nice tribute section that bade farewell to former bandmate Norton Buffalo, who died last year, late sixties and early seventies collaborator Nicky Hopkins; godfather Les Paul, whom Miller paid tribute to with a fabulous a cappella rendition of ‘Nature Boy’, but minus points for a distinctly average band, and no bass player!
Warpaint / Camp Basement 26.8.10
So I get told…“go see Warpaint when they come to London… you have to go see Warpaint when they come to London.” I’m like, “what is all the fuss about?” So I found out – what all the fuss was about – and I LOVED the fuss!
When I arrived at Camp Basement it was rammed to the rafters with industry people and famous hangers-on, not to mention, Nicholas Hoult of Skins fame and Michael Fassbender, star of Inglorious Basterds… It was a who’s who kind of affair, but hey, gigs like this one always are. For me, not being familiar with any Warpaint songs, just added to the fascination about this band that has become one of the most talked about in recent months.
So where do I begin…
Well, not knowing what to expect, I felt sheer joy as that first ‘90s indie riff got shredded and an instant grin appeared across this writer’s face, that’s for sure. Dreamy, psychedelic shoe gazing wonderment in abundance as Warpaint gently eased themselves into their set list. What amazed me most was just how enigmatic they are as musicians, with what seemed like a perfect mix of Shocking Blue and Sonic Youth riding the wave of Tank Girl comic book geekdom. I did feel like I’d stepped into Empire Records though, and was being entertained by an in-store band which was a great feeling – a step into nostalgia if you like. Also don’t get me started on how fucking brilliant their drummer, Stella Mozgawa was – just simply off the scale, with her rip roaring drumming skills – crashing and creating such wonderful noise. At times I wondered if I was hearing a drum machine, but it was just perfect sticksmanship which stood out as one of the highlights of the night for me. The band continued through their set, harmonising effortlessly, while all the time just oozing coolness with a total belief in themselves that did not once transpose into egotism.
Tonight was a preview gig for the bands Reading and Leeds slots this coming weekend and it certainly did have that feel. We were left in no doubt that this was something special we were witnessing as the band rattled effortlessly through songs off their recently released EP as well as, what will be new tracks from their just announced album ‘The Fool’, released through Rough Trade Records in October.
So, as the night drew to a close and heads were slowly coming to a head-shaking end, a feeling of jubilation was left in the air. It takes a special kind of band to come through a night like that unscathed and Warpaint did. Finally, we have a band that lives up to the hype.
