Glass Ceilings were a split gender four piece. The bassist was business like in her playing while the guitarist happily played his parts. I wish the singer had shown some more pizzazz or stepped up the vocals that were audible but could have used some oomph. Their music is great and I enjoyed the 8 or so song set though it didn't feel like it brought anything more than is already on record. All in all I wouldn't go out of my way to catch them again, at least not until there's new music released.
Myriam Adams - A bunch of kids but sounded pretty sharp and the music popped. Singer definitely had a presence and though I only caught the final two songs it was enough to make me wish I'd arrived earlier. For the closer they tried to get the crowd jumping and to be fair it kind of worked out, even if supplemented strongly with friends and family.
La Dharma - This four piece make some really slick, slightly synthy, pop rock with their shoegaze guitar but rock elements otherwise, stemming in part from their intense drummer. Fronted by a guy that could probably do a decent 1975 karaoke, who also tickled some keys, they went through about 7 proper tunes that everyone seemed to enjoy, in as laid back way. Highlights were Sirens and Need Me to Know You early from the EP, but their "most dance" tune, Perfume, was also a treat and Devil was a perfect way to close out.
Crymson - Four lads playing some reasonably straightforward pop rock. Nothing super compelling recorded from what I had heard and the live show started off with me wondering if I'd be bored too. Once their gimmicky outfits - a sailor shirt and baby sailor hat, sunglasses drummer etc. wore off after 30 seconds it was time for the music to fill the room. Granted it didn't smash expectations but I didn't leave and the second last song featured some standout drumming, nicely interspersed with the guitar work. The last songwas catchy enough to get the crowd moving so they did alright.
Showing posts with label hare and hounds. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hare and hounds. Show all posts
Monday, August 12, 2019
Sunday, March 3, 2019
Art Brut - Hare and Hounds - Feb 15, 2019
Art Brut
I knew it was going to be a good set when they opened with Formed a Band which to me is their signature sound even over a decade later. By song two Eddie Argos was already off on a tangent with a meandering story about being in the Van Gogh (which he repeatedly pronounced Van Goff, and as he is reportedly a big fan perhaps we're all saying it wrong?) museum in Amsterdam that ended with him licking a painting and being escorted from the premises through a security exit. Throughout the telling of the story he had to repeatedly ask for "Softer, Art Brut!" and I found it endearing that he referred to his band by their name all night. The story truly ended with My Little Brother which reassured me after the five minute banter after only song one that it would still be a good show. Perhaps their timing will improve as this was the kickoff show of the tour and judging by Eddie's verbosity he was obviously excited to be back out on the road. Some of these ramblings spoke of chats with his mother trying to convince them to get the new album out because 'yelling music' is back in. "'Have you heard Sleaford Mods?' Yeah, Ma. I've heard Sleaford Mods. 'Have you heard Idles?' Yes, Ma. I love Idles."Following this they broke out a couple from the new, refreshingly strong album, Wham! Bam! Pow! Let's Rock Out! including She Kissed Me (and it felt like a hit) and I Hope You're Very Happy Together, and far as I was concerned their bases were now covered. It carried on with good humour and good music that entertained all, even my non-familiar, non-gig-going mate. Partway through Eddie asked the crowd for suggestions and once he heard what he was waiting for he said "Put away your setlists, Art Brut, we're gonna do Emily Kane!" At which point a cheeky audience member shouted out "Get over it!" much to everyone's amusement. After a few others from the inner albums that weren't too familiar to me but still sounded alright we came towards an end. With an early Friday night curfew they were aware of the time and forwent their finale for an 8-minute rendition of Modern Art that saw Eddie out in the crowd telling stories and getting laughs. Everyone seemed to be beaming on the way out as a band very much known for its yesteryear had put on a very good time today.
Luke Wright
Luke Wright burst onto the stage with energy and enthusiasm, quick to get things underway before he lost the crowd. Nearly apologising for being a spoken word artist at a music gig his wit and self-deprecating humour shone through but it was the poetry that really hit home. Modern, political (left), British and sharp he hit on the modern experience with jabs that came so quick that people were silent and straining to pick up on each one. A take-down of a British celebrity that I'm unaware of that utilised only one vowel throughout the entire piece was as ridiculous and impressive as that concept sounds. Luke confided that he had tried to open for Art Brut many years earlier and had been bottled off the stage but on this evening with perhaps a more mature crowd he had us rapt.
Exotic Pets
A local three-piece, Exotic Pets played some rocking indie music. It was rather straightforward but that wasn't a bad thing. The finale changed pace slightly but they still did not stray into overly memorable material.
Friday, January 4, 2019
The Arkells, Joel Hagan and the Family - Hare & Hounds - Nov 28, 2018
The Arkells
It felt like a warm-up tour for these guys who are playing hockey arenas across their homeland in the new year. By no means is this a bad thing, especially considering this was a few hundred person capacity room at the Hare and Hounds (for a tenner.) They seemed to play a lot of the new stuff which makes sense if you wanna polish it up, but completely omitting the debut, even in encore, seemed like an oversight for those there from the start. Michigan Left was the oldest track from their catalogue all night. Max does have the showman vibe yet still manages to have a few awkward moments within, not necessarily terrible but a little distracting in telling random stories or trying to hush shrieking Canadian female fans. "Represent our country respectfully." He also tried to win us over based on geography with a call for our best English accents on Leather Jacket (uh, English people don't have English "accents") and not pronouncing the city of Birmingham properly doesn't help. Using a bunch of other modern tricks, Max went into the crowd early to sing a song while stood on a stool (say that 5 times fast!) at the back, and the whole band returned later for an "acoustic" (though more like unplugged since they were still electric instruments) version of Book Club that was an unscripted request while the drummer tended to a broken snare with duct tape. There was, of course, some clap- and sing-alongs, as their brand of stadium rock is wont to have, and the crowd happily obliged on these. Now a staple of Foo Fighters shows, the boys asked for anyone who played guitar to stick up their hands. It wasn't exactly a stampede to get on stage but one woman did put her hand up and once she told them she didn't need their stinking guitar picks - she used her fingers - she played the part rather well, literally and figuratively. People's Champ was alright and a sign of where they have gone as a band with the chant-along accessibility and polished soar. They played a solid hour and some before faking the encore "we don't have anywhere to go" and bringing most of opener, Hagen and the Family, back onstage, minus Wonder Woman. They did a fan-voted cover "Theresa May stole it from Abba and we're stealing it back!" (I will put on record that I voted for Whitney.) The rendition was a bit of a hot mess, with Hagan forgetting some of the lyrics and everyone else trying to share mics, but it seemed joyous. After booting those guys back out I thought we might get John Lennon, alas it wasn't meant to be and I don't even recall at the moment the closer that took them minutes past curfew.
Joel Hagan and The Family
This was the only time I've ever queued at the Hare and Hounds at all, let alone down the stairs, out the door, and into the street. There must have been some anticipation for the openers, Joel Hagan and the Family, despite it not even being a fully sold out gig. The glitter on the faces of a large smattering of people stood in front of me was explained when this five-piece, all-male band took the stage with a bedazzled, glam rock singer plus a couple of female backup singers and dancers that were distractingly placed right at the front and ran around fake fawning and performing terribly choreographed dances. The crowd, old/young/male/female alike, ate it up and cheered and clapped along but my black heart remained stoic to this bashing over the head. The music was as you are imagining - upbeat, keyboard-heavy, with obvious electric guitar and bass solos. Joel did have a strong singing voice even if he dressed and spoke like a posh pirate. not too far off Johnny Depp who I channelled Keith Richards, but this seemed exactly like I wrote it - an homage to an homage.
It felt like a warm-up tour for these guys who are playing hockey arenas across their homeland in the new year. By no means is this a bad thing, especially considering this was a few hundred person capacity room at the Hare and Hounds (for a tenner.) They seemed to play a lot of the new stuff which makes sense if you wanna polish it up, but completely omitting the debut, even in encore, seemed like an oversight for those there from the start. Michigan Left was the oldest track from their catalogue all night. Max does have the showman vibe yet still manages to have a few awkward moments within, not necessarily terrible but a little distracting in telling random stories or trying to hush shrieking Canadian female fans. "Represent our country respectfully." He also tried to win us over based on geography with a call for our best English accents on Leather Jacket (uh, English people don't have English "accents") and not pronouncing the city of Birmingham properly doesn't help. Using a bunch of other modern tricks, Max went into the crowd early to sing a song while stood on a stool (say that 5 times fast!) at the back, and the whole band returned later for an "acoustic" (though more like unplugged since they were still electric instruments) version of Book Club that was an unscripted request while the drummer tended to a broken snare with duct tape. There was, of course, some clap- and sing-alongs, as their brand of stadium rock is wont to have, and the crowd happily obliged on these. Now a staple of Foo Fighters shows, the boys asked for anyone who played guitar to stick up their hands. It wasn't exactly a stampede to get on stage but one woman did put her hand up and once she told them she didn't need their stinking guitar picks - she used her fingers - she played the part rather well, literally and figuratively. People's Champ was alright and a sign of where they have gone as a band with the chant-along accessibility and polished soar. They played a solid hour and some before faking the encore "we don't have anywhere to go" and bringing most of opener, Hagen and the Family, back onstage, minus Wonder Woman. They did a fan-voted cover "Theresa May stole it from Abba and we're stealing it back!" (I will put on record that I voted for Whitney.) The rendition was a bit of a hot mess, with Hagan forgetting some of the lyrics and everyone else trying to share mics, but it seemed joyous. After booting those guys back out I thought we might get John Lennon, alas it wasn't meant to be and I don't even recall at the moment the closer that took them minutes past curfew.
Joel Hagan and The Family
This was the only time I've ever queued at the Hare and Hounds at all, let alone down the stairs, out the door, and into the street. There must have been some anticipation for the openers, Joel Hagan and the Family, despite it not even being a fully sold out gig. The glitter on the faces of a large smattering of people stood in front of me was explained when this five-piece, all-male band took the stage with a bedazzled, glam rock singer plus a couple of female backup singers and dancers that were distractingly placed right at the front and ran around fake fawning and performing terribly choreographed dances. The crowd, old/young/male/female alike, ate it up and cheered and clapped along but my black heart remained stoic to this bashing over the head. The music was as you are imagining - upbeat, keyboard-heavy, with obvious electric guitar and bass solos. Joel did have a strong singing voice even if he dressed and spoke like a posh pirate. not too far off Johnny Depp who I channelled Keith Richards, but this seemed exactly like I wrote it - an homage to an homage.
Wednesday, January 2, 2019
Clap Your Hands, Say Yeah! with Murray Lightburn - Hare & Hounds - Oct 24, 2018
Murray Lightburn
Opening was Lightburn of The Dears with just his acoustic guitar. To be perfectly honest I was a casual Dears fan at best, really liking the odd track and trying to get into them but not being able to otherwise. However this guy, stripped back, was strong. He admitted that he doesn't find his own guitar playing particularly good just functional enough to allow his songwriting and, most importantly, that excellent voice of his to be heard. It was like warm honey in the ears (that's a compliment). Playing mostly new tracks from the record he was plugging that he whined a few times wouldn't be out until the new year despite being done already because of the music industry, he did impress and fortunately the crowd paid him mind. Unassuming and appreciative of us it was an excellent display and I wish him the best and will keep an eye out for that album whenever it does drop.
Clap Your Hands, Say Yeah!
My partner was bugging me to go to this even before it was rescheduled and I wasn't opposed so off we went. Besides that, I really enjoyed The Tourist from last year (2017). It's interesting how a band goes from the hottest tip, with all the fallout of a perfect Pitchfork review, to playing to partly full small rooms in Kings Heath on a weeknight in a decade. In fact, a few years more than a decade since this was the ten year anniversary of their second record, Some Loud Thunder, which they were playing in full. To be honest, it's not all that strong and doesn't deserve the full-play treatment, though I could see it being afforded to the 10/10 (rated) self-titled debut. Anyhow we slogged through with only a couple of highlights like Satan Said Dance before they could actually open the set up. The singer, I'm pretty sure the only remaining original member but the owner of that signature nasal voice, was in a tattered suit, ugly shoes and a poorboy cap, while his band-for-hire mates were dressed normally and probably that decade younger than him (or perhaps the fame has been particularly hard on him?) There still weren't a lot of hits per se, but a group of girls nagged about Yellow Country Teeth until he finally relented/it came up in the setlist, and they came to the front to sing drunkenly before finally returning into the ether. I believe there was an encore but it didn't provide much more to get super excited about. With the first and last albums being head and shoulders above the rest, in this blogger's humble opinion, they were not paid nearly enough attention. So though the band were completely able and actually sounded pretty good the gig didn't leave a big impression overall. I should have spent the months between rescheduling listening up to the second disc I suppose.
Opening was Lightburn of The Dears with just his acoustic guitar. To be perfectly honest I was a casual Dears fan at best, really liking the odd track and trying to get into them but not being able to otherwise. However this guy, stripped back, was strong. He admitted that he doesn't find his own guitar playing particularly good just functional enough to allow his songwriting and, most importantly, that excellent voice of his to be heard. It was like warm honey in the ears (that's a compliment). Playing mostly new tracks from the record he was plugging that he whined a few times wouldn't be out until the new year despite being done already because of the music industry, he did impress and fortunately the crowd paid him mind. Unassuming and appreciative of us it was an excellent display and I wish him the best and will keep an eye out for that album whenever it does drop.
Clap Your Hands, Say Yeah!
My partner was bugging me to go to this even before it was rescheduled and I wasn't opposed so off we went. Besides that, I really enjoyed The Tourist from last year (2017). It's interesting how a band goes from the hottest tip, with all the fallout of a perfect Pitchfork review, to playing to partly full small rooms in Kings Heath on a weeknight in a decade. In fact, a few years more than a decade since this was the ten year anniversary of their second record, Some Loud Thunder, which they were playing in full. To be honest, it's not all that strong and doesn't deserve the full-play treatment, though I could see it being afforded to the 10/10 (rated) self-titled debut. Anyhow we slogged through with only a couple of highlights like Satan Said Dance before they could actually open the set up. The singer, I'm pretty sure the only remaining original member but the owner of that signature nasal voice, was in a tattered suit, ugly shoes and a poorboy cap, while his band-for-hire mates were dressed normally and probably that decade younger than him (or perhaps the fame has been particularly hard on him?) There still weren't a lot of hits per se, but a group of girls nagged about Yellow Country Teeth until he finally relented/it came up in the setlist, and they came to the front to sing drunkenly before finally returning into the ether. I believe there was an encore but it didn't provide much more to get super excited about. With the first and last albums being head and shoulders above the rest, in this blogger's humble opinion, they were not paid nearly enough attention. So though the band were completely able and actually sounded pretty good the gig didn't leave a big impression overall. I should have spent the months between rescheduling listening up to the second disc I suppose.
Saturday, October 20, 2018
All Years Leaving - Hare and Hounds - Oct 20, 21, 2018
Saturday
Dama Scout - A 3 piece including a female singer, and your standard guitar/drum/bass instrumental set-up offering up some grungy riffs. Came across as typical low-fi indie rock for the majority of the set though the final three songs brought it up a little, especially the tempo shifting Email Girl.
Independent Country - countrified version of indie songs including Jesus and Mary chain. Slide guitar and lots of the embroidered country shirts. 5 middle aged men.
Baywaves - 4 piece from Madrid which made sense I've they announced it with the hair and the vibe. Some light synths and perhaps in a nod to the name, surfy guitars. They were upbeat and appreciative "thanks for being nice to us" and could have played on if it were up to me
Menace Beach - 5 (1 f, guitar bunch of stuff, vocals shared with other man. Male guitarist had a lead vocals but sound want great) with a whole adornment of equipment, keys, synths, moogs, samplers plus two electric guitars and a bass. Headband drummer. Black rainbow sound song. Also had background screensaver that was kinda trippy.
Bank Accounts - one very outgoing singer guitarist, Sophie his small stand up drummer and his right hand jester on guitar too. It was more stand up comedy or performance art where the music, mostly short bursts of simple, tongue in check songs that guy us through to the next bit of banter, much of it planned with a bubble machine, passing around a bottle of champagne and then cheap corner store rum afterwards. A singalong almost got off the ground but not fully.
Speedy Ortiz - 4 piece with female lead and bass, had pretty decent music, not quite to dance to and not super rock out. Probably would have been better if I'd been more familiar
The Orielles - 4 piece of young and energetic musicians. Male guitarist was the ringleader but the female was the vocalist, and the curly, long haired kid on keys was the best addition. They played like they've had some seasoning which is probably true at this point. Finishing just a few minutes before curfew with what appeared to be their biggest hit single they pulled it off quite well but not leaving a lifelong impression.
Sunday
Mush - false starting with an electrified mic the all male four piece from Leeds went beyond the auspicious start. Although they started with jangly guitars over the driving drum beats they did show more mature songwriting then my first impression. Although there was one lead vocalist to others chimed in at times for echoes and call and response. Burning through the set to try and make up for lost time there wasn't much banter but they seemed casually funny in a dry way. In restarting one song due to an early misfire the singer chided them, "C'mon lads..!" A favourite refrain was "How do you survive in this gig economy? I live within my means!" The finale was a lengthy ride regarding Alternative Facts and was an enjoyable ride.
Snail Mail
True to the album she kept the whiny, almost crying vocals throughout. It was even more convincing as bathed in red light on the stage it was very reminiscent of their album cover. Unapologetically asking for more and less things in her monitor through the microphone in the middle of the first couple songs, plus a spot of feedback, didn't bode well and it seemed she might be put off it. However that didn't happen and after they soldiered through the first few they seemed to settle in. As with the album the music didn't quite grab and arrest me but it's obviously won them a solid following. They casually said they were from Baltimore which is hardly a notorious music scene that I'm aware of but carried on with American airs. She was the ringleader, with the drummer her go to, the two guys on guitar and bass hardly factored in, simply playing their notes on the wings. This went a step further when without any notice everyone just got up and left the stage, leaving the singer strumming until they were gone, never to be seen until they were going back up the stairs that we were filing out at the end. She was left playing a slow, drawn out tune solo with someone in the crowd failing to sing along loudly throughout for a high cringe.
Warmduscher
Four piece, with funky bass riffs. They were quite odd, especially the sunglassed lead singer with the multiple mega reverb mics. It almost seemed like a joke band, or something like that shitty English two piece * but I think they were taking it seriously and in this case the music at least was actually rather good. The name on the other hand, pronounced the way you wish it weren't, isn't.
Sunshine Frisbee Laser Beam
The local male four piece were billed as an acoustic set but but instead were crammed on the ground floor in the corner fully electric. With a new album out they did they were going to play it front to back. They only had a half hour set so I'm not sure that they accomplished it but they did play a bunch of great tunes, seeming to improve as the set went on. In spite of the band they aren't all out there or happy go lucky, it's clean indie rock, leaning towards rock grooves than indie hooks. I really liked it and even as most everyone else headed upstairs for Goat Girl I stuck with them.
Goat Girl
A six piece filled the stage with women holding down all the positions of two guitars, bass, violin, drums, and the lone male on the shaker (and keys? I couldn't tell as I was near the back.) I'd grown a bit tired of them on record but live they had strong song composition, a good lead vocalist and were engaging. Not much banter or nonsense except a weird delay before the second last song as the drummer seemed to be arguing to play a certain song and I think held it hostage until she got her way.
Dream Wife
Coming out to pump up music in a matching colour palette, the four piece had already stolen the show for the whole festival by the end of track one. And rightly so as they were the headliners and closers, for the first time they said initially then took it back to mock boos, remembering headlining a barn once. The lead singer (using IEMs for the first time) was absolutely beaming and pouring energy into the thing from the start to end, with the women flanking her doing much the same. The male drummer didn't factor in quite as highly but that's not the worst role for a drummer. Many women had already taken it upon themselves to be right at the front but a few songs in all the "bad bitches" got a proper invitation to the front and a bunch more took them up on it for Somebody. The technical definition given to be a bad bitch was not gender related as long as you supported the rest of your bad bitches, they filling the room. The guitarist with the drastic blonde haircut absolutely shredded whenever she got the chance, which was often enough. The highlight had to be Fuck You Up FUU as it had everyone in the front throwing their hands and voices in the air along with a solid clap along. All this even with the singer's mic dropping dead partway through, forcing her to grab the bassist's mic and the others to share making the moment all the more special. After that all that was left Let's Make Out which kept the energy up until they left the stage. The house music came up immediately dispelling any chance for an encore to the short 45 minute set (with a dozen minutes left to curfew) but there was still love in the air and it felt like people were going to take the finale's title literally, sure enough on the way out I saw a few couples who were doing just that.
Dama Scout - A 3 piece including a female singer, and your standard guitar/drum/bass instrumental set-up offering up some grungy riffs. Came across as typical low-fi indie rock for the majority of the set though the final three songs brought it up a little, especially the tempo shifting Email Girl.
Independent Country - countrified version of indie songs including Jesus and Mary chain. Slide guitar and lots of the embroidered country shirts. 5 middle aged men.
Baywaves - 4 piece from Madrid which made sense I've they announced it with the hair and the vibe. Some light synths and perhaps in a nod to the name, surfy guitars. They were upbeat and appreciative "thanks for being nice to us" and could have played on if it were up to me
Menace Beach - 5 (1 f, guitar bunch of stuff, vocals shared with other man. Male guitarist had a lead vocals but sound want great) with a whole adornment of equipment, keys, synths, moogs, samplers plus two electric guitars and a bass. Headband drummer. Black rainbow sound song. Also had background screensaver that was kinda trippy.
Bank Accounts - one very outgoing singer guitarist, Sophie his small stand up drummer and his right hand jester on guitar too. It was more stand up comedy or performance art where the music, mostly short bursts of simple, tongue in check songs that guy us through to the next bit of banter, much of it planned with a bubble machine, passing around a bottle of champagne and then cheap corner store rum afterwards. A singalong almost got off the ground but not fully.
Speedy Ortiz - 4 piece with female lead and bass, had pretty decent music, not quite to dance to and not super rock out. Probably would have been better if I'd been more familiar
The Orielles - 4 piece of young and energetic musicians. Male guitarist was the ringleader but the female was the vocalist, and the curly, long haired kid on keys was the best addition. They played like they've had some seasoning which is probably true at this point. Finishing just a few minutes before curfew with what appeared to be their biggest hit single they pulled it off quite well but not leaving a lifelong impression.
Sunday
Mush - false starting with an electrified mic the all male four piece from Leeds went beyond the auspicious start. Although they started with jangly guitars over the driving drum beats they did show more mature songwriting then my first impression. Although there was one lead vocalist to others chimed in at times for echoes and call and response. Burning through the set to try and make up for lost time there wasn't much banter but they seemed casually funny in a dry way. In restarting one song due to an early misfire the singer chided them, "C'mon lads..!" A favourite refrain was "How do you survive in this gig economy? I live within my means!" The finale was a lengthy ride regarding Alternative Facts and was an enjoyable ride.
Snail Mail
True to the album she kept the whiny, almost crying vocals throughout. It was even more convincing as bathed in red light on the stage it was very reminiscent of their album cover. Unapologetically asking for more and less things in her monitor through the microphone in the middle of the first couple songs, plus a spot of feedback, didn't bode well and it seemed she might be put off it. However that didn't happen and after they soldiered through the first few they seemed to settle in. As with the album the music didn't quite grab and arrest me but it's obviously won them a solid following. They casually said they were from Baltimore which is hardly a notorious music scene that I'm aware of but carried on with American airs. She was the ringleader, with the drummer her go to, the two guys on guitar and bass hardly factored in, simply playing their notes on the wings. This went a step further when without any notice everyone just got up and left the stage, leaving the singer strumming until they were gone, never to be seen until they were going back up the stairs that we were filing out at the end. She was left playing a slow, drawn out tune solo with someone in the crowd failing to sing along loudly throughout for a high cringe.
Warmduscher
Four piece, with funky bass riffs. They were quite odd, especially the sunglassed lead singer with the multiple mega reverb mics. It almost seemed like a joke band, or something like that shitty English two piece * but I think they were taking it seriously and in this case the music at least was actually rather good. The name on the other hand, pronounced the way you wish it weren't, isn't.
Sunshine Frisbee Laser Beam
The local male four piece were billed as an acoustic set but but instead were crammed on the ground floor in the corner fully electric. With a new album out they did they were going to play it front to back. They only had a half hour set so I'm not sure that they accomplished it but they did play a bunch of great tunes, seeming to improve as the set went on. In spite of the band they aren't all out there or happy go lucky, it's clean indie rock, leaning towards rock grooves than indie hooks. I really liked it and even as most everyone else headed upstairs for Goat Girl I stuck with them.
Goat Girl
A six piece filled the stage with women holding down all the positions of two guitars, bass, violin, drums, and the lone male on the shaker (and keys? I couldn't tell as I was near the back.) I'd grown a bit tired of them on record but live they had strong song composition, a good lead vocalist and were engaging. Not much banter or nonsense except a weird delay before the second last song as the drummer seemed to be arguing to play a certain song and I think held it hostage until she got her way.
Dream Wife
Coming out to pump up music in a matching colour palette, the four piece had already stolen the show for the whole festival by the end of track one. And rightly so as they were the headliners and closers, for the first time they said initially then took it back to mock boos, remembering headlining a barn once. The lead singer (using IEMs for the first time) was absolutely beaming and pouring energy into the thing from the start to end, with the women flanking her doing much the same. The male drummer didn't factor in quite as highly but that's not the worst role for a drummer. Many women had already taken it upon themselves to be right at the front but a few songs in all the "bad bitches" got a proper invitation to the front and a bunch more took them up on it for Somebody. The technical definition given to be a bad bitch was not gender related as long as you supported the rest of your bad bitches, they filling the room. The guitarist with the drastic blonde haircut absolutely shredded whenever she got the chance, which was often enough. The highlight had to be Fuck You Up FUU as it had everyone in the front throwing their hands and voices in the air along with a solid clap along. All this even with the singer's mic dropping dead partway through, forcing her to grab the bassist's mic and the others to share making the moment all the more special. After that all that was left Let's Make Out which kept the energy up until they left the stage. The house music came up immediately dispelling any chance for an encore to the short 45 minute set (with a dozen minutes left to curfew) but there was still love in the air and it felt like people were going to take the finale's title literally, sure enough on the way out I saw a few couples who were doing just that.
Thursday, February 1, 2018
The Weather Station - Hare & Hounds
Red River Dialect had the makings of an interesting band - a six piece, with violin - but the music was just not that compelling. The songs were long but didn’t go much of anywhere and were very calm but not sweet. A full 45 minutes was more than plenty.
Tamara introduced herself and the Weather Station, starting with a couple of older songs alongside her three male counterparts. Then they dug into the latest album which brought the show to life for me. Despite recovering from a cold so admittedly not being able to sing quite as she wanted to her delicate voice was still lovely, as showcased on a few stripped back songs mid set - one acoustic, one solo, and another with minimal bass accompaniment. Without even a wry smile she explained that “I’m Canadian so I love Neil Young” and how she mined for things to worry about, rather than a heart of gold. She also told a story about the dungeon hotel they’d been stuck in the night before, getting only some of it out before her band mates broke into hysterics and she could barely finish the story herself for laughter. Claiming that she’d written quiet songs for years but now felt the things she had to say needed to be said louder they rocked out a little more before closing with new single and favourite Thirty. This was before an awkward, no side stage encore call, where she called it a charade and beckoned her band back for Tape encore. Altogether it was a lovely show, and I’m glad her voice had returned to be able to perform it.
January 31, 2018 - Hare & Hounds
Tamara introduced herself and the Weather Station, starting with a couple of older songs alongside her three male counterparts. Then they dug into the latest album which brought the show to life for me. Despite recovering from a cold so admittedly not being able to sing quite as she wanted to her delicate voice was still lovely, as showcased on a few stripped back songs mid set - one acoustic, one solo, and another with minimal bass accompaniment. Without even a wry smile she explained that “I’m Canadian so I love Neil Young” and how she mined for things to worry about, rather than a heart of gold. She also told a story about the dungeon hotel they’d been stuck in the night before, getting only some of it out before her band mates broke into hysterics and she could barely finish the story herself for laughter. Claiming that she’d written quiet songs for years but now felt the things she had to say needed to be said louder they rocked out a little more before closing with new single and favourite Thirty. This was before an awkward, no side stage encore call, where she called it a charade and beckoned her band back for Tape encore. Altogether it was a lovely show, and I’m glad her voice had returned to be able to perform it.
January 31, 2018 - Hare & Hounds
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