Gig Report: Rodrigo Y Gabriela, Liverpool Academy, Monday 28 May, 2007

Returning back from 3 somewhat soggy days of camping in the Lake District where it appears I have picked up a cold, we troop over to Liverpool for a gig that Phil has grabbed some tickets for. Having never heard their work, I take it on good authority from Phil's enthusiasm that this is definitely an act worth catching. Arriving early, we stopped for some dinner nearby (of which the choice was rather slender in this part of town), and plump for some Indian food on the same street as the gig venue. Despite assuring me that what I had ordered would contain absolutely no coriander, the meal arrived promptly with the offending herb. I know - what on earth am I doing in an Indian restaurant with such a distaste for coriander - but seriously, it was the only option for dinner and I would never normally eat in a curry house by choice. It does make me kind of worry for people who have real allergies as they asked whether I was allergic and rather than explain that coriander just makes me retch I said 'yes'.
Anyway, we leave the Indian (round two of the same dish, by the way, tasted fine) and it's now raining so we scuttle into the venue for the gig. (Note, there are two entrances to this venue.) Finding the right entrance, we head in just before 8pm to see Brett Dennen take the stage clad in a jeans, chambray shirt and bandanna combination. Looking like a time traveller from 3 decades ago, Brett gave frequent peace signs and began to play. Now, I'm a big fan of the acoustic guitar (having picked one up recently as you will read in the previous blog) and I enjoyed his musical stylings, supported with a drummer. The thing is, it was just all a bit 'nice'. To be honest, he sounds like a copy of John Mayer, but with less impact. The songs, while I am sure were meaningful to him, were all delivered in a cookie-cutter-folk style and after a couple of songs I was playing a personal game of 'name the chords' to amuse myself. One look at his myspace page shows that he performs with John Mayer, who quotes on his site:
“A beautiful and spirited record. Instantly likeable.” Enough said.
Anyway, after a lengthy set up for the main act (in which I am growing tired an slightly impatient) Gabriela and Rodrigo take the stage to rapturous applause, such is the excitement of the audience - and I'm about to see why. Two cameras, one pointed at Gabriela's guitar and one (initially at Rodrigo's crotch but soon corrected) on the other guitar tell me that this is going to be a feast for the eyes as well. What follows is the most extraordinary display of talent I have witnessed live in a long time. The techniques of Gabriela and Rodrigo are as far apart as they are on stage - Gabriela's hand flamenco dancing at warp speed over the strings like a startled spider while Rodrigo primarily plucks so fast it makes your head spin just watching. The duo, from Mexico, are both playing Spanish guitars though the influences are clearly heavy rock / metal interspersing the odd track with the likes of Black Sabbath. Odd I know - I normally associate Spanish guitar with theme-park type tapas bars trying desperately to seem authentic. These guys completely turn that idea on its head - transfixing the audience with their raucous foot stomping rock. What strikes me as odd is their sense of timing, which is faultlessly precise considering that a) they are quite a distance on stage from each other, b) they are not even facing each other, which wouldn't matter because c) they both have their eyes closed. Absolutely incredible. Also pleasing to see is that they have not lost the ability to connect with the audience despite the intensity of the show and a small language barrier, played a decent encore (Stairway to Heaven like you have have never heard it) and shook hands with people in the front at the end.
Truly gifted musicians, it is incredible to watch a duo up close that are this good.

Olé!!

New additions to the penthouse!

In our ever-expanding collection of musical instruments, we have added two new guitars - these being a Yamaha APX 500 in dark red burst and a Parker Fly Deluxe in black. The Parker of course is Phil's (who has played for many years) and the Yamaha is for me as I have recently felt the need to get strumming and in an effort to avoid breaking Phil's more precious instruments I felt it a good idea to get my own. I'm not about to start a myspace page or launch a tour, but have mastered a handful of chords that I am murdering every song I can with and having a lot of fun.

Polly Comes Back!

News has just reached me that Polly Paulusma is returning to Manchester and is playing at the Roadhouse on June 7, for get this.. £4 a ticket! Fine - she may not be on the charts, but her stuff is definitely worth a spin...
Also, Little Man Tate are doing a couple of reasonably local gigs as a pre-cursor to their T in the Park performances. I feel a quick trip to Bolton is absolutely necessary...
(revised: we now HAVE tickets to this one!)

Gig Report: J'aime Nouvelle Vague! Monday, 21 May 07

Sneeking out for a cheeky school-night gig, Phil and I headed for the smaller venue (3) at Manchester Academy to catch Nouvelle Vague this week. A trip to this venue of course not being complete without the obligatory strawberry beer from Kro Bar. And yes, as always they were again understaffed - we stood and watched two stylishly aloof late-teenage bar staff lounging by the coffee machine idly dreaming of their futures for far longer than necessary.. anyway, over to the Academy where we are directed upstairs and down a corridor to the venue - feeling like we are entering a small school hall (admittedly with a bar) for the gig. As smaller venues goes, this one rocks - perfectly intimate for catching your favourite bands up close and personal - should they happen to play here. Unusual for us, but we arrived with time for drinks before the support act who on this occasion is the Hawaii-born Simone White. We both actually assumed she would be European, but a quick chat with her on the way out confirmed otherwise. Taking the stage rather unceremoniously and unannounced, Simone began with a vocal-only song, capturing the attention of the crowd. Though she continued on unsupported playing accoustic guitar for the set and delivering a solid set of delicate tunes, she failed to set the stage alight at any point owing to a complete lack of stage presence. Such was her coy nature and inability to sell herself, it almost felt like we were intruding on a private performance.

After a half hour changeover, Nouvelle Vague took the stage in front of a by now, very eager crowd. To say they gave a spirited performance is understating it in the extreme. Every bossanova- styled post-punk song (a good mix from the first and second CDs) delivered with theatrics, gusto and enthralling variation to the CD version. The two girls on stage responding to the crowd and including them for participation on such local classics as 'Love Will Tear Us Apart' - I wonder if they knew the Joy Division were from Manchester... Playing a full hour and a half, NV showed us a great time with powerful (and charmingly French) vocals, stage presence and hey - it's not often that the singer pours whiskey into cups for the people at the front!

Phil's quote for the evening: 'The best thing about this gig is that when we shout éncore, they will know what we're saying'.

Bravo!

Radio None

That's right - no report on the Radio 1 Big Weekend. The guy who I was getting tickets from had already sold them to someone else on eBay who made an paypal payment, so he felt obliged to hand them over (for more money) to them. Bitterly disappointed, but at least it allowed us to rest for the Great Manchester 10km Run on Sunday where we completed the course in 57mins (me) and 61mins (Phil). The sun shone and soon erased the bad mood of missing out on the festival.
Nouvelle Vague tonight - stay tuned for the report!

Gig Report: Welcome to Jazz Club... Thursday, 17 May 07

Where to start with this? Well we went in with an open mind and mildly excited that we would be enjoying the talents of possibly the UK's most highly acclaimed trombonist. That said, I was in a bit of a mood that a) I'd just lost the tickets to Radio 1's Big Weekend and b) I'd had a lousy day at work which would probably be followed by a torturous client visit the following day.
Anyway, we entered the hall in the Royal Nothern College of Music to find as expected an eclectic bunch of people taking their seats. Lights went down and half a dozen musicians, including Dennis Rollins himself took their place on stage. Musically it got off to a fairly slow start and I was beginning to imagine myself in a cruise ship dinner dance before the free-form contemporary jazz style took over. I've got to admit that I really tried to like it - but I've decided that atonal off-time signature musical ramblings are not my thing. One look at Phil confirmed that it wasn't his flavour either and summed it up perfectly, saying: 'I think I prefer it when they all play the same piece..' Indeed.
Downing a quick drink in the interval, we went back in for the second set where we enjoyed the more traditional jazz stylings and interpretations of modern tunes (Tracy Chapman's Fast Car a highlight) though by then I'd had enough and was more focussed on the impending horror of a day I'd have the next day, so we departed.
Overall it's a great venue for technical music performances and there is a good vibe, but contemporary jazz is not my flavour.

STOP PRESS!!

Yes cinderella - you will go to the ball after all!! After a bitter disappointment in missing out on tickets to Radio One's Big Weekend I have managed to snaffle some last minute tickets to the event from some poor guy who can no longer go. My heart bleeds, honest.
So, this Saturday, in a limited crowd of say 15,000 and a couple of massive tents, Phil and I will be throwing some shapes out in the muddy fields of Moor Park, Preston. The Saturday line up is really quite impressive:

Main Stage
Scissor Sisters
Razorlight
Kasabian
Fratellis
The Fray
Natasha Bedingfield
The Twang
Jamie T

In New Music We Trust Stage
Groove Armada
The Gossip
LCD Soundsystem
CSS
Biffy Clyro
Cold War Kids
Pidgeon Detectives

Plus a whole bunch of other acts in the Outdoor Arena.

Rock on!!! Gig reports to follow, of course.
Tonight though, it's the trombone recital!