It was a busy week on the live music front last week. I took in three gigs. After that and the football I had to have a bit of a lie down.
On the Sunday of the Bank Holiday weekend we paid our annual visit to the Clerkenwell Festival where, as always, the crowd were almost as entertaining as the bands. The minor celebrities, dandies and dickheads were all there in abundance.
This year's headliners were Swell Maps. Sadly two of the three original members - Nikki Sudden and Epic Soundtracks - are no longer with us, leaving only Jowe Head (he's the one in the Jowe Hat). A few years ago he decided to revive the name and gathered together a group of like-minded souls to honour his fallen comrades and develop new material. They released an album called "C21" earlier this year.
The live set was a mix of old and new material. It was a bit low energy to start, not helped by a dreadful sound system, but then Luke Haines came on to sing a couple of songs (as he does on the album) and gave proceedings a much needed boot up the backside. After that everyone else went up a gear and by the end the band and the audience were all having fun.
From old familiars on Sunday to newer favourites on Wednesday. The excellent Yalla Miku were back at the Shacklewell Arms for another night of music that is indescribable (in a good way) - think Can meets Stereolab meets Eritrean traditional music, if that is something that is capable of being thought.
Since we saw them in the same venue this time last year Yalla Miku have released their second album, the first with this line-up. It is called "2", presumably because they had exhausted their imaginations creating the music it contains, and that provided the bulk of the set. They put on a great show, undeterred by the clammy conditions. Here's bassist Louise Knobil taking a well-earned break to cool off under the fan.
To complete the triumvirate we headed to Milton Court Hall (tucked away inside the Guildhall School of Music and Drama) on Saturday to see Bedouine. I have raved about her here previously and have seen her do a live guest spot, but this was the first time I have been to a full show. I enjoyed it a great deal. She has a wonderfully warm voice that makes the world seem a bit cosier for a while.
Bedouine was over in Europe promoting her latest album "Neon Summer Skin" which is full of reflections on family and her eventful childhood. She is of Armenian heritage, was born in Syria and spent some of her early years in Saudi Arabia before moving with her family to the US, so there is probably a lot of reflecting to be done.
On Saturday she played the new album in full and followed it with some old favourites. Stylistically the new material is much the same as before with the exception of an Armenian samba that includes a whistling solo that would warm Walter's heart. The album is well worth checking out.
I am pretty convinced Bedouine is a time traveller from the 1970s. After the show on Saturday we were trying to think who her voice reminded us of. We didn't resolve that but all the names we came up with - Karen Carpenter, Rita Coolidge and Phoebe Snow among them - were from that decade. The dress and the pleasure she gets from tapping a triangle seal the deal.
"Helicopter Spies/ A Raincoat's Room" - Swell Maps
"Vertical Take Off And Landing" - Swell Maps
"La Tour Eiffel" - Yalla Miku
"Dusty Eyes" - Bedouine
"Deghma Cheega" - Bedouine
The ever helpful Retromanblog65 has posted a video of one of the Swell Maps/ Luke Haines numbers from the Clerkenwell Festival, so that is the obvious way to kick off the video section.
You've been a busy boy.
ReplyDeleteBedouine is/are the pick of the bunch for me.
She said the same about you
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