Dale Earndhart Jr Jr, Barfly, Camden, Sunday 12th February 2012

A brilliantly poppy and fun show. It brought to mind Prince or the White Stipes bluesy rock.

There were nice touches through the set. They used a phone for some vocals. They sang into the guitar when a strap broke. They played a version of God Only Knows that seemed to do justice to the sounds bouncing around inside Brian Wilson's head. They jumped into the audience, and put arms around us. And they pulled out a absolutely blinding cover of 'I Wanna Dance with Somebody' at the start of the encore, in a tribute to Whitney Houston, and while wearing fluorescent tailored jackets, which really got the crowd going.

They made a massive sound for the three of them, and are obviously very proficient musicians. A really excellent and enjoyable show. The whole crowd left on a real high.

We Are Animal, Barfly, Camden, Sunday 12th February 2012

A really good uptempo set of songs that could well become indie dancefloor classics, but also sounded quite like Hi-NRG dance at times, reminiscent of tuneful techno. They also reminded us of lots of danceable bands - Doves, Hot Chip, Arctic Monkeys, The Music, Dandy Warhols, as well as Stereophonics' Dakota and Primal Scream at the time of 'Give Out But Don't Give Up'.

Eagulls, Barfly, Camden, Saturday 10th February 2012

The initial reaction to Eagulls starting their set was how incredibly loud it was, which came as quite a shock The band members also looked quite incongrous. The singer was rocking an early-90s dole queue chic, carrying himself like a punk Ian Curtis. The bassist and one of the guitarist were grunging. And the other guitarist looked like he was holding down a well-paying office job.

They were incredibly tight as a band and produced a really great, coherent sound. Once we'd tuned our heads to the volume, they sounded really good, particularly the latter part of the set, or it may have just been that they'd put their stronger material towards the end of the set.

They had some great poppy moments (such as song with lyrics 'You don't care about me') and made us think of early Idlewild, but also of a heavier Vaccines or the Fall. The guitarist on the left hand side of the stage had some great early-90s British inide guitar sounds, which melded really well with the grungy arrangements. The singer had a swaggering charisma about him, and the fact that they were selling tapes, rather than CDs, also suggested a certain charm, so we'll keep an eye out for them and will be interested in hearing what they sound like in the studio.

History of Apple Pie, Barfly, Camden, Saturday 10th February 2012

There were lovely melodic vocals, although these were somewhat drowned out by the grungey guitars (discussion in the audience seemed to suggest that was an issue with the mix, rather than their usual sound). They had a some good tunes – Mallory, in particular, stood out – and made us think of Veronica Falls.

MoonJets, Barfly, Camden, Saturday 10th February 2012

An expected bonus after the HMV Next Big Thing show.

Upbeat chirpy guitar pop, a bit like McFly. They got feet tapping and had the audience (particularly the girls,of whom there seems to be a strong contingent) enthusiastically bouncing along.

Little Comets, General Fiasco and Fossil Collective, The Borderline, London, 7th February 2012

Fossil Collective played enjoyable lilting alt.country melodies. They made us think of Fleet Foxes with a bit more driving rhythm. We'll certainly try to look out some of their stuff as we didn't know anything by them before the show.

General Fiasco were really excellent. Their name gave no indication of what they would sound like and we were very pleasantly surprised by their energetic, spirited guitar indie. Some of their songs had a Libertines inflection and they made us think of a range of slightly Britpoppy bands that we're fond of, from Tribes, Hockey, Mona and the View to the Bluetones and Menswear.

The whole General Fiasco set really rattled by, with a high tempo and hardly a pause between songs. The musicianship was really tight. The singer had a great voice, with a touch of Buddy Holly.  There was a slight change of pace with an acoustic song from their first album towards the end of the set. The audience went crazy for it, with lots of fans were singing along. The songs seemed stronger towards the beginning, so if those were the newer songs, that may bode well for things to come.

The first song of the Little Comets set took people by surprise. It was understated and a chunk of the audience did not seem to realise that the headliners had started. The tempo rose with the rest of the set. It might be lazy to lump bands together because of where they come from but there was something reminiscent of Maximo Park in their sound.

Having started their third song with a Rolling Stones-esque lick, Little Comets launched into some great afrobeat rhythms for the rest of the set. This gave them vibrancy and got the audience moving. At the same time, the use of language in the songs made for a poetic pairing with the rhythms. The singer dedicated one song to his grandma who died last week, which was very touching, and they seemed to be having good banter with the crowd, so it was rather inaudible at the back. An enjoyable set though, with a few really great tracks in about the third quarter of it.

Wrecking Ball and acappella sax solos

There were three exciting revelations on the Backstreets website this morning.

The first, that the new Springsteen album will be called Wrecking Ball and will include versions of Wrecking Ball, Land of Hope and Dreams and American Land (presumably studio cuts, since live versions of these are already available), as well as nine other new songs.

The fact that Bruce has chosen to include two songs he had before Working on a Dream on the new album would suggest that he thinks they will fit well with the rest of the body of songs on the album, so I think we can assume that the new songs will follow a similar thread. And the song titles would seem to bear that out as well, as far as we can guess anything from them: We Take Care of Our Own, Easy Money, Shackled and Drawn, Jack of All Trades, Death to My Hometown, This Depression, You’ve Got It, Rocky Ground,  We Are Alive,  Swallowed Up.

The second, that a song was already available, seems amazing. Although artists do frequently just post tracks online, I would have expected at least a few days notice of a new song appearing. But Bruce does seem to embrace new technology in fits and starts. And to waver between fastidious attention to detail (every album before Lucky Town), and rushing things out in a thrill of excitement (the Live in New York City album, Jersey Devil, Lucky Town). The photo-montage video with lyrics posted for We Take Care of Our Own is definitely in the rushed camp, though there doesn't seem anything rushed about the mixing or sound.

The song seems to sit in the same ball park as Radio Nowhere that will definitely grow on me and be a great piece in his live sets. The sound sounds much more alive and open than it has on much of Bruce's newer work, which also bodes well for the album.

The third exciting revelation this, as recalled by Terry Camp to Backstreets.com following Bruce's Light of Day show this week: "Bruce's 'Big Man!' call during 'The Promised Land,' as the crowd itself sang the sax solo, was quite poignant. I think it was the birth of a moment that would be great to see on the tour, as Bruce, band and audience become one unit paying tribute to Clarence. It felt very natural, and of course the crowd is going to pick up that so-familiar solo. It's an uplifting moment that can stand alone — without an actual sax."

This sounds like an incredible way to replace the key saxophone moments. Was it spontaneous? Did Bruce plan it? Did Bruce trust his instincts that the audience would fill hole, as with Pay Me My money Down over the encore break on the Seeger Sessions tour? I'd love to know how it came about. It'll be great to hear live, too, though I wonder how many times, and how self-consciously, it could be brought out without feeling less natural and all-embracing. I expect, that as with the bridge in Badlands, audiences may just run with it and take it wherever they want.

Now to read the Rolling Stone piece on the 'wild' new, 'sonically experimental' album...

Tribes, Barfly, Camden, 16 January 2012

Setlist: Whenever - Girlfriend - Sappho - Himalaya - Coming of Age - When My Day Comes - Corner of an English Field - Alone or With Friends - Walking in the Street- Nightdriving - We Were Children

There was a real buzz in the queue and in the venue before the band came on. Clearly a group of competition winners seeing their favourite new band in a small venue is more than enough to blow away any London-crowd Monday-night apathy.

The band came on to a stage flooded with dry ice and a barrage of strobes. For the first few songs, we couldn't see the band and they couldn't see us, a slightly odd situation which they commented on. But it did make the band and audience feel very much as one with the songs coming from disembodied misty figures. If the dry ice had cleared faster, it might have the same effect as the Manics entry for the Holy Bible Astoria shows. As it was it was still a great entrance.

They then piled through their classic tunes songbook. All the EP tracks that are on the album, some album tracks they'd not played before, and great versions of Sappho, When My Day Comes and We Were Children.

The crowd were really behind the band the whole way, belting out choruses, throwing pints and even crowd-surfing - no mean feat in an audience of 150.

 

It's a rare treat to see a band play their debut album in its entirety and create such energy amongst the audience that they got the floor shaking.

Album tracks that we hadn't heard before seem slower than those we knew already. They were driven by fairly heavy guitars and some seemingly heart-felt lyrics that touched a chord with the audience.

By the end of the packed set, our ears were ringing and the room was buzzing with excitement.

Lanterns on the Lake, Cargo, 12 January 2012

This was a magical, evocative show. The band created cinematic soundscapes but retained the intimacy of their album recorded in a domestic setting.

You could almost feel the concern of the audience when a string broke early in the set but the band and us audiencers were undeterred, 'we've got some broken strings and things but it doesn't matter.'

Performing in a railway arch didn't detract from the music either. On hearing a distant rumble which fitted the evening's mood, we were told 'That's a train going over, thats not an effect'.

The second song went a bit U2, playing guitar with a bow and built until it sounded like it was about to become 'Where the streets have no name'. Then they got a bit country with a song telling us 'don't waste your love you know you need better'.

Overall: Beautiful, cinematic, engaging.

Lyle Lovett Set List from August 23rd in Pittsburgh, PA USA

Set list from Lyle Lovett August 23rd:

Post-Gazette had a very positive review and gave a lot of help for this set list

Opened with an instrumental just like an old soul review. Mr. Lovett does indeed support a very large band. The 14 members consist of:

· Cello – John Hagen

· Guitar – Ray Herndon ( stood at left side of stage )

· Acoustic Guitar/Mandolin – Keith Sewell

· Fiddle – Luke Bulla

· Guitar – Mitch Watkins ( seated at right side of stage )

· Bass – Leland Sklar

· Drums – Russ Kunkel LA session legend, is originally from Pittsburgh

· Percussionist – James Gillmer

· Piano – Jim Cox

· Steel Guitar – Buck Reid

· 3 Male Singers: Willie Green, Jr. , Sir Harry Bowens, Sweet Pea Atkinson

· 1 Female Singer: Francine Reed

1. The Blues Walk from Lyle Lovett and his Large Band ( 1989 )

2. Stand By Your Man from from Lyle Lovett and his Large Band ( 1989 )

3. Penguins from I Love Everybody ( 1994 )

4. Farmer Brown/Chicken Reel from Natural Forces ( 2010 )

5. Here I Am from from Lyle Lovett and his Large Band ( 1989 )

6. Cute as a Bug from My Baby Don’t Tolerate ( 2003 )

7. I Will Rise Up/No More Cane from It Ain’t Big Its Large ( 2007 )

· Lovett tells story about singing national anthem at 1992 world series in Toronto. Bands meets Ted Turner. He asks Willie Green, Jr what he was talking about with him. Green answers, “I thanked him for his cable network”. Here is Lyle singing anthem in 2010 with the same cello player.

8. My Baby Don’t Tolerate from My Baby Don’t Tolerate ( 2003 )

9. She’s Already Made Up Her Mind from Joshua Loves Ruth ( 1992 )

10. Friend of the Devil from Dedicated ( 1991 ) a tribute record to Grateful Dead, which is where Lyle met Sklar/Kunkel, did the vocals with Billy Payne. Says if you listen to the record do keep in mind that Payne was eating a sandwich, but came right in on queue.

11. Fiona from The Road to Ensenada ( 1996 ) – note Julia Roberts middle name is Fiona..

12. Lights of LA County from Pontiac ( 1987 )

13. Nobody Knows Me from Lyle Lovett and His Large Band (1989)

14. Keep it in your pantry from Natural Forces ( 2010 ) band is reduced to Bluegrass core, guitar, fiddle banjo

15. I’ll Come Knockin’ from Step Inside this House ( 1998 ), which reminds Mr. Lovett Of Walter Hyatt and the Uncle Walt’s Band, an Austin Legendary band…

16. Up in Indiana from It’s Not Big It’s Large ( 2007 ) – great segue during song from bluegrass combo to full band, then solos from everybody. Awesome guitar solos.

17. The Front Porch Song written with Robert Earl Keen, not on any Lovett release

18. If I Had a Boat from Pontiac ( 1987 )

19. Nobody Knows Me from Lyle Lovett and his Large Band ( 1989 )

20. North Dakota from Joshua Loves Ruth ( 1992 )

21. What Do You Do from Lyle Lovett and the Large Band ( 1989 )

22. Wild Women Don’t Get the Blues from Live in Texas ( 1999 )

23. She’s Hot to Go from Pontiac ( 1987 )

24. That’s Right ( You’re Not from Texas ) ( 1996 )

25. Church from Joshua Loves Ruth ( 1992 )

26. It’s Rock and Roll from Natural Forces ( 2009 )

27. You Can’t Resist It from Lyle Lovett ( 1986 )