Tonight Matthew, Tim Wheeler's going to be Black Francis

If you could form a tribute band and play cover versions of their best songs, which band would you choose?

That's the question posed by The JD Set, and when they asked Tim Wheeler, lead singer with Ash, he picked that most influential of indie rock bands, Pixies. It's a choice that makes some sense when you think about the bands' shared off-kilter way with a guitar-led melody. Wheeler himself says that when his 13-year old self discovered them and their "many strange and interesting elements, it was like nothing I'd heard before and opened up a whole new world to me". 

There's no guarantee we'll be seeing the Boston, Massachusetts band in a small Hoxton basement club like XOYO any time soon, so last Thursday it was up to Wheeler and his fellow crop of young pretenders to blaze their way through some of the finer moments of Pixies’ five album-strong back catalogue.

His other band members tonight were made up of various indie scene types recruited as a revolving backing band. First up were The Crookes, a rising Sheffield band who got the pick of some of Pixies’ best pop moments, getting to play Here Comes Your Man, Wave Of Mutilation and Gouge Away.

Emmy The Great played the Kim Deal role to Wheeler’s Black Francis on I Bleed and Gigantic although she seemed a little under-used, and missed out some of Deal's finer moments. A bit of a shame as when she was on stage her vocals stood out next to Wheeler’s. While Black Francis might have been a trail-blazer for atonal, furious vocals, the animalistic yelps he lets out at the bitter crux (“then Gaaaahd is seven”) of Monkey Gone To Heaven weren’t anywhere near matched by Wheeler’s weak efforts.

A combination of strong stage presence and styled haircuts ensured that The Crookes were the better of the backing bands on tonight, but Ma Mentor and And So I Watch You From Afar worked well to bring out those feedback moments and dominant basslines.

Mark Hamilton and Rick McMurray turned up to reform Ash for the last few songs of the evening, recruiting Bloc Party’s Russell Lissack for the ride. And once they’d run out of Pixies songs (although there was some consternation at certain notable omissions - hey, where was Hey?), they treated the audience to a couple of Ash tracks.

Early single Petrol was a convenient reminder of how, even at the outset of their career, Ash combined a youthful thirst for noise with a keen sense of melody. With that track and Burn Baby Burn, Wheeler’s voice was noticably more effective back in its own comfort zone.

Tonight was a fun jolly for Wheeler and his mates, and tracks like Debaser and I’ve Been Tired still stand as great live tracks, but ultimately the audience were left pining for the real thing. And thankfully the real thing are still around. Let’s enjoy them while we still have the chance.

The JD Set continues to give musicians Stars In Their Eyes moments with Sharleen Spiteri interpreting David Bowie tracks at the O2 ABC, Glasgow on 20 April and Mani covering The Smiths songs at Band On The Wall, Manchester on 12 May.

London Gigs Diary: 28 March - 3 April 2011

A series of gigs have been announced in the capital with the music world coming together to help those affected by the recent earthquake and tsunami that devastated parts of Japan. If you want to see live music while giving money to charity, here are some of the events so far lined up.

On 2 April, We Love Japan will be held at the Relentless Garage in Highbury. Strongly themed, the acts playing are Japanese and include iMMa and girl pop-rock outfit No Cars. Plus there will be a karaoke booth. Proceeds will go to the Japan Society Tohoku Earthquake Relief Fund.

The following evening, the Japan Disaster Benefit will see big names Richard Ashcroft, Beady Eye, The Coral, Graham Coxon, Primal Scream and Paul Weller play Brixton Academy in aid of the Japanese Red Cross.

On 10 April, and also raising money for the Red Cross will be a more alternative line-up at the God Don't Like It curated night at Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen. Bo Ningen, Comanechi and The Catcher Nine are all on the bill.

On 21 April, ATP have organised the Made In Japan event at the Forum. Typically left-field, their fundraiser will feature Squarepusher, LFO and Fuck Buttons.

Gigs Of The Week: 28 March - 3 April 2011

Ether - South Bank Centre, London - to 28 April

The Ether festival is back and in residence at the South Bank Centre for the coming month. With a tendency to explore the more experimental corners of music and performance, there's a suggestion of a space theme this year with a sprawling list of events including the world premiere of Will Gregory's debut opera, Piccard In Space about the physicist August Piccard, and two showings of 2001: A Space Odyssey soundtracked live by the Philarmonia Orchestra and Philarmonia Voices. Other potential highlights should include Cologne-based electronica label Kompact presenting their ambient sounds and an Oliver-Coates curated Harmonic Series, featuring James Blake, Seb Rochford and Anna Meredith.

More details here.

Elbow (pictured) - O2, London - 28, 29 March

With their fifth album, Build A Rocket Boys! safely released to a chorus of approval, the inexorable rise of the boys from Bury continues with two nights at London's monster-sized venue. As they become increasingly comfortable matching their stadium-sized anthems with actual stadiums, the current tour should be a real coming of age for the band ahead of a festival-heavy summer.

More details here.

The Kills - Heaven, London - 31 March

Flip-flopping between The Kills and her other major project The Dead Weather, Alison Mosshart is one of the most vital live performers in the rock world right now. Back in her band with Jamie Hince after a three year break, The Kills are about to release their fourth album, Blood Pressures. Heaven seems a good fit for their brand of dirty indie rock.

More details here.

Also Recommended:

Rumer - Royal Festival Hall, London - 28 March

Moddi - Slaughtered Lamb, London - 28, 29 March

Patrick Wolf - KOKO, London - 29 March

Peter Bjorn And John - Dingwalls, London - 30 March

Younger Brother - XOYO, London - 30 March

New York Dolls - Old Vic Tunnels, London - 30, 31 March

Summer Camp + Wilder - XOYO, London - 31 March

Killing Joke - Royal Festival Hall, London - 1 April

UNKLE - Brixton Academy, London - 1 April

Josh T Pearson - Purcell Room, London - 1 April

Paul Heaton - Koko, London - 1 April

The Thermals + The Coathangers - XOYO, London - 1 April

Just Announced:

Ray Davies' Meltdown - South Bank Centre, London - 10-19 June

As previously announced, this year's Meltdown festival is being curated by The Kinks' Ray Davies. He's now put together his programme and it's a curious mix of English eccentricy and post-punk rebellion. Spanning folk, funk, ska and punk, acts lined up include The Alan Price Set, Geno Washington & The Ram Jam Band, Madness, Yo La Tengo and Lydia Lunch. Other guests will include Roger McGough, Terry Jones and Michael Palin, Michael Eavis, and a night with John Cooper Clarke, John Otway and Wild Willy Barrett.

More details here.

Saint Saviour - Hoxton Hall, London - 14 April

We've been big fans of Saint Saviour since seeing her dominate the stage when performing with Groove Armada in recent times. This bundle of day-glo alpha-female energy has finally put together some of her own material with her Anatomy EP being released this week. And she's announced a few dates, starting with Hoxton Hall, before she heads to Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham, Nottingham and Hull.

More details here.

Paul Simon - Hammersmith Apollo, London - 28 June

With a new album, So Beautiful Or So What, scheduled for release on 13 June, there's a rare opportunity to see Paul Simon in concert as he performs some of the apparently bluegrass-influenced new material alongside songs that span a career lasting almost 50 years. Aside from this London date, he'll also be playing in Nottingham, Glasgow, Bournemouth and Birmingham.

More details here.

Björk to premiere Biophilia at 2011 Manchester International Festival

The biennial Manchester International Festival has quickly become a highlight of the cultural calendar since its inception in 2007. Damon Albarn premiered his Monkey: Journey To The West production there in the Festival's opening year, while 2009 saw Rufus Wainwright's Prima Donna opera receive its world debut, as well as performances from Lou Reed & Laurie Anderson, Antony & The Johnsons, De La Soul, Elbow performing with the Halle Orchestra, and an art installation by the acclaimed documentary maker Adam Curtis.

This year's Festival has just been announced, and it looks as mouth-watering as ever. The main highlight is the return to these shores of Björk, who will host the world premiere of her new Biophila stage show at the city's Campfield Market Hall.

Biophilia promises to be more than just a live show. It's billed as "a multimedia project encompassing music, apps, internet, installations and live shows" and over six shows the Icelandic pixie will perform new material and highlights from her considerable back catalogue with a group of musical collaborators. While the majority of these are as yet unannounced, there will be an Icelandic female choir, a pipe organ that accepts digital information and - get this - a 30 foot pendulum which harnesses the Earth's gravitational pull to create musical patterns.

It promises to be a unique experience, and with Campbell Market Hall's capacity being only 1,800, it's likely that this will be the hottest ticket in Manchester this summer.

Other highlights include Damon Albarn's new work Doctor Dee - a stage show at the Palace Theatre about the famous Elizabethan scientist, alchemist and astrologer. Although some period instrumentation will be featured, Albarn's collaborator Rufus Norris has promised that this won't be "pastiche Elizabethan".

Elsewhere, in a fine example of the diverse range of attractions on show at the Festival, Snoop Dogg will perform the whole of his seminal Doggystyle album in full at the Apollo, Hollywood star Willem Defoe stars in The Life and Death of Marina Abramović (with a soundtrack from Antony Hegarty) while comics Victoria Wood and Johnny Vegas will both have new works showcased.

The Manchester International Festival will be held between 30 June and 17 July at a variety of venues all over Manchester. Further details can be found at http://mif.co.uk/

Grizzly Bear's Chris Taylor, Solange Knowles and Twin Shadow team up for charity single

With Grizzly Bear bassist Chris Taylor having produced Twin Shadow's debut album Forget, and soul/funk singer Solange Knowles having demonstrated a communion with such alternative music luminaries, having previously collaborated with Of Montreal, the three artists have now come together to release a song to raise money for the Replenish Africa Initiative.

Teaming up with the Coca-Cola Africa Foundation and their NGO partners in Africa, the track, Kenya, clearly benefits from the influence of each of the three contributors. You can donate an amount of your choice to download it here.

Accompanied by a video brought back by director Natalie Johns who had travelled to Kenya  to learn about the issues and solutions around access to water and sanitation, there’s also a behind the scenes “making of” mini-documentary shot in the Kibera Slum of Nairobi and rural region of Kirindon, Kenya.

With an initial target of $10,000, the proceeds will be spent on three specific projects: building a girl’s latrine at a school in Rwanda, building a rainwater harvesting roof in a school in Uganda and purchasing water containers for children to transport water home from school to their families in Cameroon.

   

London Gigs Diary: 14 - 20 March 2011

Texas has stolen all the bands. As swathes of the best acts in the world head to Austin for the annual showcase of talent at the South By South West music festival, those of us not fortunate enough to be following them have seen our city’s gig world decimated for a few days. 

We have a writer there, hunting down the best of the crop, and he'll be reporting back all for our benefit. Meanwhile, in a quieter London, there is still music to be heard and there are still bands to be seen.

 

 

 

 

Gigs Of The Week: 14 - 20 March 2011

Loop Festival – The Forge, London – 16-19 March

The Loop Festival is on this week at The Forge in Camden. Organised by Loop, London’s contemporary jazz collective, this is the third time they’ve put together this event, although this time they’re moving to The Forge, a lovely and flexible little venue just off Camden High Street. It’s a great chance to check out what developments are being made in the jazz world, and includes four album launches – three of them, by Mirror, Mark Hanslip and the Javier Carmona Duo and Splice, all taking place on Saturday.

More details here.

Also Recommended:

Dry The River – Barfly, London – 15 March

Spark – Hoxton Bar & Kitchen, London – 15 March

Dee Dee Bridgewater – Ronnie Scott’s, London – 15, 16  March

Crystal Fighters – Heaven, London – 16 March

The Decemberists – Hammersmith Apollo, London – 16 March

Giggs – XOYO, London – 16 March

Tim Burgess + Mark Collins – Union Chapel, London – 16 March

Woods + Spectrals – Bush Hall, London – 16 March

Justin Bieber + Willow Smith – O2, London – 16, 17 March

Billy Vincent – Ginglik, London – 17 March

Cake – Troxy, London – 18 March

Duke Garwood – Cafe Oto, London – 19 March