Category: Live Reports (Page 18 of 37)

SOULWAX Live at O2 Manchester Ritz

14 April 2017 /


Before Belgium’s SOULWAX even played a note tonight at Manchester Ritz, the stage set was a synthspotter’s wet dream.

A beautifully monochromatic and almost perfectly symmetrical set-up boasting an incredible array of mainly vintage equipment including an EMS Synthi A, ARP 2600 (with custom red LEDs on the sliders), ARP Odyssey, Oberheim 2 Voice and a Macbeth modular being amongst the gear on display.

It was plain from the off that this wasn’t going to be a low budget laptop-prodding live experience and that’s without mentioning the three drum kits! Two out of the three kits were Staccato ones; these unique looking drum sets (which have brilliantly been compared to ‘Humpty Dumpty’s shorts’ due to their flared-out look) were an essential tonight to help perform tracks from SOULWAX’s current opus ‘From Deewee’ which features three different percussionists.

What was also noticeable was the white acoustic tiling which lined the interior of the triple drum cages; in a nod to KRAFTWERK, the aesthetic of these recalled the clinical look of the German synth maestro’s Kling Klang studio soundproofing.

Opening with the instrumental overture ‘Preset Tense’ from the current album, the rippling synth arpeggios rose to an electronic crescendo before launching into ‘Masterplanned’ and the dropping of covers to reveal the three drummers; stage left and right and one behind the Dewaele brothers. Recalling the drama that used to accompany the imperial phase of DEPECHE MODE’s classic live shows, it was an undeniably stunning start to tonight’s show.

The majority of the night’s set was made of selections from the ‘From Deewee’ album with a few choice tracks from the SOULWAX back catalogue including ‘Krack’ and ‘Another Excuse’.

During ‘NY Excuse’, a metallic replica of the piston shaped robotic figure from the cover of ‘From Deewee’ rotated whilst being hit by a beam of white light as the song’s mantra-like quality took hold.

As the song hit its climax, Stephen Dewaele coaxed screaming lead synth sounds out of his ARP2600 and the track provided an undisputed highlight of the night’s show. Throughout the night, whilst many in the audience bounced up and down, others were transfixed by the spectacle of watching live electronics with three live drummers perfectly in synchronization.

For those that have witnessed the SOULWAX live experience before, their shows are presented in a breathless continuous mix format, with songs segued into each other, helping to maintain the club / dance vibe of most of their material.

Maintaining the monochromatic theme, piercing white lights positioned at strategic points on the stage were perfectly synced and triggered via the band’s Ableton software during the show.

After approximately an hour and half’s worth of performance, the band took a short break and then came back for an encore including a supercharged version of ‘Miserable Girl’ to climax the evening.

If a criticism could be levelled at the show it would be that it was maybe a little too heavily skewed towards the material from ‘From Deewee’ at the expense of some of the band’s stronger back catalogue. But considering the logistics of bringing three drummers, it made musical sense to bias towards these more recent songs as the featured musicians played such a big part in the creation of them.

What was ultimately refreshing about tonight was that there are still bands that are willing to take musical risks in the live arena and put on a show that was undoubtedly a major technical nightmare to stage and one that could possibly be a money-loser considering the amount of performers / equipment involved.

If you do get a chance to catch SOULWAX live or even their 2MANYDJS incarnation, don’t miss out on the chance.

This is about as far away from what some electronic / synth bands consider a live show… perfect symmetry indeed.

‘From Deewee’ is released by PIAS in the usual formats

http://www.soulwax.com/

https://www.facebook.com/soulwax/

Text by Paul Boddy
Photos by Roger Kamp
14th April 2017

RICHARD BARBIERI Live at Hoxton Hall

30 March 2017 /


Supporting the release of his third solo album ‘Planets + Persona’, Richard Barbieri presented an intimate live show that covered many facets of his recording career from JAPAN to PORCUPINE TREE.

While Barbieri’s rig featured the expected all mod cons like a MacBook, controllers and a Roland V-Synth, the set-up also included his beloved Sequential Prophet 5 and Roland System 700 Lab Series.

Accompanied by the versatile Swedish musician Lisen Rylander Löve on saxophone, percussion and voice manipulations, the pair began sedately with ‘Night Of The Hunter – (3) Innocence Lost’ from ‘Planets & Persona’.

Utilising a wide cinematic spectrum of electronic and organic colours, the show started in earnest with the sleazy rhythmic adventure of ‘Solar Sea’. The track’s atonal jazz feel with its spacey momentum saw Löve screeching into a Cold War vintage Russian Army microphone, while drowning her eerie larynx with a variety of gadgets. With a warping System 700 bass, it was part avant techno and part ambient as Barbieri moved across his four keyboards to provide texture and atmosphere.

Löve left the stage for Barbieri to perform alone in the evening’s first big surprise. After a series of improvised sweeps and shimmers, the iconic metallic cascade of JAPAN’s ‘Ghosts’

Barbieri handled the familiar detuned percussive blips on his Prophet 5 before playing the haunting string tones on the V-Synth as a drum loop kicked in. “Oh, I didn’t expect that much applause!” responded the Catford boy after the crowd roared with approval at the end.

Next, the rumbling sub-bass squelches of ‘Medication Time’ from Barbieri’s debut solo long player ‘Things Buried’ shook the fittings of the venue which was built in 1863. As elements of TANGERINE DREAM filled the room, there was yet another surprise when the melancholic electric piano motif from the JAPAN cover of THE VELVET UNDERGROUND & NICO’s ‘All Tomorrow’s Parties’ appeared at various intervals.

Barbieri continued with the work of his former band by playing the gentle “dolphin music” of ‘The Experience Of Swimming’, the track he composed for the B-side of the ‘Gentlemen Take Polaroids’ single. As the beautifully nautical ambience reached its coda, elements of ‘Nightporter’ were subtly segued in.

Löve returned for ‘Unholy’ with the widescreen vibe countered by unsettling Nordic voice samples, before being followed by the spacey avant jazz of ‘New Found Land’ which was originally written by Barbieri for PORCUPINE TREE.

During this sequence of music, Löve added a kalimba to her repertoire which enhanced the electro- acoustic balance with an authentic ethnic touch.

Closing the main part of the show with ‘Hypnotek’ from Barbieri’s second album ‘Stranger Inside’, the rolling bass sequences, spy drama piano and muted Fourth World tension came together with a musicality that was like a masterclass in instrumental music… MG, please take note!

To rapturous cheers, Barbieri returned for an encore and with the self-deprecating humour he had displayed throughout the evening, he joked: “I didn’t want to wait too long, in case it died down”.

He treated the appreciative crowd with a superb electronic adaptation of PORCUPINE TREE’s ‘Idiot Prayer’. With the new arrangement at times sounding like SIMPLE MINDS’ ‘Love Song’, it was a fabulously energetic conclusion to proceedings.

Unafraid to delve into his glorious history, RICHARD BARBIERI ably showed why he is one of the most inventive synthesizer technicians that the UK has ever produced.

His modest, down-to-earth demeanour with a willingness to stay in the background has perhaps stopped him from being better known, but the music he produces today is still wonderfully intriguing and deserves further investigation.

‘Planets & Persona’ is released in CD, double vinyl and digital formats by Kscope

https://www.facebook.com/RichardBarbieriOfficial/

http://www.kscopemusic.com/artists/richard-barbieri/

http://www.nightporter.co.uk/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
Photos by Richard Price
30th March 2017

DEPECHE MODE Live at Glasgow Barrowlands

27 March 2017 /

It can’t be easy being DEPECHE MODE, the sheer weight of expectation for everything they do from their devoted fan base must sit heavy at times, a fact evidenced by the diminishing returns on recent albums, the latest ‘Spirit’ included.

There is no denying however that they are still a huge live draw even if, like the aforementioned recorded output, recent tours have seemed like an exercise in going through the motions. As someone that remembers them as fresh faced poppets wielding synths without a drummer in sight at venues smaller than the average arena green room, it was with some fascination I approached the BBC 6 Music headline show at the legendary Glasgow Barrowlands.

How would they fair away from the huge stages of European Olympic stadia and under the eye of a watchful BBC TV camera crew? The answer is, unsurprisingly, good and at times bad… The Barras and the Glasgow audience has a fearsome reputation and rightly so… if they like you, you will be carried along triumphant to the encore and beyond… hate you and, well let’s say many a band have found out that it isn’t beer in those thrown pint glasses…

The scramble for tickets for this show and the fallout surrounding touting/reseller sites has left a bitter taste in the mouth of many a fan but the lucky 1200 or so that attended the Sunday night show, from across Europe and beyond, settled into the East End venue under a palpable blanket of expectation.

The BBC missed a trick by not pairing Depeche with an actual band as warm up James Lavelle’s DJ set was little more than background music to the inevitable meetings and greetings between fans. Come just after 9pm however and DJ Lauren Laverne came on stage to awkwardly introduce the headliner.

Keeping with tradition the set opened with the opener from the latest album, in this case ‘Going Backwards’ from ‘Spirit’. I’ll admit I haven’t enjoyed a DM album since ‘Songs of Faith & Devotion’, I find the way the band has developed to run counter to what made them great in the first place (and no, I’m not going to mention a certain Mr Wilder…) – however, this track sounded much punchier than the version on ‘Spirit’.

Another new song, ‘So Much Love’, comes across better live as did the surprise inclusion of ‘Corrupt’ from ‘Sounds Of The Universe’. But it was from here that things started to go a little awry and the fault can be laid squarely at the door of Mr Eigner and his bish-bash-bosh style of drumming.

As someone said, he plays like he hates his chosen instrument with little finesse and at times apparent rhythmic skills. His timing seemed off during the next couple of numbers, especially so on the intro to ‘World in My Eyes’. His fills and cymbal rolls added little to ‘Cover Me’, a track crying out for a real big production à la Midge Ure’s ‘Dark Dark Night’.

I have to question the need, in a shortened set like this, to allow Martin Gore his solo slot but it was given to allow a performance of ‘Home’. The latest single ‘Where’s The Revolution’ remains a plod, one thankfully without an anticipated mass audience train dance while ‘Barrel Of A Gun’ did little to lift the tempo. ‘Walking In My Shoes’ was messy, but thankfully an energetic ‘Personal Jesus’ lifted the set back on track, in time for it to finish.

Calls for an encore were answered with a spirited ‘Enjoy The Silence’, the crowd, who in reality gave more energy to the band than they received from the stage, taking the lead on the choruses. And with that it was over, a short set but one that encapsulates everything that is right and wrong about DEPECHE MODE 2017.

The band, I am sure, won’t be particularly bothered about my opinion, as they embark on what will no doubt be another highly lucrative world tour. This showing however demonstrates that as a band, they don’t really work as well on the huge stages of football stadiums and indoor arenas as they do in the more intimate environs of venues like the Barras.

An enjoyable evening but one I fear, as we all get older, we won’t see the likes of again. Still a valid live act? Yes, of course but one better experienced up close and personal and not 1000 yards away outdoors. Although even this near, nobody can tell what Fletch does…

Special thanks to Kevin May for the use of his photos, please visit http://halotheviolatorbook.com/ for information on his forthcoming book ‘Halo’

‘Spirit’ is released by Columbia Records in CD, deluxe 2CD, double vinyl LP and digital formats

http://www.depechemode.com/

https://www.facebook.com/depechemode/

https://twitter.com/depechemode

Text by Ian Ferguson
Photos by Kevin May
27th March 2017

BLUE ZOO + B-MOVIE Live at Dingwalls

7 January 2017 /

 

London’s Dingwalls played host to a fabulous double header featuring two veteran cult bands who emerged from the post-punk era.

The colourful BLUE ZOO, managed by the JAPAN and WHAM! svengali Simon Napier-Bell, achieved a No13 hit with ‘Cry Boy Cry’ in 1982. Meanwhile, B-MOVIE appeared on the ‘Some Bizzare Album’ alongside DEPECHE MODE, SOFT CELL, BLANCMANGE and THE THE.

However, the Stevo managed B-MOVIE were sadly unable to secure a major chart entry, despite being on the cusp with the magnificent singles ‘Nowhere Girl’ and ‘Remembrance Day’. B-MOVIE reformed in 2004 with their original line-up of Steve Hovington (vocals + bass), Rick Holliday (keyboards), Graham Boffey (drums) and Paul Statham (guitar) and released a poignantly titled new album ‘Climate Of Fear’ in 2016.

Opening with a track from it called ‘Feeling Gothic’, it was perhaps a nod to Paul Statham’s career in between the two phases of B-MOVIE as a sideman to Goth icon Peter Murphy of BAUHAUS fame.

Indeed, Statham maintained a successful musical career co-writing and producing songs for a variety of diverse acts including Dido, Dot Allison, Kylie Minogue, Rachel Stevens, Sarah Nixey and Jim Kerr. As well as that, he was part of synthpop trio PEACH who released their only album ‘Audiopeach’ on Mute in 1997, a long player which also featured some of the last vocal recordings made by the late Billy MacKenzie.

Next came ‘Moles’ from the ‘Some Bizarre Album’ followed by one of B-MOVIE’s best songs ‘Polar Opposites’. Although both were delivered at a less frantic pace than the original versions, the band were tight with Hovington’s simple, repetitive basslines locking in with Boffey’s drums and Statham’s rhythmic six string while Holliday displayed a fabulous display of ivory gymnastics which at times verged on Rick Wakeman.

While B-MOVIE were often seen by their first major label Phonogram as a band to do battle with DURAN DURAN, ‘Welcome To The Shrink’ showed that perhaps they had more in common with ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN, only more synth laden.

Meanwhile ‘Another False Dawn’ dedicated to Donald Trump was a reflection of how B-MOVIE continue to be in touch politically, just as they had been with earlier songs like ‘Mediterranean’ and ‘Blind Allegiance’ . The band took a short break to rest Paul Statham’s broken shoulder (occurring during an accident while jogging!) so Steve Hovington treated the audience packed into Dingwalls to a solo acoustic take of the 1980 vintage ‘Swinging Lights’.

Returning to play some of their newer material, the marvellous ‘Corridors’ captured the classic template of B-MOVIE as a prototype of THE KILLERS, with Hovington’s voice as resonant as ever. An extended ‘Nowhere Girl’ gave Holliday another chance to flex his fingers while the evergreen ‘Remembrance Day’ wrapped the set nicely with a song that is still sadly relevant, 35 years on. Just quite how these two songs were never massive hits remains a mystery and evidence that chart success is certainly no indicator of quality.

While B-MOVIE have actually marginally slowed down the tempo in a live setting, BLUE ZOO seemed all set to make up for lost time and partied like it was 1982. Reforming more recently in 2011, the vivacious and colourful Andy O was joined by two of the original band Mike Ansell (bass) and Micky Sparrow (drums) plus two new recruits Tom E Morrison (guitars) and Graham Noone (keyboards). Sparrow in particular kept the audience entertained with his Essex boy banter while sipping on a can of Carlsberg.

Beginning with ‘Funganista’, one of their first new songs in 33 years, it was a lively set from BLUE ZOO that comprised one part Ziggy and two parts Thin White Duke with a sprinkling of Romo fairy dust. The band even went back to their origins as an art pop combo named MODERN JAZZ with an airing for their first single ‘In My Sleep (I Shoot Sheep)’, while ‘In Love & In Life’ from their Yugoslavian only second album ‘For All I Really Care’ also got dusted off.

Meanwhile Andy O was if nothing, a passionate and charismatic performer. Still in fine voice, there was still that suitably raspy Bowie-esque timbre to add a darker edge. Taking time for a breather, Andy O sat on a stool for an atmospheric rendition of ‘Love Moves In Strange Ways’ while ‘Cry Boy Cry’ inevitably instigated a heightened level of crowd participation with the frontman reprising variations of his ‘Top Of the Pops’ moves from back in the day.

Finishing the main set with the funky ‘I’m In Reverse’, another track from the MODERN JAZZ days, it was a brilliant synth assisted funk-out recalling KING’s ‘Won’t You Hold My Hand Now’, a fine indicator of the greater fame BLUE ZOO could have achieved. Returning for an encore with the ASSOCIATES flavoured near hit ‘I’m Your Man’, BLUE ZOO concluded with a congregation singalong cover of ‘All The Young Dudes’ “for Dave…”

On the weekend of what would have been David Bowie’s 70th birthday, it was all highly appropriate and very touching.

It was a well attended evening so for BLUE ZOO and B-MOVIE, it was an opportunity for some people to recognise what they might have missed back in the day… most people embrace the opportunity to catch-up with lost friends and tonight was a wonderful opportunity to get re-acquainted again and make new connections.

The reconfigured reissue of BLUE ZOO’s debut album ‘2 By 2’ is released by Cherry Pop, available from http://www.cherryred.co.uk/product/2-by-2-expanded-edition/

http://www.bluezoo.org.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/Blue-Zoo-142532685791097/

B-MOVIE’s new album ‘Climate Of Fear’ is released by Cleopatra Records, available from https://b-movie.bandcamp.com/album/climate-of-fear

http://b-movie.co.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/B.MovieMusic/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
11th January 2017

HANNAH PEEL Live at St Leonard’s Church

28 November 2016 /

It was at “a meeting of minds on memory / art / music / literature / film” curated by Kirsteen McNish of Vine Collective in association with Alzheimer’s Research UK that Hannah Peel launched her acclaimed second album ‘Awake But Always Dreaming’ with an emotional live presentation in the heart of London.

Only a stone’s throw from her basement studio where most of the album was recorded, St Leonard’s Church in Shoreditch was the setting for an event to raise awareness of the effects of memory loss and dementia.

It is said that one-in-three people will develop dementia. The charity Alzheimer’s Research UK aims to defeat dementia through studies in prevention, treatment and cure. The experiences of Hannah Peel with her own grandmother’s gradual decline into dementia inspired ‘Awake But Always Dreaming’ and the event featured a number of artists from different fields, each with their own story to tell on the issue.

wrangler-shoreditch-church-01

First up was poet, writer and filmmaker Lavinia Greenlaw and her short film ‘The Sea Is An Edge And An Ending’. At times deeply upsetting, it was indeed a moving “study of the impact of dementia on our sense of time and place”. To continue the theme, director and choreographer Shelly Love introduced her more surreal short film ‘Scratch’ where “A lone character inhabits a subterranean world. Stuck between worlds, she fails to move on…”

In between, music was provided by WRANGLER’s Stephen Mallinder and Phil Winter with a DJ set described by Mallinder on Twitter as “all kinda ‘tings with @disco_rdance visual magics”. Beginning sedately, as the evening progressed, the soundtrack got louder and more distorted. But whether this was a creative aspect to proceedings or the electrics at the church struggling to cope, it was difficult to tell.

A special guest took to the stage in the shape of one-time ‘Doctor Who’ Christopher Eccleston; the actor lost his own father to the dementia and has become a supporter of Alzheimer’s Research UK. He read two poems ‘Apart’ by Robin Robertson and ‘Straw Weight’ by Will Burns with his passionate charisma clearly projecting through and holding the attention of all present. Alzheimer’s Research UK’s Christmas campaign advert ‘Santa Forgot’ was also shown.

Produced by Aardman Animations and featuring a voice over by Stephen Fry with music composed by Hannah Peel, it imagines a world without Santa Claus; it touchingly ends with the little girl Freya whispering to Santa “I believe in you”.

Electronic pioneer John Foxx could be considered Hannah Peel’s mentor having brought her to wider attention via JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS, so it was highly fitting that he eloquently introduced her to the stage.

A short piano only intro of ‘All That Matters’ acted as an overture before the thrust of driving synth bass and sparkling arpeggios of the fully synthesized version filled the church hall. Meanwhile second song in, ‘Silk Road’ from her interim ‘Fabricstate’ EP was a surprise but welcome inclusion in a set based around the album ‘Awake But Always Dreaming’.

The poignant ‘Don’t Take It Out On Me’ highlighted the main theme of the evening before the spacey cocoon of the ‘Awake But Always Dreaming’ title song showcased Peel’s progression as an artist, with its looming, hallucinogenic squeals. It was augmented by the complimentary percussive colours of Daisy Palmer, a fabulously intuitive drummer who only played what was required and avoided the excesses found with some better known electronic based combos.

The set was enhanced with films produced by Daniel Conway and By Emmaalouise Smith comprising of mind maps and Super 8 home footage to visualise the fracturing of memory and this was particularly striking on the haunting moods of ‘Tenderly’.

‘Standing On The Roof Of The World’ and ‘Hope Lasts’ added a few noisier textures as Miss Peel made effective use of her two Dave Smith Mopho x4 synths, one now specially customised with a new keyboard to suit her soloing technique.

But the crowd were in total silence for an impressively forlorn performance of Paul Buchanan’s ‘Cars In The Garden’ on music box. Joined by Erland Cooper, her producer and bandmate from THE MAGNETIC NORTH, on harmonies, the on-stage banter between the pair revealed a closeness that can only come from being locked in a studio together as Cooper joked about Peel’s white stage outfit resembling a lab coat.

The beautiful vocal melodies on ‘Invisible City’ continued the mood before the main segment of the show closed with the two-movement ‘Foreverest’. Mutating into a heavy Glam laden stomp with screeching violin, it provided a fitting off-kilter soundtrack to the futility of the rat race while forgetting the importance of loving relationships.

Returning for an encore, the heartfelt and very personal ‘Conversations’ provided an emotive focal point as to the evening’s aims. But not wanting to finish things on a downer, Peel’s encouraged the crowd to sing along to a ‘Rebox’ rendition of ‘Tainted Love’. Despite forgetting the words to the third verse and the dark lyrics, it provided the hopeful lift that was needed to ensure the evening’s message rang home.

While it was full of drama and tears, there was the optimism and hope that only art and music can provide. With Hannah Peel’s own story of how her grandmother was able to singalong to Christmas carols despite having suffered from memory loss for several years, it is said that “Researchers have found that playing music from someone’s young adult years, from around 18 to 25, is likely to provoke the strongest response. As patients enter late-stage dementia, music from their childhood may prove more powerful”.

With this information to hand, ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK is all for harking back and celebrating the past if it goes any way towards improving an individual’s quality of life.

‘Awake But Always Dreaming’ is released by My Own Pleasure in CD, vinyl and download formats and available direct from https://hannahpeel.tmstor.es/

http://www.hannahpeel.com

https://www.facebook.com/HannahPeelMusic

https://twitter.com/Hanpeel

https://www.instagram.com/hannahpeelmusic/

For information on the work of Alzheimer’s Research UK and how to donate, visit http://www.alzheimersresearchuk.org/

Laura Barton’s article for The Guardian ‘Awakenings: Hannah Peel on how she harnessed music’s power to cut through dementia’ can be read at: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/nov/23/awakenings-hannah-peel-on-how-she-harnessed-musics-power-to-cut-through-dementia

Text and Photos by Chi Ming Lai
28th November 2016

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