THE WHISPERTOWN 2000 (London Luminaire, 19/09/09)



Enjoyable country-rock stomps and impressive facial hair from The Whispertown 2000, whose infectious enthusiasm almost compensated for the evening's sub-par support acts. Actually, that's not entirely fair- Anna Calvi's guitar skills were damn impressive, it's just a shame her songs were lacking.

(Photo: Anika Mottershaw)

AU (London Cafe Oto, 16/09/09)



Imagine if you merged Holy Fuck, YACHT and Lightning Bolt together via some sort of awesome musical alchemy and you might get something a bit like Au. The ever-energetic duo's short but effervescent set jolted between jaunty camp electro-balladry and assaults of pure noise with carefree abandon but they were never less than entirely compelling.

(Photo: Anika Mottershaw)

SUNSET RUBDOWN (London Garage, 15/09/09)



My Spencer Krug fanboyism has been well documented so I'll keep this brief- despite being not quite as sublime as the Luminaire show, this still ranks as one of the best shows of 2009. Idiot Heart was much more electrifying than its recorded incarnation, Trumpet Trumpet Toot Toot is still a masterpiece in synth-drenched mania and the run of You Run On Ahead->The Men Are Called Horsemen There->Mending Of The Gown spectacularly highlighted the best songs off each of their albums. Hooray!

(Photo: tnarik (Flickr))

CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX (London Dingwalls, 14/09/09)



My ears still haven't recovered. Not quite post-rock, not quite prog-rock but most definitely fucking loud, the 8-piece's apocalyptic 'end-time ballads”shook Camden to its foundations. Although the Mogwai/GY!BE influences are clear (the bassist from the former band was a founding member), there's a lot more going on than just guitar-centric crescendos- there's a theatrical element to them that's much more Pink Floyd than the po-faced minimalism that normally besets the genre. Highlight was “Burnt Reynolds” which unexpectedly was even more OTT than on record, with the small but appreciative audience happily filling in the song's choral parts. Fantastic.

(Photo: Dematak (Flickr))

DIRTY PROJECTORS (London Scala, 13/09/09)



Taking support bands into account, possibly the best all-round shows I've been to this year. Dirty Projectors were occasionally infuriating but mostly brilliant- the additional band members really enhanced the Bitte Orca stuff, and the female vocal harmonies were on occasion utterly out-of-this-world. And tUnE-yArDs was worth the price of admission alone- I've rarely, if ever seen someone with such incredible vocal control. She does some very unusual things with her voice, and uses loop pedals, a ukulele and a drum to create a sound akin to a one-woman Animal Collective. Certainly left-field, but rather brilliant- the greatest support band discovery I've made in 2009.

(Photo: David Emery (Flickr)

LONEY DEAR (London Union Chapel, 10/09/09)



Well, Loney Dear was OK and Whispertown just didn't suit Union Chapel but tonight was all about the wondrous Wildbirds and Peacedrums who put on the show of their lives. Always peerless in terms of vitality and passion, the Swedish husband-and-wife duo finally had the acoustics to give full life to their tribal drums and impassioned, wild vocals, not to mention a wonderfully respectful audience. It's no exaggeration to say the climatic duel-drumming of Today/Tomorrow was one of the most breathtaking things I've ever seen at a gig; one of those increasingly rare moments where I am left genuinely lost for words. An absolute marvel of a performance.

(Photo: Anika Mottershaw)

BELL ORCHESTRE (London Garage, 09/09/09)



My first time seeing the instrumental Arcade Fire side-project, and man, they sure didn't let me down. Even with their more restrained, subtle compositions there's an unostentatious passion that elevates their emotional resonance to a higher plane, and when they let loose with their soaring flights of orchestral beauty they're capable of moments as breathtaking as anything I've ever seen, most notably the transcendental climax of Icicles/Bicycles. Shame about the Luyas' crushingly disappointing set though- difficult, tuneless and beset with technical hitches, it certainly didn't show them off in the best light.

(Photo: John Gleeson)

THE KISSAWAY TRAIL (London Bush Hall, 07/09/09)



The Danish five-piece's propulsive set may have suffered from a lack of variety, but their heavily post-rock-influenced indie rock has an impressively expansive quality that often seemed too epic for the modestly sized Shepherd's Bush venue. But even better were the dark and atmospheric Chimes and Bells, whose moody subterranean female vocals and intense drumming were a far cry from the jollity of many of their Scandinavian contemporaries. And there were free cupcakes. Success!

(Photo: Anika Mottershaw)

THE DODOS (London Bush Hall, 03/09/09)
 


The Dodos are talented guys, but they sure don’t make it easy for the audience. Their spectacular displays of percussive folk would have taken the breath away if they hadn’t gone on forever, and the variable quality of their song-writing was sadly spotlighted by their insistence on playing mostly lesser-known (read: aimless) material. What made it worse is that they finally got the formula right during the encore, leaving us to wonder how good they could’ve if they’d been that focussed and engaging throughout. Pretty good, but not nearly as good as they should be.

(Photo: Alan Bee (Flickr))

THE ANTLERS (London 229, 02/09/09)



Review: HERE

(Photo: John Gleeson)

THE WELCOME WAGON (London St. Leonard’s Church, 01/09/09)



Although I may not be as down with the J-Man as Vito Aiuto and his Presbyterian pals, my personal religious convictions were no impediment to enjoying this thoroughly charming little show. Performing in a church lit solely by candlelight, the Asthmatic Kitty signings tonight bolstered their gospel infused indie-folk with a four-piece backing choir and a professional pianist. Vito’s vocal style is reminiscent of Sufjan Stevens (who incidentally produced their debut), but the real draw is his wife Monique, whose pure, delicate vocals add a touching hint of wide-eyed innocence to the deep spirituality (and at times, foot-stomping fun) of their music. They seem like truly lovely folks too, engaging the audience with good-natured banter and giving a Brooklyn baseball cap to the person whose birthday was closest to Christmas “because they always get gypped when it comes to presents.” It’s just a shame this wasn’t better advertised (I only found out about it that very morning) because they deserved a much bigger audience- let’s hope they make a welcome return soon…perhaps with Mr. Stevens in tow.

(Photo: Littlepants (Flickr))

I’M FROM BARCELONA (London Favela Chic, 27/08/09)



Probably the first time genuine joy has ever been elicited at a trendy Shoreditch wine-bar, I’m From Barcelona’s typically celebratory performance was as always a total pleasure to behold. The 14-piece Swedish joy-horde may be reluctant to tweak their setlists (this was almost identical to last year’s Scala show), but the 200-strong audience were too busy being covered with confetti, bouncing balloons and fending off crowd-surfing saxophonists to care. AND they covered Justice vs. Simian’s “We Are Your Friends” which naturally ranks as one of the greatest gig moments of 2009 so far. Awesome scenes.

(Photo: Anika Mottershaw)

MONOTONIX (London Garage, 24/08/09)



Review: HERE

(Photo: Anika Mottershaw)

BEACH HOUSE (London Union Chapel, 21/08/09)



Three competent but undistinguished performances from three talented but uncharismatic bands. Papercuts’ folk-Deerhunter sound piqued my interest, but I‘ve seen more vitality in a morgue; Vetiver were slightly more lively, but I’ve only a limited appetite for their traditionalist folk-country leanings. Headliners Beach House had a few isolated moment of greatness and their new songs sounded promising, but the fact remains they sound a a lot better on record- their synths sounded washed out and not even the grand acoustics of Union Chapel could make Victoria Legrand’s voice soar as it should. A slightly disappointing evening.

(Photo: Anika Mottershaw)

BILL CALLAHAN (London Union Chapel, 19/08/09)



Review: HERE

(Photo: Ewan-M (Flickr))