SHEARWATER (London Garage, 24/11/12)


Not seen Shearwater live for almost four years, so it was good to see them again – even if they’re not quite the band they used to be. The soaring richness of Jonathan Meiburg’s voice and the power of their songs remain undiminished, but they’ve sacrificed some of their nuance for volume and although the new drummer is fine, well, he’s just not Thor. That said, if you’ve got a thing for topless ornithologists, tonight would have pressed all the appropriate buttons.

FANFARLO (London Union Chapel, 22/11/12)


Can’t go wrong with a show at the majestic Union Chapel, and Fanfarlo’s pleasant indie-folk stylings was the perfect fit for its candlelit beauty. New material sounded promising, and although I’m not nearly as much as a mega-fan as the *really* enthusiastic guy sitting on the front pew, can’t deny they’re a talented bunch.

DESTROYER (London Village Underground, 13/11/12)


A certain friend may have derisively described them as “Bob Dylan fronting Simply Red,”, but man, I love Destroyer. Dan Bejar is an atypical frontman, not providing much in the way of banter or dynamicism, but his intensity and stream-of-consciousness delivery makes him a curiously hypnotic presence; and his band, although perhaps a tad overreliant on the saxophone, really know how to produce a glorious barrage of sound. Plus, they performed “Rubies” which is objectively one of the best songs of the last ten years. Still, no denying he does sound a bit like Dylan…

THE POLYPHONIC SPREE (London HMV Forum, 31/10/12)


If this had taken place at any venue but the Destroyer of Gigs, this would have been a show-of-the-year contender. Alas, due to the Forum’s soundsystem magical ability to make even the most powerful music sound like it’s emitting from the speaker of a Nokia 3310, this was merely really bloody good. True, the Rocky Horror Picture Show half fell a bit flat, Time Warp excepted, but the traditional Spree extravaganza was an absolutely joyous, all-killer no-filler hour of big old choruses, orchestral flourishes and of course, an fuckload of confetti. Hope to see them back in the UK soon- albeit at a less shit venue.

EFTERKLANG (London Barbican, 30/10/12)

I can’t deny missing the Efterklang shows of old, before orchestral formality superseded lo-fi, ramshackle charm, but damn, this was a beautiful musical experience. What I love about Efterklang is that despite exponentially growing in popularity between the first time I saw them at Bush Hall and now, they still retain that earnest goofiness and genuine pleasure at performing that would make them easy to love, even if their music wasn’t an intricate, ethereal mass of wonderfulness.

(Photo: Kafka Joubert)

FIGHT LIKE APES (London Lexington, 29/10/12)

They didn’t play “Something Global”, but May Kay and her hyperactive Irish synth-poppers nonetheless ensured this quickly descended into one big sweaty mess of a gig. As her countrymen might say, “savage.”

RICHARD CHEESE (London Cadogan Hall, 27/10/12)

Novelty acts aren’t generally my thing, but I couldn’t pass up the chance to see the legendary Monsieur Cheese and his swinging covers of entirely inappropriate songs. And although the occasional number fell flat, for the most part it was a hilariously lewd, crude and smooth experience for all concerned – loads of crowd participation, some inspired takes on popular tunes (a Mexican-tinged “Sunday Bloody Sunday” was pretty special) and naval officers dancing down the aisles to the sultry sounds of…Radiohead. Not sure the posh old dears stewarding the event really appreciated his take on “Show Me Your Pussy” though…

ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE (London Café Oto, 23/10/12)

The (in)famous Japanese psychedelic rock band advertised their second London show in two days as a one-off “electric jazz" set. What actually happened was they got bored of jazzin' within 20 minutes and ended up going off on the most brilliantly bizarre musical tangents I’ve ever experienced, encompassing a Jethro Tull tribute where the band pranced about with recorders, a cover of Tubular Bells with percussion courtesy of their guitarist (who doesn’t know how to play drums), a gravelly Delta Blues pastiche and finally, an incredible half-hour version of their spaced-out epic “Pink Lady Lemonade”. Not the kind of thing I’d ask for every day, but as a one-off it was a left-field, thoroughly enjoyable triumph.

(Photo: Mike Winship)

ISLANDS (London Garage, 19/10/12)

Review: HERE

SOAP & SKIN (London Royal Festival Hall, 06/10/12)

Another terrifyingly, beautifully intense show from Anja Plaschg in a venue much more attuned to her gothic majesty than her Scala. The addition of female harmonies (most notably on “Cynthia”) almost reduced me to unmanly tears on more than one occasion, and although it wasn’t her most “full-on” performance (that honour goes to her 2010 Union Chapel show), there was still more brutal emotion in one of her songs than the combined oeuvre of 90% of bands out there.

BLACK DICE (London Birthdays, 04/10/12)

Under normal circumstances I would have enjoyed the abrasive earth-sundering synths of this Brooklyn trio, but due to the exceptionally low stage of the venue and the exceptionally high twattiness of the crowd I soon realised I wasn't having fun and left. So it goes.

SHONEN KNIFE (London Cargo, 01/10/12)

Review: HERE

(Photo: Richard Pearmain)

THE SUN-RA ARKESTRA (London Barbican, 29/09/12)

These jazz-playing space wizards blew my mind at ATP this March, so I thought I’d rejoin the Arkestra for another session of toe-tapping bebop, mad squalls of avant garde noise and everything in between. And bloody good it was too. Marshall Allen is still a force to be reckoned with as he approaches his 89th birthday, and although some of their oeuvre could be considered…”challenging,” one never gets the impression, as with some of their contemporaries, that they take themselves too seriously (to be fair, the sparkly robes and cartwheels are kind of a giveaway...)

DAN DEACON (London Scala, 26/09/12)
 

 
Even though I’ve seen Dan Deacon do pretty much this exact same show seven times by now, it still engenders a level of glee unmatched by anything else under the sun. The new iPhone/Android app that pulses coloured lights in time with the music adds a fancy new form of interactivity to proceedings, but as always, it’s the core triumvirate of brilliantly trippy songs, hilarious banter and a shedload of audience participation that made this an absolute joy to be part of. True, one day it’d be nice to see a DD performance that reflects the increasing maturity and majesty of his music, but for now, let’s all head to the mountain of snow, upon the big glen…

(Photo: Eleonora Collini (The 405))

CALEXICO (London HMV Forum, 18/09/12)

Review: HERE

(Photo: Anthony Keiler (The Line of Best Fit))

LEONARD COHEN (London Wembley Arena, 09/09/12)
 







Due to a heavily-undersold second night at Wembley Arena (well, what do you expect if the cheapest tickets are £74?), the promoters decided to give away thousands of free Leonard Cohen tickets on the day of the gig. Hence I unexpectedly found myself seeing the legendary singer-songwriter perform what turned out to be one was undoubtedly one of the best shows I've seen in a very long time. Cohen freely admits that he only returned to touring after his ex-manager screwed him out of his fortune, but unlike his contemporary Bob Dylan, there's absolutely no sense he's phoning these shows in – indeed, his energetic showmanship would be impressive from someone much younger than his 77 years. For over three hours he left the audience spellbound, unleashing hit after hit with his superb backing band, and although I wasn't previously au fait with his material, his gloriously gravelly bass voice and wonderful turn of phrase made me an immediate fan. An absolute joy of a performance, and if he ever returns to these shores, I think I'd be more than willing to shell out the ridiculous prices he charges to see him again.

(Photo: John Gleeson)

65DAYSOFSTATIC (Lyon La Marche Gare, 06/09/12)

Not as punchy as their London show earlier this year due to muddy sound and a rather sedate audience, but few things are finer than that double whammy of Radio Protector and Retreat! Retreat!, although my eardrums may care to disagree.

SIGUR ROS (Amsterdam Paradiso, 29/08/12)


A far more stripped down affair than the confetti-and-marching band extravaganza of the last couple of tours, but when it comes to the slow-burning post-rock crescendo, Sigur Ros are still in a league of their own. Concerns that the more muted, ambient material from new album "Valtari" would lead to a less exciting live show are mitigated by the fact they don't play much of it, with the focus very much on old favourites such as Hoppipolla, Vaka, Hafsol, Festival, Glosoli and Svefn-g-englar, (though Varud is undoubtedly a fine addition to their oeuvre). And when all is said and done, Untitled 8 still remains the greatest live song of all time, bar none. So glad to have them back.

COCOROSIE (London Royal Festival Hall, 04/08/12)

The sisters Casady have long established themselves as some of the more eccentric presences in the hipstersphere, but the years have mellowed their weirder, more inscrutible tendencies. Their unique fashion stylings and androgyny remain (although the 'taches are notably absent), but their music is more accessible than ever and, in my opinion, much better for it. That's not to say they've shifted into MOR territory - they've got a beatboxer doing the percussion for Chrissakes - but Sienna's angelic soprano and Bianca's gravelly rasp are underpinned by song structures more traditional than their sometimes alienating earlier material. Slightly disappointed they didn't play the incredible "Lemonade", but the beautifully striking contrast between their voices coupled with their marvellous blend of quirky folk, classical and hip-hop made this one of the foremost musical pleasures of recent months.

(Photo: Stefanos Zachariadis)

YNDI HALDA (London Hoxton Hall, 19/07/12)













Review: HERE