Chimpomatic

Pink Mountaintops

Borderline, London

May 11th 2009

Steven McBean's Pink Mountaintops were in town in support of recent third album Outside Love - and hot from an appearance at the ATP Festival. After storming shows from the Black Mountain mothership last year, McBean is worth catching in any guise and this was no exception.

Perfectly suited to the Canadian-ski-shack-meets-Mexican-bolthole vibe of the Borderline, album opener Axis: Bold as Love opened the show, with the six-man band working as a great base for post-skater McBean (that hidden key chain is a dead give-away) to lead with his great voice. The subtle ebbing and flowing of the at-time hypnotic sounds was easy to get lost in, through tracks like Vampires, And I Thank You and Plasticman, You're The Devil - while older tracks like Sweet '69 and Single Life provided a more up-tempo element, displaying the band's wide range.

Amber Webber's vocals were sorely missed, but team stand-ins Sophie Trudeau and Sar Friedman did an admirable job - with the violins proving to be a rare secret weapon and the additional back-up vocals really filling out the bands sound. Add to that the great drumming and Black Mountain regular Matt Camirand's pounding bass and what's not to like? With the curfew police closing in, the band returned to the stage for a single encore - possible career highlight Tourist In Your Town.

In a style much like their recent album, Pink Mountaintops were laid-back, effortless and engaging - providing a (temporarily) welcome antidote to the relentless precision of big brother Black Mountain. Superior entertainment.

#CSF
#Music
#Gig

13th May 2009 - Tumblr

Related

The Pinkmountaintops

Outside Love

Best Of 2009

CSF

Black Mountain

In The Future

Jerk With A Bomb

Death To False Metal

Pink Mountaintops

Axis Of Evol

Sing

Totally predictable, thoroughly inspiring animated sing-a-long for the X-Factor generation.

#JustWatched
#Film
#CSF

24th Jun 2017

Bad Moms

B-list, mis-cast, low-ball girl gang comedy. Weak.

#JustWatched
#Film
#CSF

19th Jun 2017

War Machine

Catastrophically miscast black comedy that fails at every turn. Big let down from star and director.

#JustWatched
#Film
#CSF

11th Jun 2017

Absolutely Fabulous

Effortless retread of a show that survived well past it's sell-by date.

#JustWatched
#Film
#CSF

29th May 2017

Suicide Squad

Codswallop that's as indecipherable as every other recent DC movie. Terrible script, hammy acting.

#JustWatched
#Film
#CSF

22nd May 2017

Another 48 Hours

Chaotic, bloated sequel. Low on humour and mostly involving bad guys flying through plate glass.

#JustWatched
#Film
#CSF

17th May 2017

Ghostbusters

Lazy, half-baked remake/reboot, totally lacking in charm.

#JustWatched
#Film
#CSF

17th May 2017

Daddy's Home

Wafer thin parenting parable, barely coasting along on the charm of Ferrell and Wahlberg.

#JustWatched
#Film
#CSF

16th May 2017

Hell or High Water

Classic western tropes burn slowly to an intense finale. Classic Jeff Bridges.

#JustWatched
#Film
#CSF

12th May 2017

Jason Bourne

Tired, pointless rehash of a franchise that long ran out of steam.

#JustWatched
#Film
#CSF

6th May 2017

Gimme Danger

Stooges doc that is interesting by default, but dull given that Jim Jarmusch is behind the camera.

#JustWatched
#Film
#CSF

28th Apr 2017

One More Time With Feeling

Poingiant doc of the latest Bad Seeds album. Still falls into the usual making-of box.

#JustWatched
#Film
#CSF

26th Apr 2017

Captain Fantastic

Stylish, thought-provoking indie contemplating the weighty responsibilities of parenthood.

#JustWatched
#Film
#CSF

22nd Apr 2017

The Fugitive

Great 90s blockbuster, with Harrison Ford carrying the movie on top finger-wagging form.

#JustWatched
#Film
#CSF

18th Mar 2017

Demolition

Accomplished character piece. Almost stretches itself a bit thin, but it's stylish enough to transcend.

#JustWatched
#Film
#CSF

18th Mar 2017

Garden State

Dated indie classic that uses music to create pseudo-sentimental highs of little real substance.

#JustWatched
#Film
#CSF

18th Mar 2017

Supersonic

Engaging, nostalgic doc which meanders through the rise and rise of 1995’s greatest band ever.

#JustWatched
#Film
#CSF

14th Mar 2017

Drugstore Cowboy

Quintessential Gus Van Zant. Great art direction, acting and photography. Possibly better with age.

#JustWatched
#Film
#CSF

7th Mar 2017

I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore

Confident indie comedy-thriller that pitches itself perfectly.

#JustWatched
#Film
#CSF

4th Mar 2017

Still Life

Thoughtful character study, with Eddie Marsan standing up for those who slip through the cracks.

#JustWatched
#Film
#CSF

26th Feb 2017

The Lego Batman Movie

Brutally fast paced meta-fest, backed up by the most sensible bat-plot for a long time.

#JustWatched
#Film
#CSF

16th Feb 2017

Money Monster

Tenuous financial hostage thriller, that doesn't add up to the sum of its parts.

#JustWatched
#Film
#CSF

11th Feb 2017

Green Room

Disappointing punk rock horror thriller, that doesn't make the best of its left field set up.

#JustWatched
#Film
#CSF

9th Feb 2017

Lethal Weapon

Potentially forgettable buddy cop pic, elevated by a killer script and live wire performances.

Halliwell says: Extremely violent policier which caters to the Rambo crowd but has enough pizazz to recommend it to most classes.*

#JustWatched
#Film
#CSF
#Halliwell

1st Feb 2017

Hunt For The Wilderpeople

Accomplished, charming NZ indie comedy that wears its influences well.

#JustWatched
#Film
#CSF

1st Feb 2017

Raiders

The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made

Inspiring doc about the kids remaking Raiders over 7 summers.

#JustWatched
#Film
#CSF

24th Jan 2017

The Beatles

Eight Days a Week

Inspiring reminder of the sheer volume of trail blazing laid down by The Beatles.

#JustWatched
#Film
#CSF

22nd Jan 2017

The Goonies

Seminal kids movie that I underrated in '85. Shot with an easy pace, until the free-swim at the end.

Halliwell says: The bottomless pit of the Spielberg genre, a silly tale which takes forever to get going and is acted by children who have not studied elocution. The trick effects when they come are OK, but it's a long annoying haul to that point.

#JustWatched
#Film
#CSF
#Halliwell

22nd Jan 2017

A Bigger Splash

Glacially paced, pretentious arthouse fluff, that fritters away a potentially interesting set up.

#JustWatched
#Film
#CSF

21st Jan 2017

Our Kind of Traitor

Unremarkable potboiler from Le Carre, with a disappointingly bland turn from Ewan McGregor.

#JustWatched
#Film
#CSF

17th Jan 2017

Carol

Small scale period drama, anchored around strong central performances.

#JustWatched
#Film
#CSF

15th Jan 2017

10 Cloverfield Lane

Ambitious small scale sci-fi that drags a bit before it all gets a bit wacky.

#JustWatched
#Film
#CSF

11th Jan 2017

The Hateful Eight

Tarantino zeros in on the most-tedious-film-ever award. Someone get the guy a new editor.

#JustWatched
#Film
#CSF

7th Jan 2017

Joy

Inventive ensemble drama, as David O. Russell takes another shot at Scorsese's crown. Great soundtrack too.

#JustWatched
#Film
#CSF

7th Jan 2017

Batman vs Superman

Dawn of Justice

Mind-boggling, convoluted actioner that seems to have been written by picking ideas out of a hat.

#JustWatched
#Film
#CSF

4th Jan 2017

Captain America

Civil War

Extended super hero punch up, not dissimilar to the news man brawls of 'Anchorman'.

#JustWatched
#Film
#CSF

1st Jan 2017

The Jungle Book

Seamless CGI remake, lacking in humour and executed with the seriousness of LOTR or Apocalypse Now.

#JustWatched
#Film
#CSF

30th Dec 2016

When Harry Met Sally

Text-book rom-com that rebooted the genre and set the template for the next 3 decades.

Halliwell says: Over a period of 12 years, a couple meet occasionally to debate whether there can be friendship without sex between a man and a woman.***

#JustWatched
#Film
#CSF
#Halliwell

26th Dec 2016

Zootropolis

Decent enough animated parable from Disney. Lacking the usual emotional Pixar punch.

#JustWatched
#Film
#CSF

25th Dec 2016

Rogue One

A Star Wars Story

Second viewing and it's still holding together well. The third act is incredible.

#JustWatched
#Film
#CSF

22nd Dec 2016

ROGUE ONE

A STAR WARS STORY

Impeccable world building and a nail biting finale mark a solid expansion of the universe.

#JustWatched
#Film
#CSF

18th Dec 2016

Bridge of Spies

Solid Cold War drama. Unfortunately lacking the impact of both Spielberg and Hanks' best.

#JustWatched
#Film
#CSF

18th Dec 2016

Midnight Special

From 3 minutes in this was the best film I've seen in ages. Nostalgic indie sci-fi.

#JustWatched
#Film
#CSF

13th Dec 2016

The Overnight

Arkward and occasionally hilarious Duplass-esque LA comedy. And only 75m long.

#JustWatched
#Film
#CSF

26th Nov 2016

Spotlight

Worthy, watertight journo movie. Full of great performances, but staying well between the lines.

#JustWatched
#Film
#CSF

21st Nov 2016

Triple 9

Derivative, badly cast cops + robbers pic. A pale imitation of Heat, without the style or performances.

#JustWatched
#Film
#CSF

12th Nov 2016

Everybody Wants Some

Glacially paced re-hash/follow up to Dazed and Confused, with moments of fun. Great music.

#JustWatched
#Film
#CSF

11th Nov 2016

Deadpool

Stupid action movie that never stops winking at the audience.

#JustWatched
#Film
#CSF

4th Nov 2016

The Nice Guys

LA Confidential meets The Big Lebowski in the best way possible. Great turns from Reynolds and Crowe.

#JustWatched
#Film
#CSF

4th Nov 2016

The Magnificent Seven

A classic story and allstar cast, but John Sturges' vintage western seems slow and dated now.

Halliwell says: Popular western based on the Japanese Seven Samurai; good action scenes, but the rest is verbose and often pretentious.**

#JustWatched
#Film
#CSF
#Halliwell

2nd Nov 2016