Chimpomatic

Mudhoney

The Forum, Kentish Town, London

June 31st, 2008

With a 20 year anniversary under their belt, there's a new vigor in the Mudhoney camp and renewed interest in the seminal godfathers of Grunge. Sure, there's the fans who've grown up with the band (mostly geography teachers now by the look of things), but there's also a sweaty teenage contingent at the Forum tonight. There's not much in between, but fortunately these two groups have one thing in common.

Fang cover "The Money Will Roll Right In" opens the show, before we move on to "I'm Now" and "The Lucky Ones" from the recent album of the same name. While Mudhoney's recent releases have been far from disappointing, it seems clear that most of us are here for one thing. Mudhoney's recent re-release of "Superfuzz-Bigmuff" seems to have re-ignited the flame of nostalgia for the band, and while the crowd is rowdy from the start it explodes when the big hitters like "Touch Me I'm Sick" and "In 'n' Out Of Grace" come out. The mosh pit expands to fill most of the ground floor and - perhaps feeling a little nostalgic themselves - even the security guards relapse on their post-grunge clampdown, letting a free flowing barrage of crowd-surfing go relatively unpunished.

The 20 years haven't been bad to Mudhoney, with Mark Arm still throwing down Iggy Pop moves like a disgruntled teenager, while the band preside over the immense energy of the show like seasoned veterans. It's a set-list packed with early classics, and with the relentless pace making no attempt to hold back the 'hits,' it's left to Black Flag cover "Fix Me" to make up the encore and bring the show to an end. This dose of 80's punk serves as a potent reminder of where this band came from - let's hope their own legacy fuels the aspirations of a generation to come. Brilliant.

Lots more photos by chimp photographer Rachel Poulton over on our Flickr page.

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#Gig
#NM

5th Aug 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

Hellboy II: The Golden Army

(dir. Guillermo Del Toro)

Dark Horse Entertainment

Red's back: bigger, badder and much better. Enjoyed the first outing, even if it was a bit of a mess (and took me three jet-lagged goes on a plane to get through). Here, after the success of the brilliant Pan's Labyrinth, it feels like Guillermo Del Toro's been given free reign to immerse the agents of the BPRD (Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense) into his own fantasy world.

It's a great blend of Men In Black-style covert ops, CGI action, detailed fantasy and humour, with what's got to be the best use of Barry Manilow in a film ever. Well, since Copacabana, obviously.

Luke Goss (yes, the Bros twin - he starred with Hellboy Ron Perlman in Del Toro's Blade II triv fans) plays Prince Nuada, elf royalty with a big chip on his ancient shoulder about how humans have been treating the planet since doing a deal with his elf king father eons ago. He's out to resurrect the mythical golden army; Hellboy and the rest of the BPRD are out to stop him. A straightforward enough plot that allows the fun of this world to shine. 

Underwater dude Abe Sapien's still uptight, but falling for Nuada's twin sister; fire-woman Liz (Selma Blair) is now living with Hellboy, but finding a demon's domestic habits a little trying; cult hero Jeffrey Tambor (Hank "Hey now!" in Larry Sanders, George Bluth Sr in Arrested Development) returns as Hellboy's procedure-loving human handler. German gas-man Johann Krauss joins the team as another handy paranormal expert with brains to match's Hellboy's brawn.

It's much closer to the atmosphere of Del Toro's creepy organic insect monsters in Pan's Labyrinth than the first one was, which pitches it a cut above the generic Hollywood creature features; it's much goofier and lighter than PL: more an amuse bouche than the rare steaks we're hoping for his Hobbit double bill.

#Film
#chimp71

4th Aug 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

This Is England

(dir. Shane Meadows)

Big Arty Productions

With bullies making his school life a misery after his dad is killed in the Falklands, 12 year old Shaun falls in with a gang of local skinheads, who accept him as one of their own and treat him with respect. However, when older skinhead Combo returns from a stint in priosn, the group splinters as their beliefs are brought into question. What is being a skinhead? Is it a harmless interest in music and fashion - or a more militant belief in keping England "British"?

I'm rocking up two years late to this party, but yet again I wish I'd got in on this earlier. Following on from his magnificent Dead Mans Shoes, Shane Meadows delivers a masterful film - and an outstanding critique of British society and culture. Side-stepping the two usual British cliches of cockney gangsterism and kitchen sink drama, Meadows portrays a vivid sketch of 80's Britain, telling his stories form the common perspective rather the London-centric world portrayed on the news.

Thomas Turgoose is a revelation, effortlessly portraying the coming-of-age of cheeky protaganist Shaun - as he smokes his first joint, drinks his first beer and gets his first snog. Stephen Graham is an equally compelling Combo, undermining the leadership of the group, poisoning them with his mis-informed rhetoric.

Meadows keeps back from the action, but I'm pretty sure his seemingly improvised dialogue and effortless directorial style are actually fast becoming well-honed crafts. I'm surprised he hasn't yet been picked up by Hollywood, or maybe he's just not interested. Turgoose returns for his next movie Somers Town, which has been scooping awards around the world. Surprisingly, that has been revealed to have been funded by advertising agency Mother on behalf of it's client, Eurostar. Make of that what you will....

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#CSF

1st Aug 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

Bowerbirds

Hymns For A Dark Horse

Dead Oceans

In their original incarnation, Bowerbirds were a duo consisting of guitarist and principal songwriter Phil Moore and accomplished painter Beth Tacular (great name) assuming accordion and percussion duties. Before the recording of their debut album, Hymns For A Dark Horse, they were joined by Mark Paulson who has added vital instrumental layering to their compositions, bringing piano, violin and added percussion to the band. This album was originally released in 2007 on Burly Time Records but is given a rerun this August with added tracks by the Jagjaguar affiliate Dead Oceans. Currently on tour with Bon Iver, Bowerbirds continue the gentle wave of grass-roots American folk that is warming hearts across the globe.

An unassuming Hooves nudges this record into the light as it emerges quiet and lonely. The accordion provides glimmers of warmth until the multiple vocals arrive for the chorus. All these elements are exploited to greater effect on the following track. In Our Talons assumes a brisker pace with homemade drums click-clacking in the distant background and the rising voices lifting the song to its climax of "No, you're not alone." Dark Horse's violins soar with gentle melancholic sunshine like kind words spoken to a broken heart.

It's the group harmonies that provide the essential ingredient on this album. Moore's solo vocals have an easy croon to them but it's when he is joined by what sounds like more than 2 more voices that each song is lifted from simple singer/songwriter outpourings to majestic pieces of heartfelt beauty. Musically each song relies on two main factors, the whispering accordion that faithfully accompanies each vocal journey, and secondly it's the DIY drum beats that follow behind. As if being played with sticks on the kitchen table, this makeshift beat provides the record with its earthy rawness and as they seem to come from way back in the distance they provide a hollow element to the sound. The inevitable reaction that takes place when this emptiness is filled by the gathering vocal harmonies is the ultimate success of the record.

The comparisons to the aforementioned Bon Iver come not simply through the record company they are both associated with, but from an obvious ethos that surrounds the music they create and the life they live outside of this music. Moore and Tacular live in an Airstream trailer on a quiet plot of land on the outskirts of Raleigh in North Carolina and it's this sort of organic, rural and simple way of life that permeates every second of this record. It informs its unpretentious wishes and helps deliver on its honest expression. There are differences of course: Bon Iver aims to conjure a greater sense of loneliness and does it with dazzling effect. Hymns isn't so dazzling and Moore's voice lacks the captivation of Justin Vernon's and when left alone for too long can slip into a mediocre folk sound. Album closer Matchstick Maker illustrates this tendency to tread water. With no obvious centre to the song it can drift along in an unfocused haze as if guided by Adem. But thankfully for us this seldom happens and the result is a work of real beauty. Jagjaguar and it's affiliated labels are providing the backbone to this years top releases and while Bowerbirds may not leap from the pile like some of the others, it resides near the top of the heap as a band clearly in love with their craft.

#Music
#BC

31st Jul 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

House Of Saddam

BBC/HBO

Decent attempt to make some sense of the Saddam Hussein era, with a four-part drama that plays like the Sopranos with more sand. 

The cast includes Igal Naor (Rendition, Munich) as Saddam Hussein, Shohreh Aghdashloo (24, House Of Sand And Fog) as Saddam's wife Sajida, Philip Arditi (10 Days To War) as Saddam's oldest son Uday, Said Taghmaoui (Vantage Point, The Kite Runner, La Haine) as Saddam's half-brother Barzan Ibrahim, and Christine Stephen-Daly (Casualty, Cutting It) as Saddam's mistress Samira.

With occasional glimpses of the real Saddam in period news footage, you get a sense of what was going on behind the CNN image. LIke the Sopranos, or even the Corleones, life with someone like Saddam is like life in a volatile feudal court - you never know if you're about to be handed a great new job, or shot in cold blood to make a point. 

The history's handled well, taking us back to the roots of the first Gulf War and the first President Bush, before bringing us up to date by the final ep. Noar doesn't play him sympathetically, but does a good job of essaying his obvious charisma and showing the kind of drive he must have had to become President. Occasionally feels like they've perhaps made them all a little more eloquent than they might have been just to get some great lines in, but on the whole it's an intriguing, convincing portrait of one of the world's most recent political monsters.

#TV
#chimp71

30th Jul 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

Oneida

Preteen Weaponry

Jagjaguwar

Once there was a time - long before the term was appropriated by Hi-NRG progtastic disco monkeys - that Trance was a good thing. Bunches of like minded musicians, possibly experiencing an advanced state of chemical refreshment, would set the tapes rolling with minimal discussion about what would happen. The US had Miles Davis and the Grateful Dead, Europe had Krautrock and in the UK we had, err, Hawkwind. All good tho'. The kind of music that proudly invited the listener to get loaded and go with it.

Preteen Weaponry is a 3-part jam lasting 40 minutes, so if the thought of that doesn't in some way appeal to you then read no further. If, however, you enjoy hearing musicians exploring and improvising on a phat spaced-out groove, then strap in and set the controls for the heart of the sun.

What makes this record work so well is the way it comes together fairly slowly in the first section - the musicians trying to work out their own spaces in the mix, getting hold of the groove - and then all of a sudden they lock together and the swirling jagged mass of noises becomes one big unified sound. Guitars and old-skool synths thru effects become indistinguishable, clouds of phase and echo reverberate behind a solid yet frantic drummer, whilst something (whatever) holds a pulse note or phrase. Listening to it really tranced me out (like, totally) and I mean that as a huge compliment. As someone who's had a lifelong addiction to music I can often find myself over-analysing what I'm hearing - deciding I don't like a guitar sound or the reverb on the drums or some other nit-pickin' shit - but this record doesn't allow anyone to do that. It starts, it goes, it goes some more, it keeps going, and you either go with it or you don't. My advice is :- go with it.

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#HarrisPilton

29th Jul 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet