Chimpomatic

The Wedding Present

Shepherd's Bush Empire, London

The Wedding Present's Take Fountain is another chimp album of the year for me, and certainly best "comeback album that is mind numbingly good, as opposed to predictably disappointing" in a long time.

As the lights went down and the spooky atmos track of Interstate 5 drifted over the PA, I thought we were heading straight into a thundering live rendition of my Collateral-esque widescreen track of the year. Instead, that faded away and we just had a thundering run through of classic Wedding Present and Cinerama tracks, with only two off Take Fountain - Always The Quiet One (awesome and fast) and Ringway to Seatac (awesomer and faster).

Suck, Dare, Kennedy, Heather, Corduroy, Apres Ski and a cover of Falling from Twin Peaks stood out - but then I only have six albums and only recognized about half the songs. The most under revised I have felt in a long time.

David Gedge was not quite what I was expecting (it is 15 years later), but was not disappointing. A totally engaging character, he acted and gestured his way through every song, without the pretensions of someone like Jarvis Cocker. "This song's about sex, or maybe love. Don't ask me, I'm just a conduit." Continued requests persisted from the crowd, and were met with the response "In 20 years have you ever known us to do requests?"... until someone shouted "Brassneck" at just the right time on the set list for the very tight band to launch straight into a ferocious version of possibly their most famous tune. The generally well behaved mosh pit (most fans were 30-40 and probably teachers) went crazy.

No Take Me! either, but I got what I was looking for with the speaker facing, top speed, double guitars, extended high note strumming on about half a dozen other tracks. The only thing that could have made this gig any better would have been for it to be a warm up show at the Amersham Arms.

#Music
#Gig
#CSF

23rd Nov 2005 - Add Comment - Tweet

Bob Dylan

Brixton Academy, London

It was a tough call seeing this or Jeff Tweedy tonight. One, a bonifide legend who might not be back, the other a mini-legend, who will almost certainly be back - with and without Wilco. That made the decision easier, and the huge queue snaking all the way round the Brixton Academy at 7.30 certainly added to the excitement.

Everyone got in pretty quickly, and at about 7.40 the lights went down for an ice hockey style introduction for the "legend of the 60's counter culture, duke of spook... etc". The crowd went crazy when Dylan shuffled on, and kicked things off with Maggie's Farm. We also got Positively 4th Street, Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine), Girl Of The North Country and Highway 61 Revisited. The Band (I wish) were certainly good, but no one really moved off piste without a nod from the commandant, and certainly no one broke into a sweat. Dylan himself was captivating to watch, but mainly due to the fact that you were in the presence of a living legend... rather than what he was doing (not playing the guitar, occasionally playing the harmonica. The older geeks in the crowd (some with binoculars, many taking notes) seemed determined to like every single move or shuffle, and every song started with a race to be the first to recognize it.

The band shuffled off after a brief bow, but nothing was said to the crowd. They predictably shuffled back on for an encore with Like A Rolling Stone, which was the first time the crowd actually had a chance to sing along. As the chorus came up the crowd swelled up - but then after one line, Dylan's different delivery (Like a ROLL-ing stONE!) just caught everyone off guard and put an end to it.

All Along The Watchtower wasn't bad, but all in all it was a bit like seeing a really good jazz band (or even Steely Dan) on a Cross Channel Ferry doing Dylan covers. In the club style.

Should have seen Tweedy.

#Music
#Gig
#CSF

23rd Nov 2005 - Add Comment - Tweet

The White Stripes

Alexandra Palace, London

People have been banging on about the White Stripes since way back when The Strokes were just a glint in Albert Hammond Snr's eye. It was only recently that I fully clicked with them being any good - with the song As Ugly As I Seem. Sure, Seven Nation Army is great, but the whole it's-recorded-on-genuine-analogue-equipement-that's-why-it-sounds-badly-produced vibe never did it for me. Pet Sounds, or Houses Of The Holy managed to get their levels right.

Anyway, suffice to say that when they are playing live, the whole recording/production thing becomes old news - as it's all the same volume, right in front of you. And it's LOUD. Who would have though that a guitar and drums could make such a thundering racket. 'Especially with (ahem) a girl hitting the skins'.

Jack White is a genuine band leader with a huge stage presence, and while he stomps around bossing Meg about, you do get the feeling it's just for show and the band really is equally indebted to both him and Meg. Her relentless, basic, pounding drumming really creates an atmosphere while he swaps guitars, tinkles on the piano or organ, and plays the Xylophone.

Yes, Blue Orchid and Seven Nation Army were stomping highlights, but tough versions of the Hardest Button To Button and Fell In love With A Girl also stood out, plus Meg singing on Passive Manipulation, the infectious simplicity of My Doorbell, or the superb Xylophone tune The Nurse and the sing-along (chorus only, see below) I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself.

Only downside was way too many people (8000+?), and a slight sense that the band had got too big too quick. While everyone new the tunes when Jack held up the mike for a sing-a-long, no one actually new the words...

CORRECTION: Jack White plays a marimba not a xylophone. They are similar, but the xylophone has a more harsh sound and doesn't have resonators. It's absolutely a marimba on the album. - CN

#Music
#Gig
#CSF

15th Nov 2005 - Add Comment - Tweet

Jim James Solo Acoustic

The Enterprise, Camden

After September's DJ/My Morning Jacket/Jim James triple cancellation it was a pleasant surprise to see this re-scheduled solo gig pop up on the MMJ website, particularly as they were about to start a big US tour. Things only got weirder when the chimp contingent got to the venue - above The Enterprise pub in Camden. The room was tiny (around 100-150 max) and totally empty. Doors opened at 7 and we got seats at a Goodfellas-style table, literally right in front of the six inch high stage. The venue was totally empty for ages, and the rumour was that the record label had block booked most of the tickets - presumably for press purposes. That kind of sucked for all the people who kept coming up looking for tickets, but to be fair it did fill right up at nine on the dot, and a couple of desperate fans were invited in for free...

Jim James shuffled on with a keyboard/sample/drum machine type thing (apparantly called an Omnichord), and took off one shoe (making fists with his toes after a long haul flight?). The crowd was hushed instantly as he started off playing only the omnichord, building it up into a layered rhythm before unleashing his amazing voice. The small size of the room and the closeness of the stage meant that half the time he could be heard louder off the mic as he soared and reached all the high notes... always sounding like he should crack, but never even coming close. While the 90-odd minute set was made up of both old classics and a lot of songs from the forthcoming My Morning Jacket album Z there was never a moment when the crowd was less than mesmerised. Seeing one person create such a delicate sound, but still whip up a storming finale for tracks like The Bear, was unforgetable and the sound is still ringing through my mind several days later.

New track Dondante was a particular highlight, given extra poignancy by Jim's introductary explanation of waking from a dream with this song for a dead friend in his mind. The Bear and Bermuda Highway were awesome, as well as newer tracks like Anytime and Off The Record. Covers of Eels' 3 Speed, All The Best by John Prine and Dylan's You're A Big Girl Now finished things off.

After seeing a lot of gigs recently, this was far and a way one of the best. If you don't own any MMJ, please get some. If you do, keep an eye out for this gig as there were rumours of it being taped....

#Music
#Gig
#CSF

2nd Oct 2005 - 2 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Queens Of The Stone Age

Brixton Academy

after al qaida stopped the rock earlier this summer (and another time before that when they cancelled for health reasons), it was good to finally catch josh homme's latest version of q.o.t.s.a. at the brixton academy: still kicking it out even without a large bald dude on bass. lots of ten minute jams, super heavy drums and real charisma from l'homme, plus a cool set that had room for all the hits, as well as things like that pj harvey desert sessions song i wanna make it with you, and lots more (early?) stuff i hadn't heard before. rocket chimp felt they could have done with slowing down on things like no-one knows, which is a fair point. but as a carnivore of rock, this chimp thought it was pretty beefy all round. recommended, would see them again.

#Music
#Gig
#chimp71

23rd Aug 2005 - Add Comment - Tweet

Patti Smith @ Meltdown 2005

Royal Festival Hall

patti smith totally rocked during her track-by-track 30th anniversary performance of Horses, from the stunning opening line "jesus died for somebody's sins, but not mine…" to the blow-out ending. flea on bass and trumpet for some of the songs, tom verlaine sitting on an amp at the side (possibly making up for the shoddy television performance on monday), and lenny kaye showing how it's really done. she was totally commanding, had real presence, dealt with all the hecklers "whatever you say, you're not going to impress me…" and proved that she's really the iconic figure you always read she is.

and it's the first time i've ever seen a standing ovation from the first song onwards… not surprising when it's her stunning version of gloria (wonder what van thinks?), but still pretty impressive.

oh and she had 2 pieces of advice: look after your teeth, and never wear new shoes to an important job. so she ended up dancing barefoot…

john cale's opening set, also w flea on bass, was pretty good too, even if neither dr chimp or i recognised any of the songs (ie no velvets nostalgia this time)

#Music
#Gig
#chimp71

26th Jun 2005 - Add Comment - Tweet

Television

Queen Elizabeth Hall, London

I got into Television through the copious "thanks" notes in the Minutemen's Ballot Result album, along with Creedence, Wire, X, Richard Hell and more. The chances of ever seeing them live were always pretty slim, so this gig at the Patti Smith curated Meltdown festival was a high priority. Richard Hell was also in the festival and for a brief moment I even thought he might be rejoining Television for the night. As it turns out he was wise to get out when he did, as this was one of the most dissapointing gigs I've ever been to.

Shows kick of pretty punctually at the QEH, and it's all seating - which never helps with the atmosphere of a rock concert. Television came on with no support, but to much adulation from the crowd. They then played for about 90 minutes, mainly focusing on their much lesser know 90's songs from the album Television, plus a few of the best tracks on Marquee Moon. They seemed very unrehearsed and totally at odds with each other on stage. Tom Verlaine's authority as band leader was sadly lacking... plus he couldn't get his guitar tuned properly (a chimp75 pet gripe), trying between almost every song. Guitarist Richard Lloyd held things together for a while with some guitar hero solos, before he also fell to tuning issues and started blowing a few clams. Most songs wandered of in 'interesting' directions before generally grinding to an abrupt halt. Even Marquee Moon itself was pretty lacklustre, and while the crowd were urging the gig to be great it just never took off.

The band cut off stage pretty abruptly, before returning for an encore with Patti Smith - which focused things a bit, with a version of You I Rate. That was followed by a rockin intro to a cover of the Count Five's Psychotic Reaction, before Verlaine seemed to realise he didn't know the rest of the lyrics. That final song just melted away... and it was over.

#Music
#Gig
#CSF

25th Jun 2005 - Add Comment - Tweet

Dinosaur Jr.

The Forum, Kentish Town, London

June 8th 2005

There’s been a lot of reunion style gigs recently… mostly with pre-Nirvana bands getting some praise that they maybe missed out on first time round. The original 3 Dinosaur Jr. albums have recently been given the full re-release-with-bonus-tracks treatment, and this mini tour is a kind of support for that. Lou Barlow and J Mascis fell out shortly after Bug, and it wasn’t until Lou climbed on stage for guest vocals at an Asheton+ Asheton+ Mascis+ Watt Stooges gig that they even really talked, so things have obviously gone far enough that they’re playing together... but not far enough that they’re actually communicating. Not that anyone could hear anything over their legenary thundering volume.

The set was an onslaught of very loud, very heavy, very fast classic Dinosaur tracks, pulled from a democratic balance of early favourites - with the post-Sebadoh Lou getting a few more vocals slots than he maybe would have first time round. He even commented that he hadn’t ever sung a couple of the tracks live, but that didn’t cause any problems. It’s kind of nostalgic for us and them really, knocking out the now-classic album tracks like The Lung, Freak Scene, Just Like Heaven, In A Jar, and getting the huge support that they always deserved.

Extra half star for old times sake.

#Music
#Gig
#CSF

14th Jun 2005 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

Magnolia Electric Co.

Bush Hall, London

June 2nd 2005

I was late getting to this gig, and heard someone say "he's onstage now" as I arrived, so I rushed in to see that the first song was underway and pushed down to the front. I got into this band via Songs Ohia and hadn't ever seen the main man (Jason Molina), so didn't know what to expect. This dude was young looking and thin, and it quickly transpired that he had zero stage presence. Half the crowd chatted through his set as the accoustic songs ambled into each other... and then it finished. Luckily I quickly realised this was only the support band.

Magnolia Electric Co. were on stage shortly after that, with grizzy beards, hair and lot more electric guitars. They were a powerful unit, effortless and tight, motoring through a selection of songs from the new album and older stuff, and totally captivating. Phew.

The crowd we're totally into the show, which made for a great atmosphere. Plus they covered Werewolves of London as an encore. Love it.

#Music
#Gig
#CSF

4th Jun 2005 - Add Comment - Tweet

Oasis

Don't Believe The Truth

This record sounds just about what you'd expect. It isn't crap, and for all you can tell it might well be "the best thing we've done since Definitely Maybe," but it's just sounds like old news. Led Zeppelin could re-form and make "the best record since Physical Graffiti," but it probably wouldn't work. Hiring Richard Fearless to produce was maybe a good idea. Sacking him probably wasn't. Most appropriate song title - "Keeping the Dream Alive".

#Music
#CSF

25th May 2005 - Add Comment - Tweet

Sebadoh

Live at the EFDSS

Lou Barlow seems to have a problem with falling out with people. First we had to get over Dinosaur Jr. (minus Lou Barlow) and then Sebadoh (minus Eric, with Eric, minus Eric). Tonight we had "Lou Barlow And Jason Lowenstein Play The Songs Of Sebadoh" - not that Eric was missed too much.

Lou Barlow has always seemed like the leader of this troupe, but Jason got a pretty thunderous applause when he stepped up to the mic. Kicking out a lot of the classics and favourites, the gig played out like a campfire indie session with a couple of friends. Every song seemed like your favourite, with most of the crowd sat on the floor shoegazing and remembering the good old days.

Nostalgia can't last forever though, and there was a slight hint of under-achiever about the whole affair. Sebadoh always seemed like they were only the start, but the rest never really came. Maybe it's not Lou that falls out with people, maybe they just fall out with him.

#Music
#Gig
#CSF

15th Oct 2003 - Add Comment - Tweet