Jukebox Fury @ Stoke Newington Town Hall

 
The music that opened minds

Four of Britain's most accomplished and adventurous music writers were invited by Stoke Newington Literary Festival to present their choice of ground breaking songs which inspired them to write about music.
Enigmatically refereed by Stoke Newington Librarian and past life, ex Buzzcocks-manager, Richard Boon, who beckoned his wife to play the grammy from the Gods and cast the deciding vote of HIT or MISS.

Who's My Generation, (Charles Shaar Murray ) was an undoubted HIT! And  despite it's psyched up rhythm,  reminded him of Dylan's Times They Are A-Changing. A rather awkward speaker, Simon Reynolds went for Sex Pistols-Bodies, and spoke of Punk's “evil” and its' infinite vocab of bad words.
Paul Morley felt it had made him "want to go and immediately and cut his hair”!  He then chose - Buzzcocks' Boredom – then voted it a... MISS!  A great example of “how a band's deficiencies can be a fantastic thing”,  (Simon).
Final strike, Lucy's Planet Claire. She loved how the B 52s embraced “the fluorescent side of punk”.
Despite the buzzing guitar riffs, the provocative lyrics and edgy pop attitude, Jukebox Fury failed to connect with its' audience. We wanted to see more witty interaction between the panel and hear more music! And why couldn't we have HIT/MISS cards to choose too??
They did give us food for thought.  Punk opened up minds. But what about the legacy of music press branding?


Review and photography by Danai Molocha, aka rockets4solitude for www.liveatyourlocal.org.uk/music

The Kills @ The Roundhouse

No, you ain't born typical

3/6/11

I like The Kills. I've been watching them since moment one.
That's why it stroke me as a bit sad that thanks (but no thanks) to Jamie Hince's affair with some unknown model that goes by the name of Kate Moss, the band's raw sexual energy turned overnight into a trend. Along with women's magazines trying to fit Alison Mosshart into any other rock chick's shoes.
Luckily, for the true fans, she doesn't seem to give a f*** all that much (we certainly hope she doesn't). She keeps on hiding behind black layers of clothes and black layers of hair, flying from side to side with brutal energy.
More on the rock steady side on stage, Hince somehow manages to send out the same amounts of heat and sweat.
This year's Blood Pressures - their fourth album - was the gig's focus. And it's good but, frankly, it fails to raise the same passions, the same viciousness, the same dirt to its audience, no matter the band's efforts for a thunderous live rendition. Inevitably, older hits like U.R.A. Fever (from 2008's Midnight Boom) won the award of the night's biggest crowd pleasers. You could tell, unfortunately, by the screaming beauties giving it a go right behind us. High in volume - but with a quality that said "liking The Kills makes me Kate Moss" (sorry, girls).
So be it. As long as they keep their eyes on the two of them and the two of them only, this duo rocks.

...And, to turn the spotlight on another duo, which came on first, Cat's Eyes - Mr. Faris Bodwan of The Horrors and soprano/multi-intrumentalist Rachel Zaffira brought a beautiful record (of the same name) artfully up on stage. My only objection comes for that unbelievably snobby (or plainly indifferent? which is equally bad) live presence that undermines anything Horror-esque. This project's musical credits do give Bodwan and co the excuse to play it serious. The duo's melodic outreach - with Zaffira's Siren voice and keyboard harmonies - and relative calmness do stand for themselves. But to see their guitarist (of unknown origin for the time being) chewing gum and looking around like he's waiting in line at the supermarket basically pisses me off. And it spoils the fun...

The Zombies @ Shepherd's Bush Empire

Moments in Time

27/5/11

I was among the few people (under the age of 50, at least) that were actually looking forward to seeing The Zombies.
Their tunes have always hidden a cool sexual energy in their retro romanticism. And after the instrumental part they played in Thomas Vinterberg's 2005 film Dear Wendy - where they provided the main source of inspiration for the teenage gun-addicts The Dandies -  The Zombies found their way back into our hearts in the '00s; not that they ever had left in the first place.
So, there we were, waiting to see the band back on stage for it's 50th anniversary.
And, boy, did they look it! Frankly, looking at them couldn't help but bring to mind those '80s comedies where some old, decrepit wannabe rockers grab the guitars and cause... havoc. It was far from havoc, but seeing Colin Blunstone open his arms to the public singing God Gave Rock'n'Roll To You (and the public's voice could hardly come out, let me tell you!) WAS pretty comical.
You'd think sitting there laughing was all I was doing at The Zombies that Friday night, but I actually found myself astounded at their lasting musical ability. Cause behind those wrinkly, long gone looks, beautiful songs as hell kept coming out the one after the other - and we're not only talking classic gems like Time of The Season and She's Not There.
Songs like Moment in Time or Any Other Way, from new album Breathe Out, Breathe In established the band's ability to find true psycho-beauty and honest rock feeling in their melodies, craftily putting them down in notes for all to share. Rod Argent is no doubt in top song-writing form.
I was deeply moved. Those men really got the magic, 50 years on...

In The Nursery @ The Barbican

Man With A Movie Camera Vs Men With Laptops

29/5/11

A lazy Sunday afternoon welcomed us at the Barbican - under the dark sheal of the theatre on a bright, windy day.
Admittedly, a scene likely to make you prone to sleep.
Luckily there was plenty of avant garde film extravaganza (or, should I say... extravantgarda?) and on-screen Dadaism, doubling up with the emotive power in In The Nursery's music to keep us awake for the 68 min. duration of Dziga Vertov's silent masterpiece.
A monologue in black and white shots of daily life in Moscow - and though it was the year 1929, there was enough nude, and even a woman giving birth in close-up.
Suprematism in Russian painting had preceded this film by over a decade but, still, I couldn't help but feel surprised that art in Russia - bold, innovative and soulful, simultaneously, was way ahead of its' time.
In The Nursery's music has established it's cinematic quality over the years; still, my previous live experience, with The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari playing in the big screen, was an itchy bit sleepy... Luckily, Man With A Movie Camera found the Sheffield duo in much better shape. Daily routine in Moscow seemed to inspire much more melodic sensibility - and power, in them than Dr Caligari's horrors - and they expressed themselves accordingly.
I can't unfortunately say I didn't slightly drift, with the relaxing music and the succession of images dancing me into short moments of afternoon siesta; but I still thought it was rather my own tiredness (and my friends' too - coincidentally, I hope!)  that brought up the effect and not the goings-on (or the absence of them) on screen and on stage.
Viva Vertov. In The Nursery... way to go.

Cults @ Rough Trade East

Most Wanted

31/5/11

I  hadn't heard of Cults till their Album of the Month slot at Rough Trade East put them in the picture (and all over the place).
The New York duo and their accompanying musicians took over the stage and earned our respect with the following talents:
1) To have a sense of humour. Especially that Mr Brian Oblivion. It doesn't come easy with up-and-coming bands. They're way too serious crawling into their game of fame and fortune to even think of cracking a joke.

  2) To have the looks of Keira Knightley - the Madeline Follin indie slacker way; and for some strange reason...
3) To sing like a much soulful and introspective Gwen Stefani - or where she would have been if she hadn't been too busy playing Sports Spice-the ska version and American show-off Harajukus. And...
4) To actually bring to mind vocals a la Madonna's Like A Virgin phase - down to earth and black clad. And with a '60s girl-group crush.

That said, and even though the above qualities draw me in, their romantic pop side isn't quite my cuppa. Luckily, there's a dark, menacing streak lurking here that gives Cults all the edge they need.
...And when Madeline sings up high, heart in hands, then yeah, we really Know What She Means.

The kids are alright.

Photography by rockets4solitude