Saturday 28 April 2012

Camille O'Sullivan @ North Wall, Oxford.









How can I say anything about this gig as I became personally involved when Camille came and sat on my lap during her performance, could not be helped, I was front row dead centre, and my legs were perched on the small steps that led up to the front of the stage, therefore my views can only be compromised.
But what the fuck....an absolutely excellent gig with Camille on top form, mixing her genres with a degree of theatricality rarely seen on the performance stage. She puts 99.9% of groups/singers to shame, and unlike the likes of (spit spit) Madonna etal, that performance is all of her own making.
A great repertoire of songs, In These Shoes played out right in front of  me, ably supported by a number of props and finishing (before the inevitable encore) with a great rendition of Nick Cave's Ship Song. I know I called for it but it was probably the closing number.
The only trouble being in the front row is that it is difficult to photograph. In the end I resorted not to use the viewfinder on my Nikon DSLR but rely on pure guess work by having the camera in my lap and just pointing it in the right direction and letting the auto focus do its job after setting the speed to 1/100. Out of the 50 shots taken, here are the best.
A mention is necessary for the band, the ever present Fergal Murray on Keyboards and MD, Paul Byrne on Pecussion and the excellent Ant Law on guitar.
Another mention is also necessary for the venue, The North Wall. Designed by Architect's Haworth Tompkins for St Edwards School, occupies the site of a once Grade 2 listed Victorian swimming pool and as the name suggests, it is pressed up against the stone north wall that forms the boundary with South Parade. A quality small building that won both the RIBA's national award in 2008 but also a Civic Trust award.
Why Camille O'Sullivan is not better known I cannot say, for she is one performer you should not miss!
10/10 Meow indeed!

Wednesday 25 April 2012

Great Tracks No7, Bahamut, by Hazmat Modine


This is something completely different, Hazmat Modine are a blues/folk/world fusion/jazz musical group from New York. "Hazmat" is a portmanteau of "hazardous material" and "Modine" is the name of a company that manufactures commercial heaters and is appropriate since thy "blow a lot of hot air," from instruments including harmonicas, tubas and saxophones.
Bahamut is half sung, half spoken and about a vast mythological fish that supports the earth, where in some sources is described as having a head resembling a hippopotamus or elephant. The song is pushed along by a tuba carrying out the duties of a bass, has a mid section of the spoken word followed by a riotous finish.
Jeff Tamarkin of  AllMusic praised the band for successfully fusing styles as disparate as blues, jazz, klezmer, calypso, and ska into "music that sounds at once ageless and primeval, authentically indigenous and inexplicably otherworldly, familiar and unlike anything else.
Whatever, it is indeed excellent and surprisingly unknown in the UK, am I their only fan?
Well no, two days later I find that they are playing the Bath Fringe Festival in six weeks time! Tickets duly bought and quite excited to be seeing them.

Well, Bohemoth calls us his own
While Bahamut wanders alone
They both go out to play
On that cold and rainy day

And Bohemoth sings us his song
While Bahamut wanders along
But in the glory of this spring
You can hear Bahamut sing

Whoa-ho-ho
Are you as big as me?
Whoa-ho-ho-ho
Way too big to see
Whoa-ho-ho-ho-ho
Bahamut he goes so slow
Whoa-ho-ho-ho
Too big a place to go

(Solos)

(Spoken)
The entire known universe
Floats suspended in a thin silver bowl
Which rocks gently on the back
Of an immense blue-green tortuga
And the tortuga's scaly feet
Are firmly placed on the topmost
Of seven craggy mountains
Which arise from a vast and arid plain
Of drifting, fetid, yellow dust
And the plain is balanced precariously
On top of a small thin green acacia tree?
Which grows from the snout
Of a giant blood red ox
With 50 eyes that breathes flame
The color of the midnight sky
And the ox's hooves are firmly placed
On the single grain of sand
Which floats in the eye of Bahamut
Like a mote of dust
No one has ever seen Bahamut
Some think it's a fish
Some think it's a newt
All we know is that the lonely Bahamut
Floats endlessly through all time and all space
With all of us and everything
Floating in a single tear
Of his eye

Well, Bohemoth calls us his own
While Bahamut wanders alone
When they both go out to play
On that cold and rainy day

And Bohemoth sings us his song
While Bahamut wanders alone
But in the glory of their fall
You can hear Bahamut call

Whoa-ho-ho
Are you as big as me?
Whoa-ho-ho-ho
Way too big to see
Whoa-ho-ho-ho-ho
Bahamut he goes so slow
Whoa-ho-ho-ho
Too big a place to go

Thursday 12 April 2012

Chuck Prophet and the Mission Express @ Dingwalls London








Only got to know about Chuck Prophet through promoter Mike Trotman of Empty Rooms Promotions who operates out of Buckingham and has CP a couple of times, not that I had seen him. So I bought 'Let Freedom Ring' on the back of it and learned a bit about his musical background and liked what I read, Could not get a Green on Red cd though. At the beginning of the year Empty Rooms announced that they are promoting CP at The Bully in Oxford less than a mile away from home on a friday night, which was ok only to find that it was to be an early finish and the chance that I could not make it as I would be leaving London late. So quickly found that CP was playing Dingwalls the night before was good news indeed, and it has been some three decades since I was last in here, Chris Rea I seem to recall, and in that time I have got married, moved to Oxford, children now at Uni, and now living back in London for the week.

Anyway to here I am back at Digwalls, by myself and following a cracking warm up from Danny and the Champions of The World (what is this, a gig consisting of bands with long names?) on comes CP, not the obvious looking rock and roll musician, with the band and for the next 100+ minutes proceed to show how it is done. A great set with great repore between CP and audience, including a bloke who wanted to interrupt a number by saying that some woman's brother was outside to give her a lift, Anne Marie I think she was called, rather unbelievable. Second gig in a row where artist did a Springsteen cover, 'Darkness on the Edge of Town' only weeks before down the road at KOKO with The Felice Brothers and tonight it was Chuck Prophet's turn with 'For You'. A few years back it was common for bands to play a Dylan number, now it appears the Springsteen is the flavour of the year.
Three numbers in the encore the finale being a cover of Bowie's 'Rebel Rebel' where CP called a guy out of the back of the audience to sing along, I thought his name was David, but would not swear to it. Who was he? Now this guy looked liked a rock and roller and with one verse in, pulled up a woman from the audience who was dancing down at the front. They both dueted together but best of all, he had his left leg firmly planted between her legs and was giving it the whole rub up. I looked at James DePrato the guitarist who I was standing right next to, we both looked at the bump and grinding couple, then looked at each other and just grinned. The woman's partner was in the audience too but did not seem to mind and she was loving it. He got a big kiss at the end as did CP with hugs to, although I saw she acknowledged CP's wife Stephie. Mention of Stephie, a useful foil at times for CP, sung her own song and the dueted on Little Girl, Little Boy.
An excellent evening all round, and worth seeing again.

Set list

Like a stone across the sea
Let Freedom Ring
Look Both Ways
Castro Halloween
The Left Hand And The Right Hand
Willie Mays Is Up At Bat
Doubter Out of Jesus (All Over You)
Tina Goodbye
White Night, Big City
A Man Of Few Words
Temple Beautiful
Would You Love Me?
I Felt Like Jesus
Little Girl, Little Boy
Summertime Thing
For You
You Did (Bomp Shooby Dooby Bomp)
Encore:
Don't Call Me, I'll Call You
Shake Some Action
Pipeline
Rebel Rebel (with Dave Kusworth)



Danny and The Champions of the World @ Digwalls London



Opening act for Chuck Prophet, and a blistering 8 song, 40 minute set. Best opening act I have seen for donkeys years.
Set list:
Ghosts In The Wire
Heart and Arrow
Soul In The City
Colonel and The King
Every Beat Of My Heart
Can't Hold Back
You Don't Know (My Heart Is In The Right Place)
Restless Feet

Sunday 8 April 2012

Headhunters

Surprisingly good Norwegian thriller which is far better than most that churns out of Hollywood. A couple of moments when you have to suspend belief but otherwise it hits the spot. These Scandinavians do like escaping by running through forests at night.
8.75 / 10