With Just A Hint Of Mayhem

This was the third Basement Sessions event put on by Navigators Art and Performance and the first that I was able to get to. Thanks to flooding and all sorts of acts of god it has moved around a bit and original headliners PERCY were unable to play, but they were represented (more of that later). It was a mix of music, poetry, and comedy which meant the thrilling prospect of six different acts. Up first was young comedian Will Glitch. He seemed very nervous but at times in his short set, he was splendiferously funny. The first music of the night was from the duo the Jammingtons Experience. They are very much “anti-rock stars” and all the better because of that. I saw them as a folk version of John Cooper Clarke with some fabulously sharp lyrics and ironic delivery. “Lost It” reminded me of the Moldy Peaches but with a much more British slant. The highlight for me was “Psychic Fight”. I spoke with the bass player later in the evening and he said that no one had written about him before, I am honoured to break that duck! Next, it was the turn of Mexican-born and UK-based poet Danae. I loved the angry poem based on Ageus and the story of the slaying of the minotaur and relating that to relationships with her father. Her second poem, “Box Of Tea” was weird, wacky, wonderful, and witty.

The New Solar Drones were the next band on the intimate Basement Stage at City Screen. The first song was a bit like Godspeed You! Black Emperor backing a 1969 period David Bowie. “This Hollywood Love” sounded at times as if Brian Molko had been hit with a music epiphany while listening to Neil Diamond. Is there another band like the New Solar Drones? perhaps not! Andy Wiles from PERCY (I told you they would get another mention) did a great job guesting on bass for the night. The instrumentation on the final song was Abbey Road album Beatlesque. Sadly there were no actual drones, maybe because they are solar-powered and it was dark, or perhaps the ceiling was too low. But this was a fantastic set even without those small remote-controlled flying robot things! Will Glitch made his second appearance of the evening and seemed just as nervous but definitely funnier in a very alt.comedy kind of way.

Jazz often gets a bad name and can be the butt of many music-related jokes, but acts like the Neo Borgia Trio smash that myth into tiny pieces. This was jazz beamed in from another dimension. They opened with a cover of Led Zeppelin’s “The Immigrant Song”. Fucking hell that was good, such a huge sound with just drums, guitar, and saxophone. They are self-confessed jazz punk in style but in their cover of MF Doom’s “Raid” they told us they added hip hop into that mix and they did it perfectly. But this is not just about breaking down barriers around jazz. The three of them are also highly skilled in applying their talents to classic jazz. The cover of Duke Ellington’s “Caravan” was phenomenal and the drum solo gave it something extra special, turning it from a plain old caravan into a Winnebago from space! The Neo Borgia Trio are three musicians who are absolutely on fire. They closed their set with a monumentally magnificent cover of a Rage Against The Machine track. Poet Danae returned for her second appearance afterwards and “The Poem About The Tree” was incredibly powerful. I think that she said it was based on some of Dostoyevsky’s work.

The night closed with Fat Spatula, a band I had seen and loved before. They opened like punkier, feedback-fuelled Talking Heads and followed that with a sound akin to Vampire Weekend on Lemmy Kilminster levels of speed. “Jesus In My Bed” now that really is a fucking awesome song. Sometimes they sound like the 21st-century bastard sons of Jonathan Richman. Fat Spatula combines a really funky sound, perhaps aided by a five-string bass, with classic punk riffs and delivery. Their music is difficult to stay still too, but this was a seated gig so while dancing was difficult there was plenty of head bobbing, foot tapping, and chair movement going on. “Lot Lizard” is pure full-octane punk….. and some! Fat Spatula are beyond doubt one of the best live bands on the scene right now. Bring on Basement Sessions #4 please!

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