Antony Szmierek, Manchester based poet, producer, rather ace music maker and all round good guy has a new album out at the end of next month. It is called ‘Service Station At The End Of The Universe’. His new single, “Angie’s Wedding” will be the final track on the album. It brings together many of the album’s characters in a fictional wedding of the century setting. Szmierek’s rhythmic, soft spoken rap is ideal for this track. It oozes hope. Now I am even more excited for the album. Did Angie make it? Like Antony I hope she did too.
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Aside from festivals, this is one of the biggest gigs that With Just A Hint Of Mayhem has had the pleasure of reviewing. I arrived quite early and was pleasantly surprised to find out that I had a great seat. I made a couple of initial posts on social media saying that I was in Leeds to review James and that I had to sit through Razorlight first, with hindsight that was a little mean, shabby, cheap and sarcastic. Razorlight in their time attracted a degree of bad press thanks to Johnny Borrell’s outspokenness. A favourite of mine was “Compared to the Razorlight album, Dylan is making the chips, I’m drinking the Champagne” from 2004. But he was still a young man back then and the arrogance of youth and success can negatively impact many people. This is largely the classic line-up of Razorlight with Borrell as a charismatic and energetic frontman, Björn Ågren on guitars, keys, and percussion, Carl Dalemo on bass guitar and keys, and Andy Burrows on drums and backing vox. The band is strengthened further by keyboard player Reni Lane. So did I just have to sit through Razorlight? No, I didn’t, they were on top form and Borrell played to the crowd faultlessly. They played their set as though they were headlining and it was more glorious and reslpendent as a result. Newer songs like “Scared Of Nothing” hinted at a slightly poppier Velvet Underground influence. But it was the canon of hook-laden hits and classics from three top 4 albums and 5 top-ten singles. Opening with the 2006 top 3 hit “In The Morning” set the scene perfectly for an impeccably played and well-structured set. The crowd was singing along noisily from the first chorus. “Stumble And Fall” was good, but the closing three songs set the bar incredibly high, and Razorlight knocked it out of the park. “Before I Fall To Pieces” and “Somewhere Else” were stunning while the final song “America”, surprisingly their only UK number one, was stirring, emotional, and had all of us singing once again. I completely take back what I said about Razorlight before their set. This was nonpareil and sublime from a band that is back on it in a wonderful way! But I would like to say to the hundreds of people filming on their mobile phones, particularly during “America”, what the fuck are you doing? Live the moment, take in the gig, appreciate the music. You cannot appreciate a live show through a tiny screen on an electronic device. Make memories, not videos!
Finally, it was time for the main course of the evening from James after a splendid and tasty starter from Johnny Borrell and the boys. How many other bands formed back in 1982 are still selling out arenas and releasing stylish new original music regularly? Tim Booth and Jim Glennie have been a part of the band since it was formed 42 years ago, while four of the other members have been a part of James since the late eighties. The band has been an influential and important part of British music since its inception and has been ever-present apart from a short hiatus at the start of this century. I have seen James a few times over the years, and they always put on a show, so I was expecting something good at the Leeds First Direct arena. The band started modestly enough with a song that is nearly 40 years old and is about a character from Iggy Pop’s “Lust For Life”, “Johnny Yen”. The set was nicely littered with songs from the new album ‘Yummy’, eight tunes from the album were included in the 20-song set. The highlights from those were for me “Our World” and a spectacular stomp through “Life’s A Fucking Miracle”. Tim Booth made his first of many crowd-surfing excursions during that one. Booth’s own brand of dancing was clear throughout the show. No one dances with such unbridled fun and bendiness as Mr. Booth. He dances like nobody is watching but he absolutely knows that we are! “Butterfly” was beautiful, and this was the first time the band had performed it live. Before they took the stage there was an announcement saying that James would rather you did not use your mobile phone during their show. I wholeheartedly agree with that! But Tim Booth did make a concession when he introduced “Mobile God”, although I am not sure many in the crowd appreciated the irony in that. The older songs were, obviously, well received, especially the final two pre-encore tracks “Come Home” and “Sometimes”. The huge back-of-stage screen used some kind of AI (I assume) to turn the band into weird robotic characters, the really entertaining part was when they did the same to the crowd. Booth orchestrated the crowd singing an acapella take on “Sometimes” with an almost heavenly and ethereal crowd choir singing “Sometimes when I look in your eyes, I can see your soul” in almost perfect unison and harmony, with occasional support from the band and the four obscenely talented members of the Manchester Voices Inspirational Choir. The band left the stage very briefly before returning for a four-song encore beginning with “Way Over Your Head” from ‘Yummy’ and “Beautiful Beaches” from ‘All The Colours Of You’. Then it was time for “that song”, yes, the perennial anthem of the ages, “Sit Down” and clearly no one did sit down for it. We all sang along as loud as possible though. The song was stopped shortly before the end to help security and venue staff deal with a medical emergency in the crowd, with a compassionate and empathetic Tim Booth telling us what was happening. After they restarted most of the band sat on the front of the stage to listen to the crowd continue to sing this timeless tune. Booth then informed us that we were now on ‘Fergie Time’ which meant another song could be played. That song was “Laid”, perhaps my favourite James song. What a magnificent way to end an epic and dazzling set from a band that goes from strength to strength, even after all this time. I left Leeds an incredibly happy man after this show, I suspect everyone left with smiles on their faces. Roll on the next tour!
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Do you like your indie rock on hard, pumping and yet melodic and tuneful? Well, you will love this new track, “Replay”, from manic Mancs Freeda. At times it reminds me of the Killers and a slightly more impassioned early Arctic Monkeys. Sean Rowles vocals are pleading, soulful and powerful. The guitar interplay from Callum on lead and Cameron on rhythm moves the song along with shades of Johnny Marr. Meanwhile, the two Adams on bass and drums respectively provide the song’s heartbeat. It follows hot on the heels of their single “Plead” from earlier this year, which itself garnered some great airplay and heavy streaming on Spotify. Freeda know a great tune when they write and record one and “Replay” is just that, a truly great song that deserves plenty of exposure. With that in mind, the boys have put together a fascinating video, directed by Peter Hall, to accompany it. These days it must be incredibly difficult to come up with a remotely original idea for a video, but the setting for “Replay” achieves that in my opinion. It has the band playing the song in what looks like a scruffy industrial styled room with a bizarre assortment of props; booze bottles, art deco lamp, a chair that has seen better days, a freaky looking headless mannequin and did I spy a cutlass? But the centrepiece, other than the band, of course, is an old TV in which you can see the band playing in parallel to their performance in the main room, but the action moves into the TV and back and each move seems to show some subtle differences. Watch the video below and click here to find the track on Spotify.
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Manchester’s Moodbay has a rather delightful new single making its way into the world on June 7th. It is called “Listen Up” and that is exactly what you need to do if you like chilled, trancey, dance vibes infused with some hot 21st Century R & B. Alfie Cattell and Anna Stephens a.k.a Moodbay list a few artists on their FaceBook page that they like including David Bowie, Gorillaz, Radiohead, Massive Attack, The Weeknd among many others. I can see the influences from all of them being put into the Moodbay magic mixing bowl and then having a large scoop of pure Moodbay added to make such classy sounds. The pair met and formed the duo in 2017 having met at the BIMM music school in Manchester. They describe their sound as mood pop.
In its original form “Listen Up” is damned good, but the dance remix takes it to a level that surely has the ability to set the clubs on fire. Alfie’s production is crystal clear and powerful. The bass sound that underpins the song builds it from simple chill to epic dance. The music may sound positive and upbeat but the lyrics convey anger and perhaps sadness. That kind of thing is difficult to pull off successfully, but this lot do it perfectly! You need this track in your life and we need more from Moodbay. They are planning to have an album out later this year and on the evidence of this release, I am looking forward to it immensely! Click here to check out a few older tunes from them on Spotify and “Listen Up when it arrives. I have also included a few tracks from YouTube to whet your appetite for the magnificent Moodbay!
All photos by Declan Cerffield.
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Manchester has produced many fine bands over the years and with pop punk trio Aerial Salad I think you can add another to that esteemed list. Formed in 2016 and Jamie Munro (Guitar & Vox), Jack Appleby (Drums) and Michael Wimbleton (Bass Guitar) claim influences from Jawbreaker, Green Day and Weezer to name but a few. I can hear elements of old school punk like the Damned, Sham 69 and the Clash along with a hint of ska punk a la Reel Big Fish. ‘Roach’ is a classy début with hard-hitting life stories and a wall of punk sound that smacks you in the face from the opening bars of “Habits And Problems”. When I listening to “97” I am gobsmacked as to how three people can make such a full on barrage of solid guitar attack.
“Worst Case Ontario” sounds musically like the Undertones and Jamie Munro gives it his best Jimmy Pursey vocal. Aerial Salad are bona-fide rockers who have some great songs, magnificent musicianship, punk attitude and to top it all it feels like they enjoying the bloody hell out of it all. The album has twelve tracks and there is not a dud among them, all I wanted to do after my first listen was to play it again. My favourite tracks after two listens are “Alone Forever” and “Dunhills” but that will probably change after the third. This record is most definitely crammed with top tunes. The album is out now on London-based label Plasterer Records. I definitely want to see this band live, how about Reading/ Leeds 2018? You can still catch them on their UK tour this month. If you have been to any of the shows feel free to let me know what you thought in the comments below. Dates are (can you come to York or Leeds next time please lads?);
08 Nov – Exeter, Cavern
09 Nov – Southampton, Joiners
10 Nov – Brighton, Sticky Mikes
11 Nov – Bristol, Louisiana
12 Nov – London, New Cross Inn
13 Nov – Watford, Flag
14 Nov – Bradford, Big Bang Theory
15 Nov – Glasgow, Bar Bloc
16 Nov – Newcastle, Jumping Jacks
17 Nov – Scunthorpe, Lincoln Imp
18 Nov – Morecombe, The Carleton
19 Nov – Stafford, Redrum
20 Nov – Worcester, Marrs Bar
21 Nov – Canterbury, Lady Luck
22 Nov – Norwich, The Owl Sanctuary
23 Nov – Chester, Live Rooms
24 Nov – Derby, Hairy Dog
25 Nov – Abertillery, Dolls House
A big thank you to those lovely funky punky folk at Wall Of Sound PR for giving me the chance to review this album.
I have just reviewed ‘In Principo’ the wonderful new EP from Manchester based band the Lyerrs. Click here to check it out. You can even take a listen on SoundCloud
I would also like to thank those nice people at the Hype Media for send the EP my way. Let me know what you think of it.
I have decided to post any music related jokes that I come across, especially if they are at my usual groan level of humour. So with thanks to those lovely people at Popbitch for bringing this one to my attention.
The drummer off of the Inspiral Carpets, Craig Gill apparently now runs Manchester music tours. Last weekend he did two tours entitled ‘Morrissey and the Smiths’. The first one in the morning had a very healthy 85 punters. The tour stops off at many Smiths historical highlights including; Strangeways Prison, Salford Lads Club, the Southern Cemetery and Morrissey’s childhood home.
But according to one Smiths tourist the highlight was this joke from Mr Gill.
Q – What does Morrissey have in his sandwiches?
A – I don’t know, but Marr might!
I love that one, feel free to send me your favourite music related jokes. I will be happy to post them and to give you a name check. You can send them via email to me at adamson.will@gmail.com. Just put Another Crap Music Joke in the subject line.
In case you were fooled, this last one is an excellent spoof!
On Saturday I had yet another opportunity to attend a live show from my favourite all-girl punk band the Tuts and obviously I wasn’t going to turn that down was I? The Tuts were the third and headlining act in the musical close to the Leeds Ladyfest. This festival exists to promote and celebrate women in the arts. The first part of the day included some very successful workshops I’m told. I was only there for the music and more of that later. The venue was the rather excellent Wharf Chambers in Leeds, this co-operative pub/ venue has the potential to become one of Leeds’ best small venues in my opinion. I understand that money raised from the event would be going to charity. One of the recipients will be Support After Rape and Sexual Violence Leeds (SARSVL). This is an organisation that I know a bit about thanks to my friend Rachel Vernelle who is a passionate supporter. If you wish to contribute to SARSVL or indeed to help fund Wharf Chambers the links are above.
Anyway on to the music. The first band on were Demitaves. Three people, one acoustic guitar, some basic percussion and harmonies to die for. The well rehearsed vocals were reminiscent of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young at their best. The band also had some excellently written and performed songs. The acoustic cover of Britney Spears “Toxic” was a highlight. In my opinion if you cover a song you should make it different from the original and for this cover it was definitely mission accomplished. So would I go and see the Demitaves again? Of course I would and so should you if you get the chance!
Next up were Chambers a two-girl duo who told us that they had only been together for two months. If I heard that part correctly then they really were bloody good! A complete contrast to the close harmonies and largely a capella sound of the Demitaves it would be fair to say that Chambers rocked hard. Would it be a cliché to say that Chambers rocked the (Wharf) Chambers? It would? OK I won’t then. These women have a very heavy and very loud sound and are closer to heavy metal than any other genre for me. They only played three songs, but on the strength of that I would certainly check them out again given the chance.
Finally it was my chance to see those fabulous Tuts once again. This is the third or fourth time I have seen them and it would be very fair to say that they have got better every time. They have a great set of songs “Tut Tut Tut”, “Dump Your Boyfriend” and my current favourite “Worry Warrior” among many others. The Tuts are nothing like either of the other bands on the bill which for me makes for a brilliantly varied and interesting evening. It would have been nice to see more people there but it was a fabulous atmosphere and great show from Nad Tut, Bev Tut and Hat Tut. They even managed a crowd invasion at one point with Nadia and Harriet bringing their guitars and microphones onto the floor in among us punters. Jen Doveton off of Colour Me Wednesday also joined them on stage for one song.
Their UK tour is over now, the last show was in Manchester on Sunday. However the big news is that they will be treading the boards in the UK again very soon, in the early part of 2015 in fact. If you’re a Tuts fan you’ll already know this, but the girls are supporting the legendary Selecter on their UK tour! Check below for the dates. This came about after Pauline Black saw the Tuts thunderstorm interrupted Glastonbury set in June this year. I will definitely be there at the Leeds Brudenell show in 2015. If you haven’t yet checked out the Tuts I want a letter from your parents explaining why!
Finally take a look at the latest video from the fabulous Tuts!
Have you ever thought about having a garden gnome on display at your home but then thought that you were too cool to do it? Well think again, especially if you are a fan of a Manchester band that you may have heard a little about. Yes folks you can now buy a full set of Gnome Roses who look remarkably like the Stone Roses. You could create your very own Spike Island next to your garden pond. Check out the Gnome Roses on Facebook and purchase them here at Alternative Merchandise. If you have already bought yours or received them for Christmas feel free to send me a picture and I will definitely give you a mention on this blog!
Creator of these little gems is Andrew McDermid and he has ideas to expand the range, starting with the Ra-Gnomes with the advertising strap line of ‘Hi Ho Let’s Go!’. He also plans to work on the Rolling Gnomes, Kurt Cobain and Queens Of The Gnome Age. What? No Bowie as “The Laughing Gnome“?
On Thursday 30th May I attended a simulcast of the world première of the new Stones Roses documentary ‘Made Of Stone’ at York City Screen. The cinema is part of the excellent Picturehouse chain and was one of 200 UK cinemas that were broadcasting the première which took place in Manchester. There was a live link to the activities on the red carpet for the first hour and personally I found that part terribly dull, not helped in my opinion by Edith Bowman‘s interview style. She seems to ask a high percentage of closed questions. The most interesting interview she did was with Shane Meadows, the director of the film. The interview with Mick Jones off of the Clash was embarrassing in my opinion.
The film however was a million light years from being dull. I would say that it is probably among the best music documentaries I have ever seen. It didn’t set out to tell a chronological story of the band, although some of the montages which included previously unseen footage were excellent. Much of that material was provided by the band themselves directly to Shane Meadows. This included some grainy Super 8 ciné film of Ian Brown and John Squire on motor scooters from the early 80s. The film is essentially split into three parts; The resurrection press conference and the Parr Hall in Warrington free show; Then the rehearsals and finally some stunning footage from the Heaton Park gigs.
I really loved the rehearsal element. It showed just how close the band really are and it was incredibly intimate and insightful. Apparently some of the rehearsal footage was shot by Shane Meadows using a Super 8 App on his iPhone. Does that mean we’ll all be making films soon? The filming and editing of the Parr Hall show and the build up to it was wonderfully entertaining. Especially the sequences of the people queueing up to be among the lucky 1,000 attendees. I order to get a wrist band for the gig you needed to bring along some official Stone Roses merchandise or CD/ Records and obviously to be in the first 1,000 people in the queue. One bloke arrived still in his paint spattered overalls having not even bothered to lock up the house he had been working on.
The finale of the film is truly amazing and culminates in some superb footage from the Heaton Park gigs. There must have been countless cameras used and I hope that the video includes much more footage of the shows. Some clips of the pre Heaton Park warm up shows were shown leading up to the big gig. You saw the band back stage in Lyon meeting one of their Manchester United (or Mani United) heroes; Eric Cantona. Is it just me or does he look like Grizzly Adams these days? I’m sure that Liam Gallagher, who made a brief appearance in the film wouldn’t have liked that part. The classic non encore from the Amsterdam is also included. This was where Reni threw a bit of a hissy fit following some problems with his ear monitors and went straight back to the hotel. Ian Brown then had to come back on the stage and announce to the disgruntled audience that this was no joke and that the drummer had gone home. This culminated in the classic line ‘What can I say? The drummer’s a cunt!’ To be fair that is a little rich coming from a soon to be middle-aged man who wears his jeans low enough to see most of his undercrackers!
The posters and trailers for the film include the line ‘this film will make grown men cry’. Well I didn’t cry, but perhaps it’s just because it’s not my generation and not ‘my’ band in the way it is for the hardcore Roses fans. But even with my eyes remaining dry this was a five-star music documentary. I urge you to go and see it if you can or put the DVD (scheduled for release in October) on your letter to Santa Claus. But you know the drill by now; if you have to sell your Granny to get a ticket then say bye bye Gran today!
With Just A Hint Of Mayhem 