Earlier this evening I went to a gig by the Tindersticks at York Barbican. It was probably the most avant-garde show I have ever been to and the quote from John Lennon that kept popping into my head was ‘avant-garde is French for bullshit’. Now in many cases that may well be true, but regarding the Tindersticks it clearly isn’t. The show was based around the soundtracks that the band have recorded for Claire Denis, a French filmmaker. They played live to excerpts of Denis’ movies, which were somewhat weird and provocative. The nearest comparison I have is the short film that was effectively David Bowie’s support on the 1976 ‘Thin White Duke’ tour; ‘Un Chien Andalou’
The show was an 18+ event given the sex and violence in the films. The music really does work with the film though, in a way I wouldn’t have imagined. Perhaps the strangest clip for me was of a couple seemingly having wild sex which then turned into the woman eating the guys face. I mean biting of bits of flesh, it wasn’t a show for the faint hearted or easily offended. But back to the band; instrumentally they were truly amazing. Eight really gifted musicians who are pretty tight together. It was a completely instrumental set as unfortunately lead singer Stuart Staples had laryngitis.
Overall I enjoyed the show, but it isn’t the sort of gig I would normally go to. The film with live soundtrack was a very brave and different thing to do and mostly it worked well but on occasions it was a little soporific. I also felt that the auditorium being less than half full had more to do with the competence of the venue rather than the appeal of the band. I doubt that I will go and see a similar show again, but I will download some of the soundtracks I think. If anyone reading this was at the show tonight or any of the others on the tour I would love to know what you thought of it. And finally I should point out that none of the pictures or video included in this post are actually from tonights show.
With Just A Hint Of Mayhem 