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Day: 26 November 2011

Live- Anna Calvi @ Manchester Cathedral

Written by Rob Fuller on . Posted in Music.

Anna Calvi
Manchester Cathedral
15th November
4 Stars

Cathedrals are built for music. The sheer size of them and the atmosphere they create make for amazing venues. But it takes the right kind of act to make a setting like this work. Unfortunately for support band Halloween Alaska, they weren’t it. Sounding like a fairly dull Villagers making shoegaze after listening to Bon Iver’s second album, they weren’t inspiring enough to meet the challenges of such a different venue. The stage was set for a disappointment.

But then Anna Calvi strode out onto the stage. Outfitted like a male flamenco dancer and wielding a guitar like a sword, she oozes stage presence without even trying.  She barely speaks to the audience, save for the occasional thank you. But she doesn’t need to. From instrumental opener ‘Rider to the Sea’ she has the audience captivated in the music. She goes from almost whispering her lyrics during the quietly captivating ‘No More Words’ to bursting into life during ‘Blackout’. Lots of bands try and create an atmosphere. With Anna Calvi, it’s more like a seduction.

The set is mostly drawn from her recent self-titled debut album. Singles ‘Desire’ and ‘Suzanne and I’ are highlights but don’t dwarf the rest of the set. ‘First We Kiss’ is a particular highlight as is set closer ‘Love Wont be Leaving’ with its extended instrumentals that slowly build to a climax. Some older material also gets an airing including the provocative ‘Surrender’. Returning to the stage for an encore, she launches into her first single, a cover of Edith Piaf’s ‘Jezabel’ that she makes entirely her own.

By filling the daunting Cathedral setting, Anna Calvi proved her ability as a songwriter, a musician and a performer. With her accomplished and interesting live show, she’s an act that could restore your faith in British music.

Live: Red Hot Chili Peppers @ MEN Arena

Written by Will Garbutt on . Posted in Music.

Red Hot Chili Peppers
MEN Arena
14th November
4 stars

With two large open air shows scheduled as the only appearance for the Red Hot Chili Peppers next year, anticipation is running high as a sell out crowd wait for the band to take to the MEN stage. In the days leading up to the show, I was concerned that, with the recent departure of guitarist John Frusciante, the band may fall short of their usual high standards. What was I thinking?

The Chilis took to the stage, amidst rapturous applause, cheers and screams, and immediately launched into a hard and fast rendition of their current single Monarchy of Roses, with Kiedis, topless as ever, throwing himself about the stage like a man possessed, Flea and Josh following suit.From this moment, every person with seated tickets was on their feet and would not return to their seats until the band had left the stage. With an intimidating back catalogue, the Red Hot Chili Peppers must now find it hard to tour an album, with new tracks trying to hold their own amidst the numerous classics. This proved not to be the case as, despite the recent release of I’m With You, Kiedis and Co. played a hugely varied show catering to fans of all generations with each and every track a massive crowd pleaser. ‘Give it Away’, ‘Can’t Stop’, ‘Californication’, ‘Under the Bridge’; with a set list containing works such as these and more how can you fail to impress? Particularly when delivered with such unfaltering passion and drive.

The live show is obviously still very important to these guys. It’ll be easy for the Chilis to know when they’re past it. If they can no longer put on a show like Monday night’s that’ll be when to call it a day, but until then it’d be criminal to stop them performing.

Live: King Charles @ Roadhouse

Written by Hannah Mead on . Posted in Music.

King Charles
Roadhouse
16th November
3 and a half stars

A friend of mine saw King Charles in Leeds last week and described him as a “complete knob”. With this in mind I was all set to sneer at his performance and join in with the scathing remarks. So imagine my disappointment when he turned out not to be a knob at all. Yes, he loves himself. Yes, he is theatrical. And yes, he does remind me of character from Made in Chelsea. I think it’s something to do with his waxed moustache and his bum-length, half dreaded yet luscious mop, which falls out of his beehive-like bun when head banging.  But don’t we want musicians to have a bit of character and put on a show?

It’s fair to say King Charles is still finding his distinct style as the set list combined a strange mix of genres, rather than the straight forward indie-folk I was expecting. He and the band looked happiest when rocking out, straying from the tracks and indulging in face melting guitar solos that would have seemed just as appropriate coming from a Led Zeppelin tribute band.

It took a few songs to really warm up, as even the poppy ‘Bam Bam’ failed to move the crowd. But the song about crocodiles and polar bears brought the show alive, its epic bass and synth shaking the whole room. The popular ‘Love Lust’ sounded better played live, stripped back, drawing attention the simple but pretty harmony and lyrics. He had the whole crowd swaying in time to ‘Beating Heart’, which had me smiling in spite of the obvious cringe factor.

To the despair of the bouncers, the band invited the girls (and only later the boys) to a stage invasion. I found this all a bit forced but no one else was complaining and after the gig the girls’ toilets were buzzing with talk of hot musicians and after show parties.

Album: The Wombles – The W Factor

Written by James Birtles on . Posted in Music.

The Wombles
The W Factor
Dramatico
0.5 stars

In recent years, many bands have decided to reform and release albums or tour again, such as Led Zeppelin, Blink 182 and Black Sabbath. Unfortunately, The Wombles have seen this as a perfect time to reform and release a “new” album that seems a rehash of old songs.

Listening to the opening tracks, ‘Remember You’re a Womble’ and ‘The Wombling Song’, may bring back some memories for the older generation (those hailing from the 60s and 70s) but in retrospective the songs are pretty awful. The rest of the album continues the theme of Womble related songs such as ‘Superwomble’ and ‘The Orinoco Kid’. The album would be instantly forgettable if it was not for the classic ‘Wombling Merry Christmas’ which is on a par of most other Christmas hit records; very cheesy but gets anyone in the Christmas mood. The only positive in all of this is that the appreciation you have for your own music taste after listening to this album is severely heightened. The lyrical musings of this album may as well have been etched in crayon and cellotaped to a fridge. A toddler could have written them.

The Wombles, for those who didn’t know, cleaned up the Wimbledon area of rubbish. After holding onto it for years, it looks like they’re now showering said rubbish back into our eardrums. Hypocrisy at its finest. We can only hope that by the year 2012, the Womble is an extinct animal.