Gecko: the Troubadour, London
Posted by jamie on Mar 13, 2010
Gecko
Troubadour, Earl’s Court (London)
10th March 2010
Jamie
BEFORE YOU READ THIS REVIEW.
To see Gecko live in London again, at the Camden Crawl, vote for them here.
Tonight was something of a shock, not just for me but for a lot of people in the room this evening. The Troubadour is a lovely little venue, hidden away in Earl’s Court, which must be one of the wealthiest areas of London, and, consequently, attracts a well-off and sedate crowd for what appears to be a weekly live music event. There are five acts on the bill, all unsigned and the first three doing the singer-songwriter thing: one person with an acoustic guitar and a mic. We get a Scottish guy who’s pretty good and has played here before and brought lots of his mates, an Australian woman in heels whose name I’ve forgotten, and then the slightly surreal treat of AJ Moore and his bizarre percussionist whose name is Jamie, like mine. This Jamie is constantly twitching, bobbing his head and knee and making some amusing serious faces as he plays his guitar and bass-drum. He also has unfeasibly tight jeans and is tall. You won’t mistake the two of us any time soon, then. They’re all actually very good at what they do, and are politely well received by a sit-down crowd who are eating tapas and throughout.
All of which was as much of a surprise to us as we surely were to the crowd at what was basically an acoustic night at a wine bar in upmarket SW5.
We found our way with a little help from an equally-lost East London boy who was dressed as a Dalmatian and a bit more from Google Maps. Both of which were much more useful than the guy who works at the Troubadour who would only tell me on the phone that it was “about five minutes from the tube” and not which way I should walk when I got there.
I’d changed especially for clothes that were a little more “punk show” than my regular office outfit, and that made us stick out like sore thumbs. Sitting three to a small table (with a flower on it) right next to the stage, we only got up when Gecko’s travelling rent-a-crowd did it first. Some of the sloanes on the table next to us found my giant shorts amusing and put their table flowers in my back pockets without me noticing. Joke was on them when they couldn’t reach to get them back, but it was all done in good spirit and they were a welcoming bunch, a few even joining us to bop about a bit and asking “who are these guys? They’re really good”.
Gecko are really good, as it happens. They’re one of the UK’s most innovative and exciting acts at the moment, and their star is most definitely on the rise. As they sound check, and, perhaps uninterestingly, no one else sound checked tonight, the very charming Will stops to introduce himself to the Bananatown Crew. My mate rightly pointed out that Will “looks like the 12-year old brother that everyone should have”. He’s also a very nice chap.
Gecko get seven songs, two more than some of the earlier acts, though theirs are a possibly shorter, and bounce their way through the whole of their new EP Stop, Look, Lizard with cheery panache and a tiny bit of cheeky banter. There’s a new song, one with some hip-hop lyrics in, and they finish with Guanabana Juice. Lush.
For a room where so many people are seeing them for the first time, it’s a perfect introduction to their charming, upbeat, idiosyncratic take on acoustic ska/pop, and for those of us who already adore the guys, it’s a short, snappy, giddily happy look at the band. You can’t really go nuts in this place: it’d be like moshing in a posh restaurant: allowed if you’re in a Lost Prophets video, otherwise you get removed. Bobbing about happily, though, and singing back, it’s great fun. Gecko are clearly enjoying being on tour, and it’s smiles all around throughout their short, set. As a three-piece, in concert, of course, the songs don’t have all the detail that’s added on CD, but the quality still shines through: the songs are top quality and are delivered well.
Before Falling Down, Will helpfully advises the room that the band are about to play the most up-tempo song that they’ll play this evening, so now would be a good time to come to the front and stand up. One guy shouts back that he’s too small and gets told that he’ll surely be smaller sitting down than he would standing.
It’s a short, snappy set of great little pop songs, performed well and with a smile and a good time is had by all. There’s plenty of room to move your feet, and plenty of beat to move them to. We had great fun: I was half asleep on the way home, between two mums eating Burger King and a tuna pasty. Imagine the smell. Now imagine they were talking about babies. When I wanted to sleep. I was still happy: the lovely little rhythms stay with you. I was humming all the way home.
Jaya the Cat, Advantage, the Apostates
Posted by jamie on Mar 8, 2010
Jaya the Cat, Advantage, the Apostates
Underworld, Camden, London
26th February 2010.
Jamie
A dosey lie-in that almost made me late this morning, and was responsible for my friend Hassan’s hoodie getting left neatly folded on my bedroom floor instead of in my backpack and on its way to the Underworld was the payback for a mad week and one too many late nights. The bleariness, I should emphasise, did happen early in the morning: I did have to rush here straight from work. As with a lot if Underworld shows I’ve seen recently, the bill here was pretty killer and started early. The last bit of hustle, from Camden Road station past the Grand Union and over the bridge, was achieved with a banana in my shorts pocket tap-tap-tapping away at he back of my knee. Don’t know how it got there, but it was tasty and had to be gone before we could go in. Three big, greedy bites saw to that and in we went just after doors.
Clay Pigeon sadly didn’t show as Az wasn’t well, so there was some loitering around in the half-dark before the Apostates kicked the night off with a dirty, rough-and-ready set of ska-punk. They’re a three-piece, without horns, if you haven’t seen them, and play a gleefully shambolic take on the whole thing, with big fat basslines and the greasy, boozy, rock n’ roll feel to it. It’s whispered in my ear that the girl next to us has seen them twice before and they were drunk both times. Tonight they’re not, just lovably nonchalant, almost not fussed, about being on stage, as they rock out around a short, sweet set of riff-heavy music that’s basically punk with upstrokes. They’re a good band to let your hair down to and good fun for a party and gone, soon after, with a growing crowd still rocking n its heels as what passes for lights get turned up one click above off.
Advantage are a different concept altogether. They’re calling what they do “brass rock” to differentiate themselves from the more conventional punk/ska sound, and, in fairness, to try and squash what they do in to that would be unnecessarily reductive. There’s ska and punk in their sound but there’s a lot more besides – it’s constantly evolving in to a bigger, more powerful beast. It’s like epic rock, and it has horns. Needless to say, it’s superb. I love these guys, and they absolutely kick it when they play live.
With so much incorporated in to their sound, it’s impressive that so much of what Advantage are about can be crammed in to a quick set. It’s essentially a hit and run on the ears and bodies that have come to experience the band: they get on, unleash that ever growing, ever evolving sound and then, all of a sudden, they’re done. Bang. In that, though, they really do demonstrate what they’re about: it’s impressive how much can be crowbarred in.
So far in their short life the guys have released two three-track EPs, and there’s another record expected soon. All three are represented tonight. The fact that they open and close with new tracks (Something to Say and The Beat) is testament to the almost restless extent of their creativity. They never seem to be satisfied, and are always adding and tinkering with their sound. There always seems to be more and more that they can and will do with their music, and it’s made them really exciting to follow. The Fear and Wait are highlights, and newie Time and Place is a great song too: plenty of movement considering it’s brand new.
Oh, and they’ll rock you out in concert too. As I’ve said, it’s pretty short and sweet, but the room is moving throughout, new and (relatively speaking) older tracks go down a storm. A bouncing, bobbing throng of bodies singing the words back, even to stuff that’s not been released. The place is full of joy, and it’s getting warmer and warmer. Both of these, honestly, you can feel in the air. Throw in the sheer power behind Advantage’s sound and you’ve got a really intense set that should, were there any justice, have lasted longer. All the melodies were in there, but the riffs were so big and fat you could feel them. It’s a really impressive, and really enjoyable set.
Jaya the Cat headline. By now my excitement at seeing them for the first time is making me pretty giddy, and a jumping belly full of rum and cider can’t be helping. In the hot, dark little room, the five members of Jaya the Cat step out and get a really rapturous response. They then proceed to deliver one of the most accomplished performances, and one of the most enjoyable sets, that you could see. Not just right now, I mean this is right up there. Jaya the Cat effortlessly hold the room, and have so much going for them you can’t fail to enjoy yourself watching them. Their sound, at times, is easygoing soulful reggae and ska, and at others it’s closer to the straight-up punk rock band that they were when they first got together. Throughout the night, they stop off at most places in between and keep the Underworld bouncing, shouting, and waving all of its fists in the air. Where that’s not appropriate, you just can’t resist getting your groove on. You know, all booty-shaking and that. There’s so much soul in those tunes that it’s sexy, and so much rhythm, so much tune, that you can’t stop dancing. It’s absolutely wonderful.
There are a few brief exchanges with the crowd, but not much to speak of: it’s basically a case of showing up and getting on with the songs, but that’s no bad thing. Jaya the Cat have got the tunes, and you’d want them to squash in as many as they can.
Latest record More Late Night Transmissions features heavily: Thank You Reggae, Hello Hangover and Pass the Ammunition, in their different ways, are gems. Blur, Nightbus and Mistake also feature alongside oldies like Cog in the Wheel and the ominous Final Solution in a night where everything is just right: whatever they do just works. Exhausted as we were (and I played a football match at lunchtime too, you know), you can’t help yourself but move to these guys. Especially on this form. Exhausted, eventually, we found ourselves in an awkward position: my legs were having a dilemma on their own. It’s only halfway through the set but they couldn’t dance any more. But then they couldn’t stop. What do you do?
It’s helpful, for that reason, when the pace does slow down a little. Throughout the set the guys shift through various speeds. What was funny was how the slower it got, the more people in the room were getting it on. Avoiding the heat, and looking for some skanking room, we’d skulked over to the back by the railing. Watching the whole crowd, to a smooth reggae tune with loads of bass and an extra gravely Geoff vocal, people were pulling all around us. Fair play to them, I guess. I did say it was sexy.
The night comes to a close with Jaya the Cat at full speed, and a room full of tired legs and unhappy shins summon up their last dregs of energy to throw some tired bodies around the floor one last time. Breathless by the end, we’re pretty much shunted out through the side stairs for the club night to start. The street’s full of yelling, screaming and police vans: a total contrast to the atmosphere just a few stairs behind us, and it’s freezing up here. That tight little knot of people who’ve just met and become best friends disappears in every direction. Our crew opted to shiver upstairs in a chip shop and watch police vans struggle to park. Dizzy from what we’d just witnessed, very little of what’s going on gets taken in. I basically floated home.
Help Jimmy Kebab.
Posted by jamie on Mar 6, 2010
Please see the following from Jimmy out of the Catch-it Kebabs. He’s an ace bloke and needs help.
I’m looking into ways to bring back the traditional record shop. I used to love finding loads of jems and taking home a physical record which I would spend lots of time listening to and enjoying very much. Times have changed and few record shops still exist (at least ones with goods records in).
So, I have a few questions about stores and I hope with a little research I can generate a way forward out of my rut. If you can spare 2 mins to jot down any info that would be really really helpful. Thanks for your time.
Question 1 - What do you love about record shops?
Question 2 - What do you hate about records shops?
Q3 - What are your attitudes towards record shops?
Q4 - What are your attitudes towards online?
Q5 - What influences you to purchase at record stores?
Q6 - What influences you to purchase online?
That’s it for now. I just need a little hint into your minds and I’ll be on my way.
Contact: info@feetfirstrecords.com with subject: “dissertation”.
Fractions: album launch
Posted by jamie on Mar 6, 2010
You probably know, but the Fractions‘ new album Release is out. Bomb Ibiza are doing the album launch at Satan’s Hollow in Manchester - and you get free entry to the BI clubnight after.
Saturday March 13th
THE FRACTIONS - Release launch!
Catch it Kebabs
Physical Jerks
Kickback UK
@ Satans Hollow
Doors 7.30, £5
Clubnight is 10.30pm - 2am, also at Satan’s Hollow, and it’s 18+ .
Protest stops a fascist march.
Posted by chips on Mar 3, 2010
Last Hours have posted this report. Every year Nazis march on the German town of Dresden, but this year 10,000 antifascists gathered to blockade them in.
New [spunge dates]
Posted by chips on Mar 3, 2010
New [spunge] dates are out. Check the venuw carefully, as there are two tours one after another.
On the earlier dates [spunge] are supported by New Riot. After that they’ll be opening for the Dropkick Murphys and Face to Face.
So you’ve got no excuses and I’ll see you down the front.
HEADLINE TOUR 2010
12th March @ Bristol 02 Academy
Support from New Riot
13th March @ Tunbridge Wells Forum
Support from New Riot
14th March @ Norwich Waterfront
Support from New Riot
15th March @ Reading SUB89
Support from New Riot
18th March @ Winchester Railway
Support from New Riot
19th March @ The Old Bell, Derby
Support from New Riot
20th March @ Crauford Arms, Milton Keynes
Supports: “local bands” (TBC)
21st March @ Camberley Agincourt
Support from New Riot
SUPPORT TOUR 2010
supporting Dropkick Murphys
12th April @ Glasgow Barrowlands
Dropkick Murphys - Face to Face - [spunge]
13th April @ Newcastle Academy
Dropkick Murphys - Face to Face - [spunge]
14th April @ Leeds Academy
Dropkick Murphys - Face to Face - [spunge]
15th April @ Manchester Academy
Dropkick Murphys - Face to Face - [spunge]
16th April @ Birmingham Academy
Dropkick Murphys - Face to Face - [spunge]
17th April @ Nottingham Rock City
Dropkick Murphys - Face to Face - [spunge]
18th April @ London Brixton Academy
Dropkick Murphys - Face to Face - [spunge]
Before the Fire: available now.
Posted by jamie on Mar 1, 2010
Dirty Revolution’s first full length, Before the Fire, is now available for pre-order from Rebel Alliance.
You can also join the guys on facebook here.
