...no static at all: June 2020

LIVE GIGS IN A TIME OF CORONA
(With apologies to Gabriel Garcia Marquez...)

Well, here we are in mid-June and the lost year of 2020 continues to slip through our fingers to find itself tucked away on a shelf marked "Never To Be Spoken Of Again". With the whole world horrendously affected by the Covid-19 outbreak and certain areas of normal life only just starting to ease themselves out of lockdown procedures, the huge cultural touchstones of everyday social life such as gigs, theatre, sporting events, cinema and pubs and eateries look increasingly likely to be the last things on the list to be dealt with. Indeed, according to recent reports, it may well be until next summer at the earliest that we'll all be able to frequent a proper live event. Home gig-streaming and drive-in concerts are being announced daily to soften the blow but - for me - nothing beats standing in a room with a few hundred like-minded souls losing yourself to some thrilling live sounds. Fingers crossed it's sooner rather than later that we'll be in that position again.
Because of the current restrictions, the rest of this year's gigular activity looks like a barren wasteland. I've got some gigs lined up for October and November that have yet to be rescheduled but I doubt very much that they will take place. So, in lieu of my annual Live Music Review which I would have posted in December, all I can do is take a little look back at the gigs that I was able to attend before the world closed down. It all seems like a very, very long time ago....

First up, in late January, was a thoroughly enjoyable jaunt up to an extraordinarily cold and frosty Kentish Town to see famed Americana troubadour Sturgill Simpson return to London with his band to tour his fantastic album from last year 'Sound & Fury'. A huge departure from his usual traditionalist country-rock balladeering, said album saw Simpson marry some blood and thunder Southern rock sounds with 80's inspired synths and melodies that brought to mind a similar shift in musical direction taken by ZZ Top when they veered from their standard desert blues of the 70's on 1983's peerless 'Eliminator'.

The album confused many of his fans but I found it ridiculously thrilling - I placed it at Number 39 in my Top 50 of 2019 - and was really looking forward to this gig. Wonderfully, Mr Simpson did not disappoint. A full-blown 160-minute behemoth of a gig, touching on all of his albums and testing the patience of many a fair-weather fan - there were huge swathes of denim-clad bail-outs way before the end - but tremendously exciting if you stayed the distance. 'Sound & Fury' was well-represented of course with head-spinning renditions of the likes of 'Sing Along', 'Last Man Standing' and the mighty 'Mercury In Retrograde', and Simpson and his red-hot trio of musicians also found time to dip into his sterling back catalogue with the likes of 'Brace For Impact', 'Just Let Go' and the delightful 'Oh Sarah' all getting a welcome airing. Simpson himself was on fiery form, fully aware of the venue's curfew and not seeming to give a great goddamn, as well as goading the audience into getting even more drunk than their wallets might allow. For some, his behaviour came across as churlish and arrogant. Personally, I found him hilarious. There was also room for a batch of chunky covers including magnificent versions of Eric Clapton's 'Bell-Bottom Blues' and William Bell's 'You Don't Miss Your Water'. Tooled-up, intense and raging with maximum velocity, this was stupendous stuff from Simpson.

Into February then and a brace of gigs from a couple of long-standing No Static At All faves. Firstly, an audience with Timothy Showalter and his Strand Of Oaks collective at the gloriously cosy Omeara venue just down the road from London Bridge. Last May, just after the release of his outstanding 'Eraserland' album, Showalter and co played an astonishing show at the very same venue and quite frankly blew me away. So much so that the aforementioned gig reached Number 4 in my rundown of 2019's best

performances. Could lightning strike twice? The answer was a resounding yes. A monumental couple of hours brimming with stirring psychedelic soul, lump-in-your-throat alt-country laments and hip-shaking rock and roll anthems, this had everything. Showalter himself was loving every second of it, grinning from ear to ear and thanking us profusely for our devoted patronage. Just like last year, his band were on fire and filled the room with scorching riffs and foot-stomping grooves. Once again, the startling majesty of 'Forever Chords' was the high-point but, in all honesty, everything the band played was utterly magnificent.

A few days later I was over in West London at the venerable old Hammersmith Apollo for the biggest UK headline show to date for my favourite Missouri singer/songwriter, Angel Olsen. Basking in the glory of last year's stunning 'All Mirrors' opus - Olsen's fourth album and first since the exceptional 'My Woman' in 2016 - this totally sold-out gig saw Olsen and her wonderful band transplant the string-laden torch songs and epic, widescreen ballads of the album into the live arena with absolute aplomb. All dressed in black and performing in front of a backdrop that depicted the inside of a huge, sprawling gothic mansion - complete with an ornate, winding staircase - Olsen and her crew came across like the house band for an atmospheric David Lynch movie. Playing the whole of 'All Mirrors' in full - with a few nods to her back catalogue such as the spiky 'Shut Up And Kiss Me' and the magisterial 'Sister' - Olsen was in fantastic form vocally, raising the hairs on the back of my neck during extraordinary renditions of album highlights 'Lark', 'Endgame', and 'New Love Cassette'. The two-piece string section to the left of the stage helped to expand the sound even further and brought real depth and emotional heft to the likes of the galloping drive of 'Summer' and the sweeping head-rush of the album's title track. This tour was new territory for Olsen in terms of venue size but she stepped up to the plate magnificently. She ended the night with a spine-tingling run through early fave 'Unfucktheworld' and a truly gorgeous 'Chance' which could well be the greatest song in her canon. Wonderful.

Next up in February was a storming Saturday night of hazy psych-rock and mesmerising shoegaze at The Lexington in Islington with a cracking triple-header featuring Boston noiseniks Magic Shoppe, London goth-rock duo Black Doldrums and Scottish jangle enthusiasts Ghost Dance Collective. The latter two bands were new to me before this gig and I had only very recently got my ears into the Magic Shoppe catalogue but this was a fantastically head-spinning and ear-shredding evening of old-school late 80's and early 90's inspired psych, very much in thrall to bands like Spacemen 3 and My Bloody Valentine and all points in between. GDC were first up with a splendid half hour set of driving, propulsive indie-rock tinged with chiming guitars and fuzzy psych. Mid-period Teenage Fanclub sprang to mind for me, and that's no bad thing at all. Up next were Black Doldrums - made up of guitarist and vocalist Kevin Gibbard and drummer Sophie Landers. Influenced by 60's psych, doom-laden 80's goth and the echo-drenched guitar scene of the early 90's the duo have released three albums of euphoric psychedelia which are all well worth some of your listening time. Sadly, due to some major technical difficulties, the band were only able to play a couple of tracks but impressed me greatly nonetheless. Whenever the current restrictions end, I'll be first in line to

catch them live again. Finally, Massachusetts psych-rockers Magic Shoppe put on a roaringly fabulous hour of reverb-heavy, effects pedals-laden shoegaze and hypnotic drone-rock that - for patrons of a certain vintage - was a glorious throwback to times gone by. Focusing mainly on their recent releases - 'In Parallel' and last year's immense 'Circles' - this was tremendous fare. Main-man Josiah Webb was the focal point with his floppy fringe and hazy vocal stylings but his duelling guitar work with fellow axeman Richie Gibbons stole the show, best personified on the eye-peeling frenzy of recent single 'Candy Flip'. Joyous.

It was off to Brixton Academy next and an audience with legendary agit-rock indie queens Sleater-Kinney, who were in town to tour last year's terrific 'The Center Won't Hold' album. Formed in Washinton in the mid-90's, for the last couple of decades Sleater-Kinney have held down a solid three-piece lineup of singer/guitarists Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker, and drummer Janet Weiss. The trio have released a whole batch of startlingly brilliant and hugely exciting records such as 'Dig Me Out', 'One Beat', 'The Woods' and 'No Cities To Love'. Feminist, socially aware and politically active, they are without doubt one of the most important bands of recent times and as such, their record releases are met with great acclaim. With 'The Center Won't Hold' however, things took a strange turn. Veering away quite considerably from their usual spiky, art-rock infused indie-rock and handing production duties over to synth-pop loving NYC polymath St Vincent, they settled onto a completely different sound which then led to Weiss effectively handing in her notice and walking away from the band after feeling side-lined. Sadly, the inter-band ups and downs somewhat over-shadowed the resulting album and it got a bit lost come the end of year accolades. A real shame, as it's a fantastic record - full of catchy choruses, joyful guitar lines and thunderously wonderful tunes. Yes, it's a totally different beast to usual, but a welcome one. Live, Brownstein and Tucker expanded the band with a further three musicians - all female of course - with the extra keyboards in particular beefing up not only the new songs but the magnificent dips into their back catalogue too. The Academy was absolutely heaving as well, and the long-standing fanbase were spoilt for choice with incredible versions of the likes of 'Dig Me Out', 'One Hour', 'Jumpers', and 'Price Tag' really raising the roof. All of 'The Center...' was represented too of course, with 'Hurry On Home' and, in particular, 'Ruins' really standing out. However, as always, it's all about the incendiary dynamic between Brownstein and Tucker. Not only bandmates, but best friends and - once upon a time - romantic partners, the duo know exactly what each of them is about to do and when. Sharing vocal duties and giving each other space in the spotlight, the two hours the band are on stage is a masterclass in group harmony. With Brownstein jerkily high-kicking and swinging her guitar around in between her throaty rasping vocal duties and Tucker jumping up and down and grinning wildly before laying waste to all before her with her frankly astonishing holler, this was as good as modern rock shows get. What a band.

Lastly in February, there was just time to take a long and arduous trip up to the wastes of North-West London and on to the cavernous barn that is Wembley Arena for an evening in the company of Birmingham's finest purveyors of gloomy and atmospheric synth-laden indie, Editors. Since breaking through into the mainstream with 2004's still mighty 'The Back Room', lead singer Tom Smith and his crew of fellow black-clad rockers have been through various ups and downs - losing founder and lead guitarist Chris Urbanowicz to musical differences was a huge early blow - but have maintained a real footing in the modern music scene, releasing 6 albums that run the gamut from stadium-friendly indie anthems to doom-encrusted gothic ballads, all the while hanging on to a hugely supportive fanbase that fill venues worldwide. This recent tour was no exception - ostensibly a Greatest Hits tour in conjunction with last year's 'Black Gold' compilation - with huge arenas all over Europe selling out and most of the gigs taking place just before lockdown procedures kicked in. Hopefully, at some point in the future, the tour can reconvene and Editors can carry on where they left off. And, if this Wembley show was anything to go by, they left off in fine style. A hugely enjoyable

couple of hours which touched on all their albums, Smith and company were on electric form throughout and were an absolute joy to watch. The big hitters were all present and correct of course with the likes of 'Bullets', 'Blood', 'Papillon' and 'The Racing Rats' predictably raising the rafters. But it was the lesser known delights such as 'Sugar' and the astonishing ''Eat Raw Meat = Blood Drool' that stood out for me. Editors have always been a hugely underrated band - lazily dismissed over the years as Joy Division wannabes or a UK version of the similar sounding New York crew Interpol - but I've seen them live a few times and they've always been excellent performers with a sterling set of songs to choose from and this gig was no exception. Ending with a monstrous double-whammy of the still vitally thrilling 'Munich' and the hair-raising audience participation classic 'Smokers Outside The Hospital Doors', this was a cracking night out.

Lastly, there was just time in March - a few days before the UK locked itself down - for one more night of raucous guitars, thunderous riffage, stomach-rattling drums and a fair few Jack and Cokes at the deliciously scuzzy Camden Underworld as the latest Heavy Psych Sounds Fest hit the big smoke. A travelling carny of all that is good and holy in the modern stoner-rock scene, these one-day festivals have been popping up all over Europe - having transferred from the US - in recent years in cities like Paris, Berlin, Antwerp, Rome and now London. Put together by the American record label Heavy Psych Sounds - which specialises in stoner, retro-rock, doom, sludge, acid-rock and all things fuzz-filled and psychedelic - these events are not for the faint-hearted or, indeed, the hard of hearing. This first major London HPSFest was originally a 7-band lineup featuring Alunah, Gorilla, Giobia, Dead Witches, Duel, Black Rainbows and - as headliners - former QOTSA nutjob Nick Oliveri's Mondo Generator. Unfortunately, due to the sudden travel restrictions across Europe preceding the event, a couple of bands had to pull out: Italian space rockers Giobia and

British retro-rockers Gorilla. I myself was also late to the event so missed out on Brummie doom merchants Alunah as well as Texan stoner merchants Duel. However, I got there just in time for the mind-blowing crunchy fuzz of Dead Witches as well as the utterly fantastic psych-storm of Italian crazy-heads Black Rainbows who are definitely worthy of anyone's time. Oliveri and company ended the show in their usual style of relentless thunder-punk and skin-peeling metal and a grand time was had by all.

So, unfortunately for 2020, that's your lot. Who knows when the doors will reopen, the lights will switch on and the guitars will get turned up? Sadly, the longer this situation continues, the more likelihood there is of smaller venues closing for good and lesser bands who rely solely on live revenue giving up and looking for other work. Of course, in the grand scheme of things, there are more important things going on and the Covid-19 situation has affected many people in a far more personal way, but I've got to be honest: I miss gigs. I miss the excitement, the atmosphere, the thrill, the enjoyment, the music. I miss it all. Here's to the day - and hopefully that day will be sooner rather than later - when we all get to enjoy that once more.

...no static at all

Monday 29 June 2020

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