Fortuna Pop! Winter Sprinter 4…the (mostly) Scottish Invasion

In no time at all it was Friday evening which meant the fourth and final night of the Fortuna Pop! residency at the Lexington, and amazingly, or perhaps surprisingly, everyone involved still appeared to be going strong.

After a short mysterious delay to the published start time, Cocoanut Groove (of Sweden rather than Scotland) took to the stage, played an equally mysteriously perfunctory set of joyous 60's influenced jangly pop and were gone again. A couple of the guitar intros threatened to turn into Beatles or Shadows songs but that is certainly nothing to complain about!! 

The Spook School covered the second slot of the night and gave the impression of thoroughly enjoying themselves throughout as always. While the band clearly have their own wonderfully chaotic bouncy sound which permeates the entire set, the different singing (and quite probably writing) styles of Nye & Adam, and occasionally Anna, infuses each song with its own unique personality. An unmistakable energy propelled matters forward to the extent that played live, many of the songs already familiar in recorded form threatened to take on a new ever more exciting life of their own, complete with the occasional instrumental break verging on a psyche freakout!!

Special mention must also go to the thoroughly entertaining between song interludes which never failed to maintain the high spirits of the crowd. 

So from one Edinburgh band (and it is always extremely pleasing to hear any Scottish bands so two on one bill was something to savour) to another, in the form of Withered Hand playing the finale. All that can be said is that he is a thoroughly enjoyable, ultimately (and importantly) likeable folky singer songwriter with an excellent band playing a perfectly balanced set of always fantastic songs. Their unique almost world weary style crept up to counterpoint to some of the more hectic sounds of the previous four nights, and proved to be a quite ideal finish to the Winter Sprinter.

The new album is without doubt extremely eagerly and impatiently anticipated.

Once again the entire Fortuna Pop! Winter Sprinter proved to be a pretty amazing, if somewhat tiring, experience with plenty of existing favourites seen and new discoveries made both on stage and at wiaiwya's ever present merch stand / coatroom / drinking post!!

Winter Sprinter 3…The Volume Rises

Judging by the sheer number of people packing the venue from the very start, and the apparent size of the guest list, it can only be deduced that this must have been the most eagerly anticipated of the four nights.
Flowers were first up and were undoubtedly as beautiful sounding as always. A new dimension to their sound seems to develop every time that they play, even while it appears that it couldn't possibly be improved! Every song holds the attention of the crowd and I can't be alone in hoping that a debut album is recorded before too long.

Something special is always needed to follow Flowers and this time it came in the form of September Girls (I believe hailing from Dublin) taking the stage. It must immediately be said that (in the opinion of this blog at the very least) no-one can possibly argue with hearing a loud, moody girl band in a hot, packed venue!! Their sound seems to have really moved forward in the last year or so to become much more exciting and all enveloping. It was difficult to be certain of the cause, be it venue, sound mixing, or more likely a deliberate move, but the overall sound seemed much clearer than it has previously been. Either way, they are a fantastic looking band creating a wonderful lo-fi, retro-ish modern onslaught with perfectly crafted songs.

And then just in case any more excitement and chaos was called for the time for Joanna Gruesome was upon the Lexington. The confidence and fluidity of the band members, which must surely have come from playing a large number of (in some cases fairly high profile) gigs over the last 12 - 18 months, has developed them into a phenomenal unit playing an astonishingly powerful brand of what drifts from a very loud 'indie' type sound to an almost hardcore or punk type of thing. The transformation from seeing them play first on the bill at the same time last year is simply a revelation.
Interestingly (or possibly not) the set came in relatively short for a headliner at around 30 minutes or so, but anyone who sees them play is unlikely to forget about in a hurry!!

Anyone who hasn't done so already should purchase Weird Sister by Joanna Gruesome and Cursing the Sea by September Girls as soon as possible.

Winter Sprinter Day 2…or Love, Penguins and Lou Reed

And so all too soon to the following night with Simon Love & the Plastic Yeh Yeh Band. A somewhat avant-garde stage presence combined plenty of 60's sounding keyboard lines which Billy Preston himself would have been proud of with an extremely nattily dressed band member providing live sign language translations of the lyrics... then later conducting the crowd in some extremely entertaining participation. It was ultimately pleasing to see Simon Love return with a great new band and a bunch of    fantastic songs.

A short bar stop later and it was suddenly time for the return of Emma Kupa (obviously previously of Standard Fare) with a new band. Mammoth Penguins must be both a continuation and change from what has come before, combining as they do beautiful sounding and beautifully heartfelt songs, clanging guitars and Emma's wonderfully distinctive voice. As always the entire set was delivered with  a trademark sense of humour and flew by in an instant!!

An equally brief break gave time for a dash to the merchandise stand and the purchase of arguably my favourite t-shirt of the entire Winter Sprinter and time to briefly contemplate what was coming up next.

Herman Dune had played the 2013 Sprinter and closed their encore with a memorable cover of Pale Blue Eyes, originally by the Velvet Underground, which had got me thinking that given the death of Lou Reed in the intervening year perhaps the song might be reprised.
What transpired was the most poignant and perfectly unexpected tribute to Lou Reed that could possibly have been imagined. A, presumably, recently composed tribute to the man himself came first, followed by an exquisite set made up almost entirely of VU and Lou Reed songs, interspersed with the occasional Herman Dune original, which undoubtedly kept everyone on the edge of their metaphorical (as the Lexington is standing only aside from a couple of token benches to one side of the room) seats.

Unfortunately your writer was too absorbed in proceedings to note down the exact set list which is no doubt available somewhere for those with a keen enough interest to search.

It was quite certainly a fitting end to the second night of four which would and will take something inspired to top!!

Fortuna Pop! Winter Sprinter

Once again I've had the pleasure of attending the Fortuna Pop! Winter Sprinter as my first series of gigs in the new year which, as tradition dictates, meant that the Lexington in London became something of a second home for much of last week!

Things kicked off in fantastically unexpected style on Tuesday night with Mega Emotion taking to the stage. Up tempo, loud, synth heavy electro pop (at least to my mind) smothered in wonderful harmonies  was the order of the day. What more could anyone possibly have wanted from the opening act of twelve set to play over the following four nights.

Second up were Evans the Death who, as ever, managed to begin with a false start on the first song before finding their stride perfectly well. Their sound seems to have developed an increasingly heavy edge of late which is always interesting to me, while still managing to retain what makes them individual. A couple of the new songs played sounded sounded extremely good and I for one can't wait to discover what direction a new album might take them in. The band appear to be playing as a slightly tighter unit than has sometimes been the case which is always positive…although having said that my personal feeling is that they perhaps need a full time bass player, for live duties at least, in order for the sound to develop (or maybe revert) towards the twin guitar onslaught of earlier performances.  It may well be entirely in this writer's mind but both Dan and Olly appeared happier when the other took over bass duties.
Having said that I'm quite sure that Evans the Death deserve to be much more widely known than they already are, and undoubtedly will be before too long!

After an unfortunate (albeit slightly amusing to the onlooker) start combining faulty guitar / amp lead, guitar strap falling off and a broken string in the first song, Let's Wrestle recovered admirably quickly to headline the first night. The addition of a new bass player to the lineup has really solidified the bands sound, and further emphasises the quality of the musicianship in what are deceptively simple songs.
It was immediately striking that the echo effect on the mic in particular did make things sound a little like John Lennon playing live with the Plastic Ono Band, but that might also be in part a function of Let's Wrestle ultimately playing a very enjoyable rock & roll sound. Either way, there are certainly more traumatic things which one could be reminded of while watching a band and I considered it to be a very much positive attribute! The set was good fun as always and covered a well balanced selection of older songs and new stuff from the forthcoming album due imminently on Fortuna Pop!

All in all the night was a great start to the Sprinter, and in fact a very much suitable first full gig of the year!!  
More from the following nights to follow...

The Spook School Album Launch

Almost a week ago, on the 11th October to be precise, I had the good fortune to be at Henrys Cellar Bar in Edinburgh on the same night that The Spook School chose to release their debut album 'Dress Up' to the unsuspecting world at large.

Of course such an event requires assistance, which in this case came in two parts.
First up were Plastic Animals, an Edinburgh based (as far as I understand) feedback heavy, psychedelic tinged semi noise band who provided a fantastic start to the night and are now firmly on my list of bands to look out for again in the future!
Next came Martha, bringing their uniquely perfect blend of noise and awkwardness to convert the slightly further North. All that I can say is that they were fantastic as always. A couple of new songs (or at least ones which I hadn't heard before) appeared in the set which were certainly as strong as anything released so far. I simply can't believe that anyone could hear Martha and not immediately be converted to the cause.

And then to the main event of the evening (excluding actually buying the album of course). Quite simply, this was a gig to remember. As an advert for the album and showcase for the utterly wonderful songwriting & performing of The Spook School this would and will surely take some beating. Somehow I still manage to be taken aback by the intensity that the band maintain throughout their sets, and this night was no exception, with a quite electric atmosphere rapidly descending as the minutes passed. They even managed to find time to 'dress up' for the occasion in a variety of fantastically complicated outfits!
London should be on standby for part two of the release party if it knows what's good for it!!
tickets here

Also, even if you can't make the live dates buy the album, you most certainly need it.
bandcamp

Allo Darlin' Compass North

And so to the St Pancras Old Church in drizzly rain and not the best of spirits for the third leg of Allo Darlin's experimental quartet of live shows.
Up first were Haiku Salut , and I must say that they were as perfectly mesmerising as always. I never fail to be amazed at how three people can combine with such varied instrumentation to create such a beautiful sound. The upcoming 'lamp show' gig in London has all the hallmarks of being an absolutely wonderful night and I can't recommend enough that everyone everywhere should go out of their respective ways to catch it.

Allo Darlin' still continue to astonish and amaze me! This was another intensely engaging show in a new environment for me (being both in a church and seated at all times) with slightly more inter song banter than we might have become accustomed to, but that only added to the nature of the unfolding experience. It also turns out that even when you have recently broken your own heart yet still somehow manage to find yourself sitting in extremely close proximity to a couple going for moves which should really only be attempted in private, it's still ultimately impossible to be anything other than happy at an Allo Darlin' gig!!

Allo Darlin' Compass West

I was lucky enough to make it to Allo Darlin's first London compass show at Ginglik in Shepherds Bush on Wednesday evening.
The somewhat highly anticipated night began with the beautiful noise of Flowers. I can't get enough of the dynamic of the band, just a beguiling in the moment thing to behold. Anyone who arrived late or serially arrives late just to catch the headliner is missing out on something important.
And then on to the main event as it were; I (and I have to assume others) am entirely transfixed whenever the band comes on stage, so having the chance to see them in such a tiny venue with a stage not much higher than the ground was dreamily  perfect!
In a set dominated by songs from an as yet unrecorded third album every moment seemed familiar but different and new with even the sprinkling of existing songs (if I can ridiculously call them that, after all the new ones do also exist) taking on yet another new dimension. It came as an absolute privilege to hear so many of the raw songs that might later come together to make a new album in what I see as their natural live environment. It must be said that the new songs are without doubt wonderful creations,  looking to be a continuation of the melancholy and upbeat which we have come to love, with only the occasional missed intro or ending belying the work in progress nature of the night. An unexpected three song encore tailored a perfect ending to a mesmerising sweaty night. Anyone attending the north, east and south legs of the micro tour are in for a treat.