birminghamreview, Author at

August 13, 2013

REVIEW: Louise Petit @ Ort Café, Sat Aug 10th

Words by Ed King / Pics by Andrew Rawe – full gig shots can be viewed here

Of all the C words I’ve been called, ‘cynic’ is probably the worst. It can be true.

And as I watch Louise Petit’s video to ‘Christmas Time with You’, her Benetton friendly 2012 yuletide release, I feel the Grinch growing under my skin. How dare people be so happy.

I had a similar reaction to the opening track on Petit’s Fear and my Other Friends EP, ‘Love is Pure’; the very title making the angry amphetamine addled teenager in me surface for revenge. Love isn’t pure, it’s painful and spiteful; and if I want any chance of surviving tonight’s gig I’ve got a 20minute bus ride, to the Ort Café in Balsall Heath, to come to terms with my demons. They’d better serve wine.

Arriving at Ort I see an old friend by the entrance; he makes his way home with a Jalfrezi as I walk in to a small and crowded café. Nestling up to the bar I order a “large glass of red” and make my way to the only available spare seat and wobbly table.

I’ve never been to the Ort Café before, and tonight feels like Moseley meets The Custard Factory at a Bring & Buy reunion. But welcoming, in a way I imagine Inns of yore were to travellers, and I’m quickly making small talk to the men sitting behind me.

Having missed the last minute support act Chris Tye, who stepped in when Injured Birds pulled out due to injury, I sit down just as Louise Petit starts her headline set; opening with ‘Ghosts’, another track from her self released EP.

Petit’s voice is soft and sincere, with a reticent power lurking behind it; and the double bass and stripped back percussion that support her, elegantly complimentary. Honestly I was expecting more chintz.

‘Home’ picks up the tempo, before ‘Knots Inside’ – a candid reminisce about her old bass player, who was apparently a “lovely guy, but quite angry…” (sounds like someone I know), introduces a modern jazz flavour and well delivered harmonies. And above the wailing of sirens along the Alcester Road, I’m reminded of both The Kinks and Scott Matthews.

A friendly soft lament gets delivered to us next, making the woman in front of me start the single shoulder sway and wedding knee tap that is usually reserved for tired receptions.

I start to sense most of the room know most of the words; and as I mouth “…not even a crossword” discover, apparently so do I. But from where..? And as the chorus tell us “myyy love is puuurrre” my internal Bill Murray walks out the room in disgust. But bollocks to him, it’s a good song – even if the whistling reminds me of a certain compass specific milkman.

The rest of Petit’s set rolls through with some colloquial banter, soft acoustic melodies, and the occasionally overused metaphor.

Highlights come in ‘All Be Good’, a composition Petit penned for her GCSE Music course, and ‘Plastic & Glue’; the latter and love song being directed to Petit’s fiancée sitting directly behind me. An unfortunate logistical discovery which undermines one of my more preferred C words whilst reporting, ‘covert’.

As the obligatory encore ensues, and a much merrier me sinks his teeth into a sing-a-long, I remind myself to be happier; even Tori Amos has her place. And the Ort Café, for tonight at least, carries a genuine air of camaraderie and companionship. I arrived alone but never once felt it, ending up with another old friend at the bar before leaving.

And as for Louise Petit, I’m further sold now I’ve seen her play live. And whilst I won’t watch the saccharine jumper fest she released last Christmas again, expect to see me front row centre at her Moseley Folk Festival performance.

(which, if I’m reviewing it, may be in disguise)

Louise Petit plays the Centre Court Stage on Friday Aug 30th at this year’s Moseley Folk Festival. For more info visit, http://www.moseleyfolk.co.uk/line-up/friday/

For more on Louise Petit, visit http://www.louisepetit.com/

___________

Or more on the Ort Café, visit http://ortcafe.co.uk/

August 12, 2013August 12, 2013

PREVIEW: Alternative Dubstep Orchestra @ Hare & Hounds, August 16th

With more familiar faces than a Trafalgar Rd house party, Alternative Dubstep Orchestra (ADO) are back at the Hare & Hounds on Friday Aug 16^th.

Describing themselves as ‘genre bending live dubstep’, and consisting of brass, strings, keys and vinyl, the rest of your clue is in the title. But made up of seasoned musicians and DJs, headed by vocalist Mish Maybe, whatever they actually play is probably worth listening to.

Returning to the place of their birth (ADO started out as resident band for The Honeycomb Club, an old H&H monthly), ADO are back in Birmingham following a lauded performance at the Mostly Jazz Festival.

And after being dotted around the 2013 festival circuit, recently back from The Secret Garden Party and Staycation, ADO continue their steady march around the UK and beyond – a musical war of attrition waged since their conception in Nov 2010.

With a football squad of members, and some seemingly so good they name them twice (Mr Livemore’s evil twin?), ADO have a pretty impressive ensemble – many of whom side step other bands and projects to continue in the collective.

ADO’s debut vinyl was released in 2012/13 on Hero Records, featuring original tracks ‘Power’ and ‘Waterfall’; with various remixes of the later on the digital download, alongside a cover of Rusko’s ‘Cockney Thug’.

Birmingham Review first covered them in Nov 2012, when ADO fever sold out a pre-vinyl release party at the Hare & Hounds, and has subsequently heard an array of weird and wonderful ADO plans – some of which we’ve either missed or have not yet come to fruition.

But since when was working with a room full of people schedule friendly?

And considering the impression ADO left after their recent Mostly Jazz Festival show, alongside an arguably incongruous omission from the Shambala line up, Birmingham Review suspects Friday Aug 16^th gig will be a busy ol’ affair too.

So that should keep us going… for now.

Alternative Dubstep Orchestra play at the Hare & Hounds in Kings Heath on Friday August 16^th. For more on this gig, including tickets, visit http://hareandhoundskingsheath.co.uk/event-listings/event/?eventID=10027648

For more on Alternative Dubstep Orchestra, visit their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/AlternativeDubstepOrchestra

August 5, 2013

PREVIEW: Louise Petit @ ORT Café, Sat August 10th

Hailing from Staffordshire, Louise Petit cut her teeth on The Midlands’ open mic and acoustic circuits.

After a year of performing solo shows, Petit garnered the support of “like minded” musicians and developed a band – currently consisting of Russ Sargeant on double bass and Tim Heymerdinger on percussion, with a variety of guests at the ready.

Combining a mix of acoustic folk, pop, Americana and country, Lousie Petit released her debut EP in 2012, tilted Fear and my Other Friends.

A 5 track release of original songs (with a handmade cover) Fear and my Other Friends jumps from the up tempo almost bluegrass approach of opening track ‘Love is Pure’, to the soft introspection of ‘Ghosts’, rounding off with the melancholic lament of ‘A Fading Light’.

Jumping between instruments and intonations, the versatile Fear and my Other Friends was preceded by Christmas Time with You – a Ukulele led yuletide single, full of jumpers and good-will-to-all, released in Dec 2012.

Cited for ‘marrying her storytelling to visuals’ and ‘lyrics (that) tell tales of love, loss and sharks’, Petit has plans to release accompanying videos to many of her songs.

Previous videos have included a performance surrounded by stuffed animals for ‘Demons’, and a collaboration with award winning animator Ryan Woodward for ‘Ghosts’.

Louise Petit comes to the ORT Café on Saturday 10^th August, with support from Nottingham four piece, Injured Birds.

For more on Lousie Petit, visit http://www.louisepetit.com

For more on Injured Birds, visit http://injuredbirds.wordpress.com/

___________

For more on the ORT Café, visit http://ortcafe.co.uk

August 3, 2013August 3, 2013

EXHIBITION: Snapshots of Mumbai @ Wolverhampton Art Gallery, Aug 3rd to 31st

Saturday Aug 3^rd sees the launch of Snapshots of Mumbai– the exhibition at Wolverhampton Art Gallery, running until August 31^st. Entry is free.

Part of a wider body of work on the South Asian megacity, Snapshots of Mumbai– the exhibition will display twelve original images with supporting narrative; exploring the nuances, idiosyncrasies and identities of Mumbai.

From the stoic battle between majesty and history, as depicted in ‘A Ferocious Standoff’ the exhibition’s lead image of the Taj Hotel and Gateway of India, to the humour, beauty and utter confusion that floods through a city of over 25million people, Snapshots of Mumbai – the exhibition is the first public display from the project.

Previously at Bilston Art Gallery, the 12 images now at Wolverhampton are set to tour both the UK and South India in 2014.

____________

A Ferocious Standoff

‘The Gateway of India, squaring off against the Taj Palace & Tower. A ferocious standoff.

In one corner – the ostentatious ownership of the jewel in the Crown; in the other – India’s proud reclamation. Both beautiful, both ornate, both a lavish insult to the poverty at their feet.

Nowhere in Mumbai am I more reminded of home.’

________

Created by local writer Ed King, Snapshots of Mumbai was a reaction to the global attention Mumbai received after the 2008 terror attacks and the release of Danny Boyle’s film ‘Slumdog Millionaire’.

Having lived in India for several years, King was keen to present a wider city than the “headlines and hyperbole.”

“I felt Mumbai was being missed,” explains King, “lost behind press shots and news releases. And the response from domestic India was a mix of sadness, pride and frustration.

I often say trying to sum up Mumbai is like trying to find the end of a circle, it’s too big for one story, but the narrow representation it received after the 2008 attacks and ‘Slumdog’ compelled me to add mine to the pile. Plus it reminds a conveniently forgetful Britain just how linked it is to India.”

Originally an 800 word feature, Snapshots of Mumbai expanded when photographer Paul Ward came to take pictures of the city in 2010.

“Paul’s work was so powerful,” explains King, “that the images took on a life of their own. He had never been to Mumbai before and within 48 hours was knee deep in both the slums and banking districts.

We started working on ‘the book’, but it became clear that Paul’s photography needed its own platform too. So we collated ‘the exhibition’ and I added supporting narrative to each image which reflects the wider project.”

Snapshots of Mumbai – the exhibition runs from Aug 3^rd to 31^stand is free to enter. Snapshots of Mumbai – the book set for release later this year.

For more information, and samples of the project’s wider portfolio, visit http://www.snapshotsofmumbai.com/

July 23, 2013July 23, 2013

ALBUM: Pura Vida Conspiracy / by Gogol Bordello

Review by John Noblet

It would be impossible to write this review without a full disclosure. Seven years ago I heard the song ‘Wanderlust King’ by Gogol Bordello and it completely changed my life.

Not only did the album it came from (Super Taranta) have a massive effect on the music I make and the band I would eventually form, but I related to the lyrics and energy of the band with an intensity usually reserved for thirteen year olds discovering Nirvana.

The restless energy, the sense of intoxicated romance, the rejection of modern civilisation’s promise of safety. Yep, I bored the hell out of my friends with that one for a few years.

However, there are some that see Eugene Hutz and his gang of merry pranksters as the music industry’s equivalent of the twats who dress up in bowler hats with twirly moustaches to sell ridiculously overpriced crepes at boutique festivals; a point of view which has not been helped by the band performing with Madonna or releasing a song with Coca Cola’s name on it for the European Cup in 2012. Nor has it been helped by Hutz’s slightly embarrassing habit of sprouting pseudo mystical gibberish in interviews.

“So Johnny,” I hear you ask. “What’s Pura Vida Conspiracy like?”

The short answer is that those who are already fans of Gogol Bordello will probably find a lot of stuff to enjoy. Opener ‘We Rise Again’ finds the band in rambunctious form, with a country style backbeat giving way to pounding hardcore drums, and some nice political touches in the lyrics, including “Borders are scars across the face of the planet.”

‘Dig Deep Enough’ also kicks out the jams pretty hard with its NOFX versus the Gypsy Kings sense of aesthetics, though does middle aged Euguene Hutz actually sing the words “We are the youth”?!

And despite the most open invitation for a critical mauling in a song title since Hole released a track called ’Awful’, ‘My Gypsy Autopilot’ certainly brings home the goods. I suspect it’ll make a great addition to their live sets.

However, I don’t think Pura Vida Conspiracy will convert many of the bands’ detractors either. There’s a nagging sense on some of the tracks that Hutz is trying to give the fans what they want (“needs more gypsy!”) rather than singing from the gut.

This seems particularly true of ‘Malandrino’ which opens with the midwives who have just delivered the infant Hutz gasping in wonder at his “singing heart”. Even for a fan, this sentimental self mythologising is a little rich. On the track ‘Hieroglyph’, the band get dangerously close to writing the gypsy punk equivalent of R Kelly’s ‘I Believe I Can Fly’ with lyrics like “I am inside of every tree, I am inside of every atom”.

Some of Pura Vida Conspiracy‘s ballads work really well, and even bring in new influences to the band’s sound. For instance, closing track ‘We Shall Sail’ is Hutz’s remarkably effective take on a campfire song with his eccentric vocal phrasing suiting the form entirely. ‘Name Your Ship’ seems to take influence form the likes of Dropkick Murphys, with a cheeky but welcome steal from the chorus of Nick Cave’s ‘Supernaturally’.

In conclusion, though I’d probably rather listen to Pura Vida Conspiracy than many of the other albums released this year, I don’t think it quite hits the same incredibly high standards of Gogol Bordello’s best releases.

Doubtless their live show will still be world beating, and will probably still convert fans with every gig they play.

Where I will still be at the front of one of them the first chance I get, singing and dancing and sweating with my shirt off.

Pura Vida Conspiracy is out on general release from today – Tues 23^rd July.

For more info on Gogol Bordello, including digital downloads of Pura Vida Conspiracy and a free copy of ‘Malandrino’, visit http://www.gogolbordello.com/