Category: The Cuff

Words by Althea Patterson

As the short lived summer becomes a distant memory, an extra layer of warmth is required; it’s time to flip on some music that matches the snug, mellow weather and yellowing leaves.  Luke Sital-Singh is just the aural equivalent of mashed potato and melted gruyere I need.

The mixed Glee Club crowd, of mature married couples, cute first daters and beer swilling ladies, were warmed up nicely by the quite brilliant Ade Suleiman. He looked like a rudeboy but sang like a Prince, where the tone of Jah Cure met the impassioned Jazz delivery of Amy Winehouse. My toes tapped hard.

Strolling onstage with a cuppa, a drummer and a barefooted bassist, Singh looked like a younger, more handsome Woody Allen carrying Bob Dylan’s guitar. He remarked, with an admirable deprecating sense of humour, “Don’t be fooled by the name of the venue, we’re all miserable.” With laughter ringing, he plucked his strings and burst into ‘Inaudible Sighs’, dominating the tiny stage with his searing clear-as-crystal voice.

With my head nodding appreciatively to ‘You Love, You Love’, a song crying out to be a festival anthem, I am then stunned into stillness as his tremulous voice lets out ‘Bottled Up Tight’. And Singh’s beautiful song ‘Luna’ (an ode to a stranded whale) had a sumptuous lullaby quality I simply adored.

Constantly asking if we were enjoying ourselves, Singh went through his new Tornadoes EP with ease and humour. His voice seduces you to listen, most notably on ‘Nearly Morning’ and ‘How to Lose Your Life’ – both displaying heartfelt lyrics and impressive range; I did spot a few people wiping away tears.

Singh’s encore was his breakthrough track ‘Fail for You’ – just him, the stage and a guitar. Captivating and powerful, with lyrics to break even the hardest of hearts through their poetry. Even the air conditioning had to quieten in awe.

Exiting the stage with his cuppa, no fuss or dramatics, Luke Sital-Singh is the winter warmth I was looking for – but also confidently cool.

For more on Luke Sital-Singh, visit http://www.lukesitalsingh.com/

For more on The Glee Club, including full listings for music and comedy, visit http://www.glee.co.uk/

Words by John Noblet

Tonight’s double hitter, Public Image Limited (PiL) and The Selecter, maybe one of the stranger tour packages in recent memory. Apart from both acts having their biggest success in the post Punk era of the early eighties, they have little in common.

We roll through the O2 Academy doors about an hour after they open, and The Selecter are already playing the hits. And at first glance it’s clear they’ve got a highly polished, shiny-as-hell version of the two tone experience on stage. Suits? Check. Eight piece band? Check. Complete with brass section? Check. An adorably enthusiastic keyboard player, all the trimmings, exuberance and smiles galore? You better believe it.

Pauline Black looks great in her tight blue suit and hat at a jaunty angle; rude girl attitude on show till the day she dies, with that distinctive voice on fine form. Although The Selecter‘s other vocalist, Arthur ‘Gaps’ Hendrickson, definitely deserves a mention – as a performer, he’s full of exactly the kind of confidence needed to front a band, the kind that makes you watch him without really questioning why.

Tonight’s incarnation of The Selecter sounds fuller, shinier, even sexier than the eighties version. Musically they seem unafraid of pulling in new influences to thicken the sound, like the funky drummer rhythm that backs their version of ‘Last Train to Skaville’. And rather than being a museum piece or nostalgia trip, they come across as a band that still have something to prove – which is admirable as they formed almost thirty five years ago.

Everyone loves a bit of showbiz and The Selecter are definitely that; however tonight’s headliners, Public Image Limited take very much the opposite approach. Entering in pitch black, when the lights do come up on the band it’s still considerably darker than for The Selecter‘s set.

PiL’s bassist and drummer lock into a moody, tense, groove, whilst their guitarist, with the kind of hair that would allow him to play a wizard in a children’s television programme, plays atonal lines over the top. Vocalist, John Lydon, wails and yells in a genuinely disturbing manner. There is no chorus in this opening song (hell, many people wouldn’t call it a song) and the overall effect is one of creeping dread, of profound cognitive dissonance.

The second song is just as uncompromising as the first, and cements the final, complete change in atmosphere from The Selecter’s sweaty Ska love fest. You can feel those around you sinking deeper into their own thoughts; the applause is controlled, respectful, there’s even a couple of seconds lag before the clapping starts – like the audience need a moment or two to come out of their collective trance. 

About the third song in we get treated to one of PiL‘s few hits, ‘This Is Not a Love Song’. But tonight it sounds bigger, scarier and more menacing than it ever did on record; thick with the low end you’d expect from acts such as Massive Attack.

PiL milk the verse riff for all it’s worth, building up the anticipation for the chorus to impossibly high levels. Somehow it segues into the beautiful riff from ‘Poptones’, it’s a fantastic touch, but unfortunately wasted when the song is all but stopped because Lydon can’t hear his vocals. I’m not having a go at the guy for needing to hear his own voice – in fact, he’s reasonably polite about the whole thing and the show continues with no hitches. It’s just a shame that the moment is broken, so deep is my reverie at that point.

My friend Craig turns to me and says, “…church of PiL”, hitting the nail square on the head – the band inspire the same level of reflection that huge cathedrals do, albeit from a thoroughly atheist perspective. And the other thing this experience has in common with a church is that, like a religious service, ignoring what’s going on is not an option. You either give in to what’s happening around you, or you leave.

Most of the set follows the same formula. The rhythm section proceed with the kind of military precision you’d expect from Sly & Robbie; sometimes thickening the sound with synths or an eerie white noise, providing a rock solid foundation for guitarist Lu Edmonds and Lydon to work their strange magic over – repetitive riffs pummeling you into submission whilst the vocals flirt with the idea of melody, Lydon revealing his voice to be a strange and versatile instrument.

It’s impressive how much mileage PiL can get out of this, and how many influences you catch flickers of. At various points in the set you get snatches of Dub, early Hip Hop and Kraut Rock – I even catch a hint of Hacienda era Acid House in a couple of tracks. And although PiL will often be thought of as “the band Johnny Rotten formed after The Sex Pistols”, it’s clear tonight they’re a band with each member making an important, essential contribution, rather than a faceless vehicle for an ageing rock star.

One of the few sing along moments of PiL’s set is during ‘One Drop’, from the bands’ most recent album, This Is PiL. In my opinion it benefits massively from being performed live, and from the punishing volume of the O2 Academy‘s huge sound system. Lydon’s proclamation that “we come from chaos” sounds more sinister than ever, and there’s a definite apocalyptic edge when he sings lines such as “we are the last chance”. By comparison the encore is a jolly walk in the park, with crowd pleasers such as ‘Rise’ and ‘Public Image’.

One of Lydon’s earliest and most notorious slogans was the phrase “no future!”, and PiL are an unflinching, methodical examination of exactly what that “no future” entails. Of lives without meaning, bashed back and forth by uncaring corporate forces, of a modern world that may be colourful and distracting, but is revealed to be shallow and meaningless. It is the music of tower blocks and dual carriageways at 3am, of the all those things we avoid thinking about.

There are other bands that make music that similar to PiL, but none as effective. Many set out to do something similar but just end up glamorising the darker side of life, or are simply so bleak that they forget to be compelling. Tonight we’ve been taken on a harrowing journey through the uncharted badlands of our own psyches, and I for one, feel so much better for it – like a psychic cleansing has occurred.

Plus I’ve made a point in this review not to mention some of the media circus surrounding Lydon; not just because there are thousands of words written about them elsewhere, nor because I was commissioned to write a review, but because Public Image Limited are worthy of discussion for what they do as a band, on stage. A fact that won’t change whatever ridiculous antics Mr Lydon may choose to sully his reputation with.

And if you like strange(r) music, and haven’t done so already, you owe it to yourself to check them out.

For more on Public Image Limited (PiL), visit http://www.pilofficial.com

For more on The Selecter, visit http://www.theselecter.net/

___________

For further gigs at the O2 Academy, visit http://www.o2academybirmingham.co.uk/

Words by John Noblet

The name on the ticket says “Babyshambles” but really what that means is “Pete Doherty and some other guys”, and no one’s particularly bothered who those other guys are.

It’s a long time since Doherty’s antics were regularly landing him in the tabloids – remember when he seemed more famous for the scandal circus revolving around him and Kate Moss than for his music? And it’s longer still since his first band The Libertines exploded out of nowhere to become what seemed like the biggest band in the country.

Despite this, there’s still a healthy (though not capacity) crowd here to see him and his band on a cold and damp Monday night at the O2 Academy. I just catch the last few songs from Babyshamble’s Birmingham support, Intensified.

They’re eight piece traditional ska/rocksteady band; who, whilst unlikely to change the world any time soon, do a lovely job of warming up the crowd – getting a few hips gently swinging, and not coming across as some pointless bunch of chancers who simply bought their way onto the tour, as is so often the case with these types of events (it’s common practice in the music industry for smaller bands to buy their way onto bigger bands’ tours – known as a “buy on”).

Babyshambles come on stage at about nine thirty, and on first glance Doherty seems fit for purpose as he strides onto the stage wearing a black & white stripy jumper and the same haircut he’s had since the dawn of time.

However, the actions that follow seem to suggest otherwise. He faffs around with various items on his guitar amp. He dons one of his trademark hats, which oddly warrants a cheer. He picks up a bunch of flowers and grins daftly at the crowd. Then he throws a few petals in the air, and then some more, takes off the hat, and just when I’m beginning to wonder if he’ll play any music at all, him and the band burst into the first song.

Babyshamles’ opener, “Delivery”, crashes along as it should; the band energetic and full, noisy and exuberant in all the right places. Doherty seems to hit all the right vocal cues and even plays a few notes of delightfully ham fisted-but-appropriate lead guitar. The second song rolls in without any fanfare or announcement, and again, sonically everything sounds more or less as it should, but I become aware that something isn’t quite right. And I realise that what’s not quite right is our good friend Pete.

He unfortunately has the air of a man who is too used to being applauded whatever he does, so isn’t trying that hard any more. He is quite possibly the most wasted man in the building, and seems to be at the point of intoxication where one thinks actions like wearing a traffic cone as a hat are witty and erudite.

Admittedly, this does lead to some amusing stage antics, such as throwing his guitar through the air to his roadie, playing the drums with his microphone and (OMG) smoking inside?!?

Although his attempt at playing the trombone is a bit too slapstick for my liking. And rather than Doherty leading his band, it seems like the band are holding him up like two mates walking a paralytic friend home after a particularly heavy session at the student disco. There’s lots of applause between songs, and a portion of the crowd look like they are having a great time; however, I think we all know in our hearts that the performance could be better, maybe a lot better.

That’s not to say there aren’t highlights, which seem to mostly come in the form of older songs such as “Killamangiro”, which sets the moshpit off marvelously, though I’m pretty sure Doherty mangles the end with an ill judged segue into a verse or two of “There She Goes”.

“Time for Heroes”, the only Libertines’ song in the set, also proves to be an evergreen classic sending huge chunks of the audience into instant euphoria. And about two thirds of the way through the set, Doherty seems to start singing with something like true conviction; which is a shame because, for me, it’s too late. There’s been too much mucking about between songs – the man spent so much time bent double over one of the amps at the back of the stage, with his arse to the crowd, that I can only assume that he was snorting lines back there. And I can’t be bothered to cheer the third or fourth time he downs some booze whilst the audience watches.

Many of the tracks just seem too similar to each other to tell apart, and the lack of song introductions meant that I’m now scrabbling about on the internet trying to work out which ones they played (the between song banter was also minimal, mostly consisting of Doherty pretending he was playing the Custard Factory and searching for a girl from Telford named Francesca). 

For a finale, Doherty decides it would be a good idea to positively crucify what was previously quite a good song, “Albion”. His voice sounds the worst it’s sounded all night, and the ‘hoedown’ section sounds terrible, despite the addition of a lovely looking lady playing violin in a floppy hat, which Doherty charmingly decides to wear in the manner of drunks throughout the known universe.

However, the encore does provide some genuine delight. The band leave the stage and the house lights come up after a couple of minutes, and for a few moments it looks like the band aren’t going to come back on, the crowd starting to get angry. Babyshambles eventually emerge for a blistering version of “Fuck Forever”.

The crowd go mad, Doherty seems to have a bit more wind in his sails; and to add to the amusement, some bright spark in the middle of the crowd sets off a flare.

Surrounded by smoke and confusion, bits of sound equipment flying off the stage, bodies bouncing around me – it seems like a fitting end to a Babyshambles gig, however unfortunately below par the rest of it was.

For more on Babyshambles, visit http://babyshambles.net/

For more gigs at the O2 Academy, visit http://www.o2academybirmingham.co.uk/

__________________

Dear Doherty,

Pete, you’re a good man, but you’re out of shape. Your shambolic charisma and healthy, well known back catalogue mean you will always have a fanbase, though if you continue like this the crowds will be slightly smaller every time you tour. However, both you and I know that you’re capable of so much more.

I’m not saying you should knock the drink and drugs on the head completely (that would be cruel and unnecessary) just don’t do so much of that kind of thing before you play. I want to see you back here in a few years’ time with a set of songs that eclipses everything you’ve ever done and a live show so gobsmackingly good it actually wins you a few new fans.

Much love, Johnny x

Review by John Noblet

Every so often, a ruck of bands will cross my path in my adventures across the city that will seem to constitute some new emerging scene or movement – usually this feeling dissipates within a few weeks but it’s always nice when it happens.

Over the last month or so, the genre has been Folk (and no, I’m not going to talk about the Moseley Folk Festival). Most recently, there was Abie’s Miracle Tonic and Mellow Peaches who I reviewed the other week. Then I happened to stumble across the brilliant Balsall Heathens; playing in the bandstand in Cannon Hill Park on a sunny Saturday afternoon, to an enthralled assortment of punks, children and cannabis activists.

And then on Sunday I see The Mistakings, playing to a half empty Bulls Head in Moseley.

It’s been almost two years to the day since I first heard them sing, in the now defunct Whitmarley squat in Stirchley. They didn’t have a name then, and only settled on The Mistakings after a brief sojourn as The Nighties of the Round Table.

For the start of tonight’s set they’re joined by Che Cartwright, and the third song in is one of his. He’s a lucky sod, because he’s got the kind of backing vocals rich Rock stars pay a lot of money for to beautify lifeless come back albums. It’s a simple song, arranged to perfection with four part vocal harmonies and dual violins. There’s a few seconds of silence when the song ends, but when the applause comes, it’s loud.

The rest of the set is made up of a mixture of self penned material and traditionals, or other stuff “punctuated by sea shanties” (I was trying to get through the review without using the phrase ‘sea shanties’ as I didn’t want you to think of them as some novelty band that dress up as pirates, but there you go).

But it’s the original material that stands out the most; such as Katherine Griffiths’ ‘I’m The Girl’, a song I am ashamed to say I’d always assumed was from the back catalogue of some famous band (sorry, Katherine). And Ellie Chambers’ ‘The Sea Captain’ is as bold a statement of intent as I’ve heard from any singer in a long time; the kind of song you can imagine being sung for many years to come.

Part of the charm of The Mistakings is how they don’t tailor every last detail of their set to impress people; they’re far too clever to play the pointless of game of constantly trying to look uber cool in front of your audience.

For instance, they’re the kind of band that can name an instrumental ‘Fuck the Olympics’ for no overt reason, or give over a massive chunk of their set to sea shanties and not shed a slither of credibility (I mean, sea shanties for fuck’s sake!). And the odd bit of daftness is a welcome contrast to the constant stream of “did that just happen?” moments, set by the ridiculously high standards of their vocal performance.

Hopefully The Mistakings‘ debut album will be recorded and released in the next six months or so – but I know their gigs will be thin on the ground for a while, as they all go back to university this week.

But whenever it is that you next see ‘The Mistakings’ on a flyer, make sure you go. You’ll be missing out otherwise.

For more on The Mistakings, visit http://themistakings.tumblr.com/

For further gig listings at The Bull’s Head, visit http://bullsheadmoseley.co.uk/event-listings/

Words by Ed King / Pic by Carlie-Ann Hare

Now well established on the UK circuit, Moseley Folk Festival returned to close off another summer in the B13 suburb.

Headliners Ocean Colour Scene sold out the festival’s Friday night; whilst Edwin Collins, British Sea Power, Lucy Rose and The Dublin Legends (formerly The Dubliners) billed as top acts on the Saturday and Sunday.

Also appearing on the main stages were Goodnight Lenin, The Staves, Alessi’s Ark, Kate Rusby, Trembling Bells, Jack Savoretti, The Leisure Society, Abie’s Miracle Tonic, Wolf People & Katherine Priddy – alongside more local support on the Centre Court Stage from Tom Peel, Louise Petit, Mellow Peaches, Ben Drummond, Dan Whitehouse, Melissa Gill & Chris Cleverley.

The only commercial operators using Moseley’s ‘private’ park, Moseley Folk Festival 2013 followed the sell out success of its sister event, Mostly Jazz – which had an almost ineffable denouement in the shape of Nile Rodgers & Chic.

Growing in both size and significance, the Moseley Folk Festival attracts widespread attention from artists and attendees alike. And with both events bringing international line ups to the small south Birmingham village, Moseley hasn’t had so much to sing and dance about since UB40.

Ed King went along on Sunday Sept 1^st, to meet the last of the summer winos for a Birmingham 10 Word Review.

10 WORD REVIEW

(names are listed left to right)

David Palmer, Liz Shea

“We’ve been litter picking this year; we wanted to do what we could to support a local festival. It’s a great gig, and there’s a sense of pride in doing what you can to help it.”

________

Ben Smith, Adam Badger

Adam: “We’ve been stewarding and found it quite casual; everyone’s pretty friendly. Although, when you ask some of them to move their chairs…”

Ben: “…and we’ve had to confiscate some cheese knives.”

________

Cath Shields, Mary Girvan, Declan Morton, D’Arcy Morton, Ann Morton, Lee Morton

Declan: “I like the music… and we had sandwiches.”

D’Arcy: “I had a butterfly painted on my face and went on a trapeze.”

________

Roshin Jordan, Tracey Stubbins, Steve Worrollo

Steve: “Some great local bands, it’s a short walk from home, and the site is a natural amphitheatre. Plus it opens up the park to a wider group of people.”

Tracey: “In the sunshine, to just sit here, it’s beautiful. Highlights on stage have been Goodnight Lenin and Katherine Priddy.”

 ________

Jim the Hat

“I’ve been sitting here mainly.”

 ________

James Gowland, Marianne Campbell

James: “Really enjoyed it; I’ve not been for a couple of years but its nice and relaxed.”

Marianne: “It’s Folky but not mega Folky. Highlights have been Ocean Colour Scene and Katherine Priddy.”

 ________

Jess & Tom Phillips

Jess: “Birmingham City Council should take more notice of events like this; it’s excellent, and brings some good attention to the city.”

Tom: “After spending many (younger) years drinking in the park, I’m glad I can now do it properly.”

 ________

Fernando Lopez, Natalia Kominek

Fernando: “Good music, good weather, good setting.”

Natalia: “I’m surprised, Folk music is not really my thing – but this is better than I thought.”

 ________

Dawn Nosgrove, Helen Calcutt

“It’s like a giant picnic.”

For more on the Moseley Folk Festival, visit http://www.moseleyfolk.co.uk