No one quite does a live show like Chilly Gonzales. While last time was all about the fun and entertainment, this time with only Mocky and not the full live set up it was a lot darker, with more ‘Angry’ Gonzales.
Still no one quite entertains like Gonzales. It started with him putting on white gloves to give the air of formality of some classical performance and it ended with a short song performed by standing on the piano, playing with both feet, whilst wearing slippers. Whilst he gives off the air of a gentleman of leisure, performing in a dressing gown and slippers, the projector display showing the piano keyboard revealed his piano playing.
Throughout the show Gonzales swings from being a serious performer and improviser to adding some strangely silly bits and overacting. Rather than watching a Gonzales show just for the music, it’s the whole package, you never quite know what he might do next.
There aren’t that many bands left from 2002 who are both still a going concern and whose music still interests me today. With the end of Youthmovies/Youthmovie Soundtrack Strategies/YMSS/Youm it’s another one crossed off a very short list. Partly it’s me, over the last eight years my interests have moved on, and whilst many of those bands from 2002 haven’t moved on very much, Youthmovies were one of the few who had felt the need to constantly reinvent their sound and challenge themselves.
Thinking back to my first impressions of the band, at the Wheatsheaf in November 2002, I wasn’t entirely convinced by them. What were four guys roughly my age doing wearing nurses outfits onstage? By the second time, in December, I had already been converted. At the time I wrote ‘It’s a bit awkward jumping from one style to another, once they settle down to one they could be very interesting.’ Memories of Youthmovies phase 1 is a blur of shows (generally at the Wheatsheaf) featuring them and other kindred spirits, Cat on Form, 65daysofstatic, Edmund Fitzgerald and so on.
With the release of ‘Hurrah…’, Youthmovies phase 2 developed into a far more interesting prospect. It is from this era that I have some of my favourite memories of the band. There was the house party in Oxford in April 2007, where I made everyone drink Chinese white wine freshly brought back from a trip to Hong Kong, and the show on Brick Lane where the band played a more experimental show linking their songs with lots of improvised noise in between.
The final show downstairs at the Zodiac was never going to be a classic performance for the band, it was too emotional for that. And when Al whacked himself in the face with his guitar second song in, we knew this show was going to be remarkable in a different way. What was great about this was the atmosphere. By performing in the round, the audience were looking at each other and also cheering on the band. Everyone sang along, savouring every last moment of this remarkable live band.
As a final thought, here are some ‘What Ifs’…
-What if they were luckier, how far would they have gone?
-What if they kept going, what would they sound like in ten years’ time
Back in January, I boldly made a claim that the Owen Pallett show at the Union Chapel might be my favourite show of the year. So, going into this show at Koko, I didn’t have as high expectations. Firstly, Koko isn’t as good a venue as the Union Chapel, and secondly the bill of the show in January was so perfect that it really couldn’t be beat.
Sorry to ruin the suspense, but the Koko show didn’t overtake the Union Chapel gig as the best gig of the year. Having to peek over other people’s shoulders instead of a perfect seated view put pay to that. However, in some other ways this show was better than the show in January. Having the balls to put This is the Dream of Win and Regine as the second track, surely he had peaked too soon, but amazingly, it turned out to be dream setlist of songs. Even some technical difficulties didn’t spoil the atmosphere at all.
Yes, some of the sequences of songs were familiar such as moving on from The Great Elsewhere to Lewis Takes Action and playing The Butcher straight after Flare Gun. But then in the middle of the main set he also played Independence is No Solution and finished with Lewis Takes Off His Shirt (surely this song should only be performed with an accompanying rain shower).
To top it all, the encore was what an encore really should be. Rather than keeping back a song from Heartland, it was a dive into the back catalogue including Song Song Song, and the ultimate treat of it all, his version of Mariah Carey’s Fantasy.
So, shame about not being able to watch Owen Pallett actually perform the songs but it was a great way to start what turned out to be a bit of crazy a Friday night.
There was something about the last week of March and the abundance of live shows. There will be separate posts about the two shows at the end of the week, but the beginning of the week had a (relatively) gentle start.
Magnetic Fields played for two hours at the Barbican. For someone who hasn’t really got round to listening to their material, the live show was a great introduction to the band. Before the show, I was slightly worried whether two hours of twee would be too much, however it turned out it was a great way to explore the band’s music. There was great banter in between songs, Amelia Fletcher came on to sing a song, there was nothing else you really need more for a gentle, indie, sensible night.
Whilst the Magnetic Fields played around 20 songs in their set, at the other extreme were Silver Mt Zion the next evening, who played 6 in an hour and a half in a venue that really didn’t suit their sound. An ideal Silver Mt Zion would be one where their music surrounds the audience. In the Electric Ballroom however, the sound was a bit dead, and it certainly wasn’t helped by people at the side who spent the gig talking all the way through. It took a lot of concentration to keep on top of what the band was doing and to block out the distractions. However there were glimpses of how amazing the band would be in an ideal venue. Although there were times when the in between song banter went on just that little bit too long, it was a great contrast between the music and the entire show. Hopefully the next time they are back in London, Silver Mt Zion would play a more suitable venue.
