Tubelord at the Hare & Hounds 05/11/2009

Maybe it's because it's a Thursday. Maybe it's because it's raining. Or maybe it's because it's Bonfire Night. Somewhere out there a Guy is on fire. And maybe a towerblock too, as I saw a few fire engines surrounding one on the way into Kings Heath. Either way, by 8:30 there's still only about 30 people tops in the second, smaller room upstairs in the Hare. There is another gig on in the room next door, but that seems quiet too. What's wrong with people, £5 for an awesome line up? Words fail me sometimes.
First up this evening are 3 lovely boys from Birmingham who go by the name of Shapes. Not so long ago they released their second EP on Big Scary Monsters, which gives the uninitiated an idea of what they've got in store. They seem somewhat amused by the fact they have never played at the Hare, and despite the lacklustre turn out they play with as much energy as they can muster, but not before asking everyone to stand up and move from the comfy sofas that line the room. "It is a gig after all!" guitarist Steve Bachelor reminds the crowd. This evening the band tend to favour their newer material over the old, which is a shame as their first EP was immense. However, they still treat the amassed with their slabs of spastic prog-metal, launching from the stage into the front row with reckless abandon. Closing with 'You Butcher', I can't help but feel a little let down as they were nowhere near as exciting as they were on my last encounter with them, though I must commend their manners, for they thanked everyone for chosing the gig instead of a bonfire. Bless.

Now, something tells me either Tall Ships are new to this game, or maybe they are just having a touch of really bad luck (I think it may be the latter option): guitar strings break during the first song, keyboard in another, several moments where everything seems (to paraphrase the Shapes song) to be more out of tune than everything else... yet simultaneous to this there are moments of clarity where Tall Ships shine, showing themselves to be a magnificantly forward-thinking and creative outfit (albeit, their choice of clothing may leave a lot to be desired). It's an odd set-up with two facing keyboards in the middle and an assortment of pedals underneath. There are also bits of drum in places other than at the drum kit. It's hard to explain, look on their myspace and you will get a better idea of what's going on. Anyway, the great thing about Tall Ships is that all their songs are built out of loops ie. play a bit of guitar, loop it, play some more over the top and so on. It will be interesting to hear how this translates on record, as tonight some of what they were doing was simply lost in the live setting. Their last song was my favourite simply on the merit of how messed up it was. There was instruments being swapped like wives, a dirty distorted keyboard loop, and the bassist climbed up the PA system to hit a cymbal. They were also joined by Joseph and Sean from Tubelord who helped make even more of a racket and brought their set to a close. I clapped a lot.

Finally Tubelord take to the stage and those in attendance finally act like it's a rock show, getting on their feet and moving forward in the general direction of the stage. The Kingston three-piece work their way through tracks from debut Our First American Friends, and it's upon hearing these tracks live you realise how fun and creative a band they are. I personally felt a little let down by their album, as it didn't for me capture them as acurately as their live show - which sometimes wanders in to the raw and rough around the edges. Yet, it is the live Tubelord which really captivates me. There is something of old Biffy in Joe's guitar riffs, whilst his lyrics remind me of Reuben, somewhat cryptic in places but always anthemic. The subtle use of glockenspiel on a couple of tracks draws the band in another direction, a much more chilled an laid back one, whilst these slower songs are easily balanced out by their bouncy emo-pop in tracks like 'I am Azerrad' and 'Night of the Pencils', the latter of which they sing "three is the magic number" over the final chorus, to much amusement and big smiles. Towards the end of the set Joe decided to read some poetry, and asked everyone to sit down on the floor. Which, strangely, everyone did. There was something a bit surreal about a room of people at a gig sitting on the floor whilst listening to a poetry recital, but at the same time it's touches like this that make Tubelord so special. I did whip out my camera at this point to take a photo but got a little embarresed when Joe pointed at me and told everyone to check out the art student (I wish). And almost as soon as it had begun, it was over, as the gang smash their way through the last song regardless of having broken several strings. And as I stepped out onto Kings Heath High Street with the smell of fireworks in the air, there was no way I could consider that tonight, despite low numbers, anyone had been short-changed.

Passion Pit at the O2 Academy 01/11/2009

My second time in the O2 Academy in a matter of days, and this time I at least felt a little more aware of my surroundings. It couldn't be any more different a crowd either - quite a diverse mix was filing into Academy 2, probably due to the amount of hype and/or airplay that Passion Pit have received over the last few months. But, first things first, we have an odd gentleman on the stage who is surrounded by keyboards and boxes with leads coming out of them. That man is Max Tundra (real name Ben Jacobs, fact fans), and whilst knowing the name I had never heard his music. By honest first impression was "what on earth is this?", and it's a good question if ever there was one. This balding 30-something makes music which sounds like a cross between a Nintendo 64 and Nathan Barley's ringtone, or (just so I can use another silly similie) the soundtrack to Vince Noir's wet dreams. It's not bad stuff, his 90s rave track being my highlight, but it's too early on a dreary Sunday evening, and Max sems to be too much for most and more faces painted a picture of confusion than anything else. He finished his set with his rendition of the Goodbye Song. Irony, much?

Next up were one of my highlights of Hop Farm festival, The Joy Formidable. Despite only having a mini-album to their name, the show the Welsh power-trio put on comes across like a greatest hits set. 'The Greatest Light...', 'Whirring' et al. all sound fresh and absolutley vital in the live environment, singer/guitarist Ritzy is every inch the rockstar, despite being tiny... and very cute. They remind me very much of the late great JJ72, with the smallest smattering of Smashing Pumpkins heaviness for good measure. Drummer Matt Thomas is a powerhouse of a drummer and pummels the kit within an inch of its life. TJF should be huge, and with a self-financed live album on its way, we will all be able to relive the excellence of their live show in our bedrooms. I'm looking forward to catching them again in the future, but will have to get used to the fact they will be moving into larger rooms sooner rather than later.

Hype can be a double-edged sword. It can build you up, but it can also knock you down, and tonight it did the latter. Despite the high expectations I had from from the rave reviews about the band, and from their enjoyable debut record Manners, tonight Passion Pit fell short of the buzz that surrounds them. Although there are moments of pure electronic pop beauty in singles like 'The Reeling', other songs are lost in the ether in the live setting, missing the fragile layers that exist on the LP itself. That's not to say the band weren't playing well, but after The Joy Formidable's set it was hard for me to get as excited about them as the previous trio. A faulty mic lead also led to mayhem for the band played through 'I've Got Your Number' (one of their most popular tracks) as an instrumental, oblivious to the crowds blank response and shouts that there were no vocals. Luckily, following some swapping of cables the band obliged the crowds calls of "Again!" and played the track through once more with the vocals. Its probably the only time I've seen a band play the same song twice, with possibly the exception of Let's Wrestle, but they are a whole different kettle of fish. Maybe another time Passion Pit would shine, but for tonight at least the politely bow out, knowing that it wasn't their strongest show, but still an enjoyable evening.