My Morning Jacket - Bexhill 8-11-11

Despite a decidedly meagre turnout at Bexhill's De La Warr Pavilion, particularly in the light of the several sold out gigs we've been lucky enough to get tickets for of late, My Morning Jacket played as though they were in front of a stadium crowd. This is the third time we'd seen them but tonight knocked the proverbial spots off of anything we've seen and heard before. The set was seamless, numbers blending into each other with a liberal use of feedback and other engineered noises. And the guitar-techs worked overtime taking Jim James and Carl Broemel through a succession of Gibsons and Gretschs no doubt funded in part by the bands' 100+ live performances this year alone and in part to the success of their latest album 'Circuital'. My Morning Jacket surpassed themselves. A truly memorable gig made even more special by the admirable support of 'The Head and the Heart'. If you can get hold of their self-titled album, you'll not be disappointed.

Camille - Hackney Empire, London - 3.11.11

It's always a bit of an adventure going to a Camille gig - you never know quite what to expect! And it was certainly an adventure at London's Hackney Empire last night for her only UK appearance (apart from Later with Jools) of 2012. Ilo Veyou (as you'll have gathered from my earlier posting) is completely what one has come to expect from Ms Dalmais - utterly bonkers but uniquely charming and beautiful at the same time. So it was a rare treat for the sold out audience to get a pitch-perfect live performance of the whole album from start to finish. Camille's vocal range is nothing short of astonishing - particularly evident in the wonderful 'Ilo Veyou' and the final track 'Tout Dit' (and not an auto-tuner or tape-loop in sight). That would have made for a gig it itself were it not for its brevity (even live, Ilo Veyou only filled an hour). So, with the briefest of interludes we were also treated to a selection of greatest hits. Come back soon Camille. We'll be there!

ilo veyou - camille

Ilo Veyou is unmistakably Camille and yet, at the same time, infinitely different. It's got the usual infectious quality though and I'm not ashamed to say that I was instantly smitten. (Not that I was expecting anything less, mind you). There are some wonderfully haunting songs here, particularly 'She Was', 'Le Berger' and 'Le Banquet'. But there's the familiar 'out to lunchness' too. The title track is a good example, as is the above clip of 'Mars is no fun' (watch for the line which includes '...a shopping mall in Milton Keynes'); but the echoing climes of 'La France' reaffirms that Ms Dalmais is still completely 'le barking!' But, as the a cappella brilliance of the closing 'Tout dit' fades away, there's no doubt that this is an album of a calibre that helps Camille ascend to a new height. Next week's only UK appearance at Hackney Empire promises to be another eclectic experience for us. 

Laura Marling - Westminster Central Hall, London, 26.10.11

To see the diminutive Ms Marling at Westminster Central Hall was to see her at her absolute finest! The setting and acoustics provided for crystal clear sound (a clarity sadly denied by the lo-def quality of my camera). However, it does provide a taster for those of you unfortunate enough not to have been there. Taking us through a repertoire of tunes both new and newer, some from her excellent album 'A creature I don't know' and some aired for the first time on this tour, Ms Marling didn't falter once. Her set was a mix of band supported and solo renditions which included the excellent 'Sophia' and the final 'encore-busting' 'All My Rage'. A superlative set, my only criticism being that there wasn't more of it - it was all over by 9.45pm!

If all that wasn't enough of a treat though, we also had the added bonus of 'The Leisure Society' as the supporting act. Check out this blog for an earlier rave from me about them!

And finally...

Son of Dave - The Haunt, Brighton, 22/10/11

The Haunt is a new venue for Brighton, opened in February 2011. Located at the back of Pool Valley, it's built into what used to be the ABC cinema. It's small, dark and comfortable and very well suited to the unique talents of one 'Son of Dave'. Supported by two rather eclectic (to be polite) acts, the pyjama-clad Benjamin Darvill (ex 'Crash Test Dummies') opened with a barn-stormer blues-harp/beatbox number which immediately warmed the growing crowd and quickly got the old feet a-tapping. A little while later, in between bouts of shouting at his equipment when it didn't do what he wanted it to, Mr Darvill announced that he was lonely and proceeded to pick an older couple from the audience to join him on stage. Seating them to one side of him, he plied them with wine and beer and some rider-provided fresh fruit before launching back into a selection of numbers from his last two albums. The highlight for me had to be 'She just danced all night' (at which point I got a wry and knowing smile from Sal) but the whole 50-minute set and one encore was one good thing after another. A thoroughly talented man providing an evening's entertainment second to none.

  

Son of Dave - Saturday 22 October - The Haunt, Brighton. Just three more days. Watch this space!

Wilko Johnson/Ian Siegal - Komedia, Brighton, 09/10/11

Opening their blistering 45 minute support slot with 'Kingdom Come' set a pace for the Ian Siegal band which didn't let up for one moment. Totally amazing guitar work, wonderful vocals and a really tight rhythm and bass section, the tumultuous applauds at the back end assured the sold out audience that their £17.50 was going to be really well spent tonight. And there was more to come.

It was 33 years ago that we last saw Wilko Johnson live. Then he was just out of Dr Feelgood and prancing about a Knebworth festival stage with his Solid Senders. Tonight, a follicley-challenged Wilko had teamed up with Norman Watt-Roy and Dylan Howe for more prancing around on this, the final leg of their sixteen-night 2011 tour. And there was no disappointment here either. Taking the (rather ancient) audience through a repertoire of classics old and new, Wilko proved beyond a doubt that he still has every bit of the energy and technique that has rightfully set him up there amongst the guitar greats.

We came away hoarse but happy. Two remarkable three-piece combos that prove beyond any shadow of a doubt that live music, particularly when there's this much talent in evidence, surpasses nothing. (And I even got to shake Ian Siegal's hand on the way out. Bonus!)