The auditorium was an illusion of intimacy. While six hundred sat, one felt happily secluded. That this was a live Radio 2 event failed to dispel this. I guess this is how I react to bluegrass. It is sultry; and heat does me good. So as Jo Wiley and her get-away sticks’ – the band’s words – left the stage, in filtered Paper Airplane. The song’s unimposing charm echoed the entire performance.
An impassioned Dustbowl Children followed. Its pace woke a feeling that I was in some American South-West tavern, (one must never remember they are in England when listening to bluegrass.)
The performance, which drew largely from the new album, Paper Airplane, was not Krauss and the Union Station. It was equal and integrated. The brilliance exposed was not flaunted. Each fitted the piece, and was done so with a humble air.
Krauss, the most awarded female at the Grammies, was proof of this. Whether explaining a song’s back-story or discussing her collection of miniature giraffes, she actually spoke to the audience. Many big names are too heavy handed on showmanship. They lack a natural touch and are simply sterile. Krauss and Union Station, while they offered raw musicianship that surpassed any I have seen, had genuine warmth.
This was clear when the band left only Jerry Douglas on stage. Considered the world’s foremost dobro player, Douglas played Rude Irish. The song he praised as a change from his usual tales of “cows and pigs”. Perhaps the highlight of the night, it attached weights to the jaw-bone of every audience of all.
As the band closed with Miles To Go, it was fitting that the audience underwent two standing ovations. It was a truly great experience: one sadly I feel I cannot given justice to here.
6th May 2011: Gaining somewhat of a cult following over here, Frontier Ruckus, hailing from Detroit Michigan, play the Lexington to a mixed crowd. Their tender and emotional Folk (with the odd twist thrown in) is a delight to listen to, and this night was part of a string of dates across the UK and Europe.
Tonight’s lineup is somewhat a stripped back affair, with no full drum kit, and very little amplification. Things slowly open things up with an old favourite, ‘What You Are’, first featured on a sampler back in 2009. Lead singer Matt’s tender and distinctive vocal style is complimented by skilful banjo playing and something even more impressive…a singing-saw, producing something not far off of a theremin sound. Something that truly has to be seen to appreciated fully. Zachary even whips out a miniature Casiotone, which pierces through the stomping feet and tambourine off beats.
Tracks like ‘Silverfishes’ from their 2010 album Deadmalls And Nightfalls go down a storm, having a much poppier feel, with uplifting trumpet solo’s and banjo solos pounding away in the background, even showing hints of Sufjan Stevens in there. Jokes are made in reference to singer Matts resemblance to Harry Potter, to which he replies ‘I hate myself.’, much to the amusement of the crowd.
From the outset however, it’s clear that a lot of the audience were not as devoted as others, and with their stripped back performance it becomes increasingly frustrating to hear them, prompting a lot of shhh’ing, and eventually leading them to play IN the crowd. This was a huge improvement, creating a hugely intimate atmosphere.
Chatting to the band after, it became clear it was quite a difficult one for them, but the in-crowd performance was something really special and showed that these guys can play just as well, if not better, without all the amplification and monitors that so many rely on.
Catch Frontier Ruckas at the following venues:
May 10: Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Paradiso (tickets)
May 12: Hamburg, Germany; TBA
May 13: Copenhagen, Denmark; Loppen (tickets)
May 15: Oslo, Norway; Cafe Mir (tickets)
May 16: Stockholm, Sweden; Debaser Slussen (tickets)
May 18: Cologne, Germany; Studio 672 w/ O’Death
May 20: Schaffhausen, Switzerland; Cardinal Club (tickets)
May 21: Varese, Italy; Twiggy (tickets)
May 23: London, England; The Windmill (tickets)
It felt like every girl in London had turned up to see Trey Songz perform at the Hammersmith Apollo. After watching impressive – and slightly long – opening acts by Luke Bingham and Talay Riley and enduring a further 30 minute wait, the crowd was in a frenzy when it finally looked like the man himself was going to grace the stage.
He came on looking exactly as you would expect. Rocking shades, a white leather jacket, a white vest and jeans, he oozed the confidence and sex appeal that has made him the sell out R’n’B star he has become.
As he belted out his hits such as I invented Sex and Say Ahh, he slowly began to strip. Merely taking off his shades and jacket caused a level of screaming that almost seemed ridiculous considering it was only his eyes and arms that were now visible. With power to create such reactions it’s no wonder why Trey – aka Tremaine Aldon Neverson – can be so cocky with his songs.
Looks aside, it’s his vocals that really shine as he serenades the crowd with his most popular songs. Naturally the knickers start to fly onto the stage and at one point a bra hits him in the face, but he takes in all in his stride saying ‘I think that’s the first time I’ve ever been hit in the face with a bra’ followed by his trademark smile.
Trey clearly loves to interact with the crowd, taking time out to point out fans with posters and specially made t-shirts. But his constant monologues about looking for a girl and asking who wanted to be his bed at the end of the night did get a bit tiring.
His closing performances of Love Face, Neighbours Know My Name and Bottoms Up was the most memorable part of the show. 1) After nearly 2 hours of teasing, he FINALLY took his shirt off. 2) He then picked to girls to bring on stage and proceeded to have a three way kiss (The boos from the crowd were almost deafening) and 3) He brought Chipmunk on stage before they sprayed Rose champagne into the crowd. It was a great moment when the crowd sang along to Nicki Minaj’s rap word for word, switching from Nicki to Barbie effortlessly.
At the last stop of his European leg of his tour, Trey proved that he has the talent and charisma to stay in the game and carve out a career as successful as Usher and those before. Pretty soon, your neighbours will know his name!
I was made a fan of The Airborne Toxic Event after seeing their documentary at the Raindance Film Festival “All I Ever Wanted’, a live film compilation of the last show on their 2 year long tour at The Walt Disney Concert Hall in LA. The film was a triumph and the band your introduced to are grounded and have something about them that few bands have today and that’s simply gratitude for being able to do what they do.
Monday’s show was a gift to fans old and new who got the chance to see a truly intimate set delivered with the same energy and passion as they always have. This was a mix of competition winners and press in the intimate Drill Hall in London and was the start of their 3 city residences, LA & New York being the other cities. The shows will vary in size which will depict the bands history of playing small to large shows.
After some delay a recording from the bands debut album came on and the show was about to start. The band came into the small hall all in black and started a 18 song set that was perfect from start to finish. You can only get this good when you have toured as much as they have and it shows.
Mikel started of the show by telling the crowd that most people don’t realise that a lot of the songs are autobiographical and are real, ‘they actually happened’, and throughout the show he would give us some insight into the history of the songs, what they mean, and where they where as a band when they where written. This made the even more like a very intimate MTV Uncovered but more connectable.
TATE have a unique stage presence which at times can be very subtle and subdued they have a real class when they come to the stage and when they start getting into their set, which doesn’t take them long. A few jokes from the other members of the band with Darren adding some gentle humour into the show. can be wild and fun.
There where some themes of the show notably a lot of the songs seemed to be about Mikel’s ex-girl friends yet besides the jokes there was a real heart to the show and to the bands willingness to put a lot more of themselves out there. As personal as the song are the band seem all to aware that once they are put out there they take on another life all together and that willingness they have to having their ownership of the music they create is a brave one, but seems to be an ethos they are happy with.
The Kids Are Ready To Die
One of the highlights of the set was a song off their new album “The Kids Are Ready To Die”. Mikel said that the song had gotten a lot of flack in the US for being Anti-American which is not their intention with the song. Powerful and thoughtful the song is one of the more emotional songs they have produced with the the mix of Mikel and band bringing the song to life in a way that guarantees you listen to ever word.
This song is yet further proof that TATE have much more to offer their fans and their new album, released on the 25th, is set to be another success for the band. And after Innocence the band left the hall only to come back to play my favourite song off their debut album “Missy” with their final song being off their new album “All at Once”.
The Airborne Toxic Event are a band that you either love or are not too sure about, something they themselves are all too willing to admit. The music press seems unsure how to pigeonhole them with some of the comparisons nothing more than laziness on the press’s part. The band are part of a new wave of American bands that are emerging as musicians willing to take the time to build their audience as well as making music that is meaningful and unique. TATE have paid the dues and them some.
Unlike the flurry of bands that get hand picked and pushed to the front early on TATE have played for 50 people and at one of the greatest music venues in the world, something that makes seeing them in this setting even more spectacular.
To understand the real pull of TATE you only have to hear what some of the fans had to say. In the queue to the show I got talking with one guy who had won a pair of tickets even though he had bought a ticket to see one of their other London shows, his friend where seeing them three times!
