A Quiet Friday Out

Friday 22nd July: Musically, it was quite a busy evening in York. The DV8 Festival had taken over the regular major venues for the whole weekend leading to, presumably, a horde of black-clothed Goths descending on the city. Over at the Knavesmire, Blondie were (was?) providing a post-race concert for those interested in the Sport of Kings. And that was on top of all the usual pubs, bars and smaller venues that are increasing eager to entice punters in by putting acts on. Personally, I’m not a creature of the night (I only spotted a handful of Goths as I made my way around – maybe it was still too light for them at eight-thirty…) and have very little interest in watching horses run around as a pre-cursor to my musical entertainment (although I wouldn’t have minded seeing Blondie). I am, however, by self-admission a tight Yorkshireman who prefers good, reasonably priced beer, free-entry gigs and supporting local talent. And so it was that Andy and I convened at The Golden Lion to see, in my humble opinion, one of York’s best singer-songwriters, all-round nice guy and, as described to me recently, legend of the York music scene, Mr Dan Lucas, tonight performing (as seems to be the norm these days) as Boss Caine.

Now, given the circumstances, tonight could have gone one of two ways. I have to say, I was expecting the pub to be overrun by drunken race-goers, in which case the music would almost certainly have been drowned out by chatter and hysterical laughter, making the whole thing a bit pointless, or the revellers. As it turned out, however, it was very quiet. Not just the pub but, from glances outside, the city centre itself. It may have been busier elsewhere, but I suspect that the staff of the Lion have rarely seen a less full pub on a Friday evening in what we are currently laughingly calling Summer. A few people who knew Dan personally passed in and out, with one woman singing along to all the songs played while she was there. But it seemed that very few people had turned out specifically to see him, a fact part-attributable, perhaps, to a friend’s up-coming wedding and a need to save money for it. Unfortunately, while this meant a slightly more intimate (if that can be used to describe a few people in a reasonably large area) gig and that we could hear the music much more than I expected to, it also resulted in a bit of a muted atmosphere and, at least before his set started, a seeming reluctance on the part of Dan to actually get going. After all, it can’t be fun playing to a near-empty pub.

Once he did start, however, we got another excellent performance. Dan has an unfair reputation of being a bit of a miserablist when it comes to his songs and, being honest, some of them aren’t going to drag punters in off the street. Tonight’s two-part, nearly twenty song set, however, contained a lot of his more up-beat, more jovial songs mixed in with some of the more serious ones. Complimenting songs that, these days, feel as familiar to me as a comfortable pair of shoes, there were a lot I didn’t recognise and even a scan through the (hastily amended) set-list afterwards didn’t really help me identify them. I know we got, amongst others, Kinda Loving, Dead Man’s Suit, Smoking In My Backyard, Self-medication Blues, Your Drunk Baby (a.k.a Lovesick Blues?) and the wonderful Joe Solo written Ghosts And Drunks. There were some fantastic vocal inflections during Murder On My Mind, evident anger in both the playing and singing styles during the anti-government, Everybody Loves You More When You’re Down On Your Knees, humour and light-hearted lyrics in a song about a drunken wedding and a heart-felt tribute to a country singer (I didn’t hear which, but research suggests Gram Parsons) in something that may have been called Be My Grievous Angel. Perhaps best of all, however, was a rendition of The Life In Your Years – one of my all-time favourite songs which always stirs up contrasting emotions in me. Sadly, looking through the songs on the set-list that had been crossed out, I note that the brilliantly varied set could have been made even better (for me, anyway) by the addition of Sha La La and the superb Leaving Victoria. I guess you can’t have everything.

It also seems that big things may be beckoning over in America. Apparently, off the back of some Arizonan pod-cast, Dan got his first U.S. radio air-play with what he thinks was Dean Street Devils, another song he played tonight. There’s even talk of “discovery” by Johnny Cash’s niece/manager and the prospect of a tour over there, if all the financials and paperwork can be sorted. Unfortunately, work on a second Boss Caine album has been put on hold for a while, until certain key personnel are available again. Probably quite selfishly, I hope the album happens before the U.S. stuff as it is apparent from tonight that Dan has a wealth of great material that I wouldn’t mind being able to listen to whenever I want to.

The Soundman Killed The Sandman

Sunday 10th July: In my lost post, I made much of the fact that we, as a group, had seen the same band twice running for what I thought was the first time ever. If it wasn’t the first time, it was certainly a rarity. Tonight, we saw the same band for the third time and, because they are so good, not only had we recommended them to so many people that there was seven of us out (even without Roj and Lynn, who had tied the not the day before) but we had actually paid to get in.

We had decided to meet in the Black Swan for a couple of pint before venturing on to Fibbers so, unfortunately, we missed the beginning of the first act. Oliver Salisbury (I can’t find a link for him) is a man and guitar act but, unlike the majority of the ones that I have come across around York is less folk/Americana and more upbeat, slightly “poppy”. It was, to be honest, a little refreshing (not that there is anything wrong with the rest of them). Despite looking a little nervous and having to fill the opening - otherwise known as “try to sing above the talking” – slot, he showed that he had a good voice and a nice playing style. The set, which was at least six songs long (I’m not sure how many we missed) included Hey Mister, which was slower than the rest, In Your Soul, Fight The Good Fight and something I think was called Things That Remind Me Of You, which was my favourite.

The Robin Pierce Band hail from Manchester and a three piece comprising of Robin Pierce on vocals and acoustic guitar, Pete Lilley on keyboard and Rick Wilson on drums. It has to be said that the latter plays like a whirlwind, with so much energy and power that it is hard to take your eyes of him. On the negative side, the drums were mixed a little too high and for at least part of the set drowned out the keyboards. It was a little hard to pick out song titles as, between songs, Robin was a bit of a mumbler. His vocals were a lot more impressive, at least as the set went on. Going through the set, I think the first song was Where I Want To Be while the second, the title of which I didn’t get, ended up being my favourite. The third started slowly and quietly, with Rick playing just with his fingers, before speeding up and beginning to sound a little like Led Zeppelin, but that from the keys. Richard thinks it was Outkast’s Hey Ya, but I’m sorry to say that I didn’t recognise it. Coming Home featured the best vocals of the set, which ended with two strong songs that I couldn’t hear the titles of. Tonight’s headliners had played with this band in Manchester and had invited them to play tonight’s gig. They are certainly worth looking out for again. The songs were, for the most part, upbeat, cheerful and catchy. Very entertaining.

Paintings Of Ships are another band invited up by the headliners. Another three piece, this time from London, they are billed as Indie / Rock / Shoegaze, but were sounded, at least in places, a little more punk to us – references to The Skids and Magazine were made. Having said that their first song, also called Paintings Of Ships, had the guitar style of the Jam. It was Love Will Always Follow You… that garnered the Skids comparison, as the beginning reminded us of Into The Valley. The first two songs had a big sound, energetic without very much movement from the band, but Thoughts (I think that was what it was called) started out in a much more laid back manner. After We Only Talk About The End there was an impromptu drum and bass duet, while a string was replaced on the lead guitar and, because this took so long, the the band seemed to lose the audience a little (and, possibly, had a knock-on effect on the headliners’ set). Eventually, Fantasies In The Dark provided us with what was musically the most varied song of the set and was followed by two more songs, each of which topped the previous one, meaning a good end to the set. There’s no doubt that Paintings.. are good at what they do. Unfortunately, they are just a little too far removed from my musical tastes and I probably didn’t enjoy their set as much as the rest our group did. Sorry boys and girl.

In case you haven’t worked it out yet, tonight’s headliners were the incredibly good Dream Of Apollo. This was the final gig of a ten day, twelve gig tour of England and Holland, which included an impromptu gig on the ferry. The set was familiar, if slightly tweaked to work with the shortened length. There was no solo start from Vicki and the band launched straight into Regrets Of The Devil which, as usual, segued into Children Of The City. Hold Me, Leander, Someday, Anatole, the cover of Depeche Mode’s In A Manner Of Speaking, Too Lost Too Late, Free and Johnny Cash’s Folsom Prison Blues all followed. I’m not sure whether it was the perennial problem of Fibber’s sound system or whether the tour had resulted in a bit of fatigue, but it took a while for the vocals to sound as good as we knew they could be – the best vocals probably came during In A Manner Of Speaking. The playing, however, was as superb and tight as usual and it was nice to finally see Jamie taking advantage of a proper venue and playing with drum sticks rather than brushes. There’s not a lot more I can add to what I’ve said in previous entries – Dream Of Apollo are quite simply one of the best local bands around at the moment. Unfortunately, tonight the set came to a slightly embarrassing (for the band) end. After leaving the stage for a few minutes, they returned for what should have been an encore of the brilliant Sandman. However, the sound engineer had already turned off the feeds to their instruments and microphones, depriving us of what is a superb song. I think the band’s next gig is the Summer Sanctuary Festival - an all day charity festival raising money for Ryedale Special Families and the Alzhiemers Society, taking place at the Judge’s Lodgings on August the 20th. Sadly, I won’t be able to make it, but if you are in York on that day, look in on it and, perhaps, donate to the cause.

CD Review: Esther O’Connor

Tuesday 12th July: A few years ago my first dalliance with social networking involved me signing up for a MySpace account. I didn’t do too much with it (except check out bands to see whether they were worth going to see and print off flyers to get in cheaply). For quite a while “Tom” was my only friend and it wasn’t too long before a colleague told me that I was too old for that site and that I should, in fact, be using Facebook. Eventually, though, a rather attractive red-head got in touch.

It’s probably not what you think (although I still have the account and I do occasionally get those type of messages as well…) This was Esther O’Connor, getting in touch, as some musicians are wont to do, with people who might like her music, to tout her albums and get people to sign up to her mailing list. I’m fairly certain I responded (although I can find no evidence of having done so) and, having listened to some samples, told her that I had added the albums to my “to buy” list. Then, rather rudely, I completely forgot about them. In my defence, there are rather a lot of albums on that list and I only maintain it mentally. A few days ago another message came through – with a third album in the offing – this one to be released under the name of Ashton Lane -  Esther was offering the previous two at just £5 each. Well, I’m rarely one to turn down a bargain, especially when comparisons are being made with Stevie Nicks.

The Place Where We Are was self-released in 2003, after an EMI deal fell through and my copy is by-lined simply “Esther” and vocals are attributed to Esther Duffin. (Esther is the daughter of Wet, Wet, Wet guitarist Graeme Duffin and most of the songs on both albums are co-written with him and producer Sandy Jones). I’m afraid that I don’t get the Stevie Nicks comparisons – there’s none of the trademark warble in Esther’s voice. I can hear, in some songs, the quirkiness that I associate with Tori Amos (what little I know of her) and there’s a hint of Meredith Brooks in the likes of Bring It On, Move On and Nirvana Man. What you do get, though, is a richly emotive voice which is used to great effect in a variety of styles. The beautiful simplicity of the title track melds superbly with the slightly more complex and no less entrancing Piano Girl, while Fragile State shows that you can do rock without necessarily needing power and Driftwood And Dreams shows that you can do powerful without resorting to rock. For the most part, this is a chilled out album – quiet and almost introspective with mostly acoustic guitar or piano-led songs, the best of which is Beautiful. Tracks such as What’s A Girl To Do and Clear And Blue raise the tempo slightly, but even the electric guitars of the latter are somehow subdued, allowing the vocals to shine. In Too Deep and I’ll Be Yours veer away from the sweetness and light by incorporating a kind of discordance that somehow still works, while Sailing Solar Wind ends the album on a lovely relaxed note. I have to admit that, now that I’ve listened to it a few times, this album is growing on me. Even Remote Life, my least favourite track on the album, makes the geek in me smile with its reference to The Matrix.

On the other hand, 2006’s Right Here bursts into life from the first note of the title track. The addition of flute and violin gives some tracks slightly more of a Celtic feel and the increased use of electric guitar makes the album seem a bit more pop-rock and a lot more up-beat. Hold On feels particularly folky with, I believe, the first use of a cajongo (I had to look it up) in my CD collection. There’s something really familiar about Saturday Man - I can’t put my finger on exactly what – and the Meredith Brooks comparisons resurface during the rockier All Right, Right Now, which contains some very nice guitar work from husband Tim, who also plays on four other tracks. Things quieten down as Honesty almost sees a return to the quiet style of most of the debut album, but still manages to give the impression of a fuller sound, before Yesterday’s Too Late and Out On The Water explode the album back into a catchy pop-rock style, The latter is one of my favourite tracks on the album, with its vocal harmonies reminding me a little of (Canadian trio) Shaye while showcasing Graeme McGeoch’s lovely violin playing. Chasing Rainbows contains a nice guitar riff among its melange of styles and is this album’s “discordant-but-works” track. Hope returns to the folky feel, with more cajongo and lots of violin providing a suitable backing to Esther’s gorgeous vocals while Tomorrow’s City, my favourite track, has a fascinating atmospheric sound thanks to both keyboards and the vocal mix. Like the previous album, Right Here is rounded off in a relaxed tone, this time with the all-too-brief You.

Overall, two very nice additions to my collection. It’s probably obvious from the above that I prefer the second album, which has a fuller sound overall. If the increase in quality continues, the third album will definitely be worth looking out for.