Panic Room–Fibbers, 23/06/12

The last time Panic Room played York, back in September last year, I bemoaned the size of the audience who came out to see them and wondered whether playing here was sustainable. Subsequent news that the band had signed to a record label and might, therefore, be a little more constrained in where they could choose to perform increased my concern. So, it was both a pleasure and surprise to learn that, not only would they be playing here again, but that the first date of the mini-tour to promote Skin, the band’s third album and first to be released on the Esoteric Antenna label, would be at Fibbers. Wild horses would have had a job keeping me away.

The other slightly surprising thing was that there was no support listed for tonight, especially given that the next night, at the Robin2 in Bilston (the home of live prog in the Midlands) had Howard Sinclair also on the bill. In hindsight, however, this was probably due to the fact that, when live performances have finished, Fibbers turns into a nightclub and, with Panic Room playing a near two-hour set, there just wouldn’t have been time for two acts without either starting earlier or finishing later, neither of which seems to be an option.

Apparently, there had been a few technical problems prior to the gig and, sadly, they continued throughout the evening. Most annoying was a loud hum coming through the PA. Admittedly it was only noticeable between songs (and even disappeared for a short while, only to return with a vengeance…) But with one guitar refusing to give out any sound and microphones, particularly Anne-Marie’s, refusing to stay in place, the band seemed to be a little up against it. Not that they let it bother them. In fact, we could only watch in amused awe as Ann-Marie combined singing, playing guitar and constantly re-adjusting her mic (until it finally gave in and stopped trying to put her off) without missing a beat or dropping a note.

Skin had only been posted out to those of us who had pre-ordered it a few days before tonight’s gig and wasn’t officially released until the following week, so it was perhaps appropriate that the first forty-five minutes of the set were given over to more familiar songs from the previous albums. Kicking off, as has been usual recently, with Freedom To Breathe. The sound gremlins reared their heads during 5th Amendment, with Anne-Marie’s vocals sounding very strange. Thankfully, this was sorted out in time for eco-song Yasuni but it was at the beginning of Reborn that Anne-Marie had to quickly swap guitars and yet, even then, she still managed to sing with a huge smile, showing just how to deal with adversity. The band’s superb cover version of ELP’s Bitches Crystal followed and, for the first time I noticed Paul playing this “bottleneck” style. For one who is usually a bit of a quiet man on stage, Paul not only seemed to be being a bit more playful (for want of a better word) with his guitar work but also came to the fore a bit more than usual, engaging with the audience while Anne-Marie was otherwise engaged trying to work through the guitar problems. Next up was Apocalypstick and then The Fall which, apparently, wasn’t due to be in tonight’s set but had been specially requested by one family group in the audience.

The band then moved on to the new material, well mostly. Fifty minutes of songs from Skin started with Song For Tomorrow, which they have been playing live for over a year, ever since they started work on the latest album. The full album wasn’t played live, but we were treated to Screens, Chameleon, Freefalling, Promises (another song that was first played at the beginning of last year) and Skin itself, all of which were given snappy little introductions by Anne-Marie, telling the story behind them where possible – Freefalling was inspired by Anne-Marie’s recent foray into Sky-diving while Skin tells of the impact of a friend’s premature death. All the new songs sounded superb, technical issues notwithstanding.Many have the unmistakable underlying Panic Room sound, while being just different enough to show that the band are progressing creatively. As usual, Yatim’s bass playing was incredible – here’s a man who clearly enjoys being on stage – and, together with Gavin’s drumming, provided a solid back-line for the songs throughout the set. I have sometimes, in the past, struggled to pick Jonathan’s keyboards out but they seemed to be much more prominent in the mix tonight, giving the songs a lot more depth than I usually hear. Even the string arrangements, provided on the album by The Larkin Quartet, were used, albeit in the form of recorded backing tracks. This portion of the set ended with Hiding The World, with the band going out with a bang – much heavier sounding guitars and a more active light show.

The inevitable encore, which itself lasted another twenty minutes, consisted of two more new songs – Tightrope Walking, with Anne-Marie adding yet another instrument to her repertoire by playing some sort of hand-drum, and the brilliant album closer Nocturnal.

Thankfully, tonight’s audience was larger than last time (or it seemed to me to be, anyway) so perhaps my worries about not being able to see one of my favourite bands in York for much longer are unfounded. On the strength of tonight’s performance, and Skin itself, they are only getting better. Hopefully they will be back and, finger-crossed, without the gremlins.

Stolen Earth–The Duchess, 16/06/12

“I’m glad there’s a crush barrier,” said Nick Hall as he and Michelle Plum (formerly of Chumbawamba) took to the stage as Plumhall. I assume he was referring to the, at the time, disappointingly small crowd, rather than a worry that those leaning against the barrier might try to storm the stage, but you never know. Joined tonight by Charlie Daykin on keyboards, Plumhall played an entertaining mix of acoustic songs with nice harmonies both vocally and from their guitars, with the keyboards augmenting the sound superbly. They were also one of the most engaging support bands we’ve seen, entertaining the audience not just with their music but with between song banter – starting a competition to find out who had travelled furthest to get to tonight’s gig, as well as inviting us to come up ideas for their back-up plan of “dual tribute bands” (to which we added Barry Whitesnake and Guns and Rose Royce). The nine-song set was mostly original but also contained two covers – Silence Can Be Gold (Waking The Witch, another of Michelle’s previous bands) and Won’t Give In (The Finn Brothers). My favourites of the set were one that I didn’t catch the title of but which saw Michelle playing solo guitar with Nick providing backing vocals during the second half and Nick’s own, powerful (almost angry) Never Forget My Name, written during a recent visit to South Africa where he came across a museum of slavery. Plumhall next play York during the York 800 Mor Music Festival on 7th of July.

…and, finally, it’s here. The launch gig for Stolen Earth’s debut album – A Far Cry From Home – and, after, a number of support slots over the last few months, a chance to see them headline again on a bigger stage. In fact, one of the most noticeable things was the amount of room the band had given that they weren’t crammed in between other equipment, giving those not restricted by their own instruments more freedom to roam. Being the album launch, the band played every song from it (nearly in order, with just Tuscany Sun and Into The Virgin Snow being reversed), but opened with one track that didn’t make the album – I Live, if I recall correctly – and also included Clear, written by Paul Teasdale for Breathing Space’s last album. There was also the first performance of a new song, tonight performed without the rhythm section, with Adam on acoustic guitar and John providing some very subtle keyboards and vocals from Heidi and Adam, it came across as a little bit folky with a hint of Fleetwood Mac. Apparently it is a work in progress and may evolve into something more but, as it is now, it’s quite lovely.

The overall performance was as strong as ever. As usual both Adam and John played with a calmness that belies their skill, although John’s keyboards are still a little lost in the mix (it’s a pleasure to hear them properly on the album, which has been produced superbly and has a much cleaner and clearer sound than the live performances). Paul and Barry work hard as rhythm section – Paul, in particular, had a nice bass section, which I don’t remember hearing before, in the middle of the set-opener. Heidi’s vocals came across a lot better tonight (which might be down to me having heard the album a few times prior to the gig and, therefore, knowing the lyrics better) and she survived a head/microphone clash after a late grab for a floor-based plectrum with dignity and, apparently, confidence intact. The audience had swelled from the beginning of the evening as well and, it is perhaps testament to the band that some of that audience had travelled so far for this gig – I know from personal experience just what a trek it is from Norfolk and if it was true that one person had come up from Penzance then he has my admiration… Perhaps strangely for an album launch gig, the question of “who’s got the album?” from the stage was greeted with a near-universal affirmative. But, then it was funded by those who pre-ordered and, I would guess, a lot of the audience will have been hardcore fans, especially given that this was a hometown gig. Stolen Earth take to the road over the next few weeks, with a mini-tour taking in Hartlepool (last night, as I type), Norwich, Wakefield, Bilston and culminating in a performance on the main stage at the Cambridge Rock Festival. My guess is that they’ll pick up a number of new fans along the way.

The Union–The Duchess, 08/06/12

I’m not sure how The Duchess managed to get chosen as the venue for The Union’s only festival warm-up gig this Summer but I’m glad it did because they are rapidly becoming one of my favourite live acts.

The (specially invited) support tonight came from Leicester’s hard-rockers Skam, a band who know how to connect to and, from the way that the space filled in around me a few songs into the set, draw in an audience. Seemingly with influences as relatively diverse as Whitesnake and Black Sabbath and occasionally sounding like a heavier version of York’s own 98 Pages, Skam played an energetic set of quality rock. Vocalist and guitarist Steve Hill punctuated songs with forays away from the microphone for some slick guitar solos while bassist Matt Gilmore’s facial expressions gave the impression that he was either in pain or, perhaps, was experiencing slightly too much pleasure. The band are rounded out by (X)Ray Peverill, who plays drums with energy and gusto. All three supply vocals and, it has to be said, a nice line in synchronised head-banging. The set comprised of songs from their debut album – It’s Come To This… – and included the single No Lies, which can also be found on the cover-mount CD which comes with the latest issue of Classic Rock magazine. The band not only stayed around for The Union’s performance but, afterwards, seemed to be selling a fair few copies of the album, as well as taking time to sign them and chat with new fans, always nice to see. Hopefully, they will be back this way soon. Peverill told me that they would play at any venue that would have them. When I pointed out to him that that smacked slightly of desperation he replied with, “That’s because I’m a drummer…” Very self-effacing.

With a slot at Download (or, given the atrocious Summer weather, should that be Downpour?) the next day, The Union came to York in two pairs – one managed to arrive ahead of time and, apparently, sat sipping tea before tonight’s gig while the other broke down on the motorway and had to wait to be rescued. Not that it showed in the performance, which included The Union staples – cool and calm bass from Chris Childs; bombastic drumming and, eventually, t-shirt removal from Dave McCluskey; brilliant guitar from Luke Morley; and superb vocals, which managed to be powerful without being overbearing, from Pete Shoulder (once again sporting his pseudo-Victorian urchin/toff combo of waistcoat, undershirt and top-hat). The set came in at just under an hour – slightly disappointing – but, given the usual lack of banter between songs, still managed to comprise of a good selection of songs from both albums, including Blame It On Tupelo, Siren’s Song, Saviour, Easy Street and an encore including a cover of Proud Mary. As usual, The Union gave a no-nonsense, highly enjoyable performance. There was a feeling, after they played here earlier in the year, that it wouldn’t be too long before the band moved on to bigger venues, so The Duchess should be applauded for managing to carry on attracting such relatively big-name bands. Long may it continue.