1,103 AMBER ARCADES, BASEMENT REVOLVER, Bristol Exchange, Wednesday 3rd October 2018

So I’m back on the road again! My first out-of-town gig since The Cure, on 7^th July (gig 1,095), actually formed part of an impromptu 2 nights on the bounce as a late addition to the ol’ Autumn Dance Card; I’d been tempted by pastoral Dutch indie-pop combo Amber Arcades on their own, headlining a short tour in support of beguiling new album “European Heartbreak”, but this one then became a must with the support addition of Basement Revolver. The young Hamilton, Ontario 3-piece had produced what is rapidly becoming a 2018 favourite in their debut, “Heavy Eyes”, a heady mix of slow-burn early 90’s post-grunge US alt-pop, absorbing droney guitar and crystal-clear, pure vocals from young singer Christy, so I booked up for a potentially intriguing double-header of female-fronted indie pop!

Hit the road at 7 for a deceptively quick drive down, parking up in a street space virtually opposite The Exchange! That was easy, I thought, and subsequently realised why, as the gig was utterly deserted! Whiled away the time trying to find the gents loos – hint, there aren’t any, it’s just ladies and “all gender” now! – and overheard Amber Arcades vocalist Annelotte limbering up her larynx in the upstairs “backstage” room, then popped back in for showtime. Basement Revolver took the stage at 8.15, sadly still at this point in front of a crowd barely numbering out of the teens… understandable “first night nerves” were subsequently initially on show from this young trio, and the mix was a bit too bass-heavy from my house-right spot, but things soon settled down. Opener “Baby”, a Madder Rose “Car Song” soundalike, was quickly followed by “Friends”, a lilting, almost hazily lullaby number recalling Belly’s more tender moments. “Wait” needed a couple of starts (“sometime I need to figure out how to play our shit!” quipped Christy), but by now the band were hitting their stride, the darker, more growly bass underpinning an almost Juliana Hatfield college pop vocal delivery. “Johnny”, my clear favourite and a shoe-in for my “Best Of 2018” end of year CD, was pure and plangent, resembling fellow Canadians Alvvays (a bit of a lazy comparison the band suffer from, according to Christy afterwards, and honestly the only such number tonight!), but a thoroughly absorbing, droney “Words” (preceded by Christy’s entertaining sales pitch of, “we’d like to sell some merch as our bag was overweight on the way over!”) was beefed up, menacing and the set highlight. A more stripped back “Knocking” saw an exemplary vocal performance from Christy – the girl can sing, no messin’! – and overall, this set ticked all the right boxes for me. Tuneful, charming, absorbing and overall very lovely indeed!

A chat with an open and friendly band at the merch stand, Christy earnestly writing band names down as I mentioned their supposed soundalikes (the clear Americana-tinged post-grunge of Madder Rose, the monotone slowcore growl of Galaxie 500), then I popped back to the car with some merch before heading down the front for Amber Arcades, on at 9.30 to a slightly bigger crowd (still way less than half-full, though…). Another false start, as the guitarist left his instrument backstage, then came back as he’d forgotten the backstage room lock combination! D’oh! Opener “Simple Song” finally got proceedings started, sounding more overt and dynamic than the rather polite, hazily drifting St. Etienne-alike CD version, and “Right Now”, my favourite from their debut album, was lovely and bouncy Summery pop. “We’re Amber Arcades… from the European Union!” quipped Annelotte, resplendent in her de rigeur amber velvet pyjama suit, before a wistful, pastoral and harmonic “Oh My Love” and a darker, more melancholy “Goodnight Europe”. The set then meandered pleasingly and enjoyably along, touching on various styles (“I’ve Done the Best” a jolly, almost fairgroundesque knockabout tune, and a solo “Self Portrait” a poignant, 50s style heartbreak ballad) whilst retaining their air of easy, pastoral dreampop melody. I do have to confess, however, that at 16 songs (including a 4-song encore which the band powered through, Annelotte announcing, “I don’t want to play the game; actually, we have 4 more songs!”) the set seemed a little stuffed and slightly overlong, and maybe a more concise 12 or 13 number set would have been better. Less is more, sometimes…

No matter, this was still an enjoyable performance from Annelotte and her white-clad band, the absorbing monotone rhythm of “Fading Lines” and a groovy, set highlight “Come With Me” bookending the set perfectly. Fine stuff from both bands, then, although I confess Basement Revolver shaded it for me tonight. A quick chat and signed list from Annelotte before I hit the road, running into a diversion off the M4 on the way home. Bah! Later home as a result, but worth the effort to be back on the road again!

1,031 GRANDADDY, Amber Arcades, Bristol Colston Hall, Friday 31st March 2017

“I wish they [Grandaddy] would come back…”

I called this gig, way back on Bonfire Night 2010 (gig 797), when former (and future!) Grandaddy mainman Jason Lytle played a short but sparkling set of his former charges’ numbers, in support of Midlake, one of many bands to briefly and undeservedly claim the title of “the new Grandaddy”… We didn’t want a new Grandaddy, we just wanted the old one back! One of the finest and most consistent bands of the late 90’s/ early 00’s with their blend of parched yet warm alt-Country and lush, woozy psychedelia, and the only band to be my Reading Festival “Band of the Weekend” twice (also being one “New-Order-playing-Joy-Division-songs” set short of winning that honour 3 times!), they’d been much missed since their 2006 split. But now, after a short (relatively speaking for reunion bands these days) hiatus, they’re back, easing in with sporadic US gigs and Festivals, then a new album, this year’s fine and melodic if hardly groundbreaking and very typical “Grandaddy”-sounding “Last Place” and, finally, a tour!

Tix were duly snapped up on the first opportunity, so a sunny Spring evening saw Rachel and myself depart early, this time avoiding the annoying and copious Bristol roadworks by heading up the hill to the Level 5 Trenchard entrance! We parked up and hit the venue in good time to meet up with Bristol friends Kiron and Alison, and their friend Mike, for some rock chat, before popping into this large auditorium for openers Amber Arcades, on at 8 as advised by vocalist Annelotte, manning the merch stand earlier! After easing in with a slow-burn opener, they hit their stride with “Right Now”, my favourite on their sweetly low-key, pastoral and strumalong Belle And Sebastian meets Stereolab debut album “Fading Lines”. However this and the subsequent “Come With Me” were much more overt and dynamic “live”, and dare I say it, much more “rocking” than even their Nada Surf support slot last year, before they diverted back into more pastoral territory again, “This Time” featuring some hazy, smooth harmonies. I tried hard not to make the obvious Bettie Serveert comparisons as well (Dutch band, blonde vocalist wearing a baseball cap, quirky indie pop etc.), as the Stereolab-esque metronomic groove of “Turning Light” closed out a fine opening set.

We repaired to the back bar between sets, then the buzzer signified Grandaddy’s imminent entrance, so we headed back into the now-packed venue, unfortunately pitching up in a cramped spot ¾ back with tall blokes in front of us, chatty cathys behind, and a pile of coats on the floor which I kept tripping over. Not great viewing, but luckily there was a large screen backdrop which projected films of nature and industry (plus lots of long ol’ freight trains) throughout, to complement Grandaddy’s musical performance. As for the boys themselves; they wandered on just after 9, again looking like 5 Amish farmhands who’ve taken a wrong turning, and eased into the chugging, melancholy “Hewlett’s Daughter”, the mix clear and precise albeit for Jason’s high-pitched, Neil Young vocals, which were a little echoey. “Hi – OK, now I got the talking out of the way!” quipped Lytle before the languid ballad “Yeah Is What We Had”, and to be fair, apart from fulsomely praising short-notice stand-in guitarist Shaun, thereafter he let the music did the talking!

My 7^th time overall “live” experience of these Modesto natives, yet the first since Reading Festival 2003 (13½ years ago!); damn, that’s awhile! The warm and fuzzy “Laughing Stock”, featuring raindrop-like keyboard patterns, was a lovely early highlight, like a hazy, half remembered dream, underpinning a lushly melodic yet low-key set start. However “The Crystal Lake” finally showed some of the power of old, the haunting, plaintive riff building to a strident, dramatic and powerful denouement, , the wolf bearing its’ teeth at last, allaying my fears that this set might be lazily sliding into a “Grandaddy by numbers” performance. The abrasive keyboard riff of newie “Evermore” recalled an eerie 60’s spy film soundtrack; then the unmistakable riff of “AM180” preceded a potent, tough rendition and the set highlight thus far. Great, but ultimately topped by set closer “Now It’s On”, groovy and dynamic, a thing of wonder and plangent beauty.

I tired of stepping on the coat pile, and took a solo push forward for the encore, rather infuriatingly finding plenty of space to at least swing a small rodent about 3 rows from the front, stage left. Bah! If only I’d known… Jason announced, “one new song and one old song,” for the encore, and “The Boat Is In The Barn” preceded a snappy, punkish blast through “Summer Here Kids”, to finish a variable yet overall thoroughly enjoyable set, an entirely valid and worthwhile return for these old favourites.

A surreal moment afterwards; I grabbed the list and a fellow punter asked for a photo of it, he couldn’t get a decent pic so I said, “no worries, I’ll put it on my blog,” to which he replied, “hang on, are you Dave Rose?” Turns out he – Andrew – and I crop up at the same gigs occasionally so he checks out my blog afterwards. So hi Andrew, hope you enjoyed this one, and see you down the front, dude! Farewells and a quick chat with Annelotte, again on the merch stand, then we navigated our way around the worst of the Bristol roadworks for a return before midnight. So overall, it still felt as though Grandaddy were/ are easing themselves back in, but no matter – I wished they’d come back, and I’m glad they have!

983 NADA SURF, Amber Arcades, London Camden Town Electric Ballroom, Monday 11th April 2016

The second of a 2 gig double header and a Monday night up the Smoke as well... however, despite tiring limbs and ageing bones (poor old me!), there was no way I was going to miss this one. A 4-year hiatus since Nada Surf’s wonderful “The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy” album thankfully came to an end recently with another sparkling, splendid album in “You Know Who You Are”, ‘da Surf again melding their own blend of thrilling, joyful and upbeat powerpop, smooth and warmly lush melody, and heartfelt introspective yet self-empowering lyricism, to produce another worthy addition to a supreme quality canon of work that stands comparison with any other band or artiste you’d care to mention. Ever. Yup, ever. There, I said it... The Electric Ballroom, an enduring Camden venue I’d oddly only been to twice before (!), was however the closest their subsequent short UK tour passed by the ‘don, so a Monday night out in the big city was in prospect for this country boy!

 

No messing about for this one journey-wise either; I set off straight from work, hitting the M4 then breaking my journey at Heston so I could park up at the Bush as usual just after 6.30. Tubed it over to the Electric Ballroom, hitting the venue just before 7.30 and finding it actually pretty deserted early doors! Down the front therefore for openers Amber Arcades, a 5-piece from Amsterdam (“kind of”, according to the blonde vocalist) consisting of 3 guys and 2 girls. They joined us at 8, easing into a set which was smooth, melodic and lush, recalling the likes of Stereolab, Luna and (what I know of) Belle And Sebastian. A couple of their bouncier, rockier numbers also recalled the excellent Alvvays, and their set closer was a metronomic groove that built to an impressive lengthy crescendo. Not entirely original, but seen a whole lot worse support bands...

 

By now I’d finagled my way onto the barrier down the front, pitching up next to Julian, an affable chap who apparently remembered meeting me at Nada Surf's Koko gig 4 years ago (“you’re the guy who does a gig blog, right?”). So a nice chat about gigging experiences whiled away the time before Nada Surf took the stage, dead on 9 to a rapturous welcome from the by-now very amply full venue. Straight into “Cold To See Clear”, the new album opener, which eased in with a smooth refrain, then broke out into a strident bouncy stomp with a deliciously soaring chorus and an impassioned vocal performance from singer Matthew Caws. Brilliant stuff for openers, and, bad knees be damned, I bounced along straight from the off, already assured that this was going to be a special one.

 

Nada Surf were quite simply brilliant tonight, totally “on it” from the outset, also bucking the trend of their recent performances wherein they’d largely eschewed the rocker aspects of their canon. Nope, this was full on “rock” from note one, the band rediscovering the visceral delights of simply playing loud and hard. Every one a winner, even the sprinkling of already-familiar new numbers; I could honestly wax lyrical about the delights of each and every song in this set, but I’d get some serious writer’s cramp!

 

“We first played in the UK 20 years ago across the road [in the Camden Underworld],” announced Matt before a high octane “Happy Kid”; “it’s taken us 20 years to cross the road!” “Happy Kid” was propelled by a brilliantly Caldes-like octopus-limbed performance by drummer Ira Elliott, prompting some wag down the front (OK, it was me...!) to shout, “Ira, great job there!” which elicited the response of, “I’m just warming up...!” The subsequent “Do It Again” was also astonishing, the huge final crescendo hook of “maybe this weight was a gift” both confessional and joyful at the same time. “80 Windows”, plangent and lushly moody as ever, featured a haunting and elongated middle 8 guitar riff from recent Surf joinee Doug Gillard; “Jules And Jim” diffused the mood with some touching 60’s melody and yearning vocals, and following the Replacements-style bluesy stomp of newie “Animal”, Gillard was to the fore again during the rampant “The Way You Wear Your Head”, tearing off some hard-rocking power chords from a low-slung stance, prompting SWDTF (OK, me again...!) to shout out, “Joey Ramone on guitar!” at its’ conclusion!

Prior to this, Matt (clearly chanelling Mr. Chatterbox tonight) had lamented not being able to visit London more often from his current base of Cambridge, blaming the not-so-late late train, then brainstormed an idea to build a tower with a zipline to all corners and charge a pound for use! The lush harmonies of “Friend Hospital” was bookended with a discussion on the premise behind the new album; about getting out, meeting friends, and generally living life to the full. Admirable sentiments as ever. Set finale “See These Bones” was preceded by a story of Matt’s visit to an ossuary in Rome, which turned out to be an uplifting experience, prompting him to “think about today”. “See These Bones” was equally uplifting, the absorbing repeated riff building to a crescendo overlaid by another transcendent vocal performance from Matt, closing out an utterly stunning set.

 

More was to come; a 4-song encore opened with a kinetic, thrilling “Hyperspace” and ended with the profane chant-along party-starter of “Blankest Year”, closing out the onstage performance. However, a few minutes later, Matt, fat acoustic in hand, led the band out to the merch stand at the back of the hall, then played a singalong “Blizzard Of 77” and “I Like What You Say” in the round to the remaining punters. So we then got some face time with the band, for pix, chats and getting my set-list signed. A swamped Matt remembered me from old, which is always a nice surprise, and asked me to pass his guitar over to the merch crew (!); Ira complimented my “Big Dipper” t-shirt, prompting a quick chat about Boston rock (doesn’t take much, really...!), bassist Daniel Lorca actually signed my list this time (!), and Doug did a disappearing act!

 

I finally and reluctantly made my exit and got back to the car at midnight, home for a bleary eyed 1.15 a.m. Good thing I had the next morning off... It’s only April, and I’ve got some pretty sparkling 2016 gigs already lined up (including “Month of Legends” in May – more on that later...!), but I won’t be surprised if tonight ends up being my Gig Of The Year. A completely and utterly flawless and faultless Nada Surf show!