A
late call on this one; I’d picked up on Toronto’s effervescent C86-influenced
indie popsters and Jonathan Richman acolytes Kiwi Jr. thanks to their ramshackle
but charming 2020 debut “Football Money”. Their splendid “Murder In The
Cathedral” was an unfortunate late casualty in the brutal editing process for
my rather stacked 2020 “Best Of” compo CD, and this somehow led me to blank on
their 2021 sophomore effort “Cooler Returns” altogether. Oops! Prolific bunch
as this lot are, they kept up their one album per year pace (typical in the
1980s but rare these days) with the “difficult” third album, “Chopper” which received
rave reviews across the board. Intrigued, I didn’t let this one slip through
the net, and good thing too; whilst retaining their quirky gauche charm, this
is a more coherent and (whisper it) mature album, with quality and
clever song writing underpinning their upbeat indie jangle, now also augmented
with a dash of keys. An almost dead cert for inclusion on my “Best Of” for 2022,
so a gig was in order if they were across this side of the pond. A Tuesday in
London was the closest to the ‘don, so up we go…
Tim
was keen as well, so he picked me up early for a difficult egress out of town,
then plain sailing to Osterley and easy tube into Soho. As we were so early, we
grabbed a drink in Wardour Street’s Ship Inn, then hit the deserted downstairs Oxford
Street venue at 7.45, grabbing front row seats in the “Miley Position” to the
far left of the stage (so called because that was where Miley Cyrus set up camp
to watch her “backing band”, American Hi-Fi, during their May 2014 visit here, gig
915!). Chatted and soaked in the atmosphere of this storied venue, scene of
many a seminal early punk gig, as intrigued punters trickled in. Openers The
Roves kicked off at 8.30 prompt; an eclectic looking bunch, they opened with a
chunky mid-paced number (“Uptown”?) with a melodic Summery vibe and some nice 3
part harmonies. Hopes that this lot might have been an impressive new find were
however slightly dashed as their subsequent material merged into a pleasant if
forgettable countrified mulch, as if “Howdy”-era Teenage Fanclub or The Thrills
had been reinvented as a bar room blues band from Nebraska. The upbeat “Dance
To The Jamboree” was the best of a slightly lengthy-feeling set with a decent
vibe but average material. Seen worse, though…
Kept
our seats, now under the cold air-blowing air conditioning which was making me
slightly regret going t-shirt only, as the place filled up to a more respectable
level for Kiwi Jr’s set at 9.30. A studious looking bunch of chaps led on by vocalist
Jeremy Gaudet, who resembled my mate Andy Fenton if he’d been stretched on a
rack (!), they eased into the upbeat discordant melody of “Chopper” opener “Unspeakable”,
followed in short order by the bright, summery “Guilty” and the more frantic
backbeat strumalong of the aforementioned “Murder In The Cathedral”, an early
highlight for me. “How are you doing on a Tuesday?” Feels good!”, drawled
Jeremy before the deadpan slacker vibe of oldie “Salary Man”, which featured a
nice “Sloop John B” lyrical homage, and the tougher, almost punky “Changes”,
which was underpinned by a nice descending riff and which also fooled us all with
a false finish.
“Bouncers!
These are the weirdo fans who came to see us twice!” Jeremy announced after
recognising some shouts from the previous night’s gig at the Dalston Victoria,
before “Night Vision”, my current favourite from “Chopper”, a darker and more
metronomic beastie with an undulating vocal line. My set highlight overall,
although a later “Cooler Returns”, featuring a riff nicked from The Buzzcocks’ seminal
“Boredom” ran it close. The frantic, Rolling Blackouts-esque “Downtown Area
Blues” (“I got lost in Soho earlier, so I’m really feeling it!” quipped Jeremy)
finished off a brisk and fun hour’s slacker indiepop; not original by any means
and lacking some variation for me at this stage, but overall some well crafted
and constructed numbers played with a wry, laconic and laid-back style.
An
impromptu encore run-through of oldie “Wicked Witches” ended proceedings,
before I waited patiently then invaded the stage for the drummers list (!). A
walk back through Soho to Leicester Square tube then home for 1; all OK on the
night, but the next morning the chills I’d felt under the air-conditioning had
turned into a full-on nasty cold/ flu (Covid? Dunno, didn’t test, felt shit
anyway so no point) which landed me in bed for 3 days and saddled me with a
junkyard dog barking cough for longer. Bah! Still, a good night out with an old
mate and a promising band, so overall worth the snuffles and sleep deprivation!
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