975 SHEARWATER, Cross Record, Bristol Fleece, Thursday 18th February 2016

And here’s something completely different… more Texans tonight, in Austin-based band Shearwater, but a considerably more cerebral proposition, so none of the Bowling For Soup shenanigans expected from this lot! I’d caught on to this band thanks to their splendid slice of windswept and widescreen Americana, 2012’s “Animal Joy”, and enjoyed them immensely at this very venue on their tour cycle for said album (gig 865), so would likely have been well up for this one anyway. However, their brand new CD “Jet Plane And Oxbow” nailed it totally for me; adding an extra dimension of power, punch and dynamism to their thoughtful, intelligent, eclectic and highly literate UK alt-rock stylings, it’s easily their best album for me, so I was eager to see this material delivered “live”.

Tim and I got tix sorted well in advance; however on the day Tim and his lady were grabbed by a nasty virus and cried off, and thus it was that fellow gig-counter Stuart joined me at very short notice for a swift jaunt down to The Fleece, the muso rock chat making the miles fly by. Parked up easily, just round the corner, and hit the very quiet venue dead on 8. Support act Cross Record joined us early at 20 past 8; Emily and Dan, a husband/wife duo whose largely insubstantial material was smothered and suffocated by swathes of effects and keyboard sonics. I’d checked out some of their intriguing ethereal vignettes earlier, but “live” they were a disappointment; I found the sweetly cloying vocalist’s between-song banter (“my dad’s here tonight – he started up a “Dan’s not a wanker” chant at our wedding!”) better than their somewhat jarring juxtaposition of hushed melody and noise. Sorry, not for me.

The place was still only about 2/3rds full when the 5-piece Shearwater took the stage, again early at 9.20 and led by very tall vocalist and mainman Jonathan Meiberg. Either ignorant or oblivious to the meagre turnout, however, they set to their task with gusto and quickly demonstrated that the band’s new-found power and dynamism is not solely confined to the studio. New CD opener, “Prime”, kicking off the set, was a melange of dramatic drums and oscillating keys, with Meiberg’s excellent dark, rich voice a clarion call to arms. “Filaments”, next up, was a deliciously dark, claustrophobic number recalling early Comsat Angels, accentuated by the vertical fluorescent strip lighting casting a red pall over the stage. Meiberg then announced, “it’s great to be back at The Fleece, the inexplicably best-sounding stone room in the universe!”

Praise apart for the Fleece’s sound, Shearwater made the most of it tonight with a superb set bristling with thrilling crescendos, widescreen tempestuous soundscapes and atmospherics, and anthemic, soaring choruses. “Quiet Americans” was a delicious Bowie-esque “Young Americans” pastiche, and “Wildlife”’s skyscraping hook gave Meiberg’s voice a serious workout. However the best was saved for “Pale Kings”; introduced by Meiberg about, “surviving an election cycle,” this was a brilliantly building thrill-ride redolent of U2’s “Where The Streets Have No Name” and featuring some Edge-style guitar licks from Meiberg! “Backchannels” (“about that little voice in the back of your hear that tells you you should kill yourself…”) was an understandably morose and melancholic mood-piece, but closer “Stray Light” saw Meiberg donning some green laser gloves for a dramatic visual finale (by way of explanation for said gloves, Meiberg offered, “what would my 8-year old self think was cool?”)

For the encore, we had a lengthy and entertaining preamble from the immensely erudite and learned Meiberg about catching vampire fish in South America (!), then an unexpected duo of covers from Bowie’s “Lodger”, the backwards drumbeat and Eastern influence of “African Night Flight” and the clattering rhythm and euphoric hook of “Look Back In Anger”, which nailed Meiberg’s influences to the mast somewhat, but formed a perfect punctuation to an unexpectedly upfront, dynamic and downright splendid set. A bit of face time with the reserved but friendly singer afterwards was a nice way to end a fine evening in great company both off and onstage. If there’s any justice, “Jet Plane And Oxbow” should give Shearwater the deserved boost that War On Drugs received with “Lost In The Dream”. We’ll see…

865 SHEARWATER, Will Samson, Bristol Fleece, Sunday 25 November 2012

An auspicious landmark reached with this gig, namely the 50th time I’ve been to my most-visited venue The Fleece! And a new band for me this year; Shearwater, one of Tim’s recommendations, but one I would likely have picked up on anyway, mainly due to their close association with last year’s US alt-rock finds Okkervil River (indeed, Shearwater mainman Jonathan Meiburg was a former Okkervil River member, and initially formed Shearwater together with OR main guy Will Sheff. Incestuous stuff, no?). Their current album “Animal Joy” is a varied and eclectic blend of US alt-rock styles, intelligent song structures and widescreen anthemic melodies, more uptempo overall than previous offerings whilst still retaining some stark, quiet moments. This gig therefore promised to be a potential revelation in the same vein as Okkervil River’s Trinity gig last Autumn. Let’s see…

A late afternoon family gathering at a carvery pub to celebrate my father-in-law’s birthday nearly turned things pear shaped for the gig, though, as our dessert took over half an hour to arrive after ordering it! Rach dropped us off at Tim’s on the way by, half an hour later than planned, and we hit the road for a nevertheless unimpeded blast down a murky M4, parking easily and hitting the quiet venue at 8.15. So we were unfortunately well in time to catch support act Will Samson, who made me wish I’d stayed later at the carvery for coffee and liqueur! And I don’t drink either… He was clearly trying to be Jeff Buckley with a high-pitched voice and weird guitar effects, but failing drastically, his moribund, morose little tunes so stripped back as to be virtually naked, and the lengthy guitar reverb to close out a dreadfully dull set was just self-indulgence of the highest order.

It seemed I wasn’t the only one with this view, as upon his departure at 9, the place filled up considerably! By no means a sell-out, there was nevertheless a respectable crowd to welcome Jonathan and his 5-piece Shearwater onstage at 9.30, the guys opening with a menacing, discordant opener, the tall Jonathan already coaxing feedback out of his guitar with evident conviction before an impressive double-drum climax. “Animal Life”, followed, the thrilling high point of their current album, Jonathan’s lilting, octave-straddling and almost operatic voice allowing the song to build, then really take flight in a thankfully elongated and exhilaratingly soaring climax. Great stuff!

“I think [the previous place we played in Bristol] wanted Texan singer-songwriters; I didn’t have a hat or three names!” commented Jonathan before promising to get “real loud” for the galloping keyboard intro to “You As You Were”. I’d heard that he and Sheff originally formed Shearwater to play quieter material than the Okkervil River oeuvre would allow; if so, he’s changed tack notably of late, as the whole set was powerful, strident and occasionally thrillingly noisy, adding dynamism to their baroque slices of haunting drama. The excellent “Immaculate” was a “Murmur” era REM-like jangle rush, and the deliciously off-kilter “Pushing The River”, next up, recalled “Photo Album” era Death Cab For Cutie (in fact, a lot of the material on show tonight, mainly drawn from their current album, featured unusual, off-beat time signatures, but everything held together impressively thanks to excellent drummer Danny Reisch). An interesting story from Jonathan of finding a sperm whale’s tooth while out cliff-walking in the Falklands (!) preceded an almost funky tribal chant-propelled “Breaking The Yearlings” and underlined Jonathan’s well-travelled approach to life, evident in his lyrics which evoke his love of nature.

After a splendid hour set, Jonathan returned alone, swigging a “dangerous amount of whisky” before embarking on a solo “Dread Sovereign”, then a slightly unnecessary 7 song (!) encore concluded with a final raucous “Rooks” before Jonathan, visibly surprised and moved at the turnout tonight, took in the deserved applause. A set which for me didn’t really need such a lengthy punctuation mark, this was nevertheless damn fine stuff from another impressive and intelligent US alt-rock band. Shame about the lack of a set-list to grab, particularly as so few numbers were actually introduced, but hey, I’m splitting hairs here. Lovely stuff, fully deserving of this landmark 50th!