926 THROWING MUSES, TANYA DONELLY, Bristol Trinity, Tuesday 23 September 2014

It seems only appropriate that, given the last time I visited this evocative old church venue it was for the spiky, challenging and confrontational female-fronted noise of Savages, last Autumn, that my next visit should be for their obvious spiritual forbears Throwing Muses! Barely 3 years after I, along with fellow Muses uber-fans Beef and Ady, was regaled by a returning Kristin Hersh tour de force at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire, we were looking forward to another one. Adding intrigue to tonight’s sell-out show was the presence of former Belly main-woman, and of course also former Muse, Tanya Donelly, as a “plus” on the bill. How would this work; would Tanya be simply support, or would she actually join her former bandmates and step-sister during some/most/all of the Muses set? Would said set include some of Tanya’s Muses songs, always the aural candyfloss to Hersh’s harsh spiky peanut brittle? Who knows with these crazy girls?!

 

Still a little sore from a chest muscle strain at the weekend, I persuaded Ady to pick us up in the monster truck, and we clattered west into the setting sun early doors, parking up around the corner in good time and heading to the bar, thence bumping into lots of people I knew as we found a spot stage right, near the front, for Tanya’s set at 8.30. I’d run into fellow veteran gig-goer Stuart (again!) who’d given me a brief heads-up on tonight’s possible events, so we were ready when Tanya took the stage, accompanied by guitarist hubby Dean Fisher, plus a bassist and violinist, but oddly no formal percussion. A few slow-burn, countrified openers ensued, driven by her pure, sugary lilting vocals, now a little richer and more resonant with age, with “Swoon” an early highlight, embellished both by some haunting violin and Tanya’s swooping, high-octave warblings. A spooky “Low Red Moon” was flesh-creepingly good, Tanya whispering the verses and giving this old Belly number the feel of a spaghetti Western murder soundtrack. By now she was mining her old bands’ material; a moody, gothy “Dusted” was an odd gallop when powered by Dean’s frantic acoustic strumming rather than drums, “Honeychain” was lovely, and the subsequent “Slow Dog” was a rushing, euphoric delight and the highlight of the set. Closer “Not Too Soon”, Tanya’s poppiest Muses moment, was a little subdued and understated after “Slow Dog” but nonetheless featured some fine vocal interplay between Tanya and guest vocalist Laura Kidd, and was a fine way to end a surprisingly splendid support set.

 

So, what could little step-sis do to match up? We headed into the uncomfortably hot crowd, stage right, for Throwing Muses entrance at 9.45, bassist Bernard Georges already advising, “make sure you drink lots to hydrate!” and the waif-like Kristin remarking, “its’ really hot… and we’ve not even started!” The set was initially drawn from last year’s sprawling, intertwining 32-track album “Purgatory”/ “Paradise”, which I confess I’ve really not put the work in to get to know well, but which featured copious amounts of the usual Muses trademarks of creepy mood-music, challenging and confrontational vignettes of noise, and odd lyrical stories emerging like little animals from Kristin’s fragile and febrile yet fertile psyche. Delivered by an intense, stock-still and wild-eyed Kristin in her harsh, dissonant rasp of a voice, variously sounding vengeful and disgusted, the new material was nevertheless more coherent and conventional, often without the weird backwards rhythms and off-kilter time signatures of “classic” Muses material. Some “interesting” between-band banter as well, with Kristin, rather tellingly, admonishing Bernard, “don’t tune! I didn’t tune!”, and lots of talk about “ass-towels” (!).

 

Things got really interesting, however, when Tanya wandered on, unannounced, 40 minutes in, for a creepy “You Cage”, then the storm clouds parted and the sun shone through for a beautiful “Red Shoes”, followed by the jagged guitar of “Devil’s Roof”. “Green Eyes”, sung by Tanya in a haunting, skin-crawling delivery, featured some brilliant backwards drumming from the excellent David Narcizo, then the cacophonous, chugging steam train wall of noise that is “Say Goodbye” closed out the set with the best number of the night, a soaring, searing rendition which transported me back to those 80’s/ 90’s Bierkeller nights, when the Muses were just about the most visceral, incendiary “live” experience on the planet. Wonderful stuff.

 

Final encore “Pearl” was a stark, austere end to tonight’s marvellous performance, after which a genuinely humbled Kristin remarked, “thank you SO much,” to the devotional audience. No no Kristin, thank you. Really, thank you! Set-lists grabbed, we hit the road bubbling. This was all we’d hoped – and more!

831 THROWING MUSES, The Spectrals, Special Benny, London Shepherd’s Bush Empire, Wednesday 2 November 2011

Yup, they’re back too… in one of the considerably more welcome reunions of recent times, Throwing Muses, the barbed Boston lot who rendered me, “as excited as a kid at an airport,” on my first sighting, some 22½ years ago (yipe!), have joined the reunion gravy train. This burst of activity coincides with the 25th Anniversary (double yipe!) of their debut album, a real game-changing and worthily “Classic” record which saw vocalist/ inspiration Kristen Hersh and her band arrive, teenaged yet fully formed, without any recognisable antecedents, sounding other-worldly in their melange of melody and malevolence. It takes a special band to drag me up to London on a wild Autumn Wednesday night, a band exactly like Throwing Muses!

And I wasn’t alone; long-time fellow fans Beef and Ady (Ady taking a very late call on this one, with me booking his ticket this afternoon!) joined me for this one. Picked the boys up smartly at 5.15, then had a nasty traffic, breakdown (not me!) and weather-delayed journey to the Smoke, parking up opposite Bush Hall at ¼ to 8 and wandering in just as first act Special Benny rounded off their set. Chatted at the back bar and bought merch (signed copies of Kristen’s book! Result!) during main support The Spectrals’ inauspicious tom-tom drum dominated 60’s set, and then took a good viewing spot stage right on a rapidly-filling and anticipatory floor for the entrance of the Muses at the witching hour, 9.20.

This Muses trio of Kristin, still tiny and waif-like, libidinous and dextrous bassist Bernard Georges, and long-time drummer David Narcizo, dynamic as ever, wandered casually onstage and eased into opener “Soul Soldier” to devotional applause. A splendid opening salvo included a rollercoaster ride of snarling menace through “Garoux Des Larmes” and the undulating caterpillar crawl bassline of 2003’s “Speed And Sleep”, Kristen challenging a punter’s cheer during the intro with, “you do NOT own that record!” Then “Bright Yellow Gun” saw Kristen, static yet mesmerizingly intense throughout, head bobbing in her usual infinity pattern, roar, lioness-like, through a surprisingly strident and savage version of what I’d previously considered a light, almost throwaway “pop” Muses song. Wrong, boy…

A bit of banter with a punter shouting for “Fish” saw Kristen reply, “If I had a fish I’d give it to you! Someone gave me some homemade sushi though – how do you do that? I can barely make toast!” She then snarled the lyric of a subsequent titanic “Hate My Way” as if thoroughly disgusted by what she was being forced to sing. For me, thereafter, the set lost a little momentum, as the sound wavered and too many mid-paced little monsters seemed to be subsumed in the Empire’s echoing expanse, the sound suffering accordingly. However the set roared back with a vengeance, with a fabulously strident and seething “Vicky’s Box”, by which point I was down the front in a mini moshpit, screaming along for all I was worth. “Bea” completed a stunning recovery for the set, leaving us hungry for more.

And the "Fish” guy got his reward, as Kristen delivered a shimmering acoustic solo “Fish”, before a magnificent “Mania”, preceded by a lengthy and quirky tale of Marie, a blind college contemporary of Kristen’s. “Mania” itself was stunning in its’ beautiful ferocity, and prompted a second encore (“it’s totally not fucking Wednesday anymore!” being Kristen’s response to this!) of “Devil’s Roof”, climaxing another remarkable 2011 resurrection. I got my reward as well, grabbing “official” set-list No. 500 (!) after a brilliant evening in the company of one of the most unique, pioneering talents in rock, now thankfully fully restored. Kristen Hersh, thank you.

118 THROWING MUSES, The Sundays, Bristol Bierkeller, Sunday 12 February 1989

A two car convoy pitched up at a jam-packed Bierkeller for this eagerly awaited gig (not only by myself, so it seemed...). Support band, the much lauded Sundays, disappointed with an insubstantial set of obvious Smiths impressions, fronted by a flimsy female vocalist. Don't believe the hype!

Throwing Muses, however, are a different proposition; having been turned on to their delicious music box of tricks - at times wonderfully melodic, at times harsh, abrasive and jagged, often in the same song! - by Ady recently, I was up for this one, and meeting Tanya Muse before the set only elevated my anticipation. Although I resolved to get right down the front as she was so short!

So I did, right down the front, bumping my legs on the lip of the low stage! As for the set, well... I was lost for words, moved almost to tears and as excited as a kid at an airport by the Muses' totally awesome set, which stretched to 3 encores. Grabbed a set-list and, after a long wait, met all the band afterwards and got said list autographed. I'd also picked up a sheet containing the prompts to encore and highlight "Vicky's Box", from the stage, which Kristen later told me she brought onstage as she thought I'd grabbed for a set-list and missed! A totally amazing night out, and all in all, one of the best gigs I've ever been to!

134 THROWING MUSES, Band Of Susans, Southampton University, Saturday 17 June 1989

This South Coast trip, meeting up with Southampton Uni-domiciled Ady, is becoming a very familiar and enjoyable jaunt. Only subjected myself to 4 numbers of the dirge-like wall of noise that was the Band Of Susans' set, as my ears couldn't take the battering! Headed for the sanctuary of the bar instead.

Throwing Muses took the stage at 10.30 and sweltered through a marvellously inventive, varied and fascinating set of jagged rock noise, delivered with power, subtlety and care. Light and shade, thrills and tender moments, it's all here; I defy anyone not to find something they adore in the Muses canon of work. Me, I love it all and was left in awe - once again! I also got to speak to Tanya Muse afterwards, who signed my set-list and said she'd remembered meeting me at their Bierkeller gig in February! Wow!

136 REM, Throwing Muses, London Wembley Arena, Thursday 22 June 1989

Had a mini-break in London with Veronica, centred around this gig, so we took the tube to get over to this venerable old aircraft hanger venue, meeting up with some Swindon day-trippers when they eventually turned up, at the end of the Throwing Muses support set! The Muses had taken the stage in front of a half-full Wembley venue (which probably still constituted the biggest audience they'd played in front of!), and despite their best efforts, were fighting a losing cause with the majority. They went down well enough, certainly gave of their maverick, effervescent best - "Vicky's Box" particularly being a marvel - but only a small smattering of Muses aficionados such as myself really appreciated their brilliance.

Everyone else here was well up for REM, and they were not to be disappointed; the headliners (probably also playing to their biggest ever crowd to date, following their sold-out theatre level "Green" tour) took the arena by storm, from the opening heavy riff of "Finest Worksong" to the touching closing ballad of "Perfect Circle". A rejigged set featuring a glowing "You Are The Everything", and a titanic "Cuyahoga", the mighty hookline resonating around the auditorium, one of the best numbers I'd seen them play over the recent 3 gigs.

Mighty, powerful, awesome and awe-inspiring, I left convinced that right now, on this form, REM are the finest "live" rock band on this planet. But honestly, on tonight's evidence, they've also got some serious opposition from Throwing Muses!

183 THROWING MUSES, Anastasia Screamed, Bristol Bierkeller, Monday 11 March 1991

A full carload for the increasingly familiar jaunt down to Bristol. I wore shorts despite it being March because, well, I'm mad, but I also knew this would be a sweaty one!

Unfortunately, we were out of the Prince Rupert in time to catch the support band's appalling tuneless dirge of a set. Played "spot the star" in the interval as various members of Lush and Ride turned up to pay homage to the Muses.

Down the front for the first part of their set, based mainly on the new LP "The Real Ramona" their most brilliantly accessible record to date. Kristin (the noisy, abrasive one) and Tanya (bringing the sweetness with a surreptitious underbelly) shared centre stage in a varied-paced, soaring and majestic concert. Highlights? Wow, where do I start? The deliriously poppy "Not Too Soon", the clear as a bell lament that is "Cottonmouth", the earth-shatteringly manic encore of the appropriately named "Mania"? All of them and more. Just brilliant. Enough said.

And yes, it was a sweaty one...

220 THROWING MUSES, Unrest, Bristol Bierkeller, Sunday 6 September 1992

The hectic gig pace continues after a fine Reading Festival! Bopped down to the Bierkeller with a 5-man carload and got there in time for openers Unrest, a very fine US three-piece with a melodic hard-driving sound not a million miles removed from The Wedding Present - only with more than one tune! (Ouch, that's bitchy...)

Another three-piece followed; surprisingly Throwing Muses! Now bereft of the pop-candyfloss element previously supplied by Belly-bound Tanya Donelly, Throwing Muses were down to a bob-haired Kristen Hersh in shorts and a tight USA t-shirt; Bernard Georges, imposing and funky on bass; and David Narcizo, dynamic as ever on drums.

The set was stunning. Not as harsh as a Hersh-only Muses set might have sounded, but varied in pace and mood, and paying ample tribute to their impressive back catalogue ("Snailhead", a wondrously jagged "Mania" and a melancholic "Hate My Way" all featured in the set), this was a lesson in controlled aggression and emotiveness.

After 2 encores, an acoustic "Delicate Cutters" capped another superb Muses evening. Tanya-less they may now be, but they're still one of the best live acts around in this or any other age!

260 KRISTIN HERSH, Vic Chesnutt, Bristol St. Georges Hall, Thursday 24 March 1994

A total car-park mare for this venue; eventually had to park a 10 minute run from the gig (running because it was pissing it down). Yikes! The gig itself was an old church on the top of a hill - pews and all! Had a few beers in the cellar bar while support artiste Vic Chesnutt was on, then went upstairs and squatted down at the front for Kristin's set. Just her and a big ol' acoustic guitar, with occasional embellishment from a cellist, Kristin played a set based largely on her solo album "Hips And Makers", and delivered a musical tour de force. Stripped bare of the usual band, Kristin's true talent really shone through. A marvelously expressive and emotive set, mixed with a few humorous tales of motherhood ("big fat dog butt!" apparently being her young son Dylan's current catch-phrase. What is she bringing up?), and two encores revealing the reverence this crowd held her in. A 1 1/2 hour performance in total; cracking stuff, with an encore of the Muses classic, crackling "Cottonmouth" my personal highlight. Lovely!

485 KRISTIN HERSH, London Camden Underworld, Thursday 8 February 2001

Fourth gig of 4 in 7 days, and the pace finally told. Picked up an emotionally wrought Rachel after work; she'd been unwell during the morning but had shaken it off, seemingly by taking her motorbike proficiency test! I on the other hand had been shivering and chucking paracetemol down my neck all day. So, in these weakened states we ventured on, hitting Camden at 8 and parking up. By this time, however, Rach had taken a turn for the worse and I wasn't feeling too pukka myself. Got into the run-down underground Underworld and got a drink in, noting a cockroach crawling along the bar ("a paying customer," said the flippant barmaid) and sat down in the corridor, after noting that all available floor space and viewing space around the stairs and mixing desk in this very strangely shaped and poor sight-lined venue had already been taken.

Kristin came on at 9; she apologised for being, "in 1,000 comas," due to flu, heavy cold, jet lag and so on, and mentioned that she was struggling to, "do the chair thing," i.e. even sit down properly! We couldn't see squat, and, fading fast, retreated to our bench in the corridor, where Kristin's acoustic little beasts of songs, dark, shredding and mysterious, were sadly drowned out by people talking! Bah! What do you people come to gigs for, f'rchrissakes?

Made one last attempt to gain a vantage point, finding the steps to the floor barred by a bouncer, then took brief pix on the stairs whilst being jostled and elbowed. Kristin was playing a fine rendition of the Throwing Muses early classic "Rabbits Dying", but neither Rach nor I were in the mood, health or vantage point to enjoy any more. So at 9.45, we left and went home. Sorry Kristin. Next time?

501 KRISTIN HERSH, Stephen Hero, London Shepherd's Bush Empire, Thursday 28 April 2001

Is the traffic madness finally calming down? Despite Beef turning up late to pick me up, and possible rumours of problems on the M4, we were parking at 7.20 just round the corner from Shepherd's Bush Green, after a journey time of just over 2 hours - just like old times! However, the night didn't continue in such a smooth vein; we got into the Empire to find seats set up in the normal stalls standing area, with our tickets - ordered early so we could be down the front - only good enough to stand around the bar area at the back of the stalls! Not happy about that, but despite my protestations to the box office about being misled by the ticket agency, we had to lump it. Bugger!

Anyway, we got good (as possible) vantage points on the steps leading up to the seated stalls area, making the best of it. Support Stephen Hero, on at 8, was an intriguing prospect - the hero in question was in fact Patrick Fitzgerald, former Kitchens Of Distinction mainman, plus an extra guitarist. The set was mighty fine, not too dissimilar from the glacially cool shimmering ice castles that were The Kitchens' stock in trade. Patrick's voice was as emotive and soaring as ever, which made for a beguiling mix of nostalgia and anticipation. Good to have him back!

Kristin, solo, joined us just after 9, having been delayed due to her 4 year old son Ryder mixing cocktails backstage! Her set, interspersed with a few offbeat laconic stories which suggest a possible alternative career as a raconteur, was largely based on fine new CD "Sunny Border Blue", an absorbing collection of tunes, if lower-key and mellower than the jagged mutant melodies of her Muses days. The highlights for me however were when Kristen delved back into those days, delivering "Delicate Cutters", "Hook In Her Head" and the excellently touching "Cottonmouth", revealing the stark beauty of the songs via these acoustic interpretations. A couple of encores, including the wonderfully haunting (!) "Your Ghost", capped a splendid set, which I'm glad I was well enough to hear this time! Shame about the ticket cock-up, though...
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