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| Dinosaur Senior |
REVIEW - DINOSAUR JR
KOKO By WILLIAM BALDWIN
DINOSAUR Jr were always a cut above their contemporaries in the
world of US alternative rock and their early albums, which date
back to 1985, have stood the test of time.
Guitarist J Mascis has been described as a white Hendrix and their
influence filtered through a generation of unkept bands.
And this was the perfect opportunity for the original line-up to
re-form and give the packed house at Koko exactly what they want.
For those who are unaware, the former Camden Palace has invited
bands to dust off their back catalogue and perform their finest
album for the Don’t Look Back season. How much better than
seeing your favourite bands peddling their new, mediocre material
with only the odd crowd-pleaser thrown in as an encore.
Dinosaur have been around the block, playing with various line-ups
for two decades.
Now bassist Lou Barlow is back. He split with J after 1989’s
epic Bug and spent years writing bitter songs in exile with his
breakaway band Sebadoh. They’ve buried the hatchet, dug out
the old drummer Murph (now rotund and bald) and sound as tight and
vibrant as ever.
The ageing process has been kinder on Lou, who looked like a cool
older brother as he wildly strummed his bass like it was a six-string
guitar. J, however, has a beer belly and long grey hair that make
him look like a cross between Willie Nelson and Gandalf.
But close your eyes and you could be back in Camden’s Dublin
Castle in the late 1980s as the three were trying to carve out a
name for themselves. The evening was billed as a performance of
1987’s magnificent You’re Living All Over Me, which is
less than 40 minutes long, suggesting it would be a brief evening.
Fortunately they also ran off the greatest hits with old favourites
like Freak Scene, Budge and Just Like Heaven getting the 30-something
crowd moshing like they were in their teens again.
Lou pulled off a beautiful rendition of Forget the Swan, which with
its harmonies sounded fresher than any of the other material.
The ever-mournful Barlow harboured bitterness for years that the
genius of the Swan was never recognised and it’s fitting that
it should be wheeled out again after all these years. Whoever had
the idea for this season deserves an encore.
Castle action
PREVIEW - KOVAK
DUBLIN CASTLE
ALTHOUGH unsigned at the moment, Kovak are working on their next
album with The Orb’s frontman Andy Hughes.
Fresh from Guilfest, in Guildford, where they shared the bill with
Paul Weller and The Pogues, these synth-based indie rockers from
Brighton put on a fine show.
Headlining at the Dublin Castle, catch them before they hit the
big time. The band’s outlandish drummer has been known to play
in just a belt.
• Kovak play the Dublin Castle, Camden Town, on Friday, September
9.
Demo of the Week – Research
STRAIGHT from the ‘it’s me not you’ stable of
excuses for dumping your girlfriend/boyfriend, the best chinny Jimmy
Hill explanation for a romance not working this week comes from
bubbly-pop wannabes The Research.
Their song I Love You but I’m Scared of F***ing Up sounds perfect
for the clueless Romeo or Romeo-ess who wants to escape from a nagging
relationship but – we’ve all been there – struggles
to think up of an easy way to do it.
The band will tell you we’ve got it all wrong and the song
is about love and a beautiful romance.
But Grooves thinks otherwise.
Come on, what kind of conversations really begin with the words,
“It’s not that I don’t love you…”
Whatever the meaning, it’s a cute song, nagging in itself and
well worth DotW status. This time last year The Research were taking
their lullaby guitars and hushed vocals to the normal fringe scene
stops; The Dublin Castle, Archway Tavern etc.
And 12 months on things are really working out for them and this
release is more of a first proper single than a demo.
Sounding a little like The Thrills, they could make a real splash
one of these days.
n If you think that your band are as good as The Research and should
be named DotW then send your promo to Demo of the Week, Grooves,
40 Camden Road, Camden Town, NW1 9DR.
Unfortunately demos cannot be returned. Only the most memorable
will be featured.
CLICK HERE FOR LISTINGS
Blood harmony
REVIEW - SEXTET
BURG HOUSE By JANE WILD
SEXTET, an all-sibling singing group, have to be admired.
The five Edmondson sisters and a brother who hail from Finchley
Central range from 23 to just 16.
Currently studying subjects from law to languages, or fresh from
gap years around the globe they managed to squeeze in rehearsal
time to prepare for this concert at Burgh House. Their diverse repertoire
of songs provide a thoroughly enjoyable evening of light entertainment.
Opening with a snappy, finger-clicking a cappella rendition of George
Gershwin’s I Got Rhythm they then zip across the musical spectrum.
Taking in everything from sober traditional negro spirituals to
hits from Abba and The Bee Gees, through to Mozart and Cole Porter
and they pull it all off with confidence.
Although they are former members of the New London Children’s
Choir, led by Ronald Corp, what makes their performance all the
more admirable is that they had minimal coaching, meeting with a
vocal tutor on just one occasion before this concert. In a well-rehearsed
performance they switch around to show off their other musical talents,
sometimes providing accompaniment with piano or harp.
Neatly choreographed touches from the group in the popular numbers
draw amused chuckles from the full house.
With the girls mostly taking centre stage, eldest Dominic is free
to add extra comic gestures where appropriate.
Burgh House was a particularly apt choice of venue for the Edmondson
siblings, the warm wood-panelled room lending a cosy intimacy to
the evening.
And after seeing Sextet in action you get the feeling that with
a little more polish they could truly sparkle.
Julie’s lesson in peace and love
FOLK REVIEW - JULIE FELIX
SPIRITUALIST TEMPLE By SUNITA RAPPAI
LIFE is strange. My parents owned perhaps two records when I
was growing up, one of them being an orange Julie Felix album called
Flowers.
I thought it was pleasant enough – although I can’t say
I remember it vividly – but on Sunday our paths crossed once
again. Felix was making an appearance in the Spiritualist Temple
in Rochester Square as part of a UK tour marking a new CD and some
41 years in the music biz.
It turns out that Felix, now 67, who in her heyday shared a stage
with Jimi Hendrix at the Roundhouse in Chalk Farm, is a believer
in spiritualism as well as the pacifism she was known for in the
1960s.
The good news is that the one time protest singer could still give
the young folk a run for their money. Unaccompanied except for a
couple of acoustic guitars, she moved from classic folk – including
a sprinkling of Dylan – to Mexican ballads (her father was
Mexican) to Native American chants with ease.
The voice – deep, occasionally husky, with remarkable range
and control – is superb. And as a performer she manages to
be passionate about her music and her beliefs without being irritatingly
intense – something that her younger counterparts could learn
a few things about.
The bad news is that the range of songs explains why Felix never
reached the heights of a Dylan, Joni Mitchell or even Joan Baez
to whom she was often compared. Her songs lack the depth of the
other artists and as a singer she sometimes does too much not well
enough, diluting any real sense of distinctiveness. Sometimes in
life it’s better to stick to one thing and do it well.
CLICK HERE FOR LISTINGS |
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