Issue 18 / December 2011
December 2011/January 2012 issue of Bido Lito! Featuring Bill Ryder-Jones, Salem Rages, Loka, Lizzie Nunnery and much more. December 2011/January 2012 issue of Bido Lito! Featuring Bill Ryder-Jones, Salem Rages, Loka, Lizzie Nunnery and much more.
Issue 18 December 2011 Bill Ryder-Jones Salem Rages Loka Lizzie Nunnery Bill Ryder-Jones by Jennifer Pellegrini www.bidolito.co.uk FREE
- Page 2 and 3: Just off Bold Street… - 88 Wood S
- Page 4 and 5: News Edited by Helen Weatherhead -
- Page 6 and 7: Bill Ryder- Jones Words: Craig G Pe
- Page 8 and 9: 8 Bido Lito! December 2011 THE RISE
- Page 10: 10 Bido Lito! December 2011 Words:
- Page 13 and 14: What’s on at Liverpool Philharmon
- Page 16: 16 Bido Lito! December 2011 Preview
- Page 21 and 22: Guest Column Peter Guy, Getintothis
- Page 23 and 24: 5$6-("#7$%(*##(8$9+:#*;&&? !"#$%&#'
- Page 25 and 26: For a Full LMW 2011 Photo Gallery G
- Page 27 and 28: GIFTS Reviews Bido Lito! December 2
- Page 29 and 30: Words and Deeds Providing proofread
<strong>Issue</strong> <strong>18</strong><br />
<strong>December</strong> <strong>2011</strong><br />
Bill Ryder-Jones<br />
Salem Rages<br />
Loka<br />
Lizzie Nunnery<br />
Bill Ryder-Jones by Jennifer Pellegrini<br />
www.bidolito.co.uk<br />
FREE
Just off Bold Street…<br />
-<br />
88 Wood Street<br />
Liverpool, L1 4DQ<br />
fact.co.uk / 0151 707 4464<br />
awesome-art-hub<br />
booming-blockbusters<br />
tactile-technologies<br />
peoples-playspace<br />
mega-bites<br />
24 hour arty people
Editorial<br />
It feels a little strange to be writing a column saying goodbye<br />
to <strong>2011</strong> barely halfway through November, but with the way these<br />
monthly deadlines roll around and our short break for Christmas, that’s<br />
the position I find myself in. Yet again, we’ve resisted the urge to go<br />
list-o-manic this month and will be leaving the rundowns of favourite<br />
TV moments and ‘craziest’ LP artworks to the glossy fraternity; there’s<br />
been that much going on of late that we’d prefer to occupy ourselves<br />
with the more ‘serious’ stuff.<br />
First mention must go to the Liverpool Music Week Closing Party at<br />
the CUC. Check out the full review in this issue, but I must say from a<br />
personal perspective how much I enjoyed the event. True, it was an<br />
utter labyrinth, a sprawling architectural mass packed with musical<br />
treats in every nook and cranny, but that’s exactly what made it. I<br />
don’t know how many of you will remember the place, but the whole<br />
experience for me brought back memories of going to Pleasure Land<br />
on the old Festival Garden site along Otterspool Prom as a kid and<br />
losing myself in the intertwining mass of ball ponds and death slides.<br />
Actually, it also reminds me of a club I went to a few weeks back in<br />
an old decommissioned factory in Estonia... (the less said of that the<br />
better). Miks on tuled vilkuv nii kiiresti?<br />
The Bido Lito! postbag has been positively bulging of late, with<br />
genuinely exciting new artists seeming to ooze from the office<br />
woodwork on an almost daily basis. I don’t usually use this column<br />
to champion specific bands - that’s what our features are for each<br />
month - but, at the risk of this one getting out of the bag before I can<br />
throw my meddling oar in, I’d like to bring a group called DEATH AT<br />
SEA to your attention (we’ve included them in this month’s Dansette,<br />
on page four). In my personal, humble opinion, they are quite special.<br />
I can’t remember the last time I was so bowled over by a group’s first<br />
offering. I’m not going to say any more, we’ll have a full piece on them<br />
next month, but go and check out Drag. And no, for the cynics out<br />
there, I don’t manage them, I don’t drink with them, I’ve never even<br />
met them. I’m just a (probably slightly over enthusiastic) fan.<br />
I’m mildly concerned about the fact that we’re having thirteen<br />
round to ours for Christmas dinner this year. Cerys is (understandably)<br />
flapping. It’s a good job we aren’t putting out a magazine next month;<br />
I fear that the next few weeks are going to be spent decorating trees,<br />
hunting turkeys, and digging up spuds. Wish me luck!<br />
Have a well-oiled Christmas and a fantastic New Year. Here’s to a<br />
musically mesmeric 2012; mine’s an A. Le Coq...<br />
Craig G Pennington<br />
Editor<br />
Features<br />
6 BILL RYDER-JONES<br />
8 SALEM RAGES<br />
10 LOKA<br />
12 LIZZIE NUNNERY<br />
14 RIOT AT THE RADIO<br />
Regulars<br />
4 NEWS<br />
16<br />
PREVIEWS/SHORTS<br />
20<br />
RANTS/COMMENT<br />
22 REVIEWS<br />
Bido Lito! <strong>December</strong> <strong>2011</strong> 3<br />
Bido Lito!<br />
<strong>Issue</strong> Eighteen - <strong>December</strong> <strong>2011</strong><br />
bidolito.co.uk<br />
Bido Lito!<br />
Static Gallery, 23 Roscoe Lane<br />
Liverpool, L1 9JD<br />
info@bidolito.co.uk<br />
Editor<br />
Craig G Pennington - info@bidolito.co.uk<br />
Assistant & Reviews Editor<br />
Christopher Torpey - reviews@bidolito.co.uk<br />
Photo Editor<br />
Jennifer Pellegrini - photos@bidolito.co.uk<br />
Designer<br />
Luke Avery - info@earthstudios.net<br />
Words<br />
Craig G Pennington, Christopher Torpey,<br />
Helen Weatherhead, Jonny Davis, David<br />
Lynch, Richard Lewis, John Still, The Glass<br />
Pasty, Nik Glover, Peter Guy, Pete Charles, N.<br />
Philip, Natalie Williams, Pete Charles, Ellie<br />
Witt, Tilly Sharp, Dan Owens, Matt Healy,<br />
Samuel Garlick, Si Finnerty<br />
Photography, Illustration and Layout<br />
Jennifer Pellegrini, Luke Avery, Keith Ainsworth,<br />
Michael Cottage, Peter Lead, Mike Brits, Marie<br />
Hazelwood, Michael Sheerin, Brennan Topley<br />
Proofreading<br />
Debra Williams - debra@wordsanddeeds.co.uk<br />
Adverts<br />
To advertise in Bido Lito! please contact<br />
Another Media:<br />
bidolito@anothermedia.org<br />
0151 708 2841<br />
Run the Santa Dash for CALM!<br />
Sunday 4th Dec <strong>2011</strong><br />
Scan the QR code for all the info!
News<br />
Edited by Helen Weatherhead - news@bidolito.co.uk<br />
Edited by Helen Weatherhead - news@bidolito.co.uk<br />
Radio Goes Gaga For Green<br />
Four years after the release of her critically acclaimed debut single, LIZ GREEN has finally<br />
returned with a new batch of retro folk tunes for a full length long player, O, Devotion! Recorded<br />
in London’s famous Toe Rag Studios, The Wirral songstress’s debut album was named BBC<br />
6Music’s Album of the Day on 16th November, just two days after its release on Play It Again<br />
Sam Records. Welcome back! lizgreenmusic.co.uk<br />
MOJO On The Airwaves<br />
Not satisfied with just playing ‘Music For The People’ until 4am at its Back Berry Street<br />
headquarters, MOJO has decided to launch a brand new digital radio station with a playlist that<br />
comprises local Liverpool talent and artists due to play at the Berry Street venue. Radio MOJO,<br />
which streams live from the MOJO website, is currently inviting musicians looking for airplay to<br />
send in their submissions. radiomojo.co.uk<br />
Rocket From The Crypt<br />
COMPETITION!<br />
The third instalment of a.P.A.t.T.’s soul-searching four-part concert series Musical Settings<br />
will be housed in Lutyen’s Crypt below the Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral on 7th <strong>December</strong>.<br />
Beneath The Surface’s themes of “depth, resonance and claustrophobia” will share an affinity<br />
with the vaulted space, making for a thought-provoking and spine-tingling spectacle. For more<br />
information and to buy tickets, visit: apattorchestra.co.uk<br />
Chords And Crafts At The Winter Arts Market<br />
Singer-songwriters Mark Delaney, Mike Badger and Nick Ellis will join the Liverpool Ukulele<br />
Orchestra in performing at the WINTER ARTS MARKET in St George’s Hall on 4th <strong>December</strong>. The<br />
shows will take place in the historic Crown Courtroom, with the main hall dominated by 120<br />
Christmas stalls selling more original artwork and handmade crafts than you’ll be able to shake<br />
some tinsel at. winterartsmarket.wordpress.com<br />
Tigers Catch Up With The Sheep!<br />
Politically-charged hardcore band WE CAME OUT LIKE TIGERS and new Heavenly signings<br />
STEALING SHEEP are both now proud parents of shiny new records – congratulations! WCOLT<br />
have welcomed a full 7” EP and a split 7” with Ravachol into their brood, which you can listen to<br />
at wecameoutliketigers.bandcamp.com. Meanwhile Stealing Sheep are cooing over latest EP<br />
Noah And The Paper Moon, which is available on 12” from Rough Trade. roughtrade.com<br />
Bido Lito! have teamed up with the lovely folk at Harvest Sun Promotions to offer one<br />
lucky reader a pair of tickets to four of Harvest Sun’s early shows of 2012 – now that’s<br />
a prize! LANTERNS ON THE LAKE (pictured) (19th January), JOSH ROUSE (26th January),<br />
THE WAR ON DRUGS (23rd February), and COLD SPECS (24th February) all make up this the special festive bundle. To<br />
be in with a chance of winning, all you have to do is answer the following question:<br />
Beardrock.com interviewed Lanterns on the Lake about beards, day jobs and childhood dreams. What was Paul’s<br />
(guitar, electronics) childhood dream?<br />
a) To play for Tranmere b) To be a fighter pilot c) To design Lego models<br />
Send your answer to competition@bidolito.co.uk, and clear your diary for those dates. The closing date is Christmas Day! The first 10 correct<br />
answers will be placed into a (pink) Santa hat, the winner picked at random (possibly by Rudolf) and notified by email. Good luck!<br />
Bido Lito! Dansette<br />
Our pick of this month’s wax<br />
wonders...<br />
Death At Sea<br />
Drag<br />
UNSIGNED<br />
Careful you don’t get your ears burnt<br />
by this, the luxuriant and chilled out<br />
sound of liquid gold. Lo-fi, melodic<br />
and bursting with the strains of<br />
Deerhunter and The Pixies, DEATH<br />
AT SEA are our new band crush, and<br />
they’ll soon be yours too.<br />
Dog Is Dead<br />
Hands Down<br />
ATLANTIC<br />
RECORDS<br />
Like opening the windows wide on a<br />
winter day and allowing the chill wind<br />
to blow the cobwebs away, DOG IS<br />
DEAD specialise in the kind of bright<br />
and breezy indie that might at first<br />
glance seem a bit wet, but is actually<br />
pretty infectious and hard to dislodge<br />
from your cortex. In a good way.<br />
Dum Dum Girls<br />
Only In Dreams<br />
SUB POP<br />
Anyone hoping for these New York<br />
punk grrrls to reprise the faintly sleazy<br />
and delinquent blast of debut LP I Will<br />
Be will be surprised by this second<br />
album, as Dee Dee and co seem to<br />
have grown up. Cleaner, sharper, and<br />
ultimately more personal, Only In<br />
Dreams is a bold step forward for the<br />
coolest chicks in town.<br />
Charlotte Gainsbourg<br />
Terrible Angels<br />
BECAUSE MUSIC/<br />
ELEKTRA<br />
The impossibly sassy CHARLOTTE<br />
GAINSBOURG has done it again: this EP,<br />
serving as a stop gap between 2009’s<br />
sumptuous IRM, and the forthcoming<br />
double album Stage Whisper, sees<br />
the Gallic beauty team up with Beck<br />
and Villagers’ Conor O’Brien again to<br />
produce some more sultry magic.<br />
Check out the all new... www.bidolito.co.uk
BRITISH<br />
SEA POWER<br />
THE UNTHANKS<br />
THE BEES<br />
SPARROW AND<br />
THE WORKSHOP<br />
LUNASA<br />
SPIN DOCTORS<br />
BAY CITY<br />
ROLLERS<br />
WALTER TROUT<br />
THE SMITHS<br />
INDEED<br />
JUDY COLLINS<br />
DAMIEN DEMPSEY<br />
& AMSTERDAM<br />
PURESSENCE<br />
THOMAS<br />
TANTRUM<br />
JULIAN COPE<br />
EMMY<br />
THE GREAT<br />
THE ZOMBIES<br />
Thanks to everyone that supported our events this year.<br />
The Music Consortium has now taken over Hairy Records on Bold St and the big refurbishment<br />
is well underway. While that’s happening you can buy tickets in the shop for our own shows<br />
and also for The Maccabees, British Sea Power, Motorhead, Tom Vek, Thomas Vek,<br />
Thomas Dolby, Battles, J. Cole, Loch Lomond, Zola Jesus, Ting Tings, Kitty, Daisy &<br />
Lewis, Professor Green and many more…<br />
Like us on Facebook to get the latest<br />
news and photos from all our gigs.<br />
www.themusicconsortium.com
Bill<br />
Ryder-<br />
Jones<br />
Words: Craig G Pennington<br />
Photography: Jennifer Pellegrini
Bido Lito! <strong>December</strong> <strong>2011</strong> 7<br />
T<br />
he slender frame of BILL RYDER-JONES is nestled upon a<br />
Tdrum stool in his West Kirby studio, located just off the River Dee<br />
Twaterfront and on the first floor of his mother’s semi-detached<br />
Thouse. There’s an upright piano in one corner, an assortment of<br />
guitars and amplifiers in another, a drum kit, an AppleMac and a Grandfather<br />
clock. A deep, decorative flock wallpaper hangs on the walls. “Yeah, I’ve loved<br />
it,” Bill sighs, when I ask whether he’s enjoyed the process of creating If..., “I’m<br />
definitely going to make more music, so I must have enjoyed it.”<br />
Having spent the last three days immersed in the symphonic melancholia of<br />
If... (Bill’s first full-length offering since leaving The Coral over three and a half<br />
years ago), this comes as a welcome relief. When we last chatted with Bill, the<br />
sessions for If..., a largely orchestral score written to the Italo Calvino novel,<br />
If On A Winter’s Night A Traveller, had only just begun, at The Scandinavian<br />
Church on Park Lane. After a further series of sessions at Elevator on Cheapside,<br />
the process culminated at The Friary in Everton, as The Liverpool Philharmonic<br />
Orchestra was committed to tape.<br />
“We rolled in there one day and just set up all the gear we’d rented,” Bill<br />
enthuses, the excitement of the experience still tangible in his voice. “It was crazy.<br />
I’d used up over half the budget on booking the orchestra. It was the last thing<br />
to do, over 60% of the album, and we had to record it in six hours. That was it. If<br />
anything had gone wrong, you’re talking thousands of pounds an hour. It was<br />
frantic and we had a bit of a sweat on but we just got away with it.”<br />
When you consider the scale of the project, not just musically but also the<br />
physically imposing mass of the orchestra, this must have been a daunting<br />
proposition? “Totally,” Bill confirms. “When I’m in here writing, I probably feel like<br />
‘yeah, I’m quite good’, but when you get out into the world you realise that these<br />
people, they play everything, all the best, they’re familiar with all the geniuses of<br />
modern music. They play that work and they understand that work much better<br />
than I do and they understand the orchestra because that’s their life.”<br />
Conscious of not wanting to appear the egotistical young ex-rockstar<br />
upstart (a label that couldn’t be further from Bill’s unassuming, shy nature),<br />
the experience was a heavy one for the composer to shoulder (at one point<br />
he retired to the loos, locked the door and immersed himself in his phone...<br />
solitaire, naturally). He was lucky enough to assemble a team around him to<br />
help make sure the sessions bore the required fruits.<br />
“Mike Crossey (Arctic Monkeys, Foals, Blood Red Shoes) was there kind of<br />
overseeing the recording with a guy called Christian Hildebrand, who I’d<br />
brought in to produce the string session. He’s boss, like a Bond bad guy, no<br />
bullshit; and a guy called Mark Burnley. The three of them and Darren Jones<br />
- who engineered the bulk of the record - came down; the five of us teamed<br />
it and everyone just got involved. Afterwards, it felt like we’d just pulled off a<br />
bank job. None of us had done anything quite like that before.”<br />
In addition to the team tasked with capturing the orchestral recordings, Bill<br />
enlisted the help of a.P.A.t.T. Orchestra maverick Jon Herring, a man that Bill “can’t<br />
rate highly enough, a lovely lad,” to look over the final scores. “It was nice to have<br />
someone a few years further down the line with that stuff than I am,” says Bill.<br />
The actual piecing together of the resulting record is fascinating, particularly<br />
on Enlace, a track which moves from a light, suggestive drum/piano groove, via a<br />
brooding orchestral middle section, out of a Harrison-esque, heady guitar finale (the<br />
final coda being the only point at which the chimes of Bill’s previous endeavours<br />
are suggested; electric guitars are elsewhere conspicuous by their absence). Surely<br />
this wasn’t all put down together live? “Most of Enlace was recorded at Elevator<br />
by me and Sean Payne from The Zutons,” says Bill. “But when it came to recording<br />
the orchestra parts we didn’t have enough headphones for everyone, so half of the<br />
orchestra had headphones, the conductor had headphones, and the other half of<br />
the orchestra had to just kind play to the conductor. Luckily it came off.”<br />
By The Church Of Appalonia provides another personal highlight. Interestingly,<br />
this was the first track recorded for the record. It was completely put together at<br />
The Scandinavian Church and doesn’t feature the full force of The Philharmonic. It<br />
is also on this piece that the underlying structure to the album becomes acutely<br />
apparent, as Bill uses the themes and story-lines of If On A Winter’s Night A<br />
Traveller’s ten chapters as the bedrock for each section of music. By The Church Of<br />
Appalonia vividly portrays the emotions associated with the corresponding section<br />
of Calvino’s novel: images of a war-torn Eastern Europe, suppression, the military<br />
and a sinister sexual underbelly. “That tune is very direct and quite obvious to me,”<br />
confirms Bill. “It needed to sound Eastern European, which I think it does; it needed<br />
to focus around a girl, which it does; and it needed to relate to a sex scene. It all<br />
kind of felt quite easy really. There is a track called The Flowers #3 (Lotus), which<br />
is about an Asian philosopher and his student who has a relationship with the<br />
philosopher’s partner and daughter. When it’s that precise you can over think it. I<br />
just wanted that tune to move a lot and have an East Asian element to it.”<br />
It is obvious that Bill was conscious of the need to keep the balance right; a blend<br />
of being true to the conceptual framework of the novel, without compromising<br />
the music in its own right. “The balance was important. Concept albums are<br />
typically by prog bands about medieval Britain; it’s a touchy subject.” Bill jokes. “It<br />
was always going to be quite high brow and a bit smug, a bit pompous, and may<br />
turn some people off, but I just thought ‘I’m going to go for it’. I still stand by it, I<br />
think it’s a good idea, and I’m happy. I think if someone else had done it I’d have<br />
been like, ‘that’s great, well in for not just strapping the Strat on.’ There would<br />
have been a few people who’d have liked to hear me just play guitar on a record, I<br />
could have done that and just made a quick buck, but it would have been shit. It’s<br />
like anything: don’t over think it, but when it is something that cerebral and that<br />
intense, you do have to put so much into it. It completely absorbed me for sixteen<br />
months, and I think you can tell. I don’t think you can listen to it and think ‘well<br />
that just happened’. It was very laborious.”<br />
Given Bill’s desire to distance himself from the ‘songwriter’ tag, Le Grand<br />
Disordre could represent a surprise inclusion on the record. I must say that<br />
I’m glad it has made it, the piece’s Drake-ian whisper and fingerpicked guitar,<br />
backed by a linear, orchestral homophony takes inspiration from River Man in<br />
arrangement, whilst offering its own unique perspective. It provides If... with a<br />
truly gorgeous, personal moment.<br />
“I’m at peace now with my songs,” offers Bill; it seems over the previous<br />
fifteen months a weight has been lifted. “The album is 80% instrumental.<br />
You listen to it and think that this is a musician who’s written a song there,<br />
and that’s how I see myself. I don’t want to be someone who’s thought of<br />
as a songwriter. It probably doesn’t matter to anyone else but I want to be a<br />
musician who may write songs, rather than a songwriter who scores music.<br />
I’ve probably got a really unhealthy view of the idea of people who class<br />
themselves as songwriters, it’s just that tag, it makes my skin crawl. I love Nick<br />
Drake, Mick Head, all the great songwriters, but there’s something about me<br />
being a songwriter which makes me just wanna scratch at myself.”<br />
It also seems that Bill’s appetite for live performance may have increased since<br />
we last met up, albeit slightly. I suggest that a full orchestral performance of If...<br />
would seem a natural progression. “It’d be a shame if it didn’t happen,” Bill agrees.<br />
“I’d only do it if there was a real demand for it because it would, without sounding<br />
dramatic, be such an ordeal. I’d have to think that lots of people wanted to see it. If<br />
something mad like the Proms wanted to do something, or someone wanted to put<br />
it on in the Forum in Rome, or something ridiculous. I’m probably just safeguarding<br />
myself there.... I’ll do it if<br />
NASA are involved<br />
and<br />
we can do it on the moon!”<br />
If... is out now on Domino Records<br />
dominorecordco.com<br />
Check out the all new... www.bidolito.co.uk
8<br />
Bido Lito! <strong>December</strong> <strong>2011</strong><br />
THE RISE OF GLOOM PUNK<br />
BENEATH THE GREY MATTER OF SALEM RAGES<br />
Words: David Lynch<br />
Photography: Jennifer Pellegrini<br />
I originally wanted to start this article with a clever play on the phrase<br />
‘these are dark times.’ Unfortunately, I had assumed the expression was from a<br />
weightier literary source than its actual root – Harry fucking Potter. Regardless, the<br />
witchcraft link I have now clumsily hatched is apt enough to describe the outlook<br />
of Liverpool’s newest (and probably first) gloom-punk outfit, SALEM RAGES.<br />
Formed from the ashes of well-supported local punk acts S.S.S and Cold Ones,<br />
this band take a rather different perspective on that branch of rock music. Salem<br />
Rages are all horror-show guitars and dark chord changes, given a sprinkling of<br />
Gray Matter-esque American punk; in fact if you’re struggling to envisage the final<br />
product, think Zombies on skateboards. The assumed names of its members are a<br />
further example of the band’s ethos: meet Messrs. Rag Payne, A.Dark Sun, Sunday<br />
Mourning and Roman Remains. I got the opportunity to chat vinyl, artwork and trick<br />
or treat with the latter two as they used their ‘daytime names’ - Dave and Russ.<br />
We inevitably start by talking influences, and Dave eagerly lets me in on the secret<br />
regarding the specificity of the group’s origins: “Sometimes it’s not just bands, it’s<br />
things. There’s a film called Suburbia and there’s a bit in that film where there is a<br />
band called TSOL [True Sounds of Liberty]; we just liked about twenty seconds of<br />
it. We were like ‘that bit there, that’s what we want to do’. That look, that feeling,<br />
that’s what we wanted to aim for.” It makes sense. This is a band pushing a level of<br />
originality unlike most; they should at least have an influence equally as quirky.<br />
Russ brings a little more of a musical backdrop to the band’s cultivation,<br />
however, citing the British-tinged late skate punk scene as an influence. “If you<br />
look at it in a hardcore timeline, it starts in 1983 when American punk bands<br />
slowed down a little bit and started taking in a few more influences. They<br />
started gelling hardcore aggression, speed and simplicity, with guitar elements<br />
which lend themselves to bands like Joy Division and Echo & The Bunnymen.”<br />
Given the end product of this witches’ brew being something of an acquired<br />
taste, I ask if they have trouble with being pigeonholed into certain gigs? Dave<br />
tells me that this has thus far proved impossible: “We’re always the square peg in<br />
round holes on billings.” When I enquire whether this is a good thing, both the lads<br />
swiftly and emphatically reply in the affirmative - this is clearly a band enjoying their<br />
uniqueness. Their latest release then, an EP entitled Disturb Not The Sleep Of Death,<br />
of course follows this philosophy closely.<br />
First editions of the vinyl record came encased in a crushed velvet sleeve<br />
and with several unique pieces of assorted paraphernalia associated with the<br />
band. This is the group’s prerogative, adding their spin to the DIY project, and<br />
Russ explained how this route presented itself: “We got a label from London<br />
not coming through on the promise of putting a record out. We thought, ‘to this<br />
point we’ve done everything off our own backs, why don’t we just pull together<br />
everything we’ve got.’” And so, a wonderful artistic opportunity was born.<br />
Everything is now put together financially and artistically by the band and,<br />
as Dave explains, this is an aspect they are rather enjoying, given the slavish<br />
nature of record labels they had encountered whilst in other bands. “The last<br />
band I was in we had no artistic control, everything arrived to you already done.<br />
It takes all the fun away when they advertise you how they want you to be.” In<br />
keeping, then, with this ideal, the band’s next EP, entitled Our Halloween is set to<br />
be released on Flexi Disc (anyone remember those?!).<br />
For future releases, the band are understandably unwilling to surrender this<br />
creative flair. Russ says: “This is the band where we’re going to do everything we<br />
couldn’t do in other bands and completely go for it,” before telling me they’d like<br />
to release an album... on VHS. So, when Dave adds to this by declaring, “Any idea<br />
goes,” I see that utterance as not just a summary of Salem Rages, but also of art<br />
itself. And, though it is often forgotten, that’s the point of it all, isn’t it?<br />
Go to bidolito.co.uk for this month’s exclusive Obscenic Session with Salem Rages<br />
salemrages.co.uk<br />
Check out the all new... www.bidolito.co.uk
Mon 28th Nov £10.50 adv<br />
Electric Six<br />
Tues 29th Nov £8 adv<br />
Little Barrie<br />
Thurs 1st Dec SOLD OUT<br />
Miles Kane<br />
Sat 3rd Dec £19.50 adv<br />
DJ Shadow<br />
Sat 3rd Dec £10 adv<br />
The Complete<br />
Stone Roses<br />
Sun 4th Dec £15 adv<br />
Melanie C<br />
Mon 5th Dec £<strong>18</strong>.50 adv<br />
Shed Seven<br />
Wed 7th Dec £15 adv<br />
The Lemonheads<br />
Performing ‘It’s A Shame About Ray’<br />
Wed 7th Dec £17.50 adv<br />
Thurs 8th Dec SOLD OUT<br />
Fri 9th Dec SOLD OUT<br />
The Wombats<br />
Fri 9th Dec £12 adv<br />
The Dogs D’Amour<br />
Sun 11th Dec £15.50 adv<br />
Aloe Blacc<br />
Tues 13th Dec £17.50 adv<br />
Molly Hatchet<br />
Tues 13th Dec £15 adv<br />
Dappy<br />
Wed 14th Dec £20 adv<br />
Go West<br />
Thurs 15th Dec £15.50 adv<br />
The Blackout<br />
Fri 16th Dec £<strong>18</strong> adv<br />
Sat 17th Dec SOLD OUT<br />
Echo & The<br />
Bunnymen<br />
Tues 20th Dec £10 adv<br />
Vintage Trouble<br />
Thurs 22nd Dec £12.50 adv<br />
Space<br />
Sat 14th Jan £8 adv<br />
Novana<br />
(The UK’s Only Tribute To Nirvana)<br />
Fri 27th Jan £17.50 adv<br />
An Evening with Danny<br />
& Ben from Thunder<br />
Sat 28th Jan £12.50 adv<br />
The Carpet Crawlers<br />
The Ultimate Genesis Tribute<br />
Thurs 2nd Feb £15 adv<br />
Babybird<br />
Fri 3rd Feb £14.50 adv<br />
Reel Big Fish<br />
Sat 4th Feb £22.50 adv<br />
Big Country<br />
Wed 8th Feb £17 adv<br />
Dropkick Murphys<br />
Sat 11th Feb £22.50 adv<br />
Lightning Seeds<br />
Sun 12th Feb £10.50 adv<br />
The Big Pink<br />
Tues 14th Feb £16.50 adv<br />
Skrillex<br />
Fri 17th Feb £12 adv 10pm – 3am<br />
James Lavelle<br />
Fri 24th Feb £13 adv<br />
Labrinth<br />
Mon 5th Mar £23 adv<br />
The Stranglers<br />
Sat 3rd Dec £19.50 adv<br />
DJ Shadow<br />
Sun 11th Dec £15.50 adv<br />
Aloe Blacc<br />
Fri 16th Dec £<strong>18</strong> adv<br />
Echo & The Bunnymen<br />
Thurs 22nd Dec £12.50 adv<br />
Space<br />
!"#$RS#=$T0D$$>?RABC$"'D$!#"25)P$.=)"#&)$<br />
.=)$.;2G$.;2GF<br />
!12$R@#=$T0D$$!+,($+-.$/012#30&'$4"55$<br />
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+3$.=)$4;55FJ0&01G=<br />
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10<br />
Bido Lito! <strong>December</strong> <strong>2011</strong><br />
Words: John Still<br />
Photography: Luke Avery<br />
In general, genre definitions are useful, if<br />
only to help place a band among similar artists<br />
in a swelling marketplace. There’s the obvious<br />
pigeonholing issue, and the labyrinthine maze of<br />
sub-genres to navigate, but sometimes it’s nice to<br />
be able to roughly pitch the overall sound of a band.<br />
When it comes to Liverpool natives LOKA however,<br />
frankly, I’m stumped. To dissect the elements that<br />
go into creating a Loka track would take more<br />
words that these pink pages can afford, and to<br />
place them squarely in a single category would<br />
be nigh on impossible. Loka deal in soundscapes:<br />
epic sonic journeys that remain hugely listenable<br />
despite their complex composition. In short, they<br />
make the difficult sound effortless. This lack of easy<br />
definition poses no issues for band founder Mark<br />
Kyriacou: “We didn’t set out to make music of any<br />
genre, or to create a new genre. We get tagged as<br />
‘cinematic’ more than anything;<br />
I suppose that’s because<br />
we’re not typically songbased.<br />
We’ve been called<br />
‘Genteel Baroque Funk’<br />
before! People aren’t sure<br />
what to say when they<br />
hear a harpsichord.”<br />
The phrase ‘best kept<br />
secret’ gets bandied around<br />
a fair bit in Liverpool’s<br />
music scene, but Loka<br />
would seem to have<br />
a genuine claim to<br />
the title. The band<br />
have rarely given<br />
live performances<br />
in recent years and have somewhat fallen off the<br />
radar of a local scene which has lately enjoyed<br />
exponential growth. However, this is no indicator<br />
of inactivity, but the length of the writing and<br />
studio processes for their new record. “People<br />
tend to forget easily,” says Mark. “When you’re not<br />
playing live every week you drop off the immediate<br />
consciousness. We’re not recluses; we’ve just been<br />
working to get this record ready. It’s been a long<br />
process, but we’re happy with it.”<br />
The result of their labours is new long-player<br />
Passing Place, the follow up to 2006’s Fire<br />
Shepherds. An elaborately composed piece, the<br />
record encompasses (here’s an attempt at some<br />
genre footholds) a heady mix of jazz, dance, trance,<br />
psych-rock and folk. The complexity and scope of the<br />
record certainly explain the length of its gestation<br />
period. Bassist Tom Sumnall explains that, “The<br />
record sort of gets pieced together. Mark brings in the<br />
ideas and they get fleshed out through rehearsals. I<br />
think this record has a much more organic, jammed<br />
out feel to it. The songs really came to life in<br />
rehearsal. We’ve been lucky to know some really<br />
wonderful musicians to have played on this record;<br />
the sessions had a real friends and family vibe to<br />
them.” The album is released through NinjaTune,<br />
who it seems have also had trouble with how<br />
to categorise Loka. Mark elaborates, “We’ve been<br />
with NinjaTune since 2000. I’m sure we’ve not<br />
been as prolific as they would have<br />
liked, you know, two albums<br />
in eleven years, but<br />
they’re always really<br />
supportive.<br />
I’m<br />
not sure what<br />
they<br />
thought<br />
when we gave<br />
them<br />
Passing<br />
Place. They’ve got quite a bit of post-dubstep and<br />
we’re probably not as commercially viable. It’s a bit<br />
of an effort to know how to package us.”<br />
During late <strong>2011</strong>, Loka are taking Passing Place<br />
out on the road, initially performing in London and a<br />
homecoming show at The Kazimier. Having created<br />
a record which sounds so grand yet so intricate, it<br />
must seem a completely new challenge to prepare<br />
for a run of live dates? Mark: “When we wrote the<br />
first record, we knew it was definitely a studio<br />
record. But, during the recording of Passing Place,<br />
we began to think anything was possible and really<br />
rehearsed with live shows in mind. We really want<br />
to expose it in as musical a way as possible.” Even<br />
with the amount of musicians scaled down, Mark is<br />
confident that the shows promise to be something<br />
special: “We wanted to do the tour with a full live<br />
band, but it would be about forty people and we<br />
couldn’t make it work, logistically and financially. As<br />
much as we would have loved to have done it, we<br />
had<br />
to slim it down. But it’ll still be an<br />
eight-piece playing, we’re<br />
hardly bare-bones.”<br />
We couldn’t agree<br />
more; Loka are a dense,<br />
yet alluringly tactile<br />
proposition on record<br />
and we expect nothing<br />
less from the group live.<br />
Hardly<br />
bare-bones<br />
indeed...<br />
Passing Place<br />
is out 28th<br />
November<br />
ninjatune.net
Lizzie Nunnery:<br />
A Life On The Stage<br />
Words: Richard Lewis<br />
Photography: Keith Ainsworth<br />
While many<br />
musicians<br />
have<br />
attempted to cross<br />
over into acting, with varying<br />
levels of success, those heading in<br />
the opposite direction are extremely rare;<br />
and musicians who become successful playwrights<br />
are almost unheard of, placing Maghull-born<br />
singer-songwriter-playwright Lizzie Nunnery in a<br />
unique bracket.<br />
Lizzie’s most recent play, The Swallowing Dark, was<br />
the first to be performed when The Playhouse’s<br />
Studio reopened in October. Formerly the theatre’s<br />
rehearsal room, the Studio was pressed into service<br />
due to the Everyman’s ongoing renovation. “I was<br />
thrilled to have The Swallowing Dark<br />
on in there; it<br />
was a big honour to reopen that space,” Lizzie says,<br />
as we sit in a café on Falkner Street.<br />
The four-star reviews the play received from the<br />
national press emphasise the continuation of Lizzie’s<br />
success, as her debut Intemperance was garlanded<br />
with a five-star rating from The Guardian when it<br />
opened at The Everyman in September 2007.<br />
However, despite the unique position in which she<br />
finds herself, Lizzie doesn’t regard the two pursuits<br />
of being a singer-songwriter and playwright all that<br />
different. “I see myself as a writer,” she explains. “I<br />
think I will always be writing songs. As much as I’m<br />
going to be writing plays, I’m also going to be writing<br />
songs. The two sort of link into each other for me.”<br />
Lizzie found her feet as a songwriter at the near<br />
legendary Acoustic Engine night at the now sadly<br />
defunct Brewery pub (later The Metropolitan).<br />
A<br />
melting pot of new talent, the events held at the<br />
alehouse spawned scores of Liverpool bands.<br />
“It sounds a bit over the top, but it was quite a<br />
life-changing experience,” Lizzie says of her first<br />
performances in 1999. “I wonder if I would have ended<br />
up doing music professionally at all if I hadn’t got<br />
Check out the all new... www.bidolito.co.uk<br />
involved there. It<br />
was like going to school in a way and learning how<br />
to become a singer-songwriter.”<br />
This initial experience came to full bloom with<br />
Lizzie’s debut album The Company of Ghosts, released<br />
in 2010, winning huge acclaim from BBC Radio 2<br />
folk DJ Mike Harding, amongst others. Lizzie’s new<br />
album, tentatively titled Don’t Put Your Life on the<br />
Stage and due for release next year, represents a<br />
departure from her previous work. She explains that<br />
the intriguing title is, “a little bit about celebrity and<br />
a culture of selling stories and versions of yourself<br />
that may or may not be true and how unhealthy that<br />
is.” The title sets the scene for a record that weaves a<br />
unique musical tapestry.<br />
The album features Lizzie’s first foray into the world<br />
of strings, courtesy of a quartet that includes the lead<br />
violinist from the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.<br />
Elsewhere, songs are almost entirely percussionled,<br />
while others revolve around vibraphones and<br />
bowed guitars. Vidar Norhiem of Liverpool band<br />
Wave Machines, present as co-writer and producer<br />
for the sessions, is credited by Lizzie with being an<br />
invaluable help during the recording process at St.<br />
Bride’s Church, itself the scene of some of the city’s<br />
best gigs in recent years.<br />
Recent musical influences cited by Lizzie include<br />
fellow Liverpudlian Rachel Wright, Norwegian<br />
songstress Arne Brun, Bon Iver (“the best gig I’ve ever<br />
attended”) and Feist. Aside from music and writing for<br />
the stage, Lizzie has also recently been commissioned<br />
by BBC Radio 4 to write a five-part adaptation of The<br />
Painted Veil, a<br />
work of W. Somerset<br />
Maugham.<br />
Returning to the playwriting string<br />
to Lizzie’s musical bow: following soon after The<br />
Swallowing Dark’s success, an earlier work of Lizzie’s<br />
will be staged at The Capstone Theatre in <strong>December</strong>.<br />
Inspired by the Eugene Ionesco play of the same<br />
name, The Man with the Luggage has been remoulded<br />
by Lizzie to chime with contemporary themes of<br />
migration and repatriation. The central protagonist<br />
of the play is an everyman figure making his way<br />
home, following his escape from a bloody civil war, to<br />
reunite with his wife. Over the course of ten years, his<br />
long journey results in many adventures and weird<br />
encounters, while he transports his heavy luggage<br />
and tries to keep his sanity intact. Despite the arduous<br />
trek, there are moments of light relief, provided by the<br />
play’s fantastical characters, who include a talking<br />
tree, an oracle whose character is voiced by no less a<br />
luminary than Oscar winner Jim Broadbent. Echoing<br />
Lizzie’s musical roots, the Trestle theatre company use<br />
music – as well as lighting and movement – to tell the<br />
tale of The Man with the Luggage.<br />
Despite the accolades she has received for her work<br />
over the past four years, Lizzie remains admirably<br />
modest. “It’s a craft,” she smiles when asked about<br />
writing. “It’s the kind of thing you do, sometimes you<br />
do it wrong and then you do it some more and you<br />
get it right. That’s the only way I’ve ever known how<br />
to work.”<br />
The Man with the Luggage will be staged at The<br />
Capstone Theatre on Tue 6th and Weds 7th <strong>December</strong><br />
thecapstonetheatre.com
What’s on<br />
at Liverpool<br />
Philharmonic<br />
Gary Lucas’<br />
Captain Beefheart<br />
Symposium<br />
Friday 20 & Saturday 21 January<br />
£12<br />
Walsh & Pound<br />
Saturday 11 February<br />
ry<br />
£12<br />
Omid Djalili<br />
Sunday 22 Februaryry<br />
£19, £26<br />
Michael<br />
McGoldrick,<br />
John McCusker<br />
& John Doyle<br />
St George’s Hall Concert Room<br />
Friday 24 February<br />
ry<br />
£16<br />
Nick Lowe<br />
Saturday 25 February<br />
ry<br />
£21.50, £27.50<br />
Port Isaac’s<br />
Fisherman’s<br />
Friends<br />
Sunday 26 Februaryry<br />
£19.50, £25.50<br />
Joan Baez<br />
Friday 2 March<br />
£35, £39.50, £45.50<br />
Stewart Lee<br />
Saturday 3 March<br />
£19.50, £25.50<br />
The Waterboys<br />
Saturday 24 March<br />
£25, £28.50, £33.50<br />
Gilbert<br />
O’Sullivan<br />
Thursday 5 April<br />
£20, £25, £31<br />
Christy Moore<br />
Saturday 7 April<br />
£30, £32.50, £37.50<br />
Tinariwen<br />
Wednesday 11 April<br />
£<strong>18</strong>.50, £24.50<br />
Doug Stanhope<br />
Monday 16 April<br />
£20, £26<br />
Ian Anderson<br />
Wednesday <strong>18</strong> April<br />
£25.50, £28.50, £34.50<br />
Don Williams<br />
Tuesday 24 April<br />
£31, £35, £41<br />
Box Office fi<br />
0151 709 3789 liverpoolphil.com
14<br />
Bido Lito! <strong>December</strong> <strong>2011</strong><br />
RIOT AT THE RADIO:<br />
BBC RADIO MERSEYSIDE UNDER THREAT<br />
Words: Jonny Davis<br />
Illustration: Michael Cottage<br />
Under the somewhat misleading title of ‘Delivering Quality First’ the BBC, led<br />
by Director General Mark Thompson, is currently considering a blend of severe<br />
and wide-ranging cuts to both local and national services. Leafing through<br />
the proposals reveals that the cuts to BBC Radio Merseyside are poised to be<br />
particularly heavy, with the axe looming over ‘specialist programming’. This<br />
potentially means that any programme that doesn’t fall within primetime hours<br />
will face big changes, ranging from sharing airtime with other regions to being<br />
taken off the air altogether.<br />
In a move that seems to echo the sentiment of the coalition government,<br />
Thompson has decided to spread the savings thinly across many departments<br />
rather than focusing on the highest spenders. Many have doubted the<br />
effectiveness of this ‘salami slicing’ method of cost efficiency as it will clearly<br />
hit the lower budget regional services hardest and as such the BBC will lose<br />
their personal, grass-roots touch gained over the years through offering regionspecific<br />
programming.<br />
One show currently hanging in the balance is Folkscene, presented by<br />
Stan Ambrose and Geoff Speed. As the longest running folk programme on<br />
the radio, Folkscene has quite a pedigree and the focus on local artists over<br />
the years has allowed the presenters to share their love of traditional local<br />
music with the community. Stan describes the cuts as “one size fits all” and<br />
as such “disproportionate in their consequences”, meaning that, despite Radio<br />
Merseyside being the most listened-to BBC station outside of London, their small<br />
budget will soon be even smaller. As we pass the time in Bold Street Coffee,<br />
he effuses over the rich heritage of music in Merseyside and its importance to<br />
those in difficult times: “During periods of economic downturn, to the Scouser,<br />
music is pure sustenance.” He believes the city is currently taking on a “cultural<br />
upsurge” made possible by the collaboration of creative minds and that this<br />
simply has to be promoted and celebrated by local radio.<br />
Also being targeted is Pure Musical Sensations, BBC Radio Merseyside’s<br />
weekly alternative music show. Presented by Roger Hill, the programme brings<br />
a wide range of fresh and eclectic music to the ears of many across the region.<br />
As the longest-running alternative music show on UK local radio (spotting the<br />
theme here?), PMS allows Roger to indulge and digress in any way he sees<br />
fit. As he wanders down paths taking in world music, reggae, electronica and<br />
anything experimental, he leads the listener on an evocative and unregimented<br />
aural journey. Roger attributes the successful three-decade tenure of the show<br />
to it being “built with love, listened to with love, supported with love”, which is<br />
an idea that perfectly encapsulates the essence of local radio. It is something<br />
that people can rely on and, more importantly, feel a part of. He continues,<br />
“Wiping out little patches of love here and there is kind of a daft thing to do.” He<br />
understands, of course, that cuts have to be made but questions the motives<br />
behind the proposals: “There is a point where management takes over from<br />
imagination. We all like to be decisive and cuts have to be made, but local radio<br />
will feel more decimated than other areas.”<br />
One music show that will be spared is Merseyside’s wing of the national BBC<br />
Introducing network, presented locally by Dave Monks. Although not directly<br />
affected by the proposals, Dave is certainly still wary of the detrimental effect<br />
they could have on the station: “If the proposed plans are implemented it would<br />
severely damage the unique relationship Radio Merseyside has with its loyal<br />
and devoted listenership.” He continues: “I think people expect and believe that<br />
the BBC, within its public charter as a public service broadcaster, should place<br />
more emphasis on specialisms and niche audiences.” One sentiment echoed by<br />
Stan, Roger and Dave is that the problem with making major cuts is that they<br />
are not easily repaired. As Dave puts it: “Once it’s gone…it’s gone!”<br />
One is left with the feeling that the decision is being made in haste and with a<br />
disregard for logical thought. The money saved by the cuts to Radio Merseyside<br />
will be minimal compared to the potential for savings in other higher budget<br />
areas. Conversely, the effect the cuts will have on the service provided could be<br />
huge. Folkscene and PMS are not in any conceivable way a drain on financial<br />
resources; presenters don’t make a living out of it, rather they do it for enjoyment<br />
(theirs and ours). The term ‘Delivering Quality’ would suggest providing content<br />
that is interesting and diverse, and presented by experienced people within<br />
their field, something for which the BBC is currently respected. The cuts clearly<br />
indicate even more of a focus on primetime slots, which undoubtedly means<br />
the more mainstream and generic forms of entertainment, something that is<br />
catered for perfectly well both within the BBC and elsewhere (with all the bells<br />
and whistles afforded through substantial sponsorship backing).<br />
It must be stressed that no decisions have been finalised and there is still hope.<br />
If, however, the axe does fall on specialist programming then the chance for BBC<br />
Radio Merseyside to fulfil its potential will be lost, quite possibly forever.<br />
In order to help save BBC Radio Merseyside’s local specialist programming,<br />
please feed into the BBC Public Consultation at consultations.external.bbc.co.uk/<br />
bbc/dqf - you have until 21st <strong>December</strong> to make your voice heard.<br />
Check out the all new... www.bidolito.co.uk
16<br />
Bido Lito! <strong>December</strong> <strong>2011</strong><br />
Previews/Shorts<br />
Edited by Richard Lewis - middle8@bidolito.co.uk<br />
JOSH ROUSE<br />
Harvest Sun have finally managed to snare Nebraskan folk/alt. country<br />
star JOSH ROUSE, with the iconic Black-E providing the backdrop. Since<br />
relocating to Spain, Rouse has assimilated Latin and Flamenco touches in to<br />
a repertoire that stretches to over a dozen dazzling albums.<br />
The Black-E – 26th January – Tickets from seetickets.com<br />
THE TROUBADOURS<br />
The recently re-opened Lomax will play nostalgic host to the reunion gig of<br />
Scouse pop practitioners THE TROUBADOURS, which will undoubtedly stoke<br />
the flames of rumour for the long overdue release of their album. The good<br />
people at Boss Magazine have assembled the cream of the current crop as<br />
support, in THE LOUD, SPRINGTIME ANCHORAGE and BEAT MARAUDER.<br />
The Lomax – 23rd <strong>December</strong> - Tickets from distantecho.co.uk<br />
STEVE PILGRIM<br />
The Bido Lito! Advent Calendar<br />
You’d hardly think the festive season was upon us, what with all the<br />
economic doom and gloom and endless footage of Robert Peston telling us<br />
we’re all going to hell in a handcart. At Bido Lito! Towers, we are feeling the<br />
Christmas love, and we’ve decided to share this with you by producing our<br />
very own BIDO LITO! ADVENT CALENDAR. Every day in <strong>December</strong> will see a new<br />
festive-themed item uploaded to the Bido Lito! website, counting down to a<br />
very special Christmas Day post, which will give you something joyous and pink<br />
to open your presents to!<br />
All of the goodies hiding behind the digital doors on the calendar are being<br />
kept under wraps, with each treat available for 24 hours only. We can reveal<br />
that these will include exclusive performances and sessions, giveaways, guest<br />
mixes, festive interviews, a quiz, and a poll to find the greatest Christmas<br />
Number One (Stop The Cavalry, surely) and other assorted treats. Keep your<br />
eyes and ears open too for news of the fantastically named Bido Lito! Bake-Off,<br />
which will brighten your <strong>December</strong> cooking schedule with an assortment of<br />
mince pies, gingerbread men and Christmas puds. All highly enticing we think<br />
you’ll agree, just don’t go trying to peek behind the doors before they’re open.<br />
Visit bidolito.co.uk for more details<br />
Sticksman STEVE PILGRIM is ready to step out from behind the kit to<br />
launch his excellent new LP Pixels And Paper. With Bill Ryder-Jones and Paul<br />
Weller lending their talents to the album, the well-connected Pilgrim will<br />
show a side to his musicality that’s rarely appreciated.<br />
The Zanzibar – 14th <strong>December</strong> – Tickets OTD<br />
OXES<br />
Despite nearly blowing the roof off The Kaz a few years back with their<br />
explosive rocking, Samizdat have seen fit to bring US math/post rockers<br />
OXES back to the venue with a promise of more madness. The three-piece<br />
are joined by Leeds powerhouse BILGE PUMP. Amplifier leaps expected.<br />
The Kazimier – 7th <strong>December</strong> – Tickets from ticketweb.co.uk<br />
DJ SHADOW<br />
Last month it was Tom Vek returning after a brief hiatus, this month it’s<br />
turntabling pioneer DJ SHADOW who makes a welcome return to the live<br />
circuit. 1996’s Entroducing… is still a shining example of his virtuoso work at<br />
the decks, and thankfully The Less You Know The Better is just as vital.<br />
O2 Academy – 3rd <strong>December</strong> – Tickets from ticketweb.co.uk<br />
The Butterfly’s Ball And The Grasshopper’s Feast<br />
Twelve months on since their debut gig, THE WICKED WHISPERS curate another<br />
of their delightfully-named THE BUTTERFLY’S BALL AND THE GRASSHOPPER’S<br />
FEAST shows, returning with what must surely rank as their dream booking as<br />
THE MAGIC BAND headline. Captain Beefheart’s legendary backing troupe are<br />
only playing a handful of UK dates, so expect The Kazimier to be pitching and<br />
rolling with the sound of the Psych Dukes’ mesmeric wizardry.<br />
Since The Wicked Whispers’ first outing last year the psychedelic quintet<br />
have released The Dark Delights Of… EP which neatly showed off their faintly<br />
creepy Byrds-esque charms. Their key track Amanda Lavender, replete with its<br />
memorable video (a Snowdonia-shot, Prisoner-referencing clip starring Liverpool<br />
model Charlotte Cooper), has received daytime airplay on BBC 6Music.<br />
To summon up the right vibes for the event, transporting patrons back to the<br />
UFO Club and the 14 Hour Technicolor Dream, lighting engineer Towyn Roberts,<br />
who has previously worked with The Grateful Dead and The Coral, will be providing<br />
visual magic. Also on the bill are exemplary psych-garage practitioners THE LUCID<br />
DREAM, with tunes in-between sets courtesy of EDGAR JONES. With last year’s<br />
event a sell-out, tickets will surely be like gold dust come the day of the gig.<br />
The Kazimier – Saturday 3rd <strong>December</strong> – Tickets from ticketline.co.uk<br />
Check out the all new... www.bidolito.co.uk
20 Bido Lito! <strong>December</strong> <strong>2011</strong><br />
Rants/Comment<br />
The Glass Pasty<br />
Post-it Notes from the Cultural Abyss<br />
Post-it Notes from the Cultural Abyss<br />
‘Sing, Sing Attenborough’<br />
Overlord Attenborough may feel that<br />
the Knight of the Realm doesn’t get<br />
As the temperature drops and the<br />
his digits dirty enough and instead<br />
sneeze-ohmmeter soars through<br />
commentates from a distance<br />
the roof in public spaces the nation<br />
snuggles up on the couch puts aside<br />
perpetual bickering, applies the cold<br />
sore cream, attentively dunks a Hob<br />
Nob into a steaming hot cuppa and<br />
enjoys the wonderful joy that is the<br />
BBC’s Frozen Planet. This is a show<br />
of spell binding beauty, real artistry<br />
overseeing procedures like some<br />
Roman Emperor sipping on Mulberry<br />
Wine whilst being fed dried figs by<br />
an array of scantily clad young boys<br />
watching the cruel savage brutality<br />
unfold below. Nothing could be<br />
further from the truth gentle reader;<br />
I instead picture him as the ever<br />
and incredible camera work. In an<br />
diligent Lord Vader menacingly<br />
age where it is almost impossible to<br />
watch TV without being permanently<br />
reminded of what went before or<br />
what’s coming next it is a great<br />
pacing up and down The Death Ship<br />
(BBC) frightening the living shit out<br />
of everyone at the British Natural<br />
History Unit with his immense<br />
joy to sit back and slowly become<br />
engulfed in the wonders of our<br />
planet.<br />
Critics of the Omniscient<br />
Nik Glover<br />
charisma, other worldly aura and<br />
slow burning virility. Whatever your<br />
view it is safe to say that a detached<br />
The Monster Shop<br />
around the edges, and here and there<br />
strange, grotesque figures. I’d guess<br />
The shop, if it was a shop, definitely<br />
they were made with a wire frame,<br />
existed, I am absolutely certain.<br />
coated with plastered bandages, in<br />
I’ve spoken to a lot of different<br />
the way you see mummy’s being<br />
people, all roughly my age, who<br />
made, or with clay; something which<br />
remember actually visiting or seeing<br />
could be molded easily and would be<br />
it after it had closed. The shell of it<br />
hardwearing when fired and painted<br />
remained, dilapidated, scaring the<br />
with thick, shiny paint.<br />
local kids for years after, me included.<br />
There were vultures, goblins, rats,<br />
If you jump the train from West Kirby,<br />
every lurking, scuttling or scavenging<br />
a row of shops appears on your left as<br />
creature you can think of, all lined up<br />
you leave Hoylake station. Sometime<br />
along the roof, some leaning over the<br />
in the eighties, alongside the train<br />
wire, some raising a withered claw<br />
tracks, in a single storey brick building,<br />
into the sky in anger.<br />
the Monster Shop was opened.<br />
This is where the memory begins to<br />
What complicates the picture is that<br />
blur with the dream.<br />
I also saw it in a dream, which has<br />
In my dream the shop was actually<br />
distorted it in my memory. From what<br />
a kind of grotto, with the entrance<br />
I remember it was a single storey<br />
crowned with elf-like figures, a brown<br />
building with a flat roof, barbed wire<br />
bear in chains, some downtrodden<br />
Attenborough perspective can be<br />
applied to our little species and<br />
thus it is indeed in this vein that the<br />
rest of today’s lecture will continue.<br />
It is imperative that this following<br />
section be read with the voice of Sir<br />
David in mind.<br />
GOTHS - These light fearing<br />
mammals are often covered in<br />
darkened robes adorned with garish<br />
tattoos and piercings of the flesh,<br />
they while away their time huddling<br />
outside centres of ‘alternative’<br />
commerce grazing on a number of<br />
caffeine based high energy drinks<br />
and derivatives of metal based music.<br />
The male of this particular species<br />
may be seen to indulge in Medieval<br />
based role play or ‘gaming’. Not to be<br />
confused with their offshoot cousins<br />
the EMO tribe, an altogether different<br />
beast, often crudely characterised as<br />
Goth’s on skate boards.<br />
THE ORANGE ONES - Predominantly<br />
and manacled goblins and mockedup<br />
rotten fruit. Over the threshold<br />
you’d enter a black corridor with<br />
displays behind glass screens. A<br />
colossal millipede rears up while tiny,<br />
humanoid figures grapple with ropes<br />
attached to hooks buried into its flesh.<br />
Another scene is framed by two bulky<br />
Aztec pillars; an overweight panther<br />
sits on a decapitated throne, a crown<br />
falling over one eye, his great chin<br />
rested drunkenly on a paw, staring into<br />
space while a rodent in a grass-skirt<br />
fans him with a yellowing palm leaf.<br />
In the next case three witches butcher<br />
a crocodile for magical ingredients;<br />
in another a Polynesian cannibal sits<br />
with a look of absolute serenity under<br />
the shadow of a blood-and-algaecoated<br />
standing stone.<br />
These horrors existed, not in a<br />
fairground town, in Ripley’s ‘Believe<br />
feminine in nature, natives of post<br />
industrial towns and cities, they<br />
offset their grey dreary existences<br />
by weekend thrill seeking in all<br />
manner of bodily excesses. The<br />
ritualistic application of a wood seal<br />
like tanning agent is integral to their<br />
hunt for brief courtship. Thin strips<br />
of luminous garment and oversize<br />
jewellery are worn by the ‘hunters’<br />
and are viewed as paramount in<br />
ensnaring an unsuspecting shirt<br />
wearing male. A recent phenomenon<br />
amongst this particular species has<br />
been the monthly injections to the<br />
face, buttocks and lips to create a<br />
bloated fish like aesthetic; again this<br />
is seen as instrumental in attracting<br />
a partner.<br />
Fare thee well readers and join me<br />
next month when we will focus on<br />
Urban Hippies and Online Bloggers…<br />
it or Not’ or one of those curtainedoff<br />
attractions along the prom, but<br />
in a small town, next to a Chinese<br />
restaurant, opposite a fire station.<br />
The fear; the probing, ambivalent<br />
violence of those figures had no place<br />
in suburban Wirral circa 1990. Hoylake<br />
is a seaside town, but its brief spell as<br />
a resort abdicated along with Edward<br />
VIII, never to return. Aside from a luxury<br />
golf course there is little that remains<br />
of a tourist culture, certainly nothing<br />
of the grotesque of the fair that you<br />
can still glimpse in certain buried<br />
rooms and papered-over doorways in<br />
Blackpool.<br />
If you remember something bizarre<br />
and unsettling about your childhood,<br />
why not share it by emailing<br />
takemeforanexample@gmail.com<br />
www.bidolito.co.uk
Guest Column<br />
Peter Guy, Getintothis.co.uk<br />
Peter Guy, Getintothis.co.uk<br />
Back in 2007, when I began writing my Daily<br />
Post & Echo music blog Getintothis, I was<br />
contacted by Thurston Moore’s London-based<br />
PR asking if I’d send her Liverpool fanzines<br />
or weblinks to gauge what was going down<br />
on Merseyside. A thorough sift through Bold<br />
Street, the Ropewalks, and every nook of the<br />
independent scene threw up little but Tom George’s Slacker Sounds.<br />
Push forward 12 months and Capital of Culture sparked a regeneration<br />
of not just the commercial sector but ignited an arts renaissance as a new<br />
wave of innovation seeped through the city’s pores. With Sound City, Music<br />
Week, the Kazimier’s formation, promoters (EVOL, Samizdat, Meshuggy,<br />
Harvest Sun, La Racaille, etc) taking risks with no financial guarantee - and<br />
the rebirth of a host of scenes within a scene - Liverpool gave rise to the<br />
strongest sonic landscape for years.<br />
Today, Liverpool is thriving with writers, photographers, creative<br />
entrepreneurs and most of all, new music - a complete shift from when<br />
Getintothis began.<br />
In 2012, Getintothis is five and in celebration of a city with three music<br />
festivals competing for UK honours (Sound City, Music Week and Creamfields),<br />
numerous celebrated studios and DIY labels, the national music press’ top<br />
hype band (Outfit) and musician (Forest Swords), and a stream of others<br />
garnering widespread attention, I’m launching a new Liverpool music honour<br />
- the GIT Award (that’s an acronym of Getintothis - insert your own joke!) -<br />
championing the best Merseyside recordings of the year.<br />
Think of it as the Scouse Mercury Prize – however, the only criterion is that<br />
it has a distinct connection with Liverpool, i.e., the recording was created,<br />
produced or recorded by Liverpudlians. Unlike the Mercury, there will be<br />
a transparent judging panel, thus far comprising Vice magazine editor<br />
Andy Capper, EVOL’s Steve Miller, Waxxx mag’s Joshua Burke, myself, and<br />
editor of these pink pages, Craig G Pennington. Further, as many grass roots<br />
musicians won’t record a full album in 12 months, we’re asking that four<br />
tracks be submitted to be eligible for entry - think of it as an old school EP.<br />
What started as a little idea has snowballed into something to be proud<br />
of. With more than 50 backers (including the City Council, Probe, Liverpool<br />
Vision, NME, The Quietus), The GIT Award hopes to unite Liverpool’s rich<br />
sonic diversity; embracing all forms of music from hip hop to electronica,<br />
country to punk, folk through to rock & roll and metal: the GIT Award is<br />
open to all.<br />
And the prize? It’s a belter. Sandhills Studio is offering free recording<br />
time, the winner will play Sound City, Music Week and Vice’s bar Old<br />
Blue Last; while Virgin Media Shorts film-maker of the year nominee Ian<br />
Gamester will produce the winner’s video, to be screened at FACT. And this<br />
is just the start...<br />
So spread the word, The GIT Award is ON: send your four tracks<br />
to getintothis@gmail.com or Peter Guy, The GIT Award, Liverpool ECHO, PO<br />
Box 48, Old Hall Street, Liverpool, L693EB. If you’re a business and would<br />
like to get involved email getintothis@gmail.com<br />
For updates visit getintothis.co.uk
22<br />
Bido Lito! <strong>December</strong> <strong>2011</strong><br />
Reviews<br />
For a Full LMW <strong>2011</strong> Photo Gallery Go To bidolito.co.uk<br />
As October rolls into November<br />
and the biting winds start to chill, us<br />
Liverpool folk are protected by the<br />
warm blanket of reassurance that is<br />
LIVERPOOL MUSIC WEEK. Offering a<br />
respite from the wintry nights, LMW<br />
has been annually warming the<br />
cockles since 2003, by amassing a<br />
scintillating roster of hotter-than-hot<br />
talent in a variety of our city’s venues,<br />
and this year was no different. Bido<br />
Lito! had an army of observers on the<br />
ground taking in the multitude of<br />
performances at this year’s festival:<br />
this is what they saw...<br />
LMW FREE SHOWS<br />
@ MOJO<br />
bands, yet with completely different<br />
aesthetics (geek chic v. slacker chic),<br />
they were each accompanied by an<br />
equally nattily-dressed local support:<br />
THE SONIC FAITH, the new moniker<br />
for erstwhile doomsters Dustland,<br />
joined The Young Knives; and THE<br />
LIBERTY VESSELS supported ladymagnets<br />
Tribes, though they couldn’t<br />
quite match Tribes’ single Sappho as<br />
a jovial crowd-pleaser.<br />
The disarmingly charming<br />
BENJAMIN FRANCIS LEFTWICH was next<br />
to take to the MOJO stage, which he<br />
did on Day Four with an unassuming<br />
grace that was overflowing with<br />
simplicity and beauty. Wrapping us<br />
up in a calming harmony, his soft<br />
and dreamy Cat Power-esque croon<br />
on set closer Atlas Hands rounded<br />
the set off perfectly, on a night which<br />
was complemented by the infectious<br />
rhythm and cascading harmonies of<br />
DAN CROLL’s Marion. Sublime.<br />
After a brief respite for FOREIGN<br />
BEGGARS, DELS and some EAT YOUR<br />
GREENS madness, it was back to the<br />
earnest winsomeness at MOJO as BIG<br />
DEAL took up the reins. Their debut LP<br />
Lights Out is a wonderful collection<br />
of intimate bedroom ballads that<br />
are ultimately bound together by<br />
the frisson of sexual tension that<br />
exists between Alice Costelloe and<br />
KC Underwood, most in evidence<br />
on opening number Chair with<br />
Costelloe’s pained adolescent refrain<br />
of “you won’t let me sit on the end<br />
of your bed, so I sit on a chair in the<br />
corner instead.” The jostling acoustic/<br />
electric guitars added an extra layer<br />
of intrigue as you began to wonder if<br />
they were in fact fighting each other,<br />
or neatly fitting in to the tiny spaces<br />
each other left behind, like only<br />
intimately aligned partnerships can.<br />
The following two days saw MOJO<br />
play host to two of this year’s most<br />
talked about artists, with the cream<br />
of Liverpool’s own talent forming<br />
the supporting cast. BAXTER DURY<br />
brought out the dry and observational<br />
street ballads from Happy Soup on<br />
Saturday night, looking like a dapper<br />
yet slightly seedy car salesman in his<br />
suit.<br />
Sunday night saw Long Island’s<br />
TWIN SISTER roll out some of their<br />
trademark sultry indie-pop tales,<br />
with their washed-out, pastel tones<br />
in full evidence, and backed up by<br />
our very own ALL WE ARE and THE<br />
READYMADES. Good work, guys.<br />
The incessant run of shows<br />
evidently took its toll on the crowds,<br />
as Monday’s showcase drew a slightly<br />
diminished crowd. Californians<br />
GARDENS & VILLA displayed some<br />
soft beats, even softer vocals, and<br />
an appetite for experimenting with<br />
instrumentation (vocalist Chris Lynch<br />
was regularly spotted plucking a flute<br />
from his satchel), meaning that those<br />
that stayed away missed some deft<br />
musical magic.<br />
The packed line-up of the following<br />
night was another runaway victory,<br />
with MARCUS FOSTER and CASHIER<br />
NO. 9 sharing an equal billing, and<br />
EMILY AND THE WOODS’ unexpectedly<br />
brief and endearing set at the<br />
beginning setting things up expertly<br />
(the delicate Steal His Heart standing<br />
out a mile). Belfast natives Cashier<br />
No. 9 were first up, showing off plenty<br />
of variety in terms of instruments and<br />
sounds that threatened to run out of<br />
control. Songs When Jackie Shone and<br />
To Make You Feel Better proved this a<br />
false worry, and provided a neat buffer<br />
With the news that The Horror’s<br />
Faris Badwan’s voice had given up on<br />
him, it was left to THE DUKE SPIRIT to<br />
open festival proceedings, with the<br />
first in a run of fourteen free shows<br />
at MOJO. Though ably supported by<br />
the charming BEING JO FRANCIS, The<br />
Duke Spirit failed to get things off to<br />
quite the incendiary start we’d hoped.<br />
Leila Moss did her best as she stalked<br />
the stage and growled her way<br />
through her vocals, but the Aussie/<br />
Brit rockers’ chugging psych grooves<br />
did little to avert attention from the<br />
array of cocktails on offer.<br />
Fortunately the next two nights<br />
of entertainment saw THE YOUNG<br />
KNIVES, and then TRIBES, successfully<br />
ramp up the atmosphere in MOJO,<br />
and gave the festival the kick-start it<br />
needed. Both immaculately turned out<br />
Big Deal (Marie Hazelwood)<br />
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etween the brisker songs and the<br />
softer, more relaxed tracks. Like a ball<br />
of burning passion, Marcus Foster’s<br />
somewhat unorthodox shrieking is a<br />
unique trait that belies his beautifully<br />
written songs. I Don’t Need To Lose<br />
You To Know was especially insidechurning,<br />
and brought beaming<br />
smiles of pride to the faces of his<br />
family members in the audience. And<br />
right they were, too.<br />
Undoubtedly the strongest line-up<br />
for these MOJO free shows, SUMMER<br />
CAMP were joined on their Thursday<br />
night headline slot by STEALING<br />
SHEEP (in sequins!), DOG IS DEAD<br />
(with a sax!), BARBIESHOP (doing<br />
covers!) and YES LORD SUGAR (“You’re<br />
fired!”). A case of saving the best ‘til<br />
last, this was an exercise in retroinfused<br />
music making and some<br />
lovely vintage dresses.<br />
Fresh-faced Nottingham lads Dog<br />
Is Dead took to the stage and pushed<br />
all the right excitement buttons with<br />
their perfectly-worked, mounting<br />
guitar crescendos and clever use of<br />
harmonies and unashamed popharmony<br />
hooks. But there was no<br />
taking away the limelight from<br />
Summer Camp’s Elizabeth Sankey<br />
and Jeremy Warmsley, the indie<br />
couple du jour, who began their set<br />
in the audience, acoustic guitar and<br />
Sankey’s piercingly pure voice rising<br />
above the crowd. Back on stage, the<br />
fitting teen pop culture images that<br />
scrolled in the background were an<br />
apt accompaniment to the alluring<br />
glaze of the ’80s American-inspired,<br />
synth-sprinkled pop found on debut<br />
LP Welcome To Condale. The audience<br />
packed in to MOJO were as besotted<br />
with their new favourite band as the<br />
two protagonists were with each<br />
other, making for a wholesomely<br />
uplifting slice of sunshine nostalgia..<br />
LMW SPECIAL EVENTS<br />
The promise of the hauntingly<br />
good LANTERNS ON THE LAKE in the<br />
muted ambience of Leaf was just<br />
too much to turn down as LMW <strong>2011</strong><br />
– in association with Mellowtone –<br />
branched out from what had become<br />
its home at MOJO. Suitably captivated<br />
by the beautiful LAURA JAMES AND<br />
THE LYRES, the audience was then<br />
wooed in to a trance-like state by<br />
Lanterns, with all eyes fixed on the<br />
Geordie sextet throughout their set.<br />
There was a breathtaking passion<br />
about them when playing that had<br />
to be seen to be believed: listening<br />
to their Bella Union-released album<br />
Gracious Tide, Take Me Home throws<br />
up images of bleak chamber pop and<br />
Sigur Ros, but as a live entity they<br />
had more in common with Arcade<br />
Fire or even Goldfrapp (no, seriously).<br />
Constantly swapping instruments,<br />
and finding new ways to draw sounds<br />
out of them, it was truly a pleasure to<br />
behold in full flow.<br />
The following night saw one<br />
of the most ambitious events of<br />
this year’s festival, as SEUN KUTI &<br />
EGYPT 80 took over The Kazimier, in<br />
association with Obscenic. The venue,<br />
packed to (and probably beyond)<br />
capacity, was bubbling with excited<br />
chatter by way of anticipation, even<br />
as UNITED VIBRATIONS were laying<br />
down a wonderfully groove-based<br />
blend of jazz, reggae and rock.<br />
Seun Kuti waited in the wings, not<br />
entering the fray until the moment<br />
was just right, while the seasoned<br />
performers of Egypt 80 were busy<br />
laying down a hypnotically welllayered<br />
groove for the arrival of the<br />
new master. When Kuti appeared -<br />
to rapturous applause - his presence<br />
and personality was immediately<br />
palpable without even a word<br />
spoken. That the following two hours<br />
passed in a blur of joyous euphoria<br />
speaks volumes about the former<br />
LIPA student who has effortlessly<br />
stepped into his father’s shoes as<br />
a musical tour de force. Barely ever<br />
stopping, the rhythmic trance of the<br />
music was punctuated by pounding<br />
beats produced by the <strong>18</strong>-strong<br />
band and Kuti’s flagrant sax solos.<br />
In terms of the excitement of live<br />
performance it absolutely does not<br />
get better than that; an experience<br />
that will be forever etched into the
For a Full LMW <strong>2011</strong> Photo Gallery Go To bidolito.co.uk<br />
Reviews Bido Lito! <strong>December</strong> <strong>2011</strong> 25<br />
memory of those lucky enough to<br />
have been a part of it.<br />
LMW CLOSING<br />
PARTY @ THE CUC<br />
And so it came to the culmination<br />
of this year’s festival, LMW <strong>2011</strong> taking<br />
over the labyrinthine Contemporary<br />
Urban Centre for its closing party, with<br />
around sixty acts spanning ten venues<br />
across four floors; a mini-festival in<br />
itself and one of the highlights of the<br />
city’s musical calendar.<br />
The ground floor Jamaica Rooms<br />
were the first to get up and running<br />
(bar-wise and music-wise), with<br />
Leeds’ ELLEN & THE ESCAPADES<br />
the first to take up the baton. They<br />
brought a delicate touch of soulful<br />
and disarming tracks, typified by<br />
new single When The Tide Creeps<br />
In, intertwined with their catchy pop<br />
hooks, that brought to mind echoes<br />
of Dylan and Fleetwood Mac.<br />
And then it was upstairs to the<br />
CUC’s top floor Cinema space for a<br />
special performance from DUSTIN<br />
WONG, joined by eight guitarists<br />
to help bring his orchestral vision<br />
Infinite Love to life. A fitting standing<br />
ovation was given in appreciation of<br />
the joyful cacophony created by the<br />
sixteen limbs moving in metronomic<br />
harmony, with all the shades of<br />
tone and tempo change showcased<br />
beautifully.<br />
Seun Kuti (Brennan Topley)<br />
Back downstairs, to the rather<br />
ornate backdrop of The Dragon Room,<br />
instrumental math rockers MUTO LEO<br />
were building up a fuss, with their<br />
incalculably tight rhythms and heaps<br />
of reverb. In a similar vein of energetic<br />
math punk, VASCO DA GAMA were next
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For a Full LMW <strong>2011</strong> Photo Gallery Go To bidolito.co.uk<br />
to take advantage of the room’s crisp<br />
acoustics, delivering a water-tight<br />
performance. The audience’s frantic<br />
head-bobbing showed how much<br />
love there is for this band, and their<br />
recent self-titled debut EP.<br />
The third floor gallery’s two stages,<br />
arrived safely despite the rumours<br />
of them hurtling to the venue on a<br />
under Bido Lito!’s stewardship,<br />
motorbike. Aside from the volume<br />
delivered a dazzling selection of<br />
artists. Indie disco duo CRUSHING<br />
BLOWS got us off to a flyer, hardhitting<br />
sticksman Hurricane Andrew<br />
balancing the dual responsibilities<br />
of acoustic drums and electronic<br />
being slightly underwhelming, the<br />
room was packed full of people<br />
come to see Merseyside’s latest buzz<br />
band, who even managed to get the<br />
audience singing along and crowdsurfing<br />
to closer and best single Two<br />
jiggery-pokery while guitarist<br />
Islands.<br />
Chris Jones waltzed and lurched The CUC’s main rooms played<br />
gracelessly around the floor. LUCKY<br />
host to the festival’s big draws,<br />
BEACHES and THE LOUD drew the<br />
GHOSTPOET and THE WHIP, who filled<br />
biggest crowds, while EAGULLS and<br />
the dingy and industrial warehouse<br />
WARM BRAINS toted their musical<br />
setting of Venue 1 with all manner<br />
profligacy about for all to see on<br />
of spectacular lighting and lyrical<br />
Honor Titus managed to take offence<br />
at a drunken crowd member’s own<br />
rantings, and dealt with it by issuing<br />
a swift elbow to the face. As all hell<br />
broke loose and security invaded the<br />
stage; the crowd broke into chants<br />
of “Ballzy! Ballzy!” to the time of<br />
drummer Crazy Abe’s pounding bass<br />
drum; the band cementing their dual<br />
reputation as heroes and villains of<br />
Liverpool Music Week.<br />
After missing their stage slot in the<br />
Mezzanine Bar, THE KAZIMIER KRUNK<br />
BAND weren’t to be deterred, and<br />
the impromptu conga that snaked<br />
through the corridors attested to their<br />
wanderings to find a new stage. As it<br />
turned out, the foyer offered fantastic<br />
acoustics for them, but the guerrilla<br />
gig lasted only a few minutes as a<br />
steward arrived to break up the party,<br />
barking something about health and<br />
safety rules.<br />
Back off to The Jamaica Room it<br />
was then, to catch the sensational<br />
BETH JEANS HOUGHTON in full kooky<br />
and quirky flow. Sporting a small furry<br />
animal as a hat of which Lady Gaga<br />
would have been proud, Houghton’s<br />
pairing of operatic vocals and folk<br />
music was wholly impressive, and<br />
we’re glad we caught it.<br />
Probably the most eagerly<br />
anticipated performance of the<br />
Closing Party was that of OUTFIT, who<br />
Stage Two. And then it all kicked off.<br />
New York’s most obnoxious hardcore<br />
oiks CEREBRAL BALLZY made sure<br />
they lived up to their reputation as<br />
splendour. Ghostpoet’s Mercury-<br />
rabble-rousers. Ranting frontman<br />
nominated album Peanut Butter<br />
Blues And Melancholy Jam formed<br />
the basis of his grime-indebted<br />
sparse dub set, while Greater<br />
Mancunians The Whip branded their<br />
particular blend of dance-punk on<br />
some unsuspecting retinas.<br />
Back out in the more open Venue 2,<br />
THE PHANTOM BAND were knocking<br />
the temperature down a few notches<br />
with their swirling phantasmagoria<br />
of sound. The Glaswegians revelled<br />
in the bigger stage, with the ominous<br />
portents from album The Wants<br />
dominating the space.<br />
As the crowds began to disperse,<br />
the dance floor of Venue 2 seemed<br />
to be the only place holding a crowd.<br />
The reason was DJ DEREK, the cool<br />
uncle we all wish we had, who was<br />
dishing out a lecture on the finer<br />
points of reggae and R&B, between<br />
Ghostpoet (Keith Ainsworth)
GIFTS<br />
Reviews Bido Lito! <strong>December</strong> <strong>2011</strong><br />
27<br />
Areopress<br />
Pour overs<br />
Chemex<br />
BSC vouchers<br />
Beans<br />
Kettles<br />
Totes<br />
Granola<br />
T-shirts<br />
Tea towels towels
28<br />
Bido Lito! <strong>December</strong> <strong>2011</strong><br />
Reviews<br />
dropping some choice hip-shakers.<br />
And so, with the echoes of Chaka<br />
Demus & Pliers still in our ears,<br />
we allowed ourselves to be swept<br />
outside on a swell of euphoria that<br />
marked the end of the evening,<br />
turning for one last look as the doors<br />
of the great renovated warehouse<br />
space swung shut: a very satisfying<br />
Liverpool Music Week <strong>2011</strong>.<br />
As seen by Christopher Torpey,<br />
Jonny Davis, N.Philip, Pete Charles,<br />
Ellie Witt, Natalie Williams, Matt<br />
Healy, Dan Owens and Tilly Sharp<br />
YOUNG LEGIONNAIRE<br />
Apple Canon – Wet Mouth<br />
Wingwalker @ The Shipping Forecast<br />
WET MOUTH: a vibrant new fragrance<br />
brought to you by some of Liverpool’s<br />
finest imports. A body of off-kilter<br />
melodies is coupled with splashes<br />
of youthful exuberance to result in<br />
a satisfying aroma that refrains from<br />
being too obtrusive. Armed to the<br />
teeth with their Sonic-Youth-isms, the<br />
quartet staple symbolist lyricism to<br />
quirky alt. indie music that radiates<br />
earnestness. Their performance may<br />
be somewhat subdued; however<br />
confidence and ability are just a<br />
couple of choice words that are sure<br />
to play a major role in their promising<br />
future.<br />
Peeling back the layers of their<br />
customary aesthetic by ditching the<br />
apple-esque attire is a bold move for<br />
APPLE CANNON, as they are renowned<br />
for their tongue-in-cheek attitude<br />
and ironic swagger; however, their<br />
madcap antics and riff-tastic aptitude<br />
denounce any notions of the band<br />
being purely novelty. Although their<br />
dry humour is very much still present,<br />
it’s their potent form of ‘thrash n roll’<br />
that retains the audience’s attention.<br />
Crisis Works has been one of the<br />
most overlooked albums of <strong>2011</strong>; its<br />
aural savagery is matched only by its<br />
astounding dynamics and emotional<br />
impact. It’s no wonder then, that<br />
YOUNG LEGIONNAIRE have finally<br />
earned their first headline tour on the<br />
back of such a magnificent venture.<br />
Their last Liverpool jaunt was playing<br />
second fiddle to Fucked Up for Sound<br />
City; however, this time around they’re<br />
primed for the centre stage. The<br />
crowd are welcomed to the fray with<br />
a flurry of enthusiasm, translated<br />
via the band’s disregard for auditory<br />
comfort, as heavy-hitters Twin Victory<br />
and Numbers flood out of their amps<br />
straight down the audience’s waiting<br />
ears. As Paul Mullen thrashes about<br />
the stage like a caged tiger, his energy<br />
is tangible, which considering the<br />
technicality required for his band’s<br />
songs, combined with the fact that<br />
he’s the sole guitarist, is an incredible<br />
feat. Young Legionnaire will have to<br />
work hard to escape their histories<br />
(Yourcodenameis:Milo and The<br />
Automatic), but it’s their identity from<br />
those histories that shape this quite<br />
magnificent band; a band whose raw<br />
Young Legionnaire (Michael Sheerin)<br />
talent and intelligent song-writing<br />
abilities result in a product that is<br />
much, much greater than the sum of<br />
its previous parts. It just goes to prove<br />
that a healthy dose of post-hardcore<br />
can cure anyone’s ills, even those<br />
with a severe case of nostalgia.<br />
Samuel Garlick<br />
THE SMEARS<br />
The Vermin Suicides - The Chacers<br />
Free Rock and Roll @ Mello Mello<br />
Any budding promoters out there<br />
looking for a clever name for their<br />
gig night should take heed that you<br />
needn’t be a seasoned wordsmith to<br />
get bums on seats, you just need to<br />
be honest about what you’re trying<br />
to achieve. Free Rock and Roll, a biweekly<br />
event now in its third year,<br />
does exactly what it says on the tin<br />
and provides a flourishing Thursday<br />
night event at Mello Mello which<br />
attracts familiar faces and curious<br />
observers every time. It can lay<br />
serious claim to be Liverpool’s most<br />
popular midweek gig night.<br />
Part of the event’s charm is that<br />
it gives a platform to acts that have<br />
something a little bit different about<br />
them. The word is that tonight’s<br />
first band, York’s THE CHACERS, are<br />
all bank managers by day. They go<br />
about their set with honesty and<br />
finesse, warming up with a collection<br />
of simple guitar pop songs with<br />
familiar subject matter. You Only<br />
Want Me When You’re Down sits<br />
somewhere between The Beautiful<br />
South and Elvis Costello, and despite<br />
the band uneasily propping up a bill<br />
which includes snotty punk vixens<br />
THE SMEARS, they hold their own. If<br />
nothing else, The Chacers are a damn<br />
sight more polite.<br />
The punk-o-meter gets an earnest<br />
crank with second act THE VERMIN<br />
SUICIDES, who comprise a number of<br />
familiar faces on the Liverpool punk<br />
scene. Bassist Alec Joyce is rocking<br />
a Mexican look, resplendent in<br />
sombrero and impressive handlebar<br />
moustache (which is back by popular<br />
demand). Tony T, best known as<br />
drummer with scene stalwarts<br />
The Dead Class, seamlessly blends<br />
rockabilly snare beats and half-step<br />
dub to inject a slinky, danceable ska<br />
groove into their bog standard firstwave<br />
punk format. A readiness to<br />
delve into punk’s subsidiary channels<br />
is integral to the appeal of this band.<br />
Not content to just be another threechord<br />
punk band, they give a varied<br />
and consummate performance.<br />
Now, drag The Bangles through<br />
a hedge backwards, dip them in gin<br />
and put them in a steel cage with<br />
Hole, and you’ve got Nottingham’s<br />
The Smears. Sassy and stilletoed,<br />
they power through thirty minutes<br />
of larynx-busting, grunge-flecked<br />
punk rock poison which, despite<br />
two members of the band being<br />
stupefyingly drunk, is carried off with<br />
unerring precision throughout. Tune-<br />
Check out the all new... www.bidolito.co.uk
Words<br />
and Deeds<br />
Providing proofreading and<br />
professional writing services to<br />
students, businesses, charities,<br />
and the media.<br />
Telephone Debra: 07783 997129<br />
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Website: www.wordsanddeeds.co.uk<br />
Static Gallery is available<br />
for live events<br />
Full PA & Technical Specifications now available in-house<br />
Previous shows include Micah P Hinson, The Coral, DJ Yoda,<br />
Shackleton, The Bees, Best Coast, Spectrum, Crystal Stilts, Liars<br />
and many more...<br />
Email events@statictrading.com for details<br />
statictrading.com<br />
Sun 27th November, Sun 15th January, Sun 5th February,<br />
Sun 11th March, Sun 15th April & Sun 13th May.<br />
8:00pm, Palace Room.<br />
Meal served in the Panoramic<br />
Lounge, 5:45pm to 7:15pm.<br />
COMEDY<br />
£10.00<br />
COMEDY &<br />
TWO COURSE MEAL<br />
£20.00<br />
To save money with our ‘Bunch of Laughs’<br />
offer, please contact the Box Offi ce.<br />
Tue 31st January, 7:30pm.<br />
Standard £20.00 Concession £<strong>18</strong>.00 Prima Donna £15.00 Soubrette<br />
£16.00
30<br />
Bido Lito! <strong>December</strong> <strong>2011</strong><br />
Reviews<br />
up breaks make them easy heckle-bait,<br />
but guitarist Maimee V seems to relish<br />
the challenge, fixing one offender<br />
with a look of death and audibly<br />
snarling. “This song’s called Eat Shit!”<br />
she thunders. Perhaps fearful of the<br />
potential embarrassment of being<br />
beaten to death with a high-heeled<br />
shoe, the guilty party dutifully corks it<br />
for the rest of the show.<br />
What The Smears lack in<br />
experimentation, they make up for in<br />
attitude, ability and sheer lung power<br />
and, with a spit and a scowl, they<br />
leave the Mello Mello faithful feeling<br />
a little bit dirty.<br />
Pete Charles<br />
DOG SHOW<br />
Loved Ones – Hot Light<br />
Fiesta – All We Are<br />
Urchin Sessions @ Unit<br />
59 Warehouse<br />
Wow, where to start? Six bands,<br />
assorted DJs, an awesome venue,<br />
a fine assortment of movers and<br />
shakers in attendance: the classic<br />
too many cooks joke can be excluded<br />
here as the staggeringly meaty lineup<br />
put together by Meshuggy for<br />
this warehouse party was so well<br />
composed.<br />
Turning up red-faced and slightly<br />
late, I thankfully managed to catch ALL<br />
WE ARE, one of the standout bands of<br />
the night. Their poignant melodies<br />
and sage-like lyrics emphasise them<br />
as an assured asset of Liverpool’s<br />
new wave of alternative folksters.<br />
The patchwork quilt of the quaint<br />
and laconic sown by All We Are was<br />
quickly ripped up by HOT LIGHT<br />
FIESTA, a band to be taken with a<br />
pinch of Tabasco. Their quavered<br />
vocals and pop-laden verses became<br />
subverted in parts, expressed with<br />
some really well-worked, heavy riffs<br />
that demonstrated their potential to<br />
the full. The talent is there, and you<br />
can see the echoes of Broken Social<br />
Scene emerging more when they<br />
reach musical maturity.<br />
LOVED ONES followed up to<br />
demonstrate some of the finest<br />
musical exports Liverpool has to<br />
offer: nu-age psychedelia strung with<br />
harrowingly beautiful melodies and<br />
minimalism, combining to paint the<br />
Dogshow (Mike Brits)<br />
aesthetically pleasing image of a<br />
weird, dreamy love child of Gruff Rhys<br />
and Portishead. With their first single<br />
released in November on a subsidiary<br />
label for Fierce Panda, it’s clear to see<br />
the Loved Ones dream of blowing up<br />
the bandwagons. Phew.<br />
Closing the bill, DOG SHOW<br />
expressed all that’s dark and<br />
wondrously beautiful inside the cogs<br />
of the musical mind. Like two young<br />
mischievous boys armed with drums<br />
and keyboards that go about slipping<br />
Catherine wheels onto the soles of<br />
your shoes, it was impossible to stop<br />
moving during their set. Their Glasto<br />
and Shambala merits commend their<br />
prominence in the biz as dangerously<br />
talented musicians that nobody with<br />
eyes and/or ears should miss.<br />
Si Finnerty<br />
TOM VEK<br />
The Masque Theatre<br />
Six years is a dangerously long<br />
time to wait for a second album<br />
to emerge. With the hype well and<br />
truly flattened and the dance-rock<br />
scene that spawned him a mere<br />
recent memory, TOM VEK is lucky<br />
that anybody still cares. Judging by<br />
the fantastic turnout tonight, people<br />
really do care. The Masque is packed<br />
with people who have waited over<br />
half a decade to hear new music from<br />
this man. The response to songs old<br />
and new is tremendously positive<br />
and Vek is treated like a prodigal<br />
son returning. Songs such as C-C (You<br />
Set The Fire In Me) are a compelling<br />
reminder of his individual talent and,<br />
when set against a backdrop of spikey<br />
punk-funk bands who have largely all<br />
fallen by the wayside, Vek sounds<br />
like nobody else. Playing bass for<br />
most of the set, Vek demonstrates an<br />
aptitude for experimenting with deep<br />
melody and letting the bass guitar<br />
take the lead in many songs. Bringing<br />
a full band with him makes the songs<br />
sound as full as they can be, although<br />
many of the guitar sounds are played<br />
using a sampler, which seems a bit<br />
redundant when there is clearly a<br />
guitar waiting to be strummed.<br />
The eagerly anticipated songs from<br />
new album Leisure Seizure stand up<br />
well in the set. Recent single A Chore<br />
sits seamlessly alongside songs from<br />
debut We Have Sound and shows no<br />
drop in quality. Some of the other<br />
new songs don’t quite match up to<br />
this and threaten to play into the<br />
hands of doubters. With the musical<br />
landscape so radically different now,<br />
it takes a whole lot of confidence or<br />
foolishness to return with music that<br />
is so resolutely similar to previous<br />
material. It might be wishful thinking<br />
for Tom Vek to acquire a new set<br />
of fans with album number two,<br />
but it seems he has maintained a<br />
relationship with every last devoted<br />
supporter since 2005. If he can hold<br />
onto such a loyal fanbase after such<br />
a long silence then clearly his career<br />
has much life in it yet.<br />
Jonny Davis