Bill Ryder-Jones Salem Rages Loka Lizzie Nunnery Bill ... - Bido Lito!

Issue 18
December 2011
Bill Ryder-Jones
Salem Rages
Loka
Lizzie Nunnery
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Bill Bill Ryder-Jones by Jennifer Pellegrini

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Editorial
It feels a little strange to be writing a column saying goodbye
to 2011 barely halfway through November, but with the way these
monthly deadlines roll around and our short break for Christmas, that’s
the position I find myself in. Yet again, we’ve resisted the urge to go
list-o-manic this month and will be leaving the rundowns of favourite
TV moments and ‘craziest’ LP artworks to the glossy fraternity; there’s
been that much going on of late that we’d prefer to occupy ourselves
with the more ‘serious’ stuff.
First mention must go to the Liverpool Music Week Closing Party at
the CUC. Check out the full review in this issue, but I must say from a
personal perspective how much I enjoyed the event. True, it was an
utter labyrinth, a sprawling architectural mass packed with musical
treats in every nook and cranny, but that’s exactly what made it. I
don’t know how many of you will remember the place, but the whole
experience for me brought back memories of going to Pleasure Land
on the old Festival Garden site along Otterspool Prom as a kid and
losing myself in the intertwining mass mass of ball ponds and death slides.
Actually, it also reminds reminds me of of a club I went went to a few few weeks back in
an old decommissioned factory in in Estonia... (the less said of that the the
better). Miks on tuled tuled vilkuv nii kiiresti? kiiresti?
The Bido Lito! postbag has been positively bulging of late, with
genuinely exciting new artists artists seeming to ooze from the the office office
woodwork on an almost almost daily basis. I don’t usually use this column
to champion specific bands - that’s what our our features are are for each
month - but, at at the risk risk of this one getting out out of the bag before I can
throw my meddling oar in, I’d like like to bring a group called DEATH AT
SEA SEA to your attention (we’ve included included them in in this month’s Dansette,
on page four). In my personal, humble opinion, they are are quite special.
I can’t remember the last time I I was was so bowled over by a group’s group’s first
offering. I’m not not going to to say say any more, we’ll we’ll have a full piece on them
next month, but go and and check out Drag. Drag Drag. And no, for the cynics out
there, I don’t manage them, I I don’t drink with them, I’ve never even
met them. I’m just a (probably slightly over enthusiastic) fan.
I’m mildly concerned about about the fact that we’re having thirteen
round to ours for Christmas dinner this year. Cerys is (understandably)
flapping. It’s a good good job we aren’t aren’t putting out a magazine next next month;
I fear that the next few weeks are going to be spent decorating trees, trees,
hunting turkeys, and digging up spuds. Wish me luck!
Have Have a well-oiled Christmas and and a fantastic New Year. Here’s to a
musically mesmeric 2012; mine’s mine’s an A. Le Coq...
Craig G Pennington
Pennington
Editor
Features
6 BILL RYDER-JONES
8
SALEM RAGES
10 LOKA
12 LIZZIE NUNNERY
14 RIOT AT THE RADIO
Regulars
4 NEWS
16 PREVIEWS/SHORTS
20 RANTS/COMMENT
22 REVIEWS
Run the Santa Dash for CALM!
Sunday 4th Dec 2011
Scan the QR code for all the info!
Bido Lito! December 2011 3
Bido Lito!
Issue Eighteen - December 2011
bidolito.co.uk
Bido Lito!
Static Gallery, 23 Roscoe Lane
Liverpool, L1 9JD
info@bidolito.co.uk
Editor
Craig G Pennington - info@bidolito.co.uk
Assistant & Reviews Editor
Christopher Torpey - reviews@bidolito.co.uk
Photo Editor
Jennifer Pellegrini - photos@bidolito.co.uk
Designer
Luke Avery - info@earthstudios.net
info@earthstudios.net
Words Words
Craig G Pennington, Christopher Torpey,
Helen Weatherhead, Weatherhead, Jonny Davis, David David
Lynch, Lynch, Richard Lewis, Lewis, John Still, The Glass
Pasty, Nik Glover, Peter Guy, Pete Charles, N.
Philip, Natalie Williams, Pete Charles, Ellie
Witt, Tilly Sharp, Dan Dan Owens, Matt Healy,
Samuel Samuel Garlick, Si Finnerty
Photography, Illustration Illustration and Layout
Jennifer Pellegrini, Luke Avery, Keith Ainsworth,
Michael Cottage, Peter Lead, Mike Brits, Marie
Hazelwood, Michael Sheerin, Sheerin, Brennan Topley
Proofreading
Debra Williams - debra@wordsanddeeds.co.uk
Adverts
To advertise in Bido Lito! please contact
Another Media: bidolito@anothermedia.org
0151 708 2841

News
Edited by Helen Weatherhead - news@bidolito.co.uk
Edited by Helen Weatherhead - news@bidolito.co.uk
Radio Goes Gaga For Green
Check out the all new... www.bidolito.co.uk
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bidolito
Four years after the release of her critically acclaimed debut single, LIZ GREEN has finally
returned with a new batch of retro folk tunes for a full length long player, O, Devotion! Recorded
in London’s famous Toe Rag Studios, The Wirral songstress’s debut album was named BBC
6Music’s Album of the Day on 16th November, just two days after its release on Play It Again
Sam Records. Welcome back! lizgreenmusic.co.uk
MOJO On The Airwaves
Not satisfied with just playing ‘Music For The People’ until 4am at its Back Berry Street
headquarters, MOJO has decided to launch a brand new digital radio station with a playlist that
comprises local Liverpool talent and artists due to play at the Berry Street venue. Radio MOJO,
which streams live from the MOJO website, is currently inviting musicians looking for airplay to
send in their submissions. radiomojo.co.uk
Rocket From The Crypt
COMPETITION!
The third instalment of a.P.A.t.T.’s soul-searching four-part concert series Musical Settings
will be housed in Lutyen’s Crypt below the the Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral on 7th December.
Beneath Beneath The Surface’s themes of “depth, resonance and claustrophobia” will share an affinity
with the vaulted space, space, making making for a thought-provoking and spine-tingling spectacle. For more
information and to buy tickets, visit: apattorchestra.co.uk
Chords And Crafts At The Winter Arts Market
Singer-songwriters Mark Delaney, Mike Badger and Nick Ellis will join the Liverpool Ukulele
Orchestra in performing at the WINTER ARTS MARKET in St George’s Hall on 4th December. The
shows will take place in the historic Crown Courtroom, with the main hall dominated by 120
Christmas stalls selling more original artwork and handmade crafts than you’ll be able to shake
some tinsel at. winterartsmarket.wordpress.com
Tigers Catch Up With The Sheep!
Politically-charged hardcore band WE CAME OUT LIKE TIGERS and new Heavenly signings
STEALING SHEEP are both now proud parents of shiny new records – congratulations! WCOLT
have welcomed welcomed a full 7” EP and a split 7” with Ravachol into their brood, which you can listen to
at wecameoutliketigers.bandcamp.com. Meanwhile Meanwhile Stealing Sheep are cooing over latest EP
Noah And The Paper Moon, Moon Moon, which is available on 12” from Rough Trade. roughtrade.com
Bido Lito! have teamed up with the lovely folk at Harvest Sun Promotions to offer one
lucky reader a pair of tickets to four of Harvest Sun’s early shows of 2012 – now that’s
a prize! LANTERNS ON THE LAKE (pictured) (19th January), JOSH ROUSE (26th January),
THE WAR ON DRUGS (23rd February), and COLD SPECS (24th February) all make up this the special festive bundle. To
be in with a chance of winning, all you have to do is answer the following question:
Beardrock.com interviewed Lanterns on the Lake about beards, day jobs and childhood dreams. What was Paul’s
(guitar, electronics) childhood dream?
a) To play for Tranmere b) To be a fighter pilot c) To design Lego models
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
answers will be placed into a (pink) Santa hat, the winner picked at random (possibly by Rudolf) and notified by email. Good luck!
Bido Lito! Dansette Dansette
Our pick of this month’s wax
wonders...
Death At Sea
Drag
UNSIGNED
Careful you don’t get your ears burnt
by this, the luxuriant and chilled out
sound of liquid gold. Lo-fi, melodic
and bursting with the strains of
Deerhunter and The Pixies, DEATH
AT SEA are are our our new new band band crush, crush, and and
they’ll soon be be yours yours too.
Dog Is Dead
Hands Down
ATLANTIC A RECORDS
Like opening the windows wide on a
winter day and allowing the chill wind
to blow the cobwebs away, DOG IS
DEAD specialise in the kind of bright
and breezy indie that might at first
glance seem a bit wet, but is actually
pretty infectious and hard to dislodge
from your cortex. In a good way.
Dum Dum Girls
Only In Dreams
SUB POP
Anyone hoping for these New York
punk grrrls to reprise the faintly sleazy
and delinquent blast of debut LP I Will
Be will be surprised by this second
album, as Dee Dee and co seem to
have grown up. Cleaner, sharper, and
ultimately more personal, Only In
Dreams Dreams is a bold step forward for the
coolest coolest chicks in town.
Charlotte Gainsbourg
Terrible Angels
BECAUSE MUSIC/
ELEKTRA
The impossibly sassy CHARLOTTE
GAINSBOURG has done it again: this EP,
serving as a stop gap between 2009’s
sumptuous IRM, and the forthcoming
double album Stage Whisper, Whisper Whisper, Whisper sees
the Gallic beauty team up with Beck
and Villagers’ Conor O’Brien again to
produce some some more sultry sultry magic.

BRITISH
SEA POWER
LUNASA
THE SMITHS
INDEED
THOMAS
TANTRUM
THE UNTHANKS
SPIN DOCTORS
JUDY COLLINS
JULIAN COPE
THE BEES
BAY CITY
ROLLERS
DAMIEN DEMPSEY
& AMSTERDAM
EMMY
THE GREAT
SPARROW AND
THE WORKSHOP
WALTER TROUT
PURESSENCE
THE ZOMBIES
Thanks to everyone that supported our events this year.
The Music Consortium has now taken over Hairy Records on Bold St and the big refurbishment
is well underway. While that’s happening you can buy tickets in the shop for our own shows
and also for The Maccabees, British Sea Power, Motorhead, Tom Vek, Thomas Vek,
Thomas Dolby, Battles, J. Cole, Loch Lomond, Zola Jesus, Ting Tings, Kitty, Daisy &
Lewis, Professor Green and many more…
Like us on Facebook to get the latest
news and photos from all our gigs.
www.themusicconsortium.com

Bill
Ryder-
Jones
Words: Craig G Pennington
Photography: Jennifer Pellegrini

T
he slender frame of BILL RYDER-JONES is nestled upon a
Tdrum drum stool in his West Kirby studio, located just off the River Dee
Twaterfront waterfront and on the first floor of his mother’s semi-detached
Thouse. house. There’s an upright piano in one corner, an assortment of
guitars and amplifiers in another, a drum kit, an AppleMac and a Grandfather
clock. A deep, decorative flock wallpaper hangs on the walls. “Yeah, I’ve loved
it,” Bill sighs, when I ask whether he’s enjoyed the process of creating If..., “I’m
definitely going to make more music, so I must have enjoyed it.”
Having spent the last three days immersed in the symphonic melancholia of
If... (Bill’s first full-length offering since leaving The Coral over three and a half
years ago), this comes as a welcome relief. When we last chatted with Bill, the
sessions for If..., a largely orchestral score written to the Italo Calvino novel,
If On A Winter’s Night A Traveller, had only just begun, at The Scandinavian
Church on Park Lane. After a further series of sessions at Elevator on Cheapside,
the process culminated at The Friary in Everton, as The Liverpool Philharmonic
Orchestra was committed to tape.
“We rolled in there one day and just set up all the gear we’d rented,” Bill
enthuses, the excitement of the experience still tangible in his voice. “It was crazy.
I’d used up over half the budget on booking the orchestra. It was the last thing
to do, over 60% of the album, and we had to record it in six hours. That was it. If
anything had gone wrong, you’re talking thousands of pounds an hour. It was
frantic and we had a bit of a sweat on but we just got away with it.”
When you you consider the the scale of of the project, not just just musically but but also the
physically imposing mass of the orchestra, this must have been a daunting
proposition? “Totally,” Bill confirms. “When I’m in here writing, I probably feel like
‘yeah, I’m quite good’, but when you get out into the world you realise that these
people, they play everything, all the best, they’re familiar with all the geniuses of
modern music. They play that work and they understand that work much better
than I do and they understand the orchestra because that’s their life.”
Conscious of not wanting to appear the egotistical young ex-rockstar
upstart (a (a label that couldn’t be further from Bill’s unassuming, shy nature),
the experience was a heavy one for the composer to shoulder (at one point
he retired to the loos, locked the door and immersed himself in his phone...
solitaire, naturally). He was lucky enough to assemble a team around him to
help help make sure the sessions bore the required fruits.
“Mike Crossey (Arctic Monkeys, Foals, Blood Red Shoes) was there kind of
overseeing the recording with a guy called Christian Hildebrand, who I’d
brought in to produce the string session. He’s boss, like a Bond bad guy, no
bullshit; bullshit; and and a guy guy called called Mark Mark Burnley. The three of them and Darren Jones
- who engineered the the bulk bulk of the the record - came came down; the the five of us us teamed
it and everyone just got involved. Afterwards, it felt felt like we’d just pulled off a
bank job. job. None of us had had done anything quite like that before.”
In addition to the team tasked with capturing the orchestral recordings, Bill
enlisted the help of a.P.A.t.T. Orchestra maverick Jon Herring, a man that Bill “can’t
rate highly enough, a lovely lad,” to look over the final scores. “It was nice to have
someone a few years further down the line with that stuff than I am,” says Bill.
The actual piecing together of the resulting record is fascinating, particularly
on Enlace, a track which moves from a light, suggestive drum/piano groove, via a
brooding orchestral middle section, out of a Harrison-esque, heady guitar finale (the
final coda being the only point at which the chimes of Bill’s previous endeavours
are suggested; electric guitars are elsewhere conspicuous by their absence). Surely
this wasn’t all put down together live? “Most of Enlace was recorded at Elevator
by me and Sean Payne from The Zutons,” says Bill. “But when it came to recording
the orchestra parts we didn’t have enough headphones for everyone, so half of the
orchestra had headphones, the conductor had headphones, and the other half of
the orchestra had to just kind play to the conductor. Luckily it came off.”
Bido Lito! December 2011 7
By The Church Of Appalonia provides another personal highlight. Interestingly,
this was the first track recorded for the record. It was completely put together at
The Scandinavian Church and doesn’t feature the full force of The Philharmonic. It
is also on this piece that the underlying structure to the album becomes acutely
apparent, as Bill uses the themes and story-lines of If On A Winter’s Night A
Traveller’s ten chapters as the bedrock for each section of music. By The Church Of
Appalonia vividly portrays the emotions associated with the corresponding section
of Calvino’s novel: images of a war-torn Eastern Europe, suppression, the military
and a sinister sexual underbelly. “That tune is very direct and quite obvious to me,”
confirms Bill. “It needed to sound Eastern European, which I think it does; it needed
to focus around a girl, which it does; and it needed to relate to a sex scene. It all
kind of felt quite easy really. There is a track called The Flowers #3 (Lotus), which
is about an Asian philosopher and his student who has a relationship with the
philosopher’s partner and daughter. When it’s that precise you can over think it. I
just wanted that tune to move a lot and have an East Asian element to it.”
It is obvious that Bill was conscious of the need to keep the balance right; a blend
of being true to the conceptual framework of the novel, without compromising
the music in its own right. “The balance was important. Concept albums are
typically by prog bands about medieval Britain; it’s a touchy subject.” Bill jokes. “It
was always going to be quite high brow and a bit smug, a bit pompous, and may
turn some people off, but I just thought ‘I’m going to go for it’. I still stand by it, I
think it’s a good idea, and I’m happy. I think if someone else had done it I’d have
been like, ‘that’s great, well in for not just strapping the Strat on.’ There would
have been a few people who’d have liked to hear me just play guitar on a record, I
could have done that and just made a quick buck, but it would have been shit. It’s
like anything: don’t over think it, but when it is something that cerebral and that
intense, you do have to put so much into it. It completely absorbed me for sixteen
months, and I think you can tell. I don’t think you can listen to it and think ‘well
that just happened’. It was very laborious.”
Given Bill’s desire to distance himself from the ‘songwriter’ tag, Le Grand
Disordre could represent a surprise inclusion on the record. I must say that
I’m glad it has has made it, the piece’s Drake-ian whisper and and fingerpicked guitar,
backed by a linear, orchestral homophony takes inspiration from River Man in
arrangement, whilst offering its own unique perspective. It provides If... with a
truly gorgeous, personal moment.
“I’m at peace now with my songs,” offers Bill; it seems over the previous
fifteen months a weight has been lifted. “The album is 80% instrumental.
You listen to it and think that this is a musician who’s written a song there,
and that’s that’s how I see myself. I don’t want to be be someone someone who’s who’s thought thought of
as a songwriter. It probably doesn’t matter matter to anyone else but I want to be a
musician who may write songs, rather than a songwriter songwriter who scores music.
I’ve probably got a really unhealthy view of the idea of people who class
themselves as songwriters, it’s just that tag, it makes my skin crawl. I love Nick
Drake, Mick Head, all the great songwriters, but there’s something about me
being a songwriter which makes me just wanna scratch at myself.”
It also seems that Bill’s appetite for live performance may have increased since
we last met up, albeit slightly. I suggest that a full orchestral performance of If...
would seem a natural progression. “It’d be a shame if it didn’t happen,” Bill agrees.
“I’d only do it if there was a real demand for it because it would, without sounding
dramatic, be such an ordeal. I’d have to think that lots of people wanted to see it. If
something mad like the Proms wanted to do something, or someone wanted to put
it on in the Forum in Rome, or something ridiculous. I’m probably just safeguarding
myself there.... I’ll do it if NASA are involved and we can do it on the moon!”
If... If.. If... is out now on Domino Records
dominorecordco.com
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bidolito

8
Bido Lito! December 2011
THE RISE OF GLOOM PUNK
BENEATH THE GREY MATTER OF SALEM RAGES
I originally wanted to start this article with a clever play on the phrase
‘these are dark times.’ Unfortunately, I had assumed the expression was from a
weightier literary source than its actual root – Harry fucking Potter. Regardless, the
witchcraft link I have now clumsily hatched is apt enough to describe the outlook
of Liverpool’s newest (and probably first) gloom-punk outfit, SALEM RAGES.
Formed from the ashes of well-supported local punk acts S.S.S and Cold Ones,
this band take a rather different perspective on that branch of rock music. Salem
Rages are all horror-show guitars and dark chord changes, given a sprinkling of
Gray Matter-esque American punk; in fact if you’re struggling to envisage the final
product, think Zombies on skateboards. The assumed names of its members are a
further further example example of of the the band’s band’s ethos: ethos: meet Messrs. Rag Payne, A.Dark Sun, Sunday
Mourning and Roman Roman Remains. I I got got the opportunity to chat vinyl, artwork and and trick
or treat with the latter two as they used their ‘daytime names’ - Dave and Russ.
We inevitably start by talking talking influences, and Dave eagerly lets lets me in on the secret
regarding the the specificity of the group’s group’s origins: “Sometimes it’s not just just bands, bands, it’s
things. There’s a film called Suburbia and and there’s a bit in in that film where where there there is a
band called TSOL [True Sounds of Liberty]; we just liked about twenty seconds of
it. We were like like ‘that ‘that bit there, that’s what we want to do’. That look, that that feeling,
that’s what we wanted wanted to to aim aim for.” It makes sense. This This is a band pushing a level of
originality unlike most; they should at least have an influence equally as quirky.
Russ brings a little more of a musical backdrop to the band’s cultivation,
however, citing citing the British-tinged late skate punk punk scene as an influence. “If you
look at it in a hardcore timeline, it starts in 1983 when American punk bands
slowed down down a little bit and started started taking in in a few more influences. They
started gelling gelling hardcore aggression, speed and simplicity, with guitar elements
which lend themselves to bands like Joy Division and Echo & The The Bunnymen.”
Given the end product of this witches’ brew being something of an acquired
taste, I ask if they have trouble with being pigeonholed into certain gigs? Dave
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Words: David Lynch Photography: Jennifer Jennifer Pellegrini
tells me that this has thus far proved impossible: “We’re always the square peg in
round holes on billings.” When I enquire whether this is a good thing, both the lads
swiftly and emphatically reply in the affirmative - this is clearly a band enjoying their
uniqueness. Their latest release then, an EP entitled Disturb Not The Sleep Of Death, Death Death,
of course follows this philosophy closely.
First editions of the vinyl record came encased in a crushed velvet sleeve
and with several unique pieces of assorted paraphernalia associated with the
band. This is the group’s prerogative, adding their spin to the DIY project, and
Russ explained how this route presented itself: “We got a label from London
not coming through on the promise of putting a record out. We thought, ‘to this
point we’ve done everything off our own backs, why don’t we just pull together
everything we’ve got.’” And And so, a wonderful artistic opportunity opportunity was was born.
Everything is now now put together financially and artistically artistically by the band and,
as Dave explains, this this is an aspect they are rather enjoying, given the slavish
nature of record labels they had encountered whilst in other bands. bands. “The last
band I was was in we had no artistic control, everything arrived to you already done.
It takes all the fun away when they advertise advertise you how they want want you to be.” In
keeping, then, with this ideal, the band’s band’s next EP, entitled Our Halloween is set to
be released on Flexi Disc Disc (anyone (anyone remember those?!).
For future releases, the band are understandably unwilling to surrender this
creative flair. Russ says: “This is the band where we’re going to do everything we
couldn’t do in other bands and completely go for for it,” before telling me me they’d like
to release an album... album... on VHS. So, when Dave adds to this by declaring, “Any idea
goes,” I see that utterance as not not just a summary of Salem Rages, Rages, but also of art
itself. And, though though it is often forgotten, that’s the point of it all, isn’t it?
Go to bidolito.co.uk for this month’s exclusive Obscenic Session with Salem Rages
salemrages.co.uk

Mon 28th Nov � £10.50 adv
Electric Six
Tues 29th Nov � £8 adv
Little Barrie
Thurs 1st Dec � SOLD OUT
Miles Kane
Sat 3rd Dec � £19.50 adv
DJ Shadow
Sat 3rd Dec � £10 adv
The Complete
Stone Roses
Sun 4th Dec � £15 adv
Melanie C
Mon 5th Dec � £18.50 adv
Shed Seven
Wed 7th Dec � £15 adv
The Lemonheads
Performing ‘It’s A Shame About Ray’
Wed 7th Dec � £17.50 adv
Thurs 8th Dec � SOLD OUT
Fri 9th Dec � SOLD OUT
The Wombats
Fri 9th Dec � £12 adv
The Dogs D’Amour
!"#$RS#=$T0D$�$>?RABC$"'D$!#"25)P$.=)"#&)$
.=)$.;2G$.;2GF
!12$R@#=$T0D$�$!+,($+-.$/012#30&'$4"55$
U&03)FF0&$V&))2
!"#$%&'$()*$�$!+,($+-.$/012#30&'$4"55$
67"895)
Sun 11th Dec � £15.50 adv
Aloe Blacc
Tues 13th Dec � £17.50 adv
Molly Hatchet
Tues 13th Dec � £15 adv
Dappy
Wed 14th Dec � £20 adv
Go West
Thurs 15th Dec � £15.50 adv
The Blackout
Fri 16th Dec � £18 adv
Sat 17th Dec � SOLD OUT
Echo & The
Bunnymen
Tues 20th Dec � £10 adv
Vintage Trouble
Thurs 22nd Dec � £12.50 adv
Space
Sat 14th Jan � £8 adv
Novana
(The UK’s Only Tribute To Nirvana)
Fri 27th Jan � £17.50 adv
An Evening with Danny
& Ben from Thunder
Sat 28th Jan � £12.50 adv
The Carpet Crawlers
The Ultimate Genesis Tribute
Thurs 2nd Feb � £15 adv
Babybird
Fri 3rd Feb � £14.50 adv
Reel Big Fish
Sat 4th Feb � £22.50 adv
Big Country
Wed 8th Feb � £17 adv
Dropkick Murphys
Sat 11th Feb � £22.50 adv
Lightning Seeds
Sun 12th Feb � £10.50 adv
The Big Pink
Tues 14th Feb � £16.50 adv
Skrillex
Fri 17th Feb � £12 adv � 10pm – 3am
James Lavelle
Fri 24th Feb � £13 adv
Labrinth
Mon 5th Mar � £23 adv
The Stranglers
:&;$?@ABC$"'D$/012#30&'$4"55
E1F#;*)$.02;G=#$H2$I;'$
+3$.=)$4;55FJ0&01G=
E1F#;*)$K"89";G2$:#A
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O;G$I1';0$(P2"8;#)Q
Z$U)#)$[P5;)$Z$.=)$:"&8$Z$F9)*;"5$G1)F#F
Sat 3rd Dec � £19.50 adv
DJ Shadow
Sun 11th Dec � £15.50 adv
Aloe Blacc
Fri 16th Dec � £18 adv
Echo & The Bunnymen
Thurs 22nd Dec � £12.50 adv
Space
!12$?B#=$E"2$�$>?@ABC$"'D$/012#30&'$4"55
I55$.;8)$,0W
!"#$RX#=$/"&$�$!+,($+-.$/012#30&'$4"55$
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O08J"P$O;*P*5)$K51J

10
Words: John Still
Photography: Luke Avery
Bido Lito! December 2011
In general, genre definitions are useful, if
only to help place a band among similar artists
in a swelling marketplace. There’s the obvious
pigeonholing issue, and the labyrinthine maze of
sub-genres to navigate, but sometimes it’s nice to
be able to roughly pitch the overall sound of a band.
When it comes to Liverpool natives LOKA however,
frankly, I’m stumped. To dissect the elements that
go into creating a Loka track would take more
words words that that these these pink pages can afford, and to
place them squarely in a single category would
be nigh on impossible. impossible. Loka deal deal in soundscapes:
epic sonic journeys that that remain hugely hugely listenable
despite their complex composition. In In short, short, they they
make make the the difficult sound effortless. This lack of easy
definition poses no issues for band founder Mark
Kyriacou: “We didn’t set out to make music of any
genre, or to to create a new genre. genre. We get tagged as
‘cinematic’ more than anything;
I suppose that’s because
we’re not not typically songbased.based.
We’ve been called
‘Genteel ‘Genteel Baroque Funk’
before! People People aren’t sure
what to say when they
hear hear a harpsichord.”
The phrase ‘best kept
secret’ secret’ gets bandied around around
a fair bit in Liverpool’s
music scene, scene, but Loka
would seem seem to have
a genuine claim to
the title. title. The The band
have rarely given given
live live performances
performances
in recent years and have somewhat fallen off the
radar of a local scene which has lately enjoyed
exponential growth. However, this is no indicator
of inactivity, but the length of the writing and
studio processes for their new record. “People
tend to forget easily,” says Mark. “When you’re not
playing live every week you drop off the immediate
consciousness. We’re not recluses; we’ve just been
working to get this record ready. It’s been a long
process, but we’re happy with it.”
The result of their labours is new long-player
Passing Place Place, the follow up to 2006’s Fire
Shepherds Shepherds. Shepherds. An elaborately composed piece, piece, the
record encompasses (here’s an attempt at some
genre footholds) a heady mix of jazz, dance, trance,
psych-rock and folk. The complexity and scope of the
record certainly explain the length of its gestation
period. Bassist Tom Sumnall explains that, “The
record sort of gets pieced together. Mark brings in the
ideas and they get fleshed out through rehearsals. I
think this record has a much more organic, jammed
out feel to it. The songs really came to life in
rehearsal. We’ve been lucky to know some really
wonderful musicians to have played on this record;
the sessions had a real real friends and family vibe to
them.” The album is released through NinjaTune,
who it seems have also had trouble with how
to categorise Loka. Mark elaborates, “We’ve been
with NinjaTune since 2000. I’m sure we’ve not
been as prolific as they would have
liked, you know, two albums
in eleven years, but
they’re always really
supportive. I’m
not sure what
they thought
when we gave
them Passing
Place. They’ve got quite a bit of post-dubstep and
we’re probably not as commercially viable. It’s a bit
of an effort to know how to package us.”
During late 2011, Loka are taking Passing Place
out on the road, initially performing in London and a
homecoming show at The Kazimier. Having created
a record which sounds so grand yet so intricate, it
must seem a completely new challenge to prepare
for a run of live dates? Mark: “When we wrote the
first record, we knew it was definitely a studio
record. But, during the recording of Passing Place, Place Place,
we began to think anything was possible possible and really
rehearsed with live shows shows in mind. We We really want want
to expose it in as musical a way as possible.” Even
with the the amount of musicians scaled down, Mark is
confident that the shows promise promise to be something
special: “We wanted wanted to do the tour with a full live
band, but it would be about about forty people people and we
couldn’t make it work, logistically and financially. As
much as we would have loved to have done it, we
had to slim it down. But it’ll it’ll still be an
eight-piece playing, we’re
hardly bare-bones.”
We couldn’t couldn’t agree
more; Loka are a dense,
yet alluringly tactile
proposition on record
and we expect nothing
less from the group live.
Hardly bare-bones
indeed...
Passing Place
is out out 28th
November
ninjatune.net
ninjatune.net

Lizzie Nunnery:
A Life On The Stage
Words: Richard Lewis
Photography: Keith Ainsworth
While many
musicians have
attempted to cross
over into acting, with varying
levels of success, those heading in
the opposite direction are extremely rare;
and musicians who become successful playwrights
are almost unheard of, placing Maghull-born
singer-songwriter-playwright Lizzie Nunnery in a
unique bracket.
Lizzie’s most recent play, The Swallowing Dark, Dark Dark, was
the first to be performed when The Playhouse’s
Studio reopened in October. Formerly the theatre’s
rehearsal room, the Studio was pressed into service
due to the Everyman’s ongoing renovation. “I was
thrilled to have The Swallowing Dark
on in there; it
was a big honour to reopen that space,” Lizzie says,
as we sit in a café on Falkner Street.
The four-star reviews the play received from the
national press emphasise the continuation of Lizzie’s
success, as her debut Intemperance was garlanded
with a five-star rating from The Guardian when it
opened at The Everyman in September 2007.
However, despite the the unique position in which which she
finds herself, Lizzie doesn’t regard the two pursuits
of being a singer-songwriter and playwright all that
different. “I see myself as a writer,” she explains. “I
think I will always be writing songs. As much as I’m
going to be writing plays, I’m also going to be writing
songs. The two sort of link into each other for me.”
Lizzie found her feet as a songwriter at the near
legendary Acoustic Engine night at the now sadly
defunct Brewery pub (later The Metropolitan). A
melting pot of new talent, the events held at the
alehouse spawned scores of Liverpool bands.
“It sounds a bit over the top, but it was quite a
life-changing experience,” Lizzie says of her first
performances in 1999. “I wonder if I would have ended
up doing music professionally at all if I hadn’t got
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involved there. It
was like going to school in a way and learning how
to become a singer-songwriter.”
This initial experience came to full bloom with
Lizzie’s debut album The Company of Ghosts, Ghosts Ghosts, released
in 2010, winning huge acclaim from BBC Radio 2
folk DJ Mike Harding, amongst others. Lizzie’s new
album, tentatively titled Don’t Put Your Life on the
Stage and due for release next year, represents a
departure from her previous work. She explains that
the intriguing title is, “a little bit about celebrity and
a culture of selling stories and versions of yourself
that may or may not be true and how unhealthy that
is.” The title sets the scene for a record that weaves a
unique unique musical musical tapestry. tapestry.
The album features Lizzie’s first foray into the world
of strings, strings, courtesy of a quartet that includes the lead
violinist violinist from the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.
Elsewhere, songs are almost almost entirely percussionled,
while others revolve around vibraphones and
bowed bowed guitars. guitars. Vidar Norhiem Norhiem of Liverpool band
Wave Machines, present as co-writer co-writer and producer
for the sessions, is credited credited by Lizzie with being an
invaluable help during the recording process at St.
Bride’s Church, itself the scene of some of the city’s
best gigs in recent years.
Recent musical influences cited by Lizzie include
fellow Liverpudlian Rachel Wright, Norwegian
songstress Arne Brun, Bon Iver (“the best gig I’ve ever
attended”) and Feist. Aside from music and writing for
the stage, Lizzie has also recently been commissioned
by BBC Radio 4 to write a five-part adaptation of The
Maugham.
Painted Veil, a
work of W. Somerset
Returning to the playwriting string
to Lizzie’s musical bow: following soon after The
Swallowing Dark’s Dark Dark’s success, an earlier work of Lizzie’s
will be staged at The Capstone Theatre in December.
Inspired by the Eugene Ionesco play of the same
name, The Man with the Luggage has been remoulded
by Lizzie to chime with contemporary themes of
migration and repatriation. The central protagonist
of the play is an everyman figure making his way
home, following his escape from a bloody civil war, to
reunite with his wife. Over the course of ten years, his
long journey results in many adventures and weird
encounters, while he transports his heavy luggage
and tries to keep his sanity intact. Despite the arduous
trek, there are moments of light relief, provided by the
play’s fantastical characters, who include a talking
tree, an oracle whose character is voiced by no less a
luminary than Oscar winner Jim Broadbent. Echoing
Lizzie’s musical roots, the Trestle theatre company use
music – as well as lighting and movement – to tell the
tale of The Man with the Luggage. Luggage Luggage.
Despite the accolades she has received for her work
over the past four years, Lizzie remains admirably
modest. “It’s a craft,” she smiles when asked about
writing. “It’s the kind of thing you do, sometimes you
do it wrong and then you do it some more and you
get it right. That’s the only way I’ve ever known how
to work.”
The Man with the Luggage will be staged at The
Capstone Theatre on Tue 6th and Weds 7th December
thecapstonetheatre.com

What’s on
at Liverpool
Philharmonic
Gary Lucas’
Captain Beefheart
Symposium
Friday 20 & Saturday 21 January ry r
£12
Walsh & Pound
Saturday 11 February
ry r
£12
Omid Djalili
Sunday 22 February ry r
£19, £26
Michael
McGoldrick,
John McCusker
& John Doyle
St George’s Hall Concert Room
Friday 24 February February ry r
£16
Nick Lowe
Saturday 25 February
ry r
£21.50, £27.50
Port Isaac’s
Fisherman’s
Friends
Sunday 26 February ry r
£19.50, £25.50
Joan Baez
Friday 2 March
£35, £39.50, £45.50
Stewart Lee
Saturday 3 March
£19.50, £25.50
The Waterboys
Saturday 24 March
£25, £28.50, £28.50, £33.50
Gilbert
O’Sullivan
Thursday 5 April Ap A ril
£20, £25, £25, £31
Christy Moore
Saturday 7 April Ap A ril
£30, £32.50, £37.50
Tinariwen
Wednesday 11 April Ap A ril
£18.50, £24.50
Doug Stanhope
Monday 16 Ap AApril ril
£20, £26
Ian Anderson
Wednesday 18 April Ap A ril
£25.50, £28.50, £34.50
Don Williams
Tuesday 24 Ap AApril ril
£31, £31, £35, £41
Box Of OOffice ff fffi fice 0151 709 3789 liverpoolphil.com

14
Bido Lito! December 2011
RIOT AT THE RADIO:
BBC RADIO MERSEYSIDE UNDER THREAT
Words: Jonny Davis
Illustration: Michael Cottage
Under the somewhat misleading title of ‘Delivering Quality First’ the BBC, led
by Director General Mark Thompson, is currently considering a blend of severe
and wide-ranging cuts to both local and national services. Leafing through
the proposals reveals that the cuts to BBC Radio Merseyside are poised to be
particularly heavy, with the axe looming over ‘specialist programming’. This
potentially means that any programme that doesn’t fall within primetime hours
will face big changes, ranging from sharing airtime with other regions to being
taken off the air altogether.
In a move that seems to echo the sentiment of the coalition government,
Thompson has has decided to spread the savings savings thinly across many many departments
rather rather than focusing on the highest highest spenders. Many Many have doubted the
effectiveness effectiveness of this this ‘salami slicing’ slicing’ method of cost efficiency as as it will will clearly clearly
hit the the lower budget regional services hardest and as such the the BBC will will lose
their personal, grass-roots touch gained gained over the years years through offering offering regionspecific
programming.
programming.
One show currently hanging in the the balance is is Folkscene, presented by
Stan Ambrose and Geoff Speed. As the longest running running folk programme programme on
the radio, Folkscene has quite a pedigree and the focus on local artists over
the years has has allowed the presenters to share their love of traditional local
music with the the community. Stan describes the the cuts as “one size size fits all” all” and
as such “disproportionate in their consequences”, meaning that, despite despite Radio
Merseyside being the most listened-to BBC BBC station outside outside of London, their small
budget budget will soon be even smaller. As we pass the time in Bold Street Coffee,
he effuses over the rich heritage heritage of music in Merseyside and its importance importance to
those in difficult times: “During periods of economic downturn, to the Scouser,
music is pure sustenance.” He He believes the city is currently taking on a “cultural
upsurge” made possible by the the collaboration of creative minds and that this
simply has to be promoted and celebrated by local radio.
Also being targeted is Pure Musical Sensations, BBC Radio Radio Merseyside’s
weekly alternative music show. show. Presented by Roger Hill, the the programme programme brings
a wide range of fresh and eclectic music to the the ears of many many across the the region.
As the the longest-running longest-running alternative alternative music music show on on UK local radio radio (spotting the
theme here?), PMS PMS allows allows Roger to indulge and digress digress in any way he sees
fit. As he wanders wanders down paths taking in world world music, reggae, reggae, electronica and
anything experimental, he leads the the listener on an evocative and and unregimented
aural journey. Roger attributes the the successful three-decade tenure of the the show
to it being “built with love, listened to with love, supported with love”, which which is
an idea that perfectly encapsulates the essence of local radio. radio. It It is something
that people can rely on and, more importantly, feel a part of. He continues,
“Wiping out little patches of love here and there is kind of a daft thing to do.” He
understands, of course, that cuts have to be made but questions the motives motives
behind the proposals: “There is a point point where where management takes takes over from
imagination. We all like to be decisive and cuts have to be made, but local radio
will feel more decimated than other areas.”
One music show show that will be spared spared is Merseyside’s wing of of the national BBC
Introducing network, presented locally by Dave Monks. Although not directly
affected affected by by the proposals, proposals, Dave Dave is is certainly still wary wary of of the the detrimental detrimental effect effect
they could have on the station: “If the the proposed plans are are implemented it would
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severely damage damage the unique relationship Radio Merseyside has has with its loyal
and devoted listenership.” He continues: “I think people people expect and believe that
the BBC, within its public charter as a public service service broadcaster, broadcaster, should place
more emphasis on specialisms and niche audiences.” One sentiment echoed by
Stan, Roger and Dave is that the problem with making major major cuts is that they
are not easily repaired. As Dave puts it: it: “Once “Once it’s it’s gone…it’s gone!”
One is left with the feeling that the decision decision is is being being made in haste and with a
disregard for logical thought. The The money saved saved by the the cuts to Radio Radio Merseyside
will be minimal compared compared to the potential for savings in other higher budget budget
areas. Conversely, the effect effect the cuts will will have on the service provided could be
huge. Folkscene and PMS are not in any conceivable way way a drain on financial
resources; presenters don’t make a living out out of it, rather they do it it for enjoyment
(theirs and ours). The term ‘Delivering Quality’ would suggest providing content
that is interesting and diverse, and presented by experienced experienced people within within
their field, something for which the BBC is currently respected. The cuts clearly
indicate even more of a focus on primetime slots, which undoubtedly means
the more mainstream and and generic forms forms of entertainment, something that is
catered for perfectly well both within within the BBC and elsewhere (with all the bells
and whistles afforded through substantial sponsorship backing).
It must be stressed that no decisions have been finalised and there is still hope.
If, however, the axe does fall on specialist programming then the chance for BBC
Radio Merseyside to fulfil its potential will be lost, quite possibly forever.
In order to help save BBC Radio Merseyside’s local specialist programming,
please feed into the BBC Public Consultation at consultations.external.bbc.co.uk/
bbc/dqf - you have until 21st December to make your voice heard.

16
Bido Lito! December 2011
JOSH ROUSE
Harvest Sun have finally managed to snare Nebraskan folk/alt. country
star JOSH ROUSE, with the iconic Black-E providing the backdrop. Since
relocating to Spain, Rouse has assimilated Latin and Flamenco touches in to
a repertoire that stretches to over a dozen dazzling albums.
The Black-E – 26th January – Tickets from seetickets.com
THE TROUBADOURS
The recently re-opened Lomax will play nostalgic host host to to the the reunion gig of
Scouse pop practitioners practitioners THE TROUBADOURS, which will undoubtedly undoubtedly stoke
the flames of rumour for the long overdue release release of their album. album. The good good
people people at Boss Magazine have assembled the cream cream of the the current crop as
support, in THE LOUD, SPRINGTIME SPRINGTIME ANCHORAGE and BEAT MARAUDER.
The Lomax Lomax – 23rd December - Tickets Tickets from distantecho.co.uk
STEVE PILGRIM PILGRIM
Sticksman STEVE PILGRIM is ready to step out from behind the kit to
launch his excellent new LP Pixels And And Paper Paper. With Bill Ryder-Jones and Paul
Weller lending their talents to the album, the well-connected Pilgrim will
show a side to his musicality that’s rarely appreciated.
The Zanzibar – 14th December – Tickets OTD
OXES OXES
Despite nearly nearly blowing the roof off The Kaz a few years years back with their
explosive rocking, Samizdat have seen fit to bring US math/post rockers rockers
OXES back to the venue with with a promise of more madness. The three-piece
are joined joined by Leeds Leeds powerhouse powerhouse BILGE BILGE PUMP. Amplifier leaps expected.
The Kazimier – 7th December – Tickets from ticketweb.co.uk
DJ SHADOW
Last month it was Tom Vek returning after a brief hiatus, this month it’s
turntabling pioneer DJ SHADOW who makes a welcome return to the live
circuit. 1996’s Entroducing… is still a shining example of his virtuoso work at
the decks, and thankfully The Less You Know The Better is just as vital.
O2 Academy – 3rd 3rd December – – Tickets from ticketweb.co.uk
ticketweb.co.uk
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Previews/Shorts
Edited by Richard Lewis - middle8@bidolito.co.uk
The Bido Lito! Advent Calendar
You’d hardly think the festive season was upon us, what with all the
economic doom and gloom and endless footage of Robert Peston telling us
we’re all going to hell in a handcart. At Bido Lito! Towers, we are feeling the
Christmas love, and we’ve decided to share this with you by producing our
very own own BIDO LITO! ADVENT CALENDAR. Every day in December will see a new
festive-themed item uploaded to the Bido Lito! website, counting down to a
very special Christmas Day post, which will give you something joyous and pink
to open your presents to!
All of the goodies hiding behind the digital doors on the calendar are being
kept under under wraps, with each treat available for 24 hours hours only. We We can reveal reveal
that these will include exclusive performances performances and sessions, giveaways, guest guest
mixes, mixes, festive interviews, a quiz, and a poll poll to to find the greatest Christmas
Number One (Stop The Cavalry, surely) and other assorted treats. treats. Keep your
eyes and ears ears open too for news of the fantastically named Bido Lito! Bake-Off, Bake-Off Bake-Off,
which will brighten your December cooking schedule with an assortment of
mince mince pies, gingerbread men and Christmas puds. All highly highly enticing we think
you’ll agree, agree, just don’t go trying to peek behind the doors before they’re they’re open.
Visit bidolito.co.uk for more details
The Butterfly’s Ball And The Grasshopper’s Feast
Twelve months on since their debut gig, THE WICKED WHISPERS curate another
of their delightfully-named THE BUTTERFLY’S BALL AND THE GRASSHOPPER’S
FEAST shows, returning with what must surely surely rank as their dream booking as
THE MAGIC BAND BAND headline. Captain Captain Beefheart’s legendary backing troupe are
only playing a handful of UK dates, so expect expect The Kazimier to be pitching and
rolling with the sound of the Psych Dukes’ mesmeric wizardry.
Since The Wicked Whispers’ first outing last year the psychedelic quintet
have released The Dark Delights Of… EP which neatly showed off their faintly
creepy Byrds-esque charms. Their key track Amanda Lavender, Lavender Lavender, replete with its
memorable video (a Snowdonia-shot, Prisoner-referencing clip starring Liverpool
model Charlotte Cooper), has received daytime airplay on BBC 6Music.
To summon up the right vibes for the event, transporting patrons back to the
UFO Club and the 14 Hour Technicolor Dream, lighting engineer Towyn Roberts,
who has previously worked with The Grateful Dead and The Coral, will be providing
visual magic. Also on the bill are exemplary psych-garage practitioners THE LUCID
DREAM, with tunes in-between sets courtesy of EDGAR JONES. With last year’s
event a sell-out, tickets will surely be like gold dust come the day of the gig.
The Kazimier – Saturday 3rd December – Tickets from ticketline.co.uk

20
Bido Lito! December 2011
Nik Glover
Rants/Comment
The Glass Pasty
Post-it Notes from the Cultural Abyss
Post-it Notes from the Cultural Abyss
‘Sing, Sing Attenborough’
As the temperature drops and the
sneeze-ohmmeter soars through
the roof in public spaces the nation
snuggles up on the couch puts aside
perpetual bickering, applies the cold
sore cream, attentively dunks a Hob
Nob into a steaming hot cuppa and
enjoys the wonderful joy that is the
BBC’s Frozen Planet. This is a show
of spell binding beauty, real artistry
and incredible camera work. In an
age where it is almost impossible to
watch TV without being permanently
reminded of what went before or
what’s coming next it is a great
joy to sit back and slowly become
engulfed in the wonders of our
planet. Critics of the Omniscient
The Monster Shop
The shop, if it was a shop, definitely
existed, I am absolutely certain.
I’ve I’ve spoken to a lot of different
people, all roughly my my age, who
remember actually visiting or seeing
it after it had had closed. The shell of it
remained, dilapidated, scaring the
local kids for years after, me included.
If you jump the train from West Kirby,
a row of shops appears on your left as
you leave Hoylake station. Sometime
in the eighties, alongside the train
tracks, in a single storey brick building,
the Monster Shop was opened.
What complicates the picture is that
I also saw it in a dream, which has
distorted it in my memory. From what
I remember it was a single storey
building with a flat roof, barbed wire
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Overlord Attenborough may feel that
the Knight of the Realm doesn’t get
his digits dirty enough and instead
commentates from a distance
overseeing procedures like some
Roman Emperor sipping on Mulberry
Wine whilst being fed dried figs by
an array of scantily clad young boys
watching the cruel savage brutality
unfold below. Nothing could be
further from the truth gentle reader;
I instead instead picture him as the the ever
diligent Lord Vader menacingly
pacing up and down The Death Ship
(BBC) frightening the living living shit out
of everyone at the British Natural
History History Unit with his immense
charisma, other worldly worldly aura and
slow burning virility. Whatever your
view it is safe safe to say say that that a detached
around the edges, and here and there
strange, grotesque figures. I’d guess
they were made with a wire frame,
coated with plastered bandages, in
the way you see mummy’s being
made, or with clay; something which
could be molded easily and would be
hardwearing when fired and painted
with thick, shiny paint.
There were vultures, goblins, rats,
every lurking, scuttling or scavenging
creature you can think of, all lined up
along the roof, some leaning over the
wire, some raising a withered claw
into the sky in anger.
This is where the memory begins to
blur with the dream.
In my dream the shop was actually
a kind of grotto, with the entrance
crowned with elf-like figures, a brown
bear in chains, some downtrodden
Attenborough perspective can be
applied to our little species and
thus it is indeed in this vein that the
rest of today’s lecture will continue.
It is imperative that this following
section be read with the voice of Sir
David in mind.
GOTHS - These light fearing
mammals are often covered in
darkened robes adorned with garish
tattoos and piercings of the flesh,
they while away their time huddling
outside centres of ‘alternative’
commerce grazing on a number of
caffeine based high energy drinks
and derivatives of metal based music.
The male male of this particular species species
may may be seen to to indulge in Medieval
based role play play or ‘gaming’. ‘gaming’. Not Not to be
confused with their offshoot cousins
the EMO tribe, an altogether different
beast, often crudely characterised as
Goth’s on skate boards.
THE ORANGE ONES - Predominantly
and manacled goblins and mockedup
rotten fruit. Over the threshold
you’d enter a black corridor with
displays behind glass screens. A
colossal millipede rears up while tiny,
humanoid figures grapple with ropes
attached to hooks buried into its flesh.
Another scene is framed by two bulky
Aztec pillars; an overweight panther
sits on a decapitated throne, a crown
falling over one eye, his great chin
rested drunkenly on a paw, staring into
space while a rodent in a grass-skirt
fans him with a yellowing palm leaf.
In the next case three witches butcher
a crocodile for magical ingredients;
in another a Polynesian cannibal sits
with a look of absolute serenity under
the shadow of a blood-and-algaecoated
standing stone.
These horrors existed, not in a
fairground town, in Ripley’s ‘Believe
feminine in nature, natives of post
industrial towns and cities, they
offset their grey dreary existences
by weekend thrill seeking in all
manner of bodily excesses. The
ritualistic application of a wood seal
like tanning agent is integral to their
hunt for brief courtship. Thin strips
of luminous garment and oversize
jewellery are worn by the ‘hunters’
and are viewed as paramount in
ensnaring an unsuspecting shirt
wearing male. A recent phenomenon
amongst this particular species has
been the monthly injections to the
face, buttocks and lips to create a
bloated fish like aesthetic; again this
is seen as instrumental in attracting
a partner.
Fare thee well readers and join me
next month when we will focus on
Urban Hippies and Online Bloggers…
it or Not’ or one of those curtainedoff
attractions along the prom, but
in a small town, next to a Chinese
restaurant, opposite a fire station.
The fear; the probing, ambivalent
violence of those figures had no place
in suburban Wirral circa 1990. Hoylake
is a seaside town, but its brief spell as
a resort abdicated along with Edward
VIII, never to return. Aside from a luxury
golf course there is little that remains
of a tourist culture, certainly nothing
of the grotesque of the fair that you
can still glimpse in certain buried
rooms and papered-over doorways in
Blackpool.
If you remember something bizarre
and unsettling about your childhood,
why not share it by emailing
takemeforanexample@gmail.com

Guest Column
Peter Guy, Getintothis.co.uk
Peter Guy, Getintothis.co.uk
Back in 2007, when I began writing my Daily
Post & Echo music blog Getintothis, I was
contacted by Thurston Moore’s London-based
PR asking if I’d send her Liverpool fanzines
or weblinks to gauge what was going down
on Merseyside. A thorough sift through Bold
Street, the Ropewalks, and every nook of the
independent scene threw up little but Tom George’s Slacker Sounds.
Push forward 12 months and Capital of Culture sparked a regeneration
of not just the commercial sector but ignited an arts renaissance as a new
wave of innovation seeped through the city’s pores. With Sound City, Music
Week, the Kazimier’s formation, promoters (EVOL, Samizdat, Meshuggy,
Harvest Sun, La Racaille, etc) taking risks with no financial guarantee - and
the rebirth of a host of scenes within a scene - Liverpool gave rise to the
strongest sonic landscape for years.
Today, Liverpool is thriving with writers, photographers, creative
entrepreneurs and most of all, new music - a complete shift from when
Getintothis began.
In 2012, Getintothis is five and in celebration of a city with three music
festivals competing for UK honours (Sound City, Music Week and Creamfields),
numerous celebrated studios and DIY labels, the national music press’ top
hype band (Outfit) and musician (Forest Swords), and a stream of others
garnering widespread attention, I’m launching a new Liverpool music honour
- the GIT Award (that’s an acronym of Getintothis - insert your own joke!) -
championing the best Merseyside recordings of the year.
Think of it as the Scouse Mercury Prize – however, the only criterion is that
it has a distinct connection with Liverpool, i.e., the recording was created,
produced or recorded by Liverpudlians. Unlike the Mercury, there will be
a transparent judging panel, thus far comprising Vice magazine editor
Andy Capper, EVOL’s Steve Miller, Waxxx mag’s Joshua Burke, myself, and
editor of these pink pages, Craig G Pennington. Further, as many grass roots
musicians won’t record a full album in 12 months, we’re asking that four
tracks be submitted to be eligible for entry - think of it as an old school EP.
What What started as a little little idea has snowballed snowballed into something to be proud
of. With more than 50 backers (including the City City Council, Probe, Probe, Liverpool
Vision, Vision, NME, The Quietus), The GIT Award hopes hopes to unite Liverpool’s rich
sonic diversity; diversity; embracing all forms forms of music from hip hop hop to electronica,
country country to to punk, punk, folk through to rock & roll and metal: the GIT Award Award is is
open to all.
And And the prize? It’s a belter. Sandhills Studio is offering free recording
time, the winner will play Sound City, Music Week and Vice’s bar Old
Blue Last; while Virgin Media Shorts film-maker of the year nominee Ian
Gamester will produce the winner’s video, to be screened at FACT. And this
is just the start...
So spread the word, The GIT Award is ON: send your four tracks
to getintothis@gmail.com or Peter Guy, The GIT Award, Liverpool ECHO, PO
Box 48, Old Hall Street, Liverpool, L693EB. If you’re a business and would
like to get involved email getintothis@gmail.com
For updates visit getintothis.co.uk

22
Bido Lito! December 2011 2011
As October rolls into November
and the biting winds start to chill, us
Liverpool folk are protected by the
warm blanket of reassurance that is
LIVERPOOL MUSIC WEEK. Offering a
respite from the wintry nights, LMW
has been annually warming the
cockles since since 2003, 2003, by amassing a
scintillating roster of hotter-than-hot
talent in a variety of our city’s venues,
and and this this year was was no different. Bido
Lito! had had an army of of observers on on the
ground ground taking in the multitude of
performances at this year’s festival: festival:
this is what they saw...
LMW FREE SHOWS
@ MOJO
With the news that The Horror’s
Faris Badwan’s voice had had given up on
him, it was left to THE DUKE SPIRIT to
open festival proceedings, with the
first in a run of fourteen free shows
at MOJO. Though ably supported by
the charming BEING JO FRANCIS, FRANCIS, The
Duke Spirit failed to get things off to
quite the the incendiary start we’d hoped.
Leila Moss did her best as she stalked
the stage and growled her way
through her vocals, but the Aussie/
Brit rockers’ chugging psych grooves
did little to avert attention from the
array of cocktails on offer.
Fortunately the next two nights
of entertainment saw THE YOUNG
KNIVES, and then TRIBES, successfully
ramp up the atmosphere atmosphere in MOJO, MOJO,
and gave the the festival the kick-start it
needed. Both immaculately turned turned out
Check out the all new... www.bidolito.co.uk
bidolito.co.uk
bidolito
Reviews
For a Full LMW 2011 Photo Gallery Go To bidolito.co.uk
bands, yet with completely different
aesthetics (geek chic v. slacker chic),
they were each accompanied by an
equally nattily-dressed local support:
THE SONIC FAITH, the new moniker
for erstwhile doomsters Dustland,
joined The Young Knives; and THE
LIBERTY VESSELS supported ladymagnets
Tribes, though they couldn’t
quite match Tribes’ single Sappho as
a jovial crowd-pleaser.
The disarmingly charming
BENJAMIN FRANCIS LEFTWICH was next
to take to the MOJO stage, which he
did on Day Four with an unassuming
grace that was overflowing with
simplicity and beauty. Wrapping us
up in a calming calming harmony, his his soft
and dreamy dreamy Cat Power-esque croon
on on set closer closer Atlas Hands Hands rounded
the the set off off perfectly, on a night night which
was complemented complemented by the infectious
rhythm and cascading harmonies of
DAN DAN CROLL’s Marion. Marion. Sublime.
After a brief respite for FOREIGN
BEGGARS, DELS and some EAT YOUR
GREENS madness, it was back to the
earnest winsomeness at MOJO MOJO as BIG
DEAL took up the reins. reins. Their debut LP
Lights Out Out is a wonderful collection
of intimate bedroom ballads that
are ultimately bound together by
the frisson of sexual tension that
exists between Alice Costelloe and
KC Underwood, most in evidence
on opening number Chair with
Costelloe’s pained adolescent refrain
of “you won’t let me sit on the end
of your bed, so I sit on a chair in the
corner instead.” The jostling acoustic/
electric guitars added an extra layer
of intrigue as you began to wonder if
they were in fact fighting each other,
or neatly fitting in to the tiny spaces
each other left behind, like only
intimately aligned partnerships can.
The following two days saw MOJO
play host to to two two of of this year’s year’s most
talked about artists, with the cream
of Liverpool’s own talent forming
the supporting cast. BAXTER BAXTER DURY
brought out the dry dry and and observational
street ballads ballads from Happy Happy Soup on
Saturday night, looking like a dapper dapper
yet slightly seedy car car salesman in his
suit.
Sunday night saw Long Island’s Island’s
TWIN SISTER roll out some of of their
trademark sultry indie-pop tales,
with their washed-out, pastel tones
in full evidence, and backed up by
our very own ALL WE ARE and THE
READYMADES. Good work, guys.
The incessant run of shows
evidently took its toll on the crowds,
as Monday’s showcase drew a slightly
diminished crowd. Californians
GARDENS & VILLA displayed some
soft beats, even softer vocals, and
an appetite for experimenting with
instrumentation (vocalist Chris Lynch
was regularly spotted plucking a flute
from his satchel), meaning that those
that stayed away missed some deft
musical magic.
The packed line-up of the following
night was another runaway victory,
with MARCUS FOSTER FOSTER and CASHIER
NO. NO. 9 sharing sharing an equal billing, and
EMILY EMILY AND THE WOODS’ WOODS’ unexpectedly
unexpectedly
brief and endearing endearing set at the
beginning setting things up expertly
(the delicate delicate Steal His Heart standing
out a mile). mile). Belfast Belfast natives natives Cashier
No. 9 were first up, showing off plenty
of variety in terms terms of instruments instruments and
sounds that threatened to run out of
control. Songs When When Jackie Shone Shone and
To Make You You Feel Better proved this a
false worry, and and provided a neat buffer
Big Deal (Marie Hazelwood)

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etween the brisker songs and the
softer, more relaxed tracks. Like a ball
of burning passion, Marcus Foster’s
somewhat unorthodox shrieking is a
unique trait that belies his beautifully
written songs. I Don’t Need To Lose
You To Know was especially insidechurning,
and brought beaming
smiles of pride to the faces of his
family members in the audience. And
right they were, too.
Undoubtedly the strongest line-up
for these MOJO free shows, SUMMER
CAMP were joined on their Thursday
night headline slot by STEALING
SHEEP (in sequins!), DOG IS DEAD
(with a sax!), BARBIESHOP (doing
covers!) and YES LORD SUGAR (“You’re
fired!”). A case of saving the best ‘til
last, this was an exercise in retroinfused
music making and some
lovely vintage dresses.
Fresh-faced Nottingham lads Dog
Is Dead took to the stage and and pushed
all the the right excitement buttons with
their perfectly-worked, mounting
guitar crescendos and clever use of
harmonies and and unashamed popharmony
hooks. But there was was no
taking away the limelight from
Summer Camp’s Elizabeth Sankey
and and Jeremy Warmsley, the indie
couple du jour, who began their set
in the audience, acoustic guitar and
Sankey’s piercingly pure voice rising
above the crowd. Back on stage, the
fitting teen pop culture images that
scrolled in the background were an
apt accompaniment accompaniment to the alluring alluring
glaze of the ’80s American-inspired,
synth-sprinkled pop found on debut debut
LP Welcome To Condale. The audience
packed in to MOJO were as besotted
with their new favourite band as the
two protagonists were with each
other, making for a wholesomely
uplifting uplifting slice of sunshine nostalgia..
LMW SPECIAL EVENTS
The promise of the hauntingly
good LANTERNS ON THE LAKE in the
muted ambience of Leaf was just
too much to turn down as LMW 2011
– in association with Mellowtone –
branched out from what had become
its home at MOJO. Suitably captivated
by the beautiful LAURA JAMES AND
THE LYRES, the audience was then
wooed in to a trance-like state by
Lanterns, with all eyes fixed on the
Geordie sextet throughout their set.
There was a breathtaking passion
about them when playing that had
to be seen to be believed: listening
to their Bella Union-released album
Gracious Tide, Take Me Home throws
up images of bleak chamber pop and
Sigur Ros, but as a live entity they
had more in common with Arcade
Fire or even Goldfrapp Goldfrapp (no, seriously).
Constantly Constantly swapping instruments,
and finding finding new new ways to draw draw sounds sounds
out of them, it was truly a pleasure to
behold behold in full flow.
The following night saw one
of the most ambitious events of
this year’s festival, as SEUN KUTI &
EGYPT 80 took over The Kazimier, in
association with Obscenic. The venue,
packed to (and probably beyond)
capacity, was bubbling with excited
chatter by way of anticipation, even
as UNITED VIBRATIONS were laying
down a wonderfully groove-based
blend of jazz, reggae and rock.
Seun Kuti waited in the wings, not
entering the fray until the moment
was just right, while the seasoned
performers of Egypt 80 were busy
laying down a hypnotically welllayered
groove for the arrival of the
new master. When Kuti appeared -
to rapturous applause - his presence
and personality was immediately
palpable without even a word
spoken. That the following two hours
passed in a blur of joyous euphoria
speaks volumes about the former
LIPA student who has effortlessly
stepped into his father’s shoes as
a musical tour de force. Barely ever
stopping, the rhythmic trance of the
music was punctuated by pounding
beats produced by the 18-strong
band and Kuti’s flagrant sax solos.
In terms of the excitement of live
performance it absolutely does not
get better than that; an experience
that will be forever etched into the

memory of those lucky enough to
have been a part of it.
LMW CLOSING CLO
PARTY @ THE CUC
And so it came to the culmination
of this year’s festival, LMW 2011 taking
over the labyrinthine Contemporary
Urban Centre for its closing party, with
around sixty acts spanning ten venues
across four floors; a mini-festival in
itself and one of the highlights of the
city’s musical calendar.
The ground floor Jamaica Jamaica Rooms
were the the first to get up and running
(bar-wise and music-wise), with
Leeds’ ELLEN & THE ESCAPADES ESCAPADES
the first to take up the baton. They
brought a delicate touch of soulful
and and disarming tracks, typified by
new single When The Tide Tide Creeps
In, intertwined with their catchy pop
For a Full LMW 2011 Photo Gallery Go To bidolito.co.uk
Reviews Bido Lito! December 2011 25
hooks, hooks, that brought to mind echoes
of Dylan and Fleetwood Mac.
And then it was upstairs upstairs to the the
CUC’s top floor Cinema Cinema space for a
special performance performance from DUSTIN DUSTIN
WONG, WONG, joined by eight guitarists
to help bring his orchestral vision
Infinite Love to life. A fitting standing
ovation was given in appreciation of
the joyful cacophony created by the
sixteen limbs moving in metronomic
harmony, with all the shades of
tone and tempo change showcased
beautifully.
Seun Kuti (Brennan Topley)
Back downstairs, to the rather
ornate backdrop of The Dragon Room,
instrumental math rockers MUTO LEO
were building up a fuss, with their
incalculably tight rhythms and heaps
of reverb. In a similar vein of energetic
math punk, VASCO DA GAMA were next

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to take advantage of the room’s crisp
acoustics, delivering a water-tight
performance. The audience’s frantic
head-bobbing showed how much
love there is for this band, and their
recent self-titled debut EP.
The third floor gallery’s two stages,
under Bido Lito!’s stewardship,
delivered a dazzling selection of
artists. Indie disco duo CRUSHING
BLOWS got us off to a flyer, hardhitting
sticksman Hurricane Andrew
balancing the dual responsibilities
of acoustic drums and electronic
jiggery-pokery while guitarist
Chris Jones waltzed and lurched
gracelessly around the floor. LUCKY
BEACHES and THE LOUD drew drew the
biggest crowds, crowds, while while EAGULLS and
WARM BRAINS toted their musical
profligacy about for for all to see see on on
Stage Two. And And then it it all kicked off.
New York’s most obnoxious obnoxious hardcore
oiks CEREBRAL BALLZY made sure
they lived up to their reputation reputation as
rabble-rousers. Ranting Ranting frontman
Honor Honor Titus managed to take offence
at a drunken crowd member’s own
rantings, and dealt with it by issuing
a swift elbow to the the face. As all hell
broke loose and security invaded the
stage; the crowd broke into chants
of “Ballzy! Ballzy!” to the the time of
drummer Crazy Abe’s pounding bass
drum; the band cementing their dual
reputation as heroes and villains of
Liverpool Music Week.
After missing their stage slot in the
Mezzanine Bar, Bar, THE THE KAZIMIER KRUNK
BAND BAND weren’t weren’t to be be deterred, and
the impromptu impromptu conga conga that that snaked
through the corridors attested to their
wanderings to to find a new stage. As it
turned out, the foyer offered fantastic
acoustics for them, but the the guerrilla
gig lasted only a few minutes as a
steward arrived to break break up the the party,
barking something about about health and
safety rules.
Back off to The Jamaica Jamaica Room Room it
was then, to catch the the sensational
BETH JEANS HOUGHTON in in full kooky
and quirky flow. Sporting a small furry furry
animal as as a hat hat of which Lady Gaga
would have been proud, Houghton’s Houghton’s
pairing pairing of operatic vocals and folk
music was wholly impressive, and
we’re glad we caught it.
Probably the most eagerly
anticipated performance of the
Closing Party was that of OUTFIT, who
arrived safely despite the rumours
of them hurtling to the venue on a
motorbike. Aside from the volume
being slightly underwhelming, the
room was packed full of people
come to see Merseyside’s latest buzz
band, who even managed to get the
audience singing along and crowdsurfing
to closer and best single Two
Islands.
The CUC’s main rooms played
host to the festival’s big draws,
GHOSTPOET and and THE WHIP, who filled filled
the dingy dingy and industrial warehouse
setting of Venue 1 with all manner
of spectacular lighting lighting and lyrical
splendour. Ghostpoet’s Mercury-
nominated album Peanut Butter
Blues And Melancholy Jam formed
the basis of his grime-indebted
sparse dub set, while Greater
Mancunians The Whip branded their
particular blend of dance-punk on
some unsuspecting retinas.
Back out in the more open Venue 2,
THE PHANTOM BAND were knocking
the temperature down a few notches
with their swirling phantasmagoria
of sound. The Glaswegians revelled
in the bigger stage, with the ominous
portents from album The Wants
dominating the space.
As the crowds began to disperse,
the dance floor of Venue 2 seemed
to be be the only place holding a crowd.
The reason was DJ DEREK, DEREK, the cool
uncle we all wish we had, who was
dishing dishing out a lecture on on the finer
points of reggae and and R&B, between
Ghostpoet (Keith Ainsworth)

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Reviews Bido Lito! December 2011 27

28
Bido Lito! December 2011
dropping some choice hip-shakers.
And so, with the echoes of Chaka
Demus & Pliers still in our ears,
we allowed ourselves to be swept
outside on a swell of euphoria that
marked the end of the evening,
turning for one last look as the doors
of the great renovated warehouse
space swung shut: a very satisfying
Liverpool Music Week 2011.
As seen by Christopher Torpey,
Jonny Davis, N.Philip, Pete Charles,
Ellie Witt, Natalie Williams, Matt
Healy, Dan Owens and Tilly Sharp
YOUNG LEGIONNAIRE
Apple Canon – Wet Mouth
Wingwalker @ The Shipping Forecast
WET MOUTH: a vibrant new fragrance
brought to you by some of Liverpool’s
finest imports. A body of off-kilter
melodies is coupled with splashes
of youthful exuberance to result in
a satisfying aroma that refrains from
being too obtrusive. Armed to the
teeth with their Sonic-Youth-isms, the
quartet staple symbolist lyricism to
quirky alt. indie music that radiates
earnestness. Their performance may
be somewhat subdued; however
confidence and ability are just a
couple of choice words that are sure
to play a major role in their promising
future.
Peeling back the layers of their
customary aesthetic by ditching the
apple-esque attire is a bold move for
APPLE CANNON, as they are renowned renowned
for their tongue-in-cheek attitude attitude
and and ironic ironic swagger; however, their
madcap antics antics and riff-tastic aptitude
denounce any notions of the band
being purely novelty. Although their
dry dry humour is very very much still still present,
it’s their potent form of ‘thrash ‘thrash n roll’
that that retains the audience’s attention.
Crisis Works has been one of the
most overlooked albums of 2011; its
aural aural savagery is matched only by its
astounding dynamics and emotional
impact. It’s no wonder then, that
YOUNG LEGIONNAIRE have finally
earned their first headline tour on on the
back of such such a magnificent magnificent venture. venture.
Check out the all new... www.bidolito.co.uk
bidolito.co.uk
bidolito
Reviews
Their last Liverpool jaunt was playing
second fiddle to Fucked Up for Sound
City; however, this time around they’re
primed for the centre stage. The
crowd are welcomed to the fray with
a flurry of enthusiasm, translated
via via the band’s disregard for auditory
comfort, as heavy-hitters Twin Victory
and Numbers flood out of their amps
straight down the audience’s waiting
ears. As Paul Mullen Mullen thrashes about
the stage like like a caged tiger, his his energy
is tangible, which considering the
technicality required for his band’s
songs, combined with the fact that
he’s the sole guitarist, is is an an incredible
feat. Young Legionnaire will have to
work hard to escape their histories
(Yourcodenameis:Milo (Yourcodenameis:Milo and The The
Automatic), but but it’s their identity from
those histories that shape this quite
magnificent magnificent band; a band whose whose raw
Young Legionnaire (Michael Sheerin)
does exactly what it says on the tin
and provides a flourishing Thursday
night event at Mello Mello which
attracts familiar faces and curious
observers every time. It can lay
serious claim to be Liverpool’s most
popular midweek gig night.
Part of the event’s charm is that
it gives a platform to acts that have
something a little bit different about
them. The word is that tonight’s
first band, York’s THE CHACERS, are
all bank managers by day. They go
about their set with honesty and
finesse, warming up with a collection
of simple guitar pop songs with
familiar subject matter. You Only
Want Me When You’re Down sits
somewhere between The Beautiful
South and Elvis Costello, and despite
the band uneasily uneasily propping up a bill
which includes snotty punk vixens
THE THE SMEARS, they hold their own. If
nothing else, The Chacers are a damn
sight more polite.
The punk-o-meter gets gets an earnest
crank with second act THE VERMIN
SUICIDES, who comprise a number number of
familiar faces on the Liverpool punk
scene. Bassist Bassist Alec Joyce is rocking
a Mexican look, resplendent in
sombrero and impressive handlebar
moustache (which is is back by popular
demand). Tony T, best known as
talent and intelligent song-writing
drummer with scene stalwarts
abilities result in a product that is
The Dead Class, seamlessly blends
much, much greater than the sum of
rockabilly snare beats and half-step
its previous parts. It just goes to prove
dub to inject a slinky, danceable ska
that a healthy healthy dose of post-hardcore
post-hardcore groove into their bog standard first-
can cure anyone’s ills, even those
wave punk format. A readiness readiness to
with a severe severe case of nostalgia.
delve delve into punk’s subsidiary channels
Samuel Garlick is is integral integral to the appeal of this band.
Not content to just be another another three-
THE SMEARS
The Vermin Suicides - The Chacers
chord punk band, band, they give a varied
and consummate performance.
Now, drag The Bangles through
Free Rock and Roll @ Mello Mello a hedge backwards, dip them in gin
and put them in a steel cage with
Any budding promoters out there Hole, and you’ve got Nottingham’s
looking for a clever name for their The Smears. Sassy and stilletoed,
gig night should take heed that you they power through thirty thirty minutes
needn’t be a seasoned wordsmith to of larynx-busting, grunge-flecked
get bums on seats, you you just need to punk rock poison which, despite
be honest about what you’re trying two members of the band being
to achieve. Free Rock and Roll, a bi- stupefyingly drunk, is carried carried off off with with
weekly event now in its third year, unerring precision throughout. Tune-

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30
Bido Lito! December 2011
up breaks make them easy heckle-bait,
but guitarist Maimee V seems to relish
the challenge, fixing one offender
with a look of death and audibly
snarling. “This song’s called Eat Eat Shit!”
she thunders. Perhaps fearful of the
potential embarrassment of being
beaten to death with a high-heeled
shoe, the the guilty party dutifully corks it
for the rest of the show.
What The Smears lack lack in
experimentation, they make up for in
attitude, ability and sheer lung power
and, and, with a spit and a scowl, they
leave the Mello Mello faithful feeling
a little bit dirty.
Pete Charles
DOG SHOW
Loved Ones – Hot Light
Fiesta – All We Are
Urchin Sessions @ Unit
59 Warehouse
Wow, where to start? Six bands,
assorted DJs, an awesome venue,
a fine assortment of movers and
shakers in attendance: the classic
too many many cooks cooks joke can be be excluded
Reviews
here as the staggeringly meaty lineup
put together by Meshuggy for
this warehouse party was so well
composed.
Turning up red-faced and slightly
late, I thankfully managed to catch ALL
WE ARE, one of the standout bands of
the night. Their poignant melodies
and sage-like lyrics emphasise them
as an assured asset of Liverpool’s
new wave of alternative folksters.
The patchwork quilt of the quaint
and laconic sown by All We Are was
quickly ripped up by HOT LIGHT
FIESTA, a band to be taken with a
pinch of Tabasco. Their quavered
vocals and pop-laden verses became
subverted in parts, expressed with
some really well-worked, heavy riffs
that that demonstrated demonstrated their potential to
the full. The The talent talent is there, there, and you
can see the echoes of Broken Social
Scene Scene emerging more when they
reach musical maturity.
LOVED ONES followed up to
demonstrate some some of the finest
musical exports exports Liverpool has to
offer: nu-age psychedelia strung with
harrowingly beautiful melodies and
minimalism, combining to paint paint the
Dogshow (Mike Brits)
aesthetically pleasing image of a
weird, dreamy love love child of Gruff Rhys
and Portishead. Portishead. With their first single
released in November on a subsidiary
label for Fierce Panda, it’s clear to see
the the Loved Ones dream of blowing up
the bandwagons. bandwagons. Phew.
Closing the bill, DOG SHOW
expressed all that’s dark and
wondrously beautiful inside the cogs
of the musical mind. Like two young
mischievous boys armed with drums
and keyboards that go about slipping
Catherine wheels onto the soles of
your shoes, it was impossible to stop
moving during their set. Their Glasto
and Shambala merits commend their
prominence in the biz as dangerously
talented talented musicians musicians that nobody nobody with
eyes and/or ears should should miss.
Si Finnerty
TOM VEK
The Masque Theatre
Six years is a dangerously long
time to wait for a second album
to emerge. With the hype well and
truly flattened and and the dance-rock dance-rock
scene that spawned him a mere
recent memory, TOM VEK is lucky
that anybody still cares. Judging by
the fantastic turnout tonight, people
really do care. The Masque is packed
with people who have waited over
half a decade to hear new music from
this man. The response to songs old
and new is tremendously positive
and Vek is treated like a prodigal
son returning. Songs such as C-C (You
Set The Fire In Me) are a compelling
reminder of his individual talent and,
when set against a backdrop backdrop of spikey
punk-funk bands who have largely all
fallen by the wayside, Vek sounds
like nobody else. Playing bass for
most of the set, Vek demonstrates demonstrates an
aptitude for for experimenting experimenting with deep
melody and letting letting the the bass guitar guitar
take the lead in many songs. Bringing Bringing
a full band with him him makes makes the songs
sound as full as they can be, although
many of the the guitar sounds sounds are played
using a sampler, which seems a bit
redundant when there is clearly a
guitar waiting to be strummed. strummed.
The eagerly eagerly anticipated songs from
new album Leisure Seizure Seizure stand up
well in the set. Recent single A Chore
sits seamlessly alongside songs from
debut We Have Sound and shows no
drop in quality. Some of the other
new songs don’t quite match up to
this and threaten to play into the
hands of doubters. With the musical
landscape so radically different now,
it takes a whole lot of confidence or
foolishness to return with music that
is so resolutely similar to previous
material. It might be wishful thinking
for Tom Vek to acquire a new set
of fans with album number two,
but it seems he has maintained a
relationship with every last devoted
supporter since 2005. If he can hold
onto such a loyal fanbase after such
a long silence then clearly his career
has much life in it yet.
Jonny Davis