Gig Diary November 2012 part 1 

Ellen and the Escapades/The Gramotones/Ryan Spendlove @ Brudenell Social Club, Leeds

Tonight is a case of deja vu. We are attending the launch gig of Ellen and the Escapades' brand new single - 'Without You'. This isn't the first time the Escapades have launched 'Without You' in Leeds. I distinctly remember attending Holy Trinity way back in May 2009 for a similar event. To be fair back then the Escapades were working at a much smaller level and it seems reasonable to give 'Without You' another chance to crack the charts.

Anyway first up is Ryan Spendlove. I might previously have mentioned that this guy is a force of nature with his amazing voice and sprightly bluesy guitar style. The songs on his new album sound great and he still finishes with a fiery version of 'Pretty Polly'.

Next up are the Gramotones. These bunch are from Oldham. On first glance they look like they'll be a bunch of Byrds soundalikes - they even have a Rickenbacker and a twelve string guitar! Although they do have a lot of sixties influence in there they are a much more muscular sounding act than you would expect. Their music is full of strange twists and turns as well (in a weird way its a bit reminiscent of Field Music). There are some nice vocal harmonies and a couple of strong sounding songs ('M62' and 'Soldier's Kiss' in particular).

Ellen and the gang open with a completely revamped version of 'All the Crooked Scenes' and as usual we get an exemplary performance. They treat us to a couple of new songs, the second of which sounds particularly good. It all ends with a joint run through of some Jackson Browne/Eagles' cover with the Gramotones.

Rosie Doonan/JonnytheFirth/State of Georgia @ Brudenell Social Club, Leeds

We are a bit late arriving tonight and so State of Georgia are already on the stage. I haven't seen Georgia for ages. Tonight its just her at the keyboard with a couple of backing singers. Her set sounds ok. She's an experienced confident performer. Her songs sound pretty solid. However nothing really stands out.

It seems a long time now since Jonny Firth announced on stage that he was stopping his one man band act. Yet here we are once again with him, his guitar and drum. As usual he gives a fiery and entertaining performance and finishes up with Nicci on drums for his last song.

Then Nicci and Jonny are back on stage as part of Rosie Doonan's new band. The new album she's promoting is called 'Cuckoo' and apparently its performed by Rose and the Howling North. She doesn't seem to be too bothered that everybody is still calling her Rosie though. Presumably this is a new idea cooked up by her management team.

Her backing band consists of old stalwarts including Gary Stewart, Adam Richards and the aforementioned Nicci and Jonny. The songs are all pretty new though. She's taking a more straight forward rock direction with no flirting with folk whatsoever. The songs are pretty immediately catchy and with such an experienced band you can be sure they sound good. Its slightly weird to see Rosie without either a guitar, ukelele or piano. She does borrow Jonny's guitar for a couple of songs tho.

I guess the fairest way to review Rosie would be as a completely new artist. I think if I'd never seen her before I would be impressed by her performance and the quality of the songs. The one nagging thought though is that the new stuff is all quite loud and so the quality of Rosie's voice, one of her biggest assetts, isn't shown to its best.

The Crookes/Hey Sholay/Carnabells @ Cockpit 3, Leeds

There's something about the opening act, Carnabells, that reminds me of the Pigeon Detectives. It could be the singer's tousled hair and denim waistcoat or it could be the infectious poppy rush of the music. Anyway Nat Lawrence, who despite her tender years is an experienced gig goer, was right to tip us off about this lot. The sound probably shouldn't work with tinkly rock'n'roll piano rubbing against moody heavy lead guitar. Strangely though it does. They've got infectious tunes and despite there being plenty of instruments (two guitars and a piano) the sound is clear and distinct. I also like the fact that the left handed singer is playing an upside down right handed guitar.

I've kind of followed Hey Sholay from a distance for a while. Caught them accidentally down the Leadmill in Sheffield a couple of years ago and was immediately struck by them. They are an odd looking bunch and its a bit difficult to describe their music. There are tunes a plenty but there's a kind of weird modern kind of psychedelia about it with lots of electronics and weird effects on the vocals.

The Crookes I've also seen a few times over the last few years. They are a nice group of lads from Sheffield that play uptempo poppy indie music. I always enjoy them when I see them but somehow they haven't won a place in my heart. Tonight is no exception. The audience love them and the new guitarist (ex of Silent Film Project) seems to have bought a bit of something to their performance but I'm still not convinced.

Frank Turner/Tim Barry/Jim Lockey and the Solemn Sun @ The Academy, Leeds

Tonight is all about slightly over earnest blokes playing guitars. First up we get a whole gang of them. Jim Lockey and the Solemn Sun are a pleasant enough four piece. The bassist seems very good and they have some nice tunes. However there are two things that prejudice me slightly against them. Firstly they remind me a little bit of the Levellers. Secondly they wear long untucked shirts/t-shirts over skinny trousers and it doesn't look right to me.

Next up we are privileged to get Tim Barry. Everybody loves Tim - the other support act go on about him and Frank Turner later bigs him up. The crowd go wild for him. But yes you've guessed it myself (and my gig companions) are not impressed. Before he starts playing he tells us an anecdote about Frank Turner. I was hoping for something amusing but no it was a deadly earnest bit about how good Frank was. This wasn't the only anecdote we got from Tim. Apparently he used to live in a shed, he doesn't really have much time for politics but really loves playing guitar and singing even though he's not very good (his own view) and loves to live on the edge. Every story is cheered to the rafters even though this man may be the most dull person in the whole of rock'n'roll.

Oh yeah he also sang and played. He wasn't terrible but his songs in common with his anecdotes were so dull it was mind numbingly tedious. His big thing is that its not about how good you can play its about the passion. When I think of all the talented local musicians who could have been up on that stage but no Mr Turner in his wisdom dragged this bloke all the way from the US. The problem with a lot of these guys is that they think that strumming banal bunches of chords and singing songs with a bit of swearing in them makes them a bit edgy. But I see people every week who can play so much better, sing so much better, have more interesting tunes and better lyrics.

So yeah I wasn't keen on him.

Finally we get the man himself Mr Turner. Now don't get me wrong I like Frank's music, particularly his most recent album but really I'm not the sort of person who enjoys these sort of gigs. Before I start though I feel I must tell you that everybody else in the hall (including my gig companions) absolutely loved it and it was all a bit of escapism and all that.

But the show was just so stereotypical. Turner couldn't get through a sentence without slipping in the word 'Leeds' which of course bought out a Pavlovian cheer from the crowd who just lapped it up. We got more earnestness about how great the support acts were and the audience (of course) and how great it was that gigs bought us all together. There was so much clapping I thought I'd gone to a seal convention and of course plenty of singing along.

I also have to say I can't stand his backing band. They have that overactive style that I always associate with session musicians. I'm sure they've been with Frank for years but their showiness really got on my wick.

What grates with me most though (even more than the whole earnest humourless backslapping stuff) is the faux rebelliousness of it all. There's loads of provocative lyrics about 'There never was no god' (and that double negative annoyed me as well) and how Frank won't sit down, shut up or grow up. But scratch away at it all and although Frank is pissed off about lots of things and can moan like a Daily Mail reader on speed its difficult to see what he's for. The rebelliousness is all very vague.

Now the vast majority of music I listen to from ElvisP through to AltJ doesn't have any message. So its not like I insist on artists having a political edge. But there's just something about Turner's unwillingness to give anything away whilst playing up his rebelliousness that irritates me. The cynic in me says its because his political leanings are slightly to the right (although I don't for a minute believe the nonsense about him supporting the BNP). So to avoid upsetting his fanbase he keeps it all very neutral.

Anyway the music itself was very good and showed that this genre isn't all about passion and keeping it real and all that other old crap. The songs are works of art with thoughtful lyrics and catchy tunes. From his older stuff like 'Father's Day' and 'The Real Damage' (which even shows a bit of rare humour) up to more recent classics like 'I am disappeared' (a fantastic opener). Unfortunately there are also a few clunkers in there as well like the sledgehammer anti religion song (don't get me wrong I hate god botherers as well).

So overall a great show but not one that appeals to a miserable git like me.

The Reacharounds/JonnytheFirth @ Velvet Bar, Wakefield

The show this evening is promoted by 'Wolfboy records' - better known to thee and me as Jonny the Firth.

Jonny is on when we arrive (I was delayed by a bit of 'trouble at t'mill' at work). Lo and behold he has Rosie Doonan playing bass with him. Anyway it was a good little set showing off his raw rock'n'roll and ear catching tunes at their best.

The Reacharounds are a rock band and I may have mentioned this before feature Dave the nicest bar man in Leeds on drums. Dave bashes his drums like Bonham. The music is very much tounge in cheek hard rock with plenty of good muscianship. Its a lot of fun but maybe slightly lacks a bit of tunage if I'm being honest.

Hope and Social/The Reacharounds/Sion Russell Jones @ Brudenell Social Club, Leeds

Almost unbelievably this is only the second time I've seen Hope and Social live this year and the first proper band gig (the last show been a special acoustic show). I often think that not seeing a band too often is no bad thing. There was a time when I probably saw Hope and Social once a month. Enjoyable as that was the anticipation tonight is much better.

The Brude is already packed by the time the opening act, Sion Russell Jones, takes the stage. This is not an easy crowd for a lone guy with an acoustic guitar to play. He makes a pretty good fist of it though with some pleasant songs.

For the second day in a row I'm treated to a set by the Reacharounds. I think they sound much better than last night. Later I mention this to the singer but he disagrees and thinks they sounded better in Wakefield. It could be the greater amount of alcohol I've consumed tonight has influenced me.

After a quick turnaround Hope and Social take to the stage. They claim not have rehearsed the new songs much but it all sounds pretty great to me. The set is a mixture of songs old and new. My favourite moment was probably 'Marching On Through' which I love for both its sentiment and tune. I'm not ashamed to say that it bought a tear to my eye. Unfortunately when I wiped said tear away it turned out I had chilli on my fingers from tea at Jamie's Italian earlier. So subsequently my eye was streaming and sore.

As usual half the fun of Hope and Social is in the interaction with the audience. The way they manage to do this without resorting to cliche and patronisation (see my review of Frank Turner above) is amazing. The key ingredients are the chemistry between the various band members and their sense of humour.

This is a band that people take to their hearts and I recommend you try them next time you get a chance.