Noah and The Whale 15/03/2009

A girl entered his life within the haze of Summer’s gold. They sat up all night drinking cheap wine, smoking and nonsensically yabbering about the most important things in their rosy sphere. That Summer they are so unfeasibly happy, riding together in a huge theme park in the sky. It’s real love sprinkling their every millimetre with sparkling, golden sand. A sand that will never, ever be able to be removed from all those tiny places. Noah and The Whale’s songs are the Summer of absolute and complete love. Then in contrast to the blinding yellow, there is the beige. The songs that are the questions, is this really until holy matrimony? Is it infinite, or for this all encompassing ending second?

And then finally the blue, full of slow strumming and desolation, the songs when the buzzing Summer Queen bee has clearly left the Noah nectar. She has gone and he waits for her. He sleeps with someone else. And still he waits for her. The sand stuck in his heart. He loves her. ‘I fell in love with the world and you. Death do not feel like the victor, ‘cos my poor life makes you none the richer.’ – Hold my Hand as I’m Lowered. The world opened to him through the united heartbeats, is now a peep hole in a well.

With The Whale there is the elation, as you skip through the barley fields and eat candyfloss on the pier, then the anxiety, the yearning, the deepest despair and the end. I want him in his Summer! Then that’s not real life I suppose, and without this massive sadness, where would the poetry and the empathy be? When I first heard Noah and The Whale, I thought they were the Summer straw trilby of music, but when I listened to them more, and saw them live on Sunday, I was far more hit by the slower, straining songs. That’s not to say that 5 Years Time wasn’t a stamping joy, and there were a multitude of couples in the hausen. I loved it! But I think that the song writing poetries should not be blurred by the light of the Summer hits simplicity.

The set itself was complimented by the ultra slick lighting and the films playing in the background. The films were created by a variety of collections of people, most to support the songs themselves. Many of them were made to look like old films, filled with memories of happiness, nostalgic and romantic. They filled the audience with a contented warm light buzz. The strobe lighting on lead singer, Charlie was very striking and linked the silhouette of him playing to the rolling film in the background. Minus the ukulele, (ow...) the band had a little rock out at the end of many of their songs. With their electric guitars and the violin it was a varied and inspiring sound. Charlie himself talked a little between the songs, telling the audience about his ‘love’ for Bris. Course. He also asked for a bit of participation from his (many adoring girl) fans to join him in singing the line; ‘In a year it will be better!’- ahh the love that struck him down. In a year, the world will be a different place. Who knows what it may bring... more of the screaming girl fans? I hope he gets the love strike again. But keeps it til the forevers this time. But then all the songs would be Summer, and you need the Winter. That’s where Noah and The Whale get their real depth, and makes for a wholesome show that leaves you with many emotions touched.

Emmy The Great 26/02/2009

The dark wooded pub was full of silent admirers as Emmy sweetly sung her sensitive and often comical lyrics. Her guitar gently lolled along beside her rhyming words, like her favourite toy bouncing beside her as she walks through her land. Her tone rising and falling with the lines, and a violin and second guitar joining in with the poetry created a delicate, but full and wholesome sound. Like a creamy dessert, with some big chunks of fruit. Light, fluffy and sweet, but with a real fruity bite, Emmy’s a girl that the boys like as their mate (adoringly, of course), but also a real girl, with the emotions and such.

During the gaps between songs, Emmy divulged little snippets about herself. ‘I wrote about this when I got my Mooncup’, for example. Liberating? By mentioning these little things that are so personal the audience gets a feel for the cheeky, naughty Emmy. Unafraid to let strangers know about her little details, she doesn’t shy away from the cold and basic reality. Getting the lyrics wrong she shouts, ‘Shit, wrong, wrong!’, she is on one hand a vulnerable femme, and on the other straight talking and very funny.

The realism of her stage persona is reflected in her lyrics. ‘We almost had a baby’ for example, starting with the line, ‘you didn’t stop when I told you to stop’. Title and first line indicating throes of passion and the fearful little consequences. Not exactly the super romantic stuff that flows from many a mouths. She articulates the situations so well. Spelling them out with no gloss, or spangle, she told you to stop! You almost had a baby! The title track of her first album, ‘First Love’ is full of the soaring highs and the imperfections of a first love. ‘I wish that I had never met you the night you said you said you had a room you have music to play’, BUT, ‘I would do it again, and I would forget like I would piss on a grave, I would piss on a grave’. Climaxing with ‘Hallelujah, hallelujah and the sky was so much bluer, and the world was so much newer’. Just because ‘hallelujah’ was in the tape deck, doesn’t mean it was a ‘hallelujah’ moment, but then the love felt right there and then... Ahh the excitement, the touch, the brewing life and brimming lustful heart, spilling over into love! Surely everyone knows how that feels? Her words and emotions are so believable and sung so sweetly, often with just herself and her guitar, it is as if it is you right there, sitting in your bedroom, and she is singing you her moments and stories. Taking you with her as she walks down the street with her favourite toy, and her open heart and thoughts.

The Polecats 21/02/2009

Standing in the smoky bit outside of the Fiddlers, I was surrounded by lots of denim jacket wearing men, some hooded men, and a few girls with silky head bands tied in a knot. I was in a really confusing place right then, in that alley place. And as the cigarette smoke fogged my vision, my reality sailed off to an island and left me completely, what time zone was this exactly? After walking back in and having an unpleasant chat with a bar manager who wouldn’t accept that I asked his barman for a single whisky, not a double (customer aint lying), I was in a bit of eyebrow raising mood. Whilst still up for a good time, the atmosphere had distinctly altered since I walked back in, and not just because of my whisky agro.





As I stood in the middle of the room and waited for next act, The Polecats, a band started in the 70s, and proper Bristol boys like, I really wasn’t sure what to expect from this crowd. The swinging ladies were now relaxing on the sidelines, and all I could see was denim, skinheads, denim, and (for those still with it), excessively gelled hair. And then drum roll... The Polecats(!!), started their punk, rockabilly set. Immediately I felt a hand sweep me aside as three denims stomped to the front, which instantly became the original pit. They threw each other around, slammed about and crashed me into the world of pole. I wasn’t sure whether these men had ever changed their hair since the 70s, perhaps as a sign of their devotion, they were true fans of these guys, and the band knew it. This was old school love, home love and a whizz back to the beginnings of punk and rockabilly. The Polecats gave an energised performance and delivered to their fans. However, I didn’t see the passion, yearning and the slight element of modesty that I like to see in an act, just a teeny bit. But then these guys know they rock, they’ve been told it for decades. Perhaps I just haven’t seen enough old school punk, it is the arrogance, the ‘screw you’ that makes them punk. I did want to see a bit more of a twinkle in their eyes, and maybe a bit more pizzazz, some spice, and something warm and nice, but again, that aint punk. Overall though, from the set I saw, they are a grand band, with roots in time and place, and for this they have some serious respect. They perform for their fans and exude the qualities of musical past. They didn’t get under my skin, but I know those clad in denim had a sparkling night.

The Zen Hussies - Bristol, Fiddlers 21/02/2009

The hair gel came out and the swing switched max on. The Zen Hussies came out to play on Saturday 21st February and they took the audience in their time machine and buzzed me, themselves and everyone, to a land where the crunch aint hittin’. And what a fantastic grunting, rolling voice the lead singer has. A Victoria sponge cake with fluorescent icing, the Hussies have the style and sound of the swing era, combined with a flourish of the modern, a bare footed sax player, a smattering of the modern hippy/new retro glam. The bare brick walls of the venue adding the element of an old dance hall, or a 30s jazz club perhaps.

So refreshing to watch a band play this kind of music live, and have so many adoring fans, dancing in circles, or with a burlesque feminine flourish. Nostalgia is hitting the world pretty hard right now with the recession, and has for a long time. Increasingly now, young people are also looking to that ‘simpler’ time. Whether it was or not, we/they weren’t even there, but the music taps into the idealistic dreams of the old, and the style separates the girls and the boys with colour and frivolity.

You, audience member, are your Granny and Granddad when they fell in love. But you are them in 2009, so one must add a bit of the something that wouldn't have been there before...your Granny wouldn’t be proactively dancing next to your potential Granddad in 1945. But they wanted to... didn't they? The Zen Hussies embrace all the qualities of an old dance in your local hall, then put in some liberalism. You can see they have been through the 60s free love session. Their stage presence is a little more modern, they roll in the element of the new hippy. Their audience are people that like to dress up, to embrace creativity, and a touch of knitting. They make their own clothes and dance to old school, 'real' music.

...They would all look fantastic playing in the woods with fairy lights, flowing fabric and men in brown suits with waistcoats.

The Zen Hussies are a modern Jazz. They take a portion of youth's past exuberance, music and style, and then add a dollop of the naughty but friendly new. Love it. A contented smiling, twirling act, helped by the atmosphere being so friendly and appealing. A combination of all we know and all we are waiting for.


Certainly I would recommend this band of jazzy, swingy, cool kids. They embrace all that is tea and cakes on an afternoon, having a good old dance, swinging and smiling, red lipstick and smirks. A really deliciously sexy combination. And they’re local.

Sons of Noel and Adrian 18/02/2009

A choir of booming voices, whistling, a multitude of instruments, a man with an incredible, indescribable, deep, low voice and a background of passion. Sons of Noel and Adrian are from the Midlands, there can be eleven members, there can be five, all have the ability to embed themselves into every note they play. They now reside in Brighton, which is where Mr Mumford and Co, met them and took them flying in their tour bus. On this night, the collection of men entered the stage, lumberjacks, thick rolling hair and sensitive, yet confident smiles as they set up their instruments. A violin started playing, long languorous notes, and silence was set upon the audience. Next a beautiful, light guitar rode next to the violin, and then the unique voice came streaming from the voice of Jacob. They all cantered for a while before drifting dreamily off with one long, slow flap of a bird’s wings, taking you gliding over the hills and oceans. This particular song I am describing here is named Inside Olympia, yet every song they played had the same ethereal quality. Whilst each musician was performing throughout, it seemed that each member was in their own sphere, the music was taking them to somewhere very private. They would sway their heads, closing their eyes they would point their faces down to the wooden floors, or up to the lights. The lead singer, Jacob, had a small frown on his face as the words came from him, with thought and precision. This crease would release as the notes built up to a massive musical outburst from the group. They all stamped their foot in time, reverberating it around the underground blackness, and moved wildly about on stage, like impassioned lovers.



The loud strumming of the guitar, the feisty violin, the double bass, banjo etc. it is the gold pot at the end of the rainbow, the colours streaming in. It is romanticism, country people meeting the city lights, it is the ocean, the trees, the love and the excesses. Pure and delicious, Sons of Noel and Adrian should wear a little sticky Organic label; from the pastures of England and the coastal sweeps, the weeping willows and the buzzing bees, sprout these musical hearts, and take you to their land on a hush of a breeze.

Mumford and Sons 18/02/2009

Streaming and flowing through the low ceilinged room, the guitar notes swirl and spiral, cushioning and blending with the folksy, powerful voice of Marcus. Then the banjo starts to play, and the piano. Then the drum and the tambourine, and then the whole lot begin to rapidly increase in speed and intensity. The guitar gets louder and louder, and the sweat starts to drip. A furrow on the brow, a stomp of the feet and then, like a rocket arriving in space, you are happily transported to a folk rave. You are at the mercy of the notes, floating around, sliding on Saturn’s rings, swinging around the stars. Before once again being taking back down to earth with that voice and those slow notes. All of this is powered by the hands, mouths and hearts of four men, each with their own quirks comfortably exposed on stage. Mumford & Sons take you on a journey, fast paced strumming, mixing with meltingly slow.

Watching the band live makes their sound and talent impact, a whole lot more forceful. The multi instrument playing, the quality of the husky lead voice and the rising climatic combined sound, contentedly delve into the spirits. White Blank Page is a beautiful song. A man lying next to a woman, can he say that his heart is in the same place as his body is? Cue only rage, love, attention and huge anguish. The latter shown through the violin strings, and the acapella. Culminating in the ‘truth’s’ banjos and further acapella. This crescendo building is a bit of a formula for Mumford & Sons, and ensures those listening experience heightened sense of the instruments, the emotions and the folk. A proper ‘ho down’, as Winston said.



I went outside and chatted to one of the band members (the one who chatted on stage the most, Winston). I asked him if he was enjoying tour life, (I could see he clearly was). He said with the exception of his previous night, attempting to chat to girls and then running away like a little rabbit (perhaps), he absolutely loved it, and proceeded to show me his tattoo symbolising his love of ‘The Tour’. He rolled up his sleeve, and there was the word, ‘TOUR’ tattooed on his arm. Love the tour. Winston is an endearing man and I hope that he retains this shy, deeper side, juxtaposed with a distinct cheekiness. One of the band’s qualities is a proper realness, not doing it for the money ambience. Rather they are just spreading their music, hence the lack of album release, as they build their fan base with small gigs like this one. They are right here and right there, your local, the little and the big festival, on the plane, on a bus, enjoying right now, as Mr TOUR said they are, ‘doing what they love doing’ with their mates.

If you can’t watch them in a dark wooded pub, watch them in Summer drinking Cider, with knitwear round your waist and grass on the floor.

Krafty Kuts Motion 6/02/2009

Phew, what a massive line up. This was a pretty grimy night, full of dark beats and squashed up excitement. Motion is quite the epic club. Skate park and warehouse world, spiralling into smaller rooms, and a ferociously cold decking area by the river. The atmosphere was very friendly and both Audio Bullys and Krafty Kuts performed some magic from their heights. There was a large smattering of glitter too for your pleasure, in the shape of ‘Bitch ‘n’ Stitch’, who’ll perform some colourful magic upon the face – brightening you up like Tinkerbell. Because of course, in a way, that’s what this was, Peter Pan, the lost boys, kids who don’t want to grow up, because the parties are so much fun. And mortgages are not. We are all kids dancing around and embracing these years before they trot away from us. This night was a beat lover’s heaven, a short and sparkly night if you wanted it to be, or a long endless one, if that’s your fancy, depending on whether the next day needs to contain anything. With such a good line up and venue though, perhaps everyone should embrace these multicoloured nights in some way at least once in a while.

Karima Francis Review 03/02/2009

When Karima Francis strutted on stage, shiny leggings, vintage jumper and a big mass of hair, then immediately fiddled with her curls and looked cheekily out to the audience, she visibly became the oxymoron that she is. A mad, powerful and effortless ranging voice, with a confident, startling look and incredible presence when she unleashes her sound, combined with shyness, a youth and distinct northern charm.

As soon as that first note escaped Karima, with its perfect and yet startlingly raw sound, mini goose bumps hurtled through me like antelope running from a lion. Literally the most ridiculous live voice I have heard for a very long time. The Cooler wasn’t packed, but it was a nice crowd, some sitting, some slowly absent mindedly swaying. The atmosphere was friendly as each person escaped to their own melodic cabin. Joined by her guitar with its brash little neon ‘Blackpool’ sticker, and her beautifully calm guitarist, the act was such a simple set up. This unfussiness served to support the naivety of her heart’s lyrics and expose 21 year old Karima’s talent. There are hints of Tracey Chapman in her voice, but it’s hard to say she’s like any particular artist, as she has such an individual sound. Where this range hugging, instrument of a voice originated from she doesn’t know. ‘I just wrote a song and the voice kind of came with the words,’ she says, ‘I’ve always had this range, which still shocks me.’

Growing up in Blackpool and Manchester, her Mother would tape her singing Celine Dion songs, telling her she was going to be a great singer one day, as she possessed, ‘this voice’, as Karima states. However she didn’t appreciate her silencing powers in her younger years. Upon finding said tapes, she snapped them and threw them in a field’, as she was so embarrassed. It was only when she moved to Manchester with her Mother, and fell in love that these heart pulling, feel it in your bones and soul lyrics truly came out, unearthed and exposed. As did ‘the voice’,
As testament to her character; between songs, her posture would become loose, her face would crease into a mischievous smile and the glint in her eye filled the time space. Her little anecdotes, a Rolex she found in a charity shop in Cornwall for £10, ‘Karima got herself a Rolex for ten quid, come and ‘ave a look, it’s dead nice’ brought the audience into her little world and made her seem more vulnerable and charming. She also said ‘thank you’ after every applause she received, commenting that it’s so strange and unbelievable to have your own personal emotions and words clapped to. Something that she mentions in an interview; ‘I still have my insecurities. But I must have some confidence to get up on stage and do what I do. When an audience claps at the end of a song, I can’t understand it. I’m just stood there, and there are hundreds of people listening to my words – it’s kind of hard to take in.’

Karima has a talent that is explosive and makes the world a more vivid and bright, colourful place. She has a personality and paradoxical quality that is endearing, entertaining and heart pulling. Her single Chasing the Morning Light resonated within me as I cleaned my teeth at night and the next morning, and her cover of Need Somebody by Kings of Leon transfixes the heart and mind. Karima on the third of February, was ‘ma fave’.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SR7q3Q17bI Watch this eh.