Unearthly Trance, Ramesses & Black Sun, 13th Note, Glasgow, Friday 17th April 2009

Black Sun became a Glasgow institution long ago, perhaps because, rather than despite of, their steadfastly uncompromising musical stance. Kicking proceedings off tonight, they are as true to form as ever, with an unrelenting ferocious intensity, expressed through crushing riffs, feedback howls, pummelling slow drum salvoes, monolithically heavy bass and rabid vocal screams.
Ramesses, especially with such illustrious Electric Wizard pedigree and some fine releases behind them, are an unfortunate disappointment. Despite some tight drumming, on a kit featuring what must be the largest cymbal known to man, with the near inaudible vocals lost behind buzzsaw 7-string guitar and grumbling bass, they are left lacking anything like the monstrous punch on either side of their set and fail to show enough life to transcend their classic doom blueprint.
Thankfully, when Unearthly Trance come crashing through a howling wall of feedback into their sludgy doom metal riffing, we are back in the land of physically pulverising heaviosity. With a technical deftness that could easily be lost beneath the dark distorted extremes of their sound, they shift seamlessly from their sludge beginnings to heavy-as-hell crust punk scorchers and then back all the way to full-on epic doom, showered with slow slow riffs and funereally paced stick-shattering drum crashes. This expert combination of dynamics, progressive experimentation and sheer brutal heaviness leaves the crowd stumbling from the Notecave's sweaty depths with suitably ringing ears and clawing fists.

Photos of this gig available here.

Unearthly Trance
Ramesses
Black Sun

Mono, Stereo, Glasgow, Monday 23rd March 2009

After 10 years as a band and nearly 6 years of seemingly relentless international touring, including more visits to these Glasgow climes than you can shake a heartbreaking minor chord guitar arpeggio at, there are certain things one has come to expect from Japanese post-rock titans Mono, and, in front of an enraptured crowd, they certainly don't fail to deliver tonight. As John Peel used to say "it starts quietly, very quietly...", with guitarists Yoda and de-facto band leader Takaakira "Taka" Goto seated heads-bowed on either side of the stage, cradling their guitars over ranks of pedals, true shoegaze style. Still adhering to the quiet-loud dynamic so beloved of many a post-rock instrumentalist, Mono have it honed to a fine art, building epically from interweaving twin guitar lines and subtle bass and cymbal washes to gloriously soaring peaks of ear-shattering noise, complete with diminutive bassist Tamaki Kunishi rocking out centre stage and Taka's stool-toppling, feedback-soaked guitar histrionics. With a set aptly focusing on the cinematic new album 'Hymn To The Immortal Wind', released that very day, the only real disappointment is the lack of even a small string section, which leaves the new tracks feeling a bit empty in places, at least until the band really gets into its stride with a midway step back to earlier times via a rousing version of "Yearning" from the previous 'You Are There' long-player. Followed by a magnificent rendition of the current album's "The Battle To Heaven" and the beautiful "Halcyon (Beautiful Days)" before set and current album closer "Everlasting Light", new musical ground it may not be, but when you do it as well as Mono, that really doesn't seem to matter.

Photos of this gig available here.

Mono

Action Beat, Flying Duck, Glasgow, Thursday 26th February 2009

With a host of vigorous young musical oddness in support at this multi-headed underground extravaganza, it's nearly 2am by the time Action Beat make it to the central mini-amphitheatre that counts as a stage here at the Flying Duck. Even at such an ungodly hour, the proudly Bletchley-based multi-piece rock ensemble are certainly not lacking in energy and dedication to the instrumental art-rock cause. Playing tonight in a relatively stripped down 6-man incarnation consisting of 1 bassist, 2 drummers and 3 guitarists (though sadly lacking their occasional violin, trumpet and saxophone augmentation), they blaze through a set of balls-to-the-wall melodic riffage and high-intensity rock action. What they do may be simple, with a heavy debt to the discordant accessibility of early Sonic Youth and the massed instrumental rock orchestrations of Glenn Branca and Rhys Chatham, but there's no doubting that they play it like they mean it, broken strings, bleeding hands and all, and their passion and well-toured tightly-honed assurance gives an infectious delight in the sheer, simple power of guitar-based rock.

Photos of this gig available here.

Action Beat

Crystal Antlers, Nice N Sleazy, Glasgow, Friday 30th January 2009

Hailing from Long Beach, California and hitting UK shores for the first time in the wake of Touch & Go's CD reissue of their originally self-released 25-minute long 'EP', Crystal Antlers are definitely riding a still-growing wave of interest and anticipatory buzz. The basement venue at Nice N Sleazy is absolutely packed, from the front stage to the back doors, with barely room to move, let alone get down and dance or even nod along, not that plenty of people don't still try it once the band's infectious garage rock grooves kick into action.
With the sound gloriously in the red right from the very first notes, it's this psychedelic garage rock fuzz that rules the early part of the set, with Andrew King's guitar-playing going straight into frenetic Acid Mothers-esque aim-for-the-stars soloing, while front-man Jonny Bell blasts out over-driven heavy fuzz-bass riffing and suitably scorched vocals. Accompanied by Victor Rodriguez's vintage organ riffs and the percussion, melodica and dance skills of the wonderfully named Sexual Chocolate, a.k.a. Damien Edwards, who adds melodic flourishes and emphasis to the solid propulsive grooves laid down by main drummer Kevin Stewart, the five-piece Crystal Antlers generate a heady cosmic squall, whose closest touchstone is probably fellow Californian psychedelics Comets On Fire, or their more user-friendly offshoot Howlin' Rain.
At first the sound is too thick and over-driven and the weight of all this action is too heavy, making it difficult to hear the subtleties and complexities hidden away amidst the psychedelic garage-y fuzz, but a fortuitous bass string break forces a slight ease in the tempo and intensity, and we're treated to an interlude of spacey guitar and organ drone, before the band launches full-bore once again into a massive multi-part psychedelic garage prog jam, more intense than ever, but with the magnificent sonic collision of psych, garage, prog, blues and desert rock that they offer now coming through loud and perfectly unclear.
Even with barely half-an-hours recorded material behind them, the heaving crowd and accompanying adulation that Crystal Antlers generate is more than well-deserved on a night with a performance like this and, if they can live up to their early promise, then the forthcoming album, Tentacles, could be, along with tonight's live experience, one of the highlights of 2009.

Photos of this gig available here.

Crystal Antlers

Earth, Stereo, Glasgow, Saturday 9th February 2008

Despite having birthed the camp excesses of Sunn O))), there is a true solemnity and a sense of deliberate restraint to Earth and their music. This seriousness is prevalent more than ever on their most recent albums, 'The Bees Made Honey In The Lion's Skull' and in particular in its 2005 predecessor 'Hex; Or Printing In The Infernal Method', which heralded the band's reappearance following several years of inactivity. While their unrelenting austerity and unerringly slow pace can sometimes lead to a dry and, dare I say it, somewhat dull listen on record, with the emotion scorched from the music, like listening to the sound of a lonely wind blowing across an empty landscape, there is no danger of this when seeing the band live. The immense gravity may still be there and the pace may still be relentlessly mournful, but somehow it all aches with feeling, still of sadness sure, but within that there's a glimpse of warmth and a glimmer of hope and humanity. Maybe it's the sight of Dylan Carlson and his current 4-strong lineup melding together so perfectly up on stage that gives the Earth live experience the involvement that can be missing from the albums, or maybe it's their utterly immersive live power. The band, currently consisting of Dylan Carlson on guitar, Adrienne Davies on drums, Don McGreevy on bass and Steve Moore on keyboards, drones and trumpet, are so incredibly tight and together and the sound they generate is so massive, with each slow thud of the bass and thunderclap of the drums hitting you physically full on and slowly reverberating away, that it feels impossible to be anything but completely absorbed.

Photos of this gig available here.

Earth

Kling Klang, Barfly, Glasgow, Saturday 27th October 2007

From the ranks of vintage synthesizers crowding the stage, to the flared red corduroy trousers of the band's de facto leader Joe McLaughlin (not to mention his more than passing resemblance to Neil from the Young Ones), there's something decidedly retro about Liverpool's Kling Klang. Taking their name from that of Kraftwerk's private music studio (and also the opening track on the album 'Kraftwerk 2'), the band wear their krautrock influences unashamedly on their sleeve. Kling Klang's debt to genre pioneers Kraftwerk extends further than mere nomenclature however, as their sound is strongly reminiscent of the repetitive groove-led krautrock jams that were the staple of early Kraftwerk. Simple repeated synthesizer lines are the driving force behind Kling Klang's vocal-less music, with the three synth players accompanied by Ali MacDonald's suitably motorik live drumming and McLaughlin occasionally switching to guitar to augment the analogue electronics with heavy guitar riffing to beef up the more "rock" moments. While the repetitive simplicity of their sound is often the band's strongest suit and is arguably their very raison d'être, it unfortunately feels like a weakness tonight, as, not helped by a lack of punch to the sound quality, it seems as if the band are treading water. The performance lacks the propulsive energy and dynamics needed to really drive the grooves along and transcend mere head-nodding rhythmic intensity and preservation of the original krautrock spirit and allow Kling Klang to create a truly original and necessary sound of their own.

Kling Klang

Parts & Labor, Nice N Sleazy, Glasgow, Saturday 6th October 2007

Parts & Labor's drums, bass and keyboard line-up may not seem like a recipe for rock enlightenment, but the New York trio create a noise that belies their humble stature and nerdish appearance. With amps turned steadfastly to 11 and everything pushed deep into the red, theirs is a gloriously fuzzed-up and feedback-drenched sound, shuddering on the edge of melodic collapse. Their strength lies in the marrying of this raucous noise with a wonderful ear for anthemic, danceable tunes and infectious pop hooks, pushed to near breaking point by the walls of distortion. Anchored by the rock solid drumming of new recruit Joe Wong and the distorted bass of BJ Warshaw, overlayed with Dan Friel's melodic keyboard and guitar lines, they strike a near perfect balance between chaotic frenzy and pop nirvana. For those who always wished that Lightning Bolt were less intimidating and more catchy, Parts & Labor could well be the answer to your prayers.

Parts & Labor

Matthew Bower, Chris Corsano & Heather Leigh-Murray, Glasgow University Union, Glasgow, Saturday 24th February 2007

Matthew Bower, Chris Corsano, Heather Leigh-Murray... any one of these names alone should be enough to bring a joyful sparkle to the eye of any discerning fan of experimental/underground music. But tonight Glasgow University Union's the Hive was the incongruous venue for the spectacular treat that was their debut live trio performance. Matthew Bower is one of the veterans of the UK musical underground, having released a truly daunting body of elegiac heavy rock, drone and noise, most notably with his Skullflower, Sunroof! and Hototogisu projects, and to see him play with Volcanic Tongue honcho Heather Leigh-Murray and Chris Corsano, one of the world's most exciting and talented free drummers (soon to be heard on the new Björk album), promised to be a truly special experience.

Thankfully, this was a dream line-up that more than lived up to even the most hyperbolic expectations. When the visceral raw energy of Matthew Bower's monolithic walls of feedback and guitar distortion, Chris Corsano's kit-destroying thunderous stabs of percussion and Heather Leigh-Murray's primal howls and ravaged pedal-steel reached their awesome peak it was as if the world was collapsing around your head. Ear splitting, brain melting and emotionally draining, this was a night not to be forgotten.

Photos of this gig available here.

0° Of Separation (Juana Molina, Vetiver, Vashti Bunyan, Adem), ABC, Glasgow, Tuesday 16th January 2007

The idea behind the 0° Of Separation tour is one that is sadly relatively rare. There is no support or headliner and the lines between the artists are blurred, as musicians come and go in fluid combinations and collaborations, experimenting with old arrangements and new compositions.

That said, Juana Molina's solo sets were easily the highlight of the night. Alone on stage she created hypnotic rousing folktronica, starting from simple guitar lines, looped and layered, with beats behind, all driven along by her wonderfully strong vocals. Even with the snow that had started to fall outside, it was easy to get lost in the foreign warmth of her Spanish and be transported, at least temporarily, to a different place.

Vetiver's rootsy Americana was similarly able to bring energy levels up and to get even the seated crowd moving, and it is just a shame that neither act was given more of a presence during the evening, as, unfortunately, neither Adem, nor rediscovered folk songstress Vashti Bunyan, were anything like as entertaining.

In comparison to Juana Molina's strength and vitality, Vashti Bunyan's voice was weak and lifeless, a failing not helped by her apparent nerves and lack of confidence onstage, nor by her overly sentimental and uninspiring songs. Adem fared better in the bigger group collaborations, but stripped down, neither did his songs really have the strength to fill the hall.

Bringing like-minded artists together in an innovative way, 0° Of Separation is a great idea, but sadly there was too much distance between the strength of the performances that night to really do it justice.

Photos of this gig available here.

Birchville Cat Motel, with Alex Neilson & Richard Youngs and Opaque, 13th Note, Glasgow, Tuesday 9th January 2007

Sonic terrorism is probably the best way to describe what Opaque do tonight, as four sinisterly masked men, dressed all in black, stand motionless in front of us, their guitars screaming beautiful symphonies of feedback and aural desctruction in the darkness, building to staggering crescendos of white noise.

Though without quite the darkness and violence of Opaque, Alex Neilson and Richard Youngs give just as ferocious an assualt on rock's confines. Jandek's original rhythm section perform tonight as a free-rock drums and guitar duo, Neilson's driving percussion melding perfectly with Youngs' e-bowed and distorted guitar work, the highlight coming when they are joined by Birchville Cat Motel's Campbell Kneale on additional guitar.

With a table full of equipment and tangled nests of wires it's perhaps not surprising that there are technical complications before New Zealand's Birchville Cat Motel can start weaving his powerful layers of drone. Soon overcome, he masterfully balances beauty and violence, shreaking almost unheard through distortion over his loops and electronics, and the only thing that's missing tonight is the truly transcendental volume of 2005's Instal performance.

Photos of this gig available here.

Birchville Cat Motel
Opaque

Melvins, with Big Business, The Garage, Glasgow, Thursday 14th December 2006

You would think that with a drummer as good as Dale Crover, the Melvins wouldn't feel the need to add another. That they've done exactly that is evidence of what makes them such a special band - their desire and ability to take straight-up rock & roll and push it further than almost anyone else.

With their latest album, (A) Senile Animal, (The) Melvins have added bass and drums duo Big Business to their arsenal, expanding to a four-piece, twin drummer line up. On record the sound is huge enough, but it really cannot compare to the live assault they present. The power of the two drummers is incredible. For the most part playing in sync with each other, they are at times almost earth shattering and, at the very least, ear shattering, propelling King Buzzo's guitar and Sideshow Bob hair and the fuzzed-up bass of Big Business' Jared Warren tirelessly for over an hour of gloriously heavy rock, with riffs and hooks aplenty. Tonight Glasgow, you have been very much rocked!

Photos of this gig available here.

Melvins
Big Business

Josephine Foster, with Zaimph and Tight Meat Duo, Downstairs at The Captain's Rest, Glasgow, Wednesday 6th December 2006

For the second time in a month David Keenan and Alex Neilson's Tight Meat Duo tear the small space Downstairs at The Captain's Rest apart with their short intense blasts of free jazz, creating a high-energy freedom of expression from the manic clattering and pummelling of drums and squonking of saxophone.

Marcia Bassett is a hugely prolific presence in the world of drone and noise, part of, among many other projects, Hototogisu and Double Leopards. Tonight, in her solo Zaimph guise, she plays a wonderful set of subtle guitar atmospherics. Constructed from layers of e-bow and delicately manipulated guitar, it is dark and brooding, like the sounds of lost souls wailing into the void.

Despite a series of excellent albums in various incarnations, Josephine Foster has remained very much on the underground of the so-called 'new weird America' movement. She is definitely a true free folk spirit. Her songs here are often delicate and beautiful, though she is joined tonight by an incredibly energetic and expressive electric guitarist, who almost steals the show with his freaked out psychedelic guitar work, before drifting back to leave just her fragile roughly-hewn wisps of folk song. She is still a minority taste perhaps, even in these Joanna Newsom-enraptured times, but it is the lucky few who are here on this rainy Wednesday night.

Photos of this gig available here.

Josephine Foster

Bardo Pond, with Jackie O Motherfucker and Alexander Tucker, Mono, Glasgow, Tuesday 28th November 2006

Tonight's trio of consciousness-expanders begins with Alexander Tucker, who builds walls of textured drone that belie his lone, seated figure. With bowed guitar, acoustic arpeggios and wordless vocals, interspersed with occasional bursts of heavy noise, he masterfully begins our night of psychedelia.

Live, Jackie O Motherfucker are quite a way from the relative accessibility of last year's 'Flags Of The Sacred Harp'. They play long improvised organic jams, formed from a multitude of bowings, scrapings, drifting ghostly voices and shamanistic chanting. Over the course of an hour, their shuddering drones slowly rise and fall, coalescing every so often into half-songs and melodies

Bardo Pond’s similarly trance-inducing sounds are of a wholly different kind. The air is thick with their heavy riffs, the sound so dense it seems to tune the whole venue into their monolithic bass-heavy grooves. With the unstoppable juggernaut of Clint Takeda's bass and Jason Kourkounis' drums and the deep fuzz of the Gibbons brothers' dual guitars, all overlaid with the barely-heard whispers of Isobel Sollenberger's flute and vocals, Glasgow is treated to a wonderful dose of the finest psychedelic rock around.

Photos of this gig available here.

Bardo Pond
Jackie O Motherfucker
Alexander Tucker

MV & EE Medicine Show, with Tight Meat Duo and Meursault, Downstairs at The Captain’s Rest, Glasgow, Friday 17th November 2006

In most artistic circles, performing with ones back to the audience would be a definite no-no, but for aptly named Glasgow drone artist Meursault it was all part of the performance, as he created mysterious walls of melancholy noise from layers of looped and bowed guitar, infused with the same kind of aching, slow-moving sadness that makes William Basinksi and Andrew Chalk so wonderful.

Fresh from a stint touring America with Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, this was very much a homecoming gig for drummer extraordinaire Alex Neilson, performing tonight with fellow Volcanic Tongue David Keenan on saxophone in their free jazz Tight Meat Duo incarnation. The energy and enthusiasm with which they played was a real delight to watch, with their short but glorious set positively overflowing with joyous freedom and expression.

MV & EE's brand of free folk is a vintage bluesy one, conjuring images of evenings on new-weird-American communes bashing out long drug-infused tales and analogue valve-driven jams. Soon overcoming initial amp problems, they played a set in which all the best of retro-feeling forward-looking psych, folk, blues, country and rock came together. The highlight of the night, however, was when they were joined for their final song by Alex Neilson, who again revelled in his return to freedom, driving forward a huge shuddering blast of gloriously free rock. With this catharsis, as the night wound up towards its ecstatic conclusions, there came a wonderfully Glaswegian shout from the shadowy recesses of the room; "awww man, this is pure head music!" and goddamn were they ever right.

Photos of this gig available here.