Jens Lekman, Deaf Institute (& Sandbar!), 2 August 2010

Bit of a treat today, here's a review of what sounds like it could be the gig of 2010 so far, by Mr Noggin....

For a whole week before this gig, I thought I was going to see an singer called Lens Yeckman – such was my criminal lack of knowledge about Swedish singer Jens. He was someone well and truly off my radar, his music was as alien to me as the music of Maurice Ravel or JLS. I think I half heard him the Friday before the big day in Saki Bar during their bi-monthly Underachievers Please Try Harder night; it brought to mind Jarvis Cocker singing a Belle and Sebastian number, with a slightly quirkier accent. This had the potential to be quite good, but I also had the nagging feeling that it might also be terrible.

August 2nd arrived. With Lazy Noggin away in London for a lavish wedding, it was up to me to stand in for her – I’d be the cultured lover of all things zeitgeist and twee – and then I’d report back to her, with sarcastic vitriol, how it was all the same old self aware indie bobbins, with added tweed, unkempt hair, and beads.

The Deaf Institute is an excellent venue. For a sauna. Bad start. It was hot in there – I could feel the sweat dripping down my back. Except it wasn’t mine – it was the person stood behind me. If you want to see a sea of unhappy yet shiny faces, then go to the Deaf Institute before a mildly popular gig. Or just spray paint a stranger silver.

And then Jens Lekman walked out with a gaggle of on stage beauties – male and female – they’re a lovely looking bunch – all cool and accessorised – with brass and string instruments. Needless to say, it was easy to forget about being 70% water when he appeared at the front – he won the crowd over with an effortless charm, a good-natured humour, and some bloody excellent tunes.

Tracks like the disco tinged The Opposite of Hallelujah, floating past like Tigermilk era Belle and Seb; blunt yet funny whimsical soul like A Postcard to Nina; and the heartbreaking The End of the World is Bigger than Love – flew by, seeming like songs I should have heard, should have had in my heart, and should have been singing along to like the rest of the audience.

Jens Lekman is hard to place – he’s pop without being embarrassing, he’s funk without needing marijuana, he’s northern soul without the dance moves. He’d probably slot in your CD collection nicely next to The Magnetic Fields, Kings of Convenience and Loney, Dear – yet he sounds utterly unique.

So there I was, happy, amazed, enchanted. And then the gig was over.

But no, Jens decided it wasn’t – he wanted more. And so did everyone else in the room. After a short break, her led us all over to Sandbar - a pied piper to us indie rats. This is where the true appeal of Jens shone through – he was alone, playing a little acoustic guitar, surrounded by cross-legged doe eyed fans, relying on his songs alone – and he had everyone singing along – he made us all feel like we were part of something special, something amazing – he brought down the barriers between musician and listener – we were all as one. Or maybe it just felt that way after the free booze laid on by the rather magnificent manager of Sandbar.

Jens was a true gent, staying way past 1am to sign autographs, pose for pictures, and engage in banter with people way more pissed than he was.

The only frustrating thing of the whole night was knowing that Lazy Noggin missed it all. Bloody London.

So the night ended, after a nice little lock in, some delicious red wine, and some excellent music – we’d hijacked Sandbar, and Jens, for long enough.

Much like this blog.

The Middle East @ The Deaf Institute, Manchester, Friday 25 June 2010

Or

The best gig ever?

Do you know when you almost don’t go to something, but then you do and afterwards you can’t believe you came so close to missing it? Well, maybe that’s a bit specific, but that was how I felt as I supped a post-gig drink in Sandbar. It was almost shellshock, a kind of “how amazing was that” euphoria.

The Australian band has been going for five years now, but it was their recent five song EP The Recordings of the Middle East which brought them to my attention. At the Deaf Institute on a beautiful summer evening the band open with The Darkest Side, which immediately sounds ten times better than the already good album version. There are six men and one woman on stage and the sound they make between them is just sublime. I don’t know whether to be impressed by the band or annoyed at whoever produced their EP that this sound was only hinted at on the recordings. The men harmonise together closely as they play guitars, drums, keyboard and a range of other less recognisable instruments. Then the beauty of the music is lifted to another level as Bree Tranter’s voice enters the fray, high and pure but somehow fitting in perfectly. With so many people on stage I was astounded at how considered the sound is. It would be easy for the sound to become loud, raucous or chaotic sounding, but the arrangement is perfect, with members sometimes singing away from the microphone or playing softly to control the song build-up.

I saw them again at Latitude and although the sound was lost a little on the windy Sunrise stage it was still special and beautiful. Highly recommended – go see!

Next month in music

A quick rundown of musical things that look good between now and the end of July, generally a pretty quiet time on the music scene:
Thursday 24 June 2010 (tonight!)
Midsummer House Party @ The Whitworth Art Gallery

A folky evening gig at a beautiful art gallery ten minutes walk from my new home? Its like if Carling put on gigs (though of course they do and they’re nothing special, but you know what I mean). Pull Yourself Together, Manchester’s indiepop fanzine and clubnight have singer songwriters Edmund Cottam and Christopher Eatough before PYT DJs play some tunes. For Folk’s Sake, the huge folk website, have poets Gemma O'Neil and Jackie Hagan. Also playing are Jam on bread and the Chantilly Belles. All relative unknowns to me but look like they will combine to make a splendid evening. There’s also some craftiness (what, like it wasn’t twee enough?), a bar and the whole thing is free. It’d be a crime to miss it.
Friday 25 June 2010 (tomorrow!)
The Middle East @ The Deaf Institute

This Australian band’s EP, The Recordings of the Middle East, has barely been off my ipod. Their music is indie/folk/bit of everything, and very much worth catching.

Tuesday 29 June 2010
Johnny Flynn @ Academy 3

English folk singer who’s been around for a while now and has played with Laura Marling. This will be a lovely gig to promote his new album Been Listening.

Saturday 3 July 2010
Noah and the Whale @ Manchester Cathedral

They need no introduction as the pioneers of the new British folk scene. Enjoy them in very special surroundings.

Later in July…Latitude! Pick of the festival to come

Dancin' and that

Manchester indie clubs tend to have a “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” policy, and this seems to work as they have a cultish year in year out following. Excellent examples include Clint Boon's Disco Rescue at South on a Saturday (though they struggle to fill it on a Friday), Mojos, the Venue, Fab Cafe and the more recent Propaganda @ Moho Live. Now I am not about to lay into this at all. When I moved back to Manchester from darkest Birmingham in 2006 I enthusiastically embraced this scene and heaped praise upon the loyalty to Manchester music that the DJs had. Countless times I had my hands in the air for I am the Resurrection at 3:25am on a Sunday morning, and no doubt it will happen again in the future. But things can become stale and two nights have recently waltzed on to the scene with a refreshingly modern take on things, and very welcome they are:

Underachievers Please Try Harder @ Saki Bar
Every 2nd and last Saturday of the month

Named after a Camera Obscura album, the list of bands on the flyer was too appealing to resist – The National, Jeffrey Lewis, Radiohead, Belle & Sebastian, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart all feature. The organisers cleverly combine live bands downstairs til midnight with an indie disco upstairs til 3am. Don’t expect much from the décor, it’s a pretty basic place on the edge of Rusholme and their self-confessed aim is to create a house party atmosphere, but when we went the bar was nice and quiet, everyone was friendly and there was plenty of space to throw some shapes. Since I will soon be living just ten minutes walk away, this ticks all my boxes.

Now Wave @ The Deaf Institute
Every Wednesday

Not so ideal for a Monday-Friday worker like me, but still so so tempting, Now Wave, who are putting on some of the most excellent gigs in the city at the moment, are also combining them on a Wednesday with a disco in the lovely Music Hall at the Deaf Institute. They guarantee not to play anything over two years old, and favourites include Passion Pit, Fleet Foxes, MGMT, M.I.A. and Animal Collective. Worth a days holiday wouldn’t you say?

Dette of Gratitude w/ Race Horses, Emmy the Great, Beth Jeans Houghton and Field Music @ The Deaf Institute, Manchester, 2 June 2010

It was as if the gig gods knew I needed something good after the mediocre-fest of Dot to Dot. I was having a read of some blogs and noticed this post. Emmy the Great at the Deaf Institute this week? How had I not clocked that one? So tickets were duly bought and we moseyed on down after work at around 8pm to get some quality Trof burgers before the show. As we walked in though we noticed the line-up posted on the door: The Acorn were starting imminently, followed by a band called Race Horses, Emmy the Great, Beth Jeans Houghton and topped off at 11 with another chance to see Field Music. That is a ridiculously good bill! As it turned out, the event had actually been put on as a surprise leaving party for a local lady called Bernie Phillips. Over the years she has accommodated bands playing and recording in the city in her home, and is now heading off to live in Canada, so there was a very sweet tone to the whole evening, even if we did feel a little like gate crashers!

The need for food unfortunately took precedent, and we missed The Acorn, which was a real shame. But we got upstairs in time to catch Race Horses and I am so glad we did – they were delightful. Although they hailed from Cardiff they had a Liverpool Beatles-esque sound, with a dash of the Wombats (that’s a compliment!). They were full of energy and smiled throughout the set, and they had some beautiful harmonies – I do love a male harmony. They really impressed the crowd and got a great reception. We bought their album so will get a review up here soon.

Emmy the Great was up next, and she was as remarkable as I expected. She read out a message to Bernie from the Howling Bells before cantering through some tracks from First Love. Although she was on stage on her own for most of the set, the songs sounded as great as they did on the album because her voice is so flawless. Highlights of a brilliant set were the candid We Almost Had a Baby, and Absentee with its hymn-like refrain Kyrie Eleison reminding me of mass as a child.

The evening was turning into one of the best gigs I’d been to in ages. It was lovely to sit in the wonderful Music Hall with a perfect view of these truly talented people performing little half hour sets. A friend once argued that 40 minutes is the most he ever likes to watch anything for, be it music or any other performance, and I’m starting to see his point.

It was difficult to imagine how you could follow Emmy’s set but wow, did Beth Jeans Houghton impress. I had heard a track or two of hers on the radio before but never had a proper listen, but she’s next on my list for back-catalogue buying. After a few words from Marc Riley paying tribute to Bernie and the evening which was apparently Beth’s idea, she came on in an Dolly Parton style outfit and wig and with a band dressed in a messed-up Marie Antoinette get-up. The set was song after joyful song combining traditional guitar and drums with trumpet-playing, Jarvis-style spoken word and a wonderful cover of Devil in Disguise. I loved every second of it and did not want it to end.

Finally the special guests Field Music came on. Having described them as bland in my Dot to Dot review, I was ready to put that down to a bad day, and in some ways I was able to. They were four lads who could play their instruments very well and obviously enjoyed playing with each other. They mentioned that this was their first gig in three years without a set list and they really had fun with it, improvising as they went along. The drum beat is the focus of most of the songs, which makes the sound somewhat flat and repetitive, and I can’t help thinking three guitars makes it too heavy, but although they’re not my thing the crowd liked them and they were a good end to an excellent night. The whole evening had been a real treat – Bernie must be pretty special.