It’s good to be back: taking the songs on the road
Last night I played my first solo set for months. I’ve been busy writing, and it was exciting to perform some new songs in front of some new people. Playing live always gives me an energy boost.
I couldn’t hang around for too long after my support slot, but I saw The Shanks soundcheck and caught Ute’s first two songs. And even in a boomy, miserable space like the Port Mahon’s upstairs room they both sounded great. The sound guy (who gave me a beautiful mix, and is therefore my new best friend) admitted to doing more studio engineering than live sound. Which meant that he didn’t go the usual route of trying to squeeze the loudest possible noise out of the old PA. Instead, he mixed everything down to the drums and made the best of the situation. I can hear the distant road drills out of the window this morning, so my ears took less of a beating than usual.
The Shanks peddle an intelligent, proggy, sort of rock. It has that familiar, foot-tapping sort of beat that makes you feel all comfortable then occasionally shifts up a gear to a much more energetic kind of vibe, with the bass and drums driving the song. On top of this solid foundation they throw harmonies, time changes and a bit of piano, and some strong (and often unexpected) vocals tie it all together. And I bet their set sounded even better than the soundcheck.
Ute were surprisingly good too. I say surprisingly, because I thought they were called ‘Uke’, and therefore that they had no Myspace, no previous gigs on the web and no mention anywhere. I assumed (as you do) that they would be a nondescript support band. In fact, I was sorry to have to leave two songs into their set. They have an acoustic guitar, bass, drums trio lineup, with 3-part harmonies, fuzz bass, amusing percussion and quirky lyrics. It’s as if Ben Folds Five were born ten years later in England. Or as if The Legendary Swordsmen were born five years later and were cool. Not really, but that’s what I thought at the time. I’m going to go and listen to Ute on Myspace now to see if they are actually any good or if it was just my post-gig-and-coffee adrenaline buzz that made me fall for them. ;)
As Tim Myatt often quotes Gary Glitter as saying, “It’s good to be back.” Playing live is seriously good fun, and it’s what I do best. I’m going to try to think of interesting ways of integrating the live thing with the online thing to create one enormous musical thing, maybe involving streaming video requests or something. Or maybe selling my shirts online. Nobody really knows. But it’s going to be great.
