Echofest 31st Oct and !st November 2008
The Music Café. Leicester.
Echofest was set up by Leicester band Echolocation as the antidote to the ridiculous ‘battle of the band’ type shows and X-factor-isms that seem to be prevalent in all walks of life at the moment.
The idea was to get some great bands together from all round the country, most of whom they had seen on their travels, and let them play their thang, no rules, no competition just alternative music. There were some extraordinary performances from bands young and old over the two days.
Friday saw former Factory records artist Kevin Hewick kick start the festival with his new band, No Junk Promise, playing a set of originals before going off to join Peter Hook in Paris.
Twenty Below Zero were next. These are the most talented band to come from Leicester in a very long time. Rare is it that the drummer of a band captures your attention in the way that Darryl Reid does. Reid is no Phil Collins or Don Henley though, this is no middle of the road tosh, this is exquisite indie rock blowing away all peers and in an age where the talent less Razorlight are held up as luminaries of the genre they are sure to go a very long way.
Echolocation played their first set of the weekend, performing tracks mainly from C92, with the highlight being vocalist/Poet Pete Ingram reading out a misinformed review, very funny and self depreciating.
Headlining Friday were Black Carrot, like many bands at echofest defying categorisation, a little bit Kraut rock a little bit funk a little bit avant-gardism with a twist of Tom Waits. Talking to singer Stewart Brackley you wouldn’t imagine the primal wounded animal sounds that come out of him.
How could Saturday top such a great night? I don’t know if it did but it was certainly its equal.
Hulot stormed a set that sound like a cross between Wire and some electro punk outfit, great bass, guitar and electronics.
Armson filled in some amazing acoustic blues guitar
The Gummy Bears were delighted with their set producing something that crosses the Alabama Three with PIL.
Mojo and the Beatniks sent us to sunny California for some early 70’s revivalism.
Tim Filor blessed us with a rare acoustic set. That voice is in fine form.
Once in a while Swiss Guards have to get out of the studio and backed by members of echolocation the Guards performed a short set of modern classics. Swiss Adam won the best-dressed award with his fine vintage military jacket.
Possibly the hit of the weekend were Preston duo Scoobeef?. Powerhouse drums and incendiary funk guitar the pair cooked up a storm. Their songs had wit and depth and Beth’s amazing guitar playing recalling Adrian Belew, the Minute Men and a voice not unlike like Skin from Skunk Anansie, whilst retaining their own unique identity and presence. It’s hard to believe that there are only two of them.
Next up were Peeping Thom & the Voyeurs. For a band so young to produce music so world weary is a sight and sound to behold, surely they will go a long way. Sans harp player Miranda and drummer less, this could have fallen flat on its face. That it certainly didn’t is testament to Thom’s Nick Cave-ish vocals and Simon’s manic guitar.
The penultimate band were The Kull. Arriving with enough kit to fill Wembley the Nottingham’s “most likely to..” produced a surprisingly melodic wall of sound that called to mind Soundgarden and The Cult’s best bits.
It had been a long couple of days and it was running pretty late by now.
But it was time for echolocation to finish what they had started. Pulling out an incendiary performance the festival organisers proved they were at home with the wealth of talent that had gone on before. Producing a set showcasing newer material to be released on Revenge of the Yes Men in the new year, the band showed depth, class and staying power. Lit up by their famed projections and clouded in smoke, they were at once atmospheric, caustic and humorous. Aptly they closed the show with their classic The Shut Off, leaving DJ Lyn and Swiss Guards Sound System to mop up the stragglers and partying bands.
A great, great gig. And a massive success. With many asking to play the next one Echofest looks like it could be a fixture in the Calendar.
Friday, 14 November 2008
Friday, 7 November 2008
Echofest 08
And That, Ladies And Gentlemen, Was Echofest Current mood: accomplished Category: Music
And that, ladies and gentlemen, was echofest, a weekend of music, dancing, revelry and so much more. I, William Borrows, your humble scribe was there, as a punter, and as technical consultant and spiritual advisor to the much-loved underground art-rock band swiss guards. My boys. Scheduled to appear at some point on the line-up on Saturday night.
Before their appearance in this weblog however it is my duty to inform you of the events of the previous day, culminating in a wonderful performance by Market Harborough kraut-jazzers Black Carrot. Huge bassoons and rhino recorders, growling bassplayer, seated guitarists with a passing resemblance to Kid Rock. Great stuff, and a wonderful way to round off the first night of the festival. Before them the mighty echolocation, less shabily dressed than the previous times I have had the pelasure to see them perform. Greatness surely awaits them. And before them Twenty Below Zero. Frenetic yet melodic, fringy, tight jeans, singing-drummer. An outpouring of ideas. Unique. One of my swiss charges, Swiss Adam, was playing records in between the acts. I believe this practice is known as djing. The man with the skull on the stick certainly seemed to enjoy the records. Well, Halloween brings them all out onto the streets. Scooter rally record selecting star Lyn played later, a mixture of punk, Pixies and pop.
Saturday brought sore heads, scuffed shoes and dirty jeans. Foul weather and a packed running order. And swiss guards. They arrived on stage mid-evening, sometime after the soundman Peter had spent a considerable time 'using feedback to destroy feedback'. My technical expertise outdone by his I retired to ensure swiss guards were in top-notch fighting shape for the forthcoming performance. A slightly shaky start from the guards, beginning with the oldie Better Weather, the song almost collapsing under the weight of a paucity of rehearsal time. But then a surge. Into A Hole, performed live for the first time, with stirling drums and melancholic giutars. Swiss Adam, persued later for his marble eyes, resplendent in a 1957 Devon and Dorset rifles dress tunic. I'd told him to buy swiss uniform, but he just about got away with it. Applause from the house before they raised the temperature and speed with Moonwalker Blues. Gene Cernan-where are you now? From rollicking tales of lunar flights with those catchy doo-doo-doo-doos, to Time Please, one of the best in their back catalogue, all staccato guitars, bubbling bass, pleading vocals and backing vocals (from the new swiss pete. How many men will fit on one stage?). A short step for man, a giant step for mankind into their everyman anthem of bitten knuckles, swearing and gritted teeth, One Thing After Another. The highlight of their set, and any set for that matter, the tension of the day resolving itself in a fine, nay, great performance. 'That is the story of my life' one punter was heard to remark. And so it was over, bar the salutes from the stage and guitars feeding back into the night. A triumph from the Vatican city rockers. And a relief to me.
For sure it would be remiss of me not to mention the other bands from Saturday night despite my obvious preoccupation with my boys, swiss guards. The youngsters known as Peeping Thom and the Voyeurs shook the Music Cafe and the festival with their drummerless rock. Powerful voice and strong songs. Bassless Scoobeef, from the northern outpost of Preston, provided post-punk, Minutemen style jerkiness and were much admired. The Kull did their dark, classic rock thing, putting me in mind of the early Cult. Mojo and the Beatniks took us to San Francisco with flowers in our hair, and Derbyshire moptop Tim Filor got back in the saddle with a fine 4 song acoustic set, songs of binbags and jam. Great stuff. And to round it off? I hear you ask. Echolocation again, even better than the night before, Pete and Harvey prowling the stage and the area in front of the stage, Shutting Us Off. A wild time indeed. More from the garage, rockabilly, electro, punk dj's. And then home.
So there we have it. I, your humble scribe William Borrows,techincal consultant and spiritual advisor to swiss guards(did I mention that before?) reporting, from echofest 08. When's the next one gentlemen?
And that, ladies and gentlemen, was echofest, a weekend of music, dancing, revelry and so much more. I, William Borrows, your humble scribe was there, as a punter, and as technical consultant and spiritual advisor to the much-loved underground art-rock band swiss guards. My boys. Scheduled to appear at some point on the line-up on Saturday night.
Before their appearance in this weblog however it is my duty to inform you of the events of the previous day, culminating in a wonderful performance by Market Harborough kraut-jazzers Black Carrot. Huge bassoons and rhino recorders, growling bassplayer, seated guitarists with a passing resemblance to Kid Rock. Great stuff, and a wonderful way to round off the first night of the festival. Before them the mighty echolocation, less shabily dressed than the previous times I have had the pelasure to see them perform. Greatness surely awaits them. And before them Twenty Below Zero. Frenetic yet melodic, fringy, tight jeans, singing-drummer. An outpouring of ideas. Unique. One of my swiss charges, Swiss Adam, was playing records in between the acts. I believe this practice is known as djing. The man with the skull on the stick certainly seemed to enjoy the records. Well, Halloween brings them all out onto the streets. Scooter rally record selecting star Lyn played later, a mixture of punk, Pixies and pop.
Saturday brought sore heads, scuffed shoes and dirty jeans. Foul weather and a packed running order. And swiss guards. They arrived on stage mid-evening, sometime after the soundman Peter had spent a considerable time 'using feedback to destroy feedback'. My technical expertise outdone by his I retired to ensure swiss guards were in top-notch fighting shape for the forthcoming performance. A slightly shaky start from the guards, beginning with the oldie Better Weather, the song almost collapsing under the weight of a paucity of rehearsal time. But then a surge. Into A Hole, performed live for the first time, with stirling drums and melancholic giutars. Swiss Adam, persued later for his marble eyes, resplendent in a 1957 Devon and Dorset rifles dress tunic. I'd told him to buy swiss uniform, but he just about got away with it. Applause from the house before they raised the temperature and speed with Moonwalker Blues. Gene Cernan-where are you now? From rollicking tales of lunar flights with those catchy doo-doo-doo-doos, to Time Please, one of the best in their back catalogue, all staccato guitars, bubbling bass, pleading vocals and backing vocals (from the new swiss pete. How many men will fit on one stage?). A short step for man, a giant step for mankind into their everyman anthem of bitten knuckles, swearing and gritted teeth, One Thing After Another. The highlight of their set, and any set for that matter, the tension of the day resolving itself in a fine, nay, great performance. 'That is the story of my life' one punter was heard to remark. And so it was over, bar the salutes from the stage and guitars feeding back into the night. A triumph from the Vatican city rockers. And a relief to me.
For sure it would be remiss of me not to mention the other bands from Saturday night despite my obvious preoccupation with my boys, swiss guards. The youngsters known as Peeping Thom and the Voyeurs shook the Music Cafe and the festival with their drummerless rock. Powerful voice and strong songs. Bassless Scoobeef, from the northern outpost of Preston, provided post-punk, Minutemen style jerkiness and were much admired. The Kull did their dark, classic rock thing, putting me in mind of the early Cult. Mojo and the Beatniks took us to San Francisco with flowers in our hair, and Derbyshire moptop Tim Filor got back in the saddle with a fine 4 song acoustic set, songs of binbags and jam. Great stuff. And to round it off? I hear you ask. Echolocation again, even better than the night before, Pete and Harvey prowling the stage and the area in front of the stage, Shutting Us Off. A wild time indeed. More from the garage, rockabilly, electro, punk dj's. And then home.
So there we have it. I, your humble scribe William Borrows,techincal consultant and spiritual advisor to swiss guards(did I mention that before?) reporting, from echofest 08. When's the next one gentlemen?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
