Can’t stop listening to this at the moment.
Bon Iver, o2 Academy Leeds, Tues 10th November
In a recent browse through the ‘1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die’, I discovered Bon Iver’s ‘re:stacks’ amongst the chosen few. If his performance on Thursday night was anything to go by, this is no exaggeration. Haunting, beautiful, melancholic yet strangely uplifting are some of the hyperbolic adjectives I could use to explain the set, but they all seem to fall flat when put on the page.
It seems pointless to try and construct praise for Bon Iver; judging by the sheer amount of people I knew who were going to see him and the glowing Facebook statuses left after- you all seem to know your love for the father of contemporary folk. If you’re not a devotee, this review is hardly going to change that fact. However, we fans knew we were in for a good show, and a good show is definitely what we got.
The spacious O2 was packed and though not the intimate setting you would normally associate with Bon Iver, he still managed to create moments of real intimacy across the room during his acoustic tracks such as ‘Flume’- enthralling the audience with his pitch perfect renditions. Some fans remain devotees of the first album and are taking a while to get into the second, claiming it to be less personal and too ‘big’ in its sound, though perhaps forgetting that it is only once that Vernon could retreat and record an album in his father’s cabin after the double whammy of an illness and a break up. The difference in direction is marked by the inclusion of a tight knit and professional band, enabling Bon Iver to achieve more variety than before. Big build ups of stunning arrangements interspersed with quieter moments reminiscent of his earlier work were shown in songs ‘Perth’, ‘Michicant’ and ‘Hinnom, TX’. The band only aided the intensity of closing song- before the encore of the crowd pleaser but not necessarily the best ‘Skinny Love’-‘ Wolves (Act I and II) ‘, leaving the audience singing the refrain “What might’ve been lost?” to have Vernon reappear on stage remarking ‘great singing guys!’
These songs are very much Vernon’s creation, but you could tell he was genuinely having fun playing these tracks with his band, perhaps more so than his solo offerings. No, you’re not going to be outrageously dancing and you probably won’t be geared up for a night out after a gig like this, but there’s something life affirming to watch such raw, understated talent. Bon Iver is one of the best out there at the moment.
9/10
Ghostpoet- Mine, Leeds University Union, Tues 8th Nov.
Ghostpoet (Obaro Ejimiwe) has come a long way in an impressively short time. His debut album, the wonderfully titled Peanut Butter Blues and Melancholy Jam was nominated for the Mercury prize- a signifier of music talent if there ever was one – and The Streets’ Mike Skinner lists him as one of his favourite MCs. After supporting both Metronomy and Jamie Woon on tour, Ghostpoet is now going it alone, with a performance that shows he is worthy of his many accolades.
Ejimiwe immediately commanded the stage, developing a relaxed easy rapport with the audience that went hand in hand with his musical offerings. Lifted from the album, the songs were given extra vitality on stage, though its trip-hop down tempo vibe meant that the crowd was mainly static, give or take a few head nods. However, this didn’t mean the audience wasn’t enthralled; Ejimiwe’s drawling, almost lethargic vocal style was contrasted by his razor sharp lyrics. The album title provides the insight for the discovery that the casual, witty nature of these retrained raps is tinged with a quiet sadness. In ‘Cash and Carry Me Home’, what starts of as an all too familiar nod to the dreaded hangover: “Morning’s approached and I wrestle with a headache/That was spawned in hell by the devil himself” becomes an all too familiar fight of battling with the world of “readin’ books and takin’ tests” when you’re just not ready for reality. Perhaps this identifiable feeling was the reason it gained one of the best reactions from the crowd.
Even though Ejimiwe was born and raised somewhere between London, Coventry, Nigeria and Dominica, it is pointless trying to trace heritage in his songs. However, anyone who has had the pleasure (or misfortune) of visiting Coventry (Ejimiwe’s hometown) would recognise it as the perfect urban inspiration for these dark natured songs. ‘Survive It’ remains one of his most accomplished tracks, with a delicious melody complementing the languid rap and message: “I just wana live life and survive it”. The sense of the struggle to move when you’re glued to a place prevails throughout, especially in songs such as ‘I Just Don’t Know’ and ‘Liiines’. It’s not all doom and gloom though, the soaring chorus of Survive it provided one of the rare opportunities for non-fanatics to sing along and Ghostpoet is here, on stage, moving into recognition to give voice to the feelings of inertia and unsettlement that prevail the mood of the dark side of the city.
This subtly is perhaps best heard in the album, but it was refreshing to go to a gig that championed the lyric and didn’t allow the band to overpower the voice. Due to the lo-fi tone there’s the chance you will instantly connect with Ghostpoet, or not get excited enough to care. However, a friend who had only heard of Ghostpoet three weeks prior to the gig was drawling along word by word. Now, if that isn’t a glowing testimony to check Ghostpoet out, I don’t know what is.
7/10
Stevie Jackson: (I can’t get no) Stevie Jackson.
Stevie Jackson, lead guitarist and occasional songwriter/vocalist of Glasgow’s twee rock band Belle & Sebastian, has finally unveiled his first solo project. Fun is the name of the game here and the album is infused with whimsical, melody driven tracks that occasionally verge on being too quaint. A pleasant sixties pop vibe in tracks such as the Serge and Bardot inspired ‘Where Do All the Good Girls Go’ and ‘Dead Man’s Fall’- complete with customary ‘doo wop bops- perhaps makes these two tracks successful endeavours. ‘Telephone Song’ is also a stand out track with its lazy sweeping strings and downbeat vocals.
However, the charm wears thing in ‘Press Send’, a track that is concerned with the moral dilemma of sending an email to a female, and its embarrassing refrain of ‘do send/don’t send’ leaves you hoping Jackon would just send the bloody thing and be done with it. Then there is ‘Just, Just So To The Point’ containing frankly weird, hipefully ironic, ‘white boy’ rap. Perhaps Jackson is being tongue and cheek with these songs, and as a non-serious pop record, he’s done pretty well. If, like me, you sometimes find Belle & Sebastian a tad too irritatingly sweet, stay away from this. He should, however, be applauded for the wonderfully witty title (Think The Rolling Stones). Problem is Steve, after listening to this album, I’m not sure I can get any either.
5/10
Brighton Pavillion, Woodcut
This is a review I wrote for my student newspaper about Sarah Young’s solo print exhibition at the The Craft Centre and Design Gallery in Leeds. The exhibition ended on the 29th October, so this is a little out of date, but I urge you to check her work at:
Unassumingly displayed amongst the Craft Centre’s eclectic collection, Sarah Young’s prints are arresting, vibrant and whimsical. After all, it’s not every exhibition that boasts illustrations of cockerels and rhinos in its assortment…
Young is a master of many artistic trades, listing painter, printmaker and illustrator amongst her talents. The main emphasis of the exhibition is her bold use of screen prints and woodcuts which are automatically refreshing and modern. Her take on the Minotaur brings Greek mythology up to the present day, turning a popular figure into a popular piece of art. Its bright colours and use of pattern which instantly reveal it to be a print, are reminiscent of Andy Warhol and more recently, Rob Ryan whose clean, flat style is recognisable. It is not surprising to discover that Young has designed prints for posters, books and more unusually, tea towels. This is accessible, decorative art; the type you would like to grace the walls of your living room.
But it would be a detriment to Young to assume her art is simple. One of the stand out pieces is the collagraph Rhinoceros which displayed ornate detail, striking in the use of only black and white. Collagraphy is a printmaking process in which materials are placed onto collage plates, inked with a roller and then applied to the paper using a printing press. The wealth of materials that can be used enable interesting effects. Rhinoceros is a magical image in that it has the appearance of an x-ray but it depicts the Rhino as being composed of patterns of jewels. In the print world, things don’t have to make sense.
Next to this was the portrait of Captain Costentenus, a circus performer in the 1880s who had tattoos over his body: the perfect subject for the collagraph treatment as it displayed the detail and intricacy that can be achieved through print. On her website, Young displays these works with a Circus collection- a display of 9 prints which form a metre square depicting a circus scene. It would have been interesting to have seen this exhibited as the works in the exhibition, though I’m assuming were to showcase the breadth of her work, seemed a little disjointed because there was no underlying theme.
Whilst not necessarily instigating an emotional response from the viewer, these prints are fun and energetic in their bold use of colour and line. With its range of different techniques, this is a must see for fans of print work.
Also, if you happen to be out and about in Leeds, you should check out The Craft Centre (next to the Art Gallery). I hadn’t been (nor even heard of it) before, but found it to be a lovely space with exhibitions, inexpensive prints to buy and a vast collection of original handmade jewellery. There is also a cafe and a cute gift shop, which caused a friend and I to go ‘oohing’ and ‘aahing’ over its contents!
‘A blog is not writing, it’s grafitti with punctuation’
I’ll be honest with you. The thought of starting my own blog has crossed my mind before; a niggling idea that’s flashed in some region of the brain whilst staring wistfully at others’ virtual creations. The inspired sentiments of these viewings often ranged among: ‘Oh if only I was as funny/as stylish/as creative as him/her’ or better still ‘I could do loads better than this load of rubbish’. But the reason I haven’t started one until now (despite being incredibly lazy) is that I just can’t help but find them slightly pretentious, precisely because they create the sort of judgments I have crudely made above. There seems something odd about the way we now feel the need to update the world wide web of our goings on. Would anyone actually care what I wrote on here? (seeing as I only have one follower on here- Tumblr- I doubt this is really a concern)
Now, this isn’t true for all- art and music blogs are among my daily reading and the importance of blogs for up to date news cannot be emphasised enough. And this is the reason why, in a third year’s panic dash to the careers centre (so what exactly can you do with an arts degree then?!) I was told to utilise social media for all its worth. Use Facebook to search for job opportunities (WHAT?!!!), get a twitter…and more importantly, start a blog. So, because of aforementioned panic, I blindly followed this advice and it’s providing to be quite fruitful so far. I now have a total of 14 followers on Twitter (taking the internet by storm I’ll have you know) and facebook is being lovingly consistent in supplying me with recent job opportunities along with status updates on how annoying Frankie from X Factor is. I mean, now I even get to see who is reading what article on The Guardian and who is listening to what song on Spotify…wonderful!
So here it is. The last piece of the puzzle- my blog. A virtual ‘space’ to put all my writings/ramblings/reviews in one peaceful place. Don’t expect much. It took me about three days to work out how to change the title, and after deciding that I quite liked the ambiguity of ‘Untitled’, I managed to work whatever technological prowess I possess to change the name to something really quite bland and generic. However, if I’d mulled over a title for much longer, this blog would never get started, and I would have to kiss any dreams of bagging a job in this 21st century social media driven world goodbye.
