North Sound

The Young men and the sea

It looks like our ships come in it's the new British Sea Power ... Double bubble too with tunes and the film of Man of Aran! Did I already say how much I like sea power......

flag day

flag day
Originally uploaded by bltphoto

.........It's all nonsense really when tonight has been so remarkable. Not sure where to start I was on George Formby's boat no that's not right, i was in this bar in no no.

let's see when I was seeing 400 blows I found out that Sea Power where playing the BFI tonight it was of course it was sold out but G suggested there'd be some returns. And wonderfully there was the marvelous J sold me his spare for the cover price J was excellent company (he'd seen the Truffaut at the same times as we did!) as well potato picking with soft machine which is maybe how he lost his finger.

Anyway some genius had organised British Sea Power to play the soundtrack to Man of Arran. by Robert J. Flaherty which was inspired to say the least. Not only are they the most maritime of power pop combos, they already have the sweaters!

They played a half hour set based loosely on The Great Skua from their last lp, to some excellent bird footage followed by the main film.

Sorry this is getting like a film class (I hope your taking notes as there's a test on Monday)round here but basically Man of arran is probably as good as film as 400 blows.!

It's an early docudrama, it's much discussed so I won't go into the the debate but basically Flaherty understood that sometimes truth is as important as fact and basically the film is really beautiful shot and surprisingly gripping. Some of the scenes of men fishing are incredible and seem to made up entirely of silver and black. a Remarkably poetic film.

BSP music matched really well with the right the dynamics , drama and lightness of touch some parts where quite moving.
I'll stop now great films are one thing but seeing my favourite band as well is rendering me monosylabic. Suffice to say it was good.

oh and on the warm evening with people laughing and ambling along the south bank I was reminded of what day it was by the office in the picture and looking down on the wine (more like stout)dark river, what wth Boris Johnson putting on folk gigs? and people in knitted chain mail handing out beer?
Are you more English when the tides out?
Are you less when the Thames comes rolling in?
and if I get my faced painted do I have to drink Becks?
and are you going to tell the lads on the train or should I that it won't still be the 23rd in the Bromley walkabout because "it's still yesterday in Australia".

Bless 'em they'd had a good day which is all you want really, it beats collecting sea weed off the sea shore or boiling up sharks for lamp oil or being chased through France with hammond organ player and a stolen case of the 45 you could loose a finger doing that...

Anyway night all.

SEEEEAA POOOWWWWWEER

This marvellous graphic was created by my Bro S, who’s now officially the best drawer in our family (probably) look he’s combined 2 of my favourite things British Sea Power and the mighty Barnsley! Who by the way will have Cardiff on Sunday!
COME ON YOU TYKES!

I should Koko more often.....

British Sea Power
Koko
Camden
31st Jan

At least 9 Good things.

1. I love the inside of KoKo: the hyper gold and red colour scheme is great and the velvet and light panels bar area is very dramatic and glamorous makes a change from the usual London rock pits. The sounds good too, as is the world's biggest mirror ball.

2. Value for money: When people are paying the thick end of £40 quid to see the Portishead in a shed in West London. It’s good to go to gig for around £16 quid where you get 4 acts all worth seeing.

Supports were:
Jon & Jehn (French organ driven, Velvets tinged, yelping boy girl duo)
Best song: “Make your mum proud”

Eamon (muscly shouty bald BSP affiliate singer song writer)
Best songs: “comma comma comma full stop.”

These New Puritans: Who tick all the usually Neo post punk boxes i.e. most of them look like Franz Ferdinand, they sound like Wire and the Fall sort of.
Big bonus the lead singer was for some reason wearing some plate mail armour like the bastard son of Tenpole Tudor and Sam Gamges!
Best song: Well actually they all sounded a bit like “ ‘ello John got a new motor” by Alexi Sayle

3. Cheek bones: Bonus points to the keyboard/weird electronic noise purveyor from “These New Puritans” who was a striking young women with excellent cheek bones and a frosty glare, which she kept studiously for the entire set. A look so archly sour there wasn’t a fresh pint of milk in all of Camden.

4. Big chords: Then on came British Sea Power, the stage was already set with branches of fresh laurel, flags maritime and other. Straight into 'Lights Out for Darker Skies', the drama and dynamics of Sea powers records perfectly come over live and they play most of their new LP. In fact recent single Waving Flags goes down well as does Atom.

5. Light and shade: The sets not all anthemic crowd pleasers and obscure terms of references, half way through the set out comes “The Great Skua”. This largely instrumental piece gave a striking break mid gig. The song was backed by stunning film of the sea, Albatrosses nesting and just like “Blue Planet” a huge shoal of sardines. This could have been cheesy but if anyone can pull of maritime imagery its BSP!

6. Masks and uniforms: a mix of British military garb, flags, Ian Hamilton Finlay and also a weird form of 1920’s art school fauvism. Their films etc involve weird human animal hybrids, sort of Wicker man meets that Bunny man thing from “Sexy Beast “.

7. Noble: The lead guitarist the one who isn’t a brother is a striking stage presence looking like a young Stanley Baker, in the films he would be a steely Para NCO, tonight we got an impressive traverse across Koko’s equally impressively camp gilded rococo plaster work and some excellent crowd surviving oh and bear wrestling.

8.Easy, Easy, Easy: Speaking of wrestling tonight’s one of highlights was the appearance of a muscly shouty bloke wearing a white helmet wrestling belt and some strident tight briefs for what is becoming a live classic “No Lucifer “with it’s Big Daddy Chant of “easy. Easy. Easy” (it’s surprising that no one has used it in terrace chant pop song before.)

9. Lastly the gigs not over until the man in the bear suit dances. If you are going to end a gig, end it with more flag draped wrestlers, weird domino masks and a 10ft Ursine-homosapien monster.

Best songs: oh I can’t decided they were all excellent:
'Lights Out For Darker Skies''Atom''Fear Of Drowning''Remember Me''Canvey Island''Down On The Ground''Leaving Here''Blackout''Waving Flags''The Great Skua''Please Stand Up''Favours In The Beetroot Fields''The Spirit of St Louis''A Trip Out''No Lucifer''True Adventures''Carrion''Rock In A'

One last bad thing: having to queue for 20 minutes to get out, up some tight stairs and tunnel. It makes you nervous if you had to get out quickly, sort it out koko please.

British Sea Power
Amersham Arms
New Cross
Nov 21st 2007

>

Bugger the footy I'm off out to watch SEEEEAAAA POOOWWEER at the end of my road, how cool is that, literally just round the corner.

I haven't been to the Amersham since it's been relaunched, it hasn't changed much. The gig was supposed to be secret but in this age of the t'web, it was a bit of an open secret and was sold out. Inside the crowd slowly swelled, the usual mixed of Deptford diehards, the younger college crowd and BSP fans from farther a field, one chap seemingly from the States, oh and the obligatory duo of Japanese female fans (there’s at least 2 at every gig FACT).

I missed the first support act but caught French duo John & Jehn, who were intriguing, starting off with guitar and organ. A striking sexy pair, he tall and gaunt, she chic and cute (is there a law that say’s all French female pop singers are gorgeous? No just centuries institutional systemic Sexism Feminist Ed!) They play drum machine driven Velvet tinged pop rock, with added yelps. Jehn then moved onto bass , cue more driving rhythms, more yelps, bops and screams and a really good song called “sister” (?).

>

Next in short order come T’ Power, what to say, this is where I start to admire music journos, because I like the band so much and had such a good time I won’t make much sense. Here goes:

it takes a while to warm up the crowd, the (on record) storming new song “Atom” not fully taking flight. Quickly though everything comes together, new and old songs meld together, there’s storming version “Carrion” and a personal fave “Larson B” (the only song ever about an iceberg?).

The band bring their striking stage craft, Yan and Hamilton aloofly avoiding the mire of the mosh pit, contrasted with onstage interventions by Jack Black look a like Phil their screeching cornet player and guitarist Noble being carried shoulder high through the crowd. The whole show ended with a riotous rendition of “Spirit of St Louis”.

One of the best gigs of the year.

>

Oh and I got home and got those curtains closed and the big light on in under 5 mins bliss, now are there and bourbons left…..

>

Yan – vocals/guitar.

Noble – guitar.

Hamilton – bass/vocals.

Wood – drums