Animal Collective @Manchester, Warehouse Project 8/11/12

The most essential material for any artist is a space in which they can work. Whether it be a blank sheet of paper, a roll of unused film or the silence of a room; all creation needs a fertile ground to prosper. For the Animal Collective, the dull concrete of the ‘Warehouse Project’ provides the perfect canvas.

The acclaimed quartet form Baltimore are in town touring their latest album, Centipede Hz, which has (by their standards) met a lukewarm critical reception. From the midst of a set of glowing teeth framing the stage, the group use an assorted collection of snyths, sequencers, drums, guitars and an epilepsy inducing light-show to paint the primary colours of their experimental pop onto the walls of the cavernous room. Indeed such amounts of equipment are rarely seen out of a recording studio and each member looks more like a scientist at work rather than a musician performing live. 

Busy opener ‘Rosie Oh’ sets the tone for the evening, groaning under the weight of the energetic sounds which make up it’s whole. Two songs pass by in a dizzying haze before genre bending summer single ‘Honeycomb’ is dropped. It’s warping bass and rhythms triggers a trance like state that carries over into the bouncy ‘Lion In A Coma’ and aggressive ‘Moonjock.’ 

Throughout, the foursome barely moving from their horseshoe shape stage set up. Normally this sort of performance, or lack thereof, is a turn off, but the complexity of music on offer requires concentration, timing and supreme skill and such musical virtuosity is all the entertainment that’s required. 

This juxtaposition of the bands energetic music against their lack of stage physicality results in an unresolved tension. Being slaves to pushing musical boundaries the band are tied to their workspace, effectively creating themselves a cage in which to perform. This tension carries over to the crowd, who in reverence for the artistry on show have remain reserved.

Animal Collective string this tension along until the finale of show, releasing the pressure which has built up in the very air with Beach Boy sounding ‘Brother Sport.’ Avery Tare and Deakin finally break free from their shackles, and dance center stage as if in signal everyone to join in. The release is shattering for mind and body. The anthemic ‘Peacebone’ follows, impossibly ratcheting up the sensory overload in layers of dense samples and cathartic release. Limbs convulse, breathing becomes shallow and sharp, as your eyes widen to a point of no return.

To draw such sensations and life out of the drab surround of the cold surround of warehouse is the province of truly great musicians. Something, least we not forget, Animal Collective have been for over a decade and will continue to be for as long as we’re lucky enough to have them.

Real Estate - Leeds live at Brudenell 19th Feb

As two time winners of Bitchforks Best New Music’s award, (something which seems to carry more kudos than a Mercury, Grammy and Brit rolled into one) New Jersey’s Real Estate don’t need to do a whole lot on stage to curry favour with the hipsters who attend their shows. In a strange way thats a good thing, as tonight’s easy-going performance is the perfect reflection of their carefree sound. Under normal circumstances I would chastise a band for such inertia on stage, but if Real Estate were to perform in any other way it just wouldn’t fit.

If you’ve never heard Real Estate, a quick listen to any part of their discography would validate my view point. Their sound is heavily influenced by New Jersey forebears, the Feelies and is suffused with the warmth of a sunny afternoon. Where guitars hooks gently drift on the faintest wisps of air and hazy vocals recount stories of suburban life in America. In the context of Brudenell’s working man club furnishings they should sound alien, but instead the band offer tonights equally mellow crowd escapism from the last throws of a bitter winter. In return they applaud generously, reserving the bulk of their cheers for singles ‘Easy’ and ‘Green Aisles’ taken from the excellent new album Days.

Taking a closer look, it becomes obvious just how hard the band works to appear so carefree. The brunt of the heavy lifting is done by the bands rhythm section. Where Jackson Pollis beats the drums like a ginger step child and Alex Bleeker relentlessly nods like a dashboard mounted Elvis as he thumbs out the baselines. The two provide enough bounce to the hazy melodies, holding your attention without intruding on the relaxed atmosphere. This allows the interplay of singer/guitarist, Martin Courtney and guitarist, Matthew Mondanile to sound like the equivalent of two slackers having a contest to see who can look more contented whilst spread eagled on a sun lounger. The effect is extremely pleasant and had me recalling my own fondest memories of summer which on a cold Sunday night in Leeds is no mean feat.

You can download more of my pictures of here.

The Horrors @ Leeds Metropolitan University

Striding back onto the stage for the Horrors 3 song encore, frontman Faris Badwan told a full house at Leeds Met “you gotta fucking wake up”. Bad workmen always look like fools. He’s the one who has spent the majority of the last 55 minutes hunched over the mic stand looking statuesque. Which I’m sure is a deliberate ploy to appear effortlessly cool but it does nothing but turn his audience into a hoard of nodding zombies. Maybe someone should remind him how the performer and audience relationship works.

Tonights crowd is young, enthusiastic and like me eager to see a band which should be riding on the crest of wave following the release of their critically acclaimed third album ‘Skying’. This enthusiasm isn't matched by the band as they emotionlessly trudge their way through the opening salvoes of their set. They’re not helped by the venues poor sound work, which has resulted in the vocals being barely audible, lost amongst a low fidelity fuzz that's nowhere near loud enough.

Renditions of ‘I Can See Through You’ and ‘Still Life’ are fairly well received by the audience who are obviously happy with the psychedelic pop sounds of their latest record. Whilst fan favorites such as ‘Sea Within A Sea’ and ‘Mirrors Image’ are greeted by cheers of approval but ultimately fizzle out. Only during an exemplary performance of “Endless Blue” did the band rise above the mediocrity of their pre-encore performance. Where their pure musicianship elevated the track to a height it doesn’t quite attain on record.

I’d like to reserve praise for lead guitarist, Joshua Hayward. Who at least made some effort to connect with the crowd, providing the performance with a level of passion and verve that wasn’t matched by his bandmates. All of whom could do with realising that if people wanted to listen to their music whilst watching motionless silhouettes they could use a torch, action figures and their stereos to create the same experience.

Throughout the set there is an almost tangible feeling that the room is just waiting for Faris to give them his nod of approval to go nuts. It’s only during the encore that the crowd finally get their permission to really join in. Ironically it’s Faris’s own show of frustration with the audience that fires him up enough to lose his cool and let some emotion show. Leading them in an anger filled fist pumping rendition of ‘Jack the Ripper’. Unsurprisingly the crowd respond, releasing all of their pent up energy with a huge call and response effort. Pints and bodies start flying across the air and the room is electrified. This is what we turned up to see. In turn the band feeds off of this and keeps the momentum going for the last two songs, leaving me wondering what the Horrors could achieve if they put the same amount of effort into their live performances as they do worrying about how they look.

Listen to Still Life Below

United - Pete and the Pirates @ The Cockpit - Leeds 23rd September

It’s been an age since I was last in 'The Cockpit' (the 400 mile round trip used to be a killer) but the venue has lost none of it’s magic. Hidden underneath a bridge in Leeds City centre, it festers at the heart of one of the best music scenes in the country. It’s floors are gloriously sticky (in the way all the best venues are) and with it’s ceilings covered with grey corrugated metal it looks like the inside of bomb shelter. If you’ve never been before, make it a priority to go.

The crowd that has amassed within it’s dark halls this evening have a surprisingly diverse demographic. I had turned up expecting a host of locally based twenty something hipsters, my expectations were just plain wrong. In between the adequate support acts (Just Handshakes We’re British and Glass) I met Peter a 44 year old who had made the trip down from Newcastle because “he fell in love with the band at The Other Rooms” in his home town. There was a brother and sister who where in their early teens who had dragged their 50 year old mum along to the middle of the mosh pit and someone of every age in between. I guess the most sophisticated brand of indie pop in the country has the pulling power to unite all ages.

The quartet from Reading opened with “Mr Understanding” and like puppet masters took control of their audiences limbs until the entire room was dancing and chanting along to the song’s infectious hook. From there the band played one of a tightest hour long sets I have seen for months. In which the vocal harmonising between lead singer Tom Sanders and guitarist Pete Hefferan was a particular highlight.

The biggest complement I can pay to the bands set, is just how seamlessly they worked in new material from the recently released second album “One Thousand Pictures.” Normally newer songs stick out during live performances like a sore thumb for quality or performance reasons. This wasn’t the case. Unlike most modern bands they took a relatively long time (3 years) to put out their second album. It was time well spent, as not only have they crafted a new album that betters the first but it’s also afforded the band time to settle into playing these new tracks so that not one song sounded under rehearsed or out of place.

The very best was saved for the sets finale, where they’d played an extended version of the excellent “Blood Gets Thin” during which Tom leapt from the stage and into the crowd, sending waves of excitement throughout the packed audience. It was a fitting way to end an inspiring performance by one of the countries best live bands, I can’t wait till they’re back in town.