On being allowed out.

Out to play on Wednesday night. Off to the ABC to see St Etienne. I dragged the missus along early to catch Go-Kart Mozart because any band with Lawrence in cannot be missed. Thus we were among the handful of stalwarts who were standing self-consciously in the nearly empty hall when the support came on. I was even too
embarrassed to take out my camera, in case folk thought I was some kind of crazed b-band stalker. Go-Kart Mozart were, as you'd expect very poppy and fixated on the year 1975. But not in a bad way, always. A short set, nil points for stage-craft but happy tunes to whistle along to from the days when milkmen existed and delivered glass bottles to your very doorstep. I do hope that some Hollywood mogul places a Lawrence song into Ferris Bueller IV or some such and makes the man from Felt and Denim very rich. Certainly my consistent purchasing of his lps has not seemingly had much effect.

Next up St Etienne running through in order all of the lp, 'Fox Base Alpha'.



'Only love can break your heart' opened things proper after the sound effect start of 'This is Radio Etienne'. It is a cover of Neil Young's track from way back in the '70s. St Etienne's version, however, is as fixed in the '90's as Mr Young's is in 1972 California. The languid beat, the absent drummer, the dispassionate female vocals all said welcome to 1991. However, as the concert went on you could hear how the St Etienne sound, combining 1970 songs with 1960 girl group vocals over a 1990 drum rhythm, filters through to the 2009's with Ladyhawke and La Roux. As ever the ghost of Kraftwerk graced the instumentals played and through them you could hear 90's bands like Orbital and the Orb. Also released in 1991 was 'Screamadelica' and 'Blue Lines' by Massive Attack both of which were of their time but have proved more influential.




After completing Fox Base Alpha the band played a short second set of greatest hits including 'Heart failed (in the back of a taxi), 'Who do you think you are' and , my fave 'Good Thing'



I did really enjoy the gig in a pleasant Wednesday evening kind of a way.

Next week we are off to see The Pains of being Pure at Heart. Now here is a band that wear their influences clearly on their sleeve. We don't know any track names because when we have the album on we refer to each track as ' the one that sounds like the View', 'the one that sounds like the Roses', 'that'll be My Bloody Valentine then' and ' isn't that a Sonic Youth song?'. Still, hopefully, they will be loud and sweaty in a Friday at 2am kind of a gig.