Yeti/747 – Joseph’s
Well Leeds 1st February 2005
A packed night of teenagers and students filled Joseph’s Well in Leeds to greet new band ‘Yeti’. ‘Yeti’ is the band fronted by former Libertines bass player John Hassall, and the hordes waited in anticipation to check out his new combo.
Unfortunately I missed ‘Mather and the Addicts’ who opened the evening, but I did manage to witness new band ‘747’ in action. ‘747’ are a bunch a blokes banging out a variety of ditties, some very influenced by The Coral and whilst others with a ska/reggae beat. The consummate harmonies, accomplished musicianship and a couple of catchy songs helped their cause. If they could find an extra few killer tunes, this band could be one to watch out for.
‘Yeti’ are a band seemingly in love with the sounds of Liverpool. The band knock out a brace of memorable tunes soaked with melody and fine harmonies. The La's, The Beatles and The Coral loom large over John Hassall’s new outfit. The breathing harmonies on 'Merry Go Round' and the off beat RnB stomp on' Working For The Industry' is a cause for celebration. Hassall, looking like a young Ray Davis in his big cowboy hat, was at ease fronting this new band. ‘Yeti’ have a glut of strong tunes, and with a new single in the offing, it looks like ‘Yeti’ could be gracing the top 40 pretty soon.
Jonny Magus
10,000 Things - Review
So what do the music magasines know about the "sensitive side" of a group of sexed up 20-some"Things"!?! Their stage show gives anything but that impression but close up and personal in the smaller venues of Hull Jaz Bar and Shrewsbury Buttermarket, I can tell a different story. Ok, so the sexual content of many of their songs is anything but innuendo, but the bass and lead guitar riffs (courtesy of George, Will, and Davro) in "Food Chain" for example, give a far weightier tone to what could otherwise be pure frivolity. Lead singer, Sam Riley's horny girations, coupled with expressions like, "You're a good f**k Will" are balanced by the other musicians obvious talent and enjoyment in their music. Will hardly bats an eyelid whilst Sam humps his leg (like a hamster on heat) simply continuing to play in his Mr. Smooth style. What other band features bongos, and a guiro, alongside sex, booze, and rock 'n' roll.
Sandwiched between "Murdoch" and "Dogs", 10,000 Things certainly made a very tasty filling, and although the Shrewsbury audience were virgins to the "Things" experience, their cherries were soon popped by Sam and co's "bring-it-on" performance. George Riley's bass riff in "Eating's Not Cheating" was ample competition for brother Sam's salacious chat-up lines to the female members of the audience. This could only be bettered by Gareth "Davro" Davies' sparkly "Titanium" underpants, a present from yours-truly, adourning one of his best features to full effect!The wrist action of Justin "Action" Jackson, is probably best demonstrated in the chorus of "Oh No", and what could be the theme of this song? Yeah, you guessed it, Sam playing away from home again, but this time he gets caught. Alistair "Stobb" Stobbard brings in percussion in a fashion more traditionally associated with the sleazy rock of today, and although no covers were played at Shrewsbury, Stobb showed off his matchless ability in their spine tingling rendition of Gang of Four's - "Damaged Goods", as part of the set at Hull Jaz Bar.
So what of their sensitive side? Well, ok they are hot and horny and all
of that stuff, but my Mum loves them too, so they can't be all bad! She says
they're their own best PR and i'm inclined to agree.
Long Tall Shorty The Albert Rotherham Saturday 6th November
Long Tall Shorty, the mod revival band; have had a bit of a ‘smarty dressed and ready to roll’ resurgence recently, so they made the long trek up North (with a decent sized London contingent along for the ride too) to entertain the Yorkshire congregations. The enthusiastic crowd was ready for a shake down and Long Tall Shorty provided the action with blistering blues boogies R&B that got hips swinging and feet shimmying. Explosively loud versions of Houchie Couchy Man, Rock Me baby, Big Boss Man and the finale Baby Please Don’t go got the smart mod crowd dancing. Long Tall Shorty’s classic mod revival single Win or Lose was given the full on harp frenzy, transforming it into a sweltering blues stomp. Ian and Len keep the rhythm mean, Tony blazes away with hot licks and riffs and the enigmatic Jeff the Fish howls like a wolf on his glorious harmonica, giving it that Feelgood blues blast. Occasionally Mr Fish joined Mr Morrison on guitar, showcasing his very own Chicago style, with the two masters trading serious licks. If you like your R&B raw and uncooked, get yourself out to see Long Tall Shorty and have yourself a real good time.
Jonny Magus
Live Reviews.Long Tall Shorty Live
Friday 29th October. 10000 Things + Kain The Fenton Leeds
Those that like RnB inflected rock’n’roll, according to cool rock journalists, are nil. The throbbing sweaty crowd packed into the Fenton in Leeds, surely disagree. Living it up to real rock’n’roll is a starting to swell and pretentious music journos are in a panic with witty put downs, bitchy howling and down right bitterness is all a flow from the pens of these effete snobs. Tonight there is no shimmering or glistening, just boiling, stinking rock’n’roll from Satan’s arsehole, music snobs would be horrified. Libertines endorsed Scottish band Kain are a bunch ragged stripy t-shirted, hard looking jocks from Glasgow, booming out a set of funky riffs and snarling vocals. They keep their Stonesy punky poppy vibe going until they finish their set with a Chuck Berry style knees up. Though the set did sag little in the middle, just a few more killer tunes and this band could moving up the notches. 10,000 Things get accused of many things, but the intelligentsia has its the big finger pointed straight at them.
10,000 Things a bunch of rascals singing about working in supermarkets, cheating on girlfriends, shitty bosses and just general day-to-day survival and then combining it all with getting ‘lagered’ up. ‘Day to day life! How dare they!’ the tedious local fanzine writer cries. What makes them even more reprehensible to the reactionary radicals is that they actually use the language of working folk. 10,000 things are the gritty urban legislators of forbidden passions banned by the anal authorities of the music canon. Simply staying alive whilst trying to have a laugh is somehow wrong, not iridescent enough I guess. Occasional lapses into the liberating power of rock’n’roll stupidity are utterly prohibited. How dare they have a love of Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Gang of Four and New York Dolls, such abuse is for the pubs. Well if 10,000 things are pub rock, I’ll go with it all the way, getting a groovy rhythm stuck where the sun don’t shine because these guys rock and roll. Sweat dripping from the walls of the Fenton is the sign of approval. The young crowd boogie to Sam Riley’s adventures of love and survival, and groove to the big rhythms, superb guitar playing and applaud this direct, honest and humorous band. What a night! What a band! Fuck the bores with their ‘wondrous music of scintillating genius’. 10,000 Things have more intellect in the bellybuttons than a whole host stroking chins. You may have noticed I like the 10,000 Things, check em out.
Rinaldi Sings .Ipswich Sat 3rd April 2004
Steve Rinaldi entered the venue around 10pm with his now settled 5 piece backing band, and hit straight into the new single "Avenues and Alleyways". for those of us old enough to remember, this was the theme to TV series, "The Protectors", but Steve's Vocal's and a very tight band make this an absolute cracker cover, and you can get it in the shops from May 3rd. The band continued on with "Happy", a personal fave of mine, followed by "Come Fly with me", before slowing it down with "You're alive" . Anyone into Jangly Gibson's will love Chris Borsberry's work on this number and Andy Brush shows his Jazz background with a lovely lilting Sax solo..
Blocky
Oasis at Glastonbury – an armchair view
It feels like they’ve
been gone for a long time. Almost two years, in fact, since Heathen Chemistry
confirmed that there was still fire in the Gallagher belly. You gave up trying
to get tickets for this gig a while back. But after last night’s football
you need something to cheer you up. So you’re sitting in front of the
telly, an ice cold Becks in your paws, watching the Kings of Leon finish their
set – which is all good stuff – as the screen tells you “Oasis
live on the Pyramid stage in five minutes”. And Colin Murray and Edith
Bowman are as excited as you are. And then they’re on.
You’ve loved this band since the beginning. There have been the detractors but you’ve argued your corner, stood up for the fact that Noel is the best songwriter and his brother the best singer of your generation in the same way as you stuck it out for The Clash and The Sex Pistols all those years ago. And when you see Liam slouch onstage, tambourine in hand, perfect white parka on his back - which brings to mind fleetingly the white worn by Jagger at Hyde Park in another major performance after a significant absence – you know they’ve lost none of the attitude.
This may not be the original line up but that doesn’t matter. The main
players are still here. And when Liam sneers “Rock and Roll Star”
into the microphone and they start to play what comes across loud and clear
as that they sound fantastic. As good as ever. You finish your Becks and rush
off to the kitchen for another as quickly as you can. “I live my life
in the city”, yells Liam. Its right on cue, maybe a tone or so lower
than it used to be, but nothing worth bothering about. Its hard and manic
and brilliant. And then its over and Liam tells you “thank you and goodnight”.
But he doesn’t mean it. He stands at the front of the stage, the hardest stare in rock and roll. And new – for the moment - addition Zak Starkey (the best Keith Moon style drummer since Keith Moon)’s drums come in and its Bring It On Down. Another classic from Definitely Maybe. Hammered out as madly as it ever was. There may have been rumours of arguments in the press – but you dismiss them because they’re on form tonight no doubt. The coverage stops for a few minutes. Colin Murray tells you that they’re not broadcasting the new songs. It’s a major disappointment – and it would hardly have stopped anyone buying the records. But you continue to watch. There’s nothing wrong with the Chemical Brothers. Nothing at all. But you can’t help clock watching and waiting for the return.
It comes soon enough. Noel’s chatting to the crowd about the football.
And then they’re on again. They’re all there – gems from Definitely
Maybe, (Whats the Story) Morning Glory and Heathen Chemistry (though nothing
from the other two, which you’re hardly going to lose sleep about). You’re
treated to Stop Crying Your Heart Out, Live Forever, Cigarettes and Alcohol.
Perhaps the best b side ever released – Acquiesce – is belted out
with venom. And afterwards Liam sits on the stage and slouches. An attitude
unmatched. Pure class.
You start to get irritated with having to flick backwards and forwards between
BBC3 and BBC2 as they keep changing the channel the gig’s being broadcast
on. But you don’t let it get you down as they launch into more of the
classics - Champagne Supernova, Don’t Look Back in Anger, Wonderwall,
Songbird, Little By Little.
And then it’s the last song. An especially potent My Generation. Like
all of Oasis’ b sides, it was worth buying the single of Little by Little
for, even if you did have the other two tracks. And here it is, brought up
to date and belted out with manic guitar and feedback and a vocal delivery
of superlative quality. At the end, Liam stands with his tambourine on head,
which is thrown into the crowd for the fans to fight for. And then they’re
off.You neck your
Becks and take it all in. Have they still got it? Are they still relevant?
Do they still sound on the top of their game? The answer to all three is a
definite yes. Its got to come out on DVD. It has to. One thing is sure. You’ve
certainly forgotten about the football.
Rob Massey
copyright 2004 www.sohostrut.co.uk