ALAN (FAE THE RISE) + CHRIS HELME + KALEL - Doghouse, Dundee 10-03-08
For those of you out there - and, unless you're under-age, where on earth have you been? - who've never been to The Doghouse, then let me tell you that just to walk into the place is a feast for the eyes.You wander through the courtyard, through these wooden and glass doors and into this dimly lit, high-ceilinged, T-shaped, almost church-like, pub-as-music venue. All over the walls are gig posters - new gigs, old gigs, tonight's gig - huge barrels make for leaning posts on which to cluster around and put drinks on as you chat. Three wide sofas provide intimacy around low-slung tables. The immensely long bar has bar stools one side of it, friendly and enthusiastic staff the other, eye-catching drink displays and, above all that, stretching the whole length of the wall, this amazing mural of Dundee as viewed from the Fife side of the Tay.. It's then that you notice the enormous multi-coloured mural on the upper part of the wall adjacent to it, with the venue name and band names, part of the graffiti. Then, in one corner by the door, there's an old-fashioned telephone booth, genuine article too, and next to that gaming machine and album request machine. Over in the far corner are two more such devices. At the other end of the "T" is the area for the two pool tables. The whole place is wood - wood everywhere (OK, the walls aren't but you get my drift!! - it's like being inside a giant antique. As the concert time draws near, a staff member pulls away this huge folding door that separates the bar area from the huge main dancefloor and you see the square dancefloor area, again high-celinged, with wall-mounted shelves either side and a decently high stage running the width of the room at the bottom. With black backdrops revealing the Doghouse name in white proudly emblazoned on the back wall, Audio Wave's mixing desk directly opposite the stage, and the stage itself littered with amps, equipment, mic stands and more, huge speaker banks either side of the stage, the event is ready to roll. I would imagine that the more you frequent the venue, the easier it is to get used to what is one of the most amazing interiors of any venue in Scotland, but I've been going there for three years now, seen all the changes and it still knocks me out every time I see it.
My fourth night here was primarily to see Kalel - Frankie, their lead singer, had told me that they had decided to do an electric set after all, so I thought I'd drop by. The lead act, even though, for dynamic purposes, he came on 2nd, was ex-Seahorses and current Yard main-man, Chris Helme, playing a solo acoustic set, with first up a solo set from Alan (Fae The Rise) - or for those who don't speak the lingo, The Rise's guitarist and singer Alan doing an acoustic set! Now, tonight, I wanted to do a more detailed review of Kalel, as I'd not been particularly happy with what I'd said about them up to now - I didn't think I'd conveyed exactly where they are at as a band to be enthused over. So, I brought my little blue book - yes, kiddies, I was making notes!! It happens - rarely - but it happens! Soooooo........... this is the result............
Alan's set opened with "My Old Friend" with a wistful vocal and strummed guitar chords carrying through the venue like a warm wind as his cleasr vocals delivered the verses with a mix of yearning and emotion, rising on the choruses of blue-sky delight. "Lady" had an almost seventies-era Lindisfarne quality to it, a more jaunty number with a neat use of acoustic guitar as rhythm and lead, the story-telling lyric unfolding from a wonderfully strong and in-tune vocal, almost Dylan-esque in its structure only richer sounding, the song itself having a good hookline that catches in your head. "It's Easy" was more of an "accelerated strummer" of a song, as the vocal veers from hushed verses to soaring choruses that possess a real stretched-out feel, as the full-sounding voice weaves its way over guitar work that ranges from strident to sensitive. The guitar work on "Going Straight" has a distinctly 12-string feel to it, and the tasty intro possessed a real ringing quality to it, as the vocal glides out with his, by now, trademark sense of passion and wistfulness. The song itself seems fragile from the outside but has an inner strength that sails straight into your heart. There's a real warmth to it, a depth of playing, singing and arranging, into which you quite happily dive. He ends the set with The Rise's classic track, "Black Monday", here decelerated but still sounding strong as the vocal positively glides through the verses on a slow-motion flight, an erupting rocker now showcased as a glorious bird in flight, evoking nothing but wide-eyed delight in the listener. A much stronger set and one of the best male solo acoustic acts on the Dundee Scene.
Chris Helme spent a lot of his set playing realatively slow-paced tracks, but if you're thinking that might be an excuse to gaze at the floor or continually view your watch, then you've reckoned without Helme's arranging and his voice. Now let me say that what he did was not really my sort of thing - but a good reviewer should be able to appreciate something when it's really good, even if he or she is not personally into it. So it was that he began the set with a slow burner of a track that occasionally flew, the vocal on the slow bits, tinged with an almost Americana style, with the vocal on the louder parts, more forceful. A kind of throaty, husky, in-tune holler to the voice, the song itself had no discernible hook or chorus, but didn't suffer from that at all. Second track was another slowie, this time with a warmer feel to the guitar and a more traditional "ballad-esque" quality. The structure reminded me in part of Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" track, only becoming more wistful on the higher parts of the song. Third track in was also a slowie, this time with an almost mournful - in a good way - feel to the voice, with a guitar line reminding me of Lindisfarne's classic "Winter Song", to a degree. The mid-range lead vocal had a passion and warm intensity to it as the higher pitched vocal on the chorus allows the song to glide more. TRack four was, oddly, slower, yet had a "swing" to it, one of those typically winsome slices of folk-y anthems with an almost John Fahey-esque quality to the ripling guitar chords. The vocal cascades to great effect as the song progresses, becoming stronger and more hypnotic. Didn't get too much out of the similar 5th track, but the sixth was more strident and has more of a hok in both the guitar and the vocal, the former sounding really emotive, in particular. The song itself is arranged to provide a much more dynamic effect. The 7th track was the most commercial sounding piece he'd played so far, very Beatle-esque with real movement and an ultra-catchy hook. Track 8 was another ballad, track 10 seriously mellow as it gently twists and turns it way like a river flowing gracefully into the sea. The tenth track was his version of a track performed by The Yards, a really hard-hitting number where the whispered vocal rises to a holler of a chorus then goes even higher as the song rollercoasters its way along. A further wistful track, another anthem and an audience-participation encore, ended a quality set.
Kalel are a quartet who have that remarkable knack of writing great songs with consistent yet varied arrangements, inject it with an almost late sixties psychedelic feel in part and produce something that is really potentially commercial, yet unlike any other band around.
"Say Goodbye" opens with reverb-drenched lead guitar chords and drifting rhythms as Frankie's lead vocal rides the wave, the rhythm lightly accelerating things. Then, all of a sudden, the song erupts in a blaze of electricity, tearing into a fast and furious chorus as the vocal soars, only for the whole thing to drop dramatically down to where it was, only now with a stronger rhythmic undercurrent and more powerful lead guitar, as the enxt verse opens up before the hurricane is felt once again. The vocal is delivered with a mix of magic and muscle as the song sails towards a clean and slightly bluesy guitar break before the guitar, too, then mirrors the patter of the beginning and explodes into this storm-force metal-edged lead break above the driving rhythm section. The vocal returns and the song ends as it began. "Laura" starts with choppy guitar as sliding leads give way to tightly clipped chords from the band, the vocal emulating this arrangement as, in between, the drums and bass roll away before the band and song drive ahead, then return to the stop-start structure. Then the song gathers steam for the main hook, a brief guitar break bridging that to the more anthemic finale as the vocal sounds expansive and the clipped phrasing gives way to a searing lead guitar above the driving rhythm section, providing the icing on the cake. "Poor Little Rich Girl" is a jaunty but solid number that bounces along to great effect with a wonderfully melodic bass, dramatic drumming and a beefy guitar riff onto which is grafted the lead guitar hook. Above all this, the vocals sound expressive and on-fire as the song unfolds, its chorus-as-hook, sticking in your head instantly and long after the song has gone. The instrumental break features some strong wah-wah and riffing guitar work from Mark, the addictive chorus, ending the song.
"Pop Up For Some Tea" is altogether more emotive with the song opening in a more anthemic style of things, as strummed guitar heralds the rhythm section gathering steam and the strong vocal, full of warmth and strength, glides along with infectious grace and rocking drive, every bit as potentially commercial as the previous track but in a wholly different way, curling up in front of you rather than licking you square on the face. The song actually decelerates for a 2nd section quite naturally, before returning to the main rolling verses and cascading choruses from band and vocalist, altogether irresistible to head, heart and feet, ending on a slowly graceful guitar driven finale. "Last Of The Graet Ones" begins with a strong riff and equally powerful rhythms, as the song comes to life in a blaze of short verses and elongated choruses. The verses have a Beatles-esque nature that leads to a chorus that's got many similarities to the solo work of Pink Floyd's Roger Waters. To further this comparison, Mark unleashes a seriously atmospheric and cutting slice of guitar action that's also Floyd-like but this time it's Gilmour not Waters. Meanwhile Steve Donald on bass and Graeme Smith on drums let loose this powerrfully lurching rhythm, then the song portion returns, the guitar drops down to ringing chords and deep riffs, the rhythm section fires up and Frankie's chorus soars from the speakers. "Come Get A Load Off" (ya gotta love these titles!!!) opens with some really strong guitar riffing ina Classic Rock style, the rhythm section hammering down and going all out for power. To, by now, trademark dynamic effect, the music then drops down to allow the song to be introduced, the vocals intense and on fire. The band then drive into the supercharged chorus as the vocals take off. The arrangement then surprises you by turning a sharp corner into a cascading bass rhythm and lurching drumming before the guitar work ignites and this red hot solo just pours from the PA to jaw-dropping effect, the song re-entering, lifting off and taking the audience with it, ending in a tail flame of searing guitar and feedback. In any other band's hands, it would sound bitty and piecemeal, but the arrangement here is flawless and the song simply timeless. The set ends with "Not Winning" as a driving hammer blow of a song meets full-on with a seriously catchy guitar riff and the vocal is sung with a kind of anthemic quality, while the chorus drives onwards as the bandmanages to combine intensity, drive, tightness and solidity, the result of all this being a song that's huge-sounding but incredibly memorable, as you leap about to the rhythms, freak out to the psychedelicized guitar leads and riffs and sing along to Frankie's high-flying vocals on a wondrously forceful song that really is an absolute gem. A furtehr electrifying slice of wah-wah guitar soloing heralds the final part of the song as band and vocalist really go for it, before the song ends - abruptly - and just leaves you wanting more.
So there you have it - Kalel in detail - I should point out that a fair bit of the extra riffs and guitar density is thanks to Frankie's excellent rhythm guitar work, something I never really pointed out in my notes, but which just adds to the whole textural strength. OK? You think they sound like something you want to hear? Then go out and support them!!
Thus endeth four nights at The Doghouse. To show for it, I ended up knackered and came down with a wickedly sore throat and head cold - but, hey - yer only here once ina lifetime and there's only one Doghouse!!