Dundee

DUNDEE LIVE - AUTUMN LEAVES - Concert Highlights Autumn 2005

  • Rachel Anderson and friends - Braes, Dundee 6-11-05:
    About 6 hours of folky and singer-songwriter people between 2pm and 8pm on a gig organised by Rachel for charity and they raised over £500 so you can't argue with that!!
    Now I have to be the first to admit that the folkier end of the acoustic singer-songwriter style of things, is not exactly something I love or even understand, sometimes, but I watched a whole clutch of male and female performers do their thing, probably pretty well too, from the audience's reaction. The afternoon was sort of flowing along innocuously enough, but it wasn't until Rachel's friend Dave came along with an accappella rendition of Van Morrison's "Moondance" that a certain spark flew through the air as a guy with a good, strong, in tune and distinctive voice, let it fly. He followed this up awith a couple of songs on the guitar, equally decent, and now I was finally enjoying it.But, up to Rachel's new band, all that seing all these peole did for me, was just (and no disrespect to any of them) to confirm how superb Ms Anderson really is - she has an angelic voice that really sets itself apart from the rest - her original material is rather decent (the odd song that still jars) and her guitar work original in a semi-percussive way, but it all fits together so well. She gave a fine performance.
    I stayed around to see the debut gig of her, still name-less, new band, a quartet with Rachel on acoustic guitar, plus bassist, singer/keyboardist (who'd been on earlier to do a set) and percussionist/drummer. Despite a few sound problems between songs, they acquitted themselves fairly well. I can't say I thought the vocalist was that hot, but it's early days, but the guy on drums and congas was good, while Rachel largely just played guitar. The last track was a sizzler, the rest I'd need to hear again, as nothing really stuck. But it's a neat idea and worth seeing again.

    The Law + Killer Angels + Domino Bones: Doghouse, 11-11-05
    The Law opened up and they've tightened things up a lot - the original material that they played had a bluesy swagger to its still Oasis-esque feel and, to a degree, sound, and while the songs still don't stick in your head, the riffs and rhythms are pretty addictive at the time, as an enjoyable set is had by all.
    First time I'd see Killer Angels - energetic for sure, tight and somewhere between indie and metal - but.......song-wise, nothing that really shone out at me, although theirs is still an original brew and went down well.
    Domino Bones consisted of Bez from Happy Mondays and Celeb Big Brother, and band, plus a female vocalist. She's superb, he's flat, the band are hot and funky in a loose '80's indie style and it seemed to go down well.
    The Law 4 - The Rest 1!!

    Big Big Sound + Hannay: Doghouse, 31-12-05
    New Years Eve and the Doghouse bring their amazing year to a close with a chance to dance - although as you'd expect from the Doghouse, not the normal kind of dancing.
    I had to go, after Hannay played, so this means that Big Big Sound are now achieving The Rise's level of proportions of me missing every gig they play - another time, I guess.
    Anyway, John from the Doghouse had urged me to check out Hannay, and I must admit, I'm glad I did. What they played was a quite outstanding mix of punk, indie, electro-rock and EBM (that's "Electronic Body Music" for the uninitiated!).The first part of th set veered towardss the more guitar-based punky side of things but, with a drummer and a guy on programms and keys, the rhythms were tight while the tracks roared away. But then they dived into the last two tracks, quite lengthy affairs, with the vocalist now totaly on fire while the guitars did everything from wall-to-wall riffing, to soundscaping to hulking great explosions of sonic overload. The bass pounded away and the tracks took on a sense of dynamics that was just jaw-dropping as they'd build it all up, add a driving inferno of electronic and acoustic drum rhythms, drop it all down, while the vocalist (on the last but one track) lets rip and moves through the dancefloor or the guitars (as on the last track) provides this searing heat of sound, before it all builds and then - kerboommmmmm!!!!! - the rhythms and band erupt and the place goes wild. It's industrial electro-punk by any other name, at the start a tad faceless, but by the end, a raging inferno that had me leaping about the place and thoroughly glad I caught them live.

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