Los + Blank + Annie Collett |
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| Bivouac @ The Millers Arms
18th April 2009
Photos & Review by Pete |
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Aspen Sails were a no-show which was more of a shame when I heard from The Biv’s Steve Hawkins that it was actually Charlie Johns’ new band. Charlie - who in a former life fronted popular local emo outfit One Word Poem - enrolled at Goldsmiths College down in New Cross South London a couple of years ago and hasn’t been seen since. Aw.
Annie Collett hasn’t left town yet due to still being a kid. Of indeterminate age. Maybe 16. And a half?
Let me see if I’ve got this straight: The Blanks became Blanks became Blank? Yeah, Blank. Or Blank(s) as it was on the flyer which was playing safe. But I still double checked with the guys in the band and they were winding
I was having a quick word with Los earlier - before being frightened by Annie Collett. They are fitting in weekend gigs all over the country at the moment. Being tourists in Lincoln today meant they could enjoy the
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More pics at www.shinephoto.plus.com website. |
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Band Websites: |
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Dunno. Whatever, she’s a kid who sure knows how to play the right combination of keys on the electric piano, maybe far more than can be ever really necessary for anyone of any age. Whoa. She writes her own material, too - cynically observational and sharply confessional lyrics - (cue obligatory ‘Kate Nash’ reference) - and is a bit like Kate Nash then. Hm, I doubt Kate Nash at 16 and a half would have sat down to play her local venue and stared down the quietly chatting crowd into slightly reverential, totally respectful, slightly fearful silence. She looks more than a bit bossy and bad tempered which, OK, may be a brilliant strategy to remind us that you don’t have to lay on the charm or smile a lot to get your music across - or then again she might just really be a bit bossy and bad tempered most of the time. Anyway, we all shut-the-fuck-up as her glare made it clear that it was requested that we do and off she set. With SONGS, songs with a tense melancholy that suggested a fair bit of thoughtfulness and honesty especially as performed with that mean bitch attitude. It takes real guts to perform solo but I got the feeling Collett has too much quality to cave under self-doubt and hide her abilities away. Last song ‘Sweet’ was the highlight - introduced by her as ‘the first song I wrote’ - thus displaying her brilliant playing skills and early ability to find a tune and some words worth listening to. (Cue obligatory ‘precocious’ reference.). Apart from the occasional, forgivable lapses into cliché - I know I’m being harsh, and it must be so hard for songwriters to avoid them - there’s very possibly a precocious talent here. 
me up that future options might be Bla or just B. Ah, I don’t think so. Local radio show The Mix - which has given so many local bands the precious experience of playing live on air over the years - had Blank in the studio the previous evening as another part of the big push to get noticed by people (before they break up to go off to Uni?). As always they manage to bring a decent crowd of well-wishers with them - fans as determined that this is something special as they are - and even before they open up with their first number the red womb-like dimness of the Miller’s Arms back room was aglow with camcorder and phones screens warming up to get it all down safe, every minute. I managed to squeeze my way through between songs to get some underexposed tenth of a second 1600 ISO shots hand-held in that insane red murkiness. The set has plenty of moments of heavy excitement. Theirs is a powerful, lean sound - they are a panther of a band, muscular and predatory. Aw yeah. 
freak outbreak of sunshine here which was enjoyed with impulse purchases of ice creams - and the impulse purchase of a Stratocaster guitar (yep, a real one) to provide back up for a dying Les Paul (yep, a real one also) and supply the option of a sharper sound for that grunge attack, Los are still evolving. Lead vocal Helen has evolved to be the super-hero of the band. Her super human power is an ability to destroy her enemies with just the use of her voice and even when set on less than fatal for song-making purposes I noticed some minor structural damage to the building after the gig was over and people were staggering off into the night, slightly battered but cathartically elated. ‘Ba Ba Ba’ is their set highlight, maybe go listen on their Mysee if you’re even a bit curious and have a few minutes. I’ve seen this band a couple of times now including seeing them confidently headline an XFM night in London at a much bigger venue - and different things reveal themselves each time. Tonight was the whole delicacy aspect - cos when I wasn’t ducking under that ballistic, passionate voice and pent up, hot band sound, it was in an instant as light and flickering as a butterfly zigzagging across the garden in afternoon sunshine, real tiny and pretty. No hiding from the finale though and a drum attack that left me haemorrhaging spinal fluid. This page was last updated Monday, 11 January 2010
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