The musical history of the future
Posted Sun 26 Oct 2008 16:40 by lazarus.
There is a wonderful quote that springs to mind when I think of Lighterthief. Herman Melville thought that "It is better to fail at originality, than to succeed in imitation". Stu Rowe's largely unclassifiable project goes one step further than the quote suggests. Not only is it a massively original creation, it totally succeeds as well. He also has the ability to be working in a class of his own and yet remain popular to the average gig going punter, something often difficult to combine. But the proof was all around the 12 Bar on the night of this showcase for the new album, Stutter Drop, the place was packed with people from all musical walks of life, all tastes, styles and ages and you could almost touch the anticipation in the room, such was the energy being created. Just to build the suspense even further there were a couple of short support slots to get through before the main event.
First up was Tim Gilvin, as much a solo player these days as the driving force behind space cadets Arc. Tim, it would seem, wears many hats and the one he had chosen tonight was not the slightly whimsical and chilled out piano player of his recent Out of the City album, but that of an electronic wizard, employing clever loops and delays to create banks of sound and strange musical clones of himself. The end result was rather pleasing and reminiscent of what Ed Alleyne Johnson does with his violin work, creating layer upon layer of music, all generate before the audiences eyes until you don't know where the man ends and the technology starts.
The Alfonz took to the stage next firing off their trade mark jaunty retro inspired songs. Tonight they seemed more subdued than the punk pop band I remember from earlier in the year, but with only a short time allotted to them they made the best of their almost literally fifteen minutes. There was still that infectious vibe to the music and a wonderful use of vocal harmony, reminiscent of many great band from The Beach Boys to The Thrills. But what I think sets them apart is the confidence they approach their art with and the fun they seem to be having when they play. Wonderful though this all was, it was only delaying the main event and by the time Lighterthief took the stage, the crowd was baying for blood.
You ever quite know what to expect from Lighterthief, each gig is a new experience for crowd and band alike, tonight more than ever with a new set of songs and a few adjustments to the line up. As usual the music is a fascinating cross genre blend, with every conceivable musical reference point being put through the blender to emerge cheek by jowl with its opposite number. Blues is dovetailed with ethereal harmonies, down tempo soul beats sit side by side with big rock anthems, funky rhythms fight for space and full blown dance vibes are also on the agenda. What has also become the hallmark of Lighterthiefs modus operendi is the way that the make music in a timeless and traditional fashion and then use modern technology to warp it, twist it, add to it and often change it beyond recognition, right before your eyes. Anyone who thinks that modern available technologies are killing live music, haven't been subjected to this demonstration of musical history and future possibilites.
But its not all about great music, Lighterthief seem to be a band that's all about stage personalities, not least of all the man himself holding centre stage simultaneously playing grungy guitar riffs, acting as the CPU by manipulating the sounds and adding strange effects through the technology at his fingertips and also playing the part of a whirling dervish of a conductor, giving all of the various musicians their cues. It's easy to forget just how free form some parts of the show are. Alongside him, stalwarts, Billy Jones, Charlie Rowe and guitarist turned bassist for the evening, Cinzano Taylor lace a wonderful web of old score grooves that collide head on with fresh, cutting edge technology, DJ Para pushing the music into new dimensions and even the inclusion of projected visual to complete the effect. Matt Kilford was also to be found tinkling the ivories. It says something of the attraction of this project when you can get so many renowned players to be musical cameos in someone else's music. It also says something wonderfully reassuring about their musical priorities.
And, is often unfairly the norm, it's the singers that are the talking point of the show. Sam Bates soulful and at times, often Verve-esque deliveries contrasting with Polly Strange's operatic input and with Pause.Break.Riots!Bozley holding the vocal middle ground. However it is Natasha who takes the lions share of the singing, her big, bluesy voice at times seemed to fill every inch of the room, but also dovetailed perfectly with the mutated blues undertones that stem from Stu's guitar work.
Stu did tell me later that he as more than happy with the musicians and singers who made the show possible and he feels that he is 70% of the way towards reproducing the idea of Lighterthief that he carries around in his head. Well if this show wasn't even three quarters of what he is trying to convey, future shows are going to be something that none of you will want to miss.
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