Famous
-WILDERNESS RECORD STORE, MANCHESTER-
POSA
The formats of convention such as verse-chorus-verse appear to be marked absent today as the presumed acronym-named support act display a structure in a form one would deem free. Essentially, the sonic pentagon Tago Mago their way through a man-made steppe involving a clarinet, inaudible vocals (techniques vary), synthesisers (both keyed and not) and a bass to surgically graft all the loose parts together; although this description becomes redundant as they rotate through instruments at a rate akin to a suspect operating theatre (see how it ties in?). Adjectives like ‘avant-garde’ or ‘experimental’ have presumably been lumped onto them at a higher frequency than the late Fidel Castro has survived assassination attempts, so perhaps even mentioning those terms wasn’t a great idea in regard to descriptive originality.
Anyway, their shifts in tone to moments of abrasion (guitar/vocals in particular) and the contrasting low intensity segments are an effective use of dynamics and display a good understanding of basic human psychology i.e. the sustenance of the attention span. If an unsuspecting individual walking past saw/heard what was happening in the venue of choice they would likely be inclined to investigate with interest rather than retreat back into their bubble of normality: a positive step, economically speaking.
Famous
Taking full advantage of the high population density situated, the headlining 3-piece decide to run in from the street (Egerton Crescent for reference) and proceed to force their way through to the stage in an apparent attempt at humour; not entirely sure why but it holds little relevance to the performance now at hand. With lyrics like ‘I’m doing alright’ and ‘marriage is hard work but it’s worth it’ being heard, all the while utilising a wavering, my-wife-has-sold-all-my-vintage-figurines-esque tone, indicates that perhaps all is not well, however the placement of the drumming brings in a kind of resolute optimism so the melodrama is given a degree of superficial buoyancy. The automated synthesiser the non-instrumentalist controls (out of my view) is of course complimented by the guitarist/bassist’s tension building, which in unison adds to the unfolding soundtrack of the uneasy delivery’s style of narration.
Whether or not this is ‘a wonderful kind of year’ (subjective on individual) matters not here, it’s what the spectator and performer get out of each other symbiotically; and by keeping their set short and going out on a high rather than padding it out with weaker material (and high risk encores) it generates a sort of indirect marketing scheme whereby they keep their live reputation in positive repute, in turn attracting more prospective admirers and quite possibly achieving the sort of mass validation the subject matter could benefit from (or not depending on their true artistic intent).
Recent career decisions have compelled me into the journalistic... thing; I could list my literary influences or even debate which 3rd rate beverage has the best economic value per litre (But I won’t). Oh, in addition, I write reviews for the Independents Network.
