Catching the Boat (Pip Blom, South Street Arts Centre, 30th May 2019)
It's becoming a habit! Yes, I've been back at South Street Arts Centre in Reading, this time to see much-touted Dutch Indie guitar band, Pip Blom supported by Adan & Elvis and Holiday Ghosts.
Guess I ought to begin with the two supports, the first of which was Reading (?) band, Adam & Elvis. A seven-piece band, as you can see from the shot below (for which credit to the Adam & Elvis Facebook page), who meld a variety of styles - a smattering of ska, a dash of punk and a large dose of rock.
Having such a large line-up does mean that the mix has to be pretty much spot on for it to work, otherwise there's a danger everything else gets lost in the overall drive to be lead. For several songs both guitar and keyboards seem to be taking the lead which meant at times the vocals were lost, especially when the sax joined in. [Aside: I was front and centre of the stage for the entire gig and the mix seemed to lose the vocals in all three sets, so either that's not the best place to stand (I've not stood so close to the front before), the mix was off all night, or my hearing is shot to fuck! Watch this space!]
Having such a large line-up does mean that the mix has to be pretty much spot on for it to work, otherwise there's a danger everything else gets lost in the overall drive to be lead. For several songs both guitar and keyboards seem to be taking the lead which meant at times the vocals were lost, especially when the sax joined in. [Aside: I was front and centre of the stage for the entire gig and the mix seemed to lose the vocals in all three sets, so either that's not the best place to stand (I've not stood so close to the front before), the mix was off all night, or my hearing is shot to fuck! Watch this space!]
It was a very energetic performance, especially from the vocalists and the guy on lead guitar. After initial technical problems where the guitar was inaudible, he certainly came to the fore, especially in their final number, 'The Artiste'. Overall I enjoyed the set but I'm just not sure if I got the best of them in this venue - if I get the chance to see them again, I will. I definitely think they are worth a listen. Here's 'The Artiste' on YouTube. They're also on Spotify and Soundcloud too - go on, give them a listen!
Next up was Holiday Ghosts, a four piece, garage-rock style band, from Falmouth, apparently. I guess they are from the Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers end of the garage-rock spectrum and, to my ears at least, had a strong touch of the rockabilly about them. Whilst they were toe-tapper-friendly, they didn't press any of my buttons, pleasant enough, though they were. I guess if you like that sort of thing they may well have been good, but I don't, so they left me cold, for the main part. I'm sure I read somewhere that they sounded like The Velvet Underground, well, not to these ears - had they had any songs with the darkness of 'Venus in Furs' or 'All Tomorrow's Parties', I might have felt differently.
They certainly were my cup of tea, but as I hate tea, that's no great thing. Anyway, here's 'Slipstream' from their recent album 'West Bay Playroom' - make up your own mind...
During their set a couple of members of Pip Blom were in the audience dancing to Holiday Ghosts, then once the band had cleared the stage, Pip Blom and other band members began to set up, starting with illuminating their pink flamingos (not a euphemism 😉)
Despite setting up hot on the heels of the departing 'Ghosts, it seemed like an eternity before Pip Blom took the stage.
Set lists distributed strategically, the band came on and, after a brief hello, were straight into 'Tinfoil' from their debut album 'Boat' (due for release the next day).
The band whipped through their set, consisting of 12 songs - including one new one (titled 'Demo 2' on the set list) - highlights being a couple of personal favourites from the 'Paycheck EP', namely 'Come Home' and 'Pussycat' (the first song of theirs I heard and a rousing set closer).
Before they waded in to their final three songs they told us they'd be out back selling and signing copies of their new album - an invitation not to be missed!
A couple more shots of Pip and the band...and a special mention must go to Gini Cameron on drums, in full flight she is an incredibly charismatic drummer.
Sure enough as soon as the set was over they were out front at the merch table, along with their manager. Tough decision, but decided to join the throng and get a copy of their new album and get it signed by the band. Fan boy fever took over and I got to Pip sign first, followed by Gini, Tender and Darek.
Anyway, here's a set playlist, in the right order, I think, but minus one unidentified song and the things that just ain't out there. Enjoy!
They certainly were my cup of tea, but as I hate tea, that's no great thing. Anyway, here's 'Slipstream' from their recent album 'West Bay Playroom' - make up your own mind...
During their set a couple of members of Pip Blom were in the audience dancing to Holiday Ghosts, then once the band had cleared the stage, Pip Blom and other band members began to set up, starting with illuminating their pink flamingos (not a euphemism 😉)
Set lists distributed strategically, the band came on and, after a brief hello, were straight into 'Tinfoil' from their debut album 'Boat' (due for release the next day).
The band whipped through their set, consisting of 12 songs - including one new one (titled 'Demo 2' on the set list) - highlights being a couple of personal favourites from the 'Paycheck EP', namely 'Come Home' and 'Pussycat' (the first song of theirs I heard and a rousing set closer).
Before they waded in to their final three songs they told us they'd be out back selling and signing copies of their new album - an invitation not to be missed!
Sure enough as soon as the set was over they were out front at the merch table, along with their manager. Tough decision, but decided to join the throng and get a copy of their new album and get it signed by the band. Fan boy fever took over and I got to Pip sign first, followed by Gini, Tender and Darek.
Anyway, here's a set playlist, in the right order, I think, but minus one unidentified song and the things that just ain't out there. Enjoy!
...and in Spotify form...
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