GALLERY // BIDO LITO SOCIAL CLUB
Bido Lito Social Club
August 25th 2011 @The Shipping Forecast, Liverpool
With The Thespians, Cold Shoulder and Neville Skelly
[slideshow]
REVIEW: Paul Kalkbrenner // Icke Wieder
The newest Paul Kalkbrenner offering is something magical. The German electronic musician/ actor weaves a strangely unsettling, yet beautiful acoustic tapestry in his eighth full-length, Icke Wieder. The opening track “Boxig Leise” is driven mostly by a gorgeous sprawling synth-heavy effervescence that gets you in the mood for dancing, yet flirts with a dark final section, giving an ominous contrast to the happy tune. In fact, the album seems to straddle the best elements of dark and light, the sensual and the surreal, and Kalkbrenner seamlessly transitions between these polarities. One standout track,“Des Stabes Reuse” is downright unsettling, sounding like something caught between a celebration of life cut short in a war-torn place. Kalkbrenner’s no cynic though, as best heard with “Gutes Nitzwerk,” a harmonic electro symphony of the same anthematic proportions of Swedish House Mafia. (Paul Kalkbrenner Musik/ Rough Trade)
2011 SHOWREEL
Music:
“Whatever Happened To My Rock N Roll” by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/27203852]
FOR THE LIVERPOOL ECHO Meet The Thespians Liverpool’s…
FOR THE LIVERPOOL ECHO
Meet The Thespians, Liverpool’s budding punk quartet, and my newest musical obsession.
With Paul Thespian as the helm and frontman, the band boasts three other members, with the lovely Jess Branney on guitar, Danny Hall on drums and Phill Gornall on bass.
I caught up with them for a video interview after they’d played an acoustic set for BBC Radio, to talk about what it’s like to be an indie Liverpool band.
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/24542652]
FOR BIDO LITO MAGAZINE THE THESPIANS The Velcro…
FOR BIDO LITO MAGAZINE
THE THESPIANS
The Velcro Teddybears
EP Release Party @ Leaf
Unexpectedly for the passerby, Leaf Tea Shop is a gorgeous place for a deafeningly loud punk show. Hosting THE THESPIANS’ debut EP release party, TWENTYTHREE/FOUR/ELEVEN, the place was buzzing with the addictive afterglow of vicious rock and roll that left everyone’s ears ringing on Bold Street.
Openers THE VELCRO TEDDYBEARS delivered a soulful set, rich with the bucolic feel of their rural hometown, Penistone. The duo, Chaddy (Vocals, Guitar) and Griff (Guitar), met in grammar school during a time when the music of the Spice Girls and Take That were dominating the charts, and their music is a spirited, jaunty kind of rebellion rife with schoolboy charm. Singing tales of corrupting posh young girls, the acoustic plucking lulled the listeners into a full fledged experience of the eclectic countryside and the mischeif that sometimes happens there. One particularly bluesy song, Mad Man by the River, had vocalist Chaddy crooning about the local drunk who provided endless entertainment for the village children. Despite his slender frame and boyish good looks, Chaddy’s powerful vocals sounded like something that could have been belted out by a 20 stone trucker.
Headliners The Thespians are a different breed altogether. The Liverpool punk quartet shredded it with their special blend of revolutionary fervour and intellectual spirit of rebellion that somehow gives off an air of composure and nonchalance all at once. Self-described as “young ruffians making music,” the band channels the intensity of vintage UK punk, but with a brazen social consciousness and sensitivity far beyond their years.
Frontman and rhythm guitarist Paul Thespian’s voice, despite the oft-abrasive lyrical content, remains velvety and rich, bringing to mind the lusciousness of Julian Casablancas. With contemplative lyrics like “am I too young to fight/ too young to die/ too young to fall in love,” The Thespians are deeply self-reflective and sensitive of their social context. While it’s almost expected for a brooding punk group to express apathy and the feeling that life’s just “so so,” The Thespians escape the cliché by remaining instrospective and socially aware.
Guitarist Jess Branney, who also provides melodic vocals, brings a sexy feminine touch to this otherwise testosterone-heavy outfit, with Danny Hall drumming furiously like a machine and bassist Phil Gornall not being afraid of getting a bit crazy. Alltogether, they are a great-looking band and have a natural synergy onstage despite the fact that they’ve only been together for a year.
Coupled with huge talent and a tendency for chaos, The Thespians are sure to garner even more attention with their honest, emotionally charged music that defines this time in Liverpool music.