Ceiling Demons / FUQ / The Milk Lizards - Live for ENDLESS WINDOW at The Cumberland Arms, Newcastle

Having often seen bands sloppily indulge in pastiche (convinced a self-awareness of their revivalistic practice alone speaks to some kind of genius,) it was deeply satisfying to watch The Milk Lizards modestly and carefully perform fuzzy surf instrumentals simply for the joy and spirit of that sound. The boiler-suited trio even signed-off with Misirlou; a wink that having fun was at the core here.

Having performed a riotous set for EW at The Tanner’s Arms for NARC Fest in July, tonight FUQ return with slickness tailoring the presentation. A soft spotlight illuminated the stage, and whilst Rezaei painted rhythms and vocals from her colourful MPC, Bothwell stepped in-and-out of the shadows, a microphone in one hand, a mobile phone in the other. Their neatly composed songs rode the rainbow, including pop swagger in Sins and playful disorientation of Zim Bell.

There are few performers from which a ceaseless heartfelt appreciation for life, gig-in gig-out, beams, but that affection is written so deeply within Ceiling Demons conception, even Eeyore could not frown for the optimism within their work. Ritualistically emerging from masks, CD offered another impassioned set, filling the programme with their latest single, Lost The Way, the restless beasts from their Belly Of The Hopeless EP and the euphoric anthems of yore.

[2016.09.16] for NARC Magazine.

Nathalie Stern / Competition - Live for ENDLESS WINDOW at The Cumberland Arms, Newcastle

For their eighth and end-of-year chapter, Endless Window have brought together two artists who share a common ground in the way they perform their music; each utilising looped motifs through various ways of sampling to structure their content. 

The stage upstairs at the Cumberland Arms, in stark contrast to the cacophony of instruments and equipment covering it last month, is bare, except for a central podium stand; a table of technology draped in rich blue velvet. Unified at this lectern, in a blue macintosh, Craig Pollard, as Competition, starts his set.

The last time I saw Pollard perform solo he engaged with his instruments and effects at floor level which framed our musician as submissive and jittery as he searched for relevant knobs and devices on the ground, but tonight, by standing up tall to perform, with all of his sound playground apparatus at an accessible distance from his digits, the deeper vulnerability expressed in his music could be shown through his own confidence, as masterfully engineered quotation, without the audience being drawn to Pollard’s own practical stage concerns. His voice and lyrics sit delicately and deep inside the dense textures he samples for his loops, emphasising the delicate character of his voice more than the clarity of every word. 

Competition’s penultimate song, the project title-track, is a perfect encapsulation of melancholic confusion, and you could see it reaching inside the hearts of the focussed faces in the audience tonight. In contrast, the last song had a delightfully bouncy beat which was married with a soliloquy charting an existential crisis of a distracted mind. The song’s narrator kept returning to the burning question: “Seriously - when will I get a dog?”

Substituting the podium with blue velvet for a synth stand of her own (this one adorned with a cape sporting a green, red and yellow flower design) Nathalie Stern opened with a slow drone and steadily interjected vocal phrases. Her presence was instantly commanding and the unique texture of her voice took hold of the space with its characteristic spirit of strength and darkness. Using multiple loop-stations and a Korg synthesiser, she blended her first few songs into one another, with a particularly furtive chant using harsh Anglo-Saxon consonants. Midway through the set, coyly asking the audience for permission to play an instrumental, Stern then turned to her synth and embarked upon building up a fuzzy four-bar phrase; a tune which would not be out of place accompanying fantasy adventures. 

In this self-described ‘second phase’ of her songwriting, Stern’s composition focusses even more around the voice, with these recent performances not involving any guitar orchestration that the previous period had. This direction feels perfectly whole in a new way. The duplication of her own voice with impeccably chosen harmonies, fills the sound, and holds more power in an unshared air. Tonight, once more her bold music, balanced with her natural charm on stage, has fresh and seasoned admirers seduced alike.

The evening’s designer Mark Corcoran-Lettice swiftly followed up on the positive mood hanging in the air after Stern’s set, by launching straight into the disco portion of the evening, which brought a modest, but exuberant, amount of wigglin’ hips to the dance floor, and kept them there with songs by (to name a few) The Breeders, KLF and Kendrick Lamar. For the closing track at 12-o-clock, our DJ summoned the Gainsbourg/ Birkin duet Je T’aime; a gentle and respectfully playful nod to French culture, love and life.

[2015.11.20] for NARC Magazine.

Midnight Doctors / Cath & Phil Tyler / Posset - Live at The Cumberland Arms, Newcastle

With the Midnight Doctors, Phil Begg pulls together some of the regions most interesting musicians and holds a truly unique orchestra in orbit. The first album collates an eclectic mix of instrumental grooves, atmospheres and samples; a seemingly arbitrary collage but each piece lights another up perfectly. 

With each member of the extensive MD family committed to other projects and schedules, the self-titled debut record (released through alt.vinyl,) has been the remaining evidence of their existence since the first launch. There have been no further concerts, but quietly, Begg, along with a slightly altered line-up of musicians, has written another collection, and to the joy of those who had enjoyed MD’s music on record, but had yet to enjoy it live (myself included) the news of their follow-up LP, Through A Screen and Into A Hole’s launch upstairs at The Cumberland Arms was a ticket to jump on.

Sitting behind small, round tables just in front of the raised stage, Joe Murray (Posset / also a contributor to MD’s debut LP) humbly welcomes everyone to the evening and opens with his support set, routed in manipulated tapes sounds. Using several player/recorder devices, Murray pulls squeals and partial sounds and sentences from a range of cassettes, keeping the texture eternal as he inspects new combinations. The room is transfixed on his playfulness and echo the taped applause finishing his set.

Cath & Phil Tyler follow with a typically gorgeous and melodic set of songs. A variant of Fair Mary Of Wallington, with Phil Tyler’s crisp finger-picking and Cath Tyler’s straight and unpretentious lyrical unveiling, cracked a few hearts in the room. To append their set, the duo stepped down in front of the stage to join members of their weekly Sacred Harp society. Cath Tyler suggested we consider the following tunebook songs less as a performance, and more as part of a gathering, of which we are included. The powerful dominant intervals in the harmonies held strongly whilst their choir engaged a range of different voices. This elevating surprise in the night took emotions to a place that could now only be set free by the crowning celebration. 

And so seven of the Midnight Doctors took the stage. Begg was strapped with an electric guitar, ready by his harmonium, which shone in the light. The set started with a new song, opening quietly with the pensive notes of John Pope’s bass. Throughout the set, Sean Cotterill and Niles Krieger voiced the violins stage right, whilst Christian Alderson sternly worked up strong punctuation from his drum kit at the back. Completing the line-up, Emily King and Faye MacCalman paired Alto and Tenor saxophones stage left. Though the sound of each piece was necessarily different from the recorded versions, the band remained dedicated to demonstrating a breadth of expression the self-titled LP has been celebrated for: from subtle melodies treading cautiously like toes in water, to explosive ricocheting blow-outs where all members vibrated as violently as their instruments. Mixing a set with pieces from their latest and original album (along with a few extras,) Midnight Doctors relished in the enjoyment of playing their music, sharing their music and the evening. Each member’s physicality and facial expressions were constantly reacting with the sounds. Big smiles donned their faces as they moved dramatically from the moments of light jazz skipping to the intense moments of chaos in new track Chump Change. In the restrained building of drones in Mount Analogue, these musicians harvested completely different moods and shared them with equal import. 

The End Of The World Carnival Waltz, full of its grand Eastern-European flavour, finished with a climatic energy which communicated the end of the night naturally without the need for explanation. Begg reached for the microphone to praise each band member, but it slipped on the stand in front of him and out of his attempted grasp. He gestured to each instrumentalist, and tried to offer thanks off-mic but his words were dissolved under an ecstatic, and seemingly endless, applause from the audience. This rapture signified how lucky everyone felt to be present and a part of an important moment of community. The music of the Midnight Doctors had brought everyone along together.

[2015.10.26] for NARC Magazine.

Silly Billies Comedy - Live at The Cumberland Arms (14/11/2013)

Jack Gardner has been performing stand-up comedy prolifically in the North-East over the past few years and has gathered a lot of respect from peers, in part, for the imagination he shares with his audiences. From a passion to support comedians with more adventurous displays, Gardner has recently set-up his own monthly night at The Cumberland Arms called Silly Billies, which debuted in October. Tonight, that upstairs room is now full-up with people eager for the second installment. 

Rather than our compere intermitting with the usual Q and A's to warm the audience, Gardner ignores this tradition, choosing to frame the evening instead with thoughtful theatrical set-pieces that walk interesting lines between comedy and drama. We got masks, portals, and dance routines.

Each chapter by the five guest performers was excellent; from the hysterics of Ian Gordan's character Fernando, to the metafictional identity deconstruction by Sean Morley; from the anxious and creepy persona by Mark Kennedy to the self-sabotaging ramblings of Lee Kyle. Sean Turner, with his enthusiasm for audience participation and cheeky twists was a highlight. 

Though other nights are lenient to a dynamic of sloppy acts herding unquestioning audiences, Silly Billies works valiantly to support inspired performers who appreciate their audiences' participation in making the experience whole. This is a polished affair, and only costs the price of a pint to enter.

[2013.11.14] for NARC Magazine.