Music

Fangirls vs ‘Matty f**king Healy’

Posted on by kellycrichton

On the approach to the Edinburgh Corn Exchange last night one would have been excused for thinking you were wading through the remnants of a music festival – drunken, sodden, stragglers were surrounded by old quilts, broken umbrellas and camping chairs, hats, gloves, bottles and rubbish. Hard-line The 1975 fans would appear to have shed their accoutrement in haste having been in situ for some time in anticipation of securing a place front and centre.

Ten minutes shy of stage time chants of ‘Matty, Matty, Matty fucking Healy’ abound. I’ve never understood the phenomenon of this chant which makes me cringe no matter what the focus – but I wondered whether Matthew Healy, front man, would appreciate it.

The screaming is deafening as The 1975 take to the stage amidst four pillars adorned with screens, a large backdrop screen plus three further lighting rigs on the roof. Kicking off with ‘Love Me’, the current single (which I mistook for an old Duran Duran track when playing in the background recently), it would appear the whole venue is bouncing to these new sounds. Healy really does look as if he is asking each and every person in the crowd to ‘Love Me’ on each chorus. Girls and boys sit aloft on shoulders already – not something I’ve witnessed at the Corn Exchange before.

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Following up with ‘Heart Out’, it’s becoming clear this audience knows their lyrics. I don’t think I’ve experienced a similar female cacophony since Robbie Williams circa 2003. The first appearance of the saxophone for the evening comes towards the end of the track which, if I am correct, has been ramped up compared to the album track. The sax is to be a prominent feature of the evening.

The new visual stage show starts coming into its own with ‘Settle Down’, the pillars of light appearing to fade between 2D and 3D. Healy’s physical presence dominates the stage, his flowing mop of curls becomes like a fifth member of the band. Guitarist Adam Hann is the only other member of the band to traverse the stage but not until later in the show.

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When Healy addresses the audience for the first time, as you could expect, it’s a safety please for everyone to take two steps back. The stage explodes into a world of static and glitter thanks to the screens for ‘So Far’. The girl besides me sings every word of the song. The chanting returns before ‘The City’. They almost look like a different band for this track, just rocking out more, less staid.

More tracks from their debut album The 1975 ensue. They play ‘HNSCC’, which I hadn’t heard before, a short, haunting, experimental, instrumental track (a google search tells me the abbreviation is of a cancer name which Healy’s grandmother had).

Healy tells the crowd they would love to play the new album in full but feels that would bore everyone. ‘Change of Heart’ is the most minimal of songs so far in the evening with Healy salsa dancing around the stages, wine in hand, theatrical, arms outstretched. He reminded me of the last drunken lady on the dancefloor at a Christmas party. The track is synth-heavy but the band play as if like they’ve been playing this song for years. Healy finally seems to have enough of the chanting of ‘Matty, Matty, Matty fucking Healy’ and tells the crowd to shut up.

‘She’s American’ another new track follows, with frenetic guitar and a continuing saxophone onslaught, it’s the bouncy 80s vibe pop we’re used to from The 1975.

The next time Healy addresses the crowd it’s another plea, to look after phones as pick pocketing has recently become a significant problem at the venue and for the crowd to lay down their phones. He says ‘…those of you who haven’t seen us before will only ever have seen us on a screen… if you’ve not seen us before stop looking at us through screens. Put your fucking phones away. This song is about me.’ As he sings ‘Me’, Healy smokes a cigarette on stage, not something you see commonly at gigs these days. This is a more sombre track with an introspective feel. Lyrics like ‘I was thinking about killing myself’ put an ocean between this song and their most popular tracks.

Healy says Edinburgh has been his favourite gig so far, 2 weeks in to a 2 year long world tour and he says he means it and that he’s not being ‘sycophantic’, no doubt his tongue is firmly lodged in his cheek.

The third new track of the evening ‘Somebody Else’, starts like many other The 1975 tracks, a slow burner that picks up and gets increasingly funky. The fourth ‘The Sound’ is an upbeat echo of their previous pop hits and a sure fire hit from the new album, due out in February ‘I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware of It’.

It’s a relief to see the crowd simply enjoying themselves and bouncing along, less cameras aloft and less screaming an overdue guitar solo helps add credence to the tune. This is short lived as ‘Robbers’ erupts and then the crowd do…on more than one occasion in the evening I think to myself – haven’t they played this track before? But I am mistaken.

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For the encore a topless Healy and the rest of the fully clothed band are set against the backdrop of a night time cityscape, I am guessing LA. They play the remainder of their ‘hits’ amidst a frenzied crowd. Healy leads the crowd in a chorus of ‘Here we, here we, here we fucking go’, perhaps by way of apology for his lack of appreciation of the early chants he was at the centre of.

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I’ve seen many bands who, having only released one album struggle to deliver a 45minute show of robust content. The 1975 have been called the hardest working band in the UK in the past two years. This show proves it. The new album is reported to have around 20 tracks on it. Healy’s reported desire to act as a leader for young women and to also become a legendary artist and performer might sit at odds with some of the music he plays and indeed some of the comments he makes. At 26 years old he’s certainly establishing himself as a flamboyant front man, amidst some well-publicised scrapes he seems to be keeping himself afloat in the world that often concurs so many young musicians. Continuing to write and the band appear to be key to this, creating the support, structure and platform required to succeed. I’ll be interested to see how things go for a band who, judging by tonight’s performance and reception, could be bound for international fame. Critical acclaim? I’m not yet sure of.

Full set list
Love Me
Heart Out
Settle Down
So Far (It’s Alright)
The City
You
HNSCC
Menswear
Change of Heart
She’s American
Me
Fallingforyou
Somebody Else
The Sound
An Encounter
Robbers
Girls
Medicine
Chocolate
Sex

A rather different gig-going experience

Posted on by kellycrichton

For me the Polyphonic Spree have always just kinda been there. One of those bands that there was a lot of hype about at a point in time and rather than pale into obscurity have managed to keeping going, keep churning out songs and albums and as I learned last night – tend to have a die-hard group of loyal fans.  I accidentally found out about this gig a week before it was due to happen. And known, as they are, for their sheer numbers and unique style in many senses, I thought this is a gig not to be missed.
To celebrate their 15th anniversary as a band, they undertook this tour playing their 2002 debut, The Beginning Stages of…, in its entirety at every show, by way of thanks to their fans.

It was a slow emergence onto stage, navigating trip hazards and musical instruments for the 14 performers culminating in the appearance of founder and ‘leader’ the surfer-dude-esque,Tim DeLaughter. Kicking off with one of (what would become clear) many anthemic songs, Have a Day/Celebratory awakened the audience.

Polyphonice Spree in full regalia

Polyphonice Spree in full regalia

Classed by some as ‘choral rock’ they all appeared in long white tunic garbs with splashes of colour. The first four or five tracks took us on a journey of merriment mostly. A barely-half full Liquid Rooms, was actually quite complimented by some really die-hard fans, the majority being single, white males in their forties – who would have guessed?

Lots of chanting and repetition does nothing to dispel the choir, nay cult, comparisons. At times I find myself over focussing on random things that are happening at the back of the stage. Having 14 people on stage is distracting. DeLaughter has been allocated the most space on stage and moves around the most, conducting the band, but also the audience. Intermittent bursts of colour abound from 4 cheap disco light balls placed on stage; it is strangely effective if a bit cheesy. All other members of the band have a square foot or less to manoeuvre in, the four backing singers didn’t ever actually move off their spot except for the track where everyone lay down on the stage during the piano solo.

Wee lie down

Wee lie down

Soldier Girl is a highlight of the evening’s performance with the audience robustly singing along. The drawn-out crescendo sees DeLaughter teetering on an amp at the front of the stage but we all know he’s fully in control of everything that’s going on. Reach for the Sun followed which, as the most played song on UK advertising, as you would expect, was somewhat of a crowd-pleaser.

Tim DeLaughter as conductor

Tim DeLaughter as conductor

That eventually changed though when a sound issue held things up between a couple of tracks. DeLaughter regaled the audience earlier, following a costume change into a tartan kaftan, about how his original robe had been stolen and he was playing ‘some gig’ (T in the Park) and a fan this new one for him, 11 years beforehand and he was still wearing it and indeed had worn it at Glastonbury, or at least he thought he did. What was friendly banter during that story turned into some audience members roaring out the names of every Polyphonic Spree song they could think of, in an attempt to prompt them to sing one they had supposedly suggested. It was clearly visible DeLaughter wasn’t entertained and eventually silenced the hecklers saying we’ll play this and you’ll like it. It was a pretty cringey moment.

That atmosphere didn’t last though and it was back business. Other moments worthy of mention were Monkees cover, Porpoise song, which if you have never heard you should listen to, coupled with their fantastical lighting really did give the impression of being under the sea. The band praised and thanked their fans for 15 years and promised to return soon. They also promised to meet with fans after the show to sign merchandise, not an occurrence you see at gigs very often, which was cordial and refreshing.

DeLaughter looking for his Dolphin Whistle - no actually just playing the bells under a Xylophone

DeLaughter looking for his Dolphin Whistle – no actually just playing the bells under a Xylophone

The final crescendo of arms and instruments in air, while Tim DeLaughter continued to conduct the band and audience was, well epic. You couldn’t help but expect for someone in the audience to also reach for the sky and scream out ‘We are healed!! We are healed!! Praise the Polyphonic Spree!’

Crescendo

Crescendo

Track listing
Have a Day/Celebratory
It’s the Sun
Days Like This Keep Me Warm
LaLa
Middle of the Day
Soldier Girl
Light and Day/Reach for the Sun
A Long Day
Together We’re Heavy
Hold Me Now
Popular by Design
Porpoise Song (Monkees Cover)
When the Fool Becomes King
A Long Day Continues/We Sound Amazed

FFS pay a visit to festival-laced Edinburgh

Posted on by kellycrichton

To my surprise I spied a sandwich board at BBC at Potterow last week that said ‘Franz Ferdinand and Sparks, live in the Big Blue Tent on Sunday’ get tickets at the info point’. So we did, it all seemed a little too good to be true.

Then the downfall came when, despite having arrived the recommended one hour before show time on Sunday we were too late to gain validation and were put on a stand-by list. The consolation of being able to watch the performance live on the big screen with headphones didn’t really fill me with joy. But luckily, thanks to the very well organised folks at the BBC we gained entry.

FFS released their collaborative album in June this year but have been recording together for many years. Familiar with Franz Ferdinand it was the Spark’s side of the equation I needed to educate myself on. Brothers Ron and Russell Mael initially started out a Rock/Pop outfit and morphed into one of the synth/electronic act heroes of the late 70s, collaborating with the likes of Giorgio Moroder (another artist of this year enjoying somewhat of a revival currently).  On paper the two don’t necessarily seem to fit but as their self-titled album proved they fit very well and are a catchy pairing at that.

Having missed them at Glastonbury, getting to see them live, so close to home, was a great opportunity. As I write they are performing a sold-out gig at Edinburgh’s Festival Theatre. But we got to see them first, in all their glory for three whole tracks (two of them twice).

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The elaborate sense of style of both frontmen Russell Mael and Alex Kapranos led me to think, what’s better than one frontman? Well, of course, two, when they’re like this anyway.  The stark contrast of Russell’s over-the-top performance with Ron’s po-faced stiffness adds extra comedy value but also an air of authority. These guys have been part of music history so they can command it. FF guitarist is equally elaborately dressed which basically makes for rather an eclectic-looking group of musicians.

We are treated to three tracks; the first ‘Sõ Desu Ne’ gets off to a great start with Bob Hardy and Nick McCarthy both playing the one keyboard one-handed. At the end of the song they are joined by Alex and Russell, also both playing one-handed in a four individual single-hand playing bonanza. Sadly the last 40 seconds or so of the song are mired by the loss of power to drummer Paul Thomson’s drum machine. The crowd seems into it but it’s hard to tell as we’ve been told by the BBC Producers that we have to save the dancing for later due to the fact the film will be used for various programmes and continuity is important.

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The second track leads to a change in station for almost every member except the two front men. ‘Collaborations Don’t Work’ is self-aware and ironic, but above all bouncy and pretty epic at 6.42 seconds. Alex’s outfit and gyrations prompt comparisons to an 80s cowboy and Russell’s being bespeckled and adorned in a cloak-like garment wearing prompts comparisons to Harry Potter. But happily it all works.

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The third and what was to be the final track, ‘Police Encounters’ sees Alex encouraging the audience to wave to the music, some getting involved some not. A technical issue sees them restart and ultimately start it again for a third time, delivering the whole song in total, twice. They perform as energetically as they did initially and everyone’s pretty delighted they got to hear it again. Due to the earlier hitch with the drum machine ‘Sõ Desu Ne’ also gets a second outing.

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Five tracks for the price of three and that price was, well free. All in all, a great experience that actually left me pretty disappointed I hadn’t secured a ticket for tonight’s gig. Oh well, I’ll make it along next time.

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Just as an aside I haven’t been posting as much as I would like to due to the wonderful Edinburgh Fringe Festival taking place and the long hours I’ve been putting in both at work and play. More to come in September, when I am left slightly bereft by the end of the festival no doubt.

Amy – my take on it…

Posted on by kellycrichton

Amy

It was with some trepidation I went to see this documentary about the life of singer, songwriter Amy Winehouse. I was pretty sure it would sadden me, I hadn’t expected to be angered to the extent I was. It’s difficult to take anything we are told at face value these days; which, is actually probably a good thing.

The film was directed by Asif Kapadia a well-respected film-maker whose previous credits include Senna, a documentary focussing on the life of another star, Brazilian motor-racing champion Ayrton Senna. He received many accolades for this film and as such has been heralded for his honest representations.

If we are to take the film at face value then it leaves us with one very sad conclusion. That the intense, unrelenting and unashamed scrutiny by the media, and the public, of this woman’s life; ultimately contributed to her untimely death.

The documentary carefully stitches together sound and visual clips to chart her assent to the greatest highest of musical accolades and notoriety, the trips and falls that peppered her career, and eventually, her demise.

We see a young girl full of life, with one of the most beautiful and original vocal talents of our time. We see a gifted songwriter who transformed with a guitar in hand or when she opened her mouth to sing. We see a person who used alcohol as a crutch, who fell for the wrong person, who found it hard to say no but screamed it so loud physically that it killed her.

The day Amy Winehouse died I was sat in a hostel in Vietnam, it was the day after the terrorist attacks in Norway had claimed 77 lives. I remember feeling so sad about her death and scared about the attacks, heightened by being very far away from home. But what I also remember was being so angry with the reporting of her death. The presenters (I believe on BBC world service but I’m not 100% sure) focussed on her infamous drinking sessions, her tempestuous marriage and repeatedly made reference to the irony of ‘Rehab’. They threw in brief references to the fact she had won 6 Grammy’s. This to me reflected how she had been viewed for much of her public life. The car-crash Amy Winehouse was media fodder, the brilliant musician was a side-show.

The film portrays various individuals in different shades and how they positively or negatively influenced Amy. But even if all of what is presented is accurate, no one person can be blamed.  The record companies, the tour promoters, her management, her ex-husband, her boyfriends, her friends and her family all had direct influence, some for the better, some for the worse and those individuals have to live with how they acted. It’s been reported Mitch Winehouse is suing the film makers. In the film he’s portrayed as having the power to intervene and not taking it and as taking advantage of Amy’s fame, bringing an unwelcome camera crew with him to visit her when she was recovering in St. Lucia.

The film points to a greater power at play in this dreadfully tragedy. That was the public’s desire to scrutinise and infiltrate every personal detail of this woman’s life, particularly when it was falling apart. One has to wonder why we care so much to see someone else fail? Does it make us feel better about our own lives?

The gutter press are even more responsible (whom it is implied recorded her calls during a stint in rehab and perhaps beyond) and the paparazzi. Making money from this type of harassment is disgusting. People are literally dying as a result. Whilst Amy’s death was more of an indirect consequence of their action than say Princess Diana, it is ultimately the same, sickening behaviour that is causing such hurt and grief.en will changes be made to stop this harassment? Be it legislative or otherwise. Why can’t artists, performers, sports stars or anyone else be entitled to privacy? I understand, as I’m sure they all do, that by becoming very successful you should have to expect a certain level of interest. My question is why this can’t be limited to official public appearances. Stalking people’s houses and scurrying after ever move they make is just obsessive, selfish and bizarre.

Amy had a hell of a lot of demons and certainly suffered from addictions, but I feel she would have had a better chance of survival if she had been given time to heal herself, away from public glare.

If the sustained demand for images of her, and information about her, had not existed or been promoted and facilitated, she may still be here today, maybe even still recording her individual-style of music and allowing us to hear it, giving it to us as a gift.

So many young talents have died from a combination of inner torment, not being able to handle stardom and often times the excesses they indulged in to bring them peace or happiness.  What role we, the public, have had in those can be debated. Having watched this documentary though, in the case of Amy Winehouse, we are left with only one conclusion, we have gone too far and we can’t keep treating human beings this way.

I found out Amy wasn’t keen on Dido, that she adored the Jazz greats, that she felt the press would ‘make a mug of her’, that she was funny, smart, very articulate, a gifted lyricist(but we already knew that) and desperately loyal to her family. She didn’t die from a drug overdose; she was clean of drugs when she died. Her heart had stopped from the impact of drinking.

How sad I was to hear her say ‘I would give it all back if I could walk down the street again…..with no hassle’.

It’s a challenging film, that should be seen. It will make you think about your media consumption and make your heartbreak for what happened this real person…whether you were a fan or not.