HEFNER
London Shepherds Bush Empire 26th October 2001


On paper this was going to be an interesting night. London band Hefner, who can boast a hugely loyal and expanding fanbase, are playing their biggest headline show yet. The one catch is that since they last played in London they've changed direction and embraced synths in a big way. On previous releases you could expect their simple gtr-bass-drums line-up to be augmented by horns or slide guitar; on 'Dead Media' you're just as likely to hear a Moog Rogue or Casio SA-5.
With the presence of fellow indie-turned-analogue-synth outfit Appliance on the bill I was expecting a full-on evening of synths, complete with cries of 'Judas' from enraged fans. Unfortunately, either Hefner haven't worked out live arrangements for the new tunes, or are too worried about a backlash, as they play hardly any of the new record. That's a shame, as not only is 'Dead Media' a very good Hefner record, I've now seen them so many times that I was looking forward to hearing the new songs live. The likes of 'Junk', 'China Crisis' and 'When the Angels Play their Drum Machines' would complement the older material really well so it's a bit of a disappointment when they don't appear.
However, the older material is what people know best, and when they open with 'The Hymn for the Alcohol' they can't really fail. 'Don't Go' is next, and then a mighty 'Pull Yourself Together'. Just when we thought they were going for out and out crowdpleasers, Darren introduces a new song "about Peter Gabriel". It sounds good, and even though I don't catch all of the lyrics it seems to have just the right amount of tongue-in-cheek! A lone voice of dissent shouts "Lose the synth" at the end which is odd because they actually do. Although they play 'The King of Summer' from the new album, it's probably the most 'old-school' (sorry!) Hefner song on there, and the tone is set from there on. A lovely coupling of 'The Greater London Radio' and 'I Stole a Bride' reminds us what good songwriters they are, and the rest of the set is back to back Hefner faves - 'Painting and Kissing', 'The Sad Witch', 'Hello Kitten', 'Hymn for the Cigarettes' and 'The Sweetness Lies Within'. 'I Love Only You' closes the set and judging by the reception they can consider this a triumph.
It's odd that first encore - the lovely synth dominated 'Alan Bean' - doesn't go down as well, so maybe they were right to play safe. 'Hymn for the Coffee' and 'The Day That Thatcher Dies' round things off in fine style - the live version of 'Thatcher' pisses on the recording as far as I'm concerned.
Even though I've now seen them eleven times, I'll still go and see them next time. Maybe they'll even do a 'Dead Media' show sometime?

HEFNER London Camden Underworld 24th February 2001

Without a doubt my favourite London band, Hefner are the live act that I have seen most since I moved here. However, I passed on their last gig as they had done the unthinkable - they had made a disappointing record! The album in question ('We Love The City') was a collection of songs about London life and as an avid fan I had heard a lot of the songs in their early stages. On reflection I've realised that it is a good album, with some brilliant moments as ever - although it still has one song ('She Can't Sleep No More') that I have to skip.
As if to convince myself that 'We Love the City' and myself now see eye to eye, I've chosen to go to the second of Hefner's two nights at the Underworld. Last night featured songs from 'Breaking God's Heart' and 'Boxing Hefner', while tonight is exclusively dedicated to 'The Fidelity Wars' and "We Love the City'. I admire that sort of discipline in a band(!) and Hefner stick to the plan - seven songs from each album and a B-side ('Seafaring') to keep the obsessives happy. The now familiar 'We Love the City' eases us underway, and all the songs are welcomed with an enthusiasm that other bands can only dream about inspiring.
They play mighty versions of 'I Stole a Bride' and 'The Hymn for the Alcohol' early on, and I'm amazed that I ever doubted them. Quite brilliant. The uptempo stuff works too, 'Painting and Kissing' and 'the Hymn for the Cigarettes' are the pick of the bunch, while 'The Weight of the Stars' raises a few smiles when Darren forgets some of the words. Well, they have had 30 songs to play over these two nights! Amelia (ex-Heavenly, now Sportique) joins them for vocal duties on a lot of the tracks from the new album like 'Don't Go' and the excellent 'Good Fruit' - the latter featuring the world's least offensive stage-diver, who basically clambers onto the stage and does the dance from the video! Aside from now permanent instrumentalist and all-round entertainer Jack Hayter (he even sings Gina Birch's part on 'Don't Flake Out' - is there no end to his talents!), they're also joined by a fiddle player for 'Greedy Ugly People' who brings out the lovely counter melody at the end of the song brilliantly. To round things off, they replace the customary set closer 'Breaking God's Heart' (only allowed last night y'see) with a song they claim to have never played live before - 'I Love Only You' - which fits perfectly.
Reconsider me a fan.

HEFNER
London Virgin Megastore 18th August 2000
It's sort fitting that my first gig after I return to London is Hefner. Not only because their forthcoming album 'We Love The City' is a collection of songs based around their lives in the capital, but because they've been one of the true London bands who have been growing in stature since I moved here, and will always be linked with this city in my mind.
Today's early evening show is a low-key affair, intended to give fine new single 'Good Fruit' a final nudge toward the top 40, and the band treat it very much as an opportunity to give passers by a selection of their most accessible songs.
After the opening 'Hymn for the Alcohol', one of their very best songs, they launch into 'Pull Yourself Together' and 'The Sad Witch' and the crowd are trying to enjoy themselves as best they can, crammed in between the aisles of the RnB section!
The hugely catchy 'Good Fruit' takes the pace down a little bit, and 'Greedy Ugly People' follows it, the only song they play today which has their trademark sexual lyrics. Apparently it's oing to be the next single though!
'Hymn for the Cigarettes' is next, and there are enough Hefner fans here to laugh when Darren makes a mess of his own lyrics. The 'Thatcher' song goes down well too, and the customary closing tune 'Twisting Mary's Arm' gets the crowd singing along, Jack grinning away through his newly grown facial hair. Something of a triumph, then.

HEFNER
London ULU 14th April 2000
It's no surprise that Hefner are the band I've seen most of since I moved to London two years ago. No two shows are the same - as if to underline this I saw them play radically different sets twice in a week last autumn. The main reason for this is the rapid turnover of the songwriting factory known as Darren Hayman.
They do make some concessions towards the just released compilation 'Boxing Hefner' as the very fine 'Hymn for the Things We Didn't Do', 'Hello Kitten' and the almost obligatory set closer 'Twisting Mary's Arm' all make an appearance.
However, after ambling onstage to the strains of AC/DC's 'Back in Black' and launching into a brand new song, it's clear that this is going to be another show full of surprises. The new material- most of which should appear on forthcoming album 'We Love The City' later this year - is immediately impressive, from the sensitive sex stories they've made their trademark to the (belated) anti-Thatcher singalong.
Although the singles 'Sweetness Lies Within' and 'I Took Her Love For Granted' are the songs which get this capacity crowd right behind them, it's the slower tunes like 'Hymn for the Alcohol' ad 'Hymn for the Postal Service' which make Hefner truly special. When you get a crowd as big as this singing the words back to you, you know you've achievd something. Catch Hefner before they start filling bigger venues than this.

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