RADIO 2 IN BELFAST
THE AMAZING PILOTS
SUEDE - ELECTRIC SOFT PARADE -GOLDRUSH
GO COMMANDO
JAMES YORKSTON - STEPHEN HERO
Limelight, Katy Daly's, Errigle 21st-26th September 2002


Obviously there was a wealth of free gigs during this Radio 2 sponsored week so this is just a condensed report on the shows I went to.
I never got to see the AMAZING PILOTS any of the times they played in London, so this is actually my first encounter with them. They've had a bit of misfortune lately with the demise of Easy Tiger records as they were about to release the Pilots first single, but undaunted they've released another single 'Run Against Traffic' themselves. They refer to Dylan, Van Morrison and Beefheart when they talk about music they like, but I have to say that neither of those folk comes across as an obvious influence. It's easy to bracket them within the realms of indie-americana like Wilco or Wheat, while the odd quirky pop song hints more at people like the Kinks (or, as someone remarked to me, Dodgy or Squeeze).
Positives: some good downtempo songs and a decent use of accordion! Negatives: I don't really like the uptempo tunes, and some of the between song patter was a bit tedious. Overall, a tentative thumbs up.
Sunday sees a much larger scale show as Suede, Electric Soft Parade and Goldrush are playing the Limelight for the Janice Long show. I don't know a awful lot about GOLDRUSH but I know they supported the Flaming Lips recently so I figure I'll watch them. I discover that I do actually recognise some of their tunes (this must be because of radio osmosis) and a lot of the crowd seem to be into them. Although they play really energetically they never really go beyond the level of melodic indie background music.
However, that's more than can be said for the ELECTRIC SOFT PARADE who have chosen to play a quiet set as a duo. Despite their Mercury nomination there seems to be less interest in them than Goldrush and I even forgot there was a band on stage at one point.
SUEDE are the band that everyone has come to see and they really rise to the occasion. I was slightly concerned that they might use the occasion to promote their forthcoming album at the expense of older material but I needn't have worried. This intimate venue seems to have given them a new lease of life and they put on a fantastic show. They're pumped up from the moment they come on and the energy level never subsides. Brett is in top form, the sound is excellent and new member Alex Lee (ex-Strangelove/ Blue Aeroplanes) fits in really well.
At first hearing the new material seems to carry on where 'Head Music' left off, with 'Positivity' and 'Beautiful Losers' standing out. 'Metal Mickey' is a welcome return to the old material and 'Can't get Enough' makes me want to dust off my copy of 'Head Music' when I get home.
The crowd don't respond as loudly to 'My Insatiable One' but then I guess a lot of them don't know it, as it has become a bit of a lost classic. Whatever, it was one of the best moments of the night. More popular favourites to round up the main set - 'Everything Will Flow', 'Trash' and 'She's in Fashion'.
Brett returns with an acoustic guitar for 'Oceans' and cold stares for those people talking through it - thankfully I was far enough forward to be able to blank them out. 'So Young' and 'the Beautiful Ones' are the powerful climax to the night, this time the crowd singing was encouraged.
A mighty show, and reason enough to start paying attention to Suede again.
Local acts were dotted around throughout the festival but unfortunately I only managed to catch the events on Wednesday evening. The new incarnation of GO COMMANDO at Katy Dalys were particularly impressive. The word 'rejuvenated' has been bandied about with reference to their recent shows and it is a perfect way of describing them. The new addition to the line-up is Barry Peak (formerly of Backwater and currently of Torgas Valley Reds) but the whole band seem to have raised their game and they were easily the best band tonight. Go Commando benefitted from a great sound but next door in the Limelight it isn't so good. Kidd Dynamo are particularly wooly with an excessively loud vocal actually hurting my ears. A few people who hadn't seen them before were impressed but I felt the sound ruined it for me. Desert Hearts suffer similar problems and I have to leave about three songs into their set. You don't have to look too hard to find glowing reviews of these bands on this site, so let's draw a veil over tonight and move on.
Thursday is a quieter affair with JAMES YORKSTON and some of his Athletes at the Errigle, ably supported by a guy calling himself STEPHEN HERO who turns out to be none other than Patrick Fitzgerald from the long lost Kitchens of Distinction. As I once drove to Dublin to see the Kitchens I'm delighted that he's back writing and performing songs again.
From the new songs performed tonight he clearly still has a lot to offer. The material is more minimal than his former band, it's stripped bare rather than adorned with feedback and effects, and it helps show off his emotive lyrics and big soaring melodies. You have trouble believing that one new song is from a forthcoming musical, and I know that sounds rubbish in print but it actually works really well.
This was actually his first visit to Belfast and he dedicated one song to the glue-sniffers outside his hotel - bless! He din't actually play any Kitchens tunes but this was still a great set. James Yorkston is excellent. Only two of the Athletes have joined him on this trip (upright bass and percussion/ antique instruments respectively) and this makes for an even quieter than normal show. His album 'Moving up Country' is one of the debuts of the year and most of tonight's material comes from it.
You can see why he gets compared to Belle and Sebastian but there are clearly more pure folk influences at work. The three musicians work together really well, intricately blending acoustic guitar, squeezebox, harmonica, bass and percussion. Really lovely stuff, a show to treasure and a fine end to a week of good live music.
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