The music showcases on the Tuesday and Wednesday evenings of the AMAUK’s annual conference are a really fine way to get going on gig attending after the inevitable Yuletide lull. Taking advantage of the high density of reasonable sized venues around Hackney Central allows for the simultaneous running of 5 stages – two in Night Tales, upstairs in Paper Dress Vintage, and the main rooms of both Oslo and Moth Club. Which means that on each night there will be around 30 bands and musicians playing their 30 minute sets, and it’s virtually impossible to not be able to find someone to enjoy. Moth Club had it’s now usual role as the headquarters for all things Canadiana, whilst Paper Dress Vintage had a Scandiana evening. Not that this meant that there wouldn’t be plenty of other Canadian or Scandinavian bands at the other venues – these do seem to be particularly strong supporters of the AMAUK week. As the stages run a little out of sync’ with each other it’s possible to catch a half dozen full 30 minute sets and another three or four first or last couple of songs…or you might change your mind and stay with someone for their full allotted time. You just don’t know how it’s going to go, and that’s the joy of the event.
Having picked up the wrist band for entry into all events there was time to catch the end of Toria Wooff’s set on the large stage at Night Tales 1 – things still being early – the music starts at 6PM – this was somewhat sparsely attended, but growing as the set went on. This didn’t hold the band back at all, framing Wooff’s delicate folk songs such as ‘Mountains‘ (which lifts a line from Dylan) and the melancholic ‘Sweet William‘ (which lifts a line from America). Gentle love songs – with the emphasis on loss and adding the obligatory touch of extra sadness with pedal steel and a hint of additional gloom thanks to the echoing sounds of the trains passing above (Night Tales is built into the railway arches). Toria Wooff closed out her set with what will be her new single, released, appropriately enough, on February 14th – ‘That’s What Love Will Do To You‘ is a bittersweet – with perhaps the emphasis on bitter – recollection of lost love.
A quick dash to Oslo allowed the catching of the last two songs from Annie Dressner – including ‘Black and White’ with perhaps the prize for the least relatable introduction Annie Dressner saying it was the kind of song you’re spurred to write “when you see an ex-boyfriend is running for mayor of New York.” It’s a passionate slice of rocking singer-songwriter observation, reflecting on a love not fully gone.
Over at Paper Dress Vintage Otis Kerp kept the audience in the palm of his hand with his seasoned stage presence – Otis Kerp is an anagram of his real name, under which he had racked up a dozen years and albums in a successful music career singing in Swedish. It was playing at a tribute to Levon Helm – alongside Garth Hudson who, he informed us, had recently died – that had persuaded him to pursue a parallel path singing in English. His songs tend toward the roots-rock, as on the autobiographical ‘Chasing Eldorado‘ which contrasts the desire to make it on the road, whilst having a strong pull back to home and family.
‘Lonesome Moon‘ is a simple country love song, whilst the new and not yet released ‘Cross Roads‘ is a cry to choose a new way of thinking, choose love and leave behind more negative feelings. It’s a song that Kerp has lived, as he for several years undertook a walking tour from gig to gig which was sponsored enabling him to raise 2million kroner for charities. And although on a single guitar, there was no disguising that the also new ‘Sky Full Of Rockets‘ was heartland rock through and through, with images of road trips and small town America.
On the Night Tales 2 stage were Princes to Kings who are brothers with a guitar and a beat box – and, it transpired a harmonica holder which was inspired by listening to a lot of Dylan. The love song that featured this also listed putting a Joni Record on as a way of keeping in touch with an early love…and it seemed that Americana is certainly getting very self-referential these days. There acoustic pop-folk had a touch of the Milk Carton Kids about it, mainly in the levels of gentle yearning.
The longest journey of the evening is the one from Night Tales to The Moth Club, but that’s where the Canadian showcase had taken up its customary residence and it was there that Logan Richard could be found. And here was where things went awry – the original plan had been to catch a couple of songs and then hot foot it to Oslo for Simeon Hammond Dallas’ set. But….Logan Richard was too good to duck out of. Accompanied by Ben Aker on keyboards he regaled the room with singer-songwriter observations such as being more than a singer “I have personality traits“, or, on ‘Feels This Way‘ about thoughts of inadequacy and maybe imposter syndrome when flying to meet a partner’s French speaking mother. It’s a song that has a bit of an Andrew Gold feel to it. There’s a homesick feel to ‘Grass is Blue‘ – you my get out of a lot of chores touring but the grass is far from greener, whilst ‘Roledex‘ – the whole concept of which has to be explained ‘Call My Bluff’ style – extolls the dubious virtues of a portable phone number storage device on a catchy take on the “you’ve got my number, I’m your friend” style of song. On his first visit to London the PEI native proved to be an engaging exponent of pop-hook laced indie-folk.
It was worth the trip back to Oslo for the aforementioned Simeon Hammond Dallas who was blowing the room away, and rocking the highest heels of the evening so far. Full on, but really well done, blues rock with a bit of a dig at the likes of Eric Clapton with a sing-a-long chorus of “you ain’t got the blues, you’re just a sad, sad man.” Ouch. There was more, but very different, guitar over at Paper Dress Vintage where Nicolai Dunger played what seemed like an improvised song over finger-picked electric guitar moving from a jazzy feel through rock to a bluesy feel before finishing up with strummed rock ‘n’ roll chords. He followed this up with a song that Garth Hudson had played on, which had a Mercury Rev feel to it. Very intense.
It would have been easy to stay on, however I was keen to get back to Oslo for The Roseline, who totally did not disappoint, with the loudest rock band so far on my night. They were in a mood to impress – as lead singer Colin Halliburton explained, usually there’s be so much great banter but in the limited time available they were going to jam in as many songs as possible. The set was a good reflection of their most recent release – ‘Live In Norway‘, and unsurprisingly they were on top of and totally tight across each of the eight songs they fitted in. They rocked, They honkey-tonked. They declared themselves to be “tickled to be invited here” and compared London reasonably favourably to their Kansas home base. Catchy songs and great keyboard playing by Heidi Gluck adding a deft and delicate touch when appropriate – the interplay of lead guitar and piano on the closer ‘Purple Balloon‘ was a pure sonic delight.
There really was very little doubt that I wouldn’t be at Julian Taylor’s showcase at The Moth Club, although the big surprise was that it was a full band set with Julian’s now regular, and superb, UK band (Michelle Stodart – Bass and Vocals, Raevennan Husbands- Guitar, Vocals, Sian Monaghan – Drums and Vocals).
It was the first really full room of the evening, and a lot of people seemed to know the music already – there was a celebratory feel to the singing along to ‘Ballad of a Young Troubadour‘ and ‘SEEDS‘ on what was a perfectly pitched set, the much slower ‘Weighing Down‘ off the latest album ‘Pathways‘ dug into self-doubts and self-healing “you been so hard on yourself it’s time to let things soften now” and there’s a real emotional kicker to “I didn’t get it right, but wanted to.” There’s a similar reflection on the ups and downs and changes of life on ‘Pathways‘ before the set closed out with the band cutting loose on the out and out rocking side of Julian Taylor, ending with the very appropriate high energy of ‘Just a Little Bit More.’
And how do you follow that? Well, it was a challenge but Canada – as we’ve noted on more than one occasion – does seem to be blessed with a high density of musical talent. Having just flown in from Toronto, Altameda took the stage at Moth as a duo – they usually are a full band line-up, and arrived with some expectations. Expectations, it is a pleasure to report, that they lived up to.
Boldly staring with ‘Crazy Blue‘ – the title track of their next album – they demonstrated the power of two acoustics, a Dylanesqyue pile of lyrics and a good shaking of harp. As a start, it doesn’t get much better than this – and it just continued the same way. is it a terrible Canadian stereotype to say that there’s a bit of Blue Rodeo about them? And then they throw in a song like ‘Neon‘ which drifts on cosmic musings, and then add a touching cover of “Long Time Comin’” taking full possession of Springsteen’s song before closing out on their recent single which Frazey Ford had helped out on. ‘What Good Am I?‘ is a questioning love song – full of doubts of worthiness and the actual deserving of love. It’s a bold song to close on.
There was just time remaining to pop a head into Night Tales to catch the last song by Danni Nichols – a little of the actual UK Americana we hear so much about – and pick up the complimentary tote bag, which provided the reading material for the journey home in the shape of a copy of Uncut, who were one of the main sponsors of the event.
And what does all this blissful buffeting of a music night tell us? Well, Americana is a very diverse genre (no, really?) and that a lot of the best exponents of the genre are Canadian (again, not really a revelation). It also made it clear that Wednesday night would have a lot to live up to…
Just seen that Nicolai Dunger will be opening for Mercury Rev in March.