After seeing Midlake on Thursday night I caught an early train to London the following morning. A pleasant stroll around Covent Garden was followed by a bite to eat in Chinatown and then a walk across to the southbank of the Thames for a showing of the remastered version of the 1964 Beatles film, 'A Hard Day's Night'.
And I admit to finding it almost as enjoyable as I did when I saw it as a 12 or 13 year old upon it's release when I was too young and naive to appreciate the significance of John Lennon sniffing a Coke bottle. Young and innocent times! Anyway the film is still a good laugh and of course the music coming through the cinema sound system was magnificent.
On the walk back across the river, Waterloo Bridge was to our right, bathed in the golden light of the setting sun. Not quite a Waterloo Sunset I'm afraid, but surely the next best thing.
Saturday was all about the British Summer Time Festival at Hyde Park where Neil Young & Crazy Horse were topping the bill. First however there were decisions to be made about who else to see appearing on the various stages scattered around the festival site. The Webb Sisters beckoned to begin with.
Charley (guitar) and Hattie (harp and mandolin) are perhaps best known to us for having backed Leonard Cohen on most of his recent tours. For forty five minutes or so, they kept a fairly large crowd enthralled with their brand of Americana style music (though the girls hail from Kent, England) despite the fact that the temperatures inside this smallish marquee, soared to ridiculous levels.
We failed to see Phosphorescence owing to the crowds trying to get into that venue, so decisions had to be made as to who we would see. Going our separate ways I decided to catch Caitlin Rose followed by Midlake in the same venue (the Barclaycard Theatre). In between I did manage to catch most of The National's set on the main stage though I confess that I have never really warmed to their music.
Midlake performed for about fifty minutes so it was a shortened version of the set I had seen two days earlier. Nevertheless, being situated further back from the stage, I found the sound to be more agreeable and I thoroughly enjoyed their set.
Then of course, it came to the reason we were all there. The main event - Neil Young & Crazy Horse.
As I've often reported, with Neil Young you are never sure what you are going to get. Even with Crazy Horse we were not guaranteed to get songs ending in five minutes or more of howling feedback, as we experienced in Newcastle last year. After sauntering onto the stage and placing a basket of grapes on the drum riser, Young and his Crazy Horse cohorts, aided by Rick Rosas standing in for the recuperating bassist Billy Talbot, launched into a lengthy version of 'Love and Only Love' one of three numbers from the 'Ragged Glory' album.
Once again however, Young showed he is willing to mix things up a bit. In contrast to those heavy rocking numbers, we were also treated to a band version of 'After The Gold Rush'. During a short acoustic interlude we got 'Only Love Can Break Your Heart' and to the delight of the crowd, 'Heart of Gold'. This was followed by what was in my opinion the treat of the night, the rarely performed 'Barstool Blues' from the album 'Zuma'. Even an unreleased 1970's album 'Homegrown', was represented by the song 'Separate Ways'.
When one considers that Young has issued three new albums in the last couple of years and from these only played the title track from 'Psychedelic Pill' making no mention at all of his latest venture, 'A Letter Home', one begins to realise just how perverse he is.
Returning to play their first encore, they gave us a brand new song 'Who's Gonna Stand Up and Save the Earth?' This was duly followed by the much more familiar 'Down By The River'.
Then the band and backing singers took their bows and tossing a grape into the audience, Young gave us a last wave and the stage emptied to the strains of 'Greensleeves'
Each time I have seen Young play has been a totally different experience yet I have never come away feeling in any way disappointed. Surely this has to be the measure of a true star.
Long may he run!
Finally I think it only fitting that I make mention of the quality of the large screens and particularly of the sound. The organisers have certainly done a great job in those areas.
The complete setlist can be found by following this link.
When I last saw Midlake back in 2006 or 2007, they were promoting their wonderful album 'The Trials of Van Occupanther' and the intimate feel of the Sage, Gateshead Hall Two was ideal for their unique blend of soft rock and folk. Since then the band have undergone significant personnel changes including the departure of their lead singer/songwriter, Tim Smith.
Into the breach stepped Eric Pulido and their most recent release 'Antiphon' is to my mind a return to form after the slightly disappointing 'The Courage of Others'.
I was curious to see how the live sound would have evolved particularly with the addition of newish guitarist Joey McLellan. Well I can report that they are now a lot heavier (and much louder) than when I last saw them. As Pulido himself said on the evening, they may be on the soft side of rock music but they are taking steps to cross that threshold.
Perhaps it was my particular seat, to the right of the stage about four rows from the front, that was the problem but I occasionally found their sound too harsh and the volume did not allow each individual instrument to shine through. The same could not be said of the quieter songs or passages however and these were much more enjoyable.
I had no problems with the setlist which featured a range of numbers from their three most recent albums and featured the crowd pleasing 'Roscoe'. It was worth the price of admission for that alone.
At various points during their performance I found myself making some comparisons with The Band and lo and behold (sorry folks, I couldn't resist that), near to the end of the evening they performed their only cover song, 'I Shall Be Released'.
As I left the theatre, I wondered how that evenings performance would compare to when I was due to see them two days later in London's Hyde Park. Check back soon to get my thoughts on that event.
Here is the full setlist:
1. Ages
2. This Weight
3. Provider
4. Rulers ruling all things
5. Young Bride
6. We Gathered in Spring
7. Antiphon
8. Vale
9. It's Going Down
10. Children of the Grounds
11. Corruption
12. Aurora Gone
13. Provider Reprise
14. Roscoe
15. The Old and The Young
16. I Shall Be Released
17. Head Home
I have said it in earlier posts this year, but I really do believe that 2013 has been an exceptional year for new music. Consequently making my decisions as to the best (ie my favourite) albums of the year has been particularly difficult. For me the year began on a high note with the release of 'Lady From Shanghai' by Pere Ubu and 'Electric' by Richard Thompson. and my enjoyment of both albums was enhanced by seeing both of these acts live in the first half of the year.
You can read my thoughts on the Richard Thompson album here and on Pere Ubu here.
The prolific Nick Cave maintained his own high standards with 'Push The Sky Away' while David Bowie surprised everyone, myself included, by returning to the studios and treating us all to 'The Next Day' an album which quite rightly is appearing in many 'Best Of' lists this year. Another of my long time favourites, Steve Earle, took us on a tour of an American landscape with which he appeared to be less than enamoured. The result was 'The Low Highway'. Yet another favourite in the so-called Americana genre is Jason Isbell and he didn't disappoint with 'Southeastern'.
Last year the prize for White Room favourite went to Anais Mitchell for her marvellous album 'Young Man in America'. This year in collaboration with Jefferson Hamer, Ms Mitchell delved into the murky past of British folk music with a small sample of 'Child Ballads'. These songs have been performed and recorded by hundreds of artists, yet rarely I feel, with such beauty and tenderness.
I was intrigued to find out how Midlake would adapt to the loss of their lead singer and songwriter, Tim Smith. For me they have never been able to reproduce the brilliance of their second album, 'The Trials of Van Occupanther'. With 'Antiphon' they have delivered something of a slow burner which possibly explains why it has not made my top six. It is still working it's way into my psyche and is an album that I may find easier to evaluate in six months time.
There was obviously a huge amount of expectation (and hype) surrounding the release of 'Reflektor' by The Arcade Fire. They have now become one of the world's biggest bands, able to sell out large arenas at the drop of a hat. And perhaps for me, that is the problem as I have a tendency to drift away from acts as soon as they are on the brink of mega-stardom. Nevertheless I was eagerly anticipating this year's release and don't get me wrong, I have enjoyed the album. Yet, it doesn't quite hit the spot that their early releases did when I found them to be fresh and exciting. That might say more about me, but whatever the reason, they have not made it into the White Room top six.
Anyone who has been a regular or even an occasional reader of these pages will not have failed to notice that I am a HUGE fan of The Beatles. Yet, I have never been much of a fan of the solo work of Lennon, McCartney, Harrison or Starr. Paul McCartney has of course written some fine songs yet there has always been a side to his songwriting that I have found rather twee. This remains the case with his latest album 'New', however there is enough very good material for me to make the claim that I think this might just possibly be his best solo work ever. The number of people of his generation who can continue to write songs and produce albums of this standard, is sadly dwindling. Macca deserves credit for having the energy and the ability to produce this sort of stuff after 50 years (and counting).
Other 2013 albums which are also worthy of mention are:-
'None The Wiser' by Chris Wood
'Shout!' by Gov't Mule
'Til Yor River Runs Dry' by Eric Burdon
'Mount Moriah' by Mount Moriah
'MCII' by Mikal Cronin
'II' by Unknown Mortal Orchestra
'Magpie & The Dandelion' by The Avett Brothers
'Man & Myth' by Roy Harper
'Monomania' by Deerhunter
'Once I Was An Eagle' by Laura Marling
'The Terror' by The Flaming Lips.
Phew! I told you it had been a great year.
Still the White Room Top Six to be announced. Yes I did say SIX. These are the albums which for me deserve special mention this year. Watch this space.
During a year in which we have experienced some wonderful new albums, news has reached me here in Spain that there are another two to look forward to in the next couple of months. Or, am I being overly optimistic?
In the case of Midlake, I fear this may be the case. I consider their 2006 album, 'The Trials of Van Occupanther' to be one of the finest albums of the last 10 years. However the 2010 follow-up, 'The Courage of Others' in my view failed to reach quite the same heights.
Following some internal struggles, main singer (and songwriter) Tim Smith has departed and November will see the first release with the newly diminished lineup. The album is to be called 'Antiphon' and the title track is available to stream on a number of websites and to download for free on the band's own site. http://www.midlake.net/
On the basis of that one track, I suspect this could be a return to form, but we shall wait and see.
I don't recall how I became interested in Blitzen Trapper but it must have been at around the time of their eponymous debut album in 2003. Since then I have followed their progress avidly and I have the view that they quite possibly get better with each release. The quality of their output is certainly not diminished by their high productivity - six albums in eight years!
Late September sees the release of their 7th album, appropriately but unimaginatively titled, 'VII'. They have also chosen to preview the album by streaming a track 'Ever Loved Once', a contemplation of small town romance set against a backing of pedal steel guitar, banjo and plaintive harmonica. Check out their website here. http://www.blitzentrapper.net/
Yet another pair of albums to look forward to in a year which keeps getting better and better.
