The Little Explorer/Situationists/Emmy The Great @ The Raynor Lounge 14/3
Heck/Seal Club Clubbing Club @ Clwb Ifor Bach 15/3
Up C Down C Right C ABC + Start/Make Believe @ The Brixton Windmill 16/3
**Disclaimer: I decided to write this post in the style of a school exam paper so at times it comes across a little harsh (mainly the bit about the DiS night) but on the whole I think it was a fairly successful experiment. I may do an mp3 post sometime this week. Who knows? Who cares?**
ANSWER QUESTIONS 1, 2, 3 AND EITHER 4 OR 5. DO NOT ANSWER MORE THAN 4 QUESTIONS.
Question 1: How many members of Seal Club Clubbing Club does it take to set-up and dismantle their equipment? (3 marks)
Despite being a 5-piece with a number of props, it takes no members of Seal Club to pack up their equipment. Rather, it takes one Scottish man twenty minutes to move all their equipment ten metres. Due to this, Seal Club require twice as long as both other bands on the bill to set-up, despite the fact that they could do it a whole lot quicker if they all helped.
Question 2: Explain what you think is the main reason for the band name "Heck" (3 marks)
I think the band name Heck was inspired by the use of the word "heck" as a curse word. That is to say, when a person injures themselves, makes a mistake or wants to express a dislike of some situation, they would exclaim "Oh Heck!". This would be in the same manner that someone may exclaim "Bloody Hell" although it is a much more polite, and some would say out dated, version. One wonders why they didn't name themselves "Balls" as it as phrase that can be used in the same way, and is a much more accurate description of their sound.
Question 3: Give three reasons as to why you think the Drowned In Sound night at The Raynor Lounge was either a success or a failure (6 marks)
The Drowned In Sound Night at the Raynor Lounge failed on three accounts. Firstly, the venue itself was below standard; The Raynor Lounge is intended to be a club venue and as such its acoustic do not work well with live music. This relates directly to the second reason for failure, that of the sound. The bands playing could not be properly heard over either talking, which was the case with headliner Emmy The Great, or suffered from badly mixed sound, as was the case with The Little Explorer.
Question 4: Using direct comparisons, please explain why Up C Down C Right ABC + Start were a bad choice of opener for Make Believe (10 marks)
Up C Down C.. are a 5 piece post-rock band from Chatham; they are dull, un-inspiring, un-original and bland. Make Believe are an indie-rock/math-rock 4 piece band from Chicago; they are original, exciting and are very talented musicians. Up C Down C's tale on post-rock does everything you would expect a post-rock band to do; it goes loud and it goes quiet. They make attempts to infuse metal riffs into their songs but this makes them sound like a poor-man's 65 Days Of Static, which is no good thing. Comparatively, Make Believe's music makes many unexpected twists and turns; they make extensive use of discordant guitar riffs and off-kilter drum patterns but also know when to pull out a big hook, as can be heard in the sing "A Song About Camping", which you can listen to here. Up C Down C have two drummers and finish their set with a big drum off; Make Believe have only one drummer, namely Nate Kinsella. Comparatively, Nate Kinsella plays in a much more interesting way than both of Up C Down C's drummers; not only that, he plays a keyboard whilst drumming. This allows him to pick out some of the melodies in Sam Zurick's guitar parts, which sound like they are being played by a man with 4 hands. In particular, the song "Can't Tell Cop From Cab", highlights Sam's impressive two hand tapping and finger picking techniques.
In conclusion, Up C Down C were a bad choice of opener for Make Believe. This can be obviously be seen by the fact that in a sold out venue of 150 people, only a handful applauded Up C Down C's set. Make Believe are a very talented group of musicians, compared to Up C Down C who are a poor, run of the mill post-rock band.
Question 5: Explain why The Displacements signing to 1965 Records is either a good or bad thing. Give references where used (10 marks)
Total marks: /22
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4 comments:
"One wonders why they didn't name themselves "Balls" as it as phrase that can be used in the same way, and is a much more accurate description of their sound."
lolz i didnt even watch them and that made me laugh.
this isnt even remotely related, but fuck its funny. From a live review of fugazi:
"Also I thought it was rude of Ian to change the lyrics of "Suggestion" to "Why can't I walk down the street free of suggestion? 'Cuz I'm a hot horny slut with BIG JIGGLY TITS!!!!" and then invite all the ladies in the audience onstage for a wet t-shirt contest, I mean maybe it was fun if you were there but it's a real drag to sit there for 20 minutes listening to Guy Picciotti chanting "Wet Sloshy Jugs! Wet Sloshy Jugs!" Also the drummer Brendan Canty is a talented man so I don't know why he had to keep stopping in the middle of songs and refusing to continue until somebody came up and bought a t-shirt or poster. That wasn't very nice."
Did the coursework conclude the night wasn't good at all?
you were much luckier than i re make believe. in sunderland, bar independent, the toilets are next to the stage. the best place for sound quality is the toilets. it is a sad state of affairs.
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