Gigs

May 25 2008

Mailmusic Reviews

CARIBOU *****

CABARET VOLTAIRE, EDINBURGH, MAY 21

There are few live shows as primal as the one played by Canada's Caribou. Actually the solo project of drummer and electronic musician Dan Snaith, he plays live with three bandmates to make a sound which is both noisy and textured.

Snaith plays odd little electronic folk tracks, which are looped using just his sampler and some lightly brushed drums. Mostly, however, Caribou make a wonderful racket.

She's The One, After Hours and the 60sinfluenced Melody Day were among highlights, as the flaring video backdrops made this stellar gig feel like an old-fashioned psychedelic happening.

John Kelly

ANIMAL COLLECTIVE **

ORAN MOR, GLASGOW, MAY 21

Animal Collective gave an unassuming set of their euphoric pop songs on this leg of their world tour, promoting latest EP Water Curses.

While the four-piece band has been described as 'psych-folk', the experimental blend of electro beats and screaming sounded far removed from traditional music. The band created a steady ambience on songs such as Grass but the extended versions of album hits all seemed to build aimlessly then sloppily die out.

Latest release Water Curses has a catchy pop appeal on record but there was a distinct lack of this saving grace live.

Leo Forde

FEIST *****

QUEEN'S HALL, EDINBURGH, MAY 20

So beloved is Leslie Feist in her native Canada that she had to spend a few minutes chatting to all the fans from her home country but after the love-in, she still got a huge roar from all the Scots in the crowd.

Best known for song 1234, which appeared in an advert for Apple, Feist is a master of writing quietly stunning pop ballads, and Mushaboom, My Moon My Man and the spine-tingling closer Let It Die all sounded great, while Sea Lion Woman brought a capable rock edge to the set.

To see Feist play a couple of songs in shadow behind a screen was an atmospheric touch. The fact that the shadow-play on the screen behind her was all being performed live by a shadow puppeteer was also a unique selling point of a perfectly memorable night.

John Kelly

THE CHARLATANS ****

ABERDEEN MUSIC HALL, MAY 19

Tim Burgess and the boys banged out an array of great tunes starting with the groovy title track from new album You Cross My Path.

New song Mis-Takes was a highlight with guitar riffs reminiscent of their early 90s style plus hints of New Order style beats. The Misbegotten was also laden with fine Hammond grooves and energetic singing. And a crippling, grinding bass started new song Bad Days.

One To Another sparked the crowd a light, and they remained on fire throughout their back catalogue, from Love Is The Key to the well-loved encore Sproston Green. Lesley Haw

PETER DOHERTY ****

BARROWLANDS, GLASGOW, MAY 19

Love him or loathe him, there is no getting round the fact that Doherty has a dangerous charisma most of his contemporaries lack.

Despite playing a solo show Peter Doherty - as he wanted to be billed - still managed to make this an entertaining rock spectacle.

He arrived on stage almost half an hour late and had to go off due to technical problems after a couple of songs but this made the gig seem all the rawer.

The crowd happily sang along to standouts such as What Katie Did, Can't Stand Me Now and Beg Steal and Borrow as his guitar-playing veered dangerously close to chaotic.

Monty Archibald

CADENCE WEAPON ****

VOODOO ROOMS, EDINBURGH, MAY 19

Part of an unheralded new wave of Canadian hip-hoppers, Cadence Weapon - aka Edmonton's Rollie Pemberton - creates thinking man's rhymes.

It's ironic that, where a lot of US hip-hop seems bloated and lazy, Pemberton's work is tight and precise - yet it's he who has to play a half-full small venue.

This set could easily have made a full arena sit up and take notice and yet it was only Pemberton and his super-talented DJ sidekick Weasel.

Pemberton's first song, Real Estate, was followed by dancefloor successes House Music, We Move Away and the Canadian hit In Search of the Youth Crew, which highlight a sublime lyrical talent.

John Kelly

IDLEWILD *****

CARNEGIE HALL, DUNFERMLINE, MAY 17

Roddy Woomble and pals had planned a sedate selection of songs but from the first bars of Paint Nothing the audience were on their feet.

What followed was nearly 90 minutes of vibrant, hook-filled indie-pop at this Tigerfest gig.

The pace dropped towards the end of the set with a rousing El Capitan, before the band were enticed back for an encore starting with an acoustic American English and closing with If It Takes You Home.

Miles O'Toole

THE PIGEON DETECTIVES ****

CARLING ACADEMY GLASGOW, MAY 17

"Enough of this soppy s****, let's have it," yelps singer Matt Bowman after the band perform their sole accoustic ballad of the night.

It's the cue to relaunch into favoured territory - sub-three minute slabs of catchy, guitar-driven pop. The Leeds band are unsophisticated but Matt has the tunes, energy and laughs to make him stand out from the art school crowd. As they close with I'm Not Sorry, the Academy is drenched with sweat - on and off stage.

Argento Da Silva

THE BEACH BOYS ***

PLAYHOUSE, EDINBURGH, MAY 15

These Beach Boys only feature one original member, singer Mike Love, although he is abetted by keyboard player Mike Johnston, who has been in the band on and off since the 60s.

At almost three and a half hours with interval, it's a great value show for nostalgia buffs. Yet Love's voice is most synonymous with the early days, when fun-loving songs Surfing USA, I Get Around and Fun Fun Fun established the Beach Boys as a first-class pop band.

The Pet Sounds era, when Brian Wilson almost single-handedly elevated the band far beyond being just a pop group, was brushed over with decidedly bland versions of a few key tracks such as God Only Knows and Wouldn't It Be Nice.

John Kelly