Michael Gira's Angels of Light and Akron/Family, ULU The Venue, 26th May 2005
Last night naturalbornkaos and I went to see Michael Gira's Angels of Light at ULU's The Venue. It was the first gig I've been to there, and I rather liked it. Good sound, although a bit loud for the small space, and a great view of the stage even from the back.
When we arrived there was hardly anyone there and first up was a bloke whose name I didn't catch, just him and his guitar and his effects unit. He made some pretty epic sounds for just one guy, but it was a bit samey and went on far too long. We think he actually got unplugged.
By the time he finished the hall was starting to fill up. There was the usual mix of the black clad and the serious young men but there was also a lot of wild men of the mountains in checked shirts and unruly facial hair.
Akron/Family came on next, featuring another two wild men of the mountains, plus a geeky looking hippy and a slightly more clean cut type on drums. They started off quite quietly, lovely harmonies and gentle sounds, and then suddenly they unleashed a wall of sound that actually made Chris and I jump. It was like the bastard offspring of the Beach Boys and Sonic Youth.
Unfortunately nothing they did after that grabbed me as much. They were a bit of an ensemble act, and I felt that having no proper frontman meant that there wasn't a clear focal point. They were also painfully earnest and wacky. Pleasant enough, but not for me. The last track "Raising Sparks" was much better, but overall they just weren't my thing.
(I should add that by this point I was in serious pain. I'd checked out the venue's website and saw that there were seats in the balcony, so I thought I'd be able to sit down and therefore didn't worry too much about my footwear, but the balcony was closed. (The Bush Hall gigs were also seated, they're just not jumping around gigs.) I was wearing trouser shoes with a little heel, comfy for general wear but not for standing for three hours. By the time Akron/Family finished I was in agony, and my back was starting to join in. This may have affected my enjoyance of the evening.)
After a short break Akron/Family came back, only this time joined by Michael Gira and wearing their Angels of Light backing band hat. Serious respect to those guys, doing two sets a night for six weeks and still giving a good performance.
I didn't enjoy the gig as much as I had the two solo gigs at Bush Hall, but it was a good show. I felt "Destroyer" was actually darker and more powerful in the solo gig, but "Michael's White Hands" did benefit from a full band. Those were the only songs I recognised all night, I don't remember hearing anything else from Everything Is Good/Please Come Home, but I wait to be corrected on that.
Even with my aching feet it seemed like quite a short set, possibly less than an hour. There was no messing around with going offstage for encores, he just asked "do you want some more" and then played one more Angels of Light song followed by "Blind" solo.
He did a couple of odd things during the show. He introduced one song (the title of which I didn't catch) by dedicating it to "my friend who loves children a little too much", and during another he kept spitting into the air above his head, which made me glad I was a good way back. I didn't know quite what to make of either of these things. Other than that he was charismatic and humorous as ever - "some of you are alarmingly good looking".
He hung around after the show to chat and sign things but Chris and I just headed home.
There was an email from Jarboe overnight "I am working with a booking agent in Europe for dates beginning this October. If you are a promoter and are seriously interested in booking me, please get in touch. I would love to play Brazil, Israel, Turkey, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, and Finland. I'd also enjoy performing again in London. If you can help facilitate any of this, get in touch !" (Hurrah!)
When we arrived there was hardly anyone there and first up was a bloke whose name I didn't catch, just him and his guitar and his effects unit. He made some pretty epic sounds for just one guy, but it was a bit samey and went on far too long. We think he actually got unplugged.
By the time he finished the hall was starting to fill up. There was the usual mix of the black clad and the serious young men but there was also a lot of wild men of the mountains in checked shirts and unruly facial hair.
Akron/Family came on next, featuring another two wild men of the mountains, plus a geeky looking hippy and a slightly more clean cut type on drums. They started off quite quietly, lovely harmonies and gentle sounds, and then suddenly they unleashed a wall of sound that actually made Chris and I jump. It was like the bastard offspring of the Beach Boys and Sonic Youth.
Unfortunately nothing they did after that grabbed me as much. They were a bit of an ensemble act, and I felt that having no proper frontman meant that there wasn't a clear focal point. They were also painfully earnest and wacky. Pleasant enough, but not for me. The last track "Raising Sparks" was much better, but overall they just weren't my thing.
(I should add that by this point I was in serious pain. I'd checked out the venue's website and saw that there were seats in the balcony, so I thought I'd be able to sit down and therefore didn't worry too much about my footwear, but the balcony was closed. (The Bush Hall gigs were also seated, they're just not jumping around gigs.) I was wearing trouser shoes with a little heel, comfy for general wear but not for standing for three hours. By the time Akron/Family finished I was in agony, and my back was starting to join in. This may have affected my enjoyance of the evening.)
After a short break Akron/Family came back, only this time joined by Michael Gira and wearing their Angels of Light backing band hat. Serious respect to those guys, doing two sets a night for six weeks and still giving a good performance.
I didn't enjoy the gig as much as I had the two solo gigs at Bush Hall, but it was a good show. I felt "Destroyer" was actually darker and more powerful in the solo gig, but "Michael's White Hands" did benefit from a full band. Those were the only songs I recognised all night, I don't remember hearing anything else from Everything Is Good/Please Come Home, but I wait to be corrected on that.
Even with my aching feet it seemed like quite a short set, possibly less than an hour. There was no messing around with going offstage for encores, he just asked "do you want some more" and then played one more Angels of Light song followed by "Blind" solo.
He did a couple of odd things during the show. He introduced one song (the title of which I didn't catch) by dedicating it to "my friend who loves children a little too much", and during another he kept spitting into the air above his head, which made me glad I was a good way back. I didn't know quite what to make of either of these things. Other than that he was charismatic and humorous as ever - "some of you are alarmingly good looking".
He hung around after the show to chat and sign things but Chris and I just headed home.
There was an email from Jarboe overnight "I am working with a booking agent in Europe for dates beginning this October. If you are a promoter and are seriously interested in booking me, please get in touch. I would love to play Brazil, Israel, Turkey, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, and Finland. I'd also enjoy performing again in London. If you can help facilitate any of this, get in touch !" (Hurrah!)