‘Rock & Roll’ is dead
Suffering from a lack-spirited fearlessness, controversy and attitude, the withering genre of ‘Rock and Roll’ music is feared to be losing its roots and nearing its end
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Brixton Academy
December 2010
Duncan Casey
It turns out that the BRMC have been turning out their brand of stripped-down garage rock, more reminiscent of the New York scene than that of their native California, for a decade now. They’re one of those bands that you’ll probably know a lot of songs by, but you won’t know the name of – they’ve written a lot of the three-chord, XFM-friendly music that you never bothered to find out about. Still, they aren’t a bad night’s entertainment – the band, at the end of a long tour, put on a decent show and rattled through their back catalogue at machine-gun speed, complete with a pleasing (if incongruous) laser show. Reach for the lasers, man.
If anything, though, the speed was part of the problem. They can clearly play and play well, but their self-consciously minimalist style means they don’t seem to want to, substituting playing simple riffs at a million miles an hour for doing anything more complex or involving. It also meant that they cleared their set-list in a breathless sixty minutes before moving onto a forty-five minute encore, a crime more befitting Axl Rose’s bloated and monstrous ego than a self-professed no-bullshit rock band. Still, the bizarrely middle-aged crowd lapped it up, and even attempted one of the world’s slowest and most optimistic mosh-pits as the set reached its climax. All in all, a show for the dedicated fan only, but if you can check them out at a festival, where the short stage times might better suit their style, they’d be worth a look.
Wooden Shjips
Relentless Garage
December 2010
Peter Roberts
December brought Wooden Shjips to the Relentless Garage. Wooden Shjips are a Space/Drone/Psychadelic rock band hailing from San Francisco. This was my second time seeing the band, the first having been at Green Man in 2009. The band has an intelligent, spacey, zoned feel, but it’s not for everyone.
Perhaps the most immediately recognisable aspect of this gig was the facial hair. Solid efforts were made from all bands, but Erik “Ripley” Johnson of Wooden Shjips and Moon Duo brought this aspect of the night’s entertainment to a stunning climax, sporting a beard that would make Getafix the Druid proud. Dusty Jermier on the Wooden Shjips’ bass followed a similar line, modelling pigtails and a moustache reminiscent of Obelix.
Wooden Shjips were supported by Moon Duo and Howlin Rain, a band new to me, who played powerful guitar driven rock evocative of a 70s Lynyrd Skynyrd (but beards more of the Iron & Wine school). A quick search on Spotify for their name is well worth the effort.
The evening was appreciated by a crowd consisting of a surprisingly eclectic age range. Towards the end of the night, a small group of men dancing as though nobody was looking was seen to nucleate at the front of the venue, although the activation energy wasn’t reached for most not to remain content to bob their heads to the atmospheric drones and pulsating bass line of Wooden Shjips songs like We ask you to ride and Aquarian Time. The drones were embellished with catchy guitar riffs and the neatly placed keyboard work of Nash Whalen. The highlight of the act for me however was the energetic drum beat that accompanied song after song.
It would feel slightly wrong not to give a full picture of the gig, and it must be admitted that listening to drone rock for this kind of a period can give rise to quite a significant headache. It is not as though Wooden Shjips mindlessly bludgeon your head as one might with a pneumatic drill or similar blunt instrument, but cranial penetration is self-evidently achieved. Probably the best analogy is that of trepanning, since the drilling is accompanied with significant surgical skill and for some people may reach straight to their demons.
