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Livestream Review: AVATAR Ages – Age of Madness

Swedish metal band AVATAR venture into the world of livestream concerts with their ‘AVATAR: Ages’ series and put on a creative and powerful show.

A man stumbles out of the storm towards you. The rain covered windows show him advancing towards the house before the doorknob rattles.

Red letters fill the screen, announcing:

WHEN YOU CANNOT COME TO US

WE COME TO YOU

LET US IN

I SAID… LET US IN!

The door is kicked open and the man strides in wearing a long red coat, his face decorated with black paint. He strides through a room full of pink doors, another reminiscent of Twin Peaks with its red curtains and black and white floor, and discovers his fellow band members in the third room, AVATAR lighting up the wall behind them. Arriving at the final room, he descends on the red contraption in the centre with a maniacal grin.

With a crank of the handle, the first strains of Hail The Apocalypse can be heard and the show begins.

Lead vocalist Johannes Eckerström spends the song separated from his bandmates, guitarists Jonas “Kungen” Jarlsby and Tim Öhrström, drummer John Alfredsson and bassist Henrik Sandelin. Tonight is the aptly titled ‘Madness’ show, featuring songs from the Black Waltz and Hail The Apocalypse albums; the third of 4 livestreams throughout January, each focusing on different material from their catalogue.

The band put their love of theatrics to good use, wearing colourful circus style jackets and combining earnest playing with character performance. Eckerström is the ringleader of this demented troupe, chasing Alfredsson around the set and pushing Jarlsby into position for the start of Let It Burn. There is much synchronized windmilling of hair and Jarlsby and Öhrström complement each other with matching guitars.

AVATAR make full use of the various rooms at their disposal, changing location based on the tone of the songs. Eckerström unsettles and entertains you, displaying childish excitement, reckless abandon and aggressive ferocity. He carries a handful of balloons during fairground-inspired Black Waltz, performs a solitary piano version of the sinister Tower and plays a trombone with glee during Puppet Show.

This pandemic has had a catastrophic effect on our lives, and for many musicians their main source of income and their very livelihoods are struggling. At this moment in time, however, the band’s playing is accurate, passionate and full of joy – they are finally playing live again.

This catharsis and emotion is captured by Eckerström, who tells the audience:

“We’ve spent some time now feeling like the least essential workers there is, on this or any other planet. I guess there is no-one less essential than us. Still, to be perfectly honest, it feels pretty damn essential to us to get to do what we love to do.”

JOHANNES ECKERSTRÖM

Tonight we have access to a part of AVATAR’s weird and fantastical world, and it proves we need musicians to survive, now more than ever. They soundtrack our lives and a shared love of music means we support them in being able to do what they love. No longer being able to attend gigs in person makes livestream concerts crucial to the band’s survival, and for many people, myself included, their music makes our lives infinitely better.

AVATAR concluded their Ages series with their Age of Memories show on January 30th. You can find out more about the band on their website: https://avatarmetal.com/

Frances Butler

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Live Review: The Neutrinos and Birds Of Hell

(Originally published in Outline.)

The Neutrinos played their first ever gig in the now-defunct Fat Pauly’s in 1998 – and have been bravely pioneering their art-rock sound and unique live experience ever since. Fellow musician Peter Murdoch’s Birds Of Hell, originally conceived as an acoustic solo project, are playing tonight as a full band. Whilst both acts have 20 years of experience under their collective belts, tonight is a fresh opportunity for them to continue pushing sonic boundaries, promoting their new singles.


The night begins with a set which is atmospheric, energetic and surprising – an apt description of Birds Of Hell’s electronic, guitar driven and sometimes comedic catalogue. Quirky stage outfits seem to be a penchant of theirs, as although the set starts with several band members wearing matching shirts, it later evolves into striped sweatbands with Murdoch relating some of the many reasons – such as terrible hangovers – we tend to avoid strenuous exercise (or anything that could be construed as sport), whilst ferociously pumping his arms in a red tracksuit. A fine example of their genre blending ability is the performance of new single ‘Do I Get to Ride on a Unicorn?’ The original track features Murdoch’s mother singing, but this time Neutrinos’ frontwoman Karen Reilly provides the vocals, as well as two tambourines.

Photo: Frances Butler


The Neutrinos have performed everywhere from animal hospitals to a sold-out residency at London’s Royal Festival Hall, and played in complete darkness at The Sainsbury Centre. Having previously described Norwich Arts Centre to Outline as a “home away from home”, tonight they are on familiar ground for their ever unfamiliar show. They open with the smallest of sounds: a slow and steady bassline from Jon Baker; the ringing of a Bakelite phone on one side of the stage; and the band move as little as possible. Karen remains stationary as the song builds up and then back down again; lulling the audience into a false sense of security before letting loose with a wall of sound. It’s difficult to place them in any one genre – they remain constantly fluid, moving from electronic to funk and back again, full-fledged rock to quiet, softly sung vocals.


Whilst it’s clear they are all accomplished musicians, it’s Karen who commands the audience’s attention, whether in a literal sense – throwing metal plates and cups into the crowd because they “make a great noise” and asking them to throw them back before the song ends – or just by allowing herself space to breathe after the end of a particularly energetic song. In contrast to the polarity of the rest of their set, and after repaying the favour by inviting Birds Of Hell on stage, their closing song is calm, retrospective and a little melancholy – with only Karen’s vocals and some isolated piano notes from Baker.
Throughout the night, the mutual respect between the two bands becomes clear when they share the stage, feeding off each other’s energy and championing each other’s work. I went into this show with open eyes and ears and left feeling inspired, impressed and a little confused – but in the best way. One thing is for certain: a Neutrinos show is never what you expect it to be – and the only way to discover that is to go and experience it for yourself.

Photo: Frances Butler

Words and photos: Frances Butler

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Sunglasses, Tesco bags and saxophones: Wild Paths Opening Night

It’s the opening night of new Norwich festival Wild Paths, based across multiple music venues and including both emerging and established artists. The recently re-opened Voodoo Daddy’s Showroom, formerly known as Bermuda Bob’s, plays host to three different local bands.

 

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   The three members of Front Bangs opening the show.

Photo: Frances Butler

  Three-piece outfit Front Bangs, comprising of vocalist and guitarist Bradley Brown, bassist Richard Cully and drummer Alex Kennett, are tasked with not only opening the show, but also opening the festival – and do so in style, all clad in patterned shirts and sunglasses. Despite several sound issues they succeed in starting off the first dancing of the night. Sporting influences from grunge to blues they build a good relationship with the crowd through their lively performance. New song ‘Milson’s Theme’ is well received, with Bradley drawing attention to recent release of their accompanying music video, which involves them wearing cycle helmets and terrorizing petrol station staff.

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   Bag of Cans bring their unique brand of humorous lyrics to the stage. 

Photo: Frances Butler 

DIY jokers Bag Of Cans begin their show with vocalist and trumpet player George Baker hawking their newly-made badges to the crowd, whilst dressed in a boiler suit. Although their performance is hampered by a broken string on George Bryce’s guitar, Bradley of Front Bangs loans his own as a replacement: the rest of the band (guitarist Tom McGhie, bassist Sam Watts and drummer Joe Wilson) play Queen’s ‘Another One Bites the Dust’ in an appropriately humoured tribute. From opener ‘Clean as a Whistle’ to the staple ‘bag solo’ from the band’s mascot – a literal bag of cans, affectionately named “Baggy” – the band puts on an energetic show, responded to enthusiastically by fans, friends and strangers alike.

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 Millie Manders and Dom Walker display their skill with the saxophone. 

Photo: Frances Butler 

 Headliners Millie Manders and the Shutup explode onto the stage. Their mix of punk and ska influences instantly gets the audience moving, with ‘You’re So Pretty’ serving as an example of their passionate performance. Millie herself comes across as a modern day Lily Allen, but punk – and with a saxophone. Her fierce attitude and expressive style is strongly responded to by the audience, which also includes her mother and sister. The diversity of her vocals and the band’s songs as a whole – performed enthusiastically by guitarist James Pendle, saxophone player Dom Walker, drummer Alessandro Vitello and bassist Georgina Boreham – becomes apparent with songs such as ‘Little Big Mouth’, featuring a ukelele, and the politically charged ‘Lollipops’, focusing on the impact of war on young children. Millie makes a powerful statement when introducing new song ‘Silent Screams’, encouraging others to speak up about mental health issues and open up to those around them. They end the night with an animated rendition of ‘The One That Got Away’, cementing their status as a band to watch out for.

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Millie and the band draw the crowd’s attention with their distinct performance.

Photo: Frances Butler

  Front Bangs are due to play at Norwich Arts Centre on December 17th; Bag of Cans will be performing at the Waterfront Studio on February 21st; and you can catch Millie Manders and the Shutup at their album release show in April, at OPEN Norwich.

More information about Wild Paths festival can be found here.

You can find out more about each band below:

Front Bangs: https://www.facebook.com/FrontBangs.Music/

Bag of Cans: https://www.facebook.com/BagOfCansBand/

Millie Manders and the Shutup: https://www.facebook.com/milliemandersmusic/

Frances Butler

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“Black, queer, sword and sorcery”: Marlon James at the UEA Literary Festival

 

It’s a novel which draws inspiration from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, “truly defies all efforts of categorization” and has been labelled a “colonial-era catalogue of clichés” by The Guardian – but tonight Marlon James is here to talk about Black Leopard, Red Wolf in his own words.

UEA alumni and crime writer Tom Benn opens the conversation by asking James about some of his previous work. It turns out the author was already researching the new novel before winning the Man Booker Prize for A Brief History of Seven Killings – about the attempted assassination of Bob Marley – in 2015. As the first book of a fantasy trilogy that James has described as an “African Game of Thrones”, you might expect it to be meticulously planned out – but James says this isn’t the case.

“Once you start thinking about what you should write, then you’re in trouble.”

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A hardcover copy of Black Leopard, Red Wolf.

Photo: Frances Butler

  Drawing on a rich history of African mythology, the novel avoids a common fantasy trope found most notably in George R.R Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series: starting with the rise or fall of a royal house. As James tells Benn, when writing his characters, he wanted to start at the bottom rather than the top.

“I started at the street and didn’t really care about whether they got to the royal house.”

  He wanted to have a character who could explore the dirty, dangerous aspects of the world from ground level, which lead to the creation of the protagonist, Tracker. However, they do eventually get to the royal house. The passage James chooses to read aloud details the moment a queen meets the first light-skinned man she has ever seen. ‘Sandman’, as she calls him, has to have his words translated by Tracker and is stripped in front of the court, who are directed to laugh or gasp when deemed appropriate. Heavily inspired by Lewis Carroll’s Queen of Hearts, it shows how James’ writing manages to inject humour and wit into a situation with just enough dark, political undertones to make you uncomfortable. It could be seen as a comment on colonialism, racism or class: and James insists we have to remember those who have suffered – or are suffering – in order for progress to be made.

“Who’s lifting up that tower that you’re stepping on?”

Marlon James UEA LitFest

Marlon James signs copies of his books at UEA Waterstones after the talk.

Photo: @UEALitFest

  In a fantasy world described by Benn as a unique example of a “black, queer, sword and sorcery” narrative, James tackles the prominent issue of representation. Whilst unsure whether it can be labelled as an African novel, he believes “it’s the only context in which this book can exist.” African tales are not typically male-centric, and Tracker’s role as an unreliable narrator is similar to folklore tricksters such as Anansie the Spider. James points out to the audience that you don’t always have to write from personal experience, as he has heard people say they can’t write black people, as they don’t have any black friends. His response? “I don’t know any serial killing maniacs, but I’ve written one.”

  As the talk draws to a close, Benn asks James if any of the criticism towards Black Leopard, Red Wolf bothers him. Quite the opposite, in fact. Referring a to a particular comment made by The Guardian, he exclaims:

“Oh my goodness, I’m Heart of Darkness for gamers?! Can I get a t-shirt?”

Frances Butler

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Live Review: Curved Air at the Waterfront Studio

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Curved Air at The Waterfront Studio. 

Photo: Frances Butler

(Originally published for Concrete).

My father first discovered Curved Air’s unique blend of electronic, folk-influenced rock through a school friend as a teenager – a chance discovery that lead to his disbelief and excitement at us witnessing their live show together more than 40 years later.

Singer Sonja Kristina has been the only constant member since the band’s formation in 1969. Their debut album Air Conditioning was released in 1970, resulting in BBC Radio One sessions with John Peel and supporting slots with Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Jethro Tull. However, in 1976 – the same year they played at UEA – musical differences between band members caused their break up. Reforming in 2008, the band currently features guitarist George Hudson, bassist Chris Harris, drummer Andy Tween, keyboardist Robert Norton and violinist Paul Sax.

Tonight, the venue may not be filled to capacity, but it is full of people who have come here to see only one band, who humbly take the stage before showcasing exactly why their fans are still thrilled by their music. Early singles It Happened Today and Backstreet Luv are received just as well as new songs from the band’s most recent album, North Star, such as Images and Signs. Each band member appreciates the skill of the other, whether it’s during Sax’s violin at the start of Vivaldi, Hudson’s guitar solo or the emotion of Norton’s keyboard playing.

Afterwards the band take photos, sign merchandise and chat with their fans, acknowledging the decades of commitment their music has inspired. Whilst signing a CD, Kristina tells one fan: “I never would have thought in 1974 that I would be here with you!”

Frances Butler

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Live Review: Black Stone Cherry at The LCR

(Originally published for Concrete). Please note: The original top photo used for Concrete has been replaced with my own from the gig.

Proudly hailing from Kentucky, Southern rock band Black Stone Cherry formed in 2001 consisting of lead singer and guitarist Chris Robertson, rhythm guitarist Ben Wells, drummer John Fred Young and bassist Jon Lawhon, when they were still teenagers. With their combination of hard rock, country and blues stemming from inspirations such as Elvis and Jimi Hendrix, the band are capable of delivering both mellow acoustics and hard-hitting riffs. The Experience Kentucky tour features no support bands and both acoustic and electric sets, bringing both the band and their fans together in smaller venues.

The band’s laid-back attitude and interaction with the audience stood out during the acoustic set. All sporting Christmas jumpers, when a fan interrupted, shouting a request for ‘Blind Man’, he had to answer a very important question from Ben: Star Wars or Star Trek?

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Black Stone Cherry at The LCR.

Photo: Frances Butler

  On a more serious note, finishing ‘All I’m Dreamin’ Of’, a song not usually played live but frequently requested by fans, Chris delivered a personal speech about mental health. He revealed whilst recording 2011’s Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea he attempted suicide, initially telling no-one. He urged his fans to ask for help, hammering his point home when he stated he never wanted to hear that any of their fans had taken their own lives, and emphasised he still has “to take a few tablets every morning to feel like myself, and there is no shame in that.”

For the electric set, opening song ‘Devil’s Queen’ from Folklore and Superstition was an unusual choice, as it wasn’t released as single, but made a strong impression on the crowd with its frenetic breakdown and driving guitars. From there, the crowd’s energetic reaction to newer singles ‘Shakin’ My Cage’ and ‘The Way of the Future’ proved that, after more than ten years as band, Black Stone Cherry’s fans are as enthusiastic as ever. The band like to have fun, too, including covers of Jimi Hendrix’s ‘Voodoo Child’ and ‘Whole Lotta Love’ by Led Zeppelin.

It was especially apparent how in tune each member was with the other; as Chris nailed his vocals and solos, Ben insisted on hyperactively charging and leaping around, pumping up the crowd and continuously swapping stage positions with Jon, who maintained a solid bassline, even playing using one of John Fred’s drumsticks at the end of the show. John Fred himself pulled off a powerful and frenzied drum solo, very possibly breaking a few drumsticks in the process, and paused to swing the microphone around and produce another instrument. Not enough cowbell? Have a harmonica. The show ended triumphantly on a raw, heavy version of crowd favourite ‘Lonely Train’.

When it comes to performing live, Black Stone Cherry are a band who know exactly what they’re doing, and they’re doing it extremely well. Whether they’re playing Wembley or The LCR, they are more than capable of putting on a unique live show: one that is simultaneously fun, emotional, energetic and fierce.

Photos and words: Frances Butler