Wednesday 30 July 2008

Martha Wainwright - Live: 27th July 2008

It must be hard being Martha.

Firstly there’s brother Rufus taking an enormous amount of praise for his career to date and of course her parents Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle are music royalty to their fans too. Then you have Ms Wainwright and her brilliantly received debut album. Quite rightly standing outside on it’s own very accessible merit. But there a times when you wonder about the depth of her material and where she fit’s into the dynasty and beyond.

In the ‘zone’ and delivering a song like ‘Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole’ from her debut for instance, she’s a wonderous mix of fragility and revenge. Equally thrilling with sublime covers from Pink Floyd’s ‘See Emily Play and ‘Stormy Weather’ originally from Rufus’ camptastic Judy Garland concert sees the set book-ended brilliantly but the interim is a hotchpotch of new material from her ‘I Know You’re Married But I’ve Got Feelings Too’ album and to be perfectly frank it’s not very good.

The sparser moments like ‘Far Away’, just her and acoustic guitar, work best but the songs aided by the fuller band are very hit and miss. There’s a slickness with the band that doesn’t seem to marry with the singer/songwriter moments and at times this feels like a lack of conviction and passion – it’s a simple fact that on stage alone Martha’s so much more vulnerable and mesmerising and as a result the songs seem more heartfelt.

She still seems at times to be finding her way, discovering her own voice – not an easy task with all the Wainwright history – the moments where she does catch fire are brilliant you just wish there were more of them.

www.marthawainwright.com
www.mekongdelta.co.uk

Tuesday 15 July 2008

Kyte, Sona Di, Mariposa - Live: 14th Jul 2010

Having seen Mariposa a fair few times I know how inspirational and challenging they can be to ‘get in to’. A cold venue with only a dozen other souls for company only adds to the challenge and tonight for all the intense layering and rhythmic building of their set by the time Holly and Matt are done, their crescendo ringing off the walls, I’m still not quite there. Mariposa’s music I’ve found relies heavily on context, and personal mood where I’m concerned and tonight that bit of chemistry just wasn’t apparent. I blame myself.

Sona Di are a trio who you feel are still defining their own sound. They produce a set tonight which is very familiar to anyone aware of the post-rock bands like Explosions in the Sky or Mogwai for instance and whilst they’re rough and raw and undisciplined – in a good way – they don’t simply ape these bands. Tonight I get the impression they’re trying to break into something different and attempt something new. I’m not sure what that might be and I doubt they’re too sure either right now but the potential is there all the same.

So tonight’s headliners are Kyte a five piece from Leicestershire who have already moved out to a wider consciousness despite very humble and gentle demeanours. The bulk of their set covers their recent self-titled mini album. Time doesn’t appear to be on their side as they seem to rip through the material whereas on CD the songs are given space to breathe a bit more. “Sunlight”, “Secular Ventures” and “Boundaries” are the standouts musically. The sparse crowd whoops and hollers enthusiastically and the band seem genuinely shy in receiving the applause but there’s some great material to come in future so that's definitely something they'll have to get used to.

www.myspace.com/kyteband
www.mekongdelta.co.uk

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