Loose Lips

Paul Hudson — Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:15:21 +0000

Featuring members of The Unknowns/The Chats, The Prize and Chubby and the Gang, this cheap as chips afternoon gig was a blast. Just good old fashioned straight to the point rock and roll.

The Cult of Dom Keller

Paul Hudson — Sun, 29 Mar 2015 22:28:59 +0000

I’d been looking forward to seeing the Cult of Dom Keller for over a year. I’ve had tickets to see them, but just kept missing them. Maybe, I’d been waiting too long because tonight I was left slightly disappointed. It’s not that the performance was bad, it really wasn’t. I would have normally been enthusiastic about such a performance. I’d guess I’d built up my expectations and was expecting the performance to be more dynamic than it was. Unfortunately, due to the late running, I had to leave before they were finished (annoying when there’s only two bands on the bill). So the performance might have built up over the last few songs. So don’t get me wrong. I’d go to see the band again.

Support was from M!R!M who were okay.

The Cult of Dom Keller

M!R!M providing support

Dead Forest Index

Paul Hudson — Sat, 06 Sep 2014 07:24:58 +0000

I saw Dead Forest Index support The Savages on their recent tour and have since signed to Jehnny Beth’s Pop Noire label. (and Jehnny spun some records tonight) They’re a band from New Zealand with a bewitching mournful sound and a band that’s become firmly embedded on my stereo. Tonight they play a new venue for me, the Waiting Rooms, a tiny little basement venue in Stoke Newington.
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The evening was off to a ‘interesting’ start with Ectopia. I suppose there music really falls into ‘performance art’ than music. Lots of noise and weird vocals, talking, shouting etc. Interesting to watch but the performance didn’t work for me.

Next up was Taigen Kawabe, the lead singer from Bo Ningen performing a ‘Japanese Sound Poem’. It just sounded like a wall of noise to me and unfortunately despite my love for Bo Ningen, I didn’t feel this experiment worked.

Unfortunately, despite there being a relatively early doors the gig ran late. So it was about 2230 when A Dead Forest Index came on. I hate when this happens. With the Waiting Room in the arse end of nowhere, I was reliant on buses to get me back to civilisation and not knowing the buses around that area you have to leave yourself enough time. So I only managed to catch 25 minutes of their set. Sometimes bands seem to get into their head that the only people at their gigs are Londoners so if there’s no curfew, it doesn’t matter if the support acts run over, they’ll just play later. I hate missing the end of sets I’m enjoying because of poor timing.

Rant aside, Dead Forest were again excellent. The sparseness of their music I find somehow intense. As the singer layers repeat loops of his androgynous vocals on top of each other building up layers of intensity, the excellent drumming gives the music the forward motion needed to drive the music towards an inevitable climax, you’re drawn in to the music.

I know at the Savages gig many of the crowd were left cold. But I find the vocals almost siren-like. They somehow get under my skin and are a times etherial and mournful and at other times, there’s a cold creepiness about them. But they never quiet seem normal.

Highlight of the evening was when the lads were joined by Gemma from the Savages to added layers swirling guitars to their already intense sound.

The Waiting Room – Down At The Front

Loose Lips

The Cult of Dom Keller

Dead Forest Index