Race Horses – Down At The Front

Bo Ningen and Race Horses

Paul Hudson — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 23:20:54 +0000

I saw Bo Ningen last week but I’d purchased this ticket for tonight’s gig at Hoxton Bar and Kitchen first. But because the gig at the Horn in St Albans is only a 10 minute drive from work, I thought I’d do both. Although good, I’d felt that with the small crowd and it being their first gig, it wasn’t as dynamic as some of their sets I’ve seen. Tonight’s set, saw them back to their best.

The evening started badly. Blue on Blue, who were last night’s support band, were also the support band tonight. I wasn’t impressed by them last night. They struck me as two music students who’ve spent too much time listening to Schoenberg who wanted to make electronic music using ‘prepared’ instruments but ultimately produced music that lacked personality. Hitting a guitar with screw driver, just didn’t work for me. Luckily tonight’s set seemed shorter.

The second support band, Race Horses were great. I’ve already seen Race Horses twice this year as headline acts and again tonight, they put in an excellent short set to an appreciative audience.

After a prolonged setup time and poor vocal levels during the first two songs, Bo Ningen eventually hit their stride. With a packed room and a more willing crowd and the advantage of having listened to their new album for the week. The songs seemed stronger and the band fully energised playing a more intense set than last week.

Race Horses

Paul Hudson — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 20:57:31 +0000

It Hugs Back

F.U.R.S

Race Horses

Paul Hudson — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:02:32 +0000

My first proper gig of 2012. A trip down to Madame JoJo’s in Soho, a new venue for me. Madame JoJo’s is a cabaret club during the rest of the week and every Tuesday it hosts a weekly indie night. The major surprise with the sound quality in the club. The sound had a ‘lo-fi”ness. This isn’t meant to be derogatory. The sound had a ‘valve’ sound and a character that really suited the club and benefitted the music.Tonight Race Horses were playing. I’d seen Race Horses at British Sea Power’s mini festival at Tan Hill Inn and enjoyed their poppy 70s sound. Support was from ‘The Cast of Cheers’.

Cast of Cheers

Race Horses

Sing Ye From the Hillsides II

Paul Hudson — Sat, 08 May 2010 16:54:36 +0000

My second encounter with British Sea Power in the space of a week was their three day mini festival ‘Sing Ye From the Hillsides II’, at the Tan Hill Inn. Tan Hill Inn is the highest pub in the UK, situated in the North Yorkshire Dales.

BSP had managed to put together a wide range of talent for the festival:

Friday

Goodnight Lenin, John & Jehn, Bo Ningen*, Race Horses*

Race Horses

Saturday

Sharp Tongues, My Sad Captains, Tom White, Basia Bulat*, Phantom Band, Kitty, Daisy & Lewis* and Modern Ovens

My Sad Captains

Tom White

Basia Bulat

Kitty, Daisy & Lewis

Sunday

Alessi’s Ark, Matt Eaton*, Rose Dougall, Erland & the Carnival*, I Like Trains, Metronomy

Matt Eaton

Rose Dougall

Erland & the Carnival

I Like Trains

and of course British Sea Power headlining the Friday and Sunday nights.

The whole weekend was fantastic, if a little cold. With Tan Hill’s staff doing an fantastic job of keeping the food and drink flowing. BSP’s choice of bands (ably helped by Mark Riley) was absolutely spot on. Although some of the music wasn’t to my taste, none of it was bad. Some, such as Rose Dougall had previously failed to impress me, yet here with a full band, worked. Matt Eaton without his band, preformed a random set in the bar accompanied by Noble that could have been a disaster, but turned out to be a refreshing ‘down to earth’ set. Everything just seem to work.

The standout performances for me was ‘Race Horses’ with their energetic indie pop sound. Tom White’s amazing performance where the stage wasn’t big enough for him, was a performance where even if you didn’t like his music, you couldn’t help but enjoy. Basia Bulat’s amazing voice helped the Americana inspired indie sound lift the audience (she’s Canadian). Probably the biggest surprise was the amazingly talented Kitty, Daisy & Lewis who brought us a big enjoyable slice of rockabilly. All the members of the band are from the same family, including Mam on double bass and Dad on Guitar. With the kids able to move between all the instruments, I wonder what home sounds like in the evenings.

Most of the bands were so good, that since returning, I’ve bought several of their albums (indicated by * in the lists above).

Moving on to the main event. British Sea Power played two sets. The First on Friday night and a second set on Sunday. Despite Sunday’s set being affected by a power cut, both sets were more than up to par. On both nights, the highlights were the fantastic encores. Sunday’s included Yan and Noble crowd surfing and then hanging from the rafters during the energetic 20 minute performance of Lately.