A great evening. £10 plus booking fee for a pretty good support as well (BM arrived towards the end) but Sara Lowes sounded pretty good, keyboard-driven chords plus a full band.
The intermission was lively with chat and a buzz was building up. This gig had been moved from the CCA to the larger Art School, and it looked pretty rammed. The AS venue is always crowded at the back but actually fine at the front if you mince down on the right side of the hall, around the punters, like BM did.
Field Music are from Sunderland and in a best part of ten years career they have mutated in various different but interesting directions. FM 2016 are promoting new album ‘Commontime’, which has some very funky elements to it and could do quite well.
The band were relaxed and joking with each other when they arrived onstage around 8.45pm. They are a five piece, with the drummer alternating with the guitarist on vocals for a handful of songs. BM understands that these guys are brothers, they certainly had a bit more fraternal love than the Gallaghers currently have, no wibbling rivalry onstage tonight.
From the off this was infectious, taught, tight music. BM was thinking “I am Prince, and I am funky”, circa 1994. There were also some amazingly close harmonisation and vocals going on. In the audience people were enthusiastic, but not dancing or really reacting, with one notable exception. We will call him Bearded Man, although this does not really narrow it down at the Art School, despite even the dogs in the street knowing that beards are OVER…
So they moved through the gears, giving their female keyboard player a lead vocal spot on one song, approaching at times BM godheads Talking Heads, (you won’t hear a more positive comparison, in fact don’t think that BM has ever compared anyone to that, most bands are just not worthy).
Bearded Man became even more vocal, words were had by friend of keyboard player and security, and he was told to shut up. BM felt a bit sorry for him, just enthusiasm really, but yelling “C’mon the Machars” at every opportunity could possibly be a bit off-putting, BM thinks he meant “Mackems” but the phrase got mangled in his beard.
BM is not familiar enough with this band’s oeuvre to go through all the songs but a particular highlight was ‘Disappointed’ from the ‘Commontime’ album, really a band at the peak of their powers. They played one song as an encore (an oldie BM thinks) and, looking pretty pleased with how things had gone, they were off around the back of 10pm, good result for a schoolnight and bus back/ironing smalls etc.
‘Mon the Mackems indeed!