A solo project from Philip Taylor of PAWS, Coping Mechanism played for a good half hour, starting with a wee keyboard then moving to sampler, guitar and electronic percussion, with a couple of vocal lines as well. Some of the equipment was actually loaned to him by Ben Power aka Blanck Mass, and the overall sound was reminiscent of Blanck Mass fused with Mogwai… Very interesting stuff but nothing that BM can see online yet, but defo one to watch.
So next up was Adam Stafford, playing mainly material from his new ‘Bothy Tapes’ release, starting with a keyboard that he tinkered with for a good 15 minutes, then onto guitar. Stafford is one of the most singular and original artists working here in 2019 and it takes a lot of guts. The venue was not quite full but BM got the impression that pretty everyone in the venue was loving it, and that is important.
Stafford’s music transcends genres and long may he do this, it is vital and important… some guy shouted “we love you Adam” and he spoke for all of us tonight….
The last song he played was from ‘Fire Behind The Curtain’, his amazing 2018 release – we all know he wants to power forward but some other back retro numbers would have gone down really well here as well…