A really good night… on a Tuesday.
Not sure who the original support were going to be, but Glasgow’s Red Sands (some of whom were formerly in beat combo Figure 5) rose to the occasion and did an interesting, varied set of originals – obviously the Mod look could pigeonhole them a bit but let’s just say it was timeless pop-rock and was received quite well by a largish audience.
Betty had bought her ticket for this gig ages ago, after hearing headliners PSB on ye olde Janice Saturday morning slot, sadly departed now. With a retro-sampling and electronica schtick, it’s all been done before but it’s still fertile territory, especially as technology moves forward. ‘Nineteen’, back in the 80s, seems a bit crude now but sampling has moved on a bit and even a relatively lo-tech set-up can yield some amazing sound-collages in the right hands. The last truly good effort Betty saw would be Death in Vegas – ‘Dirge’, the accompanying visuals being truly chilling and a standard for any aspiring combo in this field.
So the combo set up, one drum kit (that is Wrigglesworth), plus the keyboards and samplers of J. Willgoose Esq, resplendent in a brown jacket and bow tie.
When they start it is loud, the visuals transmitted on a mock-ancient TV and similar backdrop (default is the BBC test-card) – the first song is a hymn to the post-war optimism of public service broadcasting technology, the synchronised hand-pointing by various paternalistic figures in suits drawing a few smiles.
The centrepiece tracks from this performance are from the ‘War Room’ EP, not exactly for the faint-hearted, and while mainly the pulsing sequencers, live banjo and guitar from Willgoose, and some deafening drum breakdowns and samples concern Britain at war, the set leaves room for some more Stateside-influenced sequences (dangers of driving fast, complete with Hollywood clips, odes to stereo sound etc).
There are echoes of Kraftwerk, Cabaret Voltaire, even Ministry at times, as the samples, tapes and visuals rumble and flicker along, although the peculiarly British public information films are probably the most effective: ‘London Can Take It’ having contemporary resonances while ‘Spitfire’ is just a piece of magic, complete with very heavy metal codas at the end of each verse. ‘If War Should Come’ is again threatening and reminds us of present dangers; not just all kitsch nonsense then. There is however plenty of that, and tributes to 60s fashion are very groovy and well put together (I think I spotted myself in there somewhere).
Willgoose keeps his end up incredibly, moving between the instruments and the witty electronic kiss-offs at the end of each number “we always wanted to play”… “Glasgow” and “thankyou”… “very” (decides if he will press the button again) “very”… “much” etc.
The encore track and new single ‘Everest’ is in some ways the weakest of the night, given that it is just about a mountain, no further agenda or angle, and then you remember that this is not quite a song, it’s a treatment of events, subjects have to be carefully chosen – in general, they are though, and this is the gig of the month so far for Betty.