You Voted For 'Em, Look At You, You Dirty Rat

Orbital and Sleaford Mods have collaborated on a new single Dirty Rat, a precursor to Orbital's new album, Optical Delusion, in February 2023. 

 

A big, dirty bassline, reminiscent of Leftfield's Phat Planet and Jason Williamson's opening lines, 

 

"People talk about the right way to live. 

Shut up, you don't know what you're on about! 

You voted for ' em, look at you, you dirty rat!"

 

...launching into a perfect - and perfectly timed - meld of beats and polemic. Even the briefest look at the news seems to offer up fresh examples of why this song is right on the nose.

Of course, Orbital and Sleaford Mods have previous, the Hartnoll brothers remixing the Mods' I Don't Rate You just over a year ago.

Orbital have been around over thirty years, Sleaford Mods ten, both still painfully, urgently needed today.

 

Daylight Dubbing

To mark Daylight Saving in the UK, with the clocks going back at 2.00am this morning (the cat woke me promptly at 3.00am), here's some Daylight Dubbing, courtesy of Augustus Pablo.

All but one of the tracks on today's selection come from The Essential Augustus Pablo, a 2CD set from 2006 that actually lives up to the 'essential' tag. The exception, the version of Nora's Dean wonderfully titled 1975 single Scorpion In His Underpants, comes from another essential collection, 2004's 4CD set The Bunny 'Striker' Lee Story.

Much of the music featured here either appeared as single A-sides or version B-sides  on Jamaican 7" singles in the mid-late 1970s, with a few by other artists featuring or produced by Pablo.

It's still dark outside as I finish writing this but an hour in the company of Augustus Pablo and friends and I feel bathed in Caribbean sunshine.

1) 555 Dub Street: Augustus Pablo (1975)

2) Skanking Easy: Augustus Pablo (1972)

3) East Of The River Nile (Single Version): Herman ft. Augustus Pablo (1971)

4) Up Waricka Hill: Augustus Pablo (1974)

5) I Am Alright (Single Version By Augustus 'Gussie' Clarke): Gregory Isaacs & Old Boys Inc. ft. Augustus Pablo (1973)

6) King David's Melody: Augustus Pablo (1979)

7) Let's Get Started (Single Version By Augustus Pablo): Tetrack (1978)

8) Islington Rock: Augustus Pablo (1978)

9) Memories Of The Ghetto: Augustus Pablo (1978)

10) The Sting aka The Scorpion: Augustus Pablo ft. Nora Dean (1975)

11) Black Gunn: Augustus Pablo (1974)

12) Crucial Burial: Augustus Pablo (1979)

13) Bells Of Death: Augustus Pablo (1972)

14) Our Man Flint (Single Version By Lee 'Scratch' Perry): Augustus Pablo & Lloyd Young (1973)

15) El Rocker's: Augustus Pablo (1974)

16) Pablo's Satta: Augustus Pablo (1975)

17) King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown: Augustus Pablo (1975)

18) Fiat 125 aka Cowtown Skank Version: Augustus Pablo (1973)

19) Unfinished Melody: Augustus Pablo (1977)

Daylight Dubbing (59:08)

What's The Prediction? I'll Betcha It's Friction!

Listening to the Ramones recently got me digging out more tunes from 1976 to 1978, leading to today's selection, spanning 19 songs and a smidge over 1 hour.

There are perhaps some obvious choices: Ready Steady Go by Generation X, Friction by Television, What Do I Get? by Buzzcocks, The Passenger by Iggy Pop. I've thrown in a few other singles, B-sides and live performances by Elvis Costello & The Attractions, Eater, Protex, Magazine and Joy Division (belated happy 65th birthday for yesterday, Stephen Morris!)

 

I've also included a few choice album tracks by Ramones, The Clash, David Johansen, Talking Heads and Wire. Add to that a handful oddities and 'lost' tunes by Big In Japan, The Scenics and Adam & The Ants (covering Perry Como!) and it's enough to stir this sedentary sequencer of songs.

 

1) Ready Steady Go (Album Version): Generation X (1978)

2) What's Your Game (Album Version): Ramones (1977)

3) Tiny Steps: Elvis Costello & The Attractions (1978)

4) Thinkin' Of The U.S.A.: Eater (1977)

5) Catch A Falling Star (Unreleased Version) (Cover of Perry Como): Adam & The Ants (1977)

6) Last Gang In Town: The Clash (1978)

7) Confusion: Sparks (1976)

8) Cindy And The Barbi Dolls: Big In Japan (1978)

9) Friction (Album Version): Television (1977)

10) Touch And Go (Live @ Lesser Free Trade Hall, Manchester): Magazine (1978)

11) At A Later Date (Live @ Electric Circus, Manchester): Joy Division (1977)

12) In The Sun (Album Version): Blondie (1976)

13) Not That Much: David Johansen (1978)

14) Don't Ring Me Up: Protex (1978)

15) What Do I Get?: Buzzcocks (1978)

16) Stay Hungry (Album Version): Talking Heads (1978)

17) Do The Wait: The Scenics (1977)

18) The Passenger (Album Version): Iggy Pop (1977)

19) Champs: Wire (1977)

1976: Big Beat: 7

1976: Blondie: 12

1977: Leave Home: 2

1977: Lust For Life: 18

1977: Marquee Moon: 9 

1977: Pink Flag: 19

1977: Thinkin' Of The U.S.A. EP: 4

1978: David Johansen: 13 

1978: Don't Ring Me Up EP: 14

1978: From Y To Z And Never Again EP: 8

1978: Generation X: 1

1978: Give 'Em Enough Rope: 6 

1978: More Songs About Buildings And Food: 16

1978: Radio Radio EP: 3

1978: Short Circuit: Live At The Electric Circus: 11 

1978: What Do I Get? EP: 15

2000: Ant Box: 5

2009: Play + (Expanded 2CD Edition): 10

2009: Sunshine World: Studio Recordings 1977-78: 17

What's The Prediction? I'll Betcha It's Friction! (1:01:30)

The New Creation

Side 1 of a mixtape, compiled 7th September 1997.

Does it get much better than this? It's hard to believe that I recorded this cassette over 25 years ago, pulling together tunes that are now over three decades old. From the opening seconds of Farley and Heller's mix of Come Together, I'm transported and that feeling of euphoria continues for the next 45 minutes.

That wonderful moment when indie and dance came together and before the phrase "there's always been a dance element to our music" became something of a joke. Terry Farley and Paul Oakenfold are prominent on both sides of this mixtape, though it will be no surprise that Andrew Weatherall and Youth slightly had the edge for me.

Adam & Eve's remix of Your Love Takes Me Higher, from a freebie Record Mirror 7" single, is perhaps my favourite of the multiple mixes of the song. Adam & Eve are Jon and Helena Marsh, Helena joining Jon in The Beloved following Steve Waddington's departure.

 

The selection closes with World Of Twist covering The Rolling Stones, the second such cover on this selection. The explosion of the indie/dance crossover also meant plundering music history for songs to present to a new generation. The Beatles and The Stones were obvious go to bands, but artists from The Doors to The Monkees to Neil Young to T. Rex to Elvis Presley were all fair game, with variable results.

 

She's A Rainbow was first released as a double A-side with The Storm in November 1990 and scraped to #42 in the UK singles chart. The song was re-released as a standalone single in February 1992 with a pair of gorgeous remixes by Fluke but unfortunately only managed to get to #62. A much underrated band, much missed.

"The New Creation" isn't a nod to Alan McGee's label, although this compilation does feature a couple of Creation label mates (Primal Scream being one, the other's on Side 2). It's an ad-libbed phrase from one of the backing singers on I'm Free by The Soup Dragons. It's definitely there on the acapella version but I might have missed it listening back to the Terry Farley remix featured here. Either way, it felt like an apt title, capturing that feeling as the 1980s became the 1990s that something new and exciting was happening, musically speaking at least.

 

1) Come Together (12" Version By Terry Farley & Pete Heller): Primal Scream (1990)

2) I'm Free (Terry Farley Remix) (Cover of The Rolling Stones): The Soup Dragons ft. Junior Reid (1990)

3) Your Love Takes Me Higher (Depth & Desire Mix By Adam & Eve): The Beloved (1990)

4) The World According To Sly & Lovechild (Soul Of Europe Mix By Andrew Weatherall): Sly & Lovechild (1990)

5) Rave On (Club Mix By Paul Oakenfold & Terry Farley): Happy Mondays (1989)

6) Kiss Them For Me (Kathak Mix By Youth): Siouxsie & The Banshees (1991)

7) She's A Rainbow (7" Version By Martin Hannett & World Of Twist) (Cover of The Rolling Stones): World Of Twist (1990)

 

1989: Rave On EP: 5

1990: Come Together EP: 1

1990: I'm Free EP: 2

1990: The Fame And Fortune EP: 3

1990: The Storm / She's A Rainbow EP: 7

1990: The World According To Sly & Lovechild EP: 4

1991: Kiss Them For Me EP: 6

Side One (45:20) (Box) (Mega)

New York, Ice Cream, TV, Travel, Good Times

Long overdue on these pages, here's The Human League with a selection of 12" versions, remixes and re-edits spanning 1981's classic album Dare to their most recent (though hopefully not final) album Credo in 2011.

The selection kicks off with The Things That Dreams Are Made Of. I first came across the US-based blog DreamTime in the mid-2000s, where predominantly 1980s songs would be spliced and re-edited to create super extended versions. Sometimes they just didn't work, either due to using incompatible mixes or variable vinyl sources; sometimes, they hit the spot. I'd place The Things That Dreams Are Made Of in the latter category, taking elements from the Dare and Love And Dancing* versions to create nearly ten minutes of synthpop greatness. The blog is long gone, but DreamTime is still going strong on Soundcloud, currently featuring the likes of Simple Minds, Heaven 17, Kate Bush, a-ha, Talk Talk and David Bowie.

 

* Yes, I know that the latter is officially The League Unlimited Orchestra and not The Human League, but I'm not complaining.

 

DreamTime's re-edits pay homage to Razormaid and Hot Tracks (in turn inspired by 1970s innovators such as Tom Moulton, Larry Levan and Walter Gibbons) and I've included a couple of examples here. Steven Tucker (Hot Tracks) stretches out (Keep Feeling) Fascination whilst Art Maharg (Razormaid) remixes 1990 comeback single Heart Like A Wheel.

 

There are a few original 1980s extended versions, too: Love Action (I Believe In Love), co-produced with Martin Rushent, appears as the penultimate song on Dare and was segued with Hard Times on the original 12" single in 1981. The Sign first appeared on follow-up album Hysteria and was remixed by Nigel Walker for the 12" single B-side for Louise in 1984. Love Is All That Matters was released as the final single from Crash, produced and co-written by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, fresh from working with Janet Jackson on the super successful Control. It was a testing time for the band and fans alike.

 

The Human League's most recent album of new material was Credo, preceded by the single Night People in 2010. Again, there appears to have been a mixed response to the album and it didn't reclaim the commercial success of previous albums, but I like it a lot. Here, the legendary French producer Cerrone (who turned 70 in May - belated happy birthday wishes!) amps up the heavy disco sound of the original.

 

Last but not least, the intriguingly named T.O.E.C. - an acronym for Two On Each Camel, apparently - remix big mid-1990s hit One Man In My Heart, a rare outing for Susanne Sulley on lead vocals. T.O.E.C. are/was Swedish production duo Joakim Björklund and Sören Elonsson and when I hear this remix, I can't help but be reminded of fellow Swedes Ace Of Base and All That She Wants, not a huge surprise as T.O.E.C. produced a couple of tracks on the same album, Happy Nation.

 

I've never seen The Human League live in concert mainly because they had an annoying habit of playing in Bristol on or around my birthday, when I was otherwise engaged. They've just announced an open air concert at Dreamland in Margate in July 2023, featuring support from none other than Marc Almond. I've no plans to go, but it sounds fantastic.

 

1) The Things That Dreams Are Made Of (DreamTime Mix) (2007)

2) (Keep Feeling) Fascination (Digital Mix) (1997)

3) The Sign (Extended Re-Mix) (1984)

4) Love Action (I Believe In Love) (12" Edit/Album Version) (1981)

5) Love Is All That Matters (Extended Remix) (1988)

6) Night People (Cerrone Club Mix) (2010)

7) Heart Like A Wheel (Razormaid Mix) (1990)

8) One Man In My Heart (T.O.E.C. Extended) (1995)

1981: Dare: 4

1984: Louise (12" single): 3

1988: Love Is All That Matters (12" single): 5

1990: This Is Only A Test! Volume 9 (Razormaid CD): 7

1995: One Man In My Heart (CD single): 8

1997: Hot Tracks: The Edge Level 03 (Hot Tracks CD): 2

2007: The Things That Dreams Are Made Of (bootleg MP3): 1

2010: Night People (promo CD): 6

 

New York, Ice Cream, TV, Travel, Good Times (54:28)

Rejection, Abduction, Addiction, Protection

Side 2 of a cassette, compiling Bauhaus singles, recorded sometime during the summer of 1990 and featuring The Godfathers on Side 1.

 

When I turned 14, I went into my local WH Smith, clutching my birthday money and came away with a clutch of vinyl. I think several were bargain bin 12" singles (Heaven 17 was definitely one) to use up the "loose change" from my main purchase, the glorious double vinyl Bauhaus compilation, 1979-1983, which had come out a few weeks before.

 

My brother had a couple of the latter albums on cassette - The Sky's Gone Out and Burning From The Inside - and I'd heard enough to know I wanted more, even though I knew that the band were no more. 

 

1979-1983 was a beautiful articfact: the classic Bauhaus icon in shiny gold leaf, black background on the front cover, white background on the back. Opening up the gatefold sleeve, there was a central shot of the band by (I think) Mitch Jenkins, as well as a limited edition, numbered 4-page glossy insert featuring individual close ups of each member by Antoine Giacomoni. The inner sleeves contained an illustrated discography of Bauhaus, as well as off-shoots Tones On Tail, Dali's Car, David J (solo and with Jazz Butcher), Love And Rockets and even The Sinister Ducks. It truly was a thing of beauty.

 

Less than a decade and a half later, I ended up flogging it to Replay Records as part of a huge vinyl cull. Needs must, and all that. I wasn't too sad about losing the item itself: the booklet, though not lost, had long since detached from the main album. The white areas of the cover and inner sleeve were mottled with spots of mould from living in a succession of damp bedsits in the 1990s. The vinyl itself was crackly from repeated plays and less than ideal storage conditions. So, in fairness, I got a fairly decent price for it.

 

I've since recovered the music via various CD compilations and my teenage love for the band was reignited. I was gutted to see Bauhaus go out in Round One of the Knock-Out Stage of the ICA World Cup (by one point!) over at The Vinyl Villain last week, so here's a consolatory compilation from 1990.

 

I essentially cherry-picked the singles from 1979-1983, presenting them in chronological order by release date, albeit with a few version variations. The compilation swapped the 1979 debut single, Bela Lugosi's Dead, for the live version from Press The Eject And Give Me The Tape. I didn't actually hear the original until I bought the 1998 compilation Crackle, so the 1982 live performance has remained the definitive version for me.

 

Kick In The Eye preceded The Passion Of Lovers as a single in 1981 but was re-mixed and re-issued on the Searching For Satori EP the following year. This is the version that was featured on 1979-1983.

Both Ziggy Stardust and Third Uncle were recorded for the David 'Kid' Jensen show on BBC Radio 1 on 1st July 1982 and broadcast on 22nd July 1982 and subsequently released as a single. The full length version of Third Uncle also opened penultimate album The Sky's Gone Out. The version on 1979-1983 was a single edit which appeared on the 7" single.

The 7" version of She's In Parties was also used for 1979-1983. There was an extended mix on the 12" single which is identical to the album version opening swansong Burning From The Inside. I had a copy of the 12" single and to stretch out the running time on the C90 cassette, I opted for this, doing a quick fade during the latter dub section when it looked like the tape was about to run out. I've recreated here for the sake of completeness.

I loved - and still love - the Bauhaus albums but looking at this selection, they were a pretty damn fine singles band too.

 

1) Bela Lugosi's Dead (Live @ The Old Vic, London, 24 February 1982)

2) Dark Entries (Single Version) (1980)

3) Terror Couple Kill Colonel (1) (Single Version) (1980)

4) Telegram Sam (Cover of T. Rex) (1980)

5) Kick In The Eye (Searching For Satori) (Single Version) (1982)

6) The Passion Of Lovers (Album Version) (1981)

7) Spirit (Single Version) (1982)

8) Ziggy Stardust (David Jensen Session/Single Version) (1982)

9) Third Uncle (David Jensen Session/Album Version) (1982)

10) Lagartija Nick (1983)

11) She's In Parties (Extended Mix/Album Version) (Early Fade By Khayem) (1983)

 

Rejection, Abduction, Addiction, Protection (45:40)

Fighting For Good

Robert Forster released a brilliant new single, She's A Fighter, last week. 

 

A couple of days before, he posted a news update on his website to explain the poignant background to both the single and forthcoming album, The Candle And The Flame. I'd recommend popping over and reading it before coming back to listen to the song.

 

There's also a short tour of the UK and Ireland in March 2023 to accompany the album release. My only shot for a nearby/weekend gig is Oxford on a Friday... which also happens to be St. Patrick's Day, so a guaranteed quiet night in town. Sooo tempted.

Popular Songs

Mrs. K and Lady K have jetted off to Amsterdam for a few days. I'm at home with an inconsolable cat and another Monday ahead, although I do have the prospect of a short working week and an extended weekend to compensate.

So what better way to banish the blues (and the torrential rain, thunder and lightning that's been plaguing Casa K since Saturday night) with some popular songs, some of which also qualifies as bona fide pop music?

Today's selection is therefore sampled from my Apple Music "Most Played Top 100", which has been assiduously charting every play since I plugged in my first iPod in the early 2000s. However, as mentioned previously, said chart was hijacked for a few years by the Lady K playlist, i.e. songs that were generally poppy, musically and/or lyrically upbeat and definitely, most definitely devoid of any effing and blinding. Apart from that time a Belle & Sebastian song slipped through.

The Top 100 obviously changes on a daily basis but the influence of Lady K's preferences, particularly during the infamous primary school years, has meant a disproportionate number of Queen songs and a #1 that may well never be surpassed in my lifetime. Oh, and Cha Cha Slide by DJ Casper, because she knew I hated the song. Having just viewed the video for the first time and seen the look of abject resignation on DJ Casper's face, even then realising that this would simultaneously be his musical peak and nadir, I feel nothing but pity for the guy.

I've cherry picked eleven songs, starting with the current #100, counting down to #1 and taking in Ian McNabb, David Grant, Bobby Gillespie, Andrew Weatherall, Björn and Benny, Agnetha and Anni-Frid and, delightfully, Edward Tudor-Pole.

 

1) Come On Eileen (Single Version): Dexy's Midnight Runners & The Emerald Express (1982) (#100)

2) All The Daughters (Of Her Father's House) (Long Version): The Icicle Works (1985) (#90)

3) Intuition (Album Version): Linx (1981) (#64)

4) Raspberry Beret (Album Version): Prince & The Revolution (1985) (#50)

5) Try, Try, Try: Julian Cope (1995) (#38)

6) Love Me Again (Radio Edit): John Newman (2013) (#31)

7) Loaded (Andrew Weatherall Mix) (Full Length Version): Primal Scream (1990) (#28)

8) Addicted To Music (Joey Negro Mix By Dave Lee): Subsonic 2 (1991) (#24)

9) Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) (Long Version): ABBA (1979) (#10)

10) Swords Of A Thousand Men: Tenpole Tudor (1981) (#3)

11) Feel It Still (Album Version): Portugal. The Man (2017) (#1)

Popular Songs (44:59)

A Dream Last Night

On Wednesday night, I saw Angel Olsen live in concert at The Forum in Bath. Aside from the fact that the last couple of years effectively put paid to any gig-going, mid-week nights out have long been a logistical challenge and this was no exception. But you don't need a spoiler alert to know that it was absolutely worth it.

This was my first visit to The Forum, despite living a few miles from Bath for much of my adult life and even working in the city centre for several years. I nearly saw John Grant there on Hallowe'en night in 2018 - I had the ticket and everything - but a work crisis meant that I spent the night doing a sleep-in shift less than a mile up the road. I managed to miss John Grant twice more at The Forum in 2020 and 2021 and I wrote about the sorry tale last year. I've also written about my failed attempt to see Manic Street Preachers at The Forum last October but at least that story had a much happier ending, with the ticket going to good use.

So, fifth time lucky, right? Well, first I had to get there. I was unable to book time off work before the gig and I had a packed day of what turned out to be ennervating meetings in Gloucester but I managed to get away around 5.30pm. The city and in fact most of the routes out of Gloucestershire are currently infested with roadworks and temporary traffic lights and I also had to make a pit stop at home, so things would be a little tight. However, I was confident that I could get to Bath and into The Forum in time for the show's (seemingly ridiculously early) start time at 7.30pm. 

As a driver, I've got bad blood with Bath. When I was a 17 year old having driving lessons, I lived halfway between Bristol and Bath so it was always a toss up which way we would go (or how sadistic my ex-Army instructor was feeling) for a city centre drive. I found navigating Bath's one-way system a nightmare, trying to get in the right lane with 'Sarge' barking in my ear and tailgating frustrated drivers honking their horns behind me. It's a minor miracle I passed my driving test first time.

Having to travel through the city for work, I also came a cropper with the complex network of lanes and routes that had time-restricted access for buses and taxis, once getting a CCTV capture and a fine for driving through a road 10 minutes before it had opened up for general traffic.

So, on Wednesday night, I intentionally made my way to a car park that was a little further away from the venue but easy to access on my route into the city. It was pissing down with rain on the drive in but I figured it was worth it to avoid the headache of trying to drive into the heart of Bath.

I made good time and I got to the car park around 7.15pm, only to find that it was full with no sign of anyone returning to their car to free up a parking space. Thirty minutes and four car parks later - all full - I was losing the will to live and convinced that I was going to spend the rest of my night driving around the city in an endless, hellish loop whilst Angel and her band played a blinding set, said their goodbyes and headed off, deaf to the primal screams coming from a circling car a short distance away.

I should have noted my comment above as it literally was fifth time lucky when I finally found a car park with spaces. It was just after 8.00pm, I was about 10 minutes' walk from The Forum, the rain was still coming down, but I didn't care. I was going to get to the gig at last!

I try to see the support act(s) whenever I can so I was disappointed that I'd arrived part way through Tomberlin's set, especially as I'd never heard of her or her music before. Performing solo with an acoustic guitar, a clutch of songs that sound simple structurally speaking but sincere and heartfelt and between song banter that hovers between on-stage nervousness and slacker laidback, may not sound like much. However, Tomberlin was an engaging performer, drawing the audience in with at-times hushed vocals that would then unexpectedly soar skywards. I liked her a lot.

 

She closed the set with idkwntht, the acronymic title track of current album i don’t know who needs to hear this..., encouraging the initially reticent audience to participate in the song's circular call-and-response. A great finish to an impressive performance from Tomberlin and I was glad not to have missed it entirely.

 

A brief interval whilst the crew set up for the main show gave me a chance to properly look around at my surroundings. The Forum is a old-school theatre set up, with a stalls/standing area in front of the stage, which is where I was for the night. The venue wasn't full and I don't think that had changed by the time Angel Olsen took to the  stage, but there was a healthy, lively buzz in the standing crowd at least.

The house lights went down and the band entered from stage right just after 9.00pm, a six-piece resplendent in coordinated colours: violin (red), cello (pink), bass (yellow), guitar (blue), keyboards (green), drums (purple); last but not least Angel herself (orange blouse, black jeans). Guitar strapped on, not a word spoken and straight into Dream Thing (from current album Big Time), itself eschewing a musical intro and opening with

 

I had a dream last night

We were having a fight

It lasted 25 years

It was a waste of fears

The album's title track is dispensed with immediately afterwards and two further songs from Big Time follow. In fact, the current album dominates the 14-song set, with 8 of the 10 songs bookending the 90 minute show. I've played Big Time lots this summer so I was very familiar with the songs and loved what I was hearing.

I'm a late comer to Angel Olsen's music, only starting with the digital box set Song Of The Lark And Other Far Memories last year, so the mid-section was interesting for me in featuring a clutch of songs from previous albums. Shut Up Kiss Me, a song from 2016's My Woman, was new to me, a rousing, urgent follow on from the two more downtempo songs that had preceded it. Next up was All Mirrors and Lark, the live performances echoing the richer, fuller sound of 2019's All Mirrors album rather than the stripped-back versions on 2020's companion album Whole New Mess. Then it was back to Big Time for another quartet of songs, ending with All The Good Times.

Like me, the audience didn't appear to be moving a great deal - a bit of swaying, maybe - captivated by Angel's performance. There wasn't a much in the way of between song chat with the audience and at one point, in a smiling nod to the hushed, pin-drop throng, Angel told us to "shut the fuck up". But the songs spoke for themselves, wrenching loss and heartbreak paired with a musical heft that added to the emotional weight of the songs. Angel alternated between guitar and keyboards and the band were really tight throughout.

I think the set was supposed to have closed with Chance, another selection from All Mirrors. However, hearing a shouted request from the audience and checking with her band, Angel finished off with Sister, from My Woman. I'd never heard the song before though it was clearly a fan favourite judging by the crowd's reaction, and it was a perfect end to the main set.

After a stage exit, raucous clapping, cheering and stamping of feet, the band came back on for a final encore. Angel is no stranger to a cover version: her take on More Than This by Roxy Music featured in the Angel Olsen selection I posted in July; last year's Aisles EP featured reworks of five 1980s pop classics. The song choice this time was Without You, originally written and recorded by Badfinger in 1970, though better known for Harry Nilsson's version a year later. Mariah Carey also bludgeoned the song into submission with her vocal gymnastics in the mid-1990s. Thankfully, Angel's more restrained/constrained performance of Without You sailed closer to the 1970s than the 1990s and was boosted by a choral duet with a returning Tomberlin. I'm not a huge fan of the song, but even I felt moved by it all.

 

Everyone left the stage for the final time, the house lights went up and the audience rapidly made their way to the exits. It was still raining on the drive home but I had Angel Olsen's music blasting from the speakers and all was well with the world.

 

You can find the setlist from the Bath gig here. As it's very heavy on songs from the current album, I decided to mix things up slightly for today's selection. I've cut the number of songs from Big Time from eight to four and I've inserted a few older songs that Angel performed on previous dates on the Big Time European tour. I've kept them more or less in the same 'mid-section' running order, so you get 12 songs in just under an hour. I've also included the recently released single version of Big Time, now a duet with Sturgill Simpson and providing that little push over the cliff into country, to great effect.

This was one of only three shows in England; Angel was in Scotland last night and Ireland tomorrow night before the Big Time tour resumes in the USA in January. Admittedly, I felt absolutely knackered the following day (and Friday too, if I'm honest) yet I wouldn't have missed this night for the world. 

 

I might need to stick to weekend gigs in Bath in future, though. Getting there was a nightmare...!

 

1) Dream Thing (2022)

2) Big Time (Single Version ft. Sturgill Simpson) (2022)

3) Shut Up Kiss Me (2016)

4) Forgiven/Forgotten (2014)

5) Give It Up (2016)

6) All Mirrors (Album Version) (2019)

7) Not Gonna Kill You (2016)

8) Lark (Album Version) (2019)

9) Go Home (2022)

10) All The Good Times (2022)

11) Chance (Album Version) (2019)

12) Sister (2016)

2014: Burn Your Fire For No Witness: 4

2016: My Woman: 3, 5, 7, 12

2019: All Mirrors: 6, 8, 11

2022: Big Time: 1, 9, 10

2022: Big Time EP: 2

A Dream Last Night (54:45)

I Know Who Needs To Hear This...

As a spoiler/taster for Sunday's review of a gig I went to on Wednesday, today's post features the support act, Tomberlin.

 

There'll be a few words tomorrow about Tomberlin's performance, although I didn't get to see all of her set, for reasons which will become clear. Having had good intentions to write about a support act previously and failed dismally - poor Orbury Common, who have been waiting patiently since I saw them support Katy J Pearson back in September - I didn't want Tomberlin to suffer the same fate.

This bit is from Tomberlin's bio on her official website:

T

Sarah Beth Tomberlin [is] a pastor’s kid born in Florida, raised in rural Illinois. She wrote the majority of her debut while living at home. For a while after leaving home and church, she lived in Louisville, Kentucky. She worked a day job and kept writing songs. She posted some of these songs to Bandcamp, which led to her signing a record deal with Saddle Creek, and her debut album, At Weddings. It all happened fast: Less than a year after her first live show, she performed on Jimmy Kimmel and she ended up moving to L.A. which is where she wrote Projections (2020), her EP followup to At Weddings, though she recorded it in Philadelphia.

 

During the pandemic, Sarah Beth was all over the place, physically and mentally. Louisville. Los Angeles. Back home in Illinois for a bit. Brooklyn, where she’s now settled, she says. Brooklyn is also where [current album i don’t know who needs to hear this...] was recorded.

As far as I can tell, there have been four singles/videos from the album since it was released in February 2022, the title track/acronym idkwntht, tap and sunstruck - song titles all intentionally lower case, indicating the soft, understated music within. I've chosen the video for second single, happy accident, as Tomberlin shared an entertaining anecdote on stage about freezing her ass off for her art, wearing chainmail and carrying a sword around. The video is a beautifully shot and edited visual treat.

To give a flavour of Tomberlin's live performance, I've found her Tiny Desk Concert for NPR Music from June 2019. Tomberlin performed solo on Wednesday but the acoustic structures, vocals that soar from hushed lows to effortlessly scaling heights and the between-song banter are a pretty good indication of how she was on stage.

 

Stoned was another highlight of the few songs that I got to hear her perform and also features on i don’t know who needs to hear this...

 

 

I don't often buy from the merch stall at gigs, the occasional T-shirt, perhaps a CD, and Wednesday night was no exception. However, come the next Bandcamp Friday in November, a digital copy of Tomberlin's latest album will be on my shopping list. This support act slot was the first time I'd heard of Tomberlin or her music, but I'm looking forward to discovering more.