The Leisure Society / Dan Michaelson - Cambridge Junction 2 - 25 Feb

Saturday night music starts off with Dan Michelson and the Coastguards (well Coastguard, ‘Horse’ as he's known in the band). Dan is a very talented songwriter, who plays in the band Absentee (currently “on a long lunch”) and well as producing a number of solo albums. Sudden Fiction is the latest gem. 

Dan has a deep sing voice and when I say deep, let’s just say he makes Leonard Cohen sound like a soprano. The songs all carry emotion and require concentration so you do find yourself getting drawn in quite quickly. A sizeable and very quiet crowd listened intently for an all too short 30 minutes set. 

This Leisure Society date should have been here last October but, a prestigious support slot on the Laura Marling tour meant the rearrangement. A Christmas show at the Barbican with a 30 piece Orchestra meant that the band are brimming with confidence on this tour.

A bitter Monday evening ... a church filled with half tramp / half hipster figures ... an absence of women is notable. Apparently this was a rendition of Ravedeath 1972 but I would have no idea, as have often tried to 'like' Hecker's output, but so far not persuaded. But a gig in a church is hard to refuse. 

Lights out, hush, street lights through stained glass ... a slowly building cloud of vibrato pipe organ via a multitude of effects pedals (I guess) resulting in a quite beautiful undulating fuzzed up noisy mass ... for my liking the extended peaks of deep bass driven drones could have been even louder, but that would be straying into pure noise ... but then who doesn't like pure noise ... 

'Too many notes ... ' on occasion in my opinion, but the majority of the 45 minutes or so of rising, swelling, falling, wheezing, distorted, maltreated organ sounds, with a little decay / echo in places were quite a joy.  Not so sure those fans expecting his more ambient efforts would have appreciated the sometimes almost industrial evening.  Certainly, an event if not, a concert.

Martin

We weren’t at the venue in time for Gil Karpas, but the main act, Ana Silvera, was highly anticipated, after high praise for her from the ‘Late Junction’ on BBC Radio 3. The small and intimate show, at the Cambridge Junction 2, featured Nick Mulvey (ex Portico Quartet) as the co-headliner. 

With a wonderful voice - clear, clean and crisp - perhaps as a result of her teenage years performing with the English National Opera, classical training seemed to be evident in Ana’s performance.

Ana played keyboards and an occasional guitar, and was accompanied by another vocalist and a cello player. She varied throughout her fifty-minute set, starting with nervousness, then at points being rather too ‘high art’, but also bringing really touching moments into some of the songs.

Certainly when harmonising with her compatriot on stage, the vocals had added depth. Imogen Heap and perhaps Rachel Sage (with less flamboyance) would be a loose starting point sound wise. Some songs I thought were perhaps more suited to a stage show rather than a gig, but Ana certainly has musical talent. Upcoming dates with the Estonian Television Girls’ Choir and Imogen Heap should provide a perfect setting.

In February 2011, Ana wrote and performed a seven-part song cycle with the Roundhouse Experimental Choir and we were treated to a song from that, as well as her new record which is on the horizon. The debut album, 'The Aviary' is released on 12th March and it will, on reflection, be interesting to hear the studio versions of these very ‘wordy’ songs.

A cold wet and dark Monday night, but a trip to the bright lights of (The Cambridge) Las Vegas, well the bright lights of the Cambridge Leisure Park for a evening’s entertainment from King Creosote, Jon Hopkins and Withered hand was a must. 

In the (previously mentioned) lovely intimate Junction 2 venue, the evening kicks off with the return to Cambridge (“it’s all a bit fuzzy”) after 20 years of Withered Hand. Yes, alas Woolworth’s and its photo booth are no more but, that does not detract from some great songs “stripped naked” down to voice and acoustic guitar.

All of Darren’s songs have ’sing at the top of your voices’ sing-a-long lyrics and his fun interaction with the crowd means the night gets off to a great start.

A short gap and then it's the turn of King Creosote and Jon Hopkins to delivered a serious, powerful and sublime complete run though the album ‘Diamond Mind’. No talking from the stage or audience, the song are delivered with much grace and patience.

Being such a small venue you can hear every change in pitch as Kenny sings, every piano note played by Jon. As each song fades gently away, the audience is still to the very, very last note, so that they can capture every moment. Really, it’s just a stunning 30 minutes.

Once Diamond Mine is completed, the reverent spell is happily broken and the fun begins.  A “muck around” though some ‘greatest hits’ over the next 45 minutes is superb. Much humorous banter between songs with on the road stories and more. A cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s 'The Only Living Boy in New York' even appears during the set.

It’s like watching two separate concerts and the evening is rounded off with the affable threesome at the ‘Merch desk’ more than happy to chat with everyone.

Ahhh .. see .. Monday nights, can be special!

Pete

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