Miscellaneous - June/July 2005

  by Dixie Ernill

published: 20 / 8 / 2005

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Article

June Listening to records is great, but listening to live music is on a much higher plane altogether. This was bourne out perfectly on 12 June 2005 at Manchester University, when Scottish band the Trash Can Sinatras were the star turn. I’d always meant to go and see them live back in the early 90’s when they were first making waves on the music scene, but never quite got round to it and I was away when they played in Manchester for the first time in yonks in January 2005. It was, therefore, with a slight element of relief that I took my place in a smallish Sunday evening crowd in the smallest of the 3 University venues. I’d read some recent set lists on the band’s website, so knew roughly what to expect, but was under prepared for the sheer beauty of the songs live as they easily transcended their recorded selves. To be hit by two unexpected gems in the shape of 'Bloodrush' and debut single 'Obscurity Knocks' turned a memorable gig into something rather special. I was not (and probably never could be) ready for the encore. The one song of the Trash Can’s back-catalogue I’d always wanted to hear live and one they hadn’t played for nearly 10 years was suddenly being unfolded in all its majestic beauty. The opening bars of 'To Sir, With Love' sent a cold bead of sweat shooting down my spine and the nonchalant “I’m cooler than you” (even though I’m here on my own) expression on my face was instantly replaced by a river wide smile. Inside I let out a shriek of delight and figuratively sank to my knees and crossed myself like a World Cup winning goal scorer. I felt indestructible and wanted to beat a path to the door of the want I can’t have and declare my wildest desires, but, despite the proximity of her abode, I managed to regain composure and channel my surge of energy into spending every last pound I had at the merchandise stall on 3 CDs! Nothing else in June could quite live up to that rush, but for the record, I spent a fair whack on new release singles by Rebelski, Hard-fi, Blood Arm, Ambulance Ltd, Ordinary Boys, St Etienne, Departure, Garbage, Colour, Special Needs (check them out),Cribs, Little Flames, Be Your Own Pet, Feeder, Tears and the Mystery Jets. I also bought the much hyped debut by the Arctic Monkeys. It’s okay, but maybe I’m losing touch with the kids as I can’t quite see it. Much better are the debut singles by Leeds band, Lodger and New Yorkers, We Are Scientists. On the album front, other than the 3 Trash Can Sinatra’s CDs, the only one I buy is 'Brassbound' by the Ordinary Boys. I’ve played it once since, though their version of 'Rudi’s In Love' is quite superb and has been played regularly on a self-made compilation tape.      July July is relatively quiet by comparison, with less purchases and no gigs. The quality of releases, however, is fantastic - the Editors debut LP, 'The Back Room' is a cracker. A good LP has some great singles on it, but a top-drawer LP, like this, has some great singles that soon become the least favourite tracks on it! Go out and buy. Singles-wise it is hard to pick a favourite. Stuart Staples debut solo effort,'Say Something', from his debut LP is up there with the best of his work in Tindersticks. His LP doesn’t quite match up, but is still worth checking out. The Apartment’s second single is great and follows on nicely from a strong debut. The Bravery sneak out a very ltd live 7”'(Unconditional/ An Honest Mistake'), Interpol pointlessly re-issue 'Slow Hands' and Maximo Park unleash another belter ('Going Missing') from their debut LP. The Editors release 'Blood' and REM 'Wanderlust', both great tracks. On the new band front, Kooks, Cazals and Lodger all release catchy singles, while Paddingtons, Raveonettes and Five o’clock Heroes all disappoint slightly. Having considering everything, the best single would be a toss up between Idlewild’s 'El Capitan', which was released on two 7” singles. The acoustic version is simply sublime…………and Stephen Fretwell’s 'Emily' – how can you deny a song that starts with ‘You were never gonna change your mind, were you Emily’? I desperately need to fall in love with an Emily so that when nothing comes of it I can send her this single. That’s what music is about, isn’t it?          

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