Miscellaneous - ICA, London, 18/9/2010

by Anthony Strutt

published: 6 / 10 / 2010

...while on its second he watches slots from the Primitives, the Blanche Hudson Weekend and the Primitives

Article

Slowgun are the opening act on the Reverence Festival’s second evening. They are a two boy, two girl outfit. All the songs in their thirty minute set are short and spunky and, although they are London-based, their influences are largely American, having the vibe of bands such as the Throwing Muses, the Pixies and the Breeders. Their songs all end as a full-on feedback experience. The Blanche Hudson Weekend follow on from this. They are a band for musos. Front woman Caroline is really sexy, has a a great voice and knows how to front a noisy band. Caroline and guitarist Darren were both previously in the Manhattan Love Suicides. The Blanche Hudson Weekend carry on from where the Manhattan Love Suicides left off and are a similar blend of C-86 noisy guitar rock and the Velvet Underground. You couldn't really ask for more in a support band or even a headliner. They shone like absolute diamonds. Tonight’s headliners are the Primitives. It is great to have this Coventry band back after an absence of nearly eighteen years. When I first saw them in April after they initially reformed at the London Scala, they were, because of problems with the PA, vocally terrible. They are truly wonderful now, with crisp vocals from Tracy Tracy which kiss you all over and merge well with their crisp, fuzzed-up guitars. As well as the few shows that they have playing, they have recorded four new songs, two of which are covers. Originally they had Keiron McDermott on vocals, but when that didn't work Tracy Tracy took over and the rest is history. They have released eleven singles, three albums and at least eight compilations to date. Tonight is a celebration of that scene from the late 80s to the early 90s when the world wasn't so bad and we all had mashed up hairdos. Tracey looks stunning, as does the rest of the band, and the music tonight is tight, well played and a celebration of the good old days. We get singles in abundance, a lot from their first two albums, 1988’s ‘Lovely’ and 1989’s ‘Pure’, one from their final 1991 album, ‘Galore’ and some new songs as well. ‘Everything is Shining Bright’ opens the set and sets a fast pace. This is shiny indie pop at its best. ‘Dream Walk Baby’ is as catchy as ever. ‘I'll Stick with You’ is raw and edgy. ‘Through the Flowers’ causes the first mosh pit of the night, while ‘Nothing Left to Say’ has the best backing harmonies that you could wish for. ‘Never Keep a Secret’ is the first new song. Described by the band as being the Carpenters via the Velvets, it is an almost acoustic number with vocals from both Tracy and guitarist Paul Court. ‘Stop Killing Me’ and ‘Really Stupid’, both early singles on Lazy Records, are wild mosh pit numbers that force me to the edge as old men relive their youths again. ‘Empathise’ is an almost acoustic sing-a-long number, while ‘Summer Rain’ is soft and slow, Tracey's favourite track, ‘Sick of It’ follows. It is well delivered and Tracey thanks us afterwards for our nice moves. ‘Way Behind Me, Buzz, Buzz, Buzz’ gets the crowd wound up into a hot sweat. Another new number greets us in the form of a cover of Lee Hazlewood's ‘Need All the Help I Can Get’ which sits in well with the rest of the set. ‘Crash’ closes the main set and, like the last time when they were at the Scala, a couple jump up on stage and muck it up for them as they crash into Paul. Paul confesses that he can’t remember how it goes. Yeah, right, but then again maybe that is true. The encore is short and sweet and, consisting of ‘Fly Away to the Sun’, ‘Space’ and ‘You Are the Way’, gets the hot crowd hotter. Then they are gone in just over sixty five minutes. They blew us away and have us begging for more, so let’s hope the December dates they are proposing work out.