Stefan Melbourne at Castle Hotel, 23th September 2013

02 February 2014 by · Write a comment · Categories: manchestertaper · Tags: , ,

 

Stefan Melbourne - Castle Hotel

still from manchestertaper’s video recording

With a UK tour pending and new EP awaiting release, it seems that now would be an appropriate time to dig Stefan Melbourne’s first ever headline gig out of our 2013 backlog…

We’d long anticipated this set after catching Manchester-based Stefan supporting Jesca Hoop at the Cornerhouse a couple of years earlier. Accompanied only by his own guitar and the crystalline vocals of Chloe Leavers, Stefan’s songwriting mines a dark seam of hard-luck stories that often seems at odds with his unassuming stage persona.

In a scene awash with bearded wannabe troubadours, his work might invite superficial comparison to the likes of Ryan Adams or Damien Rice but, for my money, a better point of reference would be Paul Westerberg: songs of almost unbearable gravitas dressed in irresistible melodies and delivered with a wry, rueful smile.

But you can make your own mind up about that. We present here the entire set recorded at the Castle both as audio and video. Many thanks to Chris and all at Red Balloon as well as Lucinda for the always immaculate sound.

Stream “Castaway”:

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Download complete show in MP3 format (click here)

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Setlist:

Don’t Let Me Go
How Long Is Always
Bide Your Time
Before The Sunsets
Castaway
A Clearing That I Call Goodbye
Landslide
These Walls
Something Of Mine
The Ballad of JoJo Burn

If you download and enjoy this music we would fully expect you to support the artist by buying their records and attending their gigs. Stefan Melbourne’s official website is here and his Soundcloud is here.

Danny George Wilson at Castle Hotel, 6th September 2012

29 August 2013 by · Write a comment · Categories: manchestertaper · Tags: , , , , ,

 

Danny George Wilson - Castle Hotel

photo by manchestertaper

It’s been a bit quiet on the website front for us over recent months but rest assured that the Manchestertaper team have been beavering away, amassing many hours of quality live music which is just crying out to be shared…

We begin with a dip into the vaults: can it really be nearly 12 months since Danny & the Champions of the World’s Danny George Wilson played a blinding solo gig for House of Cards Promotions at the Castle? Ably supported by Trevor Moss & Hannah-Lou (whose set we hope to share with you soon) and Manchester’s own Mog Stanley, Wilson played a taut, intense set that served to strip back the Danny and the Champions material and allow his tersely beautiful lyricism to shine.

Some dashes of gruff Antipodean humour and a singalong of Dancing in the Dark lightened the mood somewhat but could not detract from the scorched, highly personal songs at the core of this performance. Most of those in attendance were clearly fanatics, familiar with every word. Hopefully this recording will win some converts to a distinctive and arresting talent.

Thanks, as always, to Mike and Kellie and all at the Castle for another great gig.

Stream “Old Soul”:

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Download complete show in MP3 format (click here)

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Setlist:

Restless Feet
Follow the River > Dancing in the Dark
Beauty in this Town
Track 40’s Gone
Old Soul
Henry the Van
Every Beat of my Heart
Red Tree Song
The Truest Kind
Still Believe
These Days

If you download and enjoy this music we would fully expect you to support the band by buying their records and attending their gigs. Danny & the Champions of the World’s official website is here and their current album can be purchased here.

Richard Hawley at Academy 1, 26 September 2012

21 October 2012 by · Write a comment · Categories: manchestertaper · Tags: , , ,

 

Richard Hawley - Manchester Academy

photo by manchestertaper

Richard Hawley needs no introduction here. The Longpigs, Pulp, high profile session duties and career-reinvigorating production work are mere asides to his majestic solo work.

Seventh album “Standing at the Sky’s Edge” sees Hawley immerse himself in intoxicating, swirling psychedelia, something of a detour from the classicism of his first releases and the glacial poise of 2009’s astonishing Truelove’s Gutter. We knew his Academy set would lean heavily on the latest LP and Richard and his dependably fantastic band did not disappoint. We were treated to expansive performances of most of the new material plus a smattering of older songs, although nothing pre-dating 2005’s breakthrough Coles Corner.

Not much more to say really. It’s Richard Hawley and the best live band in the UK: if you can’t find something to love here, you probably just don’t like music.

A few photos from the gig are on our Flickr stream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/manchestertaper/

Stream “Standing at the Sky’s Edge”:

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Download complete show in MP3 format (click here)

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Setlist:

Standing at the Sky’s Edge
Don’t Stare at the Sun
Hotel Room
Tonight, the Streets are Ours
Seek It
Soldier On
Leave Your Body Behind You
Before
Open Up Your Door
Remorse Code
Time Will Bring You Winter
Lady Solitude
The Ocean

If you download and enjoy this music we would fully expect you to support the band by buying their records and attending their gigs.  Richard Hawley’s official website is here and his current album can be purchased here.

Pablo’s Finest Hour at the Deaf Institute, 31 May 2012

23 July 2012 by · 2 comments · Categories: manchestertaper · Tags: , ,

photo by manchestertaper

Sometimes it seems that merely mentioning a band’s name out loud condemns one to a never-ending barrage of messages and tweets via every conceivable medium, keeping you up to date with the minutiae of their movements. Sign up for notifications of live dates and you’ll soon have enough material in your inbox to write a passable biography. It is refreshing then to be greeted by such a dearth of information when looking for some background on Manchester duo Pablo’s Finest Hour.

Aside from a spartan Facebook page and a neglected Myspace site all we have to go on are some sadly under-annotated YouTube videos. But there is considerable eloquence in this unassuming approach, with Simon and Hannah content to let their gentle but wryly perceptive songs stand on their own.

We saw them for the first time supporting Gideon Conn at his recent album launch and they set the scene for him perfectly: despite having to go out in front of a packed and partisan audience, PFH played a compact, crowd-pleasing set couched in self-effacing banter that belied the accomplished songcraft on display.

They won us over and we hope to feature them again soon. Follow the links below to check out one of Manchester’s best-kept secrets.

Stream “My Heart’s Just Not in It”:

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Download complete show in MP3 format (click here)

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Setlist:

Forever Restless
Lazybones
My Heart’s Just Not in It
For Hours
Tiny Splendour
Set in Stone
World Keeps Turning

If you download and enjoy this music we would fully expect you to support the band by buying their records and attending their gigs.  Pablo’s Finest Hour’s Facebook fan page is here.

Arthur Rigby & the Baskervylles at Deaf Institute, 20 April 2012

02 June 2012 by · Write a comment · Categories: manchestertaper · Tags: , , ,
Arthur Rigby & the Baskervylles, Deaf Institute
photo by manchestertaper

“Orchestral pop” as a descriptor can cover a multitude of sins and is usually shorthand for an approach that involves smearing unimaginative arrangements over uninspired songs in the hope of obscuring the mediocrity at their core. So Manchestertaper didn’t know quite what to expect when the Baskervylles (and their fictitious Arthur Rigby) brought their 5-piece line-up to the Deaf Institute to support the magnificent Miserable Rich last month.

We needn’t have worried. The band sweep and swagger between arrangements that can be sparse and stark or full-bodied and infused with high drama but which, crucially, never detract from the vital songs that they envelope.

Benjamin Hatfield’s voice is an instrument of rare power and subtlety: soaring but never overwhelming and pleasingly at odds with his unassuming plaid-shirt-and-beard image. But it would be unfair to single out any band member for special praise here: performances like these exist on a knife-edge and require each performer to be perfectly attuned both to the song and their fellow musicians. We think they acquit themselves admirably – have a listen to their eight-song set and decide for yourself.

Stream “While Away”:

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Download complete show in mp3 format (click here)

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Setlist:

While Away
Spies
Moonlit Strangers
Ode to Gog
Fly Far Away
Nine Silver Rings
Follow
White Houses

If you download and enjoy this music we would fully expect you to support the band by buying their records and attending their gigs. Arthur Rigby & the Baskervylles’ official website is here and their current EP can be purchased here.

The Miserable Rich at Deaf Institute, 20 April 2012

22 May 2012 by · 1 comment · Categories: manchestertaper · Tags: , ,
photo by manchestertaper

Looking at the Miserable Rich’s website, the first thing that strikes you is that this is a band that plays a lot of gigs. Including, apparently, two previous appearances in this very room – how they’ve managed to pass me by I do not know. And what a wondrous band I’ve been missing out on: from the introductory whine of stringed instruments being brought to order to the final, unforgettable, encore the Brighton sextet kept the Saturday night Deaf Institute crowd completely spellbound.

The setlist leaned heavily on last year’s “Miss You” LP, a chamber pop concept album about ghostly goings on – but don’t let that lazy description put you off: what in lesser hands could have been fey and indulgent is here full-blooded, captivating and shot through with an irresistible black humour.

Singer James de Malplaquet makes for a captivating host; between keening vocals and stage patter to elucidate the ghostly thread holding the new songs together, he even managed to sweet talk the audience into buying him a single malt to soothe his ailing larynx. It certainly seemed to do the trick as he effortlessly led the band through a set that kept the entire audience entirely rapt.

After 15 perfectly poised songs, we probably couldn’t have reasonably asked for any more but the band saw fit to circumvent the curfew they’d already broken by unplugging their instruments and playing the final two numbers of the night unamplified in the centre of the room. I’ve no doubt whatsoever that this is a trick they regularly pull out of the bag rather than the impromptu gesture it ostensibly was but it was still absolutely magical. An unforgettable end to an exceptional gig.

What a fabulous band. And they’re back in town in a few weeks, too.

Special thanks to Howard, the band and all at the Deaf Institute for facilitating this recording and, of course, much respect to Hey Manchester for another memorable night.

Stream “Ghost of a Dog>Tramps”:

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Download complete show in mp3 format (click here)

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Setlist:

Imperial Lines
Laid Up In Lavender
Honesty
On a Certain Night
The Lighthouse
Let Me Fade
Telephone
Chestnut Sunday
Heaven’s Sake
Ghost Of A Dog>Tramps
Under Glass
Pillion
Ringing The Changes
Fear of the Dark
True Love
Monkey
Hungover

If you download and enjoy this music we would fully expect you to support the band by buying their records and attending their gigs. The Miserable Rich’s official website is here and their releases can be purchased from record shops of quality and distinction such as Piccadilly Records.

Richmond Fontaine at Bury Met 3 May 2012

10 May 2012 by · Write a comment · Categories: manchestertaper · Tags: , , ,
photo (c) Roger Liptrot

Richmond Fontaine: we love them. Everybody loves them. A collection of beautifully simpatico musicians fronted by a songwriter/novelist who apparently has a hotline to the very soul of America: what’s not to like?

With Willy Vlautin’s third novel winning rave reviews and literary prizes across the board and his first being eyed up by movie producers, one wonders how long Richmond Fontaine will be playing the intimate shows in which they excel. That being the case, there was no way we were going to miss this show: Willy and guitarist Dan Eccles playing as a duo and topping an amazing bill that also saw sets from Richard Buckner and Peter Bruntnell.

The band’s current album remains 2011’s The High Country: an ambitious, desolate collection of songs which was effectively a Vlautin novel set to music. After a highly acclaimed tour that saw the full band perform the entire LP in order every night, this short series of duo dates must come as light relief to the two guitarists. Not that the songs stray far from Willy’s trademark tales of hope glimmering in the shards of lives shattered by bad luck and worse decisions.

Eccles and Vlautin played a great career-spanning set in front of the partisan audience and ended the night by bringing the two support acts back to the stage for an eclectic trio of covers. The sound in the venue (once known as the Derby Hall, and scene of the legendary Joy Division riot, as if we needed to remind you) was immaculate and I think our board & mics recording captures it beautifully. It’s not a typical RF show by any means, but we’ve got plenty of those in the Manchestertaper vaults – let us know if you’d like us to post more of this fantastic band.

This show was a Mr Kite Benefit and we would respectfully request that you visit his site and consider making a donation to one of his good causes after downloading the recording. Special thanks go to Rich, Mr Kite and Terry, Nathan & all at the Met for a great gig and helping us make this recording.

Stream “Always on the Ride”:

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Download complete show in mp3 format (click here)

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Setlist:

We Used to Think the Freeway Sounded Like a River
The Boyfriends
Lost in the Trees
Postcard from California
Don’t Go Back There
I Fell into Painting Houses in Phoenix, Arizona
Ruby & Lou
Let Me Dream of the High Country
Postcard Written With a Broken Hand
43
Always on the Ride
The Kid From Belmont
Incident at Conklin Creek
Postcard Postmarked Phoenix, AZ
Lonnie
Making it Back
You Can Move Back Here
Still Looking For You
I Can’t Hold Myself in Line
Candy-O

If you download and enjoy this music we would fully expect you to support the artist by buying their records and attending their gigs. Richmond Fontaine’s official website is here and their releases can be purchased from record shops of quality and distinction such as Piccadilly Records.

Simone Felice Band at Deaf Institute, 16 April 2012

23 April 2012 by · 1 comment · Categories: manchestertaper · Tags: ,
Simon Felice Group at Deaf Institute
photo by manchestertaper

 

We knew that this would be a special show but even with our expectations primed by a slew of already-classic albums and universally glowing notices for his first solo LP proper, I don’t think anyone could have anticipated the astonishing show that Simone Felice turned in with apparent ease last Monday night.

After Simi Stone’s riveting support slot set the scene, Felice and his band took the stage and played an hour and a half of literate, heart-breaking, life-affirming music that took in most of the (fantastic) new album alongside selections from both the Duke & the King and Felice Brothers back catalogues plus the obligatory crowd-pleasing covers.

Although his writing frequently taps into the seedier side of life and he specializes in tales of the helpless and hopeless, Simone does so in a way which is never maudlin and his stark character sketches lend his protagonists a depth and realism that cannot fail to move the listener.

Already almost a mythical figure himself and blessed with a voice and stage presence that never fails to do his unique songwriting justice, Simone Felice left no-one in any doubt that they were witness to an uncommon talent at the very top of his game.

I very much doubt I will see a better gig this year. The recording we present here is one of our best; Simone was gracious enough to let us record both from the soundboard and with ambient mics and we have mixed the two together to give the best possible approximation of the heady atmosphere of the night.

Stream “The Morning That I Get to Hell”:

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Download complete show in mp3 format (click here)

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Setlist:

1. New York Times
2. You & I Belong
3. Summer Morning Rain
4. Charade
5. Shaky
6. Stormy-Eyed Sarah
7. Don’t Wake the Scarecrow
8. Gimme All You Got
9. If You Ever Get Famous
10. Hey Bobbie Ray
11. The Morning That I Get to Hell
12. Dawn Brady’s Son
13. Radio Song
14. Wish You Were Here
15. One More American Song
16. Your Belly in my Arms
17. Knocking on Heaven’s Door

 

If you download and enjoy this music we would fully expect you to support the artist by buying their records and attending their gigs. Simone Felice’s official website is here and his releases can be purchased from record shops of quality and distinction such as Piccadilly Records.

Laura J Martin at Dulcimer, Chorlton, 22nd January 2012

15 March 2012 by · Write a comment · Categories: manchestertaper · Tags: , ,
photo grabbed from manchestertaper’s video recording

What can we say about Laura J Martin? Having heard her intricate, layered records we were somewhat surprised that she played this album launch with only a percussionist in tow. And only used him for two songs.

Feeding vocals, flute, mandolin, keys and a kalimba through a loop station, Ms Martin built up some dazzling textures that, unlike the work of some loop station devotees, always served the songs’ purposes rather than being used as purely novelty or embellishment.

And songs like these need no novelty effects to capture the imagination. Although her vocals might invite lazy references to Kate Bush and Joanna Newsom, there is something quite singular at play here: while the instrumentation and some of the subject matter conjure a very English rustic folkiness, there’s also a deep seam of oddness and otherness in these songs that pushes them into a territory that is very much their own.

Her set took in a good chunk of debut LP The Hangman Tree as well as a brand new song (“as fresh as your Sunday socks”) and culminated a colossal, dizzying cover of Kathy Smith’s It’s Taking So Long. I must confess ignorance of this particular song but I’m pretty sure the original cannot have sounded anything like this spiralling psychedelic layering of beats, mandolin, flute and vocal tics.

We got a great audio recording and a two-camera video recording of the whole gig and look forward to catching her set at the Sounds From the Other City festival in May.

Stream “Spy”:

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Download complete show in FLAC format (click here)

Setlist:
Doki Doki
The Lesson
Fire Horse
Tom
Jesse
Sour Grapes
Spy
Salamander
It’s Taking So Long

If you download and enjoy this music we would fully expect you to support the artist by buying their records and attending their gigs. Laura J Martin’s official website is here and her debut album can be purchased from record shops of quality and distinction such as Jumbo Records and Piccadilly Records.

Jesca Hoop at Cornerhouse Annexe, 4th February 2012

26 February 2012 by · Write a comment · Categories: manchestertaper · Tags: ,
photo courtesy of dell’s pics

Jesca Hoop is a big favourite here at Manchestertaper. After years of following her career with precious little chance of seeing her live, the news that she had moved to Manchester filled us with a very special sort of joy.

Her first Manchester gig of 2012 saw her in the calming surrounds of the Cornerhouse’s Annexe: a fine space and the perfect setting for an intimate gig that would see Hoop-baked cookies distributed to all. Support was a very fine set from Stefan Melbourne – a name we’ll be watching out for in future.

Accompanied only by Rebecca Stephens’ backing vocals, Jesca treated us to an entrancing set that took in selections from her neglected début, her breakthrough ‘Hunting My Dress’ and even a brace of as-yet-unreleased songs.

The new material bodes well for her forthcoming LP, with the tone varying from the plain daft (‘Hospital’, in which the protagonist prays for the attention that a broken arm would win) to the unremittingly bleak (DNR, which is much as its title would suggest.)

We loved every minute and must say a special thank you to Hey! Manchester for finding yet another fantastic venue. The recording came out very well: we had to tame an errant buzz on Ms Hoop’s guitar but it’s upfront and clear as a bell.

Stream “Angel Mom”:

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Download complete show in mp3 format (click here)

Download complete show in FLAC format (click here)

Setlist:
01 Murder of Birds
02 [chat]
03 Whispering Light
04 Seed of Wonder
05 Four Dreams
06 Enemy
07 The Kingdom
08 [chat]
09 Born To
10 Hospital (Win Your Love)
11 Dig this Record
12 DNR
13 [chat]
14 City Bird
15 Angel Mom
16 [chat]
17 Hunting My Dress

If you download and enjoy this music we would fully expect you to support the artist by buying their records and attending their gigs. Jesca Hoop’s official website is here and her releases can be purchased from record shops of quality and distinction such as Piccadilly Records.

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