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”:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download complete show in MP3 format (click here)

Download complete show in FLAC format (click here)

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.

Frazer King at Night & Day Café, 10 November 2012

15 December 2012 by · Write a comment · Categories: manchestertaper · Tags: , ,

Detail from gig poster courtesy of Frazer King

The group of young scallywags pictured above is, obviously, not up-and-coming Wythenshawe band Frazer King, although it is an image they are happy to portray to the world at large.  And it is this rough-and-ready image I fell for when I first saw the band play live, back in March, at the Frankfest 2012 fundraiser.  “Just what the world needs,” I thought, as Nathan McIlroy staggered around the stage, a can of lager gripped tightly in his fist, “Another bunch of Professional Mancunians.”

But delve a little deeper into the world of Frazer King and you will find a warmth and intelligence lacking in many of their parka-clad brethren of this fair city.  McIlroy may be outspoken, but he actually has something to say, and is capable of saying it articulately, both in interviews and through his lyrics.

Musically, too, Frazer King are streets ahead of other, more one-dimensional, outfits.  The six-piece embrace everything from indie to doo-wop to polka to God-knows-what.  It shouldn’t work, but, like their hero Frank Zappa, it somehow holds together through skilled musicianship and sheer force of personality.

Under the tutelage of James guitarist Larry Gott, Fraz Kinky, as they refer to themselves, have sharpened up their act in preparation for their debut album and wider, national attention.  The days of shambolic, drunken live performances are behind them, and it showed at their recent Night & Day gig, presented here for your enjoyment.  There is a confidence, beyond mere posturing, growing within the band, which makes us at Manchester Taper believe they are on the cusp of greatness.  The emphasis now is on Professional, rather than Mancunian, and we can’t wait to see where that attitude takes them.

Stream “Showtune from 42nd Street”:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download complete show in MP3 format (click here)

Download complete show in FLAC format (click here)

Setlist:

Glorified Hymn
Cockroach
Showtune from 42nd Street
Faith in the Community
Military Wives
War Song
Funnybones
Eunuch Growl
Mother Mary
Sunday’s Shame
Sail a Boat
Pea Factory

If you download and enjoy this music we would fully expect you to support the band by buying their records and attending their gigs.  Frazer King’s official website is here and their Idle Class Debris mixtape 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”:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download complete show in MP3 format (click here)

Download complete show in FLAC format (click here)

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”:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download complete show in MP3 format (click here)

Download complete show in FLAC format (click here)

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.

Gideon Conn at the Deaf Institute, 31 May 2012

14 July 2012 by · Write a comment · Categories: manchestertaper · Tags: , ,

Photo by manchestertaper

Having spent Gideon Conn’s formative years on the Manchester singer-songwriter scene living on the other side of the planet, I must confess ignorance of him before this night.  The only information I am armed with as I enter my favourite venue in town is that Conn is “eccentric”.  So is Tom Cruise, I silently ponder.

The opening number is an amusing little ditty about a hard-working fishmonger, quietly strummed by a solo Conn.  It’s a fun lyric, but I’m not yet convinced.  With his ironic trucker cap and mannered speaking voice, one can’t help but wonder if all this isn’t just a hipster put-on.

All fears are soon assuaged as the band takes the stage and begin kicking out a funky rhythm.  Conn launches into a hip-hop vocal and before I know it he’s in the audience, dancing like your kid brother who’s drunk too much Buck’s Fizz at a family wedding.

“Quite early for me to go downstairs,” he announces with a cheeky grin.  I’m officially converted.

What follows is, indeed, eccentric, and often amusing.  Conn is far from being a comedy act, however.  More he’s Manchester’s answer to Jonathan Richman, with all the wide-eyed joy that tag implies.  I can’t remember the last time I smiled so much at a gig.

Musically, Conn and his band are all over the map, switching effortlessly from gentle ballad to soul and beyond.  Guest vocalist Josephine Oniyama is a particular highlight, her warm tones bringing an extra dimension to “Colours” and “Raise the Bar”.  And for the funk nerds out there, there’s even a cover of Archie Bell & the Drells’ 1968 hit “Tighten Up”.  Clearly, Gideon Conn knows his onions as well as his fish.

Stream “State of the Nation”:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download complete show in MP3 format (click here)

Download complete show in FLAC format (click here)

Setlist:

The Man Who Drives Around Selling Fish
I Want You Around
Mighty Lightning
Wildfire
Carcenogenics
Read the Signs
Colours
Take It All
Fall Under Tokyo
Trademark
Our Future
Tighten Up
Real Life
Raise the Bar
State of the Nation
Inside

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

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download complete show in mp3 format (click here)

Download complete show in FLAC format (click here)

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.

Mr. Heart at Club Academy, 26 May 2012

30 May 2012 by · Write a comment · Categories: manchestertaper · Tags: , ,
Photo by Jak-Kenton Spraggan

Sometimes it seems there is so much good music out there to discover that it’s easy to miss what’s on your very doorstep.  It took a heads-up from a friend in Leicester, of all places, to turn me on to Salford’s own Mr. Heart.  “They are fantastic,” he says.  “Bit PJ Harvey-esque.”

So it is that I find myself in the beer garden of Kro, on the hottest day of the year so far, approaching three girls half my age with a view to recording their impending shenanigans for our website.  We have no shame here at Manchester Taper.  Luckily, I don’t get a slap in the face, so the girls and I take our business indoors.  Score.

Onstage, screaming feedback gives way to a riot of crunching riffs, buzzing bass, and flailing drums.  Then all too quickly they break it down.  Mr. Heart do the quiet-loud thing well and often.  They’ve clearly been studying the alternative scene of the early ’90s (Pixies, The Breeders), which I remember with fondness and which they, almost certainly, don’t.

But it would be foolish to hold their youth against them.  Mr. Heart are as musically accomplished as they are knowledgeable.  Tamsin does, indeed, have an air of Polly Jean about her, while bassist Sophie is a protégée of legendary Blockhead Norman Watt-Roy, no less.  But it’s Helen — the least likely rock chick of the three — who surprises most when she turns out to be a monster drummer.

They tear through seven of their planned ten-song set before an edgy jobsworth at the Academy informs them to make the next song their last.  It’s the only unsatisfactory moment of the night, but I have the feeling Manchester Taper will be crossing paths with Mr. Heart again soon.  And, if we’re there, you can be, too.

Stream “The Hide”:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download complete show in MP3 format (click here)

Download complete show in FLAC format (click here)

Setlist:

Boredom’s Device
Mr. Heart
Sexy Husby
The Hide
Amber
Devolution
The Riot Song
Stones

If you download and enjoy this music we would fully expect you to support the band by buying their records and attending their gigs.  Mr. Heart’s official website is 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”:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download complete show in mp3 format (click here)

Download complete show in FLAC format (click here)

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.