Last weekend was a big Saturday for gigs (so let us know where you were at). The Inner Terrestrials tore the New Cross Inn apart by all accounts, and many of our compatriots made their way to The Roundhouse to see Grizzly Bear supported by Beach House.
But we were in a well-attended Fox & Firkin watching our very own Dom take the stage with Sunset Cinema Club. SCC are a three-piece from Birmingham. Kinda punk-pop-indie. The NME called ‘em “very exciting jitterpunk.” We were inclined to agree. They were at times melodic and radio-friendly, at others filthy noise and distortion. Very clever, great drummer and definitely our cup of tea.
Upcdownc (upcdowncleftcrightcabc+start to give them their full title) are, as you can glean from their moniker, suitably post-rock. Having said that, their new album, Firewolf, eschews the post bit for some technical but fairly full-on rock. We were treated to a bunch of tracks from that collection of work with a sprinkling of classics.
Set closer Cascade was a welcome return to their older, more orchestral instrumental beauty, ending as it does, with a crescendo of percussion. They are very very loud, be warned, take earplugs and enjoy. We did, and it set us up nicely for the forthcoming Mono gig at La Scala.
The shockingly good King of Conspiracy rocked up next. Three well cool lads from Paris who stopped by on their way to (as Danny Parr described it, “the industry circle jerk that is….”) South By South West.
You have to marvel at the pace and frenzy of this band’s live show. Franck, drummer, and Ronin, bass, are, as they should be, the engine of this band and at this pace it’s a wonder they keep it together. They do and it gives frontman Michael a platform to go bare-chested batshit crazy, slinging himself around the stage, pausing occasionally to torture his riffs with some squealing pedal effects and punctuate them with some day-glo plastic percussion. Seemingly bored of screaming into his mic he unhooks it, collapses to the floor and uses it to create some weird noises along a well battered fretboard. You’ll go a long way to find a more exciting unsigned band, catch them when they return to London for Foxfest.
Capocci, Shaun Grimsley & Dune Lake – 13th December 2009
In the deep, dark heart of Lewisham, Halloween festivities are few and far between. But on this most macabre of eves, the Fox is warm and cosy, resplendent and almost unrecognisable in its Halloween decorations. Cobwebs aplenty adorn every surface, and swathes of velveteen material billow from the ceiling like the big top at the circus. It’s amazing what you can do with a few metres of fabric, a staple gun and a carrier bag of Poundland plastic novelty tombstones, skulls and spiders. Amongst these ghoulish embellishments, skeletons, vampires, bloodstained cheerleaders and busty PVC-frocked nurses booze and natter merrily whilst awaiting the evening’s entertainment.