Fleur De Lys

While watching Real Fur’s first publicised gig on a cold winter’s Tuesday night at The Social it was clearly apparent that this band were something special. How many bands can you name whose melodies and lyrics stick in your head for weeks after one live performance? A couple of weeks later Real Fur are playing a support slot at a busy Fleur-de-Lys Club at The Lexington, stealing the show with their energetic catchy songs. Real Fur are the real deal, guitar pop perfection at its very best, combining up tempo rhythmically charged bass and drums with funk fuelled surf guitar riffs topped with 3 part harmonies. The band look natural on stage like they’ve played together for years, all the more remarkable that you can count their number of gigs on one hand. In truth though, Leo (guitar and lead vocals) and Matt (bass) have been playing together for sometime in London band ‘Cheka’, who you may or may not have heard of, but now with George on drums and a new sonic direction it is impossible not to take notice. Every one of their songs in the 30 minute set has a catchy classic pop hook, with choruses such as ‘Every Penny I spend is a Penny I Owe’, all played by the classic 3 piece line up of guitar, drums and bass.. just brilliant! One mustn’t get carried away too early as the band are still very raw and have a lot of hard work to fulfil their potential. However, from the evidence so far it won’t be long before we all want Real Fur.

Real Fur MySpace – www.myspace.com/wearrealfur
Download demo of ‘Birds’ here..
01 Birds (demo)

I have spent the past few days at the annual music event ‘The Great Escape’ in Brighton. In the same format as the Camden Crawl and South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, the music industry descends to the Sussex coast along with over 300 new bands looking to make it to the big time. Although much of the time is spent, networking (aka chatting bollocks), queuing, and walking large distances through wet windy Brighton, I did manage to see some great live bands. As with all festivals, there was so much good stuff I missed, so this a summary of the Fleur-de-Lys experience at The Great Escape 2009.

The highlight performance from the first day, Thursday, was undoubtedly Black Lips. I missed them at Glastonbury last year so wasn’t going to pass the opportunity to see the Atlanta four piece perform in the intimate venue ‘Audio’. Black Lips had clearly missed sound check causing a considerable delay to the start of the set, which began to work the crowd into a frenzy of expectance. Then when the band finally kicked off the rowdy mob went bonkers prevented only from moshing onto the stage by two large bouncers desperately keeping the barrier upright. The band’s energy on stage was electrifying, especially during ‘Oh Katrina’ and ‘I’ll be with you’ that cross surf rock guitars with gypsy punk creating this strange mix of Dick Dale and Gogol Bordello. The band are famed for their crazed antics on stage, and apart from a few wild hats and smashed beer cans on the heads this was fairly mild mannered although the festival organisers did have to prise the band off the stage as they went over curfew with the excellent ‘Bad Kids’. Black Lips are a must see this summer so hopefully they’ll make it back to the UK again soon.

I was also very impressed with Lost Valentinos from Sydney, Australia. They had been a late replacement for The Big Pink who I had been hoping to see, but satisfied me more than enough with their rock tinged electro pop. I managed to catch up with the band who were all very happy to be over in Europe and after this engaging performance this won’t be the last time we’ll see them on our shores.

My new discovery of the first day was DM Stith, a soft voiced American folkster who’s a wonderful storyteller using his unique inspiring vocal range as his guide. Need music to listen to when you want to reflect on life solemnly, DM’s your man.

The Aussie band Lost Valentinos

On Friday I was blessed to see the excellent John Steel Singers and Hey Rosetta! both being definite highlights of the festival. However, as they are playing Fleur-de-Lys Club this Wednesday, I will save my review for after the Lexington show. Another band I enjoyed immensely was Django Django who are destined for big things. When Nemone played their track ‘Storm’ on her BBC 6 Wednesday show I realised it was about time I wrote a blog about them before everyone does. I have been a big fan of the band for some time, and by the looks of the big crowd at Brighton’s Audio many others are to, so look out for the forthcoming blog on one of the rare few exciting new ‘British’ bands.

Thursday evening was spent at the Brighton Corn Exchange watching Mumford and Sons followed by Metronomy. I was sceptical if Mumford and Son’s foot-stomping British bluegrass could work on a big stage… it can! Marcus Mumford’s voice will resonate through any venue, backed by piano, guitar, double bass and of course the banjo! The beautiful ‘White Blank Page’ was one of my favourite tracks of 2008 and so it’s no surprise there’s currently a scramble from all labels to sign this band.

For those who don’t know, Metronomy is essentially one-man Devon maestro Joseph Mount, who has turned from quirky hipster to a world touring popular artist. At The Great Escape Joseph was backed by a make shift band following the recent departure of live compatriot Gabriel Stebbing. Although the performance was a little shabby on the edges, the new live set up with drums and bass bodes well for an exciting live summer for Metronomy as they promote the 2008 release ‘Nights Out’.

I kicked off Saturday with a performance by Alan Pownall, and artist who I have been listening to a lot on MySpace. His warm gentle soulful pop tunes were performed by his four piece band well, without being spectacular. Mr Pownall is clearly a very good singer and songwriter so the future looks bright all the same. I then stayed at the same venue, Digital, for New York hipsters Telepathe. The venue suddenly filled with anticipation for the girl duo that have an ever growing reputation as New York’s freshest electro dance act. Again, the live performance didn’t blow me away, but at least they both sang live vocals over their very listenable beats, which is more than just pressing play as done by many of their contemporary dance piers.

Having caught the end of a secret acoustic show from Ben Kweller and been disappointed by Soft Pack, a name that dually described their performance, I returned to Brighton’s Audio for the much hyped Hockey. I can now see why so much attention is building for this Portland four piece as they performed songs from their forthcoming debut ‘Mind Chaos’ with style and swagger. Bringing a white boy funk element to their indie soul, coupled with lead singer Ben Grubin’s commanding stage presence and stirring vocals, Hockey were my performance of the weekend. The penultimate song and debut single ‘Too Fake’ had the audience in raptures with the chorus ringing out loud from the adoring fans. Hockey not only fills the post LCD void but will create their own subgenre within the indie music stratosphere. The band are booked to play T in the Park, Oxygen and Bestival festivals and I strongly recommend you go and see them live, you won’t regret it.

Hockey

So Hockey reigned supreme for me at this years Great Escape, and as for the music conference, not an awful lot was learnt. The record industry is still in such dire straits, some would say deservedly so, but without the power, influence and indeed the money from the labels, we would not get to see great foreign bands, such as Hockey and Black Lips grace the UK. For me, there is nothing better than great live music and long may this continue.

Black Lips – www.myspace.com/theblacklips

Lost Valentinos – www.myspace.com/lostvalentinos

DM Stith – www.myspace.com/dmstith

Django Django – www.myspace.com/djangotime

Mumford and Sons – www.myspace.com/mumfordandsons

Metronomy – www.myspace.com/metronomy

Alan Pownall – www.myspace.com/alanpownall

Telepathe – www.myspace.com/telepathe

Hockey – www.myspace.com/hockey

The dust has settled, the hangover gone, my head is somewhat back to normality and I can think again consciously. Did the night really end like that? Was it my whisky blurred vision or did I really witness a full scale ruck at the end of a very good natured night? How can it have happened when my fellow punters were so welcoming and friendly? However this was not an ordinary end of the night drunken brawl, this was the DJs realising a tirade of abuse on one and all. First they starting abusing the final act on stage, the excellent Moon Music Orchestra, who at first played along with good friendly banter, until the DJs from hell started to let rip. MMO had already won the hearts and minds of the crowd through their pulsating rhythmic melodies and feet stomping rhythms and were clearly in no wrong when terror was brought upon them from the DJ booth above. The terrible twosome then took out their anger on the crowd, who found it hard not to laugh at the outlandishness of the situation. Those who stayed till the end will remember the night for years to come, it really was quite a momentous end to The Fleur-de-Lys Club at The Lexington.

We must remember however, that we were there for music and revelry and not to see the latest Woman’s boxing fight. Early in the night, Planet Earth had kicked things off with their quirky anti-folk, setting the candle-lit-mood for a peace-loving relaxing Wednesday night. Following the likes of Noah and the Whale and Emmy the Great with their charming but fragile songs from delicate hearts, Planet Earth are definitely for the thinker and not the fighter.

Second on the bill was the talented and beautiful Meme Love. I was most excited about seeing her, as her soulfully crafted songs on MySpace are certainly destined for higher things. Although Meme’s 7-peice band replicates the songs well, Meme is the star gracing the stage with class and style. Onlookers are drawn in by her powerful voice, with songs such as ‘Something Amazing’ and ‘A Little Bit’ mesmerizing those around me. This is sophisticated stuff and wouldn’t be out of place on the Jazz Cafe stage, Pigalle Club or even the Royal Albert Hall. I would advise anyone who likes great original female pop to go check out Meme straight away; Kate Bush fans where are you?

As I sip down another whisky I prepare for the final act The Moon Music Orchestra, a name which according to the lead singer Daniel ‘you forget easily’. Little did I know what was soon to prevail that would make it hard to forget the name for a long time. Ambling on stage looking like the cast from Dazed and Confused I wanted them to deliver some stomping country rock, and they did not let me down. The band have clearly played together a lot and enjoy it, as did the audience who were beginning to tap their feet and move their hips. Moon Music Orchestra keep the Americana dream alive and when in full flow can take you to joyous place with no whisky required. Then, as the set was drawing to a close, the terrible twosome decided to try steel some thunder. What they were quite doing or trying to achieve still baffles me. We never got to hear them DJ as they are dragged out before playing a record, no one really cared, they had already left their mark on a memorable night.

There’s a recession, it’s Wednesday, it’s March – looking to pack out the Lexington is a bold move in itself, but kicking off with a band playing just its sixth gig borders on reckless.

So with the place bustling with knowing industry types sipping complimentary whisky by 8.30pm, there’s a sense of expectation about the night’s feel-good folk billing. Happily, it delivers. On this evidence, expect the Fleur-de-Lys to offer a winning combination of real talent and quirky promise for the duration of its monthly residency at The Lexington.

Whilst their stated ambition to “bring real music back to London” remains a work in progress, openers Treetop Flyers seem a triumph of genuine talent over inexperience, this being their sixth gig. Mingling intricate, guitar-heavy harmonies with thinker’s lyrics, they bring with them an infectious sense of fun and soon have a knowing crowd purring approvingly as they change pace into bolder, stronger country inflections, trading the earlier subtlety for a little bounce. It’s unrefined, but it’s a lot of fun. They’re amazingly tight given their lack of stage time, and they’re enjoying themselves. If the haunting narrative of “Roses in the Yard” is a sign of what’s to come, they’ll be flying well above the treetops before long.

Most of the crowd are here for Findlay Brown. With a personal history that warrants setting to the ghostly soundscapes he’s making his name in, Yorkshire’s finest bare knuckle boxer turned alt-folk minstrel delivers a performance full of class and breezy control. Avoiding getting caught in the backstitches of his lyric playfulness, he treads the right side of thoughtful and puts instrumentals at the centre of the performance. The crowd hangs on his words to songs with ‘Thats Right’ being my highlight of the set comes as he riffs towards a crescendo with a band that acknowledge their man’s diverse strengths. It’s rousing stuff, and he knows it. Brown has clearly thrown a few backslaps in his time, and by the end of the set he’s in amongst the crowd and tickling them with what I’d begrudgingly describe as a ‘roguish charm’.

Whilst its hard for The Memory Band to sustain the sparkle of the earlier performances before a thinning crowd, happy evidence people still have jobs, the acoustic collaborative carry through the night’s involved and intimate vibe with a range of toying, experimental numbers peppered with bewitching female vocals. Things being thrown together is part of their appeal, and it works.

After many free Whisky’s and a little boogie after the Memory Band I was spent. Next up at Fleur de Lys are Connan Mockasin, Meme Love and Planet Earth on Wednesday April 22nd. Promises much, and I for one will be back for more.

~ Hugh Jazz ~ March 2009