Concert Review: Gomez, July 23rd, Mod Club

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On the walk over to the Mod Club, I had told Paul I was skeptical of the crowd size for the Gomez show on Monday. I had estimated it would be about half full.

After all, this is a band that had ascended to the top well over a decade ago. Their Mercury Prize winning debut album Bring It On had put them at the top of music conversations everywhere at that time. I still remember reading that Zoe Ball (famous BBC1 personality back then) had been moved to tears upon hearing the track Rosalita. Nevermind whether or not that was the truth, but it was just a sampling of their place at that time.

Since that time, the media spotlight has dimmed for the Southport band. The fan’s appetite for the group has not.

The crowd at the Mod Club was not half full as I predicted, but packed and excited to seem Gomez. it appeared that the excitement helped energize the band who proceeded to play a nearly two hour show chock full of hits, jams and entertainment. Here are some highlights and thoughts:

Get Myself Arrested was definitely the top highlight for me. If you ever wondered what it was like to have the entire mod club sing out parts of the song in unison, this was your chance.

– Ian Ball slowly getting more inebriated as the show progressed. We figure he was the designated drinker of the evening. At one point he was sitting down by the keys just drinking.

– All out jumping during Whippin Picadilly. Who woulda thought?

– The crowd turning the soccer chant “Ole Ole Ole” into “Gomez Gomez Gomez” halfway through the set.

– Ben Ottwell’s voice is unbelievable and needs to be heard live. The man was born to sing.

Summing it all up, the show was great. Gomez are very good live – confident musicians, have a good bag of tricks and seem to thoroughly enjoy playing their tracks. It’s no wonder they had a live album released. The crowd was festive and one of the most appreciative crowds I’ve seen in awhile. I look forward to the next time they come through town and hopefully then they’ll play We Haven’t Turned Around.

Song of the Day: Sylver Tongue – Creatures

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Every UK rock music fan who grew up in the 90s is probably a fanboy of Charlotte Hatherley, the barefoot playing guitarist of Ash. Since departing Ash, Hatherley has embarked on a semi successful solo career (Kim Wilde was kind of a hit) but most recently has been seen alongside Natasha Khan in the band Bat for Lashes.

This February, Hatherley dropped the guitar, added the synthesizer and adopted a new alter ego – Sylver Tongue. Creatures is one of the two released singles Hatherly has under this pseudonym. Musically, Sylver Tongue is a great departure from her previous efforts, which consisted of straight up guitar based rock tracks. Creatures is dark track layered with effects, drum machines and swirling synthesizers. You can probably draw comparisons to Fever Ray which is suitable since both were produced by the same producer.

It’s slightly hypnotic, check it out.

Song of the Day: Ben Gibbard – Ichiro’s Theme

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Yesterday’s trade of Ichiro to the New York Yankees marked an end of an era. At the age of 39, there is no doubt that Ichiro’s days as a Major Leaguer were coming to an end and facing another dismal season, the Mariners sent him to a contending team in hopes of getting him that elusive ring. I happened to be living in Vancouver the summer that Ichiro arrived on this side of the Atlantic and it was pandemonium. I think I made three or four trips to Seattle that summer and Ichiro-mania made everyone forget about Ken Griffey Jr. His playing style was unlike anything anyone had ever seen, the batting stance, the speed he had and the cannon arm quickly made him one of the most unique players in the history of baseball. I still remember seeing him beat out a grounder to second. It was nuts. Obviously, I was a fan.

You know who else was a fan? Ben Gibbard.

The long time Mariner fan apparently wrote this ode to Ichiro a few years ago, but released it last night when the trade was announced. It’s classic Gibbard and really, extremely catchy track. Check it out.

Song of the Day: King Tuff – Alone and Stoned

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Summer anthems come in many varieties. You have your too cool for school chill tracks (Friendly Fire’s Paris [Aeroplane Remix] ), straight up club tracks (Dizzee Rascal’s Holiday) and then you have your nostalgic wave lo-fi rock track. King Tuff‘s short ode to paraphernalia – Alone and Stoned fits that bill nicely.

The project of Kyle Thomas, King Tuff’s Alone and Stoned breezy garage guitars and playful lyrics brings me back to the more innocent days of youth. When you are old like me, that’s all that matters. King Tuff’s second album came out sometime this summer and is his first off sub pop. It’s pretty good and this is one of the standout tracks. Check it out.