Back to School

Ephemeral, mercurial summer. Seemingly here one day and gone the next in a flurry of settling into new abode, gigs, bashes, festivals, weather grumblings, a not-quite-there heat and lazy hazy sundays… Suddenly, the early August chill attained a permanent air, a heads-down vibe permeated the atmosphere and September had arrived.

Notable happenings:

Gee It’s Warm in Here – The New Pornographers @ the Bordeline, 19 June 2007

A stinking muggy summer’s evening saw the New Pornographers blast their way through most of Twin Cinema, Mass Romantic and their newie The Challengers. Energetic, pure, joyous and, on this night, extremely sweaty pop. Not bad for £10.

Jason Lee Blanked Me – Midlake @ The Royal Festival Hall, 11 July 2007

Memorable for the lead singer’s inability to sing in tune until halfway through their rip-snorter of a tune ‘Young Bride’, on which Paul Weller made a surprise guest appearance. The Modfather mumbled his way through the words, but still managed to outcool everyone else onstage. One of the Magic Numbers chaps also made an appearance.

Descending down the steps of the Royal Festival Hall, a tall chap in a checked shirt and jeans and a handlebar moustache strode past. I froze before confusedly blurting ‘That’s Jason Lee!’. I ran up after him and came to a halt as he lit a cigarette on the balcony overlooking the Thames. A brief, cautious glance was thrown in my direction, and then he quickly looked away, in all likelihood sensing a ‘fan’ and paid intense attention to his female companion.

Understandable really, and still one of the coolest chappies about.

Martha, Martha, Martha – Martha Wainwright @ Shepherd’s Bush Empire, 17 August 2007

The youngest Wainwright is not the most prolific of artists – her 2005 eponymous debut is still her only release – but every track on it is a gem and most get an airing tonight. She forgets words, laughs a lot, wheels out some new material and announces that there will be a new album in 2008, and the audience audibly ripples with excitement. Oh, and she also reveals that’s getting married (to her bassist) in the next month. It’s a intimate affair, led by that astounding voice of hers and Pete Townshend of the Who joins the party for her encore ‘Factory’ and ‘Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole’.

Tick another off the ‘rock legends to see before dying’ list.

We Are Like SO HOT Right Now – Kevin Drew presents ‘…Spirit If…’ @ La Scala, 5 September 2007

“Yeah you totally get a sense of what’s happening right now in the Canadian music scene,” came the North American-tanged drawl of a girl draped in a long maxi sundress – a very un-London-gig outfit. The Canadian music scene seems to be comprised of an awful lot of music collectives. And Broken Social Scene seem to be one of the largest, comprising any number of collaborators including Feist and Emily Haines.

This was not, ostensibly, a BSS gig. Rather, Kevin Drew – along with Brendan Canning, one of BSS’s founders – was previewing material from his new album. He was, of course, supported by five members of the revolving BSS crew. The first five songs or so was classic BSS – catchy, heartfelt, emotional declarations on life and love. But the gig was quickly overshadowed by attempts by Kevin and Brendan to make clever remarks on topical issues and ended with Kevin extolling the punters to sing and clap along to an unfamiliar song, leaving BSS’s gorgeous musical offerings secondary.

During one of his so-called witticisms, Kevin stated that you should never talk to rock musicians you idolise as they usually left you disappointed. Perhaps the musicians themselves shouldn’t open their mouths in the first instance.

The Sounds of Science: Yo La Tengo play the soundtrack to Jean Painlevé’s documentaries @ The Royal Festival Hall, 9 September 2007

Ever seen an octopus make love? Or crawl over a rocky beach terrain? Neither had I until I viewed these amazing kitsch 1960s documentaries from French oceanographer Painlevé. We came away knowing that little bit more about the love lives of prawns, sea urchins, seahorses, various amoeba and jellyfish, accompanied by wry Gallic commentary and tunes from everyone’s favourite artrockers, the gloriously uncategorisable Yo La Tengo.

Genius.

Oh, and there was the small matter of a 3.5 week tropical sojourn spent chasing the sun in Thailand, Pulau Pinang and Pulau Redang. But more on that later. For now, it’s back to the grind.