Beach House, Manchester 271015

This has been a hard one to write.

The problem was I'd been to see Simone Felice in Leeds the night before and had been totally blown away.

Beach House, from Baltimore, Maryland, a band I've liked for a few years now, and had wanted to see for a while, just happened to rock up at the wrong time, as I was still caught up in the previous night's music.

After an intimate gig in a small, cosy venue like the Brudenell Social Club, in front of maybe 150 people at most, where we were able to chat and pose for pictures with the musicians for a while, and then going to a sell-out event with 1,500 people at the Ritz in Manchester the following night when the band kept themselves remote and in the dark with only the backdrop being illuminated was not really where my head was!

Which, with hindsight, is probably not a fair reflection. I managed to get a good space on the top balcony, at the front with a good view. The band came on, played a lot of tracks off their new album 'Depression Cherry', a few older tracks from albums like 'Bloom', but not my favourite of theirs, 'Lazuli'. Their musical style had changed, the sound was more guitar-based, less of the shimmering keyboards and dreamy vocals I was expecting.

So, I wasn't as favourably disposed to the band as I had been before. But, that's probably a bit unfair. I asked myself if I hadn't gone to a gig the night before, would I have enjoyed it more? Would I have taken their sparser, more guitar-based approach as a positive new direction? Would I have accepted them not playing 'Lazuli' when they played a few other favourites from the last album and some good ones I'd not heard before? Did I enjoy the clever use of lighting to accompany the band? Well, I suppose, the answer to all of these questions would have to be a 'Yes'.

To be fair to Beach House, they obviously have a much bigger following than I realised and they went down really well. The fact that nobody I mentioned the gig to before I went had heard of them gave me the view they were still very much on the fringes, although I found out today that Scarlett from work really likes them. So I do know another fan!

I have a copy of their new album which I will be listening to over the next few days. And I am probably going to enjoy it. But, as this wasn't played at the gig, here's a link to my favourite track of theirs....

Update: Just listened to their latest album, 'Thank Your Lucky Stars' and it is brilliant! This is a band that took ages between albums and then release 2 in 2 months! But as it's really good - and better than 'Depression Cherry' - I can forgive the little tinkers!

The new album by Beach House, 'Thank Your Lucky Stars' is out now on Bella Union records.

Visit beachhousebaltimore.com for more information.

Comments

A Calder Valley Ale Trail - UPDATE June 2022

T he definitive guide to the pubs and bars that line the railways in the towns and villages of the beautiful Calder Valley in West Yorkshire. After a break in updates with all the disruption of lockdowns over the last couple of years, here's the latest, updated version.... The original Rail Ale Trail heads through the Pennines from Dewsbury through Huddersfield to Stalybridge, or vice versa, depending on your standpoint. Made famous by Oz Clarke and James May on a TV drinking trip around Britain several years ago, it reached saturation point on weekends to such an extent that lager and shorts were banned by some pubs and plastic glasses introduced to the hordes of stag dos, hen parties, and fancy-dressed revellers that invaded the trans-Pennine towns and villages. There are some great pubs en route but you ventured to them on a summer Saturday at your peril. However, only a few miles away to the north, there is another trail possible which takes in some great pubs and travels thr

There Used To Be A Bar There....

Last weekend a little bar in Wesley Court in Halifax, closed its doors for the last time. But unlike the sad fate that has befallen so many pubs and bars in recent times, The Grayston Unity will be re-opening in a few weeks' time in a brand new home on the other side of town. And so this weekend was a chance for a final drink and catch-up at its original home.... It was emotional, it was fun, it was inevitable. The final weekend at the original home of the Grayston Unity occurred this weekend, the last pints being poured around 9pm on Sunday evening with the price of a pint dropping first to £2 and then they were free. The little bar had attracted large numbers over the previous few days; Grayston stalwarts, regulars on the Halifax drinking scene, a host of old faces from over the years, and plenty of bemused first-timers, many here from out of town to see the likes of Orbital, the Charlatans, and Johnny Marr playing down the road at the Piece Hall. Michael enjoying a quiet chat w

The Ripon Effect....

I've recently paid a visit to the small but lovely North Yorkshire city of Ripon where, on a cracking sunny afternoon, I had a mini tour of some of the town's best watering holes. Here's what I found.... The trains were off this weekend, so for a change I decided to take a road trip to Ripon, a place I had not visited for at least 20 years, but being somewhere that had lost its railway station during the Beeching cuts in the 1960's, it is a place that needs to be visited by road anyway whether or not the trains are running. Situated about 12 miles to the north of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, Ripon can trace its roots back for centuries, to at least the 7th century when it was part of the Anglian kingdom of Northumbria. Ripon was granted city status in 1865 and is the third smallest city in England, with only the City of London and Wells in Somerset having a smaller population, but it packs a lot into its compact footprint. It is famous for its stunning cathedral whose

Real Ale, Real Music

Search This Blog