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Ash and Little Boots
W/support from Nakatomi Towers @ Mandela Hall, Belfast 28/11/2009
Little Boots Tunes into the Mandela
Mandela Hall, 28th November 2009
Saturday 28th November saw the underground venue of the Mandela Hall overtaken by the five-foot-nothing frame of new wave pop sensation Little Boots, who has just recently been catapulted into the dizzy heights of overwhelming success and record sales. No pressure for her then, eh?
Onto a blue tinted stage, draped in a cloak of mystery, teetered Victoria Hesketh, better known as Little Boots, appropriately accessorised with a (somewhat geeky) skeleton on each arm, in accordance with the overbearing skull overlooking her setup. At this sight, the dark cavern of the Mandela Hall erupted. However, despite the chaotic reaction received by the artists, the relatively non-descript ‘Ghost’ did not prove itself as an adequate opening track, with Hesketh remaining almost completely obscured from view for the duration of the song, which few felt able to engage with. Had the performance continued in this fashion, it would not have been unreasonable to slurp the dregs and leave. Luckily for her, by song two, the pace had frantically quickened. ‘New in Town’ saw the emergence of the miniscule vocalist, as she morphed from a striking pair of eyes in the wake of a synthesizer, into a figure reminiscent of the infamous Barbie, wrapped in an ensemble of tinfoil, who was balanced on an equally garish pair of skyscrapers. It was at this point that the gig properly began. After all, a relatively tipsy Saturday night crowd wants to dance, right? And their wish was granted.
During the next few songs in the set, what became blindingly apparent was Little Boots’ heavy reliance on the technology that surrounded her, which, as the gig progressed, became detrimentally distracting. Her constant meddling with her gadgets became a recurring disruption in the flow of music, irritating the punters and leaving myself (and possibly many others) questioning her musical ability, or lack thereof. That’s not to say that a Tenori-on, Stylophone, Synthesiser, and several keyboards don’t add depth to a composition, but, as Little Boots has proved, too many effects can spoil a potentially enjoyable song - therefore moderation is the key. I must say though, I’ll tip my hypothetical hat to anyone who can successfully compose music which references academia’s principal nuisance in an accessible way, and through ‘Mathematics’ and ‘Symmetry’ Little Boots did just that.
‘Remedy,’ the one they’d all been waiting for, starred as the outro for the main set, much to the delight of severely intoxicated crowd, most of which had given up on actually watching Hesketh and her flailing stage presence, instead opting to boogie with one another. After only forty five minutes of performing, surely that can’t be a good sign? Following an understated farewell, Little Boots, followed by her guys, left the stage to the sweet sound of drunken warbling, which eventually merged into the (barely understandable) usual chant of ‘one more tune,’ which Little Boots shortly honoured, as she returned to play the audience out with ‘Echo,’ and ‘Stuck on Repeat,’ to round off a distinctly average performance of compositions which, if I’m honest, are much more appealing when I press play on my IPod.
26th November 2009 @ Spring and Airbrake, Belfast
Ash ‘Return to a Life More Ordinary’
Spring and Airbrake, 26th November 2009
A characteristically freezing late November evening set the backdrop for the homecoming gig of local rockers Ash, who had chosen to conclude their Alphabetical UK tour in native Northern Ireland, and more specifically Belfast's Spring and Airbrake.
Ash, led out by Tim Wheeler, entered amidst smoke to a venue where every square inch had been utilised, primarily by countless pairs of grubby Chucks that adorned the feet of an unsurprisingly mature audience. And the sound of excitement certainly reflected the vast numbers, though it was significantly difficult to decipher which party was most pleased to see the other, as Tim's bright blue eyes sparkled with pride at the glorious reception of his loyal locals.
'Lose Control' kicked off what promised to be an incredible evening. And despite a slight hiccup just moments into the playlist, where Mr Wheeler halted proceedings to reprimand an unnecessarily unruly security guard, the concert ran smoothly, as would be expected. I must say, it was somewhat refreshing to be in the company of a group who have a mutual loyalty for their supporters.
Following on from the opening track, it seemed that the wildly successful '1977' would be the order of the evening, as 'Kung Fu,' 'Oh Yeah,' 'Girl From Mars,' and 'Goldfinger,' all followed, arguably receiving the uppermost decibels of the gig. Though the new tracks were not forgotten either, with recent releases 'Arcadia' and 'Tracers' receiving an electric and word perfect crowd response, providing the proof that Ash haven't lost their musical touch in their innovative concepts of 2009, which hopefully don't include the groovy moves of a certain bassist. He's flexible though, I'll give him that!
Even though the band didn't quite manage to outplay the two and a half hour mark which they had previously reached in the Spring and Airbrake, they did come extremely close. And, much to the delight of the "one more tune" brigade, Tim, Mark and Rick returned onstage with a five song encore, punctuated with the giant inflatable member of Niall Kennedy of the Panama Kings, and sealed with the fire of 'Burn Baby Burn'.
Go easy on me...!!
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