My first gig at the Electric Circus … not a bad wee club and ideal for smaller gigs. I’ve got Blood Red Shoes first album and quite liked it so was hoping for good stuff. French support band SOMETHING Underground were quite interesting, at least Jan thought the drummer was cute, and I thought he played well too 😉 Blood Red Shoes are a two piece guitar/drums combo and came on to a busy and expectant crowd. White Stripes comparisons are obvious but I like a bit of that and their first few songs got the crowd moving, especially when the guitarist stepped off the stage and played a song in the audience. A few (4) guys took that as their cue to start moshing about (pointlessly). Jan and I were right at the front for a good view but getting (deliberately) bashed into by these teenage idiots was not fun. A bit over half way through the set we debating moving back or leaving and decided on the latter … so we retired to the Doric for a nice quiet drink (they didn’t have cocoa unfortunately) 😉
5/11
So good I saw them twice (in a week)! After that stunning gig at Sneaky Pete’s I wanted more First Aid Kit and was sorry that Karen hadn’t got to see them. Simple solution, follow them on their tour in England … Saturday in Nottingham seemed perfect so we drove down and stayed the night.
Just to show that Sneaky Pete’s was not a one off, they did it again with a perfect, mesmerising performance every bit as good, and impressed Karen immensely into the bargain. Not much more to add to the previous review … the set was the same I think, they do a few different songs on the tour, but we missed out on them. The audience was bigger in the Bodega club and a lot noisier which was a slight nuisance, but when they sang without amplification, especially ‘Waltz for Richard’ in the crowd, you could hear a pin drop. I spoke to Klara for a while before the set and she said they had a great night in Hull and were really looking forward to the Union Chapel and SxSW festival in USA. FAK are more than a bit special. 9/10
9/11
I’d heard of ‘post-rock’ but didn’t quite know what it was all about. Andy is a big Mogwai fan and though these guys would be good and who was I to argue so I tagged along with him. Support band Butterfly Explosion were tedious. Unfortunately I thought GIAA were also tedious. I know what post-rock is now … rock without the interesting bits (tunes, vocals, lyrics, solos etc.). 3/10
Gig of the decade (so far), official! I had heard of First Aid Kit for a fair while being a fan of Scandinavian music, so was really looking forward to this. I told Jan they would be a bit special, but I didn’t realise quite how much.
Klara & Johanna Söderberg are two young sisters (16 & 19) from Sweden who make simple folk music with an Americana flavour (but so much more interesting than you would think). It’s their superb singing and harmonies that really make it great and the simplicity of their songs and arrangements adds to the charm and intimacy, especially in a live setting. Sneaky Pete’s is a tiny club and I think the sell out audience were expecting something nice so the atmosphere was perfect.
From the first to last note we were all spellbound, surprised and delighted at just how beautiful the sound was of their lovely songs and perfect harmonies. Never heard anything quite as good as this in this genre. Such mature voices and material from ones so young. When they stepped in front of the mics to sing ‘Ghost Town’ without amplification, with Jan and I right in front, the effect was magical. And for their encore they stepped into the middle of us to sing ‘Waltz For Richard’, yet another unforgettable moment. Cloud 9!
10/11 – Attended by George & Jan
Great Gig review at TheArtsDesk http://www.theartsdesk.com/new-music/first-aid-kit-sneaky-petes-edinburgh
George Glen 