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Review: Tim Minor
The Bees
FOR A Mercury Music Prize nominated band, 7.30pm is an early
start by anybody's standards. Having to contend with the constant
flux of the audience was never going to be easy, but The Bees
played their set with enthusiasm and good humour.
Tonight, The Bees were seven strong, featuring sax, trumpet and
keyboard, along with the backbone drum set, bass and guitars.
Musically accomplished, the band seemed happy swapping their instruments
among the group at almost every opportunity, while never weakening
their Isle of Wight sound.
Whether or not it had something to do with their early slot I
don't know, but the vocals never quite filled the huge hall. The
Brazilian funk of A Menha Menina was the one of the highlights,
but one was left feeling slightly cheated.
Most of the tracks were from the Mercury shortlisted Sunshine
Hit Me, but The Bees weren't afraid of bringing something
new to the mix and we were certainly treated with a number of
pieces that saw the audience gradually warm to their reggae, funk,
and Latin sounds.
A great start to a promising evening.
Lee 'Scratch' Perry vs Coldcut: Audiovisual Clash
It seemed that everyone was there to see and hear Coldcut and
they didn't disappoint.
The Original Dance Floor Hooligans treated us to their pioneering
electronic video and disk jockeying and although their visual
intro warned the 'easily upset' to be aware, their first set featured
hackneyed time-lapse blossoming flowers and whirring clocks that
threatened to bore the up-for-it crowd.
It took the arrival of a Techno-coloured Lee 'Scratch' Perry
on the screen to liven proceedings. Where else would you find
Perry's image sitting alongside those of Jeremy Paxman (warning
about the dangers of rock music) and The Prince of Wales breakdancing
other than the throne of Coldcut?
Their Audiovisual clash certainly threw up some interesting results
but it was all over far too soon for my liking - given that this
was going to 'be one for the musical history books'.
However, Coldcut retained their position, while we welcomed the
arrival of Mr Perry in the flesh…
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Lee 'Scratch' Perry and Mad Professor
With his red travel bag already packed and his white flowered
handbag swinging, the arrival of Perry marked the high point of
the evening. A multitude of stories surround this veteran producer
/ musician / singer / shaman and you could feel the respect toward
the 67-year-old flow down from the balconies.
This is a man whose history goes back to early sessions with
Bob Marley and to producing The Clash.
A self-professed lunatic from Jamaica, who drops his draws at
press conferences, who once brought a loaded gun on stage and
allegedly burnt down and floods his own studio. Not that we were
threatened by any such behaviour tonight.
In fact, tonight we were part of the congregation hearing the
teachings of St. Perry. Peace and Love and Eternal Youth were
the doctrines to follow and despite the dalliance with current
affairs, you couldn't help but love him.
Backing the mirror-headed preacher we were treated to the mixing
talents of the Mad Professor, who, like all the guests tonight,was
a draw in his own right.
The Mad Professor (Neil Fraser) started his career in music
from the technical side, as a service engineer for mixing desks
and amplifiers, but fortunately for us, found his way to the other
side of the turntable.
A perfect support to the tuneful singing voice of Perry, The
Mad Professor was always going to be overshadowed, but kept us
enthralled right to the last.
Tortoise
Despite being the headline act, Chicago's Tortoise failed to
impress. Presenting their 'heady mix of avant-jazz…and marimba
driven minimalism', it seemed that much of the crowd had seen
enough and were happy to find their trains home.
Tortoise are for me, a yet-to-be-acquired taste and it would
be unfair to say that sections of the audience weren't ecstatic
about their entry to the stage.
Arty and experimental, Tortoise create dense instrumental soundscapes
that some describe as the 'thinking persons' futuristic elevator
music'. While I loved the xylophone, I couldn't quite get into
it.
I guess I'm not much of a thinking person.
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