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Darren Hayman & the Secondary Modern / Shirley Lee / Esiotrot
Lexington, London
Article written by
Paul M - Mar 8, 2009
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Hayman
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When two of the key players on the London indie gig promotion scene decide to get together to put on events the outcome can only be good. And verily the chaps from Fortuna Pop and Track & Field duly delivered under their combined Secret Knowledge guise.
The Lexington's a good call for venue too. Formerly the Clockwork, it's about ten brisk minutes walk from Kings Cross, has a good selection of beers (including Sierra Nevada on tap and Broadside on cask) and provides good viewing opportunities from most of the venue, due to the presence of a dropped moshpit in front of the stage.
We like Esiotrot. In fact we like Esiotrot a lot, so much that we put out their most recent single, a joint 7" EP with Foxes!, and they open with the first track off that, Tammy is Lez, a frothy gem. From there the set alternates in style, depending on whether Matt or Duncan are on vocal duty. If the former it seems to go off down a Pavement American slacker road, if Duncan, a Hefner English one, but either way it's guitar indie with the addition of splendid brass to bond it all together. Though they finish off with an ill-advised cover of the dreadful 80s Paul Simon number You can call me Al, we'll forgive them because they're young and their own material is good.
Having only heard the excellent country tinged single The Smack of Pavement in your Face from his solo album, I wasn't sure what to expect from Shirley Lee's new material. Still backed by the rest of the boys from Spearmint, he decided to record the album under his own name because he felt the songs were too personal to go under the band's banner. Musically it may still be familiar territory for Lee with the parping keys giving the pop an 80s style soulful edge, but it's when he delivers Reservoir that the heart on sleeve stuff really kicks in; a tender tale of Lee explaining all the things he had discovered about his late dad after he'd died, it's enough to bring a tear to a glass eye, or in my drunken blubbing case, two glass eyes.
Headliner Darren Hayman is always great entertainment and with the the Secondary Modern, he has the perfect folky accompaniment to his intelligent but funny songs about falling in love or getting the elbow. Unfortunately, the acoustic opening is almost wrecked by the untimely intervention of a soundman's backing track (Gary Numan, of all people!) but even that doesn't put Hayman off his stride, merely giving him material to first gently mock the offender and then, oozing customary charm, invite a round of applause for his otherwise exemplary work from the audience later. In between we're treated to a few new unrecorded tracks, six numbers off the current Pramtown album and a handful of old goodies. These days I actually prefer his non-Hefner work, the use of banjo and strings adds depth and variety, and Pramtown is the best album he's produced in a remarkably consistent career.
So, all in all, a definite thumbs up for the first gig by indiepop's new superpromoters.
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