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Darren Hayman/ The Wave Pictures/ Robin Ince
London, Luminaire
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Article
written by Ged M
Apr 8, 2008.
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Comedy the new rock’n’roll? Thankfully we haven’t gone back to the bad old days when people laughed with, rather than at, Frank Skinner. But comedy’s a nice alternative to yet another so-so support band, especially when it’s the dry and easy humour of Robin Ince. There are plenty of smirking and a few coughing-up-your-beer moments as he runs his “book club” – readings from off-the-wall, obscure and obscene books he’s picked up in charity shops. Funniest moment was the revelation that rape is an acceptable plot device in Australian Mills and Boon books (and how devoted to the written word do you have to be to discover that?). Why would a top gagster be sharing a bill with an indie band instead of sharing a round of golf and showgirls with Tarbie and Brucie? Well, he admits that he held his newborn son against his Hefner t-shirt-clad chest for an hour the day that he became a dad.
The Wave Pictures play a mostly acoustic set with Dan from Darren's band on fiddle. It's coruscating lo-fi pop; Dave Tattersall is a great guitar player with a sharp ear for a killer melody although he can throw you off balance with his lyrics. They're occasionally eccentric, like in 'Strange Fruit for David', where he engages in a philosophical musing about the nature of statues and marmalade; sometimes unique, when they include the name of a cinematic Japanese mutant monster as a key part of a chorus; and they’re occasionally razor-sharp and heartbreaking, as in 'Now You Are Pregnant' where he sadly declaims: "I've seen you selling shoes, you've never heard me sing". It's all done with an easy feel, a laconic charm, and a winning humour.
Darren Hayman is back tonight playing with Jack Hayter, which clearly excites him. He's even written a set list because he has so much he wants to play for us, including old stuff, current stuff and songs so new they won’t come out for another six months at least. There are a couple of songs from the next album Pram Town with familiar themes – ‘Out of My League’ and ‘Big Fish, Small Pond’ - and they’ve also revived the little-played ‘China Crisis’ from Hefner’s ‘Orphan Songs’ EP. In Hefner, Jack was always the supreme colourist for Darren’s wide-eyed word portraits and he adds a bright splash of warm colour to Darren’s post-Hayman compositions too; recent songs like ‘Caravan Song’ and ‘Perfect Homes’ sound practically brand new when spruced up by Jack’s lap steel and Dan Mayfield’s violin. It’s a sublime evening and it looks like they – and especially Darren – are having fun up there, which is a perfect taster for the Darren and Jack Hefner gigs in June.
Untitled Document
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