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Gig Review

Darren Hayman / My Sad Captains / The Wave Pictures
London, The Luminaire

Article written by Neil W - Nov 16, 2007

I’d been looking forward to this gig for a variety of reasons; judging by the impressive performances at End of the Road by all three bands I knew it had the potential to be a bit special.

Despite only playing a fraction of the songs I’ve grown to love over the last six months or so The Wave Pictures still have my full attention like a hawk watching its prey. On the face of it their songs are simple and unassuming but there’s something incredibly affecting about them. That ‘something’ might have to do with Dave Tattersall’s voice which soars over a melody like a majestic golden eagle. It really is a special voice, it’s like a mix of Edwyn Collins and Bret Anderson with a buttery richness that’ll clog up the arteries and arrest your heart. Plus, I don’t think anyone other than The Wave Pictures can make a Verlaine-esque rock solo on a ukulele sound credible. Make sure you catch them at their residency at the George Tavern, Whitechapel over the next few weeks.

My Sad Captains precariously balance on a ledge between Belle and Sebastian and My Bloody Valentine and what a gleaming ledge they’ve found, never swaying too far over either side. This allows them to let their sparkling lovely tunes shine through. I get slightly distracted when the equipment gnomes stop instruments from working, which leads me to gaze around the room only to discover an inordinate number of facial apparatus. It’s like a glasses convention in here, which I think is marvellous ‘cause there’s nothing better than a nice pair of specs to break up the facial features, well, almost nothing, I digress...

Darren Hayman is something of an indie treasure, judging on tonight’s performance though I wonder why he’s not a national treasure. Each and every song played tonight is lovely, subtly intricate and instantly memorable. He’s equipped with a The Band-esque, um, band that perfectly compliments these endearing and witty songs. With tracks like the blunt The Greedy Ugly People, with its line “love don’t stop no war, love don’t stop no cancer, it stops my heart” and You Chose Me with the catchy refrain ”you chose me, you can’t change your mind, you can’t change your mind" it’s like he’s scooped us up and thrust us into his warm chest never to let go, and you don’t want him to. Despite the seemingly endless reams of glorious songs there’s still time for a little fun in the form of a Gladiators style Guitar Vs Violin duel when Dave Wave Pictures joins the stage. It all adds to the excitement and leads to this being one of the most wonderful gigs I’ve been to in a long while. Now, where’s Darren Hayman for this hug?

Links:
http://www.myspace.com/darrenhayman

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