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The Wave Pictures / Planet Earth
Brighton, Freebutt
Article written by
Max K - Apr 17, 2009
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A return to the south coast for David Tattersall and co, this time at the incomparable mid-80’s time warp that is the Freebutt, a place that, according to the ‘what’s on’ blackboard just inside the door, has ‘sexy bar staff’; though evidently not on gig nights...
Arriving in time to partake of a stroll down ‘students union memory lane’, lounging in the upstairs bar, we were slightly taken aback to be assaulted by the none-too-subtle tones of Slipknot and Black Sabbath (however, consensus was reached that ‘Paranoid’ is a fine recording) as a warm-up to the evening’s events. Quite a juxtaposition of sound – we had suspicions of said noise being fed into what passed for the green room to keep the evils of fey indiedom at bay...
So, to Planet Earth – sadly (for some) not a Duran Duran tribute band, but a Donovan-esque trio (singer-guitarist/backing vox/percussionist) knocking out inoffensive folky pop in an acoustic style, and giving rise to the gentlest moshpit ever seen, consisting of a handful of lazily swaying kids who had missed their bedtime. Thankfully, contrary to what the name implies, we didn’t get steamrollered by earnest eco-warriors armed with twig bongos, though it wasn’t really stuff to set the pulse racing either.
The Wave Pictures
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The Wave Pictures, on the other hand, exuded a self-confidence that their gig in January 2008 merely hinted at – they always had (and have) a disarming charm that draws you in, supported in spades by their highly entertaining lyrics and their newly acquired ‘bigger’ sound (the jury was split on the latter - personally I’ve always liked a bit of sharp, choppy guitar noise).
Highlights lifted from ‘Instant Coffee Baby’ included ‘Friday Night In Loughborough’, ‘Kiss Me’, ‘Leave The Scene Behind’ and ‘Strange Fruit For David’ – you have to respect a band singing about marmalade sculptures...
New album taster ‘If You Leave It Alone’ suggests a second enjoyable long player in the pipeline, contrasting somewhat with the muted feel of the recorded version – clearly these are songs that need to be ‘out there’ and appreciated in live surrounds where the band/audience dynamics can be given free rein. The inter-band dynamics were great also – the drummer getting his three minutes in the limelight, ably supported in a vocal hand-holding sort of way by Dave, whilst when the bassist made an observation near the end the riposte ‘what a time to mention that’ (Dave again) added to the general feel-good vibe.
The comment was made suggesting their appeal was rooted in ‘university rock’ (bit rich coming from an American campus rock aficionado), but I reckon this undersells them – we should embrace intelligent, literate acts when they come along, especially when they are refreshingly devoid of pretension. Let’s face it, it doesn’t get much less pretentious than unslinging your guitar at the end of the night, stepping down off a foot-high stage and wandering off through the crowd because there’s no backstage way out...
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