The Music Issue

This month we've managed to see two gigs! In a single month! Two! (Gone are the days of two a week ...)

First was Asobi Seksu. Two or three nondescript guys (who looked surprisingly young, but then nearly everyone in these new bands is younger than I am), and one tiny Japanese woman who totally ran the show. They hit us with a wall of noise which brought back blissful memories of gigs in the 90s, and of many of the bands I listened to (obvious MBV influence). But I have to admit that they weren't exactly tight. The singer's voice is pretty but not especially powerful and kind of got lost in the mix a bit - though that could just be a bad sound guy, too. And the guitarist's backing vocals were pretty ragged. They ran through their songs from Citrus, and played a serviceable cover of a Mazzy Star song. It was fun, and loud, and I've got a lifelong soft spot for dreamy overlapping guitars. But it didn't blow me away.

I've rhapsodized about giant 11-member bands and what a great show they put on (Arcade Fire, Broken Social Scene, Godspeed You Black Emperor). But I like the other extreme just as much - the super tight two-piece or three-piece. I remember seeing Black Rebel Motorcycle Club a few years ago (with Bridget, if I recall correctly), and I was blown away by how much noise three people could make. Fantastic noise - the kind that hits you in the chest with the first pounding bassline. The Raveonettes were like that on Friday night. We never managed to make any of the shows they played in Toronto, but here we got to see them in a really small venue (don't Oxford students go to gigs?). They have a crisp live sound, are effortlessly cool, made lots of noise (duelling feedback!), and yea verily, it was good. I think every guy in the place (Jeff included) fell for Sharin, who looks looks like a cross between Nico and Debbie Harry. Totally stunning. Guys were yelling inane things like 'I love your shoes!' to her between songs. And Sune looks like a cross between A-ha and one of the Jesus and Mary Chain (which, come to think of it, would be a brilliant combination). After they played they came out and set up a table to sell their own merchandise. As soon as Sharin's peroxided head appeared there was a stampede of late twenty and thirtysomething indie guys (it was a slightly older crowd - we were definitely about the average age), while their girlfriends/wives stood back in groups with wryly amused expressions. All this and we still made it home by 11, since we are old and need our rest.

It's beginning to look like Christmas, in Oxford ...

... and London.

Not long before we'll be landing in Toronto. Can't wait!