Whisky Cats + Joy Riding Range + Tiger Warsaw |
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| The Bivouac
7th November 2008
Photos & Review by Pete |
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With Gaz on the deck it was early Killers and The Libs ‘Can’t Stand Me Now’ which led almost seamlessly into the swell of reverb and the brush of a cymbal that was Tiger Warsaw with an unexpectedly ambient opening. Then came the first baleful thud from the drumkit, a baseball bat of intent, it felt big. Then another mournful blow as relentless as Beethoven’s Fifth and summoning the crowd up the stairs to investigate. The shift in tempo soon came, subsided and came again yet it was a full five minutes in
Eight piece Joy Riding Range crammed the stage - and their fans crowded most of the space out front. There was a lot of ‘em squeezing up and like the band they were there to have a good time and the
Next on the bill, Mr and Mrs , were a no-show so I am going to have to fabricate a review: they took ages to set up and after they finally got started it was soon clear that they were totally lacking in ideas or sounds. It’s hard to know where to begin to list all their failings but let’s just say that next time they fail to show up here I only hope they make more of an effort.
Finally, headliners The Whisky Cats. All the way from Manchester. Nem, nem, nem, not Madchester, though. Well, actually more Manchester if it was actually Berlin circa 1930’s in some smoke-filled jazz bar
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| More pics at www.shine.clara.co.uk/gigs website.
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before a brief malevolent growl of a vocal. That voice was to rarely reappear but when it did late in the set it was a remnant, barely audible, intriguingly unprepossessing. The effort instead was fully focussed on the lead and bass guitars shimmering out like across vast space and time and rumbling your ribcage in the process. While the electric instruments sparkled away, ethereal, the pounding beats were nothing less than a smothering tirade against everything but the facts of the here and the now. The opposites of ennui and urgency, of prog rock and post-punk were somehow reconciled here and the mix was undeniably something curious and unique. 
upbeat vibe was quickly confirmed. For an outfit made up of teenage white kids the resulting spliffy, retro 70’s West Midlands Jamaican sound was surprisingly authentic. With no less than five pieces of brass up there adding warm colours some school’s music department must be looking a bit bare of kit at the moment. The backing vocal was excellent throughout, overlapping the lead to interesting effect. The breaks between songs were filled with a fair bit of chit-chat which along with the occasional fluffed start could be taken as happily laid back or a bit amateurish, whichever - but each time the band bustled back into action and with a tidy bit of purposefulness, totally valid, unpretentious and it has to be said, charmingly unaffected. 
in the early hours of the morning. Proper retro. I’d read good things about this band a couple of years ago in Sandman magazine - and was particularly impressed by the fact their fans had chipped in up front for them to get into the studio to record an album. That same sort of magnanimous support was ready and waiting for them now here in Lincoln, November 08 - mostly in the form of Joy Riding Range and their fans all hyped up and ready to look good on the dance floor. A bit disappointing then that as the boys opened they so quickly quelled all that restless spirit by slowing things way down, to the point that anyone even swaying their hips a little looked like they were kinda trying a bit too hard. Yeah, they had a bit of a wait till forces were finally unleashed enough to create the conditions necessary for a mental jazz moshpit of a storm thing. And more surprisingly this all seemed to arise quite naturally with minimal or nil alcohol 
consumption by anyone there, except the Whisky Cats who were knocking back lager, obviously to fight dehydration. Once the plodding world-jazz numbers were dispensed with the band got a bit more amusing, with some pretty xylophone played with teaspoons (hey, you can’t go wrong with xylophones these days) - and even a bit of fine whistling accompaniment - all greeted with growing enthusiasm. The smooth vocal got smoother and it was time for lines of communication to properly open between music makers and music fans. They got into the groove. Of special mention was the increasingly expressive, messed-up choking sax playing, including some cheeky little pauses designed to tease - and all the time played unblinkingly, absorbedly. By the end these Manc Cats were proclaiming they’ll be coming back to make a video playing here but first for them comes Sunday’s appearance on Channel 4, Orange Mobile Unsigned. But however that performance goes they amusingly finished tonight’s work-out for us with a bit of a diversion, a funky ‘Ooh, Baby, Baby’ encore to leave a roomful of people happy and smiley. This page was last updated Monday, 11 January 2010
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