Monday, October 03, 2005
Sea Change
It will come as no surprise to many of you that good ship SFB#1 has been cast upon the turbulent waves of a protracted and difficult labour disruption. This tempestuous time has turned your humble narrator’s thoughts inward, and begun a period of deep introspection. Thus, I have been sensitive to the portents abounding at the end of Rocktember. This past week SFB#1 and A-Ranger took in Interpol and Doves at Kool Haus and The Docks respectively. While these two bands share little stylistically or musically they both take lyrical inspiration from the briny deep. Significant that both shows took place on the City’s ersatz waterfront? Hard to say. Yet, symbols abound. My last book club selection was Last Orders, a bittersweet tale of four lads scattering their friend’s ashes at the seaside. I can’t help but think this all means something. A sea change is imminent; I can feel it in my bones.
The shows themselves couldn’t have been more different. Doves was an undulating river of sound and vision, roiling white water riffs and swelling bass lines carrying us out to the sea of rock. In stark contrast, Interpol performed their songs with the rigid precision of glacial forms, their angular riffs as jagged as Slartibartfast’s Norwegian fjords . Each performance was enjoyable for what it was. On Interpol’s web forum a fan commented that the band had perfectly replicated their album in the live set. Such a level of technical mastery is laudable. Yet there is something to be said for losing yourself in a stream of someone else’s consciousness. If we are comparing apples to oranges, I’ll take oranges, as there is less chance of scurvy.
Doves was definitely the highlight of the week. They took the stage with "Snowden", a standout from the new album. Quintessential Doves cinematic opening that swells to a crashing riffs. Jimi’s hangover cure, "let’s make it a fuckin’ blinder!". I’m inclined to agree. Their momentum quickly builds through "Sky is Falling" and "Pounding", which I find a bit surprising. I was expecting it as an encore. "Black and White Town" makes me think of my own escape from suburban high school hell to the anonymity of the big city. When Jimi mentions they spent the day in Niagara Falls, my own personal town called malice, things start falling into place. We sit in the eye of the storm by mid set when the band performs new number Eleven Miles Out an encouraging sign of things to come. Old and new songs are well represented in the set (see below for complete list). They close the night with their signature samba outro to There Goes the Fear.
Water is such a powerful symbol and rightly so. Waves often represent emotional states of placid calm or churning turmoil. Dreaming of water or the ocean can signify the coming of great opportunity, the transition from one state of consciousness to another. I have to admit that I have been feeling rudderless as if floating down a lazy river for some time. Yet tonight, as we cross back over the channel on to the mainland, I feel like I’m at the mouth of a tributary looking out to sea. We are on the cusp of a great change. It’s no small coincidence that we have recently purged the bilge tanks of our home and lightened our loads. "There Goes The Fear" echoes in my head as we head home. If I take anything away from tonight’s performance and the portents of this past month it is to let it go, all the fear and anxiety go and trust in our own abilities to weather this storm, find our bearings and sail on to more prosperous harbours. A sea change is imminent and it is not to be feared.
Doves – The Docks – Friday Sept. 30th
Snowden
Sky Starts Falling
Pounding
Black and White Town
Almost Forgot Myself
Sea Song
Eleven Miles Out
Ambition
Last Broadcast
Some Cities
Caught By The River
One of These Days
The Cedar Room
Encore
M62 Song
Here It Comes
Rise
There Goes The Fear
Interpol – Kool Haus – Wednesday Sept. 28th
Next Exit
Slow Hands
NARC
A Time to Be So Small
Say Hello to the Angels
Public Pervert
Not Even Jail
Leif Erikson
Evil
Obstacle #2
Take You on a Cruise
PDA – No Carlos Bass amp Solo stand
Encore
Untitled
Stella was a Diver and She Was Always Down
Roland ¶ 12:20 AM
The shows themselves couldn’t have been more different. Doves was an undulating river of sound and vision, roiling white water riffs and swelling bass lines carrying us out to the sea of rock. In stark contrast, Interpol performed their songs with the rigid precision of glacial forms, their angular riffs as jagged as Slartibartfast’s Norwegian fjords . Each performance was enjoyable for what it was. On Interpol’s web forum a fan commented that the band had perfectly replicated their album in the live set. Such a level of technical mastery is laudable. Yet there is something to be said for losing yourself in a stream of someone else’s consciousness. If we are comparing apples to oranges, I’ll take oranges, as there is less chance of scurvy.
Doves was definitely the highlight of the week. They took the stage with "Snowden", a standout from the new album. Quintessential Doves cinematic opening that swells to a crashing riffs. Jimi’s hangover cure, "let’s make it a fuckin’ blinder!". I’m inclined to agree. Their momentum quickly builds through "Sky is Falling" and "Pounding", which I find a bit surprising. I was expecting it as an encore. "Black and White Town" makes me think of my own escape from suburban high school hell to the anonymity of the big city. When Jimi mentions they spent the day in Niagara Falls, my own personal town called malice, things start falling into place. We sit in the eye of the storm by mid set when the band performs new number Eleven Miles Out an encouraging sign of things to come. Old and new songs are well represented in the set (see below for complete list). They close the night with their signature samba outro to There Goes the Fear.
Water is such a powerful symbol and rightly so. Waves often represent emotional states of placid calm or churning turmoil. Dreaming of water or the ocean can signify the coming of great opportunity, the transition from one state of consciousness to another. I have to admit that I have been feeling rudderless as if floating down a lazy river for some time. Yet tonight, as we cross back over the channel on to the mainland, I feel like I’m at the mouth of a tributary looking out to sea. We are on the cusp of a great change. It’s no small coincidence that we have recently purged the bilge tanks of our home and lightened our loads. "There Goes The Fear" echoes in my head as we head home. If I take anything away from tonight’s performance and the portents of this past month it is to let it go, all the fear and anxiety go and trust in our own abilities to weather this storm, find our bearings and sail on to more prosperous harbours. A sea change is imminent and it is not to be feared.
Doves – The Docks – Friday Sept. 30th
Snowden
Sky Starts Falling
Pounding
Black and White Town
Almost Forgot Myself
Sea Song
Eleven Miles Out
Ambition
Last Broadcast
Some Cities
Caught By The River
One of These Days
The Cedar Room
Encore
M62 Song
Here It Comes
Rise
There Goes The Fear
Interpol – Kool Haus – Wednesday Sept. 28th
Next Exit
Slow Hands
NARC
A Time to Be So Small
Say Hello to the Angels
Public Pervert
Not Even Jail
Leif Erikson
Evil
Obstacle #2
Take You on a Cruise
PDA – No Carlos Bass amp Solo stand
Encore
Untitled
Stella was a Diver and She Was Always Down
Roland ¶ 12:20 AM
