Handsome Furs & Daniel Martin Moore ~ Escape Club, St. Julians, 18/12/2010

{Published in The Times of Malta, 22/12/2010}

Sub Pop not Subpar

The Sub Pop record label has become synonymous with innovative artists and music over the years, having signed critically and commercially acclaimed artists such as Nirvana, Soundgarden and Fleet Foxes. Last Saturday, serious Maltese music enthusiasts had an isolated opportunity to experience live two of the renowned label’s current acts at the Escape Club in St. Julians.

Hailing from Kentucky Texas, folk singer-songwriter Daniel Martin Moore claims he has wanted to visit little old Malta for the best part of 20 years and he looked genuinely honoured to be able to perform to the gathered crowd, even if there was less than fifty people in the room. “Thanks for coming out to see me’, he announced in his hushed Kentucky drawl after opening number Stray Age.

Armed solely with a small acoustic guitar, Moore shared tales from his hometown. He drew attention to how lucky Malta was for what he put as being “mineral poor” unlike Kentucky, where every year streams are buried and poisoned, and nearby towns threatened due to the rubble sent flying due to mining explosives in the Appalachian Mountains. On the following protest song Flyrock Blues he sang, “People praying don’t you land on me, don’t you bust my house, just let me be on my own ground.”

Moore also played other traditional and contemporary Kentucky penned tunes to the audience, including a beautifully wistful cover of Kentucky Waltz originally by father of bluegrass, Bill Monroe. As one of those old heads resting on young shoulders, Moore’s music falls under the tradition of American folk music, where songs are passed down from generation to generation, each new song drawing from the rich social narratives of heartland America. For a short but magical forty minutes, that tradition came alive at great geographical inconvenience in Malta.

Canadian husband and wife duo Handsome Furs were greeted on stage by a much healthier numbered crowd. They kicked off with a super-charged live version of Legal Tender, complete with an ear-pounding electronic drum beat and industrial guitar squeals that sounded like Godzilla smashing through the techno-obsessed sprawl of Tokyo city. Their sound could not have been further removed from the gentle organic elements of fellow Sub-Pop label mate Daniel Martin Moore.

The duo seemed enthusiastic to be playing their last gig of a lengthy tour in Malta from all places, both of them joking and bantering with their audience in-between songs. “Our plan tonight is to get drunk enough to burn our passports as a joke,” lead vocalist and guitarist Dan Boeckner semi-joked after expressing how his wife and himself were having a great time here.

While their studio albums are somewhat lacklustre affairs, Handsome Furs’ sound came into its own in the live scenario, easily working up the crowd into a sweaty bouncing frenzy. Perhaps the highlight of their set was penultimate song Serve the People; a thumping two-chord techno-infused number that forced all present into a euphoric trance. Cheers and chants all around the band returned for a final encore of new song No Feeling, keeping the atmosphere electric until the very end.

It might have been a low-key affair, but those who were there got to see something a bit different from the usual suspects who are invited to perform on Maltese shores. From ageless folk to post-industrial electronic rock the Sub Pop artists gave live testimony as to why their mother label remains one of the music industry’s most intriguing modern success stories.

David Knopfler ~ Manoel Theatre, Valletta, 11/12/2010

{Published in The Sunday Times of Malta, 19/12/2010}

Sultan of Storytelling

It would be fair to say that if not for the “former member of Dire Straits” tag behind his name on promotional posters, David Knopfler would have probably been playing to a pretty empty venue over his three-night residence at the Manoel Theatre. Having released nine solo studio albums since his departure from his brother Mark Knopfler’s band in 1980, most of which fall under the mawkish synth-soaked and reverb-drenched music genre to be found at a record store near you, the majority attending hardly knew what to expect.

Selected especially by the headliner himself, Saturday’s entrée was prepared by local based band the Creepers, who cooked up their own raw acoustic vintage American blues. The Creepers opened with a smoothly mellow Lonesome Road Blues and gradually turned up the mojo over their six number set. The four-piece sounded as slick as their clean-cut suits and gelled-solid hairstyles, showing they can talk-the-talk just as well as they walk-the-walk.

Shortly after 8.30pm, David Knopfler stumbled out on stage almost as if by accident. Waving to the tiered audience, the singer-songwriter wandered leisurely towards the mic to say hello, before retreating to pick up the wrong acoustic guitar on stage, consequently having to switch to the correct one a few seconds later. Nonplussed, Knopfler ensued to calmly tune-up, leaving the audience quietly whisper among themselves in bemusement for a few more minutes, before finally departing station with a gutsy performance of Steel Wheels, immediately showcasing that his similarities to his brother extend in voice as well as in looks.

Knopfler followed with a well-received rendition of Dire Strait’s classic Wild West End, a song he described cheekily as being written by “Mark something or other.” However hopes for more were altogether futile.

Throughout the concert, Harry Bogdanovs accompanied Knopfler on guitar and piano duties. The two musicians certainly made for a rather bizarre aesthetic combination. Knopfler appeared bedraggled in his unadorned creased shirt, shabby jeans and unkempt hair. Only his orange tinted sunglasses hinted at rock ’n’ roll glamour. On the other hand, Bogdanovs came across as the archetype bohemian Dandy; attired in smart blazer and scarlet cravat, his silvery hair blow-dried into contemplative wispy waves.

Musically, the two of them could not have been more intertwined. This was made particularly explicit on the beautiful King of Ashes, where the two musicians, both wielding guitars, melodically morphed into medieval-esque maudlin minstrels.

In between songs Knopfler did one of either two things. If holding his guitar, he felt the need to constantly retune it, a habit that needed to be fulfilled in borderline OCD fashion before continuing with the next song, leaving the audience in silence for minutes at a time. When at the piano though, he was freed of such habitual burden and went on to share casual memories of his life, explaining the inspiration behind certain songs. His work experience as a social worker spawned the elegant Southside Tenements, which dates back pre-Dire Straits.

He also shared how one morning he found his young daughter drawing on the floorboards of a $175,000 house he has just recently bought in upstate New York, she had simply written, “I love home.” This inspired the enduringly charming Here In Genesee, a sweet lullaby of a tune that sounded exquisite in its uncomplicated piano-guitar format.

With each song played, the audience response got louder and more appreciative. On Tears Fall, Knopfler invited local singer Fiona Cauchi on stage for a duet; a gesture that went down particularly well with all present. He finished off with his bluesy Easy Street, a song the singer described as being his “Faustian pact moment” and dealt with his 1st hand experience of quick fame and fortune in the music business.

Returning for an encore there was only one thing on the entire audience’s mind, “will he play Sultans of Swing?” Knopfler was aware of the expectation but quickly pulled the plug on such wishful thinking by announcing that he wouldn’t be caught dead playing that song, before delivering another one of his solo efforts. There was an almost tangible dip in the mood around the venue.

But in truth Knopfler has no real prerogative to play any Dire Straits material, as he simply did not write any of it. The reason he does keep on recording and performing clearly is not to relive the glory days as a rock star in one of music’s great bands, but to be able to share his own written material with new audiences no matter how modest in number.

After the show, Knopfler met waiting fans, signed autographs for them and of course shared more stories, telling one in line how his brother Mark used to whack him around the head to get him to practice guitar when they were young. No matter how trivial, Knopfler made you want to listen to his rambling tales, and by the end of the night you kind of felt you knew the man enough to convincingly get away with calling him an acquaintance; “You know I met David Knopfler once, really down to earth sort of guy. He spent an evening playing me his songs and telling me about his life. Great bloke. Just don’t ask him to play Sultans of Swing.”

gods and animals

God does not speak through men
he speaks through the pasty mud
caked on his naked body
the crevice of cheek and brow
life will be sustained mellifluously
by ghosts visiting from the past
to haunt.

he woke up to see two of them;
One that kills and One that loves
his paws ached and as he gently
moved each ligament he felt
the dry mud crack on his skin
he smeared the mud on his forehead
and sighed.

the One that kills, oblivious
the One that loves shed a tear
the truth came swiftly to him
like the merman messenger
rushing to the merman king
to warn of titans approaching
to drink.

wash away the days of mud
and the One that kills comes alive
feels the urge to take on a lover
and bed her in sheepish disguise
smear on pasty mud; more, more
so the One that loves felicitates
all night.

waves of fair wispy hair
come to him from a lifetime
before the mud smeared on body
before the Ones stood on constant watch
a hand, a finger, a nail, a tip
of something somewhen long ago
now mad.

God does not speak through animals
he speaks through the pasty mud
ripping bodies alive again
muscles expand and fall again
life will fade, death erase, the mind becomes
pregnant.

Teatru Unplugged ~ Manoel Theatre, Valletta 04/12/2010

{Published in The Times of Malta, 08/12/2010}

This year Teatru Unplugged has officially entered its teenage years, celebrating its 13th birthday. Having started off as a one-off experiment back in 1998, this event has become an annual fixture at the Manoel not to be missed, showcasing both upcoming and established artists in an intimate setting that strips down the music to its bare acoustic bones.

First act of the night, twelve-year-old Megan Balzan, walked out onto the beautifully twilight lit stage to encouraging cheers and applause. The young singer’s accumulated experience at a number of local concerts and recitals was instantly apparent through her calm and collected stage presence. Accompanied by pianist Rosetta de Battista, Miss Balzan started with a rendition of On My Own from the musical Les Misérables, which saw her boldly put as much emotion into the weighty subject matter as is possible for a young girl of her age.

Finishing off with a stunning version of Alicia Keys’ Empire State of Mind (Part II), Miss Balzan competently won over the audience with her endearing vocals and will surely be one to look out for in the local music scene in the coming years.

Beige’s performance started with vocalist Claire Galea making an entrance from the back of the room, walking and singing down the aisle, while the remainder of the band laid down the instrumental.

If the name Beige was meant to be some sort of ironic moniker, the band’s hotel-lounge jazz laden sound certainly did not help the audience get the joke. The band clearly possesses a group of talented musicians; however there was nothing particularly memorable about their music. Even the band seemed to feel the need to compensate for this through their performance by trying to force the crowd into enjoying it. From vocalist Claire Galea insisting all crowd members wave about their mobile phones to their original number Feels Good, to the injection of unnecessary life into their cover of Norah Jones’ playful Don’t Know Why, it was all slightly overkill. Sometimes less is more.

Third act of the night Chasing Pandora have established themselves as one of Malta’s most prolific musical outfits; having released two full-fledged studio albums as well as a further six EPs of material in a four year lifespan.

They started their set with People. Expressing her musings on the bedlam of life in swarming cities, Mel Portelli’s sussurating vocals bloomed and withered over the folky barn-thumping rhythm that maintained the core of the song. The band was as tight as clockwork and immediately captured the imagination of all present with their jamboree of tinkering organic sounds and impeccable harmonies.

By the time they reached the hushed ending of final song Time, Chasing Pandora had comfortably proven they made a perfect fit for the Manoel’s timeworn ambiance and many will be hoping that it has crossed the band’s collective mind to host their very own night at this hallowed local venue.

This year’s edition of Teatru Unplugged also saw the debut performances of percussionist, composer and producer extraordinaire Renzo Spiteri’s Terra Project. The ensemble’s first number was an experimental piece, which saw the musicians chime, clink, jingle, rattle, pick, pluck, strum and hum sounds inspired by the element of water; the theme of the band’s performance on the night. Spiteri’s mellifluous caissa drum juxtaposed against Liz Conrad’s deep Oriental influenced cello phrasings were achingly beautiful and arrestingly solemn. The Terra Project’s set came to a close with a cover of Coldplay’s Swallowed in the Sea and they took their bows to rapturous acclamation.

Few would have expected the following act Fraser to surpass the ethereal Terra Project’s performance, yet fewer still would have imagined they would be quite as shoddy as they were. The Anglo-Maltese musicians were out of tune and all over the place at times. Still this was perhaps more bearable compared to the awkward silences that ensued when the band was not playing.

In these moments, frontman Fraser Gregory stumbled over his words and sounded about as excited to be performing at the event, as the undead would be to wake up to yet, another, day. Apart from a cover of Pulp’s Common People, the vast majority in the audience were audibly not interested.

Last to take the stage were the Blast, a choir inspired by hit American TV show GLEE. The 27 brightly dressed teenyboppers forming the choir were all big smiles and fists in the air, which certainly made for quite a startling impact, especially after the dreary looking Fraser. While admittedly a gamble to feature in a show that is primarily known for stripped down intimate performances, the Blast dazzled the Manoel with bountiful pizzazz and charisma, delivering sprightly renditions of Journey’s Don’t Stop Believing and Van Halen’s Jump. It would have perhaps been interesting to hear the choir sing strictly a-capella, particularly on one of the ballads performed.

All in all Teatru Unplugged 13 was a good all-rounder and managed to include something for the whole family. Featuring some spectacularly good performances, Teatru Unplugged has entered teenhood in style and will surely keep delighting music enthusiasts for many years to come.