GUEST SPOT #56 - Roy Haynes And The Fountain Of Youth Band

GUEST SPOT #56 - Roy Haynes And The Fountain Of Youth Band

Emma Guest Spot Roy Haynes And The Fountain Of Youth

It's Monday, and it's guest spot day again. We welcome back Emma who gives us this excellent review of a gig at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on 18th November 2011

It's that easy, so if you would like to contribute a guest spot then email us or click here...Tell us your favourite song, memory or gig, we'd love to hear from you.

Now I know where Bill Crosby got his dance moves from…the legendary Mr. Roy Haynes. Regarded as one of the jazz drumming greats, Roy Haynes came on stage tap dancing at 86 years old, every bit the 5’2” kid with a streak of mischief in his eye!!
The crowd had been wooed with the likes of Peter King and his Quartet (Steve Melling, Marc Fletcher and Jeff Gascoyne) playing fluid tracks such as Lush Life, B’s Groove and Joshua, but they still weren’t ready for Roy!

His introduction on the stage was even marked with a note from Charlie Watts (of The Rolling Stones) apologising for his absence. Apparently he sent Roy a bouquet of red roses, so we knew we were in the presence of sheer talent! I must admit I felt I was in the presence of a timeless man, timeless for the fact he didn’t look 86 nor did he play like an 86 year old. Timeless as time didn’t have any constraints on his music. Roy could take on time and lose it in melody and rapture, weaving rhythms with effortless ease. Switching between sticks I was hypnotised forgetting to focus on his drumming technique but getting carried away in the sheer buzz and rhythm from Roy and his American band (Martin Bejerano on piano, David Wong on double bass and Jaleel Shaw on saxophone).

Noted as a band leader as well as a “hard swinging” drummer Roy would randomly get up and work the band, beating his sticks and playing with the crowd. He knew he had us and we didn’t know what to expect! Rolling in track after track eventually the gig came to a stand still and we were all left wanting more! The audience immediately jumped up as Roy left the stage, we had sampled his magic music and we wanted more! In true Boston style Roy came back and toasted to our good health, everyone had forgotten the legend was a little older than he looked. When I left the hall I felt truly blessed to have seen such pure talent perfected with age yet still youthful in spirit, truly Roys’ Fountain of Youth with waves of sound.

For more of Emma's posts, please click here

sfw Pada 22:00 3 Komentar

GUEST SPOT # 30 - Widowspeak - 'In The Pines'

GUEST SPOT # 30 - Widowspeak - 'In The Pines'

Emma Guest Spot Widowspeak

Can't think of your favourite song as a Guest Spot? How about a recent gig you went to or even played at?! Email us now so we can spread the word!

Widowspeak - 'In The Pines' (2011)

Is your New Year's Resolution to go to more live gigs? Well Emma, 'our girl in the field' gig review officiando will tell you what you are missing!

Widowspeak at Zigrid Von Underbelly Hoxton 29.11.11

In the bowels of the eclectic Zigfrid Von Underbelly I discovered the Brooklyn indie band Widowspeak, I had only heard their cover of Chris Issac’s Wicked Game before this chance encounter in Hoxton.

Their style although described as indie reminds me of soft California, beaches and road trips. It’s the kind stuff you might imagine in a really cool independent flick and I don’t mean that in a bad way. Ambient and transient vocals blended with American 60s nostalgia tends to woo me and I was pleasantly surprised with their live performance.

With such a sombre introduction it’s often difficult to hold an audience but Widowspeak managed to do just that. There wasn’t much interaction with the audience but that was okay, we happily stood there taking in the sound. ZVU isn’t the easiest venue but the sound engineer was spot on and after they managed to get in one last song at the spectators’ requests I was left relaxed and content.

I’d definitely catch them again and I think they are one to watch.

And I like them, no frills speak volumes in this day and age.

They suit their style and the do it very well.

Not for lovers of a heavy sound, but more for the dreamers and thinkers.

Just hangin'

More Guest Spots?
More gig reviews from Emma?

sfw Pada 04:26 3 Komentar

GUEST SPOT'S Best Of 2011 part 1

GUEST SPOT'S Best Of 2011 part 1

Best of 2011 Bombay Bicycle Club Emma Guest Spot Iggy Pop Laura Marling Low Peaches She Keeps Bees Singing Bear Stuart The Chapel Club The Vaccines Tom Waits Twin Shadow

We did not want this site to be all about us, we wanted people to contribute their musical experiences, favourite tunes, musical memories, legendary gigs etc and as a result we have compiled a number of excellent posts which have enhanced our site and our music collection. It's with great thanks to you guys for putting in the time and effort to write and share these experiences with us. Thanks again for contributing for the best of 2011 post too. Remember, feel free to submit any contributions at any time, they are always welcome and we enjoy them greatly.

Singing Bear:-
Singing Bear is a self confessed old school music lover who runs a blog which all of us here at TuneDr follow. Grownupbackwards is a real treasure trove of forgotten gems, classics and rarities, so go and check it out. Here are 3 of SB's best.

Low - 'Try to Sleep'
'Try To Sleep' is the opening track on Low's excellent album, C'Mon. These Minnesotan 'slow-core' merchants have been around for a while now but it's taken me until this year to really take note of their rather wonderful stripped-down sound. I love their harmonies and insistent guitar work, which, over the course of an album, can take you on a journey to places where you feel, at once, at home, if somewhat uneasy. Sometimes, life just has to get slow.

Laura Marling - 'Don't Ask Me Why'
'Don't Ask Me Why' by Laura Marling is from her beautiful album, A Creature I Don't Know. I has guilty of avoiding Ms, Marling for far too long, having been put off royally by her connections with Mumford and Sons and Noah and The Whale. Should we judge people by the company they keep? Perhaps there are times when we should look beyond that because in the case of Laura Marling, I think she out-grew that gang some time ago. So, I eventually opened my ears and heard all this fine music from one so very young. All three of her albums are very good indeed but one gets the sense of real maturity on A Creature I Don't Know, which, at times, leaves you breathless with its melodic and lyrical invention. She's going to get even better, I'm sure.

Tom Waits - 'Hell Broke Luce'
One of my all-time favourite artists came back to us this year as Tom Waits released his new album, Bad As Me. In certain respects it must be said that what you get on Bad As Me is what one would expect from old Tom - some demented howling at the moon with a little nod to his jazz-bo, beatnik past thrown in for good measure, but that's no reason for complaint: the quality of the songs is top-notch. There aren't many artists of Tom's vintage still regularly creating such vital music. It's good to have him back. There's a host of great things on Bad As Me but I've chosen 'Hell Broke Luce', which is Tom's take on the US war machine and some of its more recent activities. Wild and hard-hitting.

Stuart:-
Stuart is a man of little words and wanted the music to do the talking instead. Have a look at his Mother Love Bone post, where he takes you back to a simpler time where you caressed your records.

Bombay Bicycle Club -'What You Want'  

The Vaccines - 'All In White' 

Chapel Club - 'Blind' 

Emma Bazeley:-
Emma Bazeley, introduced me to White Denim this year and her excellent review of a She Keeps Bees gig compelled me to investigate further.

She Keeps Bees - 'Vulture'
The drumming and compilation just get me.

Twin Shadow - 'Slow'
I discovered them this year and love the 80s feel and George's voice.

Peaches - 'Kick It' Featuring Iggy Pop
I love this just as much for the zombie video and the fact Peaches and Iggy refuse to grow old gracefully!

Fancy a Guest Spot? Then don't hesitate to contact us...

sfw Pada 22:00 10 Komentar

GUEST SPOT # 14 - She Keeps Bees - 'Gimmie'

GUEST SPOT # 14 - She Keeps Bees - 'Gimmie'

Emma Guest Spot She Keeps Bees



This week's Guest Spot is with a difference! A gig review of She Keeps Bees from End Of The Road Festival 2011 in Dorset from Emma who was in the thick of it, wellies and all!

She Keeps Bees - 'Gimmie' (2009)

One of the big highlights at the End of the Road Festival this year was the return of ‘She Keeps Bees’. The Brooklyn based duo Jessica and Andy were accompanied by occasional band member Owen on guitar. Self labelled as blues and New York rock, Jessica’s warm yet hard angst voice didn’t fail to disappoint, complimented by Andy’s rhythmic, heavy drumming. (I once met Jessica after their gig in Camden last year and learnt that her father was a drummer and that she had taught Andy the drums. Is there no end to this woman’s talent?)

For their Friday night set in the intimate Tipi tent She Keeps Bees wooed the crowd. As word spread the tent filled to full capacity. Playing firm favourites from Nests such as 'Release', 'Gimmie' and 'Wear Red', the crowd requested She Keeps Bees played ‘Ribbons’, a trademark track dominated by Jessica’s sassy stage presence and original voice, this lady can command a mob with a single note and yet still kindly offers out Maryland cookies to those lucky few on the front row.

From the new album, Dig On, I was elated to hear the amazing ‘Vulture’ and heart wrenching raw ‘See me’, two of the strongest tracks off the new album, showing a definite and distinctive change in Andy’s drumming, pulling out from under Jessica’s voice. The sound was controlled yet soulful, hard rock seeping through when desired and a deep underlying power ready to release velvet grit and generate those woeful, moody blues that add comfort to the ears. Another dimension was the energy and harmony added by Owen to the band. His strong, softer voice against Jessica’s gruff worked well and his quick music tasting guitar injected a buzz to the sound which diffused into the room.

A truly awesome gig and well worth seeing live!

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sfw Pada 05:19 3 Komentar