BROTHER & BONES + CRAZY ARM +
THE ADVENTURES OF... @ THE WHITE RABBIT, PLYMOUTH -18/10/12
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| The White Rabbit, Plymouth, putting on yet another great line-up |
Mime artists. Not a lot of call
for mime artists these days so they need to find other ways to put imaginary
bread on their imaginary tables for their imaginary children. It turns out that
three of these out of work mimes have decided to form a band by the name of The Adventures Of... and they do make
quite a visual impact. So it’s slightly disappointing when they start making a
noise, just like mimes shouldn’t, and it doesn’t grab the attention quite as
much as you their image does. Don’t get me wrong, this trio are excellent
musicians and consummate performers but it’s just that their songs don’t do
anything to rouse the senses or grab you by any part of the body at all. Ones
to watch but now that they have the style sorted they might want to spend some
time on the substance.
Plymouth’s
‘band most likely to succeed’ favourites, Crazy
Arm, take to the stage next for something a little different to their usual
rasping, visceral, folk-punk. Tonight the 6-piece are showing of their
(slightly) mellower side by treating the audience to a acoustic versions of
some of their old songs, some new material and some covers. One of the more
hauntingly passionate songs from their last able was a cover of Peggy Seeger’s ‘Song
of Choice’ and this got the full 12-string guitar and fiddle treatment which
was a real treat. A range of instrument changes and multi-textured songs being
reformed in front of the audience’s eyes and ears was a real delight but it all
seemed strangely lost on an audience more intent on taking pictures of each
other in funny poses or playing on the House of the Dead arcade machine. Can it
be true that we are entering an era when a generation of music fans doesn’t
have the attention span to cope with half an hour of songs that aren’t played exactly
as they were on the CD? Never fear though, a rousing duet of Cash and Carter’s
hit ‘Jackson’ saw Darren Johns and Vicky Butterfield revel in the role of
Westcountry and Western superstars. The new acoustic album is being recorded as
I type and on this evidence it should be hotly anticipated by us all.
Following
an aborted attempt last year, this is the first gig Brother & Bones have ever played in Plymouth and it’s long
overdue by all accounts. The 5-piece’s brand of folk’n’roll seems perfectly
suited to a venue precariously balanced between sea, wilderness and the city
centre. Storming in on to the stage with ‘Hold Me Like The Sun’, ‘Your
Revolution’ and new track ‘I See Red’ the crowd are stunned by the power but
also swept up in to the tribal rhythms and chorus’s that everyone seems to
know. New versions of old songs like ‘On The Run’ as well as current versions
of new songs like EP title track ‘For All We Know’ get the crowd whipped up in to something
approaching a frenzy. It is the strangest thing though, for a Thursday night with
only £2 entry fee and two fantastic bands there is an overwhelming sense of
apathy among the young crowd. At one point, I noticed a guy spend about 10
minutes trying to take a picture of himself with a badger mask on and only
succeed in blinding himself with the flash. Sometimes it’s best to focus on the
music and not look around you but sometimes it’s flippin’ scary when take a
step back. Motherflippin’ scary.
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