The El Rey
Theatre is an attractive but a tame venue.
Don’t take water or chewing gum inside.
Don’t stand the wrong side of the two black lines that run down the side
of the main floor. If you do, expect an
El Rey minion to swoop in and oblige you shuffle over a couple of inches. Rock and roll decadence, El Rey style.
Before the main
attraction takes the stage, Los Angeles is treated to a little English
eccentricity. Adem (AH-dem) is a
songwriter from London and a confirmed
multi-instrumentalist. No kidding. He gives us Beach Boys classic God Only Knows
on the ukulele then sings a children’s fairy tale accompanied by bells.
Badly Drawn Boy (aka: Damon Gough) is nearing the end of his tour. Arriving at the west coast, Damon makes clear his affection for Los Angeles tonight. He explains he spent a lot of time in LA while clinging on to his songwriting job on the About a Boy movie. His tenacity aided his career greatly.
Gough is a likeable character and his songs have a broad appeal. The scratty beard, the absurd woolly hat, the chuntering northern English accent and the plain-spoken emotion in his songs all add to his charm. Plus, while introducing his b-side ditty Don’t Ask Me I’m Only the President, he tells GW Bush to f-off several times. A definite crowd pleaser.
Although the El Rey would probably prefer people to watch gigs via a web link to eradicate the need for people to make their venue look untidy, Gough gives LA folks reason enough to come out tonight. There’s a mixture of old and new from Gough and his excellent band. Tracks from his new album Born in the UK are here (Journey from A to B, Nothing’s Gonna Change your Mind) as are the obligatory crowd pleasing oldies.
Gough encourages the crowd attempt a sophisticated clap-along for his charming Once Around the Block – and El Rey punters don’t disgrace themselves. Soon after, Gough hears someone in the crowd jamming on harmonica. He lowers the microphone to jam along. Moments to cherish. Gough himself likes playing more intimate venues because they present more opportunities like this.
However, in
fairness the El Rey staff should have asked Gough to put out that ‘cigarette’
he was smoking, ban him from playing in the US and forced him to go back to
touring Britain’s most popular fish and chip shops…
(Wednesday Records)
The phrase “Cinematic Americana” conjures up visions of the Marlboro Man galloping across the endless American plains. Musically, you might recall Ryan Adams banging out “Scars of Love.” Perhaps you’ll think fondly of a Counting Crows tune playing over a particularly moving episode of Friends. Basically, The Little Heroes have given themselves a rather grandiose album title to live up to in their songs.
Opening track “Flight Plans for Airplanes” is a down-tempo country tune featuring some great wispy vocal overlaps and the occasional piano plink. It sounds like it could have been lifted straight from the Cash Brothers’ 2001 release How was Tomorrow. That’s not a criticism.
Single “September Falls” is a thumping slice of Americana. In the verse, James Lombardo’s vocals show Michael Stipe’s influence on his melody and timbre, but when he opens up in the chorus, he makes the song his own. (There are lots of Document-era R.E.M. flavors on this album.) The middle eight half-time works well and swells into a great outro complete with call and response vocals. “Teeth” sounds like super-charged R.E.M. and, further into the album, “Come On” has a Pete Yorn vibe.
They can all play their instruments,
not least drummer Adam Caldwell, who puts in an ultra-tight performance.
The band occasionally rely on creating driving rhythms with heavy, regular
strumming when memorable hooks and a little space may have yielded even better
songs. But this is a strong debut album and the band would be well worth
catching live. Although it doesn’t entirely conjure up the epic scale
suggested by its title, you may find yourself really warming to this album.
Originally published on theredalert.com
