Birds of Hell, Pin Ups and Aphra
No gigs for over 14 months and then two come along at once. Well, actually it is three but I was too slow to get ticket for Sink Ya Teeth for tomorrow so two it is. After yesterday, being seated with table service and a one way system feel (a bit) less weird. The set up is a bit how I imagine it would be on a cruise ship but, strange as it is, it is just so good to be back.
First up is Aphra. I think I have only seen Aphra once or twice before and that was a while back. In my head, she and her band played up-beat ska-pop-soul-bluebeat. Tonight, things are - for the most part - more downbeat than I (no doubt mis)remembered. A lot of the set ventures into 70s US AM radio singer-songwriter territory but then the closing two tracks head into shouty post-punk and an alt.rock take on Lloyd Cole. Different as it is from what I expected, this is still a thoroughly enjoyable performance chock full of cracking tunes.
This is the first time I have caught Pin Ups take on garage rock. With three- and four-way harmonies and bubbling keys, their’s is a set that brings to mind the likes of Sonics, Kingsmen and Stranglers cut with Wild Billy Childish and Crazyhead. This may not be a new sound but it is exhilarating.
Whilst I may not be that familiar with Aphra and Pin Ups, the same is not true of Birds of Hell. From the early days of Pete performing solo to one of the last gigs I caught before Lockdown I, from admiring but not necessarily liking what Pete was doing to being completely won over, I have lost count of the number of times I have seen BoH. Tonight may not have be the very best gig I have seen them play but it is well up there. From opener MEU (Musicians’ Exercise Unit) through to closer Do I Get To Ride On A Unicorn - my second favourite and favourite BoH songs - this is sublime. All going well, if things don’t get screwed up again, Birds of Hell will be back at NAC on 10th July with Bag of Cans and The Glitter Shop. Be there, people, be there.
This may have been weird but, stating the bleedin’ obvious, the last 14 months have been weird. Getting back to live music has been wonderful. You know what? After all the strangeness, all the social distancing, all the staying at home, I am not sure I could have coped with just jumping straight back into gigs the way they were and tonight (and last night) have eased me back into it. Thanks go to the bands and to everyone at NAC for getting this together and making it work.
