First Impressions

["Huw Dylan Owen" <huwdylan@gl...screaming.net>]

So, what was it really like?  Ahem, yes, I was at the Lomax club in
Liverpool last night.

The Lomax club is a rock venue of the most wonderful sort.  Down a dodgy
looking side alley with a bar in basement, venue upstairs and a locked
gallery.  It's small (capacity about 150 I would guess), dingy (dark, loud
music, bricked, very rock and roll), hot and sweaty.  "Ill have a pint of
bitter please."  "Oh we only have Carling or Guinness, is that ok?".....

Anyway, first on were Disney Porn.  Lilting tunes from a musically
impressive band who just could not get their act together.  The lead
singer
apologised ("I'm sorry about this next song, I know it's pretty crap") to
the audience about 7 times.  Not very impressive.  They bungled their way
through a short sharp shit set.  Penultimate song bounced, but that was
it.

Second band : World is my Oyster.  Fucking brilliant.  Best new band I
have
ever seen, me reckons.  Loads of theatre and some of the tightest best
rocky
ballads that you have ever heard.  No mistakes on this one, every song
flew
and I was terrified.  How on earth could the Blue Aeroplanes follow this.
World is my Oyster kept everyone's attention for the whole set.  Every
song
was given with a hefty dose of arty semi-spoken drama.  When singing about
Christmas the singer (heavily dressed in frilly shirt, leather jacket,
cool
hat and shades along with spandex!) opened a wrapped gift on stage; then
he
sang about Marjorie and turned his guitar into an ironing board.  This was
a
group attempt.  Synchronised movements in the best sense chugging along
with
incredibly powerful music.  Get to see these.......

Suddenly there were more people on stage than in the audience (about
75-100
in attendance).  The Blue Aeroplanes at last were setting up.  Les Avion
Bleu are my best band of all time.  They are a synopsis of my college
memories, arty music with very wordy frontman.  God, I shiver when Gerard
says "The sound of violins" and "holding a book and a skull" etc.  You
know,
I've got all their records and love every one to the last second.  They
really mean a lot to me.  This was a great way to see them, I mean, I was
stood about 2 yards away from Gerard with a stage about one foot high!

So, how did they fare?  Well not very well at the start.  They stumbled on
stage with no background noises, no dimmed lights.  They just walked on.
The visual backdrops were exactly the same ones as they had some 9 years
ago
and very tacky cut out aeroplanes were everywhere.   The crowd (mainly
consisting of schoolteachers of about 27-27 age group - probably in
college
when Swagger arrived) didn't cheer.  An embarrassed silence dominated.
Gerard stood there looking at us.  He looks old.  A serious receding
hairline, a beer gut, and an awkward tallness which I hadn't noticed
before.
Even Rodney Allen looks about 30!  How can this be?  They aren't meant to
go
old.  However the shades are there along with seriously arty rainbow
coloured cobble of trousers (very boring black top).  No Wotjec.  No room
for him, but a real empty space pervades the band.

They begin.  "Hi, how are you?  How's it going?  You look....."  The
guitars
ROCK.  A compliment of 4 guitars, 1 bass and drums.  Layers of guitars are
a
BA speciality and this is good.  Gerard sways his head in that controlled
fashion and tingles go down my spine and then it all goes wrong somehow.
We
can't really hear, the crowd don't react as they should (probably still
thinking about World is My Oyster!), and a guitar amp starts to go
haywire.
They fly through about 4 songs (3 trance atmospheric blues numbers of
which
I had never heard).  Gerard says nothing between songs and their is a
distinct lack of showmanship here.  When he does move it looks
uncomfortable
for him.  Rodney sings "I've been there and I came back" in tuneful mode
as
usual.  Jacket Hangs with Rodney taking centre with that guitar show.
Things go seriously wrong.  One of the guitarists is having real problems
now and he insists on trying his stuff out in the middle of THE song.
Gerard and Rodney look unhappy (as does the very tall strange business
suited bass player).  They decide to play an acoustic number.  Mandolins
and
acoustic guitars come out and they surprise us with a wonderful rendition
of
Jack Leaves, Back Spring, really very good and moving.  The guitarist goes
berserk and throws one of the cardboard planes away with real anger and
suddenly his guitar is ok.  They roll on to an astonishingly good version
of
Cowardice and Caprice.  Tuneful, melodic and wordy.  This is the way I
like
them.  Guitar goes wrong again.  Guitarist goes crazy.  Walks off and
comes
back on with a new amp.  All is well.

Suddenly they play Weightlessness and it all comes together.  Gerard is
confident.  The guitars layer thick and everything looks up.  They even
start a sing along.  A banjo rushes in and you all know the wonderful
guitar
run from this one to "and Stones", it is done in such a fashion on the
banjo
that the crowd now go crazy and cheer.  A young man gets up to dance (he
looks remarkably like Wojtec and dances like him - offspring?).  I feel
dizzy with it all.  The rainbow colours light up and the Blue Aeroplanes
are
their former selves.

They are flying now and glorious.  It all comes to a slow magnificent
ending
and I'm in love with them again.  I guess that this setting suits them.
You
can actually focus on the music rather than the dancing etc.  Gerard sings
ART STAR which he says is about a visit to an art exhibition in Bristol
where Damien Hirst etc were there and how "fucking shite" they all were.
Gerard actually sing on a few numbers (must be getting old!) and then
tells
us that this is an important year for them with 5 albums on the way!  5
Albums!?!  Crazy.

They finish.  Encore.  They play Colour Me which is spiritual and the
highlight of the gig easily.  They finish as ever with the multi guitar
attack of Breaking in my Heart.  No surrender eh lads?

We make our excuses and leave.  Two hours drive back to West Wales.

Impressed?  Very.

Les Avion Bleu need a marketing manager!  5 albums?!  They had no
merchandise on sale.  No T-shirts, no new singles, nothing.  A shame as I
guess everyone there would have got a T-shirt.

Anyway, see you next time Gerry.

Huw Dylan Owen



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