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Todd
The Edmund Fitzgerald and That Fucking Tank
Date: 25/08/2004
Venue: London The Yacht Club
by Mike Diver
Rock the boat? In what sense? Sure, this boat is swaying, in a sort of rocking motion, but this? This music isn’t what you’d call 'rock' in the conventional sense. Still, it’s making me rather seasick all the same.
That Fucking Tank – 50 per cent of excellent Leeds-based outfit Kill Yourself – play fairly standard stop-start stuff in a manner not wholly dissimilar to having a pneumatic drill wedged in your earhole. It’s hardly generic considering the underground nature of this instrumental two-piece lark, but at the same time becomes rather repetitive. With beer money at an all time low, my attention span is dangerously close to breaking point. No, wait, it’s gone. Shattered. All over the starboard bow. I wonder what The Murder Of… are up to over at 93 Feet East…?
Another act that fully endorse stop-start awkwardness is The Edmund Fitzgerald. They’re reviewed elsewhere here, and rather recently too, so I’ll leave you with just this: they played too long. 20 minutes? Yep, that’d have been fine. 40 minutes? You’re taking the fucking piss, mate. They're dead to me after 21 minutes, at which point I'd kill my best mate for a chorus. I wonder how Pretty Girls Make Graves are doing down the Scala…?
Which leaves Todd. All of ten minutes of them. Y’see, some of us have to go dead on 11 or our crystal carriages turn back into pumpkins, and due to the later-than-advertised start, and The Edmund Fitzgerald’s brain-bleedingly long set, I’ve only a few moments to take in the Anglo-American might of London’s second-loudest band. “Cracker Jack Asshole!” screams vocalist Craig, whilst his wife and her mate stab at their teeny keyboards, making a noise that bees probably make in Hell. Giant bees. Bees the size of family saloons. Bees that would eat you and spew you up for their queen. Sorry… yeah, they play some songs, y’know, like bands have a tendency to do at these events. Some people clap; others wonder what all the fuss is about. After all, surely anyone can plug a pissy keyboard or two into amps the size of a fat cat’s salary and pretend to be a band, right? Yeah, probably, but Todd are meaner than you, so don’t be starting any shit or they'll beat you with your own limbs.
On the way home I manage to buy butter costing the best part of a pound. A pound! I wonder what the fuck this country is coming to…?
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TODD
how much to you expect to pay for butter of any repute?
i was quite pleased to only pay 80p for a wee block of unsalted t'other day. AND i was in the suburbs then. -
TODD
I'll tell you what Murder of... were up to at 93, reinventing themselves as a kinsella style jazzy dubby space age funk band.. Joan Of Arc, June of 44, Owls and even A Certain Ratio came to mind. They were excellent, and their new self released 7" with a little comic is well worth having. (i almost bought some Murder of... underware but I was a bit skint). Distophia's amp blew up but their soundcheck was good and the song they did play with two drummers was like a archers of loaf or Small 23 (ie FUCKING AWESOME). We played a load of new stuff too quick but it was alright.-
Re: TODD
"a kinsella style jazzy dubby space age funk band"
Oh.
My.
God.
Bonkers. Actually, at the Six in the City show they were a little... odd.-
Re: TODD
How were June of 44 any of those genres?-
TODD
FYI, Pretty Girls Make Graves were fair to middling - the kids loved it, I'm just too darned old, I think - it's just a shame the sound was so appalling at the Scala. Really abysmal, so much so that it spoilt my night. Is it always that bad there? Saw Blonde Redhead there earlier this year and it was fine then...-
Re: TODD
agreed, I was standing near the front, and almost ended up being part of a mosh, luckily I got out. I wasn't so keen on the new tracks, they were a bit drawn out, I think they need two guitarists, otherwise they're really limiting the amount of their back catalogue they can play.-
Re: TODD
I was at this gig and had a really great time. The reviewer is too cynical and bitchy. And the venue was cool. The lights of London sights all around you... The That Fucking Tank EP is great stuff too. Buy it.-
Re: TODD
Having just looked at your photo, are you sure you've EVER had a really great time? Let alone a middling to average sort of time.
Perhaps I was bitchy. I've seen all the bands before though, and this night wasn't the best they've been.-
TODD
you should have stayed for the whole show cinderalla todd were fucking ASTOUNDING! are you sure you were even at that show cuz todd only had one girl on keyboard.thats some pretty lazy/lame reporting get the facts straight.-
Re: TODD
Could not see the band bar Craig's big hair.
Assumed there were the standard two keyboards, as is the norm.
Sounded loud enough for there to have been. -
Re: TODD
June of 44 are well dubby.. listen to anahata (admittedly not the best one of their records!).. the bass is super dub.. in fact most of the bass on all the records is well dub/ funk influenced.. as i would argue is Hoover. Also the guitar on engine takes to water.. when it's not being all slabby and ROCK is pretty jazz.-
Re: TODD
OK. I see where you're coming from.
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Re: TODD
Bitchy or not, Mike's reviews are awesome - we need more sarcasm in rock writing.-
Re: TODD
You bitch.-
Re: TODD
Sarcasm is for the lowest form of wit. It is easy to pretend to be bored. -
Re: TODD
Superb. Agreed. I went to a gig on the Yatcht Club b4. I went to see Part Chimp and it was part of this horrible night called boat-ting, consisting of "Jazz club" parody improvised free jazz and really bad beat poetry presented by the most irritating loud pretentious American woman. (Even though Part-chimp was great.) On this night we had the Silver Rocket DJs (playing Lightning Bolt and the usual great stuff) - so it was like a Silver Rocket night (which are always great) on the cool boat with the lights of the London sights around us. My only complaint was the price of the beer - £3 for a small bottle! Jesus! (NB: I am hurt and offended by the needless shallow comment on my photographic appearence and have changed my photograph. But I am a sufferer of clinical depression - you know.)-
Re: TODD
Aw shucks. Thanks for your kind words.
Yes, the view of the river and the South Bank all lit up was amazing. The front of the boat (where the DJ kit was set up) was banging onto the metal thingy holding the whole boat in place, shaking that part of the boat rather firmly every 15 seconds. Needless to say after 10 minutes and 2 beers I felt more than a little bit sick and very drunk. But it saved on beer money.
I'm not surprised Mike couldn't see that there was only one keyboard, my only complaint being that with the ceiling so low and the bands playing on the floor only the front 2 rows of people could see anything at all.
If I may plug the next Silver Rocket (well, while I'm here you know) it is this friday 3rd september and we have Future eX-Wife, Hey Colossus and Fixit Kid playing. All you people who missed HC cos you were at the boat thingy can see them. Hurrah. www.silverrocket.org-
Re: TODD
Ahhh, I'm jus' joshin' ya.-
Re: TODD
What are the current odds on FXW pulling out?
10/1?
Lower?-
Re: TODD
Oh that okay then. I actually agree with you about the over-used stop-start dynamic. But I have a soft spot for the Edmund Fitzjerlad cos they have a cute little Asian guitarist. And it is always great not to the only Asian person in the venue... -
Re: TODD
Oh that okay then. I actually agree with you about the over-used stop-start dynamic. But I have a soft spot for the Edmund Fitzjerlad cos they have a cute little Asian guitarist. And it is always great not to the only Asian person in the venue...-
Re: TODD
Damn well better be zero or less. -
TODD
fxw are trucker hat wearing macho DORKS and they S U C K. at first you think its a darkness style joke then you realize they are very much for real.
tossers. -
Re: TODD
She is cute indeed.
I only noticed t'other night.
Seeing them tonight tho.
When I will notice again.
*perrrrrv*-
Re: TODD
And very small. The other members of the band look about 12 years old. It is so funny to see the other guitarist smoking a fag. He should have GCSEs to revise for.-
Re: TODD
Were you at Silver Rocket, by chance?-
Re: TODD
Yes, I was the last time when they played. I tried to always make it at Silver Rocket. The Edmund Fitzgerald are a bit like the post-rock equivalent of the Robert Miles tune 'Children' if u get me. The Cove set was pretty good, as well as the new songs. I once went to a gig of theirs at Brixton and there was no one there and it made me feel sad.-
Re: TODD
so did I ;)
last time I go to south london.. -
Re: TODD
I managed to review it for rock sound.
Which was nice.
Enjoyed Cove a lot, but missed These hands altogether.
Any good?-
Re: TODD
These Hands were much better than the last time I saw them, I couldn't remember if the line-up had changed, I'm sure they weren't a 4 piece before..
First time I'd seen edmund fitzgerald, and I thought I'd be able to enjoy it more if I'd heard their recordings extensively. If a bands only going to play three songs, then they probably should have got the new one right...
I thought cove were great, marks drumming was awesome, I'm gonna miss those guys when they're gone, so until then I'll have to watch them as much as possible.. they're so much heavier these days..more like a math rock sabbath -
Re: TODD
For some bizarre reason Andy and/or Rachel Silver Rocket Rocket describe These Hands as 'Hot Snakes meet the Jesus Lizard'. They are ok, entertaining but just like another Silver Rocket band. One of the members is that Asian man with a beard who works in Selectadisc and is always at these show. What is the link for yr review?-
Re: TODD
My rock sound review?
There isn't one - it'll be in the magazine's next issue.
I thought These Hands were a trio last time I saw them, too. If I saw them - I can't remember.
(Buffalo bar yonks ago... pretty sure it was them...)
Either of you tasteful gents coming tomorrow night?
Tis only a club but good songs will be played.-
Re: TODD
I'm probably gonna pop down, my january money blues are taking hold, but I can just about manage the free entrance and walk home.. i cannot believe its two weeks till payday.. Any chance of hearing something of the new trail of dead album?-
Re: TODD
These hands had to get a new guitarist cos andrew the singer cut through his hand with a bottle and can't play guitar again yet. But it's good in a way because he's much more liberated as a frontman without his guitar to hide behind. Andrew runs smoking beagle, which is an excellent recommendations website and has a good gigs diary on it (smokingbeagle.com I think)
the drummer is Raul, who does indeed work at selectadisc well done.
the last i heard from the ed fitz was that Lina (the cute guitarist) is leaving the band at some point, for reasons I didn't want to pry into.
And cove news- pat isn't moving until august so plenty of time to see them again and i think they are doing a new album also.
is that everything?
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Re: TODD
just like another silver rocket band?
i don't know whether to take that as a compliment or a criticism. hmmm.
next month we have victory at sea playing, who sound like kristin hersh fronting rachel's at times, then in march ted leo, who is also definitely not a silver rocket band!
also the these hands song on our cd is probably one of my favourite three on there. they released it before but we asked them if we could use it cos we liked it so much.-
Re: TODD
And Reigns?
Yes?
No?
Maybe?-
Re: TODD
For Feb 4th Reigns = yes.
And also Last of the Real Hardmen (Chris Summerlin, he of Reynolds and Lords and Woves "fame", solo) and Yelp of Sords (dan from Cat On Form, also solo)-
Re: TODD
tres BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEN
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TODD
i love all these bands, this reviewer would be better off on pop world-
Re: TODD
I wish!
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