Local Artist Profile: Beth Jeans Houghton

You must have caught her play a gig, Beth Jeans Houghton, a young Newcastle singer with a beautiful voice. Her style is the shy girl who likes long eye lashes and a lot of glitter. She has supported artists such as Mystery Jets and Woodpigeon (preformed with them not too long ago). Currently she is playing a lot of gigs in London, but will hopefully bring her stylish shyness back on the stage in Newcastle.

profile by Solveig Werner

Local Artist Profile: Little Comets

Little Comets, you must at least heard off them, lately they have been taking off massively. I guess after they supported Electric Six it all started for these Newcastle boys. Their current single, “One Night In October”, a proper dance tune gets played on MTV2 and all over the radio. On their upcoming tour they have got a Newcastle date, but you might be lucky to catch them at a houseparty.

Text and image by Solveig Werner

Ra Ra Riot @ Academy 2 on 14/02/09

Even though it was Valentine’s Day the upstairs of the Academy was rather full, and it wasn’t just single people in need for a change of mind. No wonder, after all Ra Ra Riot are an amazing, must have see band!
After missing the 1st support act, I still managed to catch The Answering Machine Cliffer. This band did not blow me away, nor did they annoy me, they were a support band that you don’t mind seeing. They could file here and there to make their setting a bit more exciting, the punch was missing in there. Still, the singer looked a bit like a young Jarvis, which helped people warming up to the Answering Machine.

When Ra Ra Riot stepped on the stage there was a sudden wave of happiness going through the room. This band, having a very painful past, must be the happiest bunch I got to see in the last couple of months. They enchanted their audience

with their very melodic, string based music. You get taken on a musical voyage, a trip involving classical music and alternative rock that makes you want to drop everything and dance. Dance, most people did that, or at least they jumped around like little kids, and sang along to the songs they knew. During one song the bass and guitar players retreated to the back of the stage, letting the vocalist, cellist, and violinist have the public for themselves. It was classical music with singing.

As they have only released one album, “The Rumb Line”, their set wasn’t too long. One can only hope that next time that they’ll hit Newcastle there will be some new tunes in store.

Try to catch Ra Ra Riot, as they will make you feel happy inside every single cell of your body by the time you leave the gig, the only thing that will make you sad is that the gig is over.

Review and pictures by Solveig Werner

Innerpartysystem @ Academy 2 03/02/09

Waiting in the queue for a sold out gig, just after having interviewed the headline band Innerpartysystem, I found myself surrounded by a lot of young girls. These girls were all dressed the same way. It was a bit disturbing, as I did not picture ISP to have a fan base of that nature.
It seems to have become a fashion for me not to see the first support act. I did not even dare step into the venue and only heard My Passion from the merch table. My excuse is that I did not want to loose my hearing, and that I had a very good conversation with ISP manager.
MC Rut (standing for Middle Class) from Sacramento (CAKE’s home town) were the next band to perform, and they were much more of my liking. I enjoyed their set, even though I have the feeling something was missing in it. I am not quite sure what it was though. A certain punch, but all in all I should not complain as I had a great time, and those two boys had a lot of energy when on stage. After the show I had a short conversation with the drummer (picture), a very nice guy I have to say, and well we talked about CAKE. He very much took a liking in my CAKE obsession.
Finally my very tiered self got to enjoy the very energetic set of Innerpartysystem. I myself think their music is electronic rock, with hints of metal meets dance. The music was great, and should be played on more dance floors! Music wasn’t the only important thing of their set; no there was an underling factor to the electronic side of it all. They put to show an amazing lighting, making it seem more like a club night than a concert. They ended the show with their current single “Don’t Stop”, sung by the whole crowd as well as the band.
I can only recommend you to catch ISP when you have the chance to do so.

Review by Solveig Werner

General Fiasco @ The Union 23rd October

The average age of the people attending this gig must have been the 14 year-old girl. Okay I know that “girl” is not something that defines an age group, but in a way it does. Well there were a couple of middle-aged women present (a surprising number). I believe that was mostly thanks to the main act One Night Only. Well Little Comets are a very nice eye candy as well.
The first band to take the stage was Newcastle’s own Little Comets. Finally I got to see them again, it had been a while since I last went to one of their gigs. Well they have progressed positively since before the summer. They did rock the floorboards, loads of people were dancing, jumping around and a couple singing along (including my friend Marzy and me). These Comets are different from other bands, they experiment in a musical style which is not necessarily a defined genre, they have an amazing stage presents, helped a lot by their good looks.
Then it was General Fiasco’s turn, they are supporting One Night Only on the whole tour. I am struggling a bit when it comes to describing the way that they sound (hence my being very late with this review). There is a bit of a garage rock sound to them with the lyrics having a strong foothold in the Irish accent. They too had a lot of energy to woo the crowd, but there was less communication between them and those attending the gig. Interesting about them is going to see where they will be in a couple of months from now.

Review by Solveig Werner

The Automatic at Northumbria 01/10/2008

For the third time in my life I attended a gig by the Welsh band The Automatic. It was in fact the second time in less than two weeks. I had not in anyway planned to go to this gig, but you can’t always plan how life works out for you. After having interviewed Frost I was asked if I would like to go to the gig later that night.
I missed the opening act Operahouse, and that when they were a band that I was really hoping on seeing. Lately it seems like that I miss out on the first support band, you could blame Rob and Frost of the Automatic for that.
The second support act was Dinosaur Pileup, band from Leeds that are on their first major tour at the moment. For me it is rather hard to describe what they were like. They put a lot of energy to show. Behaved like they owned the world when they played their music and were shy when it came to talking to the people. With their long hair they were playing heavier rock, not something that you can call indie. Some of their songs were very melodic, while others weren’t. I can’t complain about what they gave to show, I very much enjoyed myself, even though it isn’t my favorite type of music.
The Automatic! As I already said this was the third time that I saw them. I was a bit deceived by the second time, but this is about the third concert I attended. So I must say I was well impressed, the music was good, the crowed was good, which is always a good thing. I think they very much enjoyed themselves playing for a public that was to an extent made up of friends of their newest member who in fact is from Sunderland. The setlist was not just focusing on the songs of the new Album, but also on classics of the debut album, including the obligatory Monster, I feel sorry for them that they more or less have to play that song at each of their gigs. And of course Raoul got played. They almost seemed embarrassed when playing their second to last song Love In The Club the cover of the Usher song they had done for Live Lounge this August. Now I am wondering when I will next see the Automatic reform live.

Review by Solveig Werner

The Hoosiers Freshers Gig

This year’s freshers’ second gig was the London band The Hoosiers supported by two local acts. After having the treat of interviewing the lovely lads of the Hoosiers my friends and I settled far away from the freshers in a quiet room of the union close to the basement. We missed the first of the two support bands, which is of course unfortunate, but let our ears be virgin to the sound of Detroit Social Club or DSC.
I had heard of DSC before, but never anything by them. So it came as a pleasant surprise that they are in fact a really good live band. In a way live bands are good when even without knowing their music you are totally in the vibe once they step on the stage. There was energy present in the room that filled it from almost empty to almost completely full in a matter of minutes. I absolutely loved what I saw and heard and I believe that I was not alone on that account. Certain songs a lot of fresher’s chanting along with their hands in the air, the last song was probably the best, no one wanted the band to leave the stage behind. The ambiance was absolutely amazing, and I can’t do anything but recommend you to see Detroit Social Club.
Then it was for the Hoosiers to prove what they could do with their Yeti amps, and good looks. I had for some reason always heard form people that the Hoosiers are not such a good band. I have to say whoever told me that was exaggerating. The Hoosiers were a fun band, making the drunk and the sober students party. Their keyboard player, who was the additional member, from Newcastle, could apparently play everything. After asking the crowd what they should play, it came down to an extract of a Killers song, and the theme tune to Inspector Gadget. The Killers song was almost a mistake, as the crowd could not stop singing even though they had stopped playing it. When they did Cops and Robbers, it seemed like everyone was dancing. It is too bad that the weeks held during freshers week do not come with encores.

Review by by Solveig Werner

Woodpigeon at the Cumberland Arms 18/09/2008

Arriving a bit late at the gig, I almost missed the whole of the first act that was on, the solo artist Francis Conway. I made it just in time to hear the last two song of his acoustic set. They were absolutely amazing, and both were rather long so I can say I got a good picture of what Francis Conway sounds like.
Beth Jeans Houghton was up next. Last time I saw her live she was performing on her own, this time around she was joined by a drummer, ok he did not only play drums, he also was gifted for the piano. I am still very impressed by Beth’s good use of the loop pedals, they give her music the extra something that make is very special. It is going to be interesting to see where Beth is going to be in a couple of months time as she has just released a single and has a lot of new songs up her sleeve.
It was so hot in the Cumberland Arms that night that I seriously considered leaving as it made me really tired. I am happy, that I did stay around because Woodpigeon are a really good band that I would have regretted not seeing. This Canadian band had the characteristic of having many people on stage. As a consequence they had a lot of different instruments including a violin. The music was absolutely stunning. Everyone seemed to try to figure out what genre they belong to. “Unclassifiable” that’s most likely what they are, the music is a mix of eastern European folk and Abba, with elements of all sorts of musical styles. The fact that they are Canadians with many band members and a diverse selection of instruments makes them a bit Arcade Fire-ish. By any means if you have the chance to see Woodpigeon, you should definitely take it, as for them as well you can’t know where they will be in a bit.

Review by Solveig Werner

The Little Ones at the Cluny 17/09/2008

Back in Newcastle for three days I had my first proper night out at the Cluny. The American band The Little Ones were playing supported by local acts Spies in Limbo, and New Vinyls.
First up it was the New Vinyls, over the summer this band has worked on a lot of new songs. I must say that they were really good. They are catchy and very different one from the other. For the song Polytechnic the lead singer leaves his guitar behind and dances on stage à la Jarvis Cocker. If you have the chance to catch New Vinyls live you should do so. Interaction with the public is another thing that characterizes this band. Surprisingly the Cluny was fuller than normally at the time of the first band. Maybe the word did spread that New Vinyls is a must see band.
Then it was Spies in Limbo’s turn to show what they’ve got. Nothing can be said against their music, because that was class. The atmosphere that was created by the previous band was carried on just there were no direct exchanges of words with the public. If they would have done that it could have been even better.
The Little Ones, probably most known for their song Lovers Who Uncover had a wide variety of songs on their set list. High, sweet voices, is what probably best describes the singing of this very particular band. They were a lot of fun to see perform. The Cluny must be a lot smaller than the venues they are used to, also a lot nicer. In a way they reminded me a bit of Vampire Weekend, the same style of music but a bit less quirky. All in all it was a great night back in the Toon.

Review by Solveig Werner

Tokyo Police Club @ The Other Rooms 11/06/08

No they are not from Japan, they are from Canada, you should know this if you have been on wikipedia and have read about this band. Tokyo Police Club is a band with four rather young members. Three are 21 and one is 23, and they make music that is worth going down in rock history.
For me this gig in Newcastle was the second time that I have seen them. I must say Tokyo Police Club or TPC have progressed loads since the 16th of February 2006. Elephant Shell their debut album was released this spring, providing fans with music that by far excelled the material found on the EP (treated like and album, but not being one) A Lesson In Crime. But I am meant to write about the gig and not about their records. By now I am late writing about the gig, I am sorry about that, but sometimes I feel the need of these things settling in my memory before I produce them on paper.Dave, Graham, Greg and Josh were on their last week of a 61-gig tour, but they still had more energy than most bands have these days. Their music is ‘demanding’, I am not sure if it is the right word that should be used, it is different from the other things that are out there. Not only their music is different, the lyrics are different. It was really too bad that there was a problem with Dave’s microphone, so on a few songs his beautiful voice was drowned out by the instruments.Your English Is Good and/or Tessellate and other songs had the whole of the public singing along. Some songs are there to be clapped to, in those cases the whole venue was clapping. There was no encore given by TPC, there was no need for one, the set was finished of in the certain harmony you want it to finish. If they would have played one more song they might have collapsed.
TPC brought with them the newest New York revelation Mobius Band for the European part of the tour. For a couple of months I had known one of their songs Hallie and I thought that it would be cool to see them live. I did not think they would be coming to the UK any time soon (allow some pessimism) and well the last thing that I though was that they would be the support band for one of my favorite bands.These three Brooklyn natives are a rather geeky bunch they know how to charm their public. In the beginning of their set everyone in the crowd kept the ‘obligatory’ distance to the stage. Mobius (I permit myself to shorten it to that) did not seem to like it, one of them more or less told us off and said that we should be filling the space right in front of the stage.I believe that with them it is interesting to see where they are going to be in a couple of weeks or months or years time. There is something very special about them, a momentum seems to be building up around them in the States, if the wave will hit Europe remains a yet unanswered question.
A year ago or so Tokyo Police Club would play their gig with only 10 songs, all they had in stock back then. Now their set list is miles long written on a paper plate and not including every release they have had so far. I believe I might have gotten a bit carried away with this review, but good music can sometimes hardly be described in a couple of words.

Review by Solveig Werner

Pull Tiger Tail @ Academy II 21/05/08

Having kept quiet for a while Pull Tiger Tail decided to go on a full UK tour right in the middle of exam time. It was announced shortly before it kicked off, the late notice is most likely the explanation for a mere 103 tickets being sold in advance. This London band had not been on tour for a while, and does not seem to have spend that much time in the studio either as the planned album still has not come out and they have been releasing single after single.
On that Wednesday night the top floor of the academy was filled with mostly 14 year-old girls, to my surprise there were a lot of boys in the same age group present as well. I felt rather old at 19. Pull Tiger Tail seem to be underrated as they themselves probably would prefer having a fan base that is not so narrowed down, and their music should appeal to more people anyways. On stage they have a lot of charisma, confidence and they know that they are good without turning into the arrogant rockstar, maybe because they are indie? They are good looking and have an impressive stage presence; in a way they are entertainers. Starting everything off with the mentioning of a haircut that they had given their lead singer earlier in the day. Jumping around and just having loads of fun and energy on stage seems to be their motto.
But the gig wasn’t all that much fun, there was a bizarre Newcastle band as the support. Coming in later that planned Deathcrew 92 shocked by not having a drummer. The drums where preformed by a computer plugged into the system the so called ‘drummer’ made sure the right drum track was being played. What made all of this worse was the fact that the drums appeared to be the most emphasized instrument this band had.
Even with the beginning of the gig being confusing and deceiving Pull Tiger Tail preformed great without deceiving one tiny bit. The future of the band is interesting as well. If they want to go back to Uni they would have to do it in September, which would put the band on hold for a year.

Review by Solveig Werner

The Futureheads @ Northumbria University 03/03/08

One night I did not know what to do with myself and as my previous plans had all evaporated I decided to go to the Futureheads gig. Not being a big Futureheads fan I still enjoyed myself well and truly dancing to the catch tunes. As I am writing this a bit late or well very late I have to rake through my memory in order to reconstruct the gig. This Sunderland band knows exactly how to deal with the local public. The songs woke all the tired souls up and gave half of the public twinkly toes. They are a real good live band that probably has more potential than is normally thought they have. Shoes were taken off and thrown into the air, one almost hitting the singer.
Besides the Futureheads Newcastle’s Uncle Monty did a good performance, gaining some more listeners that were interested in the free cd, a marketing tactic that can be questioned but is definitely a way to get yourself known in the ears of a wide range of people when you are a smaller band. Small band what a term, the unknown or ‘small bands’ make great music a lot of times and do sound quite good when it comes down to it.
The first support band do not even need mentioning, they were not good at all, and well I forgot by the time they were done with their set what they were called…

Review by Solveig Werner

Kid Harpoon @ Head of Steam, 25/02/08

The current UK tour of Kid Harpoon kicked off on the 25th of February in Newcastle in the Head of Steam. The venue was packed, and well that can’t be a bad thing. Kid Harpoon has great stage presence that was combined with really good music. The band had a new guitarist, it was his first gig, so Kid decided to point this out at one moment during the show and well they decided to play a song which they never played live before so that he would not feel out of place. The music is marked by loads of things, but I think the voice of Kid Harpoon is probably what makes it especially good.
Lupen Crook and the murder birds were on right before Kid Harpoon. Lupen and his pirates like crew were all on drugs. Their songs sounded like a mix of eastern European folk rock. After the gig they tried to get money off everyone, so they decided to slit open the tired of Kid’s van, resulting in them being arrested.
The seven-piece band, New Vinyls, from Newcastle were the first support band. They definitely do what good music should sound like. Their set was marked by songs that are musically impeccable and are really good lyric wise. It was like an invitation to dance, maybe because their music is not only quite catchy but also very original.

Review by Solveig Werner

The Wooden Spoons at the Academy 2 on February 22nd

Each time the Wooden Spoons have a gig they prove that they have musical talent and innovation. Their stage presence is impressive even when you are tired and it is already past midnight, the music wakes one up and gets you into the mood for dancing. The catchy lyrics of some of the songs caused a handful of spectators to sing along. Cabaret definitely has an influence on the tunes, but also seems to have one on the dress style of the 4 band members, or well the hats that they wear while being on stage. If you have a chance to catch the Wooden Spoons live you should definitely not miss out on it. Another thing to look forward to is the upcoming single.
The supporting act were the Out Of Towners, they were also very appreciated, but don’t seem to have to have a very unique sound or trade mark of their own.

Review by Solveig Werner

Grammatics @ the Head of Steam, 26/02/08

Not knowing who the Grammatics are, but having been advised to show up at their gig I did so and had an amazing time. Their music is impressive to narrow it down to one word. It is almost hard to describe, electro mixed in with rock and classical, or something like that. The music is of the sort that you should close your eyes to and let it fully overtake you. Maybe it’s the Cello, and the amazing voice of the front man. Worrying is the skinniness of some of the band members. The fact that the bass player likes Rilo Kiley raised my sympathy for this band even more.
Two drum kits? Well that’s what Vessels had on stage, and for one song only. But that song was amazing, seen that you can do a lot more with two drum kits than with one, it was a fast song.
Then there was Sefelt, a local band that started of their set by complaining about the Taxi fare they had to pay from Gateshead to reach the Head of Steam, getting some members to complain about having to pay £5 for their ticket. The music was good but not stunning.
The first band on was weird, well that depends on the definition of weird, but still Ryoga were quite weird. The music sounded alright but well I was distracted by the member of the audience that was dancing in front of everyone and by the fact that the keyboard player had a gigantic moustache. That wasn’t all he also had a giant piercing through his nose and had three really big arrows tattooed onto his shaved head. Who wouldn’t be distracted by that?

Review by Solveig Werner

Ash Concert at the Carlin Academy on the 24th of October 2007

The Irish band Ash stopped at the Carlin Academy in Newcastle for their “Twilight of the Innocents” tour on the 24th of October 2007. This is probably their last tour to promote an album, seen that the band had announced earlier this year that their next releases will only be singles available for internet downloads.
Being good looking (well, depending on what you consider good looking) does not give you an excuse to make more noise than necessary. The Dodgems, the first of the two opening bands, hid their lyrics underneath loud music. There was definitely some sort of coordination problem between the instruments and the vocal cords of the singer. Ironically it was the strings of his own guitar that drowned his words the heaviest. But they the energy to be on stage, they made fun remarks in between sets and had a lot of stage potential.
Then it was the turn of the Belgians to show what they have got, the Dead 60s were next. Like their music suggests and their name doesn’t they had a lot of energy on stage. They were going a bit crazy at times, the singer kept making weird faces, but he could not beat what the guys of Art Brut have to offer in that category. One thing they seem to love is standing on the edge of the stage, holding the guitar or bass up into the air while playing it, the first couple of times it’s fun but after the 10th time you have seen the ‘trick’ enough times. And one other thing, instruments should not be mistreated, well that’s what the singer did to his guitar, he did not scratch it against an amp or walk on it, he used an half shredded drumstick on his guitar.
“You Can’t Have It All”, the first single of Ash’s newest album kicked off their set. Everyone in the crowed loved it, they all showed their affection by trying to kill the people up front, it seems to be a norm for rock concerts. Tim Wheeler the singer and lead guitarist (now that Charlotte who was a member of Ash from 1997 to 2006 isn’t there anymore he is the only guitarist) kept on changing his guitars. He had some impressive looking ones like the silver glittering one, or his golden guitar, well if it is real gold is questionable. He was linked to his amp not by a cable like it is normal but by some sort of wireless connection. This probably made the switches a lot easier between the instruments.
It being the tour for their newest album, four leafless black trees in different sizes were on stage, it gave the whole concert a different ambience, an ambience created by nature. They were loved by the crowed, and well love hurts, and it hurt me their last song “Burn Baby Burn” which ended for a mighty nosebleed for me. Besides the nosebleed it was a really great show, Ash is a band definitely worth checking out live.

Review by Solveig Werner

BC Camplight at the Cluny, Halloween 2007

To promote the second single “Suffer For Two”, of their second album “Blink of a Nihilist” in the UK the Philadelphia Band BC Camplight stopped in Newcastle for the first show of this short tour. It was a Halloween gig at the Cluny with doors opening at 8pm, most concert-goers decided to show up a lot later than that time.
When he first opening band called Your Casket Or Mine stepped on stage it must have been a bit strange in the beginning seen that the only few people that weren’t members of the other bands were present at the. For this two-man band it was only their third gig. They did have something, a different fresh energy when playing their songs. But having a lot of energy is not the only thing that is important, they seemed to forget that not every song is supposed to sound like the other, the songs after about the third one started sounding similar and it was hard to tell them apart. It gave the impression of wanting to make a much noise as possible with just a guitar and a bass.
“Come hear the music play. Life is a Cabaret, old chum, come to the Cabaret!” When you see and hear the Wooden Spoons you might be tempted to think yourself in a cabaret, and no there were no topless girls in the background. The hats two of them wear give it the cabaret look, and the music they play gives the whole thing the cabaret sound. Something interesting would be a collaboration with the Dresden Dolls would be so much fun. They definitely have potential. Even if the music is loud and powerful you can still hear the singing without any problem. The cabaret tune in their music gives it that little something that makes you feel like you can’t have enough of it.
Halloween, that’s what the theme of the show, was for one band, BC Camplight. They did indicate on their blog that you should dress up, well in the public we were two people in costumes, on stage that was a different story. All the 5 members of the band were wearing a costume. The funniest thing was how the bass player Dave was standing in the middle of them all in a superman costume. But having the cookie monster on stage as well as Brian in long wavy blond hair and a dress, were also quite fun. The drummer was an Ogre, but took of the mask once he stepped on the stage. Stephanie Vernacchio (the only girl in the band) decided to dress up as Brian Christinzio the way he is pictured on the cover of the latest album “Blink of a Nihilist”, released on One Little Indian, UK.
The band had not played in this lineup ever before at least not for a life concert, that did not show at all. During the first song people were still not approaching the stage that much, but by the time “Hide, Run Away” started there seemed to be a rush to have a better view of the band. Their music is fun a bit crazy and having them on stage in the most random costumes fit them perfectly well, they should consider always dressing up, haha. But it would be a good idea. BC Camplight is definitely a band worth checking out.

Review by Solveig Werner