A whispered word of contest I don’t think I’ve mentioned Sons and Daughters on here, so what better time to do so than after having seen them live at the rather constitutional-like 100 Club. The four young Scots (they surprised me how young they were, as I arrived so late to their set at Glastonbury, I was nowhere near enough to the front to see their personages) struck up a roaring set, much to the delight of the crowd, and it seemed, themselves too. I must admit I rather like it when you can see a band having a good time as well as the audience, it definitely makes for a better gig (well, that kind of goes without saying really, but stating the obvious can be a good thing at times).

As I’d only heard the EP Love The Cup previously (“Johnny Cash” is a track that keeps creeping into my playlists, so I was glad they played this last night), it was good to hear material fresh to my ears in the form of songs from their recently-released debut album. I think I shall be going out to buy this one pretty sharpish.

Before Sons and Daughters took to the stage, the softer-voiced likes of Adem and James Yorkston held the stage rapt, if not the noisier types propping up the bar. At first there was some confusion over the pronunciation of “Adem” – did it rhyme with “Adam”, or was the stress on the second syllable: “Ad-ém”? Perhaps it was more “Aidem”? No! After exhausting all possibilities, we were all wrong, and it was in fact pronounced “Ahdem”. So there you go, now you know if he ever arises in conversation.

Adem played some rather lovely, gentle folky songs, accompanied by his acoustic guitar, or for variation, a peddle-powered keyboard instrument that none of us could identify. Mr. James Yorkston took to the stage minus his Athletes, which was interesting, as I’ve only heard his album recorded sporting his Athletes to provide extra musical sound. He played the rather fantastic “Shipwreckers” and “Banjo #1” (quite an angry little number for a gentle folk singer), and another little ditty I forget the name of. In his words, it was a “stupid song, a great song, but fucking stupid”. I’ll have to find out its name and acquire it I think.

One thing I keep kicking myself for forgetting is my camera. Lately, I’ve been going to smaller gigs where I *know* it won’t be confiscated on the door (soooo annoying when that happens, trust me) and I *know* it’d be good to get some pictures from, but grrr, it slips my mind like something slick and wet from a firm grip. I’ve also decided that it’s necessary to carry non-perishable items of food on me. Post-gig hunger is like no other, and I can’t afford to buy crappy late-night fast food on the return journey, so filling my bag with goodies is a must for future outings.

Posted: 04-08-05 13:39 :: Permalink: http://ben.corale.co.uk/archive/v1/189.html

Comments Be the first to comment: use the form below to post now!