New Project from Toronto Dj/Fashion Expert/ and Performance Artist Kate Mior with this wicked new single full of thorny turns and misty imagination. Captivating and narrative this image conjuring fairy tale uses beautiful world beat Projekt Records tones to transport you through the veil. Matt Servo paints a sonic world of percussion for Kate’s synthesizer stories. Alle Psallite Cum Luya is an anonymous three-part Latinmotet from the late 13th or early 14th century. I love the historic reference of celebration. An intelligent artistic concept in an ever simplified world.
The wonderful Lauren Mayberry graces the country on “Vicious Creature” her first solo US tour.
We all know and love Lauren Mayberry the small statured powerhouse voice Scottish singer for her band “CHVRCHES”, and now she has released a solo album, and is taking it live to US audiences, and let me tell you, you WANT TO SEE THIS TOUR.
My daughter and I have a tradition of seeing CHVRCHES every time they roll through town, one night we showed up at the venue just coming out of COVID-19, and the show was canceled, because they got snowed in trying to come in from Denver. So when Salt Lake was on the top of the tour dates, I was excited and took my daughter with me. We prepared for this night by listening to the album “Vicious Creature” for a couple of weeks. (get that album, you’re welcome)
The venue “Soundwell” is where I have shot so many great shows, SWANS, Thelma Huston, Alaska Thunderfuck, Noah Finns, and countless other artists, they always sound great here. While I was sitting in the ADA/VIP area, Lauren walked past me with a scarf over her head, sunglasses, and little star clips in her hair, she didn’t want to be noticed, so I didn’t bother her.
CULT OF VENUS
If Lauren Mayberry wanted to impress the hell out of everyone before even taking the stage, she did it by choosing “Cult Of Venus”. I saw the name and had a chuckle, as any old-school Dark Wave Punk music fan would remember, one of the possible band names Joy Division tossed around was “Slaves of Venus”, the name never really took, but it was great to have “Slaves of Venus” opening for Peter Hook & The Light in 2013. Cult of Venus was simply a woman with a guitar and keyboard. She played her set in high heels and managed guitar and her keyboard pedals that way. Nothing short of incredible, look her up, you’re all fans already.
Lauren Mayberry
The intro tape “Liability Waiver” “The Following is a work of fiction, any similarities to actual events or actual persons or events is purely coincidental” played in a loop while the band (a drummer/keyboard player, and bassist) took the stage, and they opened playing several measures of “Crocodile Tears” for a few measures then Lauren came out in a pair of leather shorts, knee high boots, and a T-shirt saying “SAFETY, DIGNITY, AND HEALTHCARE FOR ALL TRANS PEOPLE”, that statement on her shirt alone made all of us instantly love her. She picked up an old rotary telephone on the stage, as a prop, and sang “I picked up the phone to start a chain reaction”. She already had everyone singing along with her, she didn’t need to do much to get the punters at the top of their game. I sat in the pit getting photos, like previous times, but honestly, this felt like a different experience.
“Hello, my name is Lauren Mayberry and I am too short for this microphone” she greeted the audience and was cheered for a welcome. While she adjusted the microphone stand Lauren thanked everyone for coming out, and explained that she had canceled the gig the night before because she was suffering through a cold, and asked us to ignore if she coughed. Then she went right into “Change Shapes”, laying into “God I know you love it when you’re eating your young” as if that line was meant for that moment.
She sat down on the stage, in her leather shorts, and boot, singing “Mantra” (looking taller than she is when she stood up), getting right in the faces of punters in the tiny space between us in the pit, and the barrier. She did this contorted back bend and back into her twirling dance. Going to the elevated panels at the back of the stage to finish the song. It was hearing it live that I noticed the drum beat being that of “In A Lonely Place” by New Order, but with a very happy upbeat vibe to it.
Lauren began using a throat spray, apologizing ahead of time for her voice being weak because of this cold. She would take a spray, and mention something about Trump, saying “FUCK THAT GUY!!!” in between songs.
When she got to “Anywhere But Dancing” she was sitting on the edge of the platform, with her drummer on piano, she got up drank some water, and hummed the next line, to applause. She was doing everything to keep her voice in good form for the punters. With some more banter “Fuck that guy, Fuck that guy the first time, and Fuck that guy the 2nd time too.” with a very receptive audience responding in cheers.
Her bassist started thumping out the bassline (on a regular guitar) of “Punch Drunk”, she was dancing like Cleopatra to the strobes behind her, and red lights illuminating her in front. With all the power she could put into her voice “Kiss me quick, drive me right around the bend, I’m punch-drunk, baby, I hope it never ends” with the entire hall dancing and singing along with her, but as quickly as the song started, it ended.
I noticed a family behind me, on the other side of the VIP rope, a mom and dad, and two young girls. One couldn’t have been older than 8, and the other was probably 11. The younger was standing on a chair, with hearing protection phones on, and her phone up, I walked over and took her phone from her hands and she thought I was confiscating it, her parents nodded at me, and I walked up really close to the stage and took a few up close pics for her, then handed it back. I was surprised at how elated this little girl was over that, but she was a die-hard fan, starting early.
Change Shapes
We had a longer intro to “Something In The Air”, while she paced the stage, giving a silhouette and building the atmosphere. Lauren would sing the chorus into a red bullhorn/flashlight. It was poignant when she sang “If you want to believe then that’s your prerogative, I wish you the very best” giving us all the power of a voice that we were not accustomed to. She was giving us far more with her voice than we had ever heard at any prior CHVRCHES gig. After she finished the song, she told us about the bullhorn she was using. She bought the first one on Amazon and found it had been contaminated with pictures and statements supporting Donald Trump. She said she had to package it up and send it back, hoping she hadn’t gotten some sort of illness from having handled it. All to the cheers and laughter of the audience. She then said how she found a different one without MAGA all over it and purchased that one for the tour. Then she said again “Fuck That Guy”. She went off and apologized to the younger listeners for dropping F-Bombs, and saying a few other things, intending for it to be “Family Friendly”. I honestly don’t think anyone had an issue with what she said, as much as everyone was laughing.
Lauren took the stool at the keyboard to play “Are You Awake”, it was a somber presentation, “Are you awake I don’t remember when we last spoke”, we all were able to feel the absence and what was missing when she wrote this song. She gave us a quiet thoughtful moment, with this song still having the power it did when we heard it over a year ago, just more “real” live.
A good couple sprays for her throat and Lauren was playing “Bitter Sweet Symphony” the timeless classic by the Verve, first verse on the piano and then the full band was playing behind her with all the vigor as if we were listening to her, OR the VERVE at Glastonbury. The moment was wonderful while she gave us everything, in a small club. This is one of those gigs where you experience so much greatness, in a small venue, where she could just as easily be headlining Lollapalooza, Lauren Mayberry is happy to give us something new, unique, and wonderful, showing everyone she can do it on her own.
She finished up the first part of the set with “A Work of Fiction” and “Sorry, etc”, leaving everyone happy, and wanting more.
After a somewhat extended break, and the house lights still dark, we knew she would be back, knowing that it might be a short encore set because of her voice, the shadows of each member of the band came back to the stage. The drummer took the guitars, and the guitarist sat at the keyboard, showing she had a very talented band with her switching out instruments.
“Dress me up, take me to school
Parties with birthday balloons
And you teach me about all the bad and good
Oh, Mother, I couldn’t do without you “
The opening verse of “Oh Mother” hit us all pretty hard, the crowd was completely silent, recognizing this feminine powerhouse, and paying tribute to help make her who she is. With dream pop guitar lines, enhancing the mood of the song exactly how Lauren wanted it to reach us.
Sunday Best Better here than anywhere else Bantering with the puntersGiving us everything
With all the applause, and a few more sprays from the bottle, she thanked everyone for coming out to the gig in sub-zero temperatures, she unloaded her gratitude to us and said this would be the last song. The piano line for the one song I was waiting for “Sunday Best” finally!!! It is my fave song on this album “Vicious Creatures”, and I was thrilled to be hearing it after waiting through a wonderful set, this song alone made it worth going. With more animation than she had most of the night, she was everywhere on that stage, working off the drummer, making eye contact with as many people as she could. In the final verse with the entire venue clapping along with the beat, she was giving us everything her voice could give us under great strain. She walked off the stage, to a satisfied crowd.
Not a single punter would say her voice was off because Lauren Mayberry knows how to give it all, for her, 50,000 at Glastonbury or Lollapalooza, 15,000 at The Ogden Twilight Amphitheater, or even 600 at Club Soundwell, Lauren Mayberry will make sure she performs nothing short of perfection. Though I can honestly say, after all of the CHVRCHES gigs I have seen, this was the best performance I have ever heard from Lauren Mayberry.
Epilogue
Within 30 seconds of the house lights coming on, Lauren’s manager walked right up to the two young girls handed both of them 2 of the star hair clips, and said “Hi, Lauren saw you both and wanted you to have these”. She noticed her fans and was happy to see these young sisters at her show, by the simple act of giving those little star-shaped hair clips (See photos), those kids are now die-hard fans, and their grandkids will hear this story of how they got them.
Thanks for everything Lauren, we all hope your voice feels better soon.
There are certain bands that once you hear them, become part of your listening habits for the rest of your life. One such act is the Irish Folk Punk band from Boston, “Dropkick Murphys”. I got into “The Murphys” when I moved to Boston in late 99, I was at an Irish bar in my kilt, just chilling with other guys in kilts, and they asked if I was going to “The Gig”. I had no idea who they were, as they were just a local act at the time. The cover I believe was 7$ at the bar around the corner. I found the place to be completely decadent, packed with more kilted punks than I had ever seen before. It was cramped, but moving, as we would move forward with each wave of punters climbing onto the stage and turning around and diving back over us. We would simply move them back as we moved forward. They were LOUD, RUDE, and so much fun, as a punk show should be.
They were a rotating “House Band” at one of probably 3 venues and the cover was much the same, venue might be different depending on the weekend, as they often played opposite another Boston fave “Flogging Molly”. I went to probably close to 20 gigs of theirs in my time there, as they were often a fallback option when other plans didn’t come through. OR just, hey, let’s go see “The Murphys”. The first time I paid real money to see them was in 2021 when they shared the stage with “Rancid” in Salt Lake.
My father was extremely proud of being Scottish, and oftentimes would trash talk the Irish, with the typical dislike for “Cultural Cousins”, but he often said, “The Irish always have better music”. This gig was on my late father’s birthday, and he was there in spirit (or spirits).
This time on the road they were with “The Scratch”, a sort of hippie drum act, and punk favorites “Pennywise”, quite a lineup for one evening.
The Scratch
“The Scratch” took the stage as a 3 piece, with the singer playing a square drum pad with some funky drumsticks. They played a short set, and were so different from the other two bands, and set the mood for “Expect Anything”.
Pennywise
Punk veterans Pennywise took the stage and rocked the house, they were the last breed of American Hard Core Punk right before EMO became a favored genre. They opened with “Peaceful Day” and churned out some great anger-releasing songs, most notably “Every Single Day” and “Fuck Authority”, they went into a couple of NOFX covers, “Bob” and “Kill All White Men”. They were all over the place with their material from old albums, and covers of “Bad Religion” “DO What You Want”. And they threw all of us off the train and played “Stand By Me”, and asked us all to sing along. They closed their set with “Bro Hymn”.
Dropkick Murphys
With the venue’s lighting turned down to the bare fire escape exit signs, and the crowd cheering the intro “The Foggy Dew” as sung by Sinead Oconnor began to play, the punters clapped and the pipes got louder and louder the band took the stage. Starting with the drummer pounding loudly, the spotlight illuminated the piper, Ken Casey the vocalist ran onto the stage as if from out of nowhere swinging his fists up in the air like an uppercut from “Popeye” and a grunt into “WHOOOOOAHOOOOOOOAH”, we were into another set of sheer chaos, compliments of “Dropkick Murphys”.
They opened the set wide and loud with “Cadence To Arms” with a small catwalk panel going into the pit, leaving us no real room to maneuver, the band members were standing back in positions, letting Ken move around getting right up to everyone, like normal, he was all over the stage, going from one band member to another then back to the front.
Ken let out “Oh Salt Lake City IT’S GREAT TO BE BACK” and they played the song that kickstarted them into stardom “The Boys Are Back”, with the new guitarist running up front, and the punters all singing along with them, it was less like the band singing it for us, but everyone singing together, in a rough voice, sounding more like one of those late 70s “OI” band… Only with bagpipes and an accordion.
He walked past me and gave a fistbump, and I doubt he recognized me from all those Boston gigs.
They gave us “Johnny, I Hardley Knew Ya” with a very strong Boston accent on “Haroo, Haroo”, though it might be old, and we all heard our fathers singing it, they made sure to give it to us as PUNK as it gets. With hard guitar chords, and even an electric banjo, the crowd chanted along with Ken on vocals then he would hand the mic to the crowd for “JOHNNY I HARDLEY KNEW YA!”
They had just released a few days before this gig their politically charged new single “Sirens”, Ken announced it as the new one and that they were having fun learning to play it live, and now it was our turn.
This song is a punk anthem about the injustice of how the working class is being pushed to its limits, and being forced to make sacrifices and turn against each other. This theme isn’t new, and this song could have been on any setlist of Dead Kennedys, Rancid, GBH, Agnostic Front, or any of the hardcore punk greats addressing the current social situation.
By the time they got to “Smash Shit Up” most of the punters were pretty well lit on rum, whiskey, or a good beer, and yes there were the token several thousand of us in our kilts. Ken said, “This one is to appreciate those of us who are older, and we accept that, but ….. I still want to break things, maybe more now than I used to”. That had the moshpit widening, and more activity in it, as if those of us over 50 wanted to prove that we weren’t getting old. I’m sure several of my mates limped out of that one.
Ken Casey was the original bassist and backup vocalist, but by now, he is on lead vocals, which did make it somewhat unusual when he kicked off “Flannigan’s Ball” a total classic. The band sang the verses, Ken handed the mic to the punters for the lines “Six long months doing nothing at all.
Six long months spent in Quincy learning to dance for Flannigan’s ball”. Now this song always bewildered me, because I have spent nowhere near 6 months in Quincy Massachusetts, but I have spent enough time to know, there isn’t really much happening there. So, the story behind this song really lights up about a guy Brian who left Milton Mass, and tore it up there, opening a pub where all the Irish converged, and lived to regret it.
Now the song “You’ll Never Walk Alone” is a classic, from the musicals of Rogers & Hammerstein. However, outside of that musical, I have never heard it performed sober, or in key. Thus the Murphys delivered it to us, as a singalong of course, and I can swear on my mother’s grave that the guys on stage singing this song, might have been sober, and were even in key. But all of the punters were neither, just loud, and very very happy.
With the classic “The Warrior’s Code”, a song written for large mosh pits, the Union Events Center probably hadn’t seen a pit like this since the last time “Ministry” rolled through, people were climbing on shoulders and diving into this pit. Everyone who wanted to be in there was dancing and having a great time, while us older guys had gone up to the mezzanine level by now.
We got “Good as Gold” and “Barroom Hero” everyone yelling and swinging fists on “HIGH HIGH HIGH” and everyone dancing in place long enough to need a breather.
They gave us “The Irish Rover” a Joseph Crofts cover, at Dropkick Murphys speed, just to keep the spirits high.
Things slowed down for the anthem, and salute those who have gone on before us, and pay tribute to what made all of us who we are. The haunting sounds from the accordion and mandolin kicked off, as the lights all went red, to give a somber feeling, and the lines “The pictures tell the story, this life had many shades” we were into “Rose Tattoo”, with the entire venue singing along in a hoarse harmony. Everyone knew this one and sang along with vigor until the final lines “Signed and sealed in blood “I would die for you”.
We all gave ourselves a round of applause because the Murphys are the kind of band you sing along with them, just because they asked.
After another boisterous epic “The State of Massachusetts” Ken Casey went up to the front of the little catwalk stage and high-fived everyone that was within reach. He explained that he couldn’t get down there with everyone because he had broken his heel earlier on the tour and that he should be in a boot, and he knew he was going to suffer for it.
With cheers and jeers, he asked everyone to put their arm around the person to their left and their right and to sing along with him “Kiss me, I’m Shitfaced”, everyone laughed, and I am pretty sure everyone was lit by then, I did see a lot of people following up with the songs lyrics.
Ken and the band were pretty hoarse by now, and it was time for everyone to contribute to the classic with a standard marching beat, and the accordion for the lead on “Shipping Up to Boston”, (WHAAAOOOOOO) and we all cheered “TO FIND MY WOODEN LEG”. It was at this moment, that I realized that as Heavy Metal would have it, the bass line hitting all the same notes with the same gusto as the lead guitar and rhythm guitars. The Murphys were doing the same thing, but it was with the accordion, mandolin, and bass guitar, as tight as could be you could barely fit a razorblade between each note played.
They finished that first set and returned with some banter about how they had amassed such a following over the years, and played ’60s music, metal, folk, and punk to give us what was on the menu that evening. They finished with “Workers Song” from the album “Blackout”, a staple for live shows since the release.
With everyone’s voices thrashed, on stage, and all the punters, walking out of the venue sweating, as one of the larger punk crowds for a show, I think only the sound guys didn’t sound like the rest of us.
The Murphys are such a great live act, with all the lineup and set changes over the years, it’s always going to be worth it, no matter what it takes to get there. This was one of the last handful of shows on this part of the tour before they were off to Australia. There are some dates planned in the States later this year, so grab a gig if you can, and, Happy Birthday Dad.
Look for a date here, and catch them if you can, YOU REALLY WANT TO.
Since their debut over a decade ago, experimental hip-hop trio clipping. have turned the genre on its ear, with unconventional instrumentation, high concepts, and the commanding delivery of rapper/vocalist Daveed Diggs. The group, consisting of Diggs, Jonathan Snipes, and William Hutson, have had a love affair with the horror genre with their two most recent records, There Existed an Addiction to Blood and Visions of Bodies Being Burned, but now clipping. are turning to the futuristic and nihilistic, adopting a cyberpunk motif with their impending sixth studio album Dead Channel Sky.
Thus far, three singles have been released of the twenty songs on the disc:
“Run It”:
Released on September 12, 2024, “Run It” introduced the new era for the band with bullet train-speed delivery from Diggs. Percussive and urgent, five minutes feels like no time at all. When Diggs isn’t plowing through his rhymes, the instrumentals bring back memories of the late Nineties and the heyday of industrial-infused electronica. The music video, directed by Lawrence Klein, takes on the same pacing of the song itself, with quick cuts and crash zooms to overwhelm the senses. Assuming you don’t go cross-eyed from trying to follow along, it’s a video where multiple viewings can uncover new things that went unnoticed the previous time.
“Keep Pushing”:
November 12 brought the second single “Keep Pushing,” a mid-tempo groove with a controlled flow and a sung chorus from Diggs. Given their usual production, this song is lighter and more mainstream-sounding, with string samples and more Nineties-tinged effects on the instrumental. It would not be my first choice for a song to introduce someone to clipping., but as a single and therefore taste of things to come, it works.
“Change The Channel”:
Released on January 8 alongside the album announcement, this track puts the “punk” in “cyberpunk,” with a firestorm of an instrumental and a delivery to match. At two and a quarter minutes, it’s a short sharp shock of a number, and when Diggs buckles down after the refrain of “everything is very important,” the result is magic. Frenetic and funky, this is a statement song if ever they’ve had one. If only the folks at Genius could determine what some of the lyrics were, as there are a handful of question marks on the song’s lyric sheet on the site currently.
Dead Channel Sky releases on March 14 via Sub Pop Records. Pre-order the album and merch on Bandcamp.
Stella Rose Gahan (yes that name means probably what you think it does) just released an ep of great music right before Christmas.
I interviewed Stella Rose right before the release of her first album, and we had a great conversation about her new work prior to release. I fell in love with her work back then, and was more bedazzled by “Hollybaby”, listen to this one, and you will know why.
Having listened to the first album ANGEL, and this new EP, I will be able to tell you, her sophomore effort is several leaps and bounds beyond what you would expect. The last time a band put out such an impressive leap of musical quality between the first and second albums was The Killers, from “Hot Fuss”, “Sam’s Town”, that is how I would grade this new work.
Stella stands on her own, her creativity is intense, as you can see in her videos, and the quality and storytelling has gone in so many directions that have you thinking deeply as you watch them and FEELING what she is trying to convey. These skills usually take a songwriter a few albums to master, but she has proven herself worthy with songs like “Drugstore Romeo” that has a Love & Rockets “Earth + Sun + Moon” meets The Cowboy Junkies. You can feel the suffering in this song, without even watching the video.
When I talked to her about the previous album, “So are you into like, Rocky Horror, and a Clockwork Orange”, and she smiled and said “All of the above”. Those themes are present in her video for “Muddled Man” which was downright freaky with an assault of industrial beats, and in your face visuals that are unsettling. That interview can be found here.
Her first album “Eyes Of Glass” delivering a wide range of sounds, and styles, I have to say my fave on that album was ANGEL.
Going back and forth between each release will stir some wonderful feelings, or make you take a different perspective on things you think are beautiful. Either way, Stella will give you some unusual beauty and intensity, and you will also go back to revisit what you thought of it all, several times.
Kudo’s Stella, we hope to see you on the road soon.
