You can light the fire inside your head

Friday 5 September – OK, it’s going to be a busy weekend, so let’s get right on with it. Friday night is a bit of a punt, we’re off to The Duchess for what looks like an interesting line-up. First on the bill is York-band Airheads, actually five guys from Huntington in York the band consists of; James Rodgers, Harry Owen, Tristan Kirkpatrick, Ash Lovelace, and James Blackburn. They’ve supported bands such as Look See Proof, Glasvegas, Team Waterpolo, Disarm and PARKA, but for tonight are self-confessed “Duchess virgins”. I arrived about half way through their gig. Shame on me, because they sounded really good. Two things stood out. 1 they had a stonking great synth in the middle of the stage. 2 one of the guitarist was wearing no shoes, just stripy socks. In that way he reminded me of the rhythm guitarist from Scary. Whatever happened to them? Anyway, Airheads produced great sounding synth/pop/rock with catchy, melodic riffs underwritten by the synth line, reverberating guitars, solid bass lines, and precision drumming. Top notch. I will definitely be looking for these guys again. Their next gig is at Fibbers on 19 October when they support Team Waterpolo and Defend Moscow.

So, the evening was off to a good start and the Theakstons XB was sliding down beautifully. The second act was Euros Child the former vocalist and keyboard player from Gorky's Zygotic Mynci. He was being assisted by some chap who played guitar and drums, but I’m afraid I’ve no idea who he was. Sorry. I’m assuming that most of the material played was off his latest solo album The Miracle Inn, as it sounded to be in English and his previous two albums had featured vocals in Welsh. The set kicked off with three or four guitar-based songs that gave an impression of Simon & Garfunkle at their height. Pretty damn good I thought. Unfortunately Euros then switched to keyboards and the wheels starting coming off. It was like listening to the Pet Shop Boys but without the catchy choruses. The songs started, drifted about a bit, and then ended. They just didn’t go anywhere. I wanted to like him. He has a fantastic voice. But it really didn’t float my boat.

And so to the headline act, The Dodos, a duo from San Francisco consisting of; Meric Long (vocals, acoustic guitar and keyboards), and Logan Kroeber (backing vocals and percussion). They are joined on this tour by Joe Haener who filled in the gaps with glockenspiel, a half-pint piano/keyboard affair, and a dustbin for a bit of extra oomph in the drum department. I kid you not. The band created beautifully orchestrated pieces of music, ranging from soft chanting and wistful lyrics, to escalating primal screams and frantic strumming. The drumming was driving and frantic and the sound was enhanced by Kroeber having a tambourine strapped to his foot! The music? Well it’s psychedelic/folk. Think of Fleet Foxes, White Denim, Bon Iver, The Hold Steady, or Athlete on speed. It’s folk and anti-folk, guitars played hard and fast but remaining acoustic. The set kicked off with some traditionally formatted songs, among them Walking and the single Red and Purple with its tribal drumming (think West African Ewe drumming and gamelan). The set then veered off into much longer tunes, exploring sonic landscapes, so difficult to describe as mere songs in a conventional sense. A particular highlight for me was Fools, a track from their new album Visiter, with feedback drenched slide guitar and ramshackle drums bashing away in the background. The band was in its best prog-mode on Joe's Waltz. The first four minutes devoted to a sombre, down-tempo ballad that gave way to a three-minute, near-punk thrasher where Long was insisting to the song's subject that they "need help." Long used agile, feverish strumming on his guitar and had a sweetly awkward voice. Kroeber drummed with a fury forged from his prog-metal background. Absolutely first-rate and thoroughly recommended.

Despite The Dodos playing an hour long gig it was still reasonably early when we left The Duchess so we headed into the heart of York to round off the evening at The Roman Bath. The band playing here was Dufflegoat, a York three-piece consisting of; Roger Newton (guitar, backing vocals), Tony Gilpin (Bass, lead vocals), and Paul Marshall (drums).

Obviously we only caught about a quarter of their set but the band managed to rattle off an impressive array of covers from; Led Zep, Voodoo Chile, Foxy Lady (Jimi Hendrix), Won’t get fooled again (The Who), Warpigs (Black Sabbath), and apparently only the second time of playing it, The Green Manalishi With the Two Pronged Crown (Fleetwood Mac). Pretty blooming good and well worth checking out properly when they next play in York, Thursday 20 November at The Stone Roses, or Sunday 7 December at The Roman Bath.