Psicle: Bass works

An easy hour’s train ride from London sees me picked up by Bruce in Leicester and after a bite in a trendy art house café we meet Wayne at the Sound House for a three band extravaganza. First up are Echolocation who are a six piece crowded onto the small stage. They play a great set of what I guess you’d call post punk rock with elements of electronics and a fine trumpeteer thrown into the mix. Makes for an interesting soundscape. The drummer is on the beat but that is understated for much of the time as is the bassist who has a walking style up and down the frets. It’s got a sort of jazzy vibe especially when the horn and keyboards come in. There’s a hard dancy soul edge but with a bit of blatant rock guitar. It’s like a cross between The Doors and the Go! Team especially evocative when the trumpet comes in a soulful uplifting way. The singer apparently is a Yorkshire Mark E Smith and that’s obvious from the start but he also shouts in the musical gaps a bit like Jim Morrison which lends to the The Doors feel. All in all a very promising start to the evening. After clearing the stage and putting a drum set on again we’re all set for Black Asteroids who have a bit more room to manoeuvre as they are a drummer and a bassist. The drumming is big and hard hitting keeping a solid backdrop throughout the set. The bass player is great playing the bass like a lead guitar at times, a bass at others and chords at others. He alternates between thrashing out a solid repetitive beat in a neo metal style but then gets a bit noodly running up and down the frets and even brought the strings between end of the neck and head into play. I thought it was a classical style playing bass strings with melody the on top. Squarepusher’s bassier tracks stripped back comes to mind. At times I thought he was using loops but he told me after all was live playing. Most of time we couldn’t see him playing cos he was facing the side of the stage which was a shame. All in all very very good and fresh. Last up are Teeth of the Sea who are a trio and another band with no vocals. Well except for a few shouts for a looping effect at the end. However a trumpet is back on the menu. Along with keyboards and guitarist who has a flying V and could be a long lost cousin of Michael Schenker. Musically a hard dance beat with rock guitar overlay which goes down very well and gets people dancing. Excellent during the uplifting beats and the last of three very different but very interesting bands. (By the way Ramsay, you been listening to them on Spotify?)

Saturday sees me and Bruce trespassing along the disused railway track as it goes from Leicester North into the city centre negotiating bramble, shopping trolleys, abandoned mattresses and a bloke on a phone and bike who looked to be transacting some dodgy business but who gave myself and Bruce a surprising amount of respect when we asked him the way especially as we were covered in foliage from our foray through the dense urban undergrowth. Defeated by brambles we wander back to chat to the station master at Leicester North about the Re-unification of Leicester and Loughborogh and Bruce gazes enviously at the smart overcoat and cap. No steamers for a while so we go back home for lunch via the charity shops of Birstall and then it's a 5 mile each way cycle to Bradgate Park and a trek up to the tower on the 3rd highest point in the county. After that it's home for tea and an excellent jamming session. The evening sees us pick up Anu and after a traumatic drive in and around Leicester we park on the other side of the city to the pub we're going to and have to brave the wind and rain. There we meet Wayne and my vintage red bass (Jedson to the musos) which has been given a service by Wayne including neck straightening, bridge adjustments and re-stringing. All for one and a half pints of lager. At Leicester prices! The action feels a lot better so there are no excuses for me now. I think I owe Wayne a few more nights drinking over my next few visits to Leicester. I've promised a good review of the new The Burnout album so's my many blog followers rush out and buy it (OK, Anu, yes that's at least Debbie and Bruce although I guess he gets a free copy of it). The pub back room is cosy and it's difficult to see how many are in each band due to strategically placed pillars. A bit like Goodison Park if I remember rightly. First up are Creosote Heart who look and play like punk era post punkers if that makes sense. Pretty basic bass, guitar and synth playing an excellent set of straight up rock. Bruce says it's the sort of thing that me and Pete could and should do (although maybe not quite as well as this band). Take note Pete if you're reading this! Anyways, there's nothing wrong with a bit of punky rock and it gets us nicely set up for the evening. Gestalt are energetic musically as is the front man bassist singer (OK, another one Pete). They play nicely raucous rock and roll with the bassist throwing guitar hero poses and generally taking over the stage both physically and presence wise. Vocals are intense and the effect is compelling. The crowd loves them and there's a fair bit of banter between them and the singer who often seems to be haranguing the audience but I suspect he's on safe ground as as he probably knows 90% of it. Bruce is right in that the main guy reminds us of Malcolm from Otley with a dashing quirky punky demeanour and a certain charismatic although wicked charm. Not sure if they are more than the sum of their parts as some seem to be more important than others. But yes, the rest of the band hold the songs together excellently within the small space allowed and hiding behind pillars. One false start to a song is well sidestepped with a quip. After they leave the room empties as Gestalt's fan base / friends leave. We're still guarding the bass that Wayne delivered and I don't like too much crowd movement because of that. So last up are Venus Fly Trap who are a duo of guitar and keyboards serving us an electronic based set. They have good beats but too much is pre-recorded for my liking although those do contain some very good bass lines. It sounds a bit flat after the last band's energy and to be fair to VFT they may have a bit more band / audience energy going on with a few more punters who've come specifically to dance to electonica. Interesting but not great and not quite sure about the Devo comparison except in places. There's a great disco play list but we're tired and have to trek back to the car so that's the end of music for the weekend excepting a bar chord lesson on the Sunday. Bruce drops off Anu before we get back home for a herbal tea and to watch a very funny Rock Goes to College of The Stranglers being very bad tempered at Guildford University in 1977. All this driving me around - you're a star Bruce.

Sunday Bruce is up early again and after breakfast and packing we're off for the first training session of Bruce's cricket team in the indoor nets. My bowling is not as bad as I thought it might be and I throw down as many good lengths as wides. So not bad. Bruce even generously calls "caught by mid wicket" a few times. And I clip a stump, if my eyes didn't deceive me. Remember Bruce - my season terms are return rail fare from home and a jar of peanut butter (crunchy). Sitting on the train back home watching the wet dreary English countryside speed past (but I wouldn't want to be anywhere else rain or no rain I guess it's ingrained in me to feel at home looking at soggy fields and damp stations) I reflect that it's been another fun time up in Leicester. Cheers for a brilliant weekend Brucie and see you in 3 weeks time. And that goes for most others who are likely to read this. Let's hope The Stranglers like south Londoners more than they dislike Surrey students.