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THE FAUVES, THE BELL DIVERS, THE BLACKWATER FEVER The Troubadour: 18.10.08 The tried and tested combination of the guitar/drums blues rock duo will inevitably draw obvious comparisons to a number of similar known acts, and The Blackwater Fever’s frontman Shane Hick’s donning an overgrown beard even sees a passing likeness to the hirsute Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys. But this is where basic comparisons end, as The Blackwater Fever rip out their own distinctive blend of gravelly swamp rock. Highlights include ‘Devour’ and ‘Red’ from the recently released album Sweet Misery. Great stuff, best accompanied with a few bourbons. The Bell Divers serve up something a little less primal, with a set of super-light pop musings which tend a touch towards the bland. Much of the subject matter is seemingly about being in love and living in caravans, or being in love with caravans: I can’t tell. This, following on from the raw grit of The Blackwater Fever, is somewhat akin to having a hardy rump steak followed up by a bowl of raw silken tofu on white rice with a side dish of dry Salada crackers. Not everyone’s taste, but they seem to have drawn a reasonable following of enamoured punters here tonight. The Fauves are loved for a number of elements which they bring to their live shows. Quirky original songwriting, bitting social satire, witty banter, an uncompromising approach, questionable personal hygiene and poor accessorising are among some of their strengths and weaknesses. Tonight they don’t let anybody down as they take to the stage in support of their latest long player When Good Times Go Good. Pulling out a wide mix of old and new, Phil ‘Doctor’ Leonard takes lead vocals on many of the numbers – taking the limelight off the charismatic Andrew Cox – with tunes such as ‘Give Up Your Day Job’, ‘Don’t Get Death Threats Anymore’ and ‘Baby Dale’ (an ode to Boom Crash Opera’s front man Dale Ryder, from their as-yet-unfinished rock opera on Boom Crash Opera). They are in fine form, and the sound is remarkably tight and clear despite, or perhaps because of, the lo-fi collection of battered equipment they play. Highlights include ‘Self Abuser’, Surf City Limits’ and the inevitable closer ‘Dogs Are The Best People’. Coxy eventually gets his moment as he ditches his shitty beat up Epiphone for an encore of ‘Celebrate The Failure’, unleashing the rock star we always knew was lurking just beneath the surface. Prowling the stage like a later day Bon Scott, Cox is feverish, pulling out every move he can muster, at one point busting into one handed push ups and somehow pulling it off without looking like a complete tool. The punters are uniformly delighted and no one expects to witness anything like that again for a while to come. DAN SIMMONS. |
