I’m sure it was as much a surprise to everyone else at The Academy as it was to me that when not directing blockbuster movies like ‘Lord of The Rings’ and the forthcoming ‘King Kong’, Peter Jackson enjoys nothing more than to play drums for Little Barrie.
Little Barrie have a little lead singer/guitarist named Barrie, are a guitar/bass/drum trio and play old fashioned R ‘n’ B/Soul of the Stax variety with a few Hendrix licks for good measure. There’s a touch of the muso about Barrie and his guitar antics (apparently Paul Weller is a fan) but it’s offset by some pleasing vocal interplay between Barrie and Peter Jackson (who possesses a surprisingly strong and soulful larynx). There’s a bit too much funky drummer and not enough variety in the tempo but I’m interested in their dynamics. Their EP ‘Pias’ is out now.
Second support comes from The Aspects whose debut album ‘Correct English’ has been garnering some glowing reviews from Uncut, The Face and others. They come on during Little Barrie’s last song and there is suddenly a party onstage as Paul from The Bees also shows up on keyboard. A hip/hop wig-out ensues of the ‘Walk This Way’ style-ee and it’s infectious. I subsequently discover that both The Bees and Little Barrie appear on The Aspects album so everything starts to make sense.
The Aspects deal in ‘daisy’ era hip-hop and hail from Bristol. Humour and a winning formula to ‘mix it up’ musically highlight their set. I like this lot – a bit of reggae here, some rock (White Stripes’ ‘Seven Nation Army’ gets a unique vocalisation) and a touch of psychedelia. They get the crowd up and running effortlessly and all bodes well for The Bees’ headline appearance.
But oh dear, The Bees are a disappointment. Things start off promisingly with ‘Wash In The Rain’ and ‘Punchbag’ but suddenly the impetus is lost with the track ‘Nothing’ (a cover?), a plodding dirge of a blues number that showcases Paul Butler’s voice but little else. Things pick up slightly with ‘A Minha Menina’ and roundly with ‘I Love You’. ‘Angryman’ throws it all off track again, ‘Horsemen’ works well…and so it goes. For every good track there’s a duff one.
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The main problem seems to be the sound. On record, The Bees are bright and breezy with the keyboards leading the infectiousness of there songs. But tonight the keyboards are lost and overall there is a murkiness to the sound. Paul’s vocals are also too low in the mix. To be fair I should declare that I’m suffering with a bad head cold, but still The Bees are not giving me a decent tonic as a pick me up. The band should really be working off the momentum of their support but it’s just not happening.
Part of the problem may also lie in the fact that they insist on swapping instruments throughout the set. On one or two songs this may be amusing but across virtually the whole set it becomes a distraction. I’m convinced it also prevents The Bees from fully realising their live potential, denying them the ability to change through the gears and stopping any kind of ‘groove’ building. ‘Go Karts’ again loses the swirling keyboard flourishes as does ‘The Russian’, but the instrumental just about manages to retain its reggae swagger despite this.
Finally, after the peaks and troughs of the set the band hit their stride with ‘These Are The Ghosts’ and the one encore ‘Chicken Payback’. But by then the damage has been done. Maybe I’m cursing them with the same criticism that was thrown at Supergrass after ‘I Should Coco’ – i.e. don’t get all serious musicians on us, stick to the bright poppy noises. Perhaps, they need a studio to impose discipline on their approach.
Whatever the reasons, I’m convinced there is a great band in The Bees but it just didn’t show up tonight.
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