Though still viewed primarily as a ‘roots’ label, London’s wonderfully diverse Loose Music has continually kept this writer on his toes over the past decade or so. Albums proudly bearing the Loose imprint have ranged from Chris Mills and The Handsome Family through to (in more recent times) the likes of Hurray For The Riff Raff, Dawes and Jim White but they’ve all got one thing in common: every one of the buggers has a knack of becoming omnipresent on the overworked W&H stereo.
In one of those highly-cherished “there is a God” moments, however, W&H find ourselves in London during a week when one of the most inspired of all Loose Music pairings is swinging through town. Up first and playing nominal support are purveyors of fine, home-grown roots DANNY & THE CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD, whose fine third album ‘Hearts & Arrows’ (which, splitting hairs, is actually out on the Diverse label, but, c’mon, they’re a Loose Music band) arrived to an array of rave reviews on Valentine’s Day. Pulling a more-than decent crowd though it’s barely past 8pm, they are already in full swing as W&H take up residence stage right and though the sound’s muddy and desperately loud, it’s still obvious that they’ve evolved into a highly proficient unit.
The original Champions of the World were a folkier and rather more ad hoc affair, coalescing around highly-rated ex-Grand Drive prime mover Danny Wilson. Yet the current Champs are a more reliable unit, with the stocky, tattooed Wilson admirably supported by guitarist Paul Lush, Rosalie Deighton (guitar/ vocal foil), bassist Chris Clark and drummer Steve Brookes. Their set is drawn primarily from the new album, ensuring hard-hitting blue collar anthems such as ‘Every Beat Of My Heart’, ‘Soul In The City’ and the reality-checking ‘On The Street’ (“I see mansions on the hill, I see people without a home...most of us are just scraping by”) are the order of the day, though there’s also room for melancholic tunes like the Black Flag (!)-referencing ‘Can’t Hold Back’. Perhaps best of all is ‘Heart & Arrow’: a classic song of escape with a ringing, Roger McGuinn-style guitar solo which is already gearing up as a modern-day ‘Born to Run.’ Great stuff all round, despite the nuance-killing mix.
Providence, Rhode Island quintet DEER TICK take the stage to a heroes’ welcome and very quickly whip up some staggering moshpit action for a band again operating broadly within an Americana framework. As with The Champs, though, their magnificent new album ‘Divine Providence’ is a lot rockier and (in this case) snottier than before, and its ragged glory is ideal fare in such sweaty, enthusiastic surrounds.
Also in keeping with Danny & The Champs’ evolution, the current DT incarnation is a lot more stable these days. The fact that they’re such a disparate bunch makes them seem even more arresting visually and it’s (perhaps unintentionally) something which serves them well as a live act. The craggy, gold-toothed John McCauley is the obvious focal point, though drummer Dennis Ryan (sporting a proper, bushy beard) is well on the way to being one of the great characters behind the drums. Guitarist/ vocalist Ian O’Neill and bassist Chris Ryan are both enviably fresh-faced, while keyboard player Rob Crowell is surely the band’s secret weapon. His playing can often be subtle, but it always makes its presence felt.
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As with the new LP, the action kicks off with the scabrous stomp of ‘The Bump.’ A superior bar-room brawler, it’s irreverent and brilliant with a wonderfully goofy chorus (“we’re full-grown men, but we act like kids!”) the whole band clearly revel in. The fact the sound is now clear as crystal doesn’t hurt either.
The crowd are already eatin’ outta their hands and from thereon in it’s one of those great (and all too rare) shows where simply choosing yer favourites becomes the main object of the exercise. Something that’s not so straightforward when contenders include the Stones-y, riff-heavy ‘Funny Word’, the deceptive melancholy of ‘Main Street’ and the plaintive, almost-soul of ‘Walkin’ out the Door.’ Elsewhere, songs like ‘Something to Brag About’ (“Johnny’s got a bottle o’ wine/ nobody’s gonna make it to work on time!”) recall the inebriated, chaotic genius of The Replacements, so it’s fitting that they should crank out a gloriously manic cover of the ‘Mats’ ‘Bastards of Young’ during the rapturously-received finale.
Despite treating us to a generous hour and more, they’re inevitably gone too soon, though if the gleeful chorus from ‘The Bump’ (“we’ll face the music...next time we roll in!”) is to be believed, they’ll most certainly be back. On this form, though, the only music they’ll be facing will be shrieks of appreciation from a far larger crowd. Ditto Danny & The Champions of the World.
Loose Music online
Deer Tick online
Danny & The Champions of the World online
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