Downdime @ The Library
By Russell Leeming
'A night of shoegaze.' Hmm. There seems to be some confusion over what shoegaze is. I mean...some of my friends don't even know and they're hip as fuck. So to begin, may I introduce a friend of mine called Wikipedia. You may call it plagiarism but hey, there's a reference baby...
Shoegazing (also known as shoegaze or shoegazer; practitioners referred to as shoegazers) is a style of U.K. Indie (or Independent) Music that emerged from the U.K. in the late 1980s, lasting until the mid 1990s, with peaking circa 1990 to 1991. The shoegaze label was invented by the British music press (see NME and Melody Maker) because many of the people in these bands spent a lot of time on stage altering the settings on their effect pedals during songs or looking down at their instruments, rather than interacting with audience.
Thanks Wik. Back to me; for pioneers think Cocteau Twins, Chameleons and Velvet Underground... for bands think Ride, My Bloody Valentine, some of the more distorted Sonic Youth - think Teresa's Sound World and you're pretty much bang on.
At half eight we kick off with sextet Laboratory Noise. There's a bloody good film on in the background on a projector. A bit weird but very nice. Strange but original. Ah yes, sorry... the music. Laboratory Noise are Sonic Youth covering Doves with Connor Oberst on vocals. For the first couple anyway; then they just turn into Engineers (the band not actual engineers, although that would be fun). The songs are good, following a similar pattern of slow(ish) build up with a manic distorted ending. One of them is so much a rip off of Engineers '1 in 7' it's untrue but hey, Oasis have got away with it for 13 years now.
Skipping Insect Guide till last for obvious reasons (such as them being 'the fucking shit'), we come to a surprise headliner - loveable indie creamers Downdime. Endearingly strange, they showcase an array of influences; from The Cure (albeit sped up) to the quiet loud dynamics of Pixies the set gets better as it goes along culminating in a manic song with plinky keyboards reminiscent of Morrissey's efforts on Death Of A Disco Dancer. The band is a pleasant surprise after a pretty mandatory opening.
Insect Guide are stuck in the middle but shine the brightest with a six legged performance (dear God, shoot me). There's a similar effortless beauty about their songs when compared to Belle and Sebastian but IG are much more adventurous with their music. Where Laboratory Noise could have perhaps benefited from a female vocal to juxtapose with their dreamy vibe, IG see the light and do so. It works perfectly with the synths, in providing a melancholic 80s underground feel. I'm really into female vocals at the moment - Jimmy Sommerville is my favourite.
There you have it... a quick word before I go though - the DJ was frigtastically excellent. Next week I'm going to con my way into a DJ job at the gallery, play to the chavs on Friday night and whack out King Of The Slums in tribute to the fantastic, yet mysterious dark clothed man known only as 'Keo.' The looks on their larger lout faces will be worth the night in hospital alone.
"Got any DJ Sammy?"
