04
Aug
Reviews: reviewed
Two weekends ago I was fortunate enough to see two great Glasgow bands: Eska played a (hopefully not one-off, please) reunion show at Stereo on Friday, July 22 and The Ballad of Mable Wong took to the stage in Mono two days later for Secret Summer Sunday.
It was my very first time seeing Eska – when they were first together, I was probably into Sum 41 and sporting a moshie chain – and, WOW, they were really good. It was the kind of gig you emerge from looking flushed and sweaty and grinning from ear to ear. They had a big crowd (important in a venue like Stereo) who created a happy and appreciative atmosphere. The Ballad of Mable Wong were brilliant, too, playing a set of exciting new songs which have a slightly darker edge to them than their older material. I always urge people to go and see them live because they never, ever disappoint.
Throughout both of their sets I kept thinking, ‘I need to write something about this for The Pop Cop‘ - but that thought filled me with a sort of dread. Though I love listening to music, I find reviewing it to be an awkward, difficult task.
It’s hard to put such a sensory experience into words and do justice to the artist you’re writing about. You can scribble unintelligible musings and observations throughout the performance, but few people want to do that when engrossed in an incredible show. At best it will remove you slightly from your watching-a-band-in-a-trance ‘zone’; at worst you will miss an important bit. I wonder how many journos sat, bent over their typewriters or slates or whatever they used in those days, bitching about Michael Jackson pretending to be Jesus at the Brits in 1996 and missed Jarvis’ bare arse as a result. It’s akin to whipping a notepad out while having great sex: “Amazingly timed thrust at 5:21″ (minutes, of course).
So, then, the logical thing to do is reflect back on your experience. Generally, that’s when the panic sets in for me, as I realise with horror that I’ve had my brain wired to sound for the past half hour and the best thing I can do to show how good a time I’ve had is point at the drool on my chin, my sweat patches, and my hair which has through a frenzy of movement ballooned from nought to ‘fro. And that’s enough for people when you’re speaking to them face-to-face; that, and smiling like Professor Brian Cox whilst shouting “YEAH WAS GOOD!” tells them everything they need to know.
But when it comes to print, you have to be more thorough in your analysis. It is assumed that the reader wants a detailed dissection of the performance. Is that what you want, though? Genuinely, I’m interested to know. I find music reviews to be painfully dull a lot of the time, and I wonder if it’s because sometimes the person writing them is doing it dutifully and absent-mindedly, regurgitating the ghosts of music reviews past, typing the word ‘seminal’ for the hundredth time and describing bands as X crossed with Y, or as ____ ‘on acid’. I once read a review that described a band (can’t remember which) as sounding ‘like The Beatles on acid’. Bitch, you serious?
Obviously that’s not always the case and some reviews are a pleasure to read. Some writers have the enviable ability to describe concisely and accurately what a band sound like. I, however, am not one of them. So click on the links to hear the punky mathy (MATHS! MATHS! THIS IS NOT AMERICA!) grungy sound of Eska, and the instrumental dark-but-happy hypnotic rock jams of The Ballad of Mable Wong. See? Told you.
By Natasha Radmehr
The Ballad of Mable Wong – Obamaramalama
5 Responses to “Reviews: reviewed”
August 4th, 2011 at 18:47
I love writing the actual review, but it does annoy me when I’m at a gig and right before I fall into a ‘this is so good’ trance I have the kind of trigger like when you’re about to sleep and kick your foot, waking you up. I straight away snap back into review mode and find it hard to lose myself again.
That said, maybe it’s worth sacrificing one gig goer for the sake of them then reporting that gig to a larger crowd who couldn’t attend.
Some folk do write genuinely creative and artistic reviews though, which are great to read.
August 5th, 2011 at 01:05
As someone who is known for “dipping in and dipping out” I must say I was very much compelled to “dip in”. Natasha, I salute you!….
August 5th, 2011 at 08:56
I think this applies to writing about music generally. You can’t really describe the experience or feelings and are reduced to regurgitating everything that’s been said before.
August 6th, 2011 at 04:51
I really enjoyed reading that, Natasha. I remember seeing Eska many years ago after they walked up and interrupted my (slightly starstruck) chat with David Berman of the Silver Jews, who was doing a poetry reading at a record shop in Byres Road. I haven’t heard or even thought of them since, but I think I enjoyed the track more because of your review.
August 24th, 2011 at 21:06
Hopefully will remember to listen to the link tomorrow! Loved your review of reviews. I tend to agree with what you are saying. One of the reasons why I decided for myself that I won’t write reviews as I could probably describe my emotions and feelings during a gig but would struggle to put the actual music + sound into words that would do the actual experience any justice. I’ll stick to trying to capture the atmosphere on photo and if you want to I’ll include my sweaty t-shirt next time
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