Glasser @ The Captain’s Rest 20/2/11 + interview

Cameron Mesirow aka Glasser has been getting nothing but praise since her debut LP, Ring, came out in September. From before the album’s release she had been getting comparisons with a whole range of enviously talented female artists and since being thrown in at the deep end, supporting The xx on their UK tour as her first tour outside of California, she has done nothing but thrive.

Tonight she visits Glasgow for the first time on her own headline European tour and the prospect of a hot and sweaty Rest tonight has most people appetites wet.

The somewhat bizarre image of Glasser’s three-piece band emerging on stage in matching boiler suits is only topped when Mesirow takes the stage herself in rather kooky stage attire complete with helmet like headwear and garnished with pompoms.

The dress is eye catching to say the least but it is what has brought the crowd along tonight, it is the material from Ring, which gets full airing tonight. The almost tribal sounding, double drummer attack on album standout ‘Apply’ gets the set going and from then on Mesirow and co. look set to cruise.

Mesirow’s quirky almost trance driven dances fluctuate between instrumental sections only for her to regain focus from nowhere to fill the room with her angelic voice. Mesirow bobs, ducks and sways around the stage, amid glitchy synth croaks giving the occasional yelp drawing attention but it’s always a pleasant surprise when she draws back into her mesmorising vocals.

There is a touch of nerves kicking about this evening, the delicate beauty of the songs seems to have the crowd pushed a step away from the stage, almost as if they fear they might break it. This doesn’t seem to worry Mesirow as she banters about her grandfather being from Glasgow adding, “everybody thinks I’m Irish” before going into the delightful ode to her best friend, ‘T’.

Tracks like ‘Home’, ‘Glad’, ‘Tremel’ and ‘Mirrorage’ finish off the rest of the set each emphasising the talent Merisow has in putting together mystical elctropop gems.

As Merisow shyly reemerges, minus headwear, she explains she never intended to do an encores on this tour, stating they’ve played the whole album which receives a heckle of “play it again” that she giggles off before gaining composure.

She explains she is going to do an a’cappella performance of a folk song called ‘Let No Man Steal You Time’, which receives another shout of “can I steal you time?” which receives a blunt “no”. The song itself goes some way to justify that “no”, as the haunting splendor of her vocals silences the whole room, leaving everyone expects Mesirow herself breathless.

Before the show tonight we had caught up with the genius behind Glasser, Cameron Mesirow, to talk about the tour and what she thinks about all the comparisons and praise she has been getting.

Q: This is your first headline tour in Europe, how has it been so far?
A: The shows so far have been ok, I’m not going to rave about them but it’s been a pretty good tour in terms of how we’re all feeling. Hopefully Glasgow will show up those down in England, it seems like a good crowd down there already.

Q: This is your first time in Glasgow, have you had a chance to see much of Glasgow while you’ve been here?
A: Not really, we took a little walk to Òran Mór and tried a few different whiskeys’, we were told that is what they are famous for, that’s all we’ve seen just the walk from here to there. I’m kind of excited to be here anyway, my grandfather came from here, he wasn’t a performer like my parents but his name was Cameron like me.

Q: Could you give us a description of your sound for anyone unfamiliar with it?
A: It sounds just like The Rolling Stones basically! (laughs) No it’s really hard to know how to classify, it’s electronic music that doesn’t sound like electronic music.

Q: There have been a lot of comparisons being banded about with a lot of varying different female artists, what do you make of this?
A: I think what stands out the most is that the comparisons are female, I doesn’t seem to matter what the music is like as long as there’s a female vocalist

Q: How have you reacted about the across the board positive reviews Ring has been getting?
A: I have barely seen a review myself I try not to read too much about it.

Q: How did you enjoy making the album?
A: I think with anything you’ve wanted to do for a long time and feel intimidated about doing there’s a lot of brow beating and questioning, if you’re doing a good thing or not. I can’t say it was the happiest experience that I just skipped though but I do feel good about it.

Q: You’re playing Primavera in the May, the line up looks amazing, anyone you fancy seeing while you’re there?
A: I’m really curious to see Pulp, is Suicide playing? I think Suicide are playing and I’m really excited to see Echo and the Bunnymen, I think they’re playing Ocean Rain, which is my favourite.

Q: What sort of stuff do you listen to while you’re on tour?
A: We listen to all kinds of things in the van, today we listened to Micachu and the Shapes who I’d never heard before, Sam Cooke, Lil Wayne, some techno from Berlin, D’Angelo so lots of different stuff.

Q: Finally, are you going to get out in Glasgow after the show?
A: I can’t go out because I’ll loose my voice, I have to go home all the time after the shows, I’m trying to be a professional.

Photo: Stewart Fullerton

Twin Shadow @ Captain’s Rest 27/1/11

It’s rare you see someone appear as laid back as support act Chad Valley, last time he played in Glasgow he played to next to no one now he’s at a sold out Rest, so it’s a pleasant change for him, nice to see he’s put in the effort.

Banter flies comfortably back and forth exchanging comments surrounding his appearance in the Guardian, the G2 crossword being good and Sudoku not being cool, only to find Joe Strummer died while reading the Guardian and having to dedicate a song.

The music doesn’t let down either as his beautiful take on chillwave sets toes a tapping from the off. Dabbling through his sound experiments, throwing in a touch of disco here and there he provides a delightful start to the night.

Still, it is Twin Shadow people are here to see and the Dominican born artist, full band in tough, in not going to let down. George Lewis Jr., who adopted the persona Twin Shadow following a move to New York, exudes charm telling the crowd they are “exceptionally good looking” can’t go really go badly.

Twin Shadow has been receiving nothing but praise since last year’s debut, Forget. The album breaks down genres confidently and borrows brilliantly from a selection of different movements it’s easy to see why the show sold out way in advance tonight.

Early highlights like ‘Tyrant Destroyer’ capture the audience to perfection as Lewis and co. drag a packed Rest along for a new wave tinged ride as they take the record up a notch and unleash it on the crowd almost forcing everyone to get their dancing shoes on.

“What do they put in the water in Glasgow that they don’t in Manchester?” Lewis questions as he watches his captivated crowd, he even has the confidence to quip: “You have that here too? Annoying guy at the front” taunting a somewhat over eager fan.

‘Castles in the Snow’ is arguably the highlight of the night as he takes one of the most emotionally touching songs on the album and brings it into this upbeat live environment perfectly.

Lewis apologises for having no time to hang out after the show and as the encore approaches they come to the dilemma of leaving the stage. Lewis states: “I’m not going to lie to you, it’s physically difficult to leave the stage, emotionally yes! Physically no!”

They finish off the set with ‘Slow’ and ‘Tether Beat’ tying together an attention grabbing set that really hits the floor running for the new decade, leaving the crowd in the mood for some more dancing, whether they’ll find anything that matches this is very doubtful.

Photo: Euan Robertson

Casiotone for the Painfully Alone @ Captain’s Rest 11/11/10

There is no doubt one-man lo-fi experimentalist Owen Ashworth has come along way since he debuted the moniker Casiotone for the Painfully Alone back in 1997. Now 13 years older Ashworth is retiring these songs.

This will be his last show in Glasgow but the Californian urges us not to worries: “I’m gonna write a bunch of new songs and come and play them for you.”

Casiotone gigs always have a note of sadness; Ashworth’s ‘indietronica’ is renowned for being moving with his short sweet songs tugging the heartstrings of his audience.

In the middle of tonight’s set an audience member heckles “will you keep writing sad songs…? Happy songs?” To which Ashworth replies: “I’ve written a few songs, I’ve been told they’re slightly happier.”

The set is a true delight in typical style. Ashworth’s presence doesn’t set the Rest alight but instead a calm adoration fills the venue as the crowd stand patient in admiring awe. It doesn’t really matter what songs he plays every song is a highlight, a cover of Springsteen’s ‘Streets of Philadelphia’ his own charming style proves a delightful addition.

Ashworth knows how solemn his sets can be and he solves this by joking with the crowd “this is the only part of the set that’s fun” after expressing “I’m doing ok, feeling I could need some vegetables” to which a crowd member quips “you’ve come to the wrong country!” This shows that unique charm that keeps both people coming back to his shows and him coming back to Glasgow.

There is no doubt Ashworth will be back in Glasgow here, he shows genuine love for this city. However, for these songs the road has ended but a corner seems have turned and instead of this being a sad goodbye it feels more like the beginning of something new.

Fang Island @ Captain’s Rest 5/9/10

Fang Island are one of the latest of the wave of New York artists labeled as “math rock” to pass through the UK. Despite the band’s calculated, mass pedal usage there is a hugely joyous, fun-filled attitude coming along with them.

Support tonight comes from local boys Endor, who bring an atmospheric yet pop filled charm to the start of the evening. Without completely blowing the crowd away, these guys have a solid base and will have won over a few new fans tonight, despite a lot in attendance being here to see them.

As Fang Island fronting duo Jason Bartell and Nicholas Andrew Sadler appear on stage clad in colourful hoodies (wizard like in the case of Bartell), it is hard to tell whether they are the height of New York cool, or the complete opposite. Any doubts on this are quickly quashed by the sheer joy they embody when playing.

Opening with ‘Dream of Dreams’, the band’s head bouncing, energetic antics quickly win over the sadly half full crowd. Still, the relatively small crowd is more than up for the show, and while hesitant during the support are now dancing along enthusiastically, something there isn’t usually room for in the Rest.

The band clearly are enjoying their first visit to Glasgow, or indeed their first full tour, as Bartell emphasises “we’ve never been anywhere before”, after stating how great it was to be here. The happiness these guys put into playing live could win over the most hardhearted music fan.

‘The Illinois’ forms an early highlight of the set conjuring up images of a superhero racing the rescue. The five-piece bounce through tracks from a self-titled debut album worth of mostly instrumental wonder.

As the set progresses into the skies the band move from potential hit to potential hit. Latest single ‘Daisy’ moves into set stand out ‘Sideswiper’ before closing on the explosive bursts of ‘Davey Crockett’.

By the end of the set it simply doesn’t matter if these guys are cool or not, and despite the lackluster attendance this evening, expect a scramble for tickets next time they hit British shores.

Picture: Gordon Ballantyne

Wild Nothing @ Captain’s Rest 28/7/2010

It’s time again for the sound of 2010 to hit Glasgow. Tonight’s headliner, Wild Nothing, is the latest act to be labeled ‘dream pop’ that has set eyes a sparkling the world over, fans and critics alike.

The solo project of Virginia born Jack Tatum, tonight performing as a four-piece, visits Glasgow for the first time, promoting debut album Gemini.

Support tonight comes from Glasgow’s own Barn Owl, who treat us to calm wave of a set. The five-piece seem confident in their groove but outside of it the nerves look apparent. Despite this the twinkling of a xylophone and the occasion tune reminiscent of laid back Los Campesinos! the band form a delightful opener.

Tonight there is surprisingly room to move in Rest, which is odd considering the hype Wild Nothing has been receiving and the tiny venue. Still, the relatively few in attendance are treated a shy yet refined performance courtesy of this talented young man, who is continually gaining a deserved recognition.

The clattering of ‘Chinatown’ opens the set on an upbeat tone before Tatum drags us into a deep yet dreamy sulk, so brilliantly captured by this genres best, who Wild Nothing is among.

The beautiful album opener ‘Live in Dreams’ forms a stand out of the set as Tatum sings “that’s exactly why I’d rather live in dreams and I rather die” and the crowd grows ever closer to the glazed swagger evoked by he constant rhythm of Tatum’s backing.

Then the glaze is blasted open as the most danceable beat of the night hits the floor, as Tatum and co hit into arguably the albums most pop track ‘Bored Games’. Tatum keeps the high ground and ends the set on an optimistic point with current single and almost twee delight ‘Summer Holiday’.

The shy frontman leaves us on an apology, firstly for not being the most talkative onstage, this he is instantly forgiven, and once again as the crowd chants for more he shyly announces that they had this last night but they have no more songs.

Wild Nothing may not be dripping with the pop sensibilities that the more popular members of this scene embody, however, both live and record he has is a gem which will be cherished by many who have taken this scene to heart.

Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti @ Captain’s Rest 3/6/10

With the Halt Bar Hijack just along the road the area is jam packed with live music fans. This hands the perfect scenario to much hyped avant-garde musician Ariel Pink to play his own set just a skip away at the Captain’s Rest.

Many have taken a quick time out from the Hijack to catch the LA based act, with his band Haunted Graffiti. As a result the show is sold out very quickly and we find the tiny basement of the Rest once again at it’s sweaty best by the time the headliners come on.

Before the venue gets packed to the brims we are treated to a couple of local acts to get the early comers warmed up. First on are We’re Only Afraid Of NYC, who’s alternative indie borders on the expansive without really breaking any barriers.

Next are the more interesting, yet not as well received, Paws who up the energy and the volume with a number of powerful punk enthused alternative tracks.

The one trouble with a packed Captain’s Rest, aside the intense heat, is vision, if you aren’t near the front you aren’t going to see very much. So, with having to guess what the band looks like your ears are left to do the judging.

With agitation building in the crowd, as the Graffiti take a good time fidgeting with equipment, the band finally fire into their set, opening with the funky ‘Don’t Think Twice (Love)’ from Ariel’s 2004 debut Doldrums. The track’s grooved up bassline coupled with Ariel’s obscure yet impressive vocal changes, switching from a high squeal to a deep boom and everywhere in between, provide an ideal start.

The Graffiti’s latest release, Before Today, has been receiving much hype all over the music press and with it only out a week many tonight are here to see what it can offer in a live environment.

The flowing dreamy pop tones of 60s garage cover ‘Bright Lit Blue Skies’ is the first chance we get to sample the new material and it does not let down. The soaring beautiful chorus drags the listener in and as Ariel sticks to one vocal pattern it gives a nice coherence not found in much of their older material.

Indeed it is Ariel’s vocals that many will raise a question over, the constant changing and sometimes odd positions of his voice can occasionally come across as grating.

However, these eccentrics, love them or hate them, are tied down more of the new release and as a result the band have found their feet commercially. Still, a vast amount of the set is built up of old material and some who have only heard the new release will struggle to accept the more taxing material.

Closing, before a relatively pointless encore, on their hit of the minute ‘Round and Round’ the Graffiti reach the peak of their set. The single has become an indie centerpiece for 2010 and best signifies the band’s move form psychedelic awkwardness to dream filled pop bliss.

Ariel Pink appears to be gradually moving away from his past musical haunts, and while live he still clings to the past, there is still quality here in abundance. Finishing just in time for a run back along to the Halt to catch Holy Mountain and Eternal Fags, the Graffiti provide a perfect pop injection to a damp Sunday evening.

Photograph: Sam Fenn

Bear in Heaven @ Captain’s Rest 23/4/10

Tonight saw Brooklyn’s Bear in Heaven take up Scottish soil for the first time in their seven years together opening to warm reception from an eager yet not entirely packed Captain’s Rest. The band’s first European tour had been struck by the volcanic ash scenario, which has restricted all travel in northern Europe, effectively leaving the guys stranded in Spain just last week. However, they have made it here tonight and after successful shows London and Manchester the band are buzzing as the UK leg of the tour runs without problem.

For myself tonight’s set took a little bit of a different context, before seeing the experiencing the brilliant experimental rock of Bear in Heaven I had been down at Stereo catching the first ever live appearance of Glasgow’s newest hardcore novelty Prolife in support of Take a Worm for a Walk Week. The four-piece, made up entirely of Nice n’ Sleazy’s staff, produce an explosively aggressive nine-minute set leaving the audience breathless. Take a Worm certainly had something to live up to but for me it was BiH who unknowingly had to live up this onslaught.

The moustachioed three-piece certainly do not disappoint as they break into the set and build and build without ever dropping pace. There are times in the set when you are drawn to thinking when is this momentum going to go off the rails but all credit the band as they cruise comfortably from track to track mostly taken from only recently UK released latest album ‘Beast Rest Forth Mouth’.

‘Ultimate Satisfaction’ builds slowly but Jon Philpot and co eventually brings the track to a superb crescendo as the crowd lap up every note. ‘Wholehearted Mess’ also proves a high point of the set as Philpot sways on spot in an assured almost camp manner powering out ‘dig out, dig out, dig out...’ while the rhythm section look cool and confident taking on the adoration from the crowd. Ending the set with crowd favourite ‘Lovesick Teenagers’ proves a fitting end to a nonstop set and while not displaying that violent hardcore pursuit which Prolife expelled BiH certainly stepped up to anything anyone was asking for them to terms of unbounded quality.

If you’re lucky enough to be hitting the Green Man Festival this summer be sure to pop along and catch them at their only UK festival appearance.

Photo: Ingrid Mur

Neon Indian @ Captain's Rest 1/12/09

There’s a surprising baron feel in the Captain’s Rest this evening, especially when considering the praise tonight’s headliners Neon Indian have had heaped upon them for their superb debut album ‘Psychic Chasms’. Still, at this point the night is young and it does pick up somewhat for the band taking the stage (albeit not the full house expected), the quiz upstairs takes the majority of the blame for the late crowd.

The bulk of the crowd are lucky in their lateness as the stage times are running way behind and when the Texan four-piece take the stage they are greeted with a big enough reception. The face of Neon Indian, Alan Palomo, sways around delivering vocals and bleeps drawing large proportions of the crowd into rousing sing-a-longs. However, it is not the vocal hooks that will bring huge success to this band, it is the brilliantly catchy keyboard lines, courtesy of the lovely Leanne Macomber tonight, which could easily leave anyone humming them for the next week.

It is Macomber tonight who indulges in the most crowd interaction, encouraging the audience forward and making weak yet appreciated jokes about her very questionable Scottish decent. Still, the real genius behind this band is Palomo, the album is pretty much all his work, he is Neon Indian and for evidence of his talents you need to look no further than wonderfully catchy, ditzy pop single ‘Deadbeat Summer’. The track doesn’t necessarily stand out in the set as almost every track tonight drips with brilliant retro pop, but if you don’t yet know this band there is no better place to start.

Neon Indian’s first visit to Glasgow may have been plagued with time troubles but this will certainly not knock them of track. This band are destined for better things and don’t be surprised to see them selling out much larger venues in the not too distant future.

Their debut album ‘Psychic Chasms’ is out now of Lefse.

Picture: Lucy Knott

A Place To Bury Strangers @ Captain's Rest 12/11/09

A Place to Bury Strangers is affectionately hailed as ‘New York’s loudest band’ and on tonight’s evidence this is hard to argue. Support Japandroids, who are no means quiet, claim that they make them ‘sound like an acoustic folk band’. The tiny downstairs basement of the Captain’s Rest goes no way at all to restrict the loudness, if anything the enclosed environment only goes to enhance this reputation.

Still, you cannot go to this gig and not throw some word to Japandroids who are gathering major hype at the moment and are possibly one of the reasons why tonight is sold out. The Vancouver duo’s brand of noise rock is achieving more followers everyday, so much so that they have a headline show booked at King Tut’s in February which will surely be a hot ticket. Unfortunately though, the band’s first visit to Glasgow is plagued with microphone issues and even the ‘sound magicians’ could not save the day completely. Sounding ‘as much like Lady Gaga as possible’ was the aim, don’t worry this was not going to happen, but enough promise and energy is expelled to have people intrigued enough to have a further listen.

A Place To Bury Strangers emerge in an almost pitch black room, in an filled to capacity venue, the only light shone on them for the first three quarters of their set comes courtesy of a sole projector at the back the room. This creates an atmosphere suiting of the shoegazing beauty of their music that seems ever more perfect in a live setting. True enough the volume is a slight distraction; I certainly would not advise seeing this band without earplugs, the fact they sell them at their merchandise stand says it all, but with this investment made the bands set is even more glorious than they sound on record.

For the last quarter we find the minimal lighting replaced by drastic strobe effect, which near engulfs the band from the audience’s vision. Again, this effect only emphasises their music, as the band seem to increase the volume even more while drenched in a sea of white light. Closer ‘Ocean’, from 2007’s self-titled standout, is probably the best track of the evening. The band take the song to new extremes from the recorded version dragging it out to ridiculous lengths while holding a gawping crowd with sheer intensity. The forceful end to the set definitely goes the furthest to justify the band’s current tagline, which will have to go some way to be topped.

A Place to Bury Strangers second full-length ‘Exploding Head’ was released on Mute in October this year.

Picture: Sam Fenn