Post No. 2: Moscow Drug Club at The Golden Lion (Bristol 19/05/11)

Before I begin I need to credit the Golden Lion in Bristol with knowing that the perfect way to watch and listen to the Moscow Drug Club is on a stool, at a barrel, by candle light.

I arrived early at the Golden Lion last night after a badly timed departure and estimated time of arrival from my flat a couple of miles away. I sat down at the bar with a pint of Guiness and reminisced over the last time I saw the Moscow drug club in the Canteen in Stokes Croft. They placed a deep vibrant trance over their mostly seated audience and baffled all with their intensely cool vibe and intricate riffs from every member of the band. This resulting in a far less seated selection of audience members and a lot of donations in the bucket.

When the set start time began to draw near I moved to the previously mentioned barrel and eagerly anticipated musical splendor. Liken to a painting or a poem you can only try to remember the way the Moscow Drug Club's music makes you feel, but as hard as you may try, you cant ever simulate the feeling with which you are filled, when the double bass riffs roll forward and the short and precise chord strokes from the guitars meet with the perfect tone held by the violinist. That's the sound check over.

The smokers and stragglers outside at this point had heard what they had all been waiting for and began to establish bases as near to the front as possible. Moscow Drug Club didn't sound check then leave the stage and all there fans craving the start of a set they know will exceed every expectation they previously had. Neither did they let the new comers sit bleary eyed unaware that this level of musical quality will be upheld with ease for the duration of their evening. They struck up soon after. During the first song a very interesting spectacle happened - the violinist nearly melted my face (metaphorically speaking), with a solo that simply blew me away leaving my jaw on top of my barrel nearly getting burnt on the candle. Whilst this was a display of amazing talent that left me and all of those around me that I shared a few glances of surprise and admiration with baying for more, I couldn't help but wonder whether an explosion of talent had been detonated too early. It wasn't logical to assume that you could comfortably top that throughout the remainder of the night.

Wrong.

My early obtained seat was soon surrounded by standing and dancing supporters keen to get as close as possible to the front so they could watch the effortless dancing of spider-like fingers flawlessly navigating scales, plucks and pull-offs from the four man string section. Whilst also enjoying the imagery of the extremely cool and relaxed persona of the lead singer who you constantly expect to see emerge from a cliche cloud of cigarette smoke holding notes for as long and as delicately as the violin. Whilst the double bass layers each song with the presence of excellent rhythm, the two guitar extraordinaries take it in turns to leave audience members hands red from clapping after each solo, each of which was completely individual to the last. I don't believe I need to say anything more about the violin, only that he did last night what I have spent my few years as a guitarist tying to do with a guitar. He communicated not only his love for the music and playing but a distinctive emotion for each song boldly and with complete clarity.

Once a torrent of applause's had ended (only after and encore that was unanimously requested), there was a very pleasant taste left in my mouth from a beautiful set consisting of musical talent beyond technology, beyond fx pedals and amp make. Because in the end if the whole world was to fall apart tomorrow and we were sat in fields with the scout leaders of the world (being the only people who know how to make fire) creating bonfires freely without having to worry about fire regs, Moscow drug club would be sitting round a roaring fire, wood crackling in the night air, reminding us all of where music came from and what it is about.

Thanks so much Moscow Drug Club for letting me have a picture of you all. on three! One, two, three Moscow Drug Club!!! They are lovely people, try and get to see them, they have a large list of gigs coming up please check out their myspace and they are on facebook!

Thank you once again for an amazing evening.

First Post, Bristol Music: Muff Said

For my first post I would like to pay tribute to one of my favourite bands to see live (and I have seen quite a few bands). Muff Said are an awesome Ska band based in Bristol, their set consists completely of their own energetic works (with one cheeky and very good cover of "All that she wants" by Ace of Base thrown in).

Muff Said have a great following (lovingly dubbed "the Muffians") comfortably taking up the majority of space in all the venues they play in and around Bristol such as Mr. Wolfs & The Croft. For those of you who like to combine music with a moral grounding in charity and equality Muff Said have taken part in charity events to raise money for an array of charities and causes, in fact a charity event at Left Bank in Bristol is where I first saw them and was awed by their amazing sound.

Now after that brief introduction, onto the music. When I first saw Muff Said I stumbled in by chance whilst stolling toward Stokes Croft (best place in Bristol) with a friend. At the time they were doing a sound check and instantaniously I was wowed by a wall of horns and tight drumming. Then added to this the perfect acompanyment of some brilliantly ska bar chords from a telecaster, intricately funky bass lines and the very unique vocals of their female lead singer (I only mention sex at this point is due to vocals being the only thing really affected by the sex of a person). I had a chat with the drummer and found that they werent playing for another couple of hours so I got my hand stamped and proceeded to wander down to the shelter for a few drinks before returning at about ten.

This requires a new paragraph. I walked in and bought a beer along with my friend and sat wiggled forward in a stagebound direction (actually there's not exactly a stage but you get the idea) ready for the start. I must admit I was expecting maybe one or two fairly similar songs to the taster I had recieved earlier (which was fine by me) and maybe a couple of reinvented ska classics (I am hearing ska bands kill the specials frequently at the moment - they need to stop). However I was completely blown away by a full set of originals where each was as brilliant and energetic as the next. It was sweaty skanking mayhem at the front of the small space in left bank but the intimacy that everyone talks about in relation to small gigs was very, very apparent. The lead singer's polite and enthusiatic correspondance with the crowd is a key ingredients to the friendly environment of the Muff Said gig as you are encouraged to take part in going down - on them (you need to go to understand that one). With the seriously tight drumming and the huge sound from the horn section (currently consisting of trumpet and sax having lost their trombonist for a while) you will be jumping up and down and skanking until you are so wet with sweat you  will look like you just got thrown in a pool! After that, all that is left is to enjoy the lyrics and ska guitar while the big smile on your face gets everso much larger!

That concludes my first post, please please go have a listen if you can, you can find them on facebook!