Elba Sessions

Now, I usually like to get the gig reviews/post match up pretty sharpish on the Elba Sessions site so please excuse me for being a bit lax this month! A mixture of putting on two gigs in two nights, organising Elba Annual posts, starting a new project, work and a few beers at the shows, have pushed back what will be (mostly) a photographic memory of the evening! This is what happens when you man the door! (Apologies, for the size of the photos, I just couldn’t get them to fit right this evening but there’s a link at the end to a gallery!)

Up first, for his first of three Elba engagements, was Conor Mason. Just off the boat from Derry, Conor started with a set of songs from his debut LP ‘When It’s Over’.

Next up, one of my new favourite bands, Rags and Feathers. It was the first time I’d seen them and already I can’t wait to go and see them again. They are well worth checking out and a lovely bunch. Julian and Andrea even had an impromptu DJ set on the Opry Wheels of Steel. All I can say is that they are just a huge slice of folky goodness!

The third band of the evening were The Moth and The Mirror. Fresh from a couple of dates with Frightened Rabbit (they also support them at their Dec 22nd ABC show) they were on top form and went down well with everyone. They were the perfect build up to the last band of the night, Le Reno Amps.

This was to be Lindsey’s last show with the Amps and the rest of the band ‘suited’ up for the occasion. After a country heavy opening set, the Amps fired on all cylinders with tracks from all three of their albums, with a couple of extras added in. There was even time for an onstage plea for a new bass player which I am to believe has still not proved successful. Finishing with a rendition of Johnny Cash’s ‘Daddy Sang Bass’, it was a fitting send off for Wolfie.

If anyone knows a bass player…???? (There is a strict criteria!)

Thanks to Steph Mulligan for the pictures, some can be viewed at a better size here…(more to come). Also, a huuuuuuuuuuuge thanks to Mags and her staff at the venue, you are unlikely to find more welcoming venue staff anywhere!

When planning the Elba Sessions Annual, it was only right that the subject of the Grand Ole Opry gig, got a day all to herself. Tonight at the Opry Le Reno Amps will bid a fond farewell to bass player Lindsey. Stepping up to media duties one more time, she answered our questionnaire…

Album of The Year – The Decemberists – The Hazards of Love

Hopes for 2010/Things You’re Looking Forward To – I’m going on holiday! A real holiday! To Kenya! To see a lion!

Lindsey has her final fling tonight at The Grand Ole Opry with support from The Moth and The Mirror, Rags and Feathers and Conor Mason. Doors are 8pm, £4 (that’s a pound per band!) and it would be amazing to see y’all there!

I don’t think it’s any secret that we here at Elba Sessions *heart* Le Reno Amps. Not only have they popped up on an Elba Podcast and an Elba Sessions Presents…at the Liquid Ship, we’re also helping them give a rousing send off to their bassist this Thursday at the Grand Ole Opry deep in Glasgow’s cowboy country! Indeed, Al and Scott almost single handedly changed the face of the Elba Sessions because for 30 worrying minutes at The Liquid Ship, being bombarded by their patter, we questioned whether the Elba Sessions were actually made for wannabe stand up comics. Thankfully a few months on, we’re still concentrating on bands, and the booking agents of northern England’s working mens clubs are not booking Le Reno Amps. Phew. We’d like to think last months appearance on the cover CD of WORD Magazine and this month’s review in MOJO is down to their appearances with Elba, but we can’t take all the credit…the four of them are affa hard workers!

Album of The Year

Scott: Heavy Trash – “Midnight Soul Serenade”

Al: Bloody Hell just one! I’d probably plump for… De Rosa – Prevention,

but worthy mentions…
St Vincent – Actor
Golden Silvers – True Romance
Wilco – Wilco (The Album)
Jason Lytle – Yours Truely, The Commuter

Favourite New Band

Scott: Last ‘new to me’ band I heard and keep returning to are Empire of the Sun, reckon that album’s going to be with me for years to come. How very populist of me! I’m also currently very taken with the Dirty Projectors – or possibly not! They did a brilliant track with David Byrne on ‘Dark was the Night’, investigating further I learned they did a concept album in 2007 called ‘Rise Above’, which is (Wiki quote) “…an attempt by band leader Dave Longstreth to remember and reinterpret the entire Black Flag album Damaged after not hearing it for almost 15 years”. Now, I learned to play guitar by listening to Black Flag and the Circle Jerks – unless Dave Longstreth heard Black Flag through a coma from his hospital bed, this album is short on remembering and heavy on re-interpretation! I think I may love it, but it’s too early to say, I may wake up one morning and realise I actually hate it and forever refer to them as fucking BAWC’S! (Brooklyn Art Wanker Cunt Students)

Al: I really love the Golden Silvers album so yeah Golden Silvers. I’ve been listening to Super Adventure Club’s “Chalk Horror!” album a lot of late too, so yeah they’d both be my favourite “new” bands!

Best Gig – Le Reno Amps

Scott: The Windmill in Brixton

Al: Ooh this year, eh, we had a couple of belting London shows at The Windmill in Brixton and The Sheep Walk in Leytonstone back in April, they were both really great. More recently we did a Merchant City Festival show with Super Adventure Club and The Elvis Suicide. It were a lot of fun too.

Best Gig – Other

Scott: Faith No More at the Corn Exchange in Edinburgh

Al: I cannae mind what I did last week let alone all year but Morrissey at Barras in May was totally amazing. Wilco at Greenman was brilliant, I was very very merry on cheap red wine. Eh what else, Field Music very recently at Captains Rest in Glasgow was great too. There’s been too many. I should stay in more.

Best Memories of 2009

Scott: Touring and gigging to promote the album – i.e. playing with Brakes, spending time with our friends from Drift and Cottonmouth Rocks. OF COURSE – THE ELBA SESSION AND GIG! YAAY! (ed: clearly a man of taste)

Al: Being right up the front for Field Music, literally felt like I was invading Peter Brewis personal space it was so rammed in the Captains Rest. That band deserve a bigger stage for sure! I was grinning something awful.

Hopes for 2010/Things You’re Looking Forward To

Scott: Hope I don’t drop the baby (ed: you’ve been in a band with Al for years. You’ll be just fine!). Looking forward to FINALLY finishing this next album, hoping it sounds as good as its current promise. Also, hoping my PC doesn’t pack in before I finish the bloody album.

Al: I’ve been working hard on setting up a record label with a collective spirit. It’s called Armellodie. I’ve been doing it for a while but having just released our first longplayer (Cuddly Shark’s eponymous debut) I’m getting my teeth into it now and am set to release some corking records next year. You can check out Armellodie at www.armellodie.com. The website is launched in December 09.

I also cannae wait for Spoon at Tuts on Valentines Night. My better half’s not bothered about Spoon but I love them. So much so I persuaded her to get us tickets cos I’m skinto, of course I’ll buy her a drink at it, I’m romantic like that!

Le Reno Amps play ‘The Wolf’s Last Stand‘ at the Grand Ole Opry, Glasgow, this Thursday 3rd December with The Moth and The Mirror, Rags and Feathers and Conor Mason.

We are delighted to announce along with the peeps at Drift Records the details of a special christmas show!

When we heard that Elba favourites Le Reno Amps were soon to be a man down, we couldn’t just stand by and simply watch, we had to mark this sad occasion and the best way, it was decided, was to have a right good hoe down, and where better to have said ‘hoe down’ than the institution that is The Grand Ole Opry. A stellar bill has been assembled for Zinzi’s last ‘Amps’ gig on Thurs 3rd December including The Moth & The Mirror, Rags & Feathers and Conor Mason.

We hope you will join us to give Wolfie the send off she deserves on what should be the event of the week!!!!

Tickets can be had here…