Yesterday I saw
In Fields at the Actress & Bishop in Birmingham. The gig was absolutely amazing. To say that they remind me slightly of Neutral Milk Hotel or Slow Club does not suffice in the slightest.
Lead singer Graces soulful voice prods and pokes at your thoughts before turning on you full frontal and swallowing you whole. Everything about her is adorable and I smile at the cute gap between her teeth and the curly wire protruding from her acoustic guitar. The woman has soul that much is clear, and this force is accompanied by a host of aural delights, including an upbeat bass, majestic drums and a violin which creeps slowly in and intertwines itself with the beautiful melodic outbursts of the flute.
The overall sound is melancholy but hauntingly delicate, and runs like water trickling down a stream into your eardrums. The music takes me to meadows and cosy cottages and fireside scenes and homemade winter soup, it makes me warm inside. The tales of love and pink and blue and falling are cushioned by the tambourine and the xylophone, which cannot fail to make you smile despite the situation. The rhythmic beat of the drum and the clashing of symbols, the resonating cow bell and the harmonica all fuse together to create the finishing song and what was a truly excellent gig; I hope there will be many more to come.
So I went to the Beatles to Bowie exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery. These were a couple of my favourite photographs: Jane Birkin by David Bailey, 1969 & Bob Dylan by Barry Feinstein, 1966. Sweet.
Also, a couple of neat little 60's gems:
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