It’s a Wednesday night at SOUP in Manchester and from the off there were aural treats – the person serving behind the bar lamenting to a pal that they couldn’t live without 12 hours sleep and the blokes who walked down the stairs after me immediately claiming the venue was “Dank!” (Which, to be fair…) Settling in with the cheapest pint available from behind the bar (and having an inside cry about pints no longer dipping below £5.50), I found a choice spot within the eyeline of the support for the evening.
Don’t adjust your sets – James Acaster hasn’t moved into the world of music! Oh wait – he has hasn’t he? Right ok, but for the purposes of a joke (Partridge), don’t get mistaken – it wasn’t Acaster on stage in Manchester, rather we were in the company of brilliant Bristolian, Bingo Fury! The avant-garde ‘Off Menu’ star look-a-likey was flanked by a full band the last time we saw him, but down in the basement of SOUP he was just on his tod, arriving on stage without a word as the chatter continued throughout the room. We were soon silenced though as his vocal cut through, accompanied by delicate piano playing. Hitting the piano keys hard at one point, he leaned back to scratch his head. A smattering of applause followed but it was premature, as he came back in on the same song. From there, a nod of the head at the end of each song signalled our turn to react appropriately.
It was his first time at SOUP we were told and apart from tinnies being cracked and the hand drier going nuts in the toilet (something which plagued Pictish Trail the last time we were in the venue), it was easy to get completely lost in these soothing piano and acoustic guitar numbers taken from his debut album, ‘Bats Feet For A Widow’, released earlier this year (via The state51 Conspiracy). Whilst tuning his guitar, he told us that he’d had said guitar since he was 16, but has never been able to properly get it in tune. He suggested though that this means every audience gets a unique version of each song every night. Very much the sort of thing you’d expect him to say, his songs are often beautiful jazz pieces, each filled with engaging wordplay and wonderful imagery – like when he sings of watching a boxing match through a fish tank. I imagine if Alex Turner had put out these tunes during my formative years I’d be obsessed. With a bouquet of blue flowers at his feet and under the dim glow in the room, there was a Lynchian vibe to Fury.
To make the changeover bearable, my partner arrived at half time with Mini Cheddars! Cheddars in hand, time moved swiftly on and before too long we welcomed the visiting Dana Gavanski to the stage, the London based songwriter looking cooler than the other side of the pillow. We’ve been hooked on her new record ‘LATE SLAP’ (out now on Full Time Hobby), particularly dynamite lead single ‘How To Feel Uncomfortable’, so it was a delight to capture it all live and like keen beans, we were right down the front. Opening smoothly on the dreamlike ‘Let Them Row’, a proper great crash came from the drums at the back as it built to its ramped up close and Gavanski got stuck into her guitar. At its end, she announced that it was good to be back in Manchester, noting that they’d had a day off during the week but they were getting back into the swing of things.
Local vinyl pushers Piccadilly Records admitted in their blurb for ‘LATE SLAP’ that they’d thought it was Cate Le Bon on first listen and whilst we’d not got the two mixed up ourselves, Le Bon was indeed the first name that came to mind upon hearing cuts from the new record, the songs reminiscent of the Welsh star during her ‘Mug Museum’ and ‘Crab Day’ eras. Along with a similar vocal style, on stage Gavanski gesticulates with her hands much in the same way Le Bon does on occasion and on recent wonk-pop single ‘Ears Were Growing’, she pulled great theatrical faces, brushing something invisible off her shoulder before tinkling ivories in the air whilst her man on keyboard played away. On another, she held a hand out to the crowd, before returning it to her chest as she stared out, wide eyed.
The live band were a lot of fun and many an onstage conversation was shared with the crowd. It was revealed drummer Jack talks to his kit after he had been caught by Dana chatting away to his tambourine between songs. Whilst introducing the players on stage, we were told the bass player was only permitted to say “I am Dave” (which explained the stickers available from the merch that said the same thing, which I spied whilst I was picking up a copy of the new record after the set). Three simple words, but it captured the crowd all the same and a room-filling chant erupted for the bassist, before Dana said after a big laugh, “Back to me…”
Having unearthed a song earlier in the set that didn’t make the cut for the new album (the ludicrously fun ‘Ought to Feel’), Dana returned to the stage by herself for the encore and a solo piano run-through of work in progress single, ‘The Business Of The Attitude’. Still having its kinks worked out we were told, it sounded thrilling in its early stages, sounding not too dissimilar to Joni Mitchell or Weyes Blood, once again capturing the room in silence as her vocal soared.
Before departing, we’d been promised a catwalk fashion show and sure enough, drummer Jack was brought back on to model the tour t-shirt and did so in various poses – with guitar in hand, leaning on Dana – as the keys player accompanied him with some musak style jazz. The jovial mood carried on through into the closer for the evening, a rendition of Marianne Faithful’s ‘Broken English’, a proper disco club shoulder-shuffler with killer parts from all involved to send the crowd home happy. Dana marched on the spot and shimmied with the big lead vocal, later taking the microphone for a walk and bouncing on the spot in her big leather boots to seal the deal.
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