On December 9th 2002, Stereolab vocalist Mary Hansen died in a cycling accident in London. She was 36 years old. I had seen Stereolab playing at Reading Festival in 1999. I stood at the front, transfixed by the connection that Mary had with fellow vocalist Lætitia Sadier. They concentrated on each other with great intensity. The dual vocals were simply tremendous. The news of Mary's death stayed with me. My memory of that live show and the news of Mary's death are married in my mind. As a cyclist, the news hit me hard. It echoes with every near miss. I saw her so alive.
Cycling makes me vulnerable, but cycling is a wonderful. While I have never cycled across the majestic landscape of Moab, Utah (oh, I wish!), the film '127 Hours' presents and portrays what I fail to describe: the feeling of immense freedom that comes with riding on two wheels.
Living makes us vulnerable, but living is wonderful.
I return home, fresh from cinematic adventures. I turn on the PC. I read a message sent to me via Soulseek. Trish Keenan from Broadcast has died. She died from complications with pneumonia. She died on Friday, 14th January 2011.
I listened to Broadcast's latest album - in which they collaborate with The Focus Group - the day before Trish died. That day, I was thinking about how amazing Trish was at All Tomorrows Parties. Thank you, Matt Groening, the curator that provides. Broadcast in 2009 and Stereolab in 1999: live performances with a similar intensity. Some artists are astonishingly inventive; and surprisingly brilliant live.
I had plans for this entry a long time ago. What with being so behind with gig reviews, I entertained the idea of first anniversary recall. I'm 4 days off.
The HTRK gig that I saw on 20th January, 2009, has finally made print. This is it. It's not that HTRK weren't good. They really were. The lead singer, Jonnine Standish, was absolutely mesmerising. Playing in our local fleapit to about 12 people, she reminded me of Juliette Lewis in Natural Born Killers. The visual image is clear in my mind: ripped tights, short skirt, slack blazer and spelling-binding composure. No, Jonnine is not supermodel gorgeous. She transcends that with immense and intense presence. Her single drum took a slow, fierce and rhythmic bashing and I developed the rigid gawp of fascination. Our captor's warm brooding and seductive vocals set themselves against a dark, distorted, bass heavy soundscape. The set was choreographed to perfection. While it was Jonnine that made a visual mark, it was the band as whole that made it great.
Two months later I read that HTRK's bassist, Sean Stewart, had killed himself. Yeah, that's what's been sitting in my head every time I've thought about writing this review.
The band wrote: "Sean tragically ended his life in London, on Thursday 18th March 2010. We are utterly heartbroken. Sean's basslines and ideas set the scene for every HTRK song. He explored pleasure and pain with an intensity so rare. He was as charming as he was strange and beautiful. We truly loved him - he will be so dearly missed."
I want to thank Mary Hansen, Trish Keenan and Sean Stewart for sharing their live performances with me. I can honestly say that all three sets exemplify why gigs hold a place of significant importance in my life. I exalt in the immense emotional freedom that comes with a great gig.
Death is sad beyond words. Living is wonderful beyond measure.
Fabpants Recommends:
Download MP3: Broadcast & The Focus Group – The Be Colony (courtesy of swanfungus.com)
Download MP3: HTRK – HA! (courtesy of unpiano.com)
And to cheer you up, here's bleak combined with funny. This track really tickles me. It features comedian Alan Parker: The Urban Warrior (aka Simon Munnery)
Download MP3: The Orb and Alan Parker - Grey Clouds (courtesy of mike.teczno.com)
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