Red Sparowes

As I mentioned, I went to see Red Sparowes with Zak and The Boy earlier this week. It was a considerably calmer affair than the brutal mauling we received at the hands Johnny Truant, but an amazing gig nonetheless.

There was just one support band, and I'd never heard of them before. The Pirate Ship Quintet are not, as it turns out, pirates; there are five of them though. Their songs stick pretty closely to the standard post-rock template; that is, quiet-loud-quiet-loud-apocalyptically loud (with the option of an additional quiet/loud thrown in at either end); and so in theory there's nothing particularly remarkable about them. But they do it so very well... the songs were epic and captivating, and had that extra something that elevated them above the output so many other bandwagon-jumping post rock wannabes. They left the stage to deservedly rapturous applause.

There was a brief break as the bands swapped over, and everyone tried to get to the bar at once; and then Red Sparowes were up. As per usual, their instrumental soundscapes (documenting, among other things, the catastrophic economic disaster that was The Great Leap Forward) were accompanied by black and white film images projected onto the wall behind them, providing a focal point for the band and adding intensity to the music. It's hard for me to adequately describe just how fantastic seeing this band live actually is; so I'm not going to try. You'll just have to go and see them yourselves.

Or watch this.