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If all Brakes' songs weren't about 2 minutes long it might be more surprising that they managed to play their way through what I tallied up as 23 songs, a good mixture of virtually everything from both their debut Give Blood and The Beatific Visions. Opening with Hi How Are You, a song about how annoying it is when people talk at you when you're watching a band was played with such panache and enthusiasm, and it was fairly obvious that Brakes owned that small but perfectly formed stage. Eamon Hamilton sings as though he is possessed by some chainsaw wielding maniac, but with it there's a delicate charm that shows he's just putting his all into it. That's especially clear by the amount of sweat that gushes from the man! After two renditions of the ten second Cheney, counted in by members of the crowd everything fell into place and there was a great atmosphere and rapport between the band and the onlookers. We were also treated to a cover of Camper Van Beethoven's We Saw Jerry's Daughter. I always like it when a band covers one or two songs at their live shows, it kind of goes to show that they have the tenacity and ability to pull something off that isn't theirs and proves that Brakes are more than just a snappy punk band. All Night Disco Party was a real highlight; it's truly a brilliant pop song. New single Cease and Desist was effortlessly slipped out and showed Brakes to be a truly fantastic live band, and in many ways I think they're better live than on record, because there's something about their onstage presence and style that encapsulates more about them than you can ever experience just listening to a CD. Other classics included various strange, short and snappy songs which don't seem to make much sense but are brilliant nonetheless including Porcupine Or Pineapple, Comma Comma Comma Full Stop and Pick Up The Phone, which I think are the most enjoyable because they're the ones the crowd absolutely spazz out to. After a fairly predictable gap before an encore, Brakes played 5 more songs, and it seemed impossible to actually get rid of them! Opening the encore was a beautiful rendition of No Return, a very atypical brakes song, and apparently this was only the third time they'd played it live. Throughout the entire show there had been requests from the audience for the classically country Jackson, they finally played it third in the encore, much to the approval of the audience. When they departed from the stage it seemed impossible that just over an hour had passed so quickly, and that we had just heard virtually every song Brakes have to offer. Despite there being a light turnout, those who were there made up for this in their clear adoration of Brakes. The gig was intimate and they played fantastically, clearly having great passion for what they do. Their sound is very tight and I think you have to see them in action to really appreciate their qualities. ...what are Brakes? Yeh, smartass, they're sommat on y'car to make it stop going. Why would a Brighton quartet who operate at such a breakneck pace take on the name? My suggestion to my Uncle Angus that they sounded like the Pixies was spat back at me. "No way!" he insisted, "Lots of people say that and frankly I think it's insulting." Listen to any track though, and you'll hear Eamon Hamilton's vocal cords straining to Frank Black-esque heights. And like Frank Black, Brakes screeching energy is tempered by a habitual lean to more countrified numbers. Compare Comma Comma Comma Full Stop (full tilt 30 second rush where the lyrics consist of the title) to Jackson. The cover of Camper Van Beethoven's We Saw Jerry's Daughter came across beautifully, and promises to be a modest gem on the new single Cease and Desist. When the big singles like Porcupine or Pineapple finally got played, no one was proper dancing at the front. Mainly because it is not humanly possible to dance that fast. Eamon's eyes looked fit to pop out of their sockets. Bless 'em though, the audience tried. It was an All Night Disco Party, where even I was groovin in meh parka. There's a lot to be said for taking a wee drink before you go onstage. This is at least true in the case of indie supergroup Brakes, because their slurry between-song stand-up routines really got the crowd in the mood. Toasting "another night of debauchery... and sickness", then tossing pineapples into the crowd, guitarist Tom White contributed much to this endearing air of foolishness. The former statement came before the classic All Night Disco Party, Brakes's fantastic signature tune and a grooving punk-funk riot of deep bass and jagged guitar lines. The pineapple incident - as if to illustrate how willfully diverse the band are - was a result of the song Porcupine or Pineapple, a stupid but great one-minute punk nursery rhyme.  Photo by Lady Muck - see more in the Gallery Singer Eamon Hamilton's gravelly voice is a bit of an acquired taste, but it's hard not to be drawn in by Brakes. That they can play as straightforward an indie song as The Beatific Visions then invite their merchandise man up for lead vocals (on The Most Fun) is truly the mark of a band who are gloriously out-of-the-ordinary. With the opening numbers and lyrics rammed down your throat, one of the best, modern equivalents of art-school punk band performances was thrashed out. Brakes crammed in 20 or so songs into an hour's set and their most memorable song was their 10-second, one-chord rant about Dick Cheney, suggesting his name and personality are one and the same. If there were to be an award for the funniest sight in music, it'd have to go to watching people try to dance to a song that barely lasts for four seconds - in fact, it's more of a violent reaction than something you'd see on Strictly Come Dancing. You know that you're onto something a little different when a band manage to pull this off in the very first song. Brakes are one of those bands that would be all too easy to dismiss as "a bit quirky" or "too novelty for my liking", but underneath their eccentric exterior there is a plethora of original ideas, much like blending the weirdness of Come On Pilgrim era Pixies with the fun of the B-52s and the angry political viewpoints of early punk. After the opening Comma Comma Comma Full Stop, the group launch into a series of live favourites one after another: Ring A Ding Ding is followed by Hi How Are You (with the bizarre but anthemic chorus of "Won't you shut the f*** up I'm just a-trying to watch the band"), and previous single Hold Me In The River follows soon after. Despite being a fairly slightly built character on the stage, frontman Eamon Hamilton certainly packs a punch with his fiery and intense delivery of the vocals, and also gets the crowd involved, getting an audience member to count the band into two renditions of Cheney off the bands first album. You can't blame the band for playing the song twice in a row - after all, it is only ten seconds long! Further antics carry on when a pineapple is thrown into the crowd for a lucky crowd member during anti-war rant Porcupine or Pineapple (What did they do with the porcupine then? - Ed), though it's unlikely you'll have heard a protest song before with the lyrics "Porcupine or pineapple?/Spiky spiky!" in the chorus! Either way, one lucky audience member not only gets a great night out but some fresh fruit as well! Brakes probably only come second to Muse for bringing their records to a new level when it comes to their live show - they'll give you showmanship, lots and lots of songs for your money, and if you're lucky, even a healthy nutritional breakfast to boot. SPIKY SPIKY sing BRAKES on their awesome 70 second long track Porcupine Or Pineapple. And the same phrase could sum up their Shockwaves NME Awards Show with THE LONG BLONDES at London's Astoria. Both acts have a deserved following for their post-punk tunes and pride themselves in keeping all the rough edges even it means they'll never top the charts. It's always strange seeing bands you really love supporting bigger acts, as it means the crowd don't always share your passion. But Brakes won any doubters over with tracks from their excellent recent record The Beatific Visions. Then it was THE LONG BLONDES turn. And you could see who drew the crowd by the fact that the B-sides they played went down as well as their excellent BLONDIE-tinged new single Giddy Stratospheres and Top 30 hit Weekend Without Makeup. Lead singer KATE JACKSON told fans she was "totally gutted about the Astoria closing". It is a travesty - but Kate and Brakes can take pride in the fact they've added one more great gig to the venue's legacy. Music News was fortunate enough to gain entry to todays gig. This thing has been sold out for ages, and with 9 of the freshest bands around (hand picked by XFMs John Kennedy) it was a salivating prospect. Brakes are relatively old hands at this compared to most of the new kids on the block playing today, and you would expect them to be headlining the show instead of being on in the middle of the day, however we discover this afternoons set is the first of 2 which Brakes will play today, they head off later to play at Turnmills. Anyway, the Horrors leave the stage after a full on goth/blues/vampire assault and lay down the Gauntlet for the Brakes. There's no messing around today from anyone, the changeover times between bands were super swift all day (bar a couple of technical errors later on....) and before we know it Brakes are on the stage kicking in to the new album opener, Hold Me In The River, closely followed by 1st album opener Ring A Ding Ding, Eamons vocals are in fine form with all the screeches in the right places and the band play loud and as tight as a ducks arse!  Photo by SeeBass - see more in the Gallery They've only got about 1/2 hour here today so there's no messing about, there's a little bit of banter between the songs but they mainly plough steaming through the heavier side of their catalogue. The slower countryish songs take a back seat, apart from NY Pie which surfaces towards the end of the set. We get the singles, All Night Disco Party and Cease and Desist which the crowd lap up. And the band show that they don't take themselves too seriously, with tracks like Porcupine Or Pineapple and the truly great Heard About Your Band (a sly dig at a nameless self important member of some band or other) which has half of the crowd shouting back the final line of "Whatever Dude!!!" that one never wears thin. The superb 10 second one chord beast of a song Cheney also has the whole crowd shouting and banging their heads. I'm not quite sure how Brakes can still get away with playing a venue as small as the Barfly, not that I'm complaining about seeing them in such an intimate venue, but it's only a matter of time before the secret gets out. Todays set was electric, with my only complaint being the lack of the powerful Margherita off the new album, but hey, they still manage to squeeze 13 songs into 30 minutes! Tom and Alex even swapped instruments (Guitar and drums) for one track today, What's In It For Me? I think (not 100% sure, watching bands all day is thirsty work!) They finished the set with the shortest song played all day (or maybe the shortest song ever...) by anyone... Comma Comma Comma Full Stop. If the Brakes can manage to get a bit more airplay and force their refreshingly individual sound onto more of the public then maybe world domination is possible... in the meantime the rest of us get to witness brilliance in the Barfly. click for larger photos      Brakes were good, good, and very good all at the same time. Hopefully this will be their year, where they really break thru. And they deserve it... things are finally starting to fall into place for them. Anyway - considering they only had a 30 minute set, they still manged to cram in a shitload of songs into the setlist - playing a lot of stuff from Give Blood. |
