Author Archives: Simon

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About Simon

Simon Ashberry has been playing the best of local music on Bradford Beat for almost a quarter of a century . He was music columnist for the Telegraph & Argus for several years, covering local acts such as Embrace, Terrorvision, Tasmin Archer and New Model Army, and has played bass in several bands himself. He was previously part of Bradford-based Loom with John Rigby from Trip and Stumble and currently plays with innovative blues trio West Yorkshire Noblemen's Society.

The Waeve at Sheffield Leadmill

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Calling all musical surfers – catch The Waeve while you can.

This magical collaboration between Graham Coxon and Rose Elinor Dougall is burgeoning in ways even they probably didn’t imagine were possible when it first started during lockdown.

At a rammed Leadmill, The Waeve were simply stunning. No other band does what they do, constructing ever-shifting mini-epics that can tug at the heart strings one minute before juddering into a colossal roar.

Not for them the familiar strait-jacket of verse-chorus-verse-chorus-middle-eight-instrumental-outro. The Waeve burst with inventiveness, each song capable of sounding like several different songs expertly welded together.

 

If anyone was in any doubt before, here is proof that Coxon is a genuine 24-carat musical genius. And yet he wears his greatness lightly, his disarming presence on stage a thrilling counter-balance to the ear-popping sounds he produces from guitar, saxophone and harmonica. At times, Coxon fumbles with his glasses, apologising that he can’t see his guitar properly, and grimaces hilariously when he begins playing mandolin on Song For Eliza May before deciding to stop because it needs re-tuning.

Flawed genius is the very best kind. Humanity oozes out of every pore of The Waeve.

And Coxon is far from being the focal point of the band, despite the global profile he has earned from his work with Blur and his solo career. Rose is thrust centre stage, switching between playing mesmerising keyboard melodies from a seated position and then jumping up for some frenzied tambourine interludes.

Drummer Tom White, also part of the underrated Electric Soft Parade, does some heavy lifting. He delivered the backing vocals on some of the songs that, having heard the album versions, I’d expected to be delivered by Coxon.

But that’s a big part of the appeal of The Waeve, this multi-headed musical beast that’s so hard to pin down.

Coxon clearly has great fun exchanging back and forth sallies of sax with Charlotte Glasson on the other side of the stage. At one point, she plays two saxophones at the same, like she’s in a jazz version of Spinal Tap.

This current tour is all too short – only 5 dates. Let’s hope The Waeve can play more UK venues later in the year – this is a live show that deserves to be seen by as many people as possible.

Simon Ashberry

In full – 2024 Christmas Countdown

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In case you missed it, here’s our 2024 Christmas Countdown in full (essentially our chart of the top 20 tracks of the year):

1 – Gevaudan Dogs – Down The Pathway
2 – The Waeve – You Saw
3 – Punky Muzzle – Bury Me Under The Disco
4 – Sisterly – Racing Snake
5 – Fontaines DC – Starburster
6 – Cowtown – Thru Being Zuul
7 – A Certain Ratio – All Comes Down To This
8 – Idles – Gift Horse
9 – Modern English – Not My Leader
10 – Dan McGlade and the Lords of Misrule – Bring Out Your Dead
11 – Wind-Up Birds – Guards
12 – Terrorvision – Lucifer
13 – Pom Poko – Growing Story
14 – Iron and Wine – Cutting It Close
15 – Mighty Muskrats – Feeling Pretty Stupid
16 – Kim Deal – Crystal Breath
17 – Mdou Moctar – Soussoume Tamacheq
18 – Cornershop – Double Denim
19 – Silverlites – Don’t Go, Don’t Stay
20 – First Ones – Contemplate My Rise

Listen to the whole of our end-of-year special here:

2024 Christmas Countdown revealed!

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So here they are – out top tracks of the year!

Our number one for 2024 was Down The Pathway by Gevaudan Dogs –  big thanks to Vince Cayo for coming in to the studio to perform a session version of the song exclusively for BCB.

1 – Gevaudan Dogs – Down The Pathway
2 – The Waeve – You Saw
3 – Punky Muzzle – Bury Me Under The Disco
4 – Sisterly – Racing Snake
5 – Fontaines DC – Starburster

Listen again to the whole of our festive special:

2024 Christmas Countdown – part 3

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We had loads to cram into our show this week!

Not only did we have two interviews – one with Dan McGlade about his new EP Mid Vice Crisis and the other with Johann Shepherd and Rachel Hickerton about their new book telling the story of the band The Undecided – but there was also the third part of our top 20 tracks of the year:

6 – Cowtown – Thru Being Zuul
7 – A Certain Ratio – All Comes Down To This
8 – Idles – Gift Horse
9 – Modern English – Not My Leader
10 – Dan McGlade and the Lords of Misrule – Bring Out Your Dead

Listen to the whole show here:

And don’t forget we’ll be revealing this year’s number one in our festive special on Boxing Day from 8pm to 9pm on BCB 106.6FM.

2024 Christmas Countdown – part 2

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Here’s the second part of our Christmas Countdown – our top 20 tracks of the year:

11 – Wind-Up Birds – Guards
12 – Terrorvision – Lucifer
13 – Pom Poko – Growing Story
14 – Iron and Wine – Cutting It Close
15 – Mighty Muskrats – Feeling Pretty Stupid

You can listen again to this week’s show, which features these tracks:

2024 Christmas Countdown – part 1

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It’s that time of year again!

We’ve picked our top 20 tracks of the year and the first batch went out as part of this week’s show:

16 – Kim Deal – Crystal Breath
17 – Mdou Moctar – Soussoume Tamacheq
18 – Cornershop – Double Denim
19 – Silverlites – Don’t Go, Don’t Stay
20 – First Ones – Contemplate My Rise

You can listen again to the whole show here:

A PowerSolo live show is like no other gig you’ve ever seen.

At times it feels more like you’ve stumbled on a situationist comedy performance at the Edinburgh Fringe, with music breaking out only sporadically.

Eccentric frontman Kim Kix is mingling happily with the audience just before they’re about to go on stage.

The band gurn and clown around hilariously, quaffing from bottles of hot sauce and staging so many false endings that it’s hard to know when one song has finished and the next one has started.

But boy, can these guys play. Eschewing the bass player you might expect for this type of three-piece, they conjure a supercharged rockabilly maelstrom from just two guitars and Mike Sullivan’s jackhammer drumming.

Charlie Shapiro can also play some mean guitar – which is just as well, seeing as Kim frequently slings his own over his back to indulge in yet more audience banter. At one point ,Kim comes down into the crowd but then feigns that he can’t drag himself back onto the stage. “Grab his leg someone and help him up!” urges Charlie, enjoying the fun.

PowerSolo are an extraordinary experience – it’s just a shame that the Brudenell community room wasn’t packed to the rafters for one of the most insane Monday evenings you’re ever like to have.

Simon Ashberry

 

Terrorvision – live review

Terrorvision at St George’s Hall, Bradford

Friday 3 November, 2023
After three decades, Terrorvision are still very much in the pink.
Literally so as they played a triumphant homecoming show at St George’s Hall in Bradford, their first at the venue for more than a quarter of a century.
Dressed resplendently in various items of pinkish hue, the lads (and lass) gave a performance that was infused with more energy than anyone decently had a right to expect.
Although this was billed as a 30th anniversary show, Terrorvision are a band who have been blasting out their unique blend of rock ‘n’ roll and Yorkshire folk wisdom in different guises for even longer than that – since 1987 in fact..
And yet their infectious enthusiasm remains utterly undimmed. Tony bounced around as vigorously ever and Leigh struck some classic splayed-leg bassist poses.
Of course their biggest hits all sounded massive, like proper H.I.T.S – the soaring choruses of Oblivion and Perseverance, the relentless drive of My House.
But it was some of their ‘lesser-heard bangers’ that maybe impressed even more. The band had given their fans the chance to vote for which LHBs would go into the set list – and the fans chose well.
Tracks like the rollicking twangathon Fists of Fury hinted at the pop potential lurking between Terrorvision’s gruff rock exterior while earlier material like the earthy Problem Solved revealed an altogether darker, punkier underbelly.
And when Tony sang: “Stop the bus, I live here”, it was with real feeling. This felt like a true return to their roots – welcome back.

Simon Ashberry

LIVE REVIEW: The First Ones at Saltaire

The First Ones at Roberts Park, Saltaire
Saturday 1 July, 2023

The reality of playing outdoors in the British summer hit home for Doug, Dan and Will at the Bradford Dragon Boat Festival.

But the Emley-based trio took things in their stride despite everything the elements threw at them during their performance.

One point a huge gust of wind almost threatened to blow the roof of the stage and guitarist Doug was doused with rain.

But one of things that’s so impressive about the First Ones is the way they deal with adversity in a live setting. Wet fretboards hold no terrors for Doug, who just gets on with delivering their distinctive brand of spiky pop rock.

Such self-confidence belies their tender years – these boys are frighteningly young! At Roberts Park, they won the admiration of a weather-beaten crowd for a set that mixed crowd-pleasing covers by the likes of the Stones Roses (“He’s certainly got a better voice than Ian Brown” observed one onlooker) and the Arctic Monkeys with their own compositions.

Opening track Red Ridge is a deceptively insistent grower while their most recent release Parallel Universe really gives Dan on bass and Will on drums a chance to let rip as much as Doug.

Not just the First Ones – but ones to watch for sure.

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Simon Ashberry