Kitty, Daisy and Lewis Live @ Lancaster Library 28/11/11

It’s a wet and windy November night and a large crowd of people are gathering outside Lancaster Library. Despite the library’s popularity two girls shyly approach my friend and I and ask "what’s going on?" As a regular library gig attendee I’m more than happy to tell them who has played over the years and that they should definitely come. They don’t. Their loss! As soon as we get in, our hands are stamped with "Get it Loud in Libraries" and we head to the front of the small stage tucked away amongst the science fiction books.

The Sharp Tongues are the support for tonight. A three piece all dressed in black and fronted by Canadian Julia Muth who possesses an irresistible drawl and impeccable guitar skills. Twin brothers Paul and Stewart Summers play bass and drums and shout in Japanese between songs. They play a set that’s full of fast and rowdy love songs such as "Hex" and "So Old" that would fit perfectly in the Scott Pilgrim soundtrack. Muth’s cute lyrics "I’ve got a crush on you" combined with the energetic music come together to create something that has been done time and time again but The Sharp Tongues embrace that and it works so well.

It’s not long before Kitty, Daisy and Lewis take to the stage. They may be the most musical family ever. Their mum Ingrid, once a drummer in The Raincoats, plays double bass and their dad Graeme, producer and recorder of Kitty Daisy and Lewis’ albums and also owner of The Exchange studio in London, provides backing guitar and ukulele. Having only heard a few snippets of their music I was amazed at just how brilliant Kitty, Daisy and Lewis are live. They are an instrument and vocal swapping frenzy and each sibling is excellent at everything they do. Their passion and energy just isn’t captured on record (some of which are beautifully handmade by Lewis). The turbulent Monday evening weather soon feels like a warm Saturday night with people actually dancing. Not just head bobbing. Actually dancing and jiving! Their lengthy set is a little self-indulgent with the drawn out intros but the energetic atmosphere makes up for it. Their hard to pin down (what with their trumpet solos, harmonica intros, 50s guitars and a double bass playing Mum), infectious, booty shaking songs are worth the long intros. And finally, they put on one of the best library gigs I’ve ever attended and even managed to convert me into a fan.

By Eden Young

Mazes - Interview

On the 8th October, Mazes played Lancaster library. Support was from the wonderfully fuzzy Milk Maid, who deserved a much bigger crowd than actually turned up. Mazes themselves fortunately gained some more audience, and very deservedly too, as their 2-minute energetic fuzz-pop songs and onstage banter ('I'm from Blackpool, so coming to Lancaster is like coming to my capital!) made for a great set. I caught up with frontman Jack before their show.


Interview: Jack from Mazes, Lancaster Library, 8th October 2011 by Wireless@DT3

By Holly Read-Challen

Slow Club - Interview

After seeing Slow Club tonight at Barfly for The Fly Presents..., I can safely confirm that Slow Club have matured to become a band in their own right and they're also very fantastic at performing drunk, as shown tonight.


Anyway, last week our writer Holly was lucky enough to interview Slow Club after their gig at Lancaster Library (17th September) so here's the wonderful interview for your listening pleasure below. Enjoy!

Holly - "Charles and Rebecca talk Beyoncé, books, good gig venues and pre-gig rituals. (Also including an exclusive [2 second] snippet of a demo! ha.)"
Slow Club interview 17/09/11 by hollysses

By Holly Read-Challen
Photography by Aurora Mitchell

Emmy The Great / It Hugs Back / Gabrielle Aplin @ Lancaster Library - Live Review

Lancaster Library has a great tradition of brilliant artists who have strummed, drummed and warbled amongst the bookshelves, including Florence and The Machine, Adele, The Wombats and, more recently, Slow Club. Today is the turn of anti-folk darlings Emmy the Great, fronted by Emma- Lee Moss.

One of two supports, and something of a Youtube star, Gabrielle Aplin’s husky voice certainly is beautiful. She includes a few covers in her set, including a rather gorgeous Bob Dylan cover, as well as her own rather clichéd songs. Despite this, ‘The Day the World Went Mad’ does prove a highlight, as a slightly spooky prediction of the London riots (written a week before the title was heeded). It does, however, get to the point when you wonder how many songs one girl and an acoustic guitar can rattle out before it gets tiresome. The answer seems to be not that many, though saying that, she is still young and her stage presence has time to grow and develop.

After a slow opener, Kent based outfit It Hugs Back definitely feel like a breath of fresh air, (they actually play electric guitar! And have a drummer!) arriving onstage without introduction, other than an open guitar case at the front, proclaiming their name. It is a pity that half the audience can’t seem to be bothered to stand up after the interval. Maybe the library floor is just that comfortable. They really look like they want to be there, grinning at each other every now and then; and play a brilliant set of spaced-out shoegaze-y indie.

Emmy the Great’s set contains the perfect mix of new and old material, including old favourites ‘MIA’ and ‘First Love’. ‘MIA’ is so beautiful it may just have produced a few tears from this reviewer. Moss’ songs seem to be fixated with religion, and more specifically her atheism; ‘Easter Parade’ and new one ‘Trelick Tower’ show this more than any (with Easter Parade comparing God to a ghost: "There is no such thing/ As ghosts"). Her wit and passion shine where Aplin’s mundane musings fell down; her songwriting is sharp and focuses on the real life as well as the surreal. The clarity of her voice, too, is beautiful, and when backed with the full band, the sound is powerful. Emma-Lee also has a charming stage presence, excited to be playing a gig in a library. On the request of an audience member ("Play the song about Diane Cluck!"), during an encore she plays ‘24’, and a spine-chilling rendition of ‘Edward is Deadward’. A beautiful, enchanting set, and thoroughly recommended.

By Holly Read-Challen