Gig Review: Erase Errata: 17.10.06 Nice 'N' Sleazy
What, really, is the point of live music reviews? Surely there is even more subjectivity involved with live music then there is with music anyway, so what good can a review do? You can never catch the atmosphere of the crowd, the volume, the smells, the chaos that made the gig amazing for one person and absolutely awful for another with any real objectivity, so why bother? This attitude stopped me writing live reviews for a while, which in some way is a shame as it means that several amusing articles about local unsigned bands, the infamous Mac-heckling Bunnymen gig and Scritti Politti's triumphant return to the stage went undocumented. Plus, there's the fact that, generally speaking, as an amateur music journalist on a pitiful student income, I am hardly going to waste money going to see a band I don't already quite like, so they would have to screw up royally before I slag them off. Also, although many people see live music as the ultimate music experience, I never have: true, I have been to many very good, and some great, gigs, but the transcendent musical revelations have always come on record for me.
So why am I writing this? For starters, Erase Errata are the greatest band of our generation. Full stop. I have often toyed with this idea, but after this gig, I am convinced. It helps, of course, that Nice 'N Sleazy is a fantastic venue: a small club with an excellent sound system, it provides an intimate gig experience without the muddy sound usually associated with such places. Plus, Glasgow really has a scene. All the indie kids turned up dressed like extras from a Pulp music video or something, plus the jukebox has eveything on it from The Fall to a No Wave compilation; it's enough to make you quite jealous. It also helps that the support is pretty good; The Royal We stand a good chance of being quite famous quite soon despite the awful band name. But it's really down to the band themselves. Singer/guitarist Jenny Hoyston cuts an unprepossessing figure as she sets up her equipment and casually walks through the crowd to reach the stage, but once she starts playing, she transforms into a commanding and powerful figure. Despite the loss of guitarist Sara Jaffe, the band have loss none of their power or vitality. Bianca Sparta's derranged, jerky drumming provides the group's rhythmic bassis, whilst Ellie Errikson's bass playing is impressively inventive: at some points, the band become almost entiirely rhythmic, as Errikson scrapes her bass with a beer bottle, Hoyston's atonal guitar scratches along with the drums to produce propulsive tribal rhythms. There is a refreshing rawness to the band's performance: they flirt incessantly with chaos, yet they are always ultimately in control, bringing their collapsing songs back from the brink of anarchy. Hoyston's freeform guitar skronk has much in common with No Wave, but this is no mere revival: the band create their own vital creation from the buring embers of No Wave noise. Songs like 'A Thief Detests The Criminal Elements Of The Ruling Class' have an obviouc political agenda, but in their use of case scenarios and intelligent discussion, Erase Errata's lyrics have more in common with Gang Of Four's questioning intelligence then The Clash's soap-box sloganeering. The band are ridiculously good. During the encore, as the band have run out of material to play, the band invite members of the audience to join the onstage for a free-form noise jam, an action that removes the performer-auidience barrier in true post-punk form. I come away from the gig exhilarated an inspired. In short, I am writing this review because this was one of the most exceptional, exciting gig I have been to. Erase Errata stand as a sharp reminder of just how good pop music can be in the 21st century, would that there were more like them.
So why am I writing this? For starters, Erase Errata are the greatest band of our generation. Full stop. I have often toyed with this idea, but after this gig, I am convinced. It helps, of course, that Nice 'N Sleazy is a fantastic venue: a small club with an excellent sound system, it provides an intimate gig experience without the muddy sound usually associated with such places. Plus, Glasgow really has a scene. All the indie kids turned up dressed like extras from a Pulp music video or something, plus the jukebox has eveything on it from The Fall to a No Wave compilation; it's enough to make you quite jealous. It also helps that the support is pretty good; The Royal We stand a good chance of being quite famous quite soon despite the awful band name. But it's really down to the band themselves. Singer/guitarist Jenny Hoyston cuts an unprepossessing figure as she sets up her equipment and casually walks through the crowd to reach the stage, but once she starts playing, she transforms into a commanding and powerful figure. Despite the loss of guitarist Sara Jaffe, the band have loss none of their power or vitality. Bianca Sparta's derranged, jerky drumming provides the group's rhythmic bassis, whilst Ellie Errikson's bass playing is impressively inventive: at some points, the band become almost entiirely rhythmic, as Errikson scrapes her bass with a beer bottle, Hoyston's atonal guitar scratches along with the drums to produce propulsive tribal rhythms. There is a refreshing rawness to the band's performance: they flirt incessantly with chaos, yet they are always ultimately in control, bringing their collapsing songs back from the brink of anarchy. Hoyston's freeform guitar skronk has much in common with No Wave, but this is no mere revival: the band create their own vital creation from the buring embers of No Wave noise. Songs like 'A Thief Detests The Criminal Elements Of The Ruling Class' have an obviouc political agenda, but in their use of case scenarios and intelligent discussion, Erase Errata's lyrics have more in common with Gang Of Four's questioning intelligence then The Clash's soap-box sloganeering. The band are ridiculously good. During the encore, as the band have run out of material to play, the band invite members of the audience to join the onstage for a free-form noise jam, an action that removes the performer-auidience barrier in true post-punk form. I come away from the gig exhilarated an inspired. In short, I am writing this review because this was one of the most exceptional, exciting gig I have been to. Erase Errata stand as a sharp reminder of just how good pop music can be in the 21st century, would that there were more like them.
posted by Jonathan Thornton at 9:20 am
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