Crippled Black Phoenix - London Highbury Garage (Upstairs) - November 11th 2010
Monday, 22 November 2010
Written by Ben Bland
Crippled Black Phoenix is not really the sort of band one expects to be headlining corporately sponsored events such as tonight’s Relentless Energy Session. The band, spearheaded by guitarist Justin Greaves (formerly of Iron Monkey and Electric Wizard), do not tour regularly in the UK and are armed with a unique sound somewhere between post-rock and prog. They are hardly the type usually chosen for this kind of show. Chosen they are though and they are backed up by two promising British artists in Dark Horses and Anna Calvi.
Dark Horses seem a little pretentious. They barely communicate with the crowd throughout their set and two of them are wearing cowboy hats. Their music is nothing particularly special although their set is not a boring one. Frontwoman Lisa Elle’s alluring vocals lead the way against a backdrop of clattering guitar and percussion. Perhaps they could do with going somewhere a little more often rather than meandering quite so much but there is promise in the band, assuming that you think Britain needs a slightly more experimental answer to Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.
Anna Calvi starts off her set with a four minute guitar solo but, far from simply being an opportunity for her to show off her skills, this serves as possibly the highlight of her set. When her and her bandmates finally launch into playing proper songs they tease but, for the most part, fail to deliver. These songs could do with just a little hint of excitement, at times verging on the dull; the only exception in her half hour set being the tremendously catchy ‘Jezebel’. Despite this it is easy to see why Calvi is being hyped by several sources in the business. In a while she might be very big news indeed if she irons out her dark pop sound.
As an eight-piece, Crippled Black Phoenix spill off the tiny stage they are given at the Garage. It is with visible frustration that the band soundcheck before coming onstage as problems appear with both Greaves’ guitar and Charlotte Nicholls’ cello. Finally they manage to get under way, kicking straight into ‘Troublemaker’, the opener from superb new album ‘I, Vigilante’. After the sample that starts the track, Joe Volk’s earnest vocals rise over a perfectly balanced wall of melodic sound that is identifiable on all of the band’s songs. Although sound gremlins do occasionally return to haunt the performance, Crippled Black Phoenix’s set is a masterclass in delivering a precise and powerful musical performance. Not for this band the reliance on stage antics or light shows but instead the creation of a sound that is devastating, overwhelming and entrancing all at the same time. As the waves of shimmering guitars, chiming keys and mournful strings pour down and embrace the watching multitudes it genuinely feels like something special is going on. This is a band that is totally uncompromising in creating what is, fundamentally, art rather than just music. The likes of ‘We Forgotten Who We Are’ are not so much songs but symphonies.
They are gorgeous symphonies at that. Although the subject matter of much of Crippled Black Phoenix’s work is bleak and the overall tone melancholy, there is something undeniably uplifting about what the band does. The likes of ‘Burnt Reynolds’ may contain bitter lyrics (“Fortune never shined inside the light you pour to me”) but are also akin to being given a warm embrace by an old friend, especially with the crowd joining in with the vocal parts at the end of the song. Many of the band’s songs resemble life affirming journeys. One is pulled along through the sad times only to arrive on the other side with a newfound sense of confidence, strength and belief. For a band to be able to create such powerful feeling is impressive enough but they are also doing this despite the problems they have to overcome. Numerous shout outs from Joe Volk to Red Bull are clear signs of the band’s dissatisfaction with the organisation of the event and the fact that they play well over the scheduled curfew acts as a form of revenge; a joyous revenge to the gathered faithful. Perhaps the final words about the show should be left to one of the highlights of the set, the band’s cover of Journey classic ‘Of A Lifetime’, which the band turn into a rock hymn of truly monumental proportions far outstripping its original version, with Daisy Chapman’s beautiful vocals alongside Karl Demata’s wonderful soloing. Crippled Black Phoenix has shown that they are a band capable of many things; of the beautiful, of the sad, of the rocking, of the euphoric. Go and see this band, your life will be all the better for it.
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Anna Calvi starts off her set with a four minute guitar solo but, far from simply being an opportunity for her to show off her skills, this serves as possibly the highlight of her set. When her and her bandmates finally launch into playing proper songs they tease but, for the most part, fail to deliver. These songs could do with just a little hint of excitement, at times verging on the dull; the only exception in her half hour set being the tremendously catchy ‘Jezebel’. Despite this it is easy to see why Calvi is being hyped by several sources in the business. In a while she might be very big news indeed if she irons out her dark pop sound.
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