My second Fence Night was every bit as successful as my first – weirdness, top new music and plenty (no really, plenty) of beer. I arrived a little late, due to football commitments, and limping like a muppet, so seeing as generally speaking the best thing for this sort of injury is to apply plenty of anaesthetic beer, I promptly set about doing just that. Didn’t work though, no matter how diligently I tried.
First on the bill was Uni & Her Ukelele, a sparkly little pop pixie in ruffly pink hotpants. Yes, honestly. She covered The Smiths and Daniel Johnston and played a few of her own songs and did fairly well, all in all. I have my doubts, I must confess, but honestly – ruffled pink hotpants!
Following this there was a brilliant set by the Manchester-based (right round the corner from my Granddad, I believe) Magic Arm. He’s another one, like Andrew Bird, who brings along every last instrument in the shed and sets up his own loops at the start of the song, bringing them in and out as needed, so that a single person can create the sort of depth or texture for which you generally need a band. Quite apart from actually playing the bits themselves, there’s clearly quite some skilled manoeuvring involved in actually executing this sort of trick, but Mr. Rigelsford pulled it off with aplomb. This allowed him to produce an excellent set of what sounded like electronic folk live and sounds a bit more like psychedelic folk on record. I know this is a slightly spurious distinction, but I think it sort of helps convey the slight shift in atmosphere between the two.
Whatever you want to call it, it was an excellent show, textured and involving, and I have run straight out and bought his EP, called Outdoor Games, which can be purchased here either on vinyl or as a refreshingly DRM-free download. I am just listening to it for the first time as I write and it’s good. There’s a definite similarity to the sort of electronic noodling you used to get from The Beta Band, and although it’s just the first time through, I am really enjoying it. Some of it is a bit too electronic soundscapey for me, but in parts it’s excellent. We will see what time and familiarity do.
Magic Arm – Outdoor Games
Next up was Fence stalwart Adrian Crowley. He is the purveyor of some very fine shimmery, moody folk tunes and it was his debut single on the Fence label, Bless Our Tiny Hearts (snippet here) that we were all here to celebrate. Backed by a band that can only be described as Fence Allstars (KC on drums, James Yorkston on guitar, Doogie Paul on bass and Johhny PT on backing vocals) he gave a performance that my drinking pal said, somewhat oddly, reminded him of Willie Nelson. ‘Well he sounds very warming – it’s very warming music’ he responded to my inevitable question of ‘What the fuck are you on about, you weirdo?’ and he’s right. Shimmering and atmospheric, Adrian Crowley’s music is, in Simon’s drunken words, very warming.
Adrian Crowley – Long Distance Swimming
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Finally there came my first full exposure to The Pictish Trail’s live extravaganza. Johnny Pictish Trail is to a large extent the engine room of The Fence Collective, so it’s good to see him doing his own stuff instead of helping out everyone else for a change. Given he seemed half pished when I bumped into him two hours previously, the performance was absolutely superb. Johnny has an amazing voice, which results in him being the most sought-after backing singer in Fence, and when he set it to work on his own songs the results were excellent.
His sound will come as no real surprise to Fence fans, although his stuff is a deal funkier than flagship Fencesters such as King Creosote, James Yorkston, Barbarossa and the aforementioned Adrian Crowley. It’s still essentially an acoustic folk vibe, but with a popping bass rhythm and a quicker pace that gives the whole sound a kind of foot-tapping infectiousness that I loved. Add a bit of the likes of Gummi Bako and Down the Tiny Steps to what you might normally expect from Fence and you get a bit closer to the Pictish Trail sound.
So less work, Johnny, and more Work, please!
The Pictish Trail – All I Own
This is all about my beepy-bloopy tendencies and how I got into the stuff in the first place.
