Hot new Beth Jeans Houghton is in town; but find an uncertain audience at Eric's, writes Alan O'Hare.
It’s a strange world we live in. Beth Jeans
Houghton is in town. Lauded by the music monthlies, bigged up by the
bloggers and in with the in crowd, she’s apparently on the cusp. The
fact that paparazzi outnumber the people on their feet in the crowd for
the first couple of songs seems to undermine this though.
Apparently, the Geordie singer is stepping out with Anthony Kiedas of
the Red Hot Chili Peppers. So what? That’s the draw for the gutter
press though (actually on their knees to get that money shot of Houghton
in her figure-hugging red hot pants).
The juxtaposition is frightening. As she is yet to go over the top,
the 100 or so in the crowd are supposed to be cool as cats. You know, in
the know. But the conservatism (that’s a small ‘c’) of the punters
reveal that they’re not sold on her yet. Maybe we’ve just come to gawp
too.
As the entertainment industry knock over more rules in the rush to
congratulate themselves down the road at the Brits, the music industry
carries on regardless in a half-full club on Mathew Street.
The punchline? The majority of the punters aren’t here for the art.
And those that are, are too self-conscious to let go. Thank God for the
band, then.
Houghton has brought the Hooves of Destiny on the road with her this
time (last time in town, stepping out with just a guitar and a rack of
loop pedals) and it’s working.
A standard, guitar-led line-up with the added finesse of fiddle and
effects (they could do with losing the click track though), they tear
through Houghton’s debut album, ‘Yours Truly, Cellophane Nose’, and hit
their stride with the glorious pop racket of ‘Honeycomb’. The songs are
tight, have no fat and use economy and clarity in the same way most
these days use noodling and excess.
In short, for a quirky new group in a world of, well, quirky new groups, they’re a breath of fresh air.
Perhaps it’s Houghton’s voice that’s the key: a refreshing female
baritone in an age of banshees (actually, Siouxsie and her band might be
a good reference point). But I digress.
On a night when being distinctly average is being celebrated by
millions, Houghton proves it’s sometimes good enough to just be
yourself.
And, especially on Mathew Street, yourself is something to be…
______________________________________________________________________
Author: Alan O'Hare
Source: Seven Streets
Date: February 23rd, 2012
Original article: HERE
Brak komentarzy:
Prześlij komentarz