Tapes 'n Tapes @ The Liquid Room
Tapes 'n Tapes' contained virtuosity is a sight (and sound) to behold
| 12 Dec 2006
Gigs these days can be ritual affairs. You hear of some hyped band from a clued-up friend or a pompous magazine, traipse along to a dank venue where you pay through the nose for a ticket to watch a tour-weary bunch of dandies strum through their debut LP on autopilot – with additional, unmerited encore, of course. Why not just listen to the CD in the comfort of your domicile? Out to prove that live music need not be so crushingly formulaic, Tapes 'n Tapes pour their all into tonight's show at the Liquid Room, tearing hungrily through their exceedingly good debut album, The Loon.
The Minneapolis four-piece do succumb to blatant crowd-pleasing – "two of our best ever shows have been in Scotland so we're super-excited to be here" – but this can be easily forgiven when the music is impressive and the sentiment true. Slow off the blocks due to a few minutes of on-stage tuning, unassuming singer/guitarist Josh Grier soon engages the static but willing audience with In Houston, his drawling voice and effortless fretwork causing many a-head to nod. T'nT's contained virtuosity is a sight (and sound) to behold – all members are adept instrumentalists (the wide-eyed Matt Kretzman switches between keys, percussion and a tuba-like horn) and the music is a squalling clamour of supposedly conflicting styles, from jazz to Americana.
The hook-laden recent single 'Cowbell' further warms a rapidly-thawing crowd, but the song highlights are so frequent that they merge into a plateau of sustained quality. 'Omaha' is stirringly romantic, the stomping two-step beat of 'Insistor' infectious, and the wordless guitar crescendos of set-closer 'Jakov's Suite' enthralling. Having conquered Scotland for a third time, the band leave, the lights go on, and, for once, the hype is to be believed. No encores needed. [Nick Mitchell]
The Minneapolis four-piece do succumb to blatant crowd-pleasing – "two of our best ever shows have been in Scotland so we're super-excited to be here" – but this can be easily forgiven when the music is impressive and the sentiment true. Slow off the blocks due to a few minutes of on-stage tuning, unassuming singer/guitarist Josh Grier soon engages the static but willing audience with In Houston, his drawling voice and effortless fretwork causing many a-head to nod. T'nT's contained virtuosity is a sight (and sound) to behold – all members are adept instrumentalists (the wide-eyed Matt Kretzman switches between keys, percussion and a tuba-like horn) and the music is a squalling clamour of supposedly conflicting styles, from jazz to Americana.
The hook-laden recent single 'Cowbell' further warms a rapidly-thawing crowd, but the song highlights are so frequent that they merge into a plateau of sustained quality. 'Omaha' is stirringly romantic, the stomping two-step beat of 'Insistor' infectious, and the wordless guitar crescendos of set-closer 'Jakov's Suite' enthralling. Having conquered Scotland for a third time, the band leave, the lights go on, and, for once, the hype is to be believed. No encores needed. [Nick Mitchell]