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Hidden Door At The Edinburgh International Festival : The Jesus And Mary Chain, Leith Theatre

  • Written by  Alex Watt (words), Julia Stryj (photographs)

 

The Light On The Shore strand of The Edinburgh International Festival continues with a night of music curated by Hidden Door who are a driving force behind the resurrection of the Leith Theatre from council storage site to arts venue.

Their show tonight features three Scottish bands. The first up are Spinning Coin who play as a four piece with lead vocal duties swapping between the falsetto of Sean Armstrong and the baritone of Jack Mellin. Their short songs have a lo-fi, jangling-guitar sound and show some influence from The Pastels. The numbers which work best in this set are less slacker and more rock-protest, such as a ‘Powerful’. However, they miss a unifying element to bring together the set which, with the very different feel of the lead vocalists, feels a little schizophrenic.  

Next up, with the theatre near to full, are Honeyblood. The drum and guitar duo have changed the style of their live performance since the early stages of the tour of their second (and most recent) album Babes Never Die. The guitar of Stina Tweeddale has more bass and distortion than previously and so the songs have a much rockier feel. Stina’s vocals also have a deeper, stronger quality to match the guitar sound. They open with ‘Justine, Misery Queen’ and continue with songs about having strength and power to face haters, cheats and critics. The new sound matches this theme of empowerment and is maybe clearest in the difference between their earlier diatribe against ‘Super Rat’ which remains a great singalong of insults and ‘Babes Never Die’ which comes over as a story of overcoming betrayal. Honeyblood drive on with Cat Myers keeping a strong rhythm and on ‘Killer Bangs’ she seems to be appropriately pounding the cymbals like she is trying to drive them into the stage floor. The set finishes with a roaring version of ‘Ready For The Magic’ which features a cheeky bridge where Tweeddale holds a sustained note while Myers necks her bottle of beer. That’s swagger.

Finally, we reach the main act, The Jesus And Mary Chain who set up as a five piece of three guitars, drummer and Jim Reid in front of an array of lights pointing out at the audience. This combined with the downlighting of the stage mean that for most of the gig the band members are hidden or vague shadows with only Reid a clear silhouette for the crowd. One welcome feature of this set-up is that from deep in the audience it is possible to see the stage without obstruction from hundreds of camera screens. It also means the audience focus is on the sound not the band’s movements on stage.

The band open with ‘Amputation’ from the most recent album, Damage And Joy and immediately, their signature rock and roll sound with heavy guitar distortion is clear. This is not a band that should feel like it is a limb cut-off from rock music. As the gig develops, they set out to show this is not the case. The indie classic ‘Head On’ is followed by ‘Blues From A Gun’ which shows the ability to give a blues tilt while ‘Between Planets’ has a danceable, almost pop feel. The basic three chord tunes and the large number of excellent hooks keep appearing and the audience are all in motion. The band use dynamic range to good effect in ‘Some Candy Talking’ where the soft, slow vocals are contrasted with an ear-bursting guitar break. The planned set ends with a rave-like ‘Reverence’ and the floor is bouncing.

The variation continues into the encores which begin with the loping classic ‘Just Like Honey’ and end six tunes later with a raucous chant-along of ‘I Hate Rock And Roll’. This final sentiment is one that this whole gig screams is a monstrous disingenuity but then, the Reid brothers would probably just grin, shrug and walk off to the applause.

Further photographs from the gig can be viewed here.

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