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SUNSHINE ON A RAINY DAY
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:: Tim And Sam's Tim And The Sam Band With Tim And Sam
:: The Windfall :: Jake Flowers ::
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22 January 2008 / The Roadhouse / Manchester
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By Megan Vaughan
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A Tuesday. A Tuesday in January. A rainy Tuesday in January. A rainy Tuesday in January when the new series of Shameless is on the TV. What could be worth leaving the house for?
The answer, oh lethargic masses, is threefold. Tim and Sam’s Tim and The Sam Band should be enough for you to break out the Gortex clothing on their own. Jake Flowers had travelled to Manchester from Shropshire in the torrential rain, his commitment to audiences enough to shame all but the most agoraphobic. Furthermore, there are seven members of The Windfall; if they all made it to the Roadhouse, where exactly were you?
Hmmm?
My apologies, rant over. Regardless of attendance, Tuesday’s gig was another piece of genius billing from the Roadhouse team, who took a chance by starting things off with the night’s most established act, locally at least. Tim and Sam’s Tim and The Sam Band were a skeletal three-piece line-up this time, but never a glockenspiel chime was amiss. Their oft-complicated technical requirements can cause problems for such delicate and ghostly compositions, but the subtle warmth truly shone, with the clarinet tones simultaneously barely there and vital to each song’s effortless swell. Last I heard, Tim was planning some tunes with actual lyrics and real-life singing, but with such skilfully climactic instrumentals to offer, it’s surprising that they haven’t already taken over the world. Sweet, sumptuous and sophisticated, Tim and Sam make music for the entrance foyer of heaven.
Jake Flowers sings songs about girls called Annabelle and Rosalie, playing in streams in the country and, somewhat bizarrely, a couple whose “lost spark” ignites a stolen shipment of fireworks. To say that he makes old-timey folk-rock would be to significantly underestimate a huge songwriting talent. Although previously reviewed by MM when accompanied by a band, this solo show was a very different affair; while a lone bass drum never allowed the low-down country shindiggery that a full band would, newly-exposed sensitivity was something of a revelation. Flowers sang with an instantly affecting vocal fragility, his acoustic guitar alternating between troubadour twiddling and unbridled freeform hammering, but it was the gorgeous ‘Sticks and Stones’ that will be remembered. Its clever shift in time signature enhanced Flowers’ expert Devandra Banhart fingerpicking even further. Lovely.
It would make The Windfall sound horribly dated if I described them as the baggy Mamas and Papas, and yet that is surprisingly accurate for such a fresh-faced bunch. Their sound is sunny and psychedelic and ever-so-slightly vintage, and with two lead vocalists, they are able to alternate their sound more than The Stone Roses ever could. Although there is a fine Morrissey impression on offer from one end of the stage, The Windfall’s token pretty girl quickly proved her worth in ‘Moods’, showcasing a damn fine soprano. It would be all too easy for her to fall into the Vashti Bunyan pastoral folk mould, but putting her in the middle of a rock band is a stroke of genius; she gracefully softens their Grateful Dead-isms, and they bolster her naturally innocent tones with blistering guitar solos. It’s great stuff. Speaking of the guitar solos however, the presence of two lead guitarists invariably leads to cynical speculation of power games and in-fighting, and I can only assume that one of them has a van and the other a PA system, or some similar use. As musicians, they both offer superb John Squire flourishes, and can be told apart only because one has hair and the other, well, doesn’t. Future royalties may well be split seven ways, but it wouldn’t surprise me if The Windfall make a few bob.
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Resources:
Tim & Sam
Jake Flowers
The Windfall
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Lifeless..
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SET THE CONTROLS......
PIGEONS FLY OFF ROUND THE COUNTRY...
YET MORE NEW DATES ANNOUNCED...
FRIDAY "FRIENDS OF MANCHESTER" ACADEMY 3 GIG POSTPONED...
TWISTED WHEEL GET THEIR FAC RIGHT...
MANCHESTER ICONS BACK ON...
IN CONVERSATION...
MODERN ENGLISH IS HERE...
SET YOUR ALARM CLOCK NOW......
DINGO RETRO...
FRIENDS OF MANCHESTER - WHAT, WHERE, WHEN...
BACK TO THE TOP...
HOT VOLTAGE...
A DIFFERENT STYLE OF PAINTER...
MANCHESTER'S NEWEST POP STARS ON THE ROAD AGAIN...
FRIENDS OF MANCHESTER UPDATE - LAST CHANCE FOR TENNER TICKETS...
MANCHESTER'S QUEER NOISE ...
STANDING IN THE WAY OF CONTROL ...
WINTER / SPRING JAZZ AT BAND ON THE WALL...
ARFICEDEN TAKE ON JANUARY...
WOTGODFORGOT SPRING OFFENSIVE...
WOTGODFORGOT SPRING OFFENSIVE - SECOND WAVE...
POP ART...
2010 STARTS HERE...
THIS SHOULD SCARE THE ORANGE PEOPLE...
J C CLARKE HASN'T BEEN KNIGHTED - HE SHOULD BE, BUT FOR NOW HERE'S SOME TOUR INFO...
TWISTED WHEEL TAKE ON 2010 WITH TOUR AND ALBUM...
LOADS MORE FRIENDS!...
EDITORIAL: WHY I DID WHAT THEY TOLD ME...
FAUST COME FAUST SERVED (sorry...)...
CHRISTMAS CRACKERS...
A DAY OUT WITH FRIENDS...
AIR CAV CHRISTMAS GIG: WIN TICKETS!...
DELPHIC WELCOME THE NEW DECADE...
MM RECOMMENDS: A GREAT CHRISTMAS PRESENT FOR ANY MANCUNIAN MUSIC FAN...
EVERYTHING EVERYTHING SIGN ON THE DOTTED.....
OCEANSIZE - * MANCHESTER GIG CANCELLED* - ...
RUBY LOUNGE DECEMBER: JOSH, FRAZER AND A NYE HOUSE PARTY!...
BLOWOUT'S AUTUMN OF CONTENT...
MUSEUM SEEKS JOY DIVISION ARTEFACTS...
MANCHESTER URBAN ARTISTS BUILD A MUSICAL FUTURE ...
RADAR RELEASE...
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