The Wave Pictures – The Borderline, London 30/07/08

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It was with a possibly quite unnatural level of excitement that I headed up to London last Wednesday to The Borderline for a BBC 6Music “Club Fandango” night, featuring The Wave Pictures.

Arriving very early (geekish eagerness, much?) brought the advantage of allowing us to bag the ideal viewing location – as any of you familiar with The Borderline will know, one of those high stools in front of the little table just to the left of the stage: bonus!

First band on the three-band bill were The Grave Architects. Their brand of (not actually very funny) “comedy” songs, and uninspired lyrics with clunking rhymes (samples: “I’ve always been told / That all that glitters isn’t gold”; “I cannot forget / The way I felt when we first met“) left me frankly pretty cold.

Much better were A Classic Education, apparently from Bologna in Italy, although the lead singer seemed like an almost archetypal New Yorker. With the violinist and cymbal-bashing drummer making eerie noises on stage, the rest of the band walked through the audience to join them, in a theatrical and slightly unsettling/eerie opening, before eventually segueing into track that was more straightforward and rather uplifting (despite featuring lyrics about “open your arms and find destruction“). Their set was never less than watchable, with some real highlights. This six piece are a curious mix – sometimes making me think more of your Guillemots or Prefab Sprout (‘The Lover’s Barricade’, for example), while at other times steering more closely towards recent New Yorkers like The Strokes (‘War Times’, which features on their self-released 12″) or even Interpol (‘Victories At Night’). The violin is used effectively to punctuate their songs, and they have a great, frenetic drummer, and a strong, tuneful lead singer. Enjoyable and, on this evidence, well worth seeking out on record too.

But now it was time for the Main Event. You know how, sometimes, you can just totally fall for a band, based on what you have heard on record, and then when you finally catch them live they are just a total and utter disappointment? Well, I’m really pleased to say that this gig was absolutely nothing like that. For someone, like me, who has only relatively recently become acquainted with The Wave Pictures, the most striking thing about their live performance was just how amazing – and I mean virtuoso-level amazing – a guitarist Dave Tattersall (lead singer, songwriter, all-round talented bloke) is. On record it is easy to get sidetracked by the wonderful lyrics and almost overlook the musicianship, but live it is there practically smacking you around the head. More or less every song in their set (which seemed too short, just because it was so damned enjoyable) had a brilliant guitar solo which genuinely added to that song, rather than just being the excuse for a show-offy noodle, as too often can be the case with such things. In fact he was obviously so engrossed in his guitar playing during a particularly captivating break during ‘Tiny Craters In The Sand’ that he didn’t notice that the whammy bar fell off his guitar, and looked most surprised when it was handed back to him afterwards!

Their set took in (from a fan’s perspective) an ideal mix of current songs – from their Instant Coffee Baby album and the Just Like A Drummer EP, older ones like ‘Tiny Craters In The Sand’ (for which the three piece band were joined by guests Isabelle Martin and Toby Goodshank, the latter being credited as co-writer of ‘Cassius Clay’, which they played next), and a corker of a new song called ‘If You Leave It Alone’, a really moving number which appears to be about the creative process, mixed up with lots of other beautiful and touching sentiments.

I could probably rant on for a lot longer about what a truly outstanding night this was, and how it was such a joy to witness a band performance that surpassed and utterly transcended even this fangirl’s high expectations. Part of the delight is definitely in the way that they seem to be such unassuming, frankly ordinary individuals, yet manage to produce such a lyrically and musically brilliant performance. Between songs they seemed genuinely happy to be playing, and with the (enthusiastic) reception they were getting, and Dave Tattersall gave us a few entertaining anecdotes, like the explanation of how they chose to use a photograph of their “extraordinarily good-looking” drummer Jonny Helm for the cover of their EP, in an attempt to sell more copies.

This was one of the best gigs I’ve been to in a good few years and reader: I go to lots of gigs. If you get the chance to go and see The Wave Pictures in the coming months (they’re touring a fair old bit, in the UK at least) then seriously: do so. This is a band that can renew a waning faith in live music and leave you dashing for the last train home with a huge, foolish grin on your face.

Set list:
Hotels and Motels
Long Island
Just Like a Drummer
Kittens
If You Leave It Alone
Leave The Scene Behind
Tiny Craters In The Sand
Cassius Clay
My Kiss
I Love You Like a Madman