Things I'm excited about #1

New el-blog feature: Things I’m excited about.
I’m not sure something counts as a feature if you don’t do it with any level of regularity…and I’m not prepared to put a time scale on myself here. Lets be honest, I’m not good with deadlines.
Things I’m excited about will pretty much do what it says on the tin. It will tell you things I’m excited about. Mostly in a musical sense. However if I ever manage to buy a pair of shit kicker boots on ebay or eventually cave and get a cat then they might constitute something that I’m excited about and warrant a look in.
Anyhoo. This week’s thing I’m excited about is: drum roll please…Nat Baldwin. (Yes more American music, I’m sorry, I’m clearly feeling a bit under the weather at the moment!)
Coming to us all the way from Maine; one of those states where I fear that not much other than drinking coffee and being a bit artsy may happen, Nat Baldwin describes his music as experimental and minimalist. His music to my mind is ineffable. Initially it reminds me of Regina Spektor, it has an American collegiate drone to it created by the clever use of a double bass with a clearly improvised wood wind frill around the edges yet its darker that Regina Spektor, there’s no cynicism to it. The other Baldwin’s music is reminiscent of is early Interpol, a really stripped back, minimal sound done in a dark rock-y way not a folk-y way, in the slightest. It’s the kind of music I can imagine east coast college kids lapping up, with REM white label vinyl and original (not re-issued) Smiths records. Get me a beanie and a coffee, because I want in.
Weights by Nat Baldwin by western.vinyl
Nat Baldwin is playing a FREE gig tomorrow night at the Brudenell Social Club. I will be there with bells on. Let me know if you’re going!

You, Me and The Bougeosie

The summer is upon us. Wimbledon is around the corner and the Great British weather is playing its usual tricks. The garden is in full bloom, and nothing makes the dinner table unless it is full of vegetables and sunshine. The following recipe is a wonderful accompaniment to a summer salad, turning a plate of "rabbit food" as himself so happily calls it into a meal that will satisfy even his appetite for things dunked in butter and cholesterol.

Garlic Dough Balls:
The following recipe serves 4 with a main meal or 6 for pre dinner nibbles. They are perfect served warm with the accompanying butter but also great with olive oil and balsamic vinegar to dunk them in.



250g plain flour (nothing special, I just use the value stuff)
1/2 tsp yeast
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
2 tsp olive oil
140ml warm water (I use about 40ml boiled water added to cold water in a jug.)

Mix everything in a bowl.
Add the water little by little, you may need a little more, you may need a little less.
When it all comes together as a smooth dough knead for about five minutes. The dough will change in texture whilst you are doing this.
Once kneaded leave the dough in an oiled bowl in a warm place covered with a damp cloth.
The dough can be left to rise for as little as 20 mins or all afternoon. The longer you leave it the better as the yeast has more chance to do its magic.

Once risen you can separate the dough into 16 balls, or 8 sticks and put on an oiled baking tray. This recipe also makes brilliant pizza bases.
If making pizza you don't need to let the dough rise again, otherwise leave the dough somewhere for about 10 mins, (or more if you have time!) Then all you need to do is chuck them in a pre heated oven (180 degrees C) for 10-15 minutes until they are golden brown on the outside.

I serve these with garlic and herb butter:
2tbs Butter
1 tbs Mixed fresh herbs, Basil is particularly good, also oregano, rosemary, you get the idea
Drizzle Olive oil
2-4 cloves garlic (we like LOTS of garlic, but its a personal thing)
Couple of grinds of salt and pepper.
Chuck everything in a bowl, and mix it up. Perfect for dunking.


Continuing the theme of summer I said in my post about The Mountain Goats Live at the Brudenell recently that the support act The Submarines deserved a post all of their own. I was originally sceptical having heard heard that The Submarines provided songs not only for iPod/Phone adverts but also a song for the Nip/Tuck sound track. Most American sound track fodder makes me feel a little ill. I remember the hype for the O.C sound track, and all that really brought us was The Fray and a feeling in the stomach that one only really gets from having eaten too many sweets. However I was pleasantly surprised by The Submarines. California based John Dragonetti and Blake Hazard form a wonderful male/female vocal that is just quintessentially summery but not saccharine. With surf rock undertones evident the lyrical content make The Submarines thoroughly more interesting. You, Me and the Bourgeoisie is perhaps their most well known track, the chirpy melody but with a darker lyric is infectious. Hazards vocal us unfalteringly beautiful both live and on record, and Dragonetti doesn't fail to deliver supporting Hazard's leading vocal with a beautiful backing and utterly wonderful guitar playing.
Their music is undeniably American, and not strictly deep or unusual, the riffs and choruses come where one would expect them, but the songs are up beat, and summery. And when the weather will do what it will, summer may well have to be found in music.

Live Music: Anais Mitchell, Brudenell Social Club, Leeds 31st May 2011

"This feels like story time at the library" - the opening words of Anais Mitchell when stepping onto the stage at the Brudenell Social Club. And indeed she was right, there was an element of 'story time' about the evening. The audience, myself and my friends included, had begun to fill the lower floor of the Brudenell Social Club during the support acts, not standing, and staring meaningfully at our shoes, as is oft the case at a folk gig, but sitting on the floor. Sitting and staring intently, wondering if we ought to stand up, but secretly wishing we could remain sat, nursing our pints (there is Red Stripe on tap after all)and being told stories. Our wish was granted. Mitchell seemed more than happy with the sitting arrangement and began to tell us stories immediately.
Anais Mitchell, the American singer song writer and folky extraordinaire was preceded in the evening by two support acts. Sam Airey and Pengilly's. Pengilly's were in all honesty not my cup of tea. Although musically very worthy, there was just too much going on. The sound was off and there were far too many instruments and vocal lines produced by the six strong band, comprising of two guitarists, a drummer, cellist, at times two violin players and someone with a key board. On second listening to their myspace offerings I understand the music they were trying to create, but it just didn't translate into a small live space like The Brudenell Social Club. In direct contract to this however was the beautiful simplicity of the first support act Sam Airey. Airey, a Leeds based singer song writer had the early doors crowd paying full attention whilst he played songs from not only his debut E.P but also numerous other songs that were both lyrically beautiful and musically elegant. Airey confessed to having not written a set list but along with his cellist he meandered through a few beautiful songs. All in all Airey is certainly worth checking out, his E.P has been in my car for the last week on constant repeat, which is no mean feat.
When Anais Mitchell took to the stage she played an extensive set with extracts from her Hadestown album taking the fore. Mitchell's 'folk opera' tells the story of Orpheus and Eurydice and their journey to Hades yet it is set as Mitchell said in a "post apocalyptic waste land in the depths of a recession." The following rendition of "Flowers" was a request from the crowd that Mitchell played with pleasure.
Anais Mitchell, Flowers, Live The Brudenell Social Club 31st May 2011 by Zi_ish
In fact Mitchell frequently stopped to check that there were no particular songs people wished to hear, and did finish with the personal favorite, and request of my friends C and R, Old Fashioned Hat
In addition to her own songs Mitchell also played a couple of more traditional and older folk songs. Mitchell's rendition of Johnny Barbary, about the seduction of an Englishman's daughter was utterly beautiful and captivating. I'm sad I don't have a recording of it. Her voice whilst singing it made the room stand still, the bar went quiet, all eyes were on Mitchell. I'm loathed to use the word haunting to describe it, but I can come up with few better words; it definitely made the hair stand up on not only the back of my neck but also my forearms. Mitchell also played her version of Harry Robertson's beautiful Ballina Whalers.
Along with the inclusion of some new album tracks, which left us all with baited breath for the next instalment of the Anais Mitchell catalogue, it was a thoroughly beautiful evening. Mitchell had the crowd in raptures, like a group of primary school children listening to a fascinating story teller, except we had the addition of a bar and thankfully the omission of the usual mental hippies schools seemed to get in during the late 1980s to sing songs about animals and God.

Live Music: The Mountain Goats, Brudenell Social Club, Leeds 28th May 2011

The Mountain Goats have become one of the bands I have obsessed over this past year. I had heard some of Tallahassee but really knew very little else. I really was very late to the party. That is until my friend C began to share her obsession. C has unrivaled taste in music in my opinion and anyone C hails as her "favourite band" must warrant further attention. And with the back catalogue on loan and in my car, I became hooked. The first time I saw 'The Goats' was 8th of September 2010, at the Brudenell Social Club in Leeds, and that was, frankly the final nail in the coffin. I was in love. True, mad adoration, the kind where you have to look up everything about the band, you have to have heard everything they have every played. I'm not ashamed to say I obsessed over John Darinelle (JD to those of us in the club) and spent vast swathes of time wondering how possible it would be to take him up on his offer of a tour round the micro breweries of West Texas.
As you would expect from such a gushing fan girl this is a good review of an amazing live band. JD commands the audience, and even when feeling quite ill as he was on Saturday he managed a 16 song set, with requests, banter and a few tracks in the middle of the set solo, without the rest of the Mountain Goats. The set itself covered most of the Mountain Goats back catalogugue from the 1997 Full Force Galesburg to their most recent offering All Eternals Deck. Perhaps the most special song they played was the following: Minnesota
The Mountain Goats, Minnesota, Live Brudenell Social Club 28th May 2011 by Zi_ish
In addition to this JD played Love, Love, Love and the room stood silent and still. It was wonderful.
The final song and encore consisted of a hearty, raucous rendition of No Children which has always been and will always be my favourite 'Goats' song and finally California Song:
The Mountain Goats, California Song, Live Brudenell Social Club 28th May 2011 by Zi_ish
The only thing the September gig lacked in my opinion was suitable support. Chad Valley in my opinion was just not right. Squeaky and sweaty and just not in keeping with the headline act. However Saturday nights gig put that mishap right. The support act The Submarines deserve a post all of their own. Which they shall have in due course. Needless to say they were fanctastic and really worth looking up!

Smoke Fairies and Sea of Bees, Brudenell Social Club, Thursday 30th January 2011

Last Thursday my dear friend C and I ventured into the bitter Leeds evening and found accommodation in the warm bosom of The Brudenell Social Club. The Brudenell could be no more perfect in my mind if it tried. Established in 1913 as a Gentleman's social and recreation club, (thank you Dr Wikipedia) the Brudenell has established itself over the past few years as a fantastic venue to enjoy up and coming bands in Leeds without gaining any of the pretensions and high bar prices that so often go hand in hand with rising fame as a venue. It maintains the best elements of working mens clubs and shuns the less desirable aspects of cool. That said, anywhere with Red Stripe on tap (still hanging on to my youth and drinking cheep larger in dirty clubs...) is all good by me.

Last Thursday saw no exception in the calibre of act offered by the Brudenell. We were treated to not one, but two wonderful post-folk bands. The opening act was the wonderful Sea of Bees, a musical project by Julie Ann Baenziger a Californian self taught singer-songwriter heralded in the last year by the Guardian as a "wondrous talent." Julie with support from a friend and bassist Abbey provided a wonderful set of haunting magical songs about being in love and as Baezinger herself put it "dreaming and floating over a prairie in the sun." Every song came with a beautiful dream like introduction and ethereal vocal. It is possible to liken Baensiger to Emiliana Torrini and Kate Bush, but that would be too simple. Baenzinger's talent is all her own, and wonderfully indescribable. We were lucky enough at the Brudenell to be able to buy copies of the Sea Of Bees album Songs for The Ravens which is due to be released 7th February 2011 and which I can heartily recommend.

Following Sea of Bees were the British folk duo Smoke Fairies.
The band made up of two front women, Katherine Blamire and Jessica Davies along with a Viola player, drummer and third guitarist filled the tiny stage at the Brudenell. The music of the Smoke Faeries will not have been missed by anyone with an ear to the ground on the folk scene over the last few years. The name Smoke Fairies is often found in the same sentence as Laura Marling and Noah and the Whale, and yet more often than not the Smoke Fairies offer something quite different. Many of the songs of the new folk scene seem to have lost the storytelling that went with the folk music of the 60s. However Smoke Fairies seem to resurrect that storytelling with style. Their work references not only British folk, but American blues and to some extent there is a country vibe that is unmissable. Although their stage presence was seemingly far more awkward than Baenzinger's Sea of Bees, (they came back on for an encore at great speed professing to fear that people would leave before they came back) there was an endearing quality to their lack of self assurance. Their music is undoubtedly beautiful and the quality of sound they produced was amazing. You really must excuse the quality of this recording, I was stood near the bar (quel surprise?) however this is Gastown:


Their recently released album Through Low Light and Trees is certainly worth a listen and the Smoke Fairies are on tour until 3rd February taking in both Bristol and London.