Issue 15 / September 2011

30
Bido Lito! September 2011
Reviews
a while, but have certainly been busy
THE CRIBS position as festival
in their absence. Very impressive.
THE CHARLATANS, and their ‘acoustic’
set, could not however be described in
such a way. They manage to stomp
their way through their collection
of various (occasionally classic) hits,
with the subtlety of a brute. The Only
One I Know is slowed within an inch
of its life, before North Country Boy is
given the barnyard stomp treatment.
Complacent.
For those of you unfamiliar with DAVID
J ROCH’s previous guise of Little Lost
David, don’t worry, absolutely nothing
has changed; his aching delivery and
vocal gymnastics are still intact. His
recent inclusion as an accompaniment
on So You Think You Can Dance goes to
show that he’s one fucking awful tune
away from being James Blunt or Jack
Johnson and I sense he’s got the taste
for it. Lost cause.
A quick scuttle across the festival
is necessary for us to catch the first
of THE LA’S secret performances. The
Houseparty Stage provides exactly that,
it’s like having the band in your front
room, a rare and special treat! Mavers
is accompanied by Gary Bandit on bass
as they plough through the contents of
the group’s eponymous LP, alongside a
cover of My Generation. Mavers seems
relaxed, cracking smiles and even
enjoying himself despite technical
headliners just goes to show the
benefit of the slow burn, as the band
have built themselves, LP by LP over the
past decade. There’s no getting away
from the fact that this is punk-pop by
numbers, but when the tunes are good,
there’s nothing wrong with that at all.
They are very Yorkshire, but at the right
end of the ‘Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh’ crowd
singalong spectrum that The Pigeon
Detectives are very much at the wrong
end of. Tonight’s reception is a crowning
confirmation of their achievement.
Over on the Calling Out Stage, the
curious case of THE SUZUKIS continues,
with an added twist. The group’s long
awaited LP is about to land and it’d be
fair to say that the initial reception has
been lukewarm, but it seems that it
may be a monkey off the band’s back,
as today’s set is assured and confident,
the shackles are off. With new material
on show, building further on the groove
led approach of Reasons For Leaving,
there may be a new chapter in them
yet. To be continued.
THE RED SUNS are certainly the most
embryonic of the Liverpool acts on
show. Technically they’re impressive,
creating a tightly textured, interweaving
post-punk mass, but they do seem
a little like rabbits in the headlights.
Perhaps following The La’s second
performance was a bit of a tough ask,
glitches, a state of mind that continues
during their second set on the Calling
Out Stage the following day. We’re not
going to tempt anything, but seeing
Mavers on this form does suggest the
group are working towards heightened
activity. Rumour mill....GO!
putting them right under the telescope.
Still promising mind.
After an unsuccessful trek across the
site to find Hatcham Social, only to be
met with a chubby kid playing Lady
GaGa covers, we refuel on warm cans of
Stella and take our place for BLONDIE,
The La’s performance initiates
which is the perfect closing to a sunkissed
something of a scouse royalty exchange,
as we make our way down to the Main
Stage for ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN.
weekend. Festival moments
are often those accompanied by a
signature artist, with an unabridged
Every time McCulloch announces
open singalong, and Kendal Calling
Killing Moon as the “best fucking song
in the world” I believe him a little bit
more! After the drab, conservative
performance of The Charlatans earlier,
The Bunnymen’s performance shows a
classic, era defining band still pushing
themselves musically and growing
into their position. UNCUT and MOJO
covers await.
have taken the biscuit with this, as the
band just knock out classic after classic
to the largest crowd of the weekend.
Kendal Calling has blossomed into a
vital festival of the summer, with the
perfect mix of new and old, family and
fuck-up, excess and beauty. See you
next year in the fields.
Craig G Pennington
A Tribute To Sam Jones
By David J Pichilingi, Liverpool Sound City
Photograph by Mark McNulty
Since the last issue of
Bido Lito!, Liverpool has
lost one of the greatest
music legends that it
has spawned in the past
20 years. Sam Jones
died recently in tragic
circumstances and he was
buried on a very sad day
in the company of literally
hundreds of people who
turned out from all over
the region and wider UK to
pay their last respects. The word legend is often misinterpreted and overused
but in the context of Sam it is absolutely appropriate and correct.
Sam Jones was a music promoter in every sense of the word. From a very
early age he cut his teeth promoting dance music aftershow parties for his
friends in ‘The Groovy Garage.’ This was his mum’s garage in Formby. These
parties were usually a follow up from what was to become Liverpool’s
first serious weekly dance music night Smile. These weekly events have
now become part of the folklore for the development of the 80s dance
music scene in Liverpool. Sam and partner Paul Myers were responsible
for bringing Back2Basics and Flying Records to Liverpool for the first time.
Smile is widely regarded as a pre-cursor and massive influence on the start
up of Cream. In fact, Sam was involved with the set up of Cream.
After Smile, Sam moved to work with his partner Claire on Voodoo.
Through his input, energy and vision he turned Voodoo into one of the
most widely regarded Techno events in the UK and Europe. It became part
of the very fabric of Liverpool and UK nightlife. So much was Voodoo a
part of peoples lives that many members of the audience engraved their
bodies with Voodoo tattoos and others even chose it as the venue for
their wedding receptions!
I was privileged enough to work alongside Sam on several occasions.
The first time was when we set up Voodoo Records together. We released
several EPs under this moniker. It has to be said the strength of the
Voodoo brand that Sam built up was the main reason why we did so well
in terms of sales and media recognition.
In recent years Sam had been at the helm of the O2 Academy Liverpool.
In this role he made it his business to bring some of the biggest
household names in rock and roll to the city (including one-off shows
from Paul McCartney and Snoop Dogg) as well as ensuring the best up
and coming local acts got the chance to play on a big stage in front of
large audiences.
Sam was so full of life. He was gentle and quiet but had the most
wicked and dark sense of humour. He was generous in every way and
always went out of his way to assist and help others, particularly young
people, for whom he always had time and patience to offer guidance.
Sam was a fantastic dad to two beautiful children. He was a friend to
many more. He is going to be deeply missed and Liverpool is a poorer
place now he has left us.
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