Issue 74 / February 2017

30
Bido Lito! February 2017 Reviews
THE LEMON TWIGS
Goat Girl
Harvest Sun @ District
As District starts to fill in anticipation for
THE LEMON TWIGS, support band GOAT GIRL
emerge and mill about on the stage for a bit,
nudging and smiling knowingly at each other,
before taking their places and launching into
the surly venomous blast that is Scum, with the
killer post-Brexit line “how can an entire nation
be so fucking thick?” The band, communicating
as a unit through knowing nods and glances,
deliver Country Sleaze, Scum’s double A-side,
letting its acerbic lyrics “I’m disgusted, I’m
ashamed of this so-called human race,” do the
talking. They regard the audience with a cool
confidence and steady cynical eye throughout,
almost like we’re not meant to be there. It will
be interesting to see how that approach holds
up in shows as the band gets bigger, because
they will.
The Lemon Twigs are a peculiar set up, former
geek child actors, turning to music full-time
once their voices broke and no longer slotted
tidily into the Nickelodeon business model.
Brian D’Addario takes the vocal lead for the first
third of the set, the more melodic laid back of
the two, with younger brother Michael hidden
in amongst the drum kit (one that seems far
The Lemon Twigs (Sam Rowlands / samrowlandsphoto.com)
too big for him). With his Gram Parsons fringe safety of the keyboard. New song Why Didn’t
hanging over his eyes, Brian settles behind the You Say That? is a bright delight of tune, a kiss
of the summer sun on a dark cold December
night. And the single These Words sounds
terrific, because, how can it not?
When it’s Michael’s turn to come up front,
(him in the glam satin kecks in all the press
shots), we’re more than a little bit gutted to
see that he’s in mere polo shirt and jeans.
But, we get over our disappointment soon
enough. Michael’s the performer, the rock star
of the duo, he scissor kicks, jumps and back
flips like he’s just learned how to do both for
the very first time, and wants everyone to see.
There’s a cockiness to him; swigging from his
water bottle and lashing it on the stage floor,
fat splashes of water going everywhere. He’s
beyond cute.
More new songs are debuted tonight,
including Queen Of My School, from an EP due
out early this year. The comparisons to Big Star
are of course obvious, and Alex Chilton’s All Of
The Time gets the right treatment tonight; and
when Michael notices there’s a guy wearing a
Big Star t-shirt in the audience, he asks him to
come to the front so he can see.
It’s my belief that drum solos should never
have been invented in the first place, but the
D’Addarios are fans of the concept, Michael
indulging himself for longer than he should.
When Brian takes up the sticks, he does a drum
solo as well, only not for as long. For that, he
has our gratitude.
The High Llamas
Union Chapel, Islington
Saturday 28th January
Ezio
plus Seafoam Green
The Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool
Thursday 16th March
Ian Prowse & Amsterdam
25th Anniversary show celebrating 'Fireworks' by Pele
Ruby Lounge, Manchester
Saturday 18th March 2017
Kathryn Williams
The Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool
Sunday 23rd April
Nightingales & Blue Orchids
The Magnet, Liverpool
Friday 28th April
The Monochrome Set
The Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool
Sunday 28th May
@Ceremonyconcert / facebook.com/ceremonyconcerts
ceremonyconcerts@gmail.com / seetickets.com