THE BEVIS FROND - Loppen, Christiania March 15, 2002
From Aural Innovations #19 (April 2002)
I showed up early in hopes to interview the band but they were not there and showed up a bit later. I hung out in the dressing room with them for an hour before the gig but they were tired and just chatting about football (Soccer) and Nick's daughter's band, Hex, whom Julian, the new drummer, plays for. They play all cover songs of jazz standards. IT is going well. Petrocat demos were recorded but never released.
A small crowd tonight, perhaps only 50 people. A bit disappointing. I was really looking forward to hearing the band as a 4 piece with Paul, the guitar player from Alchemysts. He is a very fine guitar player. The band opened with a very short opening jam and Ade was having some problems with his bass rig and would have loads of problems with his pedals as well. It was almost tragically comical in the end. He endured. They opened with "Hole Song #2". The sound was heavier with two guitars but Paul was playing purely rhythm and no leads. Next up was "Candles" from the new CD, What Did For Dinosaurs. A melodic mid paced rocker. "Oh Gideon" from Sprawl was next and sounded great. An excellent song. Another new song called "Breathe Out". "Stoned Train Driver" was next and sounded as good as ever but I would have preferred to hear something more obscure. "Superseded" was fantastic and a great ten minute jam, and here Paul actually played some lead guitar at the end. This was excellent. "Nursery Rhyme" and "Silver Dart", both from the new CD followed. Very funny lyrics on "Nursery Rhyme". "Maybe" and "Stain On The Sun" sounded good but I was still wanting and waiting for other old songs. Then, I got what I wanted. She's Entitled to from New River Head. This was a hard rocker and sounded so great live. I had hoped to hear "Reflections In A Tall Mirror" as Ade said they had been playing it but not tonight. A great version of "God Speed You To Earth", without Ade for the first 6 minutes due to problems with his pedals. Fantastic. The set ended with a quick version of "Undertaker". The band came out for a 20 minute encore of "Down Time", which included solos by all the band members. Ade's was the best by far. A very good 105 minute concert but I still hoped to hear more different old numbers but at least we were spared "He'd Be A Diamond", "Lights Are Changing" and "New River Head", which they always seem to play. A great night of music and a good spirit...
Reviewed by Scott Heller