Bat for Lashes

Tob and I went to see Bat for Lashes at the Junction in Cambridge this evening, thanks to a ticket that Sue couldn't use so she sold it to me and I bought another one for Tob. Tob hadn't heard of Bat for Lashes and at first did consider letting me go on my own but he said he enjoyed it in the end. For me, as someone who used to work in a venue similar in size to the Junction and would go to gigs about twice a week for most of the 90's mainly in Utrecht but also regularly in Amsterdam and Eindhoven, I had all sorts of expectations and observations having not been to a gig of this size since....ohhh....let me think...Lamb at the Kentish Town Forum in....2002, I think. Since then, smoking has stopped and camera phones have come in. The cloakroom was 2 quid per item so that was another £4 and tob spent over a fiver on a coke and a pint of piss/lager. Considering the audience just get to stand around, somebody must be doing pretty well out of venues like the Junction. The biggest difference was the lack of smoke, in fact the only smell I could smell was that smell you can smell when you walk past a Lush shop in a shopping centre.

The support act were really good. If Stereolab and the Cocteau Twins had...triplets they would be the two lovely looking girls and floppy haired bloke on guitar. Very nice. Then half hour wait and on came Natasha Kahn and her band, Bat for Lashes. The drummer was really really good, very Budgie like and...a little young lady about 19 in a little black dress. There was a girl on guitar and bass who also did backing vocals and a bit of percussion and keyboards, very accomplished musician, I'd say her bass playing was the weakest point but other than that a very good musician. There was a bloke on Keyboards, lucky bloke, some would say. It was nice to see a really quality band with one bloke rather than the usual ratio with one woman.

Natasha was sweet, dignified and much older than her years both in the way she's written some amazing tunes and in the way she carries herself. About 4 songs in someone shouted 'Stephen!' to which the reply 'Just coming' rippled through the audience, myself included. Natasha said there had been so many 'Stephens' and she was thinking of introducing a penalty. I think I will email Adam and Joe and report this 'Stephen' event to them.

Since having children and coming to the conclusion so often that I can hear something new and interesting then spend ages going through it naming the influences I can hear - no bad thing - It all goes back to someone, all the greats were influenced by other greats that came before them. I have invented a system (preview earlier in the post) where I work out the family tree. For example I worked out that Bat for Lashes, or rather Natasha Kahn in my head this is, was a result of a passionate affair between Kate Bush and Mick Kahn while they were working on Sensual World (Mick plays bass on some of the tracks you will hear). They have Natasha as a love child and make Budgie, Tori Amos and Sinead O'Connor god parents. Mick invites his mates Robert Smith and Robin Guthrie round for beer while he's looking after the little Natasha as she plays on her ELC dulcimer, they listen to records like Hawkwind, Pink Floyd and Kraftwerk. Then the little Natasha grows up to be the fabulous, beautiful accomplished musician she is now, Mercury Price nominee at the age of 17 bla bla bla.

The first time I adopted this method of describing bands was when Muse appeared on the scene back in 2001. I thought if Queen, Radiohead and Bethoven had a love child.... and it went on from there.