Review: Amsterdam’s Working Class Music Festival gig
Tuesday 15th September 2009 @ The New Picket, Jordan Street
Standing on The Picket line….
A cracking if eclectic line-up at Tuesday night’s Working Class Music Festival gig at The Picket. The second year of this festival of radical song, set up in the Capital of Culture year to promote songs of struggle, protest and social justice, was supported by Culturepool tonight, who had arranged for a few of us to meet the performers before the gig, which was a great introduction to the Merseyside live music scene for a newbie like myself.
Kicking off the bill was rapper Kof, with a beat-pumping mix of Calvin Harris, Bonkers and Bros. Gauging his audience wisely, he delivered a soulful balled halfway through his set, proving that he can sing as well as he can rap. I’m no rap aficionado but his material was witty and original. My mum would’ve liked him too, as you could hear every word! kofmusic.com
Next up, local favourite (despite being from Manchester!) Claire Mooney. Claire used to study at John Moore’s and told the audience that Liverpool had taught her everything she knew. Well, she learnt her craft well and despite being one woman and her guitar, she filled the venue, both with her voice and her personality. As Darius would’ve said, you could ‘feel the love in the room’. Even though it’s not a style of music I would usually listen too she was spellbinding. ‘I write political songs’, she said and by god she does. Describing one song as ‘a rant’, she covers topics from Clause 28, to corporate malpractice, to the wearing of a fleece. But she tempers the politics with a warm humour which really engaged the crew at the Picket, revving everyone up to a rousing bout of audience-participation singalong – getting the entire room to shout; ‘Dead dead good, Boss, Bostin’ and tonight, she was just that. Check out her sound at www.clairemooney.co.uk
The tempo changed with Phil Hare. A guitarist and singer of near-legendary status in Liverpool, Phil brought a quiet, intense mood to the venue. Down at the front, fans hung on every word while at the back the mayhem settled for a while. Political songs, acoustic magic, in a style reminiscent of Roger Whittaker at his best. Though next time I’d really prefer to hear Phil in a more intimate setting, as the excitement at the bar for the upcoming, more rocky-style, bands drowned out the passion just a bit too much. The man in the hat deserved more than that. There’s a wide range of Phil’s acoustic material on YouTube or go straight to the man at www.philhare.co.uk
Last up (for me, as I missed The Trestles) was John Peel’s ‘second- favourite band’, Amsterdam; (this ‘fact’ hotly disputed by the Birkenhead born ‘n’ bred singer Ian Prowse, who insists that Peel was known to have ‘sobbed along’ to their hit song ‘Does this train stop on Merseyside?’). The audience were ready and waiting and Amsterdam filled the bill with a rocky, punky wall of sound. It felt like the Picket should have been a stadium, for all the energy that echoed off the walls and reverberated back through the songs and hearts of this passionate band. Ian Prowse’s big, poppy, Wylie-esque voice soared above guitar crunching pop-rock with a real Celtic edge, with a lighter layer on top provided by the flute and the fiddle.
Many people are asking why Amsterdam aren’t bigger, and on this showing, its hard to see why not, especially as the band can name-drop fans including Elvis Costello and folk legend Christy Moore. Amsterdam’s lyrics are personal and political (with songs describing Irish Famine victims, Liverpool’s history of Slavery and a last one dedicated to Michael Shields), though layered in a pop sensibility; they reminded me of Stiff Little Fingers, Bruce Springsteen and Deacon Blue, with a big dollop of Wylie’s pop years. See if you agree…www.amsterdam-music.com
© 2009 Gill Newsham – gill[at]liverpoolacoustic.co.uk
Liverpool Acoustic – liverpoolacoustic.co.uk
The Trestles finished the night on a blistering high and lead singer Al O’Hare performed with real passion. Even though the crowd thinned out after the headliners Amsterdam had finished their set The Trestles’ high energy set continued to build a fervour in the intimate space of The New Picket. O’Hare also affirmed his political credentials when referring to the No To Tesco On Hope Street campaign, which raised a large cheer from the crowd.
© 2009 Vinny Lawrenson-Woods – vinny[at]culturepool.org.uk
Culturepool – culturepool.org.uk
Thanks to Vinny from Culturepool for finishing the review for us. Check out the engaging programme of events that Culturepool introduces its members to. Culture is everywhere, and it’s not exclusive! So why not discover something new in the company of other like-minded people?