Modified Toy Orchestra + PCM + Health & Efficiency + Una Corda + Stinky Wizzleteat @ VIVID – 19th December 2009

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For the final time this year, the Vivid warehouse in Digbeth housed another chapter in the celebrations of local promoters Capsule‘s tenth birthday. Tonights extravaganza was coupled with the renowned Capsule Christmas party which over the years has seen everything from West Brom math-rockers Solway Fifth setting the scene for years to come, to Pelican and Mistress laying waste to the Medicine Bar, to Jesus Lizard Icon David Yow wanting to take Beestung Lips’ Thom home with him.

Adorned with balloons, party poppers and free sweeties the effervescent atmosphere was in stark contrast to the subzero temperatures embracing the Birmingham streets. The free limited edition Capsule commemorative 7” single given away also generated plenty of surprise warmth.

Opening the show were the fantastically monikered Stinky Wizzleteat, a three-piece peddling the most aggressive of the wares on display this evening. A tightly coiled and impressively amplified din brought together the best of both lurching powerviolence and thinly-controlled noisecore, echoing Kiss It Goodbye as much as Iron Lung. At times they also brought to mind the street-weary Taxi Driver swagger of Unsane – seen in the outwardly hostile stage presence of the guitarist being a dead ringer for that of Unsane’s own Chris Spencer.

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With slight frontman James stalking the area in front of the band in a pair of strides best described as davidbowieinlabyrinthesque, I felt that a more physical manifestation of the anger generated by the music was lacking. A more imposing, direct performance would have only made this show more memorable, although the early start time meant that the crowd was still filing through throughout their set (I’ve heard tales of riotous past performances when the ‘Teat are more in their element). Despite this being my first exposure to the band, I was greatly impressed by them, and their relentless, snub-nosed racket made for a great start to the evening.

Una Corda have remained on the fringes of the Birmingham scene for the best part of five years now, and have always been a welcome addition to many previous Capsule shows. It had been at least a couple of years since I last saw them, and I’m pleased to report that nothing has gone amiss, Una Corda remain arguably one of the best proponents of this whole post-rock, post-metal sound that Birmingham have to offer.

With a lineup five-deep, boasting two guitars, two basses, drums and no vocals, Una Corda choose instead to utilize every inch of their instruments to tell their stories. And stories indeed they are, with basses being used for both intricacies and rumble, and guitars for both roar and effect. Layers of melody are lashed to skilfully tense rhythmic pillars, slowly and deliberately adding depth and suspense, yet remaining rigidly tuneful throughout.

With songs so densely composed there is precious little opportunity for boredom to creep in, which is to be applauded given the length and complexity of their tunes, demonstrating the songwriting nous on display. If the rumours are to be believed that this was one of Una Corda’s final shows, then it will be a sad day indeed if they do go their separate ways.

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With the unfortunate cancellation of local mathrockers Calvados Beam Trio leaving a gaping hole in the lineup for a lot of people, it was left to Health & Efficiency to attempt to fill the void. Leading nicely on from Una Corda, Health & Efficiency were soliciting a similar post-rock type thang, rounding off UC’s more metallic elements, and replacing with some aching, mournful melancholia. With a melodica (keyboard with mouthpiece — regards to Google!) taking a central role in the earlier songs, it brought to mind some of the more doleful moments of the Dead Mans Shoes soundtrack — always a plus point to these ears.

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The amount of members didn’t quite equal the most dynamic stage presence, but the introduction of banjos and Page-esque guitar/violin interaction kept things interesting. I have to admit that halfway through their set, my mind started to wander, as the close musical proximity to that of Una Corda meant that the last hour of music or so seemed to merge into one, although I’d definitely be interested in hearing more from these guys in the future.

And so to Modified Toy Orchestra, the billed headliners actually appearing before PCM which thankfully ensured I’d finally get to see them after being a staple of Capsules shows over the past decade, including a slot at the inaugural Supersonic fest in 2003. Featuring mainman Brian Duffy, and an assemblage of bandmates, MTO are arguably amongst the most unique and definitely amongst the most innovative acts around, their angle being that all of their output is processed through, well, modified toys.

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Salvaged from car boots and charity shops, an array of Speak n’ Spells, plastic guitars, space rockets and Barbie dolls had been interfered with and re-approximated into instrumentation that formed the basis for MTO’s atmospheric and interesting electronica. The fact that Duffy and his co-conspirators manage to craft arresting, hooky tunes from such left-of-centre equipment is to be celebrated and a real shot in the arm for fans of musical individuality, no matter how eccentric the initial notion may be.

Bathed under the glow of a projected backdrop, all five members of the orchestra were uniformly lined up with their various playthings in front of them, giving a real big-time performance feel to their set. Considering how impressive the output of their respective devices, to imagine the hours of hard work building the things, of the sheer circuit-mangling genius that constructed them, is both staggering and humbling.

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By this time, I unfortunately had to leave before the dark lords of Birmingham drum n’ bass PCM took to the stage to finish off the party, but their top billing was warranted for being around for as long as Capsule have put on shows, and their unwavering desire to expand their boundaries and explore new horizons, as evidenced so memorably in their noted past performances with Bolt Thrower vocalist Karl Willetts.

This night, more so than any other over the past fortnight saw conversation with friends take on a much more nostalgic bent, with topics veering from the earliest (Billy Mahonie & Calvados Beam Trio, 2000) to the most memorable (probably the Capsule And Cake show that took place at the Electric Cinema) Capsule shows over the past decade. It was remarkable to trace a timeline back over the past ten years to the shows that I saw, that got me into so many new bands that opened up new music scenes for me to explore and meet new friends and acquaintances. This expanding of scope correlated almost exactly with the respective highs and lows throughout Capsule’s ten-year career, and I suppose at this point it’s only right to thank Capsule for all the moments that have shaped my life over the past decade, for getting my band/s to play so many fantastic gigs and to give us the opportunity to create some of our most memorable experiences of our musical career. Thanks for Shellac. For Lightning Bolt. For the Oxes shows and all the other unforgettable nights at the Jug of Ale. For Supersonics gone and those to come. And finally, just thanks for giving some of my favourite bands the opportunity to perform on my doorstep. Here’s to the next ten years!

THUMB

Review – Duncan Wilkins
Photos – Katja Ogrin

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