Letham Nights #25 – Ambulances, Plum, Davy Saus
A change is as good as a rest as we always say and Letham Nights 25 was the proof of the matter. As the buses rolled into the carpark a veritable platoon of new faces thronged into our wee hall to supplement the usual good time girls and guys.
First up was Davy Saus. The last time Davy played for us it was only his second gig ever. He has obviously used the intervening time well and delivered a top set. His fan club were also in excellent voice particularly during ‘Sunshine’ which segued craftily into Walk On The Wild Side and back again almost before anyone had noticed. Indeed, Davy was so well received that he wasn’t allowed to leave right away and answered our calls for one more song with a brilliant cover of All Along The Watchtower. There is, as they say, only one Davy Sausage!
After Davy came the unimpeachable Plum. Plum (aka Shona Maguire) combines stunning crystalline vocals with layers of electronica and instrumentation to stunning, haunting effect. Playing songs from her latest concept album ‘The Seed’ Shona was joined tonight by the almighty Martin Sweeny who was in charge of macbook and other gadgets. Shona’s nuanced guitar picking complemented the moody bleeps and beats then gave way to the heavy four on the floor stomp of Dirt which in turn morphed into single (and internet sensation) ‘The Seed’ complete with ‘phat’ bassline. At times the vocals become chorally epic and at others the whole thing threatened to break out into a dub riot. Hard house beats in six eight time gave the anoraks something to chew over too. With this much class on display it was no surprise that an encore was called for and Plum did not disappoint. ‘Claw dancing’ was another novel twist to the evening and the climax with full on beats and pieces and cutting and scratching left the dance floor buzzing.
It’s not all about the music of course. Special mention must go to the hardest working bar staff in gigland who kept the Clap & Tipple marching along in spite of having to press gang the major part of the crew at short notice. Also, The Doorstep Bakery kept the excellent pizzas and garlic bread coming with satisfying regularity. Nice!
Ambulances returned to Letham Nights for the first time since 2009. The effortlessly cool five piece combine three part harmonies with a laid back delivery which at first impresses and then charms and delights. Playing songs from latest album ‘Flying Simply Explained’ and first album ‘The Future That Was’ simple guitar parts and backbeat drumming sit easily next to recorded electronic parts and give the accomplished songwriting room to breathe. The male/female vocal dynamic including classic call and response lines call to mind Spiritualized or Pixies at their most laid back. Single ‘Feeling Sick’s reggae guitar lines had the LN faithful sweating and swaying with delight and the inevitable encore filled the floor and called to mind nothing so much as T-Rex. Good times!
