The Camden Club, London
Friday, 13th September 2024
PETER CHILVERS
Long time collaborator of Tim Bowness, tonight Peter Chilvers is one man and his heavily reverbed piano. Almost Enoesque, it’s no wonder him and the great man were a perfect match. Bathed in viridian light, gentle cascading notes from another green world caress our ears, so much so that the introduction of electronic rhythm comes as a surprise.
A short but sweet set ends after Tim appears to sing on Things I Won’t Tell You, and together they briefly recreate that special no-man world of wispy forlorn melancholy.
Gathered Into Clouds (from Dust 1)
Improvisation
Things I Want To Tell You (with Tim Bowness)
Peter Chilvers – Keyboards, Subtle Electronics
Tim Bowness – Vocals
TIM BOWNESS & THE BUTTERFLY MIND
The five band members fill the small stage and the crowd whoop their support in welcome. After the briefest period of instrument adjustment they launch straight into Time Travel In Texas. The atmosphere has changed from the appreciative concentration afforded Peter Chilvers to one of fervent anticipation. The song is led by John’s meaty bass line. He also easily wins nattiest dresser of the band. I want that jacket. Hidden in the corner, Andy bangs the drums, powering the thing along.
All The Blue Changes revisits familiar no-man territory. The rhythm section lend it a heavier vibe that enhances what is already a great song. In honour of ‘crapgigs.com’, The Warm-Up Man Forever swings along making a mockery of “everything you shouldn’t do at a gig”, apparently the ethos of the possibly apocryphal ‘crapgigs.com’, according to one of Tim’s trademark mildly sardonic introductions. To quote a friend, and I cannot put it better, Tim’s “playful deadpan humour” was well in evidence throughout. Oh, and Warm-Up Man Forever sees Matt’s first broken string of the night, the enthusiastic plank spanker keeping up a tradition of his own.
Sing To Me highlights Tim’s splendidly mournful voice, and stars a soaring solo from Matt.
At last a track from Powder Dry, Lost/ Not Lost. “We never play tunes from the new album” notwithstanding. It is supposed to be an album launch show, after all! Next is “a post-apocalyptic ballad, written on a ukulele”. Possibly not, but Rainmark carries on Tim’s instantly recognisable style in a genre he makes his own. More skysaw guitar from Matt adds to the song in a manner Phil Manzanera would be proud of, inevitably resulting in another string change!
Tim’s traditional lengthy comic introduction for each band member is well up to par. At least two of the band are now “from Kidderminster”. Matt, who has been sitting down thus far, stands up for the solo in Sweetheart Raw, and thankfully this time, unlike a recent painful experience for the guitarist, there are no suspended TVs to crack his head on! New song Idiots At Large adds in some industrial thrashing, an interesting development in Tim’s sound.
Thirty year old no-man number Mixtaped slows things right down, killing without feeling once again. The Butterfly Mind, despite the delicate nature of the noun, are the heaviest band Tim has thus far assembled, and as a result the stark contrast between the upbeat and downbeat tunes in his repertoire is now more apparent than ever. Another new and fabulous aspect of this combo is John Jowitt’s powerfully funky five-string bass playing, which is well in tandem with Andy Edwards’ muscular drumming. Andy gets quite a few chances to “bang the drum” with compelling effect during the set, o yes! We must also mention Rob Grocutt, whose atmospheric playing is indeed “the glue that holds it all together” as Tim put it. Back to Idiots At Large, which sees Rob leave his keyboard to take up the role of second guitarist as him and Matt thrash the thing to the ground. It seems it is possible to be hammered by fragility!
Last song Things Change sees Matt and his guitar enter another dimension, an excursion during which his glasses attempt to remain in our universe by escaping off the end of his nose! This mesmerising fret wrangling ends with the hapless instrument being chucked on the floor, howling in protest.
There’s an encore of course, an extended one, with three “dark mystical songs”, for before we “leave into the dark mystical night”. A Stand Up For The Dying, one of only three from the new album all night (‘crapgigs.com’ would be in raptures), sees Andy emerge from behind his drum kit to play rhythm guitar. Dark and mystical indeed! We end where we began with a reprise of the alt rock powerhouse Time Travel In Texas, or “Time Travel redux” as the setlist has it.
Powder Dry is an unusual album, but it is also a compelling listen. Recorded solo by Tim it is a different beast to his current live set up, which is taking his music to new places. This scribbler approves!
SETLIST
Films Of Our Youth (intro tape)
Time Travel In Texas
All The Blue Changes
Wherever There Is Light
The Warm-Up Man Forever
Sing To Me
Lost/Not Lost
Rainmark
Sweetheart Raw
Idiots At Large
Mixtaped
Things Change
~ Encore:
Housekeeping
A Stand Up For The Dying
Time Travel redux
MUSICIANS
Tim Bowness – Vocals
Rob Groucutt – Keyboards, Guitar
Matt Stevens – Lead Guitar
John Jowitt – Bass
Andy Edwards – Drums, Guitar
LINKS
Tim Bowness – Website | Facebook | Bandcamp | YouTube | X | Instagram
Facebook (Group) | Facebook Page