TOM VEK looks happy and relaxed. Born to it. He should be happy, given the sold out Louisiana tonight and his debut album only just in the shops.. I'm enjoying it too, despite being completely knackered - his enthusiasm is infectious, and he's obviously confident of what he's doing. Look at the way he's bopping about the stage, swinging that bass guitar around. The way he sings oozes confidence too, happy to repeat certain words over and over, not worried about having to say too much..
What I like about the Vek sound is the relative absence of top-end, mainly due to the use of two basses, one played by Tom himself and one by his mate stage left. This gives plenty of room for the vocals to stand out, rather than having to struggle against a wall of guitars.. The songs themselves mostly follow a similar pattern, looping bass lines reminding me of Talking Heads, or Pere Ubu maybe.
But there is a downside here, a reason why I left the gig feeling faintly disappointed. You see, the way the band plays reflects the fact that these songs were written and recorded alone - you get the feeling there is very little room for manoeuvre, that everyone is playing exactly what they've been told to play, that individual expression is, well not necessarily frowned upon, but not even contemplated. Towards the end I'm dying for them to let go a bit, loosen up and really go for it - but it never happens. The first song in the set might just as well have been the last - both were played with the same exacting precision.
|
There's no real upping of the temperature, as if the whole show is somehow limited by an invisible ceiling - which is ironic, given the venue is the new look Louisiana with its claustrophobic false roof and walls - so I'm left thinking that this is a good beginning, but there's an awful lot more to come from Tom Vek, and he's going to need to loosen his grip a bit to really achieve his full potential as a live experience.
|
