Johnny Leiteria from Tuff Sunshine has been trying to get me to see him live for a while, this week I finally managed to get along to see his latest tour, when it arrived in Lower Clapton. The first act I saw was Michael Plater who was playing the first show on his current European tour having come all the way from Melbourne Australia.
Michael opened his set by apologising for being yet another Australian act playing in town, in this case he had managed to pull about twice as many fans, as the first Australian act I ever saw The Moodists did about 41 years ago, probably as many as the Celibate Rifles did the first time they played Dingwalls, a far larger venue than Biddle Bros.
Michael opened with The Alchemist played on his 12-string guitar and drone box, it was built around the Venus In Furs drone, with his deep vocals in the vein on Dave Graney. He dedicated The Officers Mess to Jason no 1, it was a very involved tale with a good few twists in its dark telling. Over Now kept the darkness close by, another relationship foundering on the rocks of slow mordant droning 12 string acoustics.
Rings Of Smoke were blown over us like Michael wanted to be sucking Sally inside, his slightly twisted antipodean reimagining of the central Sister Ray riff and drone. Jason No 2 arrived in time for Against The Sky to be dedicated to him, while being mystified as to why he was Jason No 2, no Mr Donovan wasn't in the house, this again made me think of Dave Graney's downbeat sad Laments. Michael closed singing about a dead reckoning, while Dreaming Of The Sea the imagery was stark and windblown, he hit the effect pedal marked "Normal Australian volume" that made it twice as loud, but still quiet by Auzzie standards, during the effects strewn conclusion to his cool, set.
After the break it was time for the solo version of Tuff Sunshine with Johnny Leitera having come all the way from Bushwick in New York to promote last year's Vanity Matrix album. He opened with Let 'Em In picking and strumming away on an acoustic guitar and some effects, this has a slight pained intensity, it led straight into Thank The Pilot from Vanity Matrix, that in the last couple of years has become something to be more thankful for, when that pilot lands safely once more, no matter how much Johnny begs "please don't stop me", he's not sure if the Scaffolding will hold or is everything about to collapse around us.
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Johnny encouraged us to gather round children at the start of The Story Ends like it was a fireside chat, accompanied by intense acoustic strumming, that felt like a phantom limb embrace. I Don't Feel Like Singing was the poppiest song of the evening, that could easily have call and response parts in a larger setting. Flat Rat had all the foreboding and worry that Mark Lanegan talked about while describing the rats living under the floorboards of his Seattle pad, it sounds like they could be related to those New York rats too. Reflections of getting older were to the fore on All My Best Laps Are Behind Me that at least acknowledges you need to slow the pace as you grow older. Shells had Johnny speaking to himself again, while reaching for suitably introspective notes on his guitar. He closed with Whispering as he wondered just what makes you tick, this was a cool laid-back set.
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