Music Matters

Since the death of Mark.E.Smith, The Brian Jonestown Massacre have now taken the place of The Fall as a band I see most regularly. Playing  a few  surprise UK shows before a set at Glastonbury, it was great  to see the  band playing to a pretty packed crowd, close up, in an intimate venue. Despite the intimacy, Anton Newcombe may have sung “three words you have spoken” in the epic Nevertheless , but not one word or acknowledgment to the crowd was forthcoming from him. This aloofness adds to a moody and at times edgy performance.  Alongside other regular members, a shadowy guitar tech/ roadie in a wide brimmed hat comes and goes somewhat mysteriously in the background.  Kicking off with the driving Maybe Make It Right , Newcombe directs with his guitar from the right of the stage, while the only other original member, percussionist Joel Gion, remains static, like Liam Gallagher, with tambourine and shaker.   Newcombe’s whiny vocals are sometimes l...