LIVE (Photos): The Songs Of Joni Mitchell – Roundhouse, London (18.04.2024)

As someone who has felt inspired and in awe of Joni Mitchell for the last thirty years, counting Ladies Of The Canyon as one of my most played records, I was extremely excited to see that there was a whole event dedicated to her and her incredible songwriting. Lovingly curated by Lail Arad, ‘The Songs Of Joni Mitchell’ took place at prestigious London venue The Roundhouse last Thursday 18th April, and offered a truly heartwarming ode to the music of one of the world’s most inspirational artists.

The evening begins with a soaring rendition of ‘Woodstock’ by the Roundhouse Vocal Ensemble – a choir formed of people aged between 18 – 25, with a passion for singing (just one of the Roundhouse’s innovative initiatives to get young people involved in the arts). Oozing a colourful charisma and impassioned energy, the collective provide the perfect start to what’s going to be a magical night.

After our charming host Cerys Matthews gives us a little insight – explaining that the song was written by Joni after she had wanted to go to the infamous Woodstock festival, but wasn’t allowed by her manager -, Olivia Chaney takes her place at the pristine grand piano to deliver the title track of Mitchell’s 1971 album Blue. Exuding her rich, crystalline vocals, she adds a distinct sparkling emotion, whilst maintaining the captivating splendour of the original, before being joined on cor anglais and guitar for ‘Amelia’ – the moving tribute to pioneering aviator Amelia Earhart, from 1976 album Hejira.

After some endearing gushing from Chaney and Matthews about the wonder of Joni Mitchell, and how she not only wrote songs about pioneering women, but was one herself – steadfast and confident in her capabilities as a female musician and songwriter, at a time when this was often not encouraged -, Sam Amidon is accompanied by the Roundhouse Vocal Ensemble for ‘Shine’. With lyrics such as “shine on lousy leadership, licensed to kill…”, it seems particularly poignant right now, and reflects Mitchell’s ability to address wider issues through her poetic lyricism. Another song which continues to remain relevant over fifty years on is ‘Big Yellow Taxi’; the first song that curator of the evening Lail Arad ever performed in front of an audience, at the age of eleven, she delivers a stirring rendition of it this evening – slowing it down and adding a unique stark emotion. Joined by friends on fiddle and guitar, Arad ups the tempo for another one from Blue, ‘Carey’, a lilting reflection on Mitchell’s time spent immersed in an alternative lifestyle in Crete. And it’s wonderful to see just how much being able to perform the songs of her favourite artist means to Arad; having organised this whole event in celebration of Joni’s 80th birthday (which happens to coincide with her own milestone of turning 40), she explains to Cerys Matthews that she’s been listening to Joni Mitchell since she was in the womb, her face lighting up when talking about this trailblazing artist who has clearly inspired her so hugely.

Next up, Zimbabwe-born-Lewisham-based, Mercury prize nominated, and all-round innovative artist Eska takes to the stage. Accompanied by howls from the Roundhouse Vocal Ensemble and plenty of rippling percussion, she transforms the 1979 Charles Mingus collaboration ‘The Wolf That Lives In Lindsey’ into a chilling cinematic soundscape, before a gloriously uplifting and unifying performance of 1974’s ‘Free Man In Paris’. Reflecting with Cerys Matthews afterwards, she describes Joni Mitchell as “the gift that keeps on giving”; an artist whose meanings continue to morph, and we can continue to grow with and learn from as time goes on. 

Reverting to a more stripped-back sound, 6Music favourite Jesca Hoop delivers a stunningly accurate rendition of Ladies Of The Canyon’s ‘Morning Morgantown’, before a magical ‘Michael From Mountains’, one of Joni’s earliest songs. Another artist clearly in awe of the woman we’re all here to celebrate, Hoop praises Joni’s “guts” and the way in which she always seemed to maintain control of her own life, again at a time when this wasn’t necessarily easy for a young woman to do. Ahead of her own In The Round event tomorrow, esteemed artist Vashti Bunyan sends shivers down the spine with her emotion-strewn delivery of two more from Blue, ‘River’ and – perhaps the most heart-achingly personal of Mitchell’s songs – ‘Little Green’; so moving, in fact, that Bunyan confides in Cerys Matthews that she wasn’t sure if she was going to be able to make it through it.

Whilst clearly a little nervous, Kate Stables (This Is The Kit) embraces the challenge of playing an Appalacian Dulcimer (made by her father!), in true Joni style, to deliver an exquisite ‘A Case Of You’; highlighting the intricacies of Mitchell’s songwriting whilst adding her own distinctive soothing energy and beautifully heartfelt vocals, it triggers a few rogue tears that I’ve been attempting to hold back all evening. Maintaining the blissful vibes, Kate is then joined on stage by Lail and Jesca, treating us to a very special acapella version of ‘Raised On Robbery’, oozing all the exquisite harmonies and rich bluesy goodness you could ever desire. Echoing the consistent sentiment of the evening, when chatting to Cerys Matthews, Stables describes Joni Mitchell as an “excellent badass role model”, explaining how she went against a lot of grains, and really was “punk before punk”. A perfect reflection I feel, as – despite her seemingly timid demeanour – Mitchell never lost sight of what she wanted to achieve, pushing forwards through the obstacles of a sexist music industry, continuing to inspire and motivate marginalised artists to this day.

As we near the end of the evening, esteemed Scottish artist Emeli Sandé takes a seat at the piano to deliver a unique take on Blue’s ‘This Flight Tonight’. Exuding Sandé’s soaring, impassioned vocals, it showcases the graceful splendour that Mitchell was able to create with a stirring majestic power, before launching into ‘Both Sides Now’. And then, during the last of the Cerys reflections of the night, Sandé shares that she only discovered Joni Mitchell when she was 21 and proceeded to fully immerse herself; playing Blue on repeat for seven hours whilst on a train journey up to Scotland, and being instantly captivated by how perfectly the poetry matched the music.

Closing the night as we began, the Roundhouse Vocal Ensemble take centre stage for Ladies Of The Canyon’s final track, ‘The Circle Game’. A truly joyous end to what’s been a moving and magical evening. A perfect celebration of Joni Mitchell – a woman not only inspiring for her innovative songwriting and beautifully distinctive vocals, but for her strength and determination; her understated power and consistent resolve. I could write pages about how special Joni is, but thankfully all the wonderful artists at this incredibly lovely event did that for me through their heartfelt and intricate performances. Thank you to all involved, and especially to Lail Arad putting it all together. Find out more about her and her reasons for curating the event in our recent interview.

Words: Mari Lane / @marimindles
Photos: Paul Dawes / @GRNDglass

mariangelicalane1 Comment

Five Favourites: pink suits

Having released their blazing debut, Political Child, back in 2021, Margate duo pink suits have now just released their second album. Inspired by the relentless over saturation of bleak news cycles, Dystopian Hellscape may be a little more self-reflective, silly and sexy than its predecessor, but loses none of the band’s politically aggressive, anti-Tory, anti-Fascist, Feminist Queer Energy. Inspired by a newspaper article entitled The News Comes So Often, It Makes You Sick, Dystopian Hellscape explores the effects of modern society and neoliberal politics on our mental health with pinks suits’ trademark tenacious spirit and raw musicality. Reflecting on the sense of confusion and frustration that comes with the over-saturation of scandal and disaster within mainstream media, the album also discusses themes of self-care, grief, gender identity, sexuality, queer joy and – of course – coffee. From the riotous power of searing rallying cry ‘Refuse The Rules’, and the fiercely uncompromising reclamation of being confident in who you are, ‘Are You Gay Yet?’, the album showcases pink suits’ ability to channel frustration into a perfect raging catharsis. 

We think one of the best ways to get to know a band is by asking what music inspires them. So, to celebrate the release of the Dystopian Hellscape, I caught up with Ray and Lennie to find out about the music that inspires them the most. Read about their five favourite albums, watch the video for recent single ‘C.O.F.F.E.E‘ and make sure you check out the full album on bandcamp now!

The Runaways – The Runaways
The Runaways’ debut album, which was released in 1976, is one of my fave albums of all time, as well as being a huge influence on the kind of music I (Ray) wanted to make when we started pink suits. I think I discovered The Runaways when I was about 14 and got completely obsessed with them. I think the fact that they were so young on this record, and when I found them I was also so young, it gave me a radical feeling of possibility. Which when you’re 14 feels pretty wild! I think I immediately assembled a band of misfits and people I thought could kick-off pretty well given the chance, which we were all extremely excited about and equally I think all knew it was never actually gonna happen. I loved the uninhibited energy they had, and I’m still waiting for my front-man moment – out from behind the drums! I wanna be front and centre, swinging the mic around and working the crowd.

** Sadly and disappointedly, it turns out Cherie Currie is a massive terf! But Joan Jett is still an icon, so we can breathe easy for that! Although this album and The Runaways will always be a big influence on us as a band we cannot support anyone with transphobic views. We have played ‘Cherry Bomb’ for the last time…

Amyl and The Sniffers – Big Attraction and Giddy Up
This album was one of the biggest references of sound for Dystopian Hellscape. Everyone went mad for Comfort To Me, which is a great album, but we think Big Attraction and Giddy Up is the most exciting LP. It is 2 EPs – Giddy Up was written and released all in a 12 hour time span, and then Big Attraction was written later that year. You can get the LP of both of these EPs together (though it has just disappeared from Spotify?). We love this LP, it feels so rough and ready. Amy is such a force as a front person and we love the energy they bring every time; you can feel it through the record just as much as you do live, which is definitely something we strive for as well. We find recording hard because of the challenge of getting the live feel and energy across. Not that many bands manage it, but we think Big Attraction and Giddy Up really feels like the live band.

Allison Russell – Outside Child
This debut album from Allison Russell came out in 2021, and is probably our most listened to album of all time. I think we listened to it a few times a day everyday for over a year – the best thing that we did during lockdown! It’s just incredible. It is a very personal and heart wrenching album about trauma, childhood, love, loss, growth, and her voice is just amazing. We have had the chance to see her live a couple times and wept throughout the whole show; honestly one of the most stunning humans to see. The content of the music is often quite heavy, but she is able to bring a joy and lightness to it. We love her so much!

https://youtube.com/watch?v=RNJgwj8d9eo%3Fsi%3DW4cXc3dZz6viy_b7

Orville Peck – Pony
As some of you probably know, when we aren’t being a punk band we are full country babes – we run a night called Queer Cuntry, and we owe a lot of that to Orville Peck. We got immediately obsessed with him as soon as we heard this debut album of his, he really brought back a sort of old country sound which is the style of country music we love. He is also just very camp and queer and theatrical, which we relate to in a lot of ways. This album and the music videos and performances we saw from him were pretty incredible; he combines a sort of cinematic storytelling with camp aesthetics in a way that just works. There’s no fighting it! He also used to be in a punk band and trained in ballet, so really we are kindred spirits in so many ways. We saw him four times in 2019, and the live shows are so much fun. Queer Cuntry has taken off in a big way for us (we are bringing it to Chaka Khan’s Meltdown Festival in June!), and Pony was the album that gave us a kick up the ass and made us start doing country.
(You can catch pink suits in their country guise supporting Dolly Parton tribute band The Dumb Blondes on 19th July at Sebright Arms – tickets are already moving quick, so don’t miss out!)

Bob Vylan – We Live Here
This is another album that we absolutely rinsed when it came out. As soon as we heard the title track we were obsessed, and then we got the whole album and every song is fucking killer. This was such an inspiring album as we were putting together our debut album political child and were thinking about how aggressively violent and political it was; we were not worried about saying what we wanted to say, but we were curious how it would land as we were not hearing that much new music that was so full of rage. Then we heard We Live Here and we were like YES! Let’s fucking go with this angry and violent protest album! I used to go running and listen to political child straight into We Live Here to see if our album stood up next to the Bobbys… We think it does, and we got to support Bob Vylan in Ramsgate a year later, and the live show is just so so good! These guys give it absolutely everything and deserve all the success they are having.

We just realised we have a kink for debut albums! I guess that makes sense, it is so exciting to see how a new artist chooses to burst into the world. All of the subsequent material from these artists is amazing too, but clearly we love that first fresh taste. 

Massive thanks to pink suits for sharing their Five Favourites with us! Make sure you check out their full new album, Dystopian Hellscape, now. And catch them live across the country over the next few months, including at Cro Cro Land in South London this Saturday, 13th April.



mariangelicalaneLeave a comment

Five Favourites: Jess Ribeiro

Having shared stages with the likes of Angel Olsen and Nick Cave, Australian artist Jess Ribeiro is now set to release her new album, Summer Of Love, next month. Written during a time of instability and reflecting on themes of isolation and loss, the emotion rich splendour of her vocals shine throughout, offering a glimmer of hope during uncertain times. As her poignant lyricism ripples alongside a glistening yet gritty musicality, the album showcases Ribero’s ability to create stirring heartfelt anthems with a captivating grace.

We think one of the best ways to get to know an artist is by asking what music inspires them. So, to celebrate the upcoming release of the new album, I caught up with Jess to find out about the music that inspires her the most. Read about her five favourite albums and watch the video for recent single ‘Everything Is Now‘ below!

George Rrurrambu and Birdwave – Baru
I first heard this record in the Northern Territory when I lived in Darwin, and spent lot of time touring remote and outback locations. My bass player at the time started this group with his brother as well as with the legend George Rrurrambu, a famous Indigenous musician who performed in the Warmupi Band in the ’70s/’80s. George was known for his rock music, singing in Yolngu Mate (his mother tongue), as well as English, but in this outfit it’s more reggae with his trance like singing in Yolngu Mate. I love when artists are open to experimenting with different genres and, as a songwriter, I really like writing songs in all styles. Sometimes it doesn’t work, but this combination works for sure. I hold this album in my heart as one of the greatest Australian albums of all time. It’s very hard to get a physical copy of it, but look it up on YouTube. 

PJ Harvey – Dry
When I was 13 I bought a black and white tv for $5.00 from a second hand store. I set it up in my bedroom and invited a friend over for a sleep over so we could watch RAGE, the weekend music program that started at midnight. Led Zeppelin came on which was cool, but then the music clip for the song ‘Dress’ by PJ Harvey came on and changed my world. The song blew my mind. It made me feel crazy. The strings at the end were a revelation as I was a very lazy learner (of the violin), and the song gave me hope that maybe I didn’t have to read the music and play nicely. There is a sexy guitar line in the instrumental section and still to this day I want to listen to that song on repeat. I lived in a small town where it was hard to access music, but I somehow managed to borrow Dry from an older girl at school and I taped it onto cassette. A friend’s older sister showed me how to play some chords on the guitar and eventually I taught myself how to play the song ‘Joe’. Soon after, I gave up violin and moved to writing songs and playing guitar.

Kate Bush – Hounds Of Love
I listened to a lot of my dad’s records growing up and was particularly drawn to his Kate Bush collection. An art teacher discovered I was a fan and gave me lots of videos, CDs and books on Kate Bush and Wilhelm Reich to study and read. Kate Bush wrote a song about Reich called ‘Cloudbusting’. The cloudbusting machine was created by Reich, who believed he could release orgasmic energy into the air which would dissolve pollution and stop war. He was jailed by the American government and his son wrote a book about it called ‘A Book of Dreams’. That’s what the song Cloudbusting is about. Each track on this record is a story condensed into a song; Kate Bush is a very good storyteller,songwriter, dancer and actor. I’d love to get better at bringing these elements into my writing.

Patti Smith – Horses
I was sitting in a circle with some girlfriends getting stoned one day after school, and someone put on the album Horses. I started tripping out to the lyrics; it made me feel rebellious and made me want to be a poet. The album was produced by John Cale, whose music I now deeply love, he is also part of the Lou Reed, Velvet Underground lineage. This album influenced me to be who I am and work with what I have, which is a short attention span and not much interest in premeditating production. I love vibing music with a group and being open to spontaneity in the studio. Patti  improvised the lyrics to the song ‘Birdland’ in the studio – they come from ‘A Book of Dreams’ by Peter Reich (she too wrote a song about Reich who made the cloud busting machine!). When I went to university I studied classical music and singing. In my final exam, the teachers told me I was a performance poet more than a technical musician – I took this as a compliment, as I never had any desire to become an opera singer or a classical musician.

Nirvana – MTV Unplugged In New York
I saw this on tv at about 2am in the morning and it became my favourite Nirvana record. Every song is fucking fabulous, including the cover songs by Bowie, Leadbelly, The Meat Puppets and more. I love it when rock artists present stripped back versions of their songs. The harmonies in this live recording are beautiful and there is a cello in there too! This album made me realise a good song is a good song, and I aspire to make a good song that can be performed with a whole band or solo.

Massive thanks to Jess Ribeiro for sharing her Five Favourites! Watch the video for her beautiful single ‘Everything Is Now’ here:

Summer Of Love, the new album from Jess Ribeiro, is set for release on 12th April via Labelman, pre-order here. And she’s coming over to the UK in May – info here.

Photo Credit: Nick Mckk

mariangelicalaneLeave a comment

LIVE (Photos): Grace Petrie – Islington Assembly Hall, 14.03.24

Having last seen Grace Petrie live at local venue Stanley Arts back in 2021, and spoken to her earlier that year, it was great to get the opportunity to see her again – this time with a full live band at Islington Assembly Hall, and oozing even more understated, yet strident, empowering charm than ever before. A truly wonderful and unifying evening, celebrating the release of her new album, Build Something Better (and in anticipation of its exciting top 30 chart position the following day), it was a real pleasure to experience her poignant, politically-charged anthems amongst a filled venue of like-minded individuals. With her lilting folk-strewn musicality elevated and energised with the addition of Robin Gatt on lead guitar, Francesca Knowles on drums, Jasmine Kennedy on bass and Amy Thatcher on accordion, as well as her constant comrade Ben Moss on fiddle, it felt like a particularly special evening; whilst not holding back with addressing issues of urgency with a fierce spirit, Petrie was able to create an atmosphere of joyous warmth and solidarity. Resonant, necessary messages delivered with an infectious energy, inciting us to unite and fight against the forces that seek to oppress us. 

As well as being lucky enough to immerse ourselves in Grace’s live set, we were able to have a quick chat about the new album and tour, see our photos from the night, and snippets from the interview below.

“Build Something Better is probably my most political record for a long while. It was inspired by the general sense of dissatisfaction in modern day Britain, especially the nationalistic undertones that the government are utilising to try and distract from the many ways that people are increasingly unhappy and dissatisfied with living standards here. And that just kind of inspired a lot of angry, political songs.”

“Writing the album, I was very inspired by different folk-rock albums, like Bruce Springsteen’s Wrecking Ball, The Decemberists, and an Australian band called The Maes that I’ve been listening to a lot recently.”

“I’ve been having an amazing time touring it, this is my first time playing with this line-up, and it’s just been absolutely amazing. I couldn’t ask for a better band to lift these songs to an amazing new live level that I’ve never been able to access before. I’ve just been having a really great time!”

GIHE alumni Gabi Garbutt also delivered a really beautiful set as support, before Molly Naylor treated us to her witty and relatable poetry.

Build Something Better, the new album from Grace Petrie, is out now via The Robot Needs Home Collective. And Grace will be heading out to Australia this week for a couple of live dates, before heading back there in May for the Guilty Feminist tour. More info here.

Photo Credit: Paul Dawes / @GRNDglass

mariangelicalaneLeave a comment