Slow Club - Me and You
How lovely are Slow Club? I came across them supporting Au Revoir Simone last year, they were having a really bad day and seemed really flustered - but they were so lovely and apologetic about it, which made everyone who was watching instantly take a like to them, giving them sofly spoken sentances of encouragement between songs.
They’re a two piece, bloke who sings and plays guitar, girl who sings and plays the chair - a wooden chair with slats - for the rhythm. And bottles filled to different levels to make different notes. It’s exactly like what school orchestras should have been like.
Me and You is a fantastic song, with both singing and then taking turns over the quieter bits. It’s cute, and also a little bit like The Moldy Peaches. It doesn’t have a huge dance beat but you could certainly have a little shuffle to it.
The video is on YouTube too. It might have been cute-ified it up a little too much though, which worries me a bit. Like the thought process goes “they’re quite sweet - so the video has to have skating and balloons”.
I seem to remember them having more good songs in their arsenal too so I’m definitely looking forward to future releases.
November 8th, 2007 at 12:14 pm
Nice people and lovely music, but don’t hold your breath on them playing the Autumn Store. I hear they’ve got some daft manager who wants to play the industry game and won’t let them play DIY popshows. Gah!
November 8th, 2007 at 1:26 pm
I did ask too, because I really really really wanted them to play at The Autumn Store (and still do) - but their guarantee was a bit out of my comfort zone. I was quite gutted by that.
I hope that this manager thing isn’t true, I don’t understand why bands/managers would take an anti-DIY gig stance in this day and age. If you’re offered a DIY gig, as far as I can see there are two options which you could take -
1) take the gig. This gives you the opportunity to play in a different city, maybe make your money back but certainly not make a huge loss. This is outweighed by having a lot of fun, and getting out there and playing a gig to some people who like your music.
2) not take the gig. This gives you the opportunity to… well, certainly not gain further exposure for your band. At least you’ll be by the phone if a ‘big’ promoter books you for a cavernous venue, or as support for a tour.
Either way, the work of DIY and ‘big’ promoters isn’t mutually exclusive and taking a DIY gig will certainly help you if you do show up in a larger venue 6 months later.
Genuinely good luck to them though; they seemed like really nice people when I bought merch off them, and their music deserves to be heard by more people.
November 12th, 2007 at 11:07 am
[quote]taking a DIY gig will certainly help you if you do show up in a larger venue 6 months later.[/quote]
You’d think so, wouldn’t you? But these Manager types seem to see it differently. They appear to work on the assumption that playing DIY gigs irredeemably stigmatises a band as belonging to the toilet circuit, and once you’ve played for, say, Spiral Scratch or Daisydaisy then the Industry will have nothing to do with you, ever. And maybe they’re right; certainly the NME won’t go anywhere near our circuit and ‘our’ bands, and the NME is now just a compliant publicity vehicle for the Industry, of course. Either way it still sucks a big fat one.