Photo: Jim Berman

The night started out with a band called Sing Orpheus, I was late so I didn’t actually see them perform but from what I’ve heard on their myspace page they have an ambient and mysterious sound and are signed to Anthony Langdon’s label, Dilettante Records.

I did manage to catch the second band Unisex Salon and am so glad I did, they put on a phenomenal show! The lead singer Kenyon Phillips had a great energy and reminded me a bit of Iggy Pop with his flailing arms, wiggling dance moves and hands on hips stance. His vocals mixed with female singer Autumn Ready Potter provided refreshing and interesting harmonies throughout the set, the funky disco beats and New York attitude made for a great combination. Songs like ‘What I need’ and ‘Oh, oh, oh, oh’ just make you want to get up and dance! All in all it was a show worth seeing and if, given the chance, I would highly recommend you check out these NYC locals.
To listen go to: www.myspace.com/unisexsalon

The main event of the night was of course the Spacehog reunion show and it would be the first gig they’d played in NYC together since 2002. The guys, a little older and a little wiser came on stage to an atmospheric melody playing on the overhead speakers and to the loud cheers of their adoring fans. They casually picked up their drumsticks and put on their guitars and a moment later the epic sounds of ‘Violet Race’ were vibrating our souls. With the fantastic Richard Steel on lead guitar it was a very memorable moment indeed as the crowd cheered again and immediately started bobbing their heads enthusiastically. Next up, a Teardrop Explodes cover ‘Rewards’, a hard rocking tune that you could dance to with some funky trumpeting that made it stand out from the rest. Their big hit ‘In the Meantime’ followed closely behind and it had the same majestic feeling it had in ’95; big and soaring, there’s never been another song anywhere quite like it. Anthony Langdon took over the vocals from Royston for the next song ‘Spacehog’. It sounded like the bands anthem with lyrics that stated:

Well I’m standing on the launch pad
looking at the stars
waiting for the countdown to begin
I’m not sure where I’m going
I’ve no way of knowing
but when the signal comes
it’s just 5,4,3,2,1
yeah baby I’m a Spacehog

I couldn’t help but think that this was a new beginning for the boys and that in a lot of ways they may be feeling some of the same emotions they had when ‘Resident Alien’ was first released, albeit a lot more experienced and savvy.

Song # 5 was a Queen cover ‘In the Lap of the Gods’ and Royston sat at the keyboards to sing. The song is about forlorn love and incongruities within relationships. It was a hauntingly, beautiful rendition, with a mesmerizing guitar wave and, along with the chorus backing from his band, I would say it was one of the more emotionally charged and powerful moments of the evening.

Song #6 was Ant’s turn to get behind the piano as Roy sang a slowed-down version of his old band Tender Trio’s ‘Cool water’. Inspired and ambient to begin with and ending with funky piano licks, upbeat and happy.

The song afterwards was indeed a real crowd pleaser; ‘Mungo City’ with its sultry rock riffs and laudable lyrics made me question why these boys weren’t as big as Elvis? ‘Isle of Manhattan’ followed with an up-tempo beat and was kind of like a reggae tune speeded up. The drummer, Jonny Cragg brought his best little boy voice to sing the end bit, much to the amusement of their fans.

My personal favourite was the the song ‘ Only a Few’, which actually brought a tear to my eye, ironic considering one of the lines in the song was ‘Big boys don’t cry’, although I’m a woman, so I guess I can get away with it.

‘Space is the Place’ with Ant on lead vocals was to follow and had the crowd jumping. Jonny earned his keep with the relentless beat and kept impeccable time while managing to infuse the song with his stellar drummer stylings, as always. It was closely followed by a new tune, ‘ Love is a Gift’, from the band’s 5th album (the 4th album still to be released by Warner Bros.) they’ve recently finished recording; another larger-than-life melody full of longing and power, with philosophical lyrics like ‘Love is the gift you give yourself’.

They finished the show with a song called ‘The Horror’, and again, the trademark heroic sounds that Royston Langdon produces were evident in its eerie refrain. It was a rock n’ roll poem.

After they left the stage the crowd whooped and cheered for several moments before the band returned to the stage and were greeted by more rapturous applause. ‘Beautiful Girl’ was the first song of three. I don’t know who this pretty, young thing was but she must have been very special to have had such an incredible song written about her. For ‘Germany’ Ant struck his rock star stance and performed lead vocals. It occurred to me that this modern, rocked up melody may have been something the Beatles would have written if they were still together.

The night was finished off by another phenomenal effort ‘Sunset Blvd.’, which I believe is also off of their new album and a magnificent way to complete an incredible evening! The song makes you want to sing and dance and take over the world all at the same time!

It’s been 12 years since I’ve had the opportunity to see these guys play live and on January 16th at Webster Hall the room was electric, the music inspirational and the band on the stage was Spacehog and it was so worth the wait!

To listen go to: http://www.myspace.com/spacehogmusic

Written by: Sarah Radford
Tuesday, January 19/2010

In a departure from last year’s gigs which included songs from Resident Alien and a couple new songs, the Spaceland audience was treated to songs from all three albums as well as Arckid, and Tender Trio tunes. I guess I knew with the opening notes of the first song, Beautiful Girl, that I was going to want to write up something. I’d already enjoyed two other really good bands, The Moor and Sing Orpheus ( http://www.singorpheus.com/home ), talked to Ant briefly in the parking lot, caught up with Caro in the club and enjoyed some quality date time with my husband. So there I was front and to the left of the stage, bopping my head to the music and frantically fishing around the bottom of my purse for a pen and something to take notes on. That is how I ended up with the set list and some very minimal notes scribbled across my palm, over the back of my hand and up the inside of my wrist.

Our location placed us in front of Hansom Pyjama, who living up to his new name, wore his pink striped jammie top. If anyone could carry the look off, it’s Ant and he did it quite well. And what could add to the thrill of seeing Roy, Ant, Jonny and Rich together on stage again? Why, that would be different color lights and flashing, pulsing, swirly images projected onto the stage! Fantastic! This is where I want to babble endlessly in an attempt to convey how absolutely amazing it was to be in the midst of it all, particularly with the familiar chords such as those of Mungo City filling the room, the crowd singing along, swaying together, the colors and lights washing over everything. Very Alice In Wonderland as the packed room felt bigger than it had before yet at the same time my close proximity to the stage making it feel small and intimate. Joining the band on stage for some songs were a violinist named Daphne and a fellow named Marlon on trumpet. I know I raved about the shows last year and meant every word of praise but now it feels as if those shows were just a warm up for Friday nights performance.

I’d be really hard pressed to pick a favorite out of Friday’s set. It was fun to hear a new one, Wish You Well, but of course there were also old favorites. Space Is The Place hands down is always the one that I want to hear most. Not to take it for granted that it will be played, but to be honest, I do kind of expect it and would really disappointed if it wasn’t. Of course I wasn’t disappointed. A song that I didn’t expect to hear, and couldn’t have been happier about was Cool Water, a Tender Trio song, that I first heard on Youtube. As was true with a few of the songs, in this one Ant set aside his guitar to play keyboard. Hearing some of the unreleased songs, just made me long all the more to one day find them on a CD. Without being redundant and going down the entire set list insisting that each song was my very favorite (because I could easily do that), songs that come to mind when I think back were Germany (an Arckid song with Ant on vocals), The Horror, and Zeroes, both in which Roy’s voice is truly mesmerizing. It was also pretty cool to hear a cover of The Teardrop Explodes’ Reward.

After Wish You Well, (a new song that I hope makes it to that fourth album that we’re always wishing for), there was that moment of sadness in which good nights and thank yous are said and the band leaves the stage. I dared to wish for an encore but then so did everyone else. The people on the other side of the stage must have seen the door behind the stage better than my side did because I could hear cheering in that direction and out came Spacehog again! Lucky thing too, because I think some of us would have stood there until we were thrown out waiting and hoping.

It was a song I love! Lucy’s Shoe was performed with Royston at the keyboard this time and Ant on Roy’s bass. And just as that song was finishing, I realized that the chances were good that there would indeed be one more song. How could they not play In the Meantime? I’d been so enjoying all the unexpected songs that I’d not realized until I heard murmurs in the audience that it hadn’t been played yet. As those familiar beginning notes were played, Roy quiped that he wasn’t sure if he remembered how to play this one. Anyone just coming in off the street would have thought it was the band’s first song of the night with the amount of energy coming off the stage and the hollering and singing from the crowd. It was a fantastic way to end the show and I can only hope it left the band wanting to do it all again soon as much as the fans did.

Anyone can stop reading here and not miss anything about the gig itself.

I just want to add that it was great seeing Caro again. We said good bye and laughed about the writing all over my hand which is now memorialized with one of her famous Poloroids. Like always my husband and I were rushing off to pick up the kids (and already late at that). We were about 10 minutes down the freeway when we realized that ohhhhhhhhhh fuuuuuuuck, the credit card was still at the bar and so we found ourselves back at Spaceland again. Hi Hi again Caro, card safe in hand and back out just in time for some conversation in front of the club with Ant (another person who it is always great talking to). Finally as we headed to the parking lot for the second time that night, we had a chance to wave good night to Rich and tell him the show was awesome.

Set list

Beautiful Girl
Reward
Mungo City
The Isle of Manhattan
Spacehog
Cool Water
Space Is The Place
Zeroes
The Sunset Boulevard
Germany
Wish You Well

Encore:
Lucy’s Shoe
In The Meantime