This week I’ve been to see a couple of shows - pretty different to each other in artistic scope. On Tuesday I went to Sheffield to watch Napalm Death (and the full blistering package of bands they have on tour with them), and last night I went to see Jo Quail in Manchester.  I am a little short on time this week, so I’ll keep this quite brief.
Napalm Death - as a band - are older than I am, so it’s not incorrect to say that they’ve been around for as long as I can remember. The first time I saw them live was April 2001 and they blew my mind. There are quite a few former members of Napalm Death, but bar one change  - John Cooke now plays guitar rather than Mitch Harris - the band I saw on Tuesday was the essentially the same as the one I saw almost 23 years ago. And their live performance is as electrifying now as I remember it being back then too; maybe they’ve slowed down a little or their bones are a bit creakier now perhaps - but so have I, so are mine.
I have seen Napalm many times over the years, and had the good fortune to work with them tangentially. When Mick Kenney from Anaal Nathrakh and Napalm Death’s bass player, Shane Embury started their own label, I was their publicist. I once worked on some Napalm Death reissues and worked with Mick Harris, their former drummer, who asked me with a straight face if I could get him an interview in Angling Times (dear reader, I tried, but I am sad to report that I failed).  Anyway, our paths have criss-crossed a few times over the years, and I am grateful to know them - even more so, I am grateful that they remain a powerhouse; a beacon of light and longevity in an increasingly fickle music scene.Â
They have played with vast numbers of other bands over the years, but to my eye it seems like they really put some effort into putting together great touring packages these days. Whether that is solely because they see newer or younger bands they want to champion or because they know not to take an audience for granted, I don’t know.  On this current UK run they have Wormrot, Primitive Man and Pig Destroyer with them, a thunderously good line up in my opinion. A strong favourite remains the tour they did with Lock Up, Brujeria and Power Trip - a line up that saw Shane playing no less than three sets (presumably he had a lie down during Power Trip).Â
Because they’ve been there for as long as I can remember, and possibly as long as you can remember too, it would be easy to assume they’ll always be there, a part of the furniture. There’s just two dates left on this tour, but I’ll be going to see them again tomorrow night because for as good as they are on record, not much beats seeing Napalm Death live. So, I urge you to see them whenever and wherever you get the chance to do so. One day we might not be lucky enough to have the option.Â
Last night was a more sedate affair, with - no offence, Napalm Death - nicer frocks.  I went to see cellist, Jo Quail. Whilst it’s accurate to call her a cellist - it is the only instrument she has on stage with her, after all - it doesn’t quite do justice to what she’s capable of with just that one instrument. Having a brain that works in a mathematical realm as well as a seemingly free-wheeling creative space, Jo is a master of not only her instrument but of looping, timing and making beautifully layered sounds. She is practically a one-woman orchestra; watching her perform is mesmerising as she taps, strokes, tickles and strikes her cello, eliciting beats, drones, rumbles and majestic, sweeping orchestration.
I have questioned my understanding of genre boundaries before in these newsletters; sometimes the skip from one to another is so obfuscated it’s easier to ignore them entirely. Jo makes music that bears the hallmarks of classical music - a cello sounds so formal and proper - but she infuses it with her enthusiasm and love for contemporary sounds, which makes her output so engaging and so vital. If you’ve seen her name before, it’s highly likely that it’s been alongside someone else’s name, she is in demand as a musical comrade - her contributions to others’ music is distinctive. But to view Jo as merely an adjunct to someone else’s output is doing her a wild disservice; her talents really bloom when given the opportunity to do so. As much as she is a captivating solo performer, she has an incredible imagination that could make use of any sound, instrument or performer that is thrown her way - I have no doubt about it.Â
What a time to be alive; what a treat to be here surrounded by the music of such illuminating and treasured talents. Let’s not take any of them for granted.
That’s all I have for now.Â
~BeckyÂ
Image below shows Jo Quail on stage at the Deaf Institute, Manchester
Jo Quail is astonishing, thanks once again for the pointer!