On 11th November 2007 at 00:09 thirties wrote...
"For all his youth... he does not fail to disappoint". What a shame. He was fantastic at the Fav a couple of months back, and that was before he invested in the all-in-one Spiderman get-up, too!
Lightspeed Champion
Live at Cockpit on Sunday, 7th October 2007
Whether it was the presupposed idea that Lightspeed Champion would be akin to Dev's former insane, urchin punk band Test Icicles, or the belief that such a gig would only attract indie scene kids, The Cockpit was looking bare... a bit too bare. Surely if just a few more people had done their homework and realised that it was to be an evening of eclectic folk mixed with a spider man all-in-one suit, it would have, excuse the term, turned into a hoedown.
Fresh from roadying the bands' kit with Dev and Ox.Eagle.Lion.Man, Martin Bignall of Train Chronicles takes to the stage for the first smattering of folk come bluegrass. Despite being very much a one-man-band on recordings, the addition of a violinist proves to be dynamite as he bumbles/rumbles through the set with lyrics that, although seem to suggest a troubled young heart, actually suggest a darkly comic preoccupation with death to the soundtrack of a banjo.
In the same vein as superheroes, Dev disappears towards the end of the set, reappearing rather err... inconspicuously on stage as his alter ego, Spiderman. For all of Lightspeed Champion's youth he does not fail to disappoint with his folk/blues strums against raucous and thoroughly urbanite lyrics. His cover of Heart in a Cage brings Ox.Eagle.Lion.Man's Frederick to his side, for a reworking and mastering of one of the most underrated rock songs, but it's Midnight Surprise that steals the show. A near ten minute tear thief, even with what Dev calls his somewhat "amateur" keyboard skills. Seamless between his switching from guitar to keyboard, his earnest tone (quite a contrast from his self conscious between song banter) and violin overlay, it's perfect and captivating, in Dev's own DIY way.
For someone with a rather vast array of commercial American influences such as hip hop , due to "pawing over American billboards on a weekly basis", to Serge Gainsbourg, his music could be misconstrued as being an erratic genre choice. However, on closer reflection, there's evidence of several genres working together with folk to bring it into the 21st century, and perhaps maybe importantly, bringing it into the hearts of the young as well as the old.