ROZI PLAIN + R.DYER – THE HOPE & RUIN, BRIGHTON 12.3.23
Tonight is the penultimate night of Rozi Plain’s tour, so we’re lucky to catch her before she goes into hibernation, or whatever musicians do when they’re not out on tour. Support comes from R.Dyer. I later discover that the “R” stands for Rebecca, or Becca to mates!.
When R.Dyer takes to The Hope & Ruin stage my heart sinks a little as I see that it is going to be a solo set, but there seems to be a lot of electronic equipment onstage, and I assume that there is going to be a lot on the backing track, which as regular readers may know is a pet hate of mine. However, R Dyer’s approach to live performance is ever so slightly different….
R.Dyer takes to the stage, potters about with the many instruments and pieces of equipment, and proceeds to remove the footwear, namely trainers. I notice that there is a large panel of foot pedals, so presumably these are more comfortable to use in stockinged feet. What I don’t realise is that this is actually recording equipment for producing loops, as we shall shortly discover.
The first song ‘Raindrops’ is apparently about a holiday in Wales, and commences with the sound of birdsong on the backing track. To this percussion is added, a bowed saw, soprano saxophone, and small bottles that are blows into, thus creating layers of music that become a completed track, so everything (apart from the birdsong) is played live. This is essentially a studio project played live onstage. I know that K T Tunstall used to do something similar to this at the beginning of her career, but it was nowhere near as complex or as skilful as this. This is astonishingly good.
The next song, ‘Victories I (Journeys)’, starts with a recording of somebody speaking about how they had been in a band in Coventry forty years ago. This is gradually joined by other recorded voices until it becomes a bit head-spinning and unsettling. Becca then puts soprano saxophone over the top. You have to watch closely because you really don’t know what’s going to happen next.
Becca describes the last song, ‘King Alfred’s Cakes’, as “the most precarious and thrilling” of the set. It is apparently about a conversation had with a desk during lockdown. I think we all did that during lockdown. We are also told that the desk would prefer to speak for itself. Becca plays harp and sings off-mic and then returns to the mic and builds harmonies until the result sounds just like a choir of one. This has been a brilliant performance and I look forward to having the opportunity to see R.Dyer play live again.
R.Dyer setlist:
‘Raindrops’
‘Modern Life’
‘(Victories 1) journeys’ – improvised piece
‘Little Victories’
‘King Alfred’s Cakes’
Rozi Plain is probably best known as the bassist with This Is The Kit. However, she also has a long running solo career, and has just released her seventh album ‘Prize’, which is available as a ‘Dinked Edition’ and which she plays most of tonight. The songs sound far more organic and alive than they do on the record. There are some nice melodic bass lines and some lovely flute-like sounds from the Moog.
Including herself Rozi has a five-piece band, including Jack Howard who provides some occasionally quite stunning lead guitar. All of the band members sing backing vocals, and the band is very tight. I’m very impressed by the sinewy bass lines throughout, and there is a degree of funkiness that I wasn’t expecting.
Rozi fingerpicks her guitar, and seems to concentrate mostly on the bottom two or three strings. She has a pleasingly percussive style, which I suppose shouldn’t surprise me as she is of course a bass player. The keyboard player brings much to the party from his array of Korg, Moog and Roland keyboards. The drummer is very understated, which suits the material, which is largely laid-back and mellow.
The between song announcements are quite amusing, and at one point Rozi and the bassist indulge in some synchronised dancing a la The Shadows. They almost succeed in keeping straight faces too!
On the last song of the set, ‘Swing Shut’, James Howard produces some lovely descending arpeggios. At the end of the song, rather than leave the stage, they sit down at the back while we applaud for the expected (and hoped for) encore. They return for ‘Actually’ which for all the world starts off like a Hawkwind song. Honest!
Rozi’s set has been very enjoyable and pleasant. However, after R Dyer’s set it has felt very safe and comfortable, a little like putting on an old and comfortable pair of slippers after a hard day at work. Don’t get me wrong, this has been a superb performance, but in general it has felt as if the material could have benefited from a little more in the way of oomph! Maybe with the next album.
Rozi Plain setlist:
‘Complicated’ (from 2023 ‘Prize’ album)
‘Agreeing For Two’ (from 2023 ‘Prize’ album)
‘Trouble’ (from 2019 ‘What A Boost’ album)
‘Dark Park’(from 2019 ‘What A Boost’ album)
‘Conversation’ (from 2023 ‘Prize’ album)
‘Prove You’re Good’ (from 2023 ‘Prize’ album)
‘Symmetrical’ (from 2019 ‘What A Boost’ album)
‘Help’ (from 2023 ‘Prize’ album)
‘Spot Thirteen’ (from 2023 ‘Prize’ album)
‘Standing Up’ (from 2023 ‘Prize’ album)
‘Painted The Room’ (from 2023 ‘Prize’ album)
‘Swing Shut’ (from 2019 ‘What A Boost’ album)
(encore)
‘Actually’ (from 2015 ‘Friend’ album)
