I went to see Helen McCookerybook and David Lance Callahan play at the Talleyrand in Levenshulme last night as part of their UK tour. They'd played Newcastle on Friday night, where it was freezing apparently.
The Talleyrand is friendly little pub on the A6, just opposite Levenshulme Antique Market. Up front it's a regular bar, and the gigs take place in the back room.
The small, friendly, intimate nature of the venue was perfect for Helen McCookerybook's brand of wry acoustic and semi acoustic observational songs. She began her set with 'A Bad Day', which pairs well with later track 'A good life with a bad apple'. There was also the "bit smutty" satire of 'At the bathing pond', the understated but soaring call to arms 'Women of the world', a two fingered salute to Mr Musk ('So Long Elon'), lockdown optimism in the small things 'Coffee and Hope' and the idiosyncratic 'Mad Bicycle Song'. She was on sparkling form, interacting well with the audience who warmed to her increasingly as the set went on. There was even a one woman version of The Chef's 'Let's Makeup', which went down well.
I wasn't sure about David Lance Callahan's first song, which was a slow, guitar only one. He was joined by a very charismatic drummer (sporting a pork pie hat and braces) for the rest of the set though, and I got into it more after that. In addition to the hat he also had an impressive selection of well deployed percussion instruments, and a style of playing that I really enjoyed watching.
I only have vague memories of Moonshake, David's previous band, in that I think they were in the process of splitting up around the time I first started listening to John Peel. The music he was playing last night did remind me of what Moonshake were doing though, in that there was a complexity of sound and a kind of brooding quality to a lot of it. At the same time, you could tell that he'd emerged from a band who appeared on the C86 compilation (The Wolfhounds). There was that post C86 jangly indie pop sound to some of the tracks, though he used these moments judiciously and sparingly, making the audience wait for them.
I feel like David Lance Callahan and Helen McCookerybook both critique and satirise the mores of contemporary society, often highlighting deeply dystopian aspects, but in quite different ways. His songs feel darker, but hers are just as scathing. The difference is in the musical delivery: Sometimes you smile while sticking the knife in, sometimes you just stick the knife in.
