review

Metro: Doves are a delight at BBC Electric Proms

Whist the Evening Standard wasn’t so impressed, the Metro seemed to love it..

****

Metro: Doves are a delight at BBC Electric Proms

Last night saw Doves become the latest to give their back catalogue a new lick of sonic paint – with the vocal assistance of the fantastic London Bulgarian Choir.

Not that Doves need much help to make a venue-filling noise; they’ve quietly become past masters at building anthemic walls of sound.

This gig was certainly not lacking in moments of arms-in-the-air rapture – in fact, as it reached its climax, it could have been mistaken for either an Evangelist rally or an underarm deodorant commercial, as the Roundhouse (London’s finest venue by a country mile) turned into a sea of hands reaching for the heavens.

If anything, the London Bulgarian Choir were, perhaps, a little underused – not featuring on many songs, and providing little more than (albeit awesome) backing vocals on some others.

But when they were given a starring role and fully integrated into the songs, the effect was spectacular – never more so than on profoundly epic version of The Cedar Room, the band’s second ever single, sounding no less majestic almost a decade on.

To read full review, click here.

Whilst I wasn’t there, I have watched the BBC footage. I reckon the Metro review is spot on. As always with these one off shows, there will be moments that work, and some that don’t. Never been a big fan of Catch the Sun, but it sounded great last night.

Highlights for me was the stunning Birds Flew Backwards, Greatest Denier & Kingdom Of Rust. The Cedar Room probably has never sounded so good. Jez’s guitar never sounded good to my ears. The choir singing those high backing vocals was majestic.

Despite the duff ending, I also thought The Storm sounded great. A great night all round by all accounts. Again I wasn’t there, so I can’t really say. But watching the footage, it certainly looks like one of the best shows they’ve ever played. Would look great on DVD..

Review: The Forum In Hatfield

doves open the Hatfield Forum

A short review of the Hatfield Forum gig appeared in today’s Welwyn & Hatfield Times:

The Mancunian three-piece kicked off a series of great gigs lined up for the University of Hertfordshire’s new £38m entertainment venue with a blistering 90-minute set.

Before opening with most recent single Winter Hill, lead singer Jimi Goodwin announced: “Welcome Hertfordshire!”

The twice Mercury-nominated group then proceeded to play tracks from their latest studio album, Kingdom of Rust, as well as classics from chart-toppers The Last Broadcast and Some Cities, and debut single The Cedar Room.

To read the full article and view the picture gallery, click here.

The article also notes that the Wednesday edition of the paper will feature an interview with Jimi.

Uni of Hertfordshire Forum Review

First in with a review from last night’s show in Hatfield is Suzy Mill’s Random thoughts blog.

It was a great set. They played a whole bunch of awesome tunes. An extra long version of The Cedar Room was a highlight. I had a really good boogie to some great tracks: Pounding, Winter Hill, Snowden, There Goes The Fear, Words, Here It Comes, Kingdom of Rust, Ambition, Almost Forgot Myself, Black & White Town, The Greatest Denier, The Last Broadcast and Caught By The River.
One of my favourite tunes of the night though was Jetstream. I was listening to that track as we took off from Los Angeles, fighting back tears, so it now has a strong emotional connection for me.

As always to read the full review, visit the reviewer’s blog here.

Cois Fharraige 2009 Reviews

doves on stage at Cois FharraigePicture by Limerick Leader

Here’s a review & setlist from indielimerick blog.

Then on stage came the festival weekend highlight in the form of “Doves”. I really cant say much more about their new album “Kingdom of Rust” , It’s a serious record and will finishing highly in peoples top albums list of 2009. Go out and get it! I was really looking forward to these guys has I hadn’t seen them before and they were on my list of bands to see before I die.

They hit straight into my favourite song of their new album “Jetstream”. The lead singer doesn’t really portray a lot of emotion up on stage put the music throughout the set was flawless. 3 songs in they played the crowd favourite “Pounding” and the tent went suitable nuts! They boast a great back catalogue and what we got that night was a serious greatest hits set.

It truly was a magic gig played by them. The final song “The Fear” ended in the band all taking to a percussion instrument and leaving the crowd in a daze of brilliants. If I had gone home after Doves I would have been quite content with the festival

Setlist

Jetstream
Snowden
Winter Hill
Pounding
Almost Forgot
10:03
Words
Greatest Denier
Kingdom of Rust
Black & White Town
The Outsiders
Caught By The River
Encore :
Cedar Room
Here It Comes
Last Broadcast
The Fear

For more, visit the IndieLimerick Blog.

Review from Limerick Leader:

the gig of the weekend followed from Manchester band Doves, who opened with the excellent ‘Jetstream’ from their latest album Kingdom of Rust and never let the momentum drop throughout their near 20 song set.

“It’s great to be on the West Coast, what a beautiful day eh?” said lead singer Jez Williams, who was earlier seen wandering down main street in Kilkee. Final song There Goes The Fear, from excellent second album The Last Broadcast, was simply stunning and drew a huge reaction from the crowd that stayed to hear it.

Review & Picture from Limerick Leader

Hot Press Interview & Bestival

doves at Bestival

Short recap of doves at Bestival found at strangeglue.

Performances of their much-admired tracks “Black And White Town” and “Kingdom Of Rust”. bought the band a lot of favour from the crowd as the sun began to wane on the sky. It’s good to know that the trio, who celebrate their 25th anniversary next year, have still got it. Pay heed MGMT.

Thanks to Brian, who let me know that a doves interview is featured in the current issue of Hot Press. Anyone able to send me a scan so I can post it for all to see?

Bingley Review & Video

Another cracking video thanks to Gibbo!

Paul Bingley, sent in his review of the Bingley set, always enjoy reading fan reviews over the same old bland media reviews:

What do you get when you spend £15 on a ticket, drive 385 miles, queue for one and a half hours to buy a beer, and then squirt it down a filthy toilet? Believe it or not, you get to enjoy a day out at Bingley Music Live.

There is, of course, another ingredient to make such a day ‘extra-special’ –and that’s a full 90 minute set by Doves. And so, on 5th September 2009, those who were there were served up an absolute treat by the best band this side of the Universe.

We’d arrived at Myrtle Park a little after 4pm and just before Ocean Colour Scene took to the stage. I wasn’t a huge fan of them back in their day, so while my wife went off to cross her legs in the toilet queue, I withstood the beer line and waited for the theme tune to ‘TFI Friday’.

Sure enough, it was the first song they played. The trouble was I had to endure the rest of the back catalogue as I inched my way towards a £3.50 cup of tepid, brown fizz. Why oh why, eh?

Eventually, with two pints of something firmly in hand, and with my wife safely back from the Battle of Portaloo, we weaved our way towards a sensible position in readiness for Doves. The trouble was, once we’d found it, we were hard pushed to find anyone sensible in the immediate vicinity.

That’s what you get when you drive to a gig. While you’re sipping your hard-earned pint (and trying to make it last for about an hour), those around you are glugging their way through whisky, vodka and wine while persistently wetting themselves. Happy days for some, I suppose.

Five minutes into watching four silly little girls giggling and niggling in my face, I decided we should move. It didn’t get much better, although I did get a fantastic view of The Zuton’s Abi Harding and her sexyphone. That was a nice moment.

7.30 came and went, but no Doves. Luckily the crowd didn’t get overly restless. Most were too busy shouting, fighting or generally not taking any notice of anyone except themselves. Come on Doves, I thought, where are you when you’re needed most?

The piped music finally faded and the familiar strains of ‘Jetstream’ spread out across Myrtle Park. I’ve now decided that this song is the most sublime set-opener in the history of world music. It builds intensely and only kicks into gear once Andy begins pumping that bass drum. At Bingley, it certainly got everyone’s attention, and as usual it raised the hairs on the back of my neck.

‘Snowden’ is a Doves song that most non-fans would probably recognise, and they all did at Bingley. As Martin Rebelski began playing those spine-tingling opening notes on his ‘Poland’, the crowd was so stirred my neck hair almost floated away.

It was just before ‘Winter Hill’ that Jimi finally said hello. Despite the vast number of idiots in the audience, it was clear that most were extremely receptive to what he said. At one point, though, he heard a group of people chanting ‘you’re shit, you’re shit’ and then realised that he was in Yorkshire and they were, in fact, singing its praises. He laughed it off and so did we. This was a love-in.

‘Pounding’ began with a loud scream from the audience and off we all went into Lala land. Sadly, a couple of bald men near me felt it necessary to fall to the floor and cuddle each other in a rather aggressive way. When they were finally pulled apart, they’d acquired grown mud haircuts. That must be them, I thought –the greatest deniers.

The band tore through a mixture of old and new, and by the time they’d reached ‘Black and White Town’, the crowd were in raptures. It was around this point that someone –perhaps not enamoured with the quality of alcohol –decided to launch a pint towards the stage. It fell earthward before sonically bouncing off of Jimi’s guitar. Oh dear, I thought –Jimi’s going to cut you with a look.

He took a few seconds to compose himself before calmly admonishing the person for almost drenching a number of young children near the front. Children, I thought? What about the bass? Is it alright? Does it still work? Jimi stayed calm but soon drew a small sword shouting, “by the power of Greyskull!” Like the gas-mask-thing at Delamere, it was a bit lost on me. But I still laughed nonetheless. Oh to be a Doves fan.

I soon turned into a whirling Dervish near the end of ‘Caught by the River’. I was finally stopped from spinning by the band walking offstage. Will they return? What song will they return with? It turned out to be my favourite one, and it brought a lump to my throat.

‘The Cedar Room’ is always a firm favourite and it’s obvious why. But when it’s performed to a big crowd on a crisp sound system and in an enclosed setting, it’s completely awe-inspiring. I found myself (and thousands of others) in total, unadulterated bliss. If I could have sung it any louder I would have. Remarkably there was a man behind me who did. He was fantastic.

It got better. As the rhythm of ‘There Goes the Fear’ echoed around Myrtle Park before crashing to a halt, hundreds of people began spewing from the exits. I hesitated. My wife tried to drag me with her but I glanced back at the stage to see Jez disappearing with his guitar still slung around his chest. “No, they’re going to play it,” I said.

A few minutes later, in front of the few thousand remaining people, Doves walked onstage for their second encore. As I jumped to Spaceface with a bellyful of Tuborg, I glanced all around me. Every single person was up and dancing. Now that’s what you get when you hear Doves.

Thanks Paul! A brilliant review once again.

The band visit the West coast of Ireland Friday night to play Cois Fharraige. Then on Sunday its Bestival playing with the likes of Elbow & Kraftwerk! Do send in your setlists/reviews/photos etc!

Øyafest Round-Up

Doves on Stage at Øya. Photo by Anders Arntsen

Thanks to Jon Zeigler for letting me know about these two reviews of doves set at Øyafest.

Dagsavisen.no – Doves in the sunset (5/6 stars)

The jist of the review in English thanks to Jon:

The reviewer says exactly what I was thinking as I stood there, about how the scenery suited the band and the music perfectly. Sunset, tower cranes with birds
flying around them, beautiful sky, a flock of birds in V-formation passing over the stage, the white opera house in the background etc. The guys on stage were also quite aware of the scenery. Jez was often looking up towards the sky or towards the cranes. I noticed the birds in formation because Jez was following them with his eyes until they passed over the stage behind him. At one point Jimi lifted his sunglasses and said “It’s looking good, man!

abcnyheter.no – “Manchester band Doves delivered the goods (met the expectations) at Øya”
5/6 stars

Ok I did not get the jist of that Side2 review I posted on Saturday. Jon has very kindly transcribed the review in full:

Keep the band, fire the sound guy. That’s one way of summing up Doves gig at Øya.

“The Manchester-band Doves has in many peoples eyes (including yours truly) given the world one of the best albums so far this year. With three other
albums of similar quality under their belt, it just had to be a success when the seasoned gentlemen arrived at Øyafestivalen Friday night?

Unfortunately, the sound guy had other plans.

First half of the show was basically ruined by bad drum- and guitar sound. After three songs, frontman Jimi Goodwin was made aware of the
guitar trouble by a frustrated, but helpful audience.

Because after all, we were there to experience fantastic versions of “Jetstream”, “10:03” and good old “Pounding”. But even though the guys had
included the best songs from their “new classic” ‘Kingdom of Rust’ in the set list (plus some older snacks), there was still something unredeemed(?)
and murky(?) about the whole thing.

However, from the driving rock song “The outsiders” to the closing with Doves’ eminent signature-song “There goes the fear”, everything works the way
it’s supposed to. Then, when you hear how fantastic the trio sounds, it’s extra upsetting/bitter(?) to think about the embarrassing sound problems in
the first half of the concert with one of the worlds best guitar bands

-So please come back anytime guys – but fire the sound guy. That’s an order!”

Jon also added his own thoughts on the set:

I stood in front, close to the speakers and didn’t really notice anything wrong (except for Jez breaking a string and occasionally signaling to the sound guys to turn something up or down.) but at one point someone in
the back shouted “turn up the guitar”, so it’s obvious that there were some sound problems. Also some minor problems with Jimis bass, but that was quickly taken care of. At the start of the show, several people shouted out requests for “Catch the sun” (and others), but Jimi, although appreciating the requests said something like “We’re not quite there yet”, (as in “we’re not the kind of band that takes requests”?). He also mentioned at least twice that Andy was getting married next Sunday, and that he was going to sing in the wedding. He commented that Andy had “been with her for 15 years, so it was about time he did the right thing”. Anyway, this was my first Doves gig, and I think they did a great job.

Thanks so much to John for the above links and taking the time writing the translation. Also thanks to Vivi for letting me know about the Side2 review at the weekend. Without you guys, I would have nothing to report from Øyafest! I’ve had so much great feedback for the blog since setting it up in Febuary, but without the help of you guys – the readers, sending me links to reviews/pictures/setlists etc the blog would be nothing. Cheers!

Doves now take a wee break from live performances for a few weeks. Next up will be Bingley first weekend in September. The blog shall remain active as always posting news as I get it. I will also put up a few goodies later in the week from the US tour.

Øyafest: The Last Honest Rock ´N ´Roll-Band


Jimi on stage at Oya

Thanks to Vivi Stenberg for submitting this to us, and for the translation! The latest review of doves Øyafest set gives them a 6 out of 6 rating, with the headline, stating they are the last honest rock band!

Det siste ærlige rockebandet

Det er mulig Ã¥ forestille seg annet og bedre U2, ukorrumpert av gigantoman livsstil, desperat posisjonering og sin egen kronglete vei mot middelmÃ¥digheten, og uten Bono brautende bak mikrofonstativet. Manchester-kvartetten Doves, som har lagd lyd i et drøyt tiÃ¥r uten at kloden har endret bane av den grunn, høres ut som dette bandet. FÃ¥ grupper utforsker balansen mellom raffinement og et bankende hjerte med like givende resultat, og idet skyene ruller innover Sjøsiden under “10:03″ er det Ã¥penbart at dette blir en sjelfull seanse.

To read the full review in Norwegian, click here.

Øyafestivalen Review


Jez on stage at Øya

Came across a review of doves Øyafest set, in Norwegian. So if you can read Norwegian then head over to read the review here.

For those of us who need google translate, the jist of it seems to be that the band had troubles early in the set, due to the loudness of a act on another stage? But they still managed to please the crowd with the likes of Jetstream, Kingdom Of Rust, 10.03 and The Outsiders from the new album, as well as classics like Pounding & The Fear. Apologies if it was me who got the jist of it wrong! Google translate wasn’t so clear.

If any of you great folks from Norway attended the show and would like to submit a review (in Norwegian is fine) please email us. Would be happy to put it up for our Norwegian readers.

Perth Setlist

Here is the setlist from last night’s show in Perth Australia.

Setlist

Jetstream
Snowden
Winter Hill
Pounding
Almost Forgot Myself
10:03
The Greatest Denier
Kingdom Of Rust
Ambition
Black and White Town
The Outsiders
The Cedar Room

Northenden
Here It Comes
Last Broadcast
There Goes The Fear

Visit perthquake for a short review of the Perth show. So that’s it from Australia, unless we come across any more reviews (feel free to let us know about any you find). Next stop for doves is Norway in a couple weeks. Anyone going?