St Andrews Radio

Music is Love proudly presents Beth Jeans Houghton & The Hooves of Destiny + Goodnight Lenin – 18th February 2012, Venue 2, St Andrews Students’ Association – All RAG’s Parties

With the Catwalk in Venue 1 marking a fine end to the yearly RAG week shenanigans, the alternative side of St Andrews flocked to a revamped Venue 2 (although getting past the glitzy-glam of downstairs without suffering any heel-related injuries was quite a feat in itself) to close the charitable proceedings in its own style: energetic, funky and eccentric. Beth Jeans Houghton & The Hooves of Destiny, supported by Birmingham’s own Goodnight Lenin gave the music lovers more than what they had bargained for, ensuring that everyone’s Saturday night rounded off with a lively bang, an original mixture of jigging and all-around merriment.

Even though the opening act may have been daunted by the scarce numbers initially present in Venue 2 (and let’s face it, around 50 people almost go unnoticed in there), they did not let fear creep up and delivered an up-beat set while the audience slowly picked up, both in size and enthusiasm. While I initially mistook them for the melancholic half-brothers of Endor, Goodnight Lenin eventually proved to be as different as rum from wine. Intricate folk melodies decorated by heart-felt lyrics seem to be their harmonious trademark. Managing to include everything from a tiny accordion to whimsical banter within a 40-minute set, the charismatic quintet live up to the portrait sketched by BBC 2 Radio’s Janice Long: ‘This band was at the front of the queue when talent was handed out. Gifted musicians, supreme songwriters.’

After a minute interval, the evening’s headliners appeared onstage. Visually, Beth Jeans Houghton & The Hooves of Destiny are interesting, to say the least: while drummer Dav advertised the band’s hoof logo, bassist Rory pulled a devilish Tom Waits-inspired look, and Beth… Well, Beth’s simply in a league of her own, leading the quirky catwalk – blue-blonde hair and Gaga-esque make up, matched by a wolf T-shirt and ratty biker-boots. Yet vocally, she manages to soften Nico-like tones with Winehouse-ish melodic inflexions, maybe even being a bit reminiscent of Joplin’s bluesy tunes. I’ve yet to decide whether her kooky banana prizes are an occult reference to The Velvet Underground, but one thing’s for sure: the on-stage chat threatened to become a comedy number in its own right, while the audience frantically embarked on a dance-off to the best cover of ‘Like a Prayer’ I’ve heard in ages. NME is right to define this band as ‘a legend in the making’, because they have everything it takes to write contemporary music history: wit, style and magic tunes.

All in all, the adorable crowd of MIL manage to showcase an enjoyable night for all the indie-aficionados out there, bringing to the Bubble’s attention two bands which have every chance of flooding the mainstream current of Brit-pop. And if this 2-hour taster session has left you craving for more, fret not: Eye O’ The Dug, St Andrews’ very own music festival has been announced for mid-April (more details here: http://eotdfestival.com/ ), so polish those Converse and don the skinny jeans loudly and proudly, because it’s gonna be a fab weekend!