Tonight’s crowd is an odd mix. From grizzled bearded & long-haired old men in plaid shirts & hipsters in deck shoes, to Mojo subscribers in ATP t-shirts & a gaggle of over-excited teenage girls. There seems to be no average audience for Wooden Shjips.
Support band Wolf People’s twin guitar attack worked amazingly well if sometimes the songs seem to have the same template. The two guitarists’ playing intertwined so well that it was difficult to know who was doing what at times in their extended Grateful Dead-ish work outs.
After a short break, Wooden Shjips arrive onstage with no fanfare & dive straight into their set. The drummer’s minimalist set up of snare, bass drum & cymbals really reflects the groups pared down ideal. Nothing fancy or showy just straight ahead 3 chords good, 2 chords better, 1 chord best rock. Erik “Ripley” Johnson’s vocals are buried beneath his wall of over-amped fuzz guitar as are the inbetween clips played by the keyboard player (who looks like my dad in a grey afro). The band, aware I’m sure, that they’re not the most dazzling performers have films projected over themselves that whiz past as the songs do & after an hour or so, they bid us goodnight.
Wooden Shjips live review: 3.5/5
By Simon Stone
