British Sea Power at Fort Perch Rock

By Tom Hopkin

British Sea Power, sound like the sort of band that would consist of ageing Oxford history professors, but as surprising as it might be, they are not. They are in fact a group of not so old friends who are based in Brighton on the southern coast of England. They would describe themselves as playing “amplified rock music” and this fairly general term does pretty much cover their style, however on closer inspection you will hear a distorted post punk edge coupled with melodic pop hooks and harmonious vocals.

I have been attracted to this quirky but perfect combination since first hearing their debut album “The Decline of British Sea Power”, but up until this September the chance of witnessing one of their remarkable live performances had eluded me. When I saw that they were playing in New Brighton at the mouth of the Wirral, I naturally purchased a couple of tickets for myself and my good friend and fellow editor, Mr Matthew Atkinson. Then it was a tedious matter of waiting, sorting out trains, realising trains are crap, realising that we had no way of getting home from New Brighton at three in the morning and trying to work out if this venue was over 18s. With most of that eventually sorted I found myself, along with fellow music enthusiast Matt standing in New Brighton opposite a sea fort.

It was not a conventional venue by any means. It was outside, there were sea gulls over head, balloons everywhere, cannons, cobbles and cockles and best of all a completely clear starry night sky. The fort itself had been built during the Napoleonic wars as a sea defence but it now served as a small museum. Despite this it seemed the perfect setting for a BSP gig. Their live performances are notorious for their array of stuffed animals and foliage and to most people in the courtyard of the fort, it was a perfectly natural to be in this setting. After chatting away for a bit and sword fighting with the balloon swords that had been handed out, the first band emerged.

The band, Tiny Dancers, was fun. They had an almost cabaret Neil Young like sound, with the Byrds and the Kinks as other notable influences. And of course there was a good dose of pop in their as well. The drummer’s moustache is also worth a mention because it was fairly incredible. The second band, iLiKETRAiNS were not fun. Not at all. They were pure post rock boringness with 7 minute songs. I have to say that the last 30 seconds of each song was rather emphatic but that amounted to about 2 minutes of good music in a 45 minute set. Luckily they went off and some good music was played through the PA (I remember the Smiths and Modest Mouse in particular) while the stage was set up for British Sea Power. I was getting just a little bit excited.

Finally British Sea Power were onstage and they immediately burst into “Remember Me” their first single that was also covered by the Wurzels. The energy of the beats and guitars rivalled the bouncing crowd and it set the bar for the rest of the evening. Halfway through the set they played “Carrion”, a personal favourite of me and my companion. Naturally we went a bit mad. The end of the set was just as good as the beginning with British Sea Power playing the b-side “Spirit of St. Louis” and then going into an extended version of “Apologies to Insect Life” during which a newly made friend attempted to get a large plastic owl from lead singer Yan. After much persuasion he threw the owl to the front row and it was then dropped, just out of reach. That was the only disappointing event in a glorious evening. To round up the experience, because that is what it was, I would say it was powerful and overwhelmingly British. What is your most memorable music experience?

FORT PERCH ROCKS!

Frontline photos from my photographer Matt