Festival season is starting in earnest with The Great Escape down in Brighton from this Thursday. To say that I’m a little bit excited is a mild understatement. I’ve never been before but with so much new, live music to discover in a town that I don’t know that well… I’ll be that kid in a sweet shop again.
In truth, I’ve already sucked my first and second festival gobstopper of the year. Perhaps the Rock and Blues festival at Butlins Skegness in January doesn’t properly count but the wonderfully compact Handmade festival in Leicester was a fine way to spend much of the May bank holiday weekend. My eFestivals review has now been posted here.
I really should be voraciously poring over the schedules for The Great Escape. I sense that my plans should be meticulous if I want to see the custard cream of what’s on offer.. But instead, contrary to the end, I’ve been diverted by the latest video from Brian Lopez. To the best of my knowledge, Brian is not playing at The Great Escape. Indeed, he’s probably still at home over in the USA, packing his suitcase before heading across to Europe in a couple of days. He reaches England in June when he tours with Howe Gelb and Giant Sand. Those could be cool shows.
The video to Modern Man, a fine shimmer of a track taken from Brian’s Static Noise album, is something of a juxtaposition. A floral shirt frenzy, the suggestion is that the three characters within are far from the modern men being sung about by Brian. And when the might of the Samurai sword is released, I think we might all be aspiring elsewhere. The photography enthralls though and the scenery stuns. It’s a fine watch and a fab tune.
This isn’t the first video from Static Noise that has captured my attention either. A couple of months ago, I was going to write about the track, Crossfire Cries. It’s a tune that’ll get into your head. The accompanying video will appeal to those of us who still play with Lego when we’re supposed to be working.
It all brings me back to the video for Brian’s song ‘Persephone’. If you watch one video today, then watch this. A charming animation, it surely won’t fail to pluck at your heartstrings. I guess we all have secrets that we’ll take to our graves.
Mostly, I’d suggest that these three very different videos work because of the quality of the songs. Perfectly showcasing the talents of Brian Lopez, I’m off to listen to the complete album. And then, I’ll pack my suitcase for Brighton.
sonicbreakfast 