23 May 2009: Viv Albertine + Monica & The Explosion at The Portland Rock Bar, Hove



FULL photo slideshow here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nigeyb/sets/7...617866611/show/

A bizarre spot to find an ex-Slit pitching up. A very sparse crowd enjoyed a set of simple songs played by Viv and her companion on (mainly) keyboards. All the songs were simple, personal and seemed to be about that old chestnut Love Und Romance. Viv did one cover - David Bowie's 'Letter to Hermione'.



Viv is really charming and engaging and it was a joy to see her looking so well. As you can see from the photos she looks absolutely amazing.



I asked Viv afterwards how the gig had come about. She lives in Hastings (though is moving back to London soon) and comes to The Portland (a very bizarre venue) for the Sunday jam sessions which she really enjoys. There you have it.



After Viv we were treated to Monica and the Explosion who is a young Swedish woman who seems totally in thrall to all thinks rock. Lots of shouty acoustic punky anthems about being young and annoyed and energetic. All good simple fun. She really should relocate to LA and front a band. She's got all the qualities to be very successful though not really my cup of tea.

Very nice review. Thanks for that.

Didn't record it, did you?

Thanks Stephen. Alas, no recordings. There are some of Viv's songs on her MySpace page which give a fair idea of how she sounds. Quite distinctive guitar style even though the songs are very different from The Slits (a few reminded me of The Raincoats quieter moments).

She looks absolutely amazing. :applaud:
Ace pics.
Thanks.

Glad you made it nigey - and got to chat with her, lucky man.

Moving back to London... hmm, wonder what this portends?

Milf! :lol:

Show some respect, insolent pup.

If it wasn't for Viv there'd be nothing to listen to but Bucks Fizz and Ted Nugent.

Quite right. Crikey though. :wub:

54 years old. Absolutely incredible.

One of my favourite electric guitarists. Beautiful , thin Telecaster sound. New Town and Animal Spaces + more. Tessa's a fantastic bassist , too . Thanks for your report .

What's that mean?

I can't bring meself to say it on a Viv thread.

Gaz?! you're wanted!

I am puzzled too Fritter

"Musically Innovative Lovely Female"?

But that isn't funny, unless it's being sarky about her innovativeness.

MILF stands for Mother I'd Like to Fuck.

How it applies to Viv Albertine, I'm not sure.

oic

jesus wept

God, imagine having to ask permission from your mother.

What next? Mother, I'd like to shit?

Whether she's moved to London yet or not, she's playing Hastings Crypt on Sat 3rd October. Should be a slightly different show, as a woman I know is playing bass - so probably gonna be a full band thing.

Apparently she's recorded a new track with Mick Jones called 'Confessions Of A MILF'. It may be released as a single.

Always had a lot of time for Viv - she was a Slit for chrissakes. :)

Never seen her as a Milf though, personally.

It would be like having a horn for a sister or something.

Viv played in Copenhagen (at Lars' House Concert venue - Lillely) last Saturday. There's some footage of the show here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBeHBOs_Ick...player_embedded

That continues to be the case, she did a show at The Thunderbolt in Bristol last Friday. Just Viv and her Telecaster. It's a tiny pub and with about 80/90 people there it looked quite full.

I got there just after the start of the support band, which was a two-piece guitar and drums fronted by I thought they said Rita Minge - what a classic punk rock name. Turns out though I misheard it and it was plain old Rita Lynch (from the Blue Aeroplanes, a Bristol band). Still good though, I like a bit of a thrash.

Viv was on for about 45 minutes or so. Nigeyb is spot on in his review when he says "all the songs were simple, personal and seemed to be about that old chestnut Love Und Romance". Some of them were a bit fruity as well, titles like I Want More, Never Come (some wag in the audience asked if it meant her or the person she was singing about, but I think she evaded the question!) and the aforementioned Confessions Of A MILF. Excellent guitar work on that one, a highlight.

A lot of the songs were like weird nursery rhymes almost. Viv's sound today is still quite atonal, almost Jandek-like in places, but at the same time there is the same childlike quality that was there in The Slits - like in the video from Copenhagen that Josef has posted above, great stuff. Another one was called Dark Fairytale which seems to sum it up quite well.

There was lots of chat with the audience, including a bit of punk rock history from '76/77 and why she started playing the guitar again. It went very well and she got an enthusistic response. She said at the end that she really enjoyed it and it was one of the best gigs she had done.

There's an album in the making, and in the DIY spirit Viv is trying to finance it by getting people to pay up front. Ten quid and you get a copy of the record, pay a bit more and you can get a "signed doodle" or one of her ceramics, that sort of thing. You can even go round her place for tea! Can you imagine Mark E Smith doing that?
http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/vivalbertine

Seriously though, I wonder if many people do this and whether it will catch on. If you are reasonably well known and there is a bit of goodwill towards you, what do you need a record company for these days?