Gig Reviews

Naming your band after the sound a duck makes seems a bit frivolous, so it's surprising to discover Quack Quack are a rather serious outfit. The mood is a little subdued in the Hyde Park Picture House this Bank Holiday Monday, maybe down to the rigours of the night before or maybe it's the fact that although the cinema is a lovely historic building, it just wasn’t built for gigs in the way that say, the Brudenell Social Club is.

Jeffrey Lewis, who the band are supporting, makes better use of the space with his comic book projections on the big screen. Quack Quack in contrast, seem very small stood in the front aisle.

There are obvious Krautrock influences at play, but Quack Quack are also tinged with jazz, the synth soloing wildly over the more straightforward melodies. Their experimental sound is noticeably without any pop sensibility or vocals, and the noodling keyboards can sound droning.

Quack Quack

Put simply, they are not everyone's cup of tea. No doubt they are accomplished musicians, but in aiming for a discordant sound they will not appeal to more straightforward tastes. Having said this, the crowd seems a little more appreciative of them towards the end of their set, and the serious muso boys are nodding their heads in approval. Later, Jeffrey Lewis mentions them more than once, dubbing them 'awesome'. I don't doubt his sincerity, but the majority of listeners will find Quack Quack too challenging to be enjoyable.

Mr. Lewis, on the other hand, is as winning as ever. His shows tend to be a multimedia experience; he uses on-stage flip charts to tell stories, or on overhead projectors so that he can play along with his band as he spins his yarns. His songs may seem simplistic on the surface, but his observations about the world are full of eloquence, and manage to be a great combination of funny and warm at the same time.

He loves to illustrate the lives of people he admires and has recently given condensed (hilarious) biographies of Barack Obama, Mark E Smith and the band Herman Dune to name a few.

His set this particular afternoon is a leisurely tour of his back catalogue, including a couple of songs from his Crass covers album, some new material and also old favourites like 'No LSD Tonight' and 'If You Shoot The Head, You Kill The Ghoul'. It's strangely reassuring to see him with the same battered guitar, touring in a clapped-out van and selling his comics for petrol money. A more world-weary character would have bowed out a long time ago (or at least have got a tour bus), but Jeffrey seems to have plenty of life left in him yet.

Natalie Kaye saw Quack Quack & Jeffrey Lewis on Monday 4 May 2009 at Hyde Park Picture House.