I was at the hundred-capacity Kazimier Stockroom to see Canadian jangle popsters Ducks Ltd., with Ex-Vöid in support, thanks to HSP PRSNTS.
While I’ve seen plenty of live music already this year, this was only my fourth show of 2024 where I have wanted to see the headliner playing, following more recent Sound City days (Saturday and Sunday) and a trip to Paris for a Keane gig in the company of My Beloved Wife (reviewed here).
I hadn’t managed to find out any set times for the show, so decided to get there for about 8pm, which was a decent estimate.
I arrived in time to get a pint of Carnival’s Carmen from the Kazimier Garden before heading into the practically empty venue.
The DJ in the venue spun a load of tunes I enjoyed but did not recognise, so I made plenty of use of Shazam as the room slowly became less empty.
These songs included Dirty Hands by Tee Vee Repairmann, which was actually a request from one of the other punters.
My history with the support act
I wasn’t previously aware of Ex-Vöid and hadn’t realised until shortly before the show that two of the band were in Joanna Gruesome, a Welsh noisy pop band who put out a couple of albums on Fortuna POP! in the 2010’s.
I bought second album Peanut Butter from Rough Trade on a rare visit to Ladbroke Grove in June 2015 for £10.99, which came with a bonus CD entitled GN’s Bike Ride Mix that features an eclectic mix, such as Anne Briggs, Thin Lizzy and Life Without Buildings. I also bought Jane Weaver’s The Silver Globe (with bonus The Amber Light disc) from there that same day.
I was then gifted the debut Weird Sister by My Beloved Wife for Christmas 2016, with other goodies I got that day including a 5-CD Everly Brothers box set, albums by Yoko Ono, The Shaggs, Half Man Half Biscuit and Delta 5, Elmore James and Mary Wells compilations.
Singers Owen Williams and Lan McArdle are the former members of JG, with the rest of the band being bassist Laurie Foster and drummer Jonny Coddington.
The support act
Ex-Vöid‘s online blurb cutely describes them as “ex-treme pöwer pöp.” They brought out an album called Bigger Than Before in March 2022, but I actually forgot to even give it a single spin online ahead of the show, so I can’t identify a lot of what they played.
They made an immediate impression on me with their muscular indie pop, reminding me of the likes of Joy Zipper and Blake Babies.
McArdle (who was sporting a Palestine badge on her guitar strap) took the main vocals, but Williams added some very effective back-up, especially on In Love Again.
One of the subsequent songs was backed by a baggy drumbeat and a nicely melodic bassline from the Evan Dando-alike Foster.
July was introduced by Williams, saying “It’s about a month that’s kinda coming up”, with McArdle’s singing on this one being especially lovely. He didn’t say all that much, but what he did convey was often wryly amusing.
Here’s some of that song from this very show:
Swansea was ballsy but somewhat less interesting than many of the preceding numbers.
Next up was a cover of the late Arthur Russell’s I Couldn’t Say It To Your Face, which fitted in snugly with their own tunes.
He’s someone I’ve tried to get into but failed – I bought the Love Is Overtaking Me comp of odds and sods from 2008, which I no longer have. Perhaps, I need to reinvestigate and try something else by him.
Their final song was the excellent Down The Drain, with Williams dryly stating “which is not where we put Liverpool.”
I went out into the Kazimier Garden for a repeat pint of Carmen between bands as it was getting quite hot inside the Stockroom.
My history with the headliner
They’re a two-piece from Toronto, UK-born but US-raised singer and rhythm guitarist Tom McGreevy and Evan Lewis from Australia on lead guitar.
Live, they were supported by drummer Jonathan Pappo and Julia Wittmann on bass, I think.
They were originally known as Ducks Unlimited, and I’m not sure if that’s a better name or not. Debut ep Get Bleak (which I’ve never heard, as it only appeared on a 12”) was issued under that name in December 2019.
I’m not entirely certain how I first heard about Ducks Ltd., but I can see that Old Times from debut album Modern Fiction was played on The Ledge podcast in January 2022, but I’d bought that from Amazon for £11.67 the preceding November, so perhaps I’d read a review in Mojo or a heard them on a show from The Big Takeover as I was still able to listen to that back then.
I’ve only just noticed that The Beths sing back-up on three tracks on this record. I saw them play Hangar 34 in July 2023 – read about that show here.
They’ve also worked with Illuminati Hotties (whose Let Me Do One More album I bought from roughtrade.com in March 2022, along with others by Lambchop and Pip Blom), releasing a joint cover of The Jesus And Mary Chain’s Head On (previously also done to great effect by Pixies) in March 2022.
They’re clearly a band with great taste, as I have just come across the fact that they have also recorded songs by The Go-Betweens, The Feelies and The Cure in various places.
Harm’s Way was released this February and I picked it up for £13.49 from Chesterfield’s Tallbird Records via Discogs last month, also getting Andy Palacio & The Garifuna Collective’s Wátina at the same time to save on postage costs.
The main event
While I know Liverpool crowds can often be sparser than they should be at gigs, I’m still rather baffled that a band with a reasonable level of buzz about them and two albums under their belt were on at such a tiny venue.
Fortunately, the room was pretty rammed for Ducks Ltd., largely with mature hipsters.
I didn’t make a note of every song they played as I was loving the show too much, but most of the set was from Harm’s Way, with I think seven of its nine cuts being played. This of course means there was space to include a fair few tunes from the debut album.
They started with a trio from the current record, with each one reminding me of different Flying Nun band.
Hollowed Out made me think of Straitjacket Fits, Train Full Of Gasoline recalled The Bats and then Cathedral City brought The Chills to mind.
McGreevy gave us a little bit of Liverpool chat, skirting around the cliches nicely, but saying he knew a lot more about the city than Birmingham, where they’d played the night before.
Football and an unnamed band were what he most associated with the place, with one of the other band members suggesting he was referring to Gerry And The Pacemakers.
The next song continued the trend by reminding me of The Clean, with the later On Our Way To The Rave and Harm’s Way recalling The Wedding Present and Razorcuts, respectively.
Heavy Bag was introduced as being “about riding on one of your British trains,” which McGreevy said he’d used a few times, obviously enjoying some of those trips: “passing out drinking on a train… You and me soaking in rail gin, talking way too loud.”
The Main Thing was some great jangle thrash, with the next number (that I can now not identify) featuring some great bass playing.
Under The Rolling Moon reminded me of the much-missed The Loft, before 18 Cigarettes made me think of early Soup Dragons.
Their last song was their version of the aforementioned Head On, which they truly made their own.
I wish more bands did covers these days, as I’m sure I’ve mentioned in a previous review at some point, as I like to get a flavour for what music has influenced bands I’m watching.
This was a rare show then with both bands playing a (very good) cover.
I’d spotted Will, guitarist with the mighty Good Grief and someone I’ve bumped into at other gigs over the years (with Robyn Hitchcock at the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Music Room in February 2023 coming to mind), enjoying Ex-Vöid.
He came over to say hello as I was heading out. I didn’t stay for a long chat as I was dripping in sweat after spending most of Ducks Ltd.’s set dancing away, in what was a by-now sweltering room.
You can tell how much I enjoyed the show from my post-gig tweet – yes, it’s still a tweet as far as I am concerned (and pretty much everyone else)!
Tonight’s t-shirt
I decided to plump for my bottle green Flying Nun tee, as I knew that both of Ducks Ltd.‘s main men are massive fans of the Kiwi record label.
There were a few other music tees in evidence, including a second Flying Nun shirt as well as one honouring another great label in Sarah Records – in fact, I’d nearly worn a Sarah t-shirt instead.
Others were Holiday Ghosts, Joy Division, Personal Best, Ex-Easter Island Head and one for the Brudenell Social Club in Leeds.
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Playlist
Here is some of the music from the evening on Spotify: