LONGWAVE – A NEW BEGINNING
Every so often you come across a band, often just by chance, that really stands out from the crowd and hits you in the face. Over the years this has happened to me a number of times…….The Clash – 1977, Johnny Thunders – 1978, Bauhaus - 1980, The Jesus and Mary Chain – 1986, The Stone Roses – 1989, Oasis – 1984…….they all had a huge impact upon me over subsequent years.
In recent years, since the initial power of Oasis went more mainstream, things seemed to have gone reasonably quiet, save for the occasional, yet awesome, power exuded by Primal Scream. However, a new breed started to emerge led (for me) by The Strokes and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. It was as a result of following up my interest in the former, that a new band hit me like a “Tidal Wave” right out of the blue.
On 25 March 2002, I approached Manchester Apollo with a great deal of excitement as it was to be the first time I had seen The Strokes live. With the help of NME, the tour had been built up into some kind of dinosaur and the crowd immediately seemed up for a great night out. As there were two support bands I had turned up a little earlier than usual, although more to catch the atmosphere of the event than anything else. It wasn’t until the first band came on stage that the evening, if not the year, took a different twist altogether.
As Longwave took to the stage, I had only a small amount of anticipation in my mind, not knowing what to expect at all. However, by the middle of the first song my attention was on full alert as the combination of power and melody emerged from the stage. Black Rebel had taken over the mantle of the Mary Chain in terms of power (something which had been sadly lacking in the music scene with the exception of the Scream team!)……however these guys seemed to be delivering something beyond that……..and it was something I grew to like a lot as the set progressed and came to its conclusion, all to quickly. The Strokes were great of course……but it was the Longwave set that lingered in the back of my mind and left me hungry to find out more.
When I finally tracked down Endsongs….which wasn’t easy……all my initial excitement crystallised. From the first listen, this for me proved to be an absolute classic of an album and one which I played over and over again……something I do not do very often, even for my most favoured bands. Two great singles followed and, thanks to the kindness of Jim Merlis in NYC, I finally got a copy of the Tidal Wave EP……another great collection of songs. Some bands are better in the studio, some are better live………Longwave surpass all expectations in both of these areas!
I finally found myself at the Cockpit in Leeds for what was to be my last live experience of Longwave in 2002. I knew the venue from seeing Embrace there in a low key show about two years earlier……the only problem was getting round the one way system in Leeds which will never be familiar to me! Anyway, I made it and after only a couple of minutes inside the venue, I found both Steve Schiltz and Jason, who was setting up the T-shirt stall.
Steve is a really friendly guy and was happy to talk about all sorts of things. Jason is also a great guy and I spent some of the time trying to get people to buy the Day Sleeper EP, pointing out that they would have to pay a lot more in the UK shops for it than the band were charging on the tour. I asked Steve about the set list they had planned as I really wanted to hear Make Me A Believer……one of my favourite tracks on Endsongs. Steve said it was not on the set list but he would check with the band and see what he could do……his uncertainty mainly surrounded the fact that they had not rehearsed it recently. A short while later he came back and said they would play it immediately after Day Sleeper (the only downside was that it would mean dropping Ghosts from the set list but, hey, you can’t have everything can you?)…what a result!!
At about 9.10pm the band hit the stage and I made my way down to the front……with camera by my side. It was an early start as the Cockpit had a club night planned later on and the venue would have to be cleared after the band’s set had finished. In common with other recent shows, the set list was dominated by songs from the singles and E.P.s released in 2002 and the other new songs that will feature on the new album due out in February 2003.
“Wake” kicked things off nicely followed by a storming version of “Everywhere You Turn”. A fine version of “Pool Song” followed – for those who feel the need to draw comparisons with The Strokes, this is the one song that has an obvious nod to their mates from NYC. However this one seems to reach new dimensions and certainly starts warming up the Leeds crowd. “Someday” is followed by “Meet Me At The Bottom” – a song off the great “Tidal Wave” E.P. that just gets better after each hearing, and tonight was no exception. Another newie, “Sewn Up”, is greeted with enthusiasm followed by the first of 3 songs off Endsongs – “Pretty Face”. This one totally rocked the house and Steve really seemed to get into this one – well I guess he has sung it plenty of times now! A haunting version of “Day Sleeper” kept the momentum going. Then, with barely a break between songs, the opening chords of “Make Me A Believer” hit every corner of the Cockpit. If they hadn’t rehearsed it recently, it certainly didn’t show. It was a blistering version of a great song and a highlight of the night for me, made even more special when Steve said at it’s conclusion “That was for Ian, who has driven all the way from New York city to see us tonight”……..well, it sounds more romantic than Manchester I suppose! A classic version of “Tidal Wave” followed…..another song I cannot imagine ever getting tired of hearing. The whole band were now flying and a tight version of Exit was folloed by the show closer – “Make Me Whole” – co-incidentally the closing track on Endsongs.
Another great show was at an end and no sooner had the band left the stage then the gear started to be cleared so the Cockpit could get ready for the club night. As I made my way to the back of the small venue, it was good to see Jason shifting a few copies of Day Sleeper – well, how could anyone not be tempted after such a rocking show? I caught up with Steve, who seemed happy with the show and the reception they got. It was obviously a lot more intimate than some of the recent shows they had played on the Vines tour, but they still gave their all.
I asked Steve about his musical influences – like most of us he started with the Beatles and bands like Radiohead and U2 obviously form an important part of his record collection. He was disappointed that he had tickets for 3 U2 shows on last years tour but not manage to get to any of them. Having seen them myself twice in Manchester, I can understand his disappointment – U2 were just awesome. The impact of these influences on some of the songs cannot be avoided but, having said that, Longwave manage to put their own unique stamp on each song they produce. Anyway, Steve was looking forward to seeing Queens Of The Stone Age in London the following night prior to playing their final UK show in London on Monday.
Time was marching on now and most of the gear had been cleared. Before I departed out into the wet streets of Leeds to hit the motorway back to Stockport, Jason handed me one of Mike’s drumsticks which he had picked up from the stage. I said my goodbyes to Steve and I was off………now we all look forward to a much bigger tour of the UK in 2003…..just don’t leave us waiting too long guys!!
Ian Corbridge
November 2002