John Callaghan and Henry Homesweet at Pulse Festival
The first weekend of the New Wolsey Theatre’s Pulse Festival draws to a close and what better way to banish those Monday blues than to head down to Dance Eats in Ipswich for an evening of electronica with John Callaghan and Henry Homesweet?
John has already previewed his terrifying collection of sponge-puppets and cardboard props at the Waiting Room in Colchester, on the first date of his massive, two-date East Anglian tour. Henry Homesweet has recently returned from headlining the Square Sounds Festival in Melbourne and is no doubt looking forward to the prospect of playing to 20 people in a waterfront cafe next to the River Orwell.
Update: The 10.30pm Monday night slot at Dance Eats was never going to be a big draw, despite our best efforts to entice people out on the worst of all school nights, for a very late foray into the fringe with two of the foremost exponents of DIY electronica.
Even antigen personnel were struggling to stay awake by the time John Callaghan kicked off proceedings at about half ten. Despite his aversion to caffeine, John was significantly more lively than the audience, turning in a spirited and surprising mishap-free performance of new tracks and classics from his back catalogue. The set climaxed with a the retina-searing rendition of Tear My Body Out – John in his notorious half-suit, alfresco dancing and audience participation.
Henry Homesweet, fresh from playing to thousands of hyperactive chip-tune fanatics in France, Belgium and Australia, traded the overenthusiastic crowds for a café containing twenty sleepy adults. If he was disappointed, it did not impact on his peerless set of raw, pounding 8-bit techno. Homesweet still solely relies on modified Nintendo Gameboys to create his live sound, but there were few residual elements of the console music of his earlier work. This was stripped-down, unadulterated techno. The 8-bit chip no longer determines the style of his musical output; anymore than a guitar, bass and drums would define the style of a live band. It almost seemed criminal that so few people were there to hear it, but then it was getting on for midnight on a Monday night in Ipswich.
For those who missed it, here’s the end of John’s show.
