A Head Full of Wishes is a site for Galaxie 500, Luna, Damon & Naomi, Dean & Britta and Dean Wareham. With news, articles and lists of releases and past and future shows.
Review: Dean & Britta @ XOYO, London
This was my first trip to XOYO. Another basement venue in London. The show was for over 18s only so I managed to sneak in for the soundcheck so that (almost 14 year old) Adam could get a look at and listen to one of the bands that fill up my life. Unfortunately the soundcheck wasn’t happening… a missing kick-drum pedal and a blown fuse meant that most of what was happening was nothing. We went for a pizza and returned an hour later just when the had band decided to soundcheck without a kick-drum pedal… half-way through a pedal was found and it all came to a halt again. The soundcheck, when it happened for real, was hurried and comprised of half-songs - but still enough to thrill the boy (and me obviously).
I walked Hazel and Adam to the station and then headed back to the venue for the gig. Support act were a Scottish hippy-folk band called Haight Ashbury (well how could they not use the word “hippy” to describe them) - they comprised two female singers, the dark one playing a drum and a tamborine (and wearing fantastic glasses), the blonde one playing a bass and both of them singing… at the same time. In the middle was a guy who mostly played a guitar but also some peculiar stringed instrument that looked like a cigar box with a stick nailed to it. They made nice sounds…
Dean & Britta for this tour are back to playing as a four piece with Anthony LaMarca on drums and Miguel Matalin on guitar, and while I loved seeing the three piece in Brighton it sounded better as a four piece. This was my third “plays Galaxie 500” show and the band were comfortable with how it all worked (despite this being their first performance with this line-up) - things were all going swimmingly until the technical gremplins conspired to bring the show to a halt once more while Dean frantically plugged and unplugged pedals trying to get things back on track… eventually things kicked off again and it all ramped up beautifully. Set-list as expected, gem-packed and impeccably delivered.
Dean announced that their show at Truck Festival in July would be the last time they’d play the “plays Galaxie 500” shows in the UK - “maybe we’ll do it again in 20 years” - while I’ve loved the nostalgia-wallowing and have enjoyed every minute of all three shows I have to agree that I think it’s time to move on. My intention is to go to Truck for one last fling.
Elsewhere: