London-based independent label Fierce Panda Records are in the midst of an exciting few months; for they have been putting on an array of shows here, there and everywhere around the great city that is London in celebration of 20 years of success for the label and the musicians they have been collecting along the way. On the 14th of March we made our way down to Islington's The Lexington for Birmingham quartet, The Traps 'My Grip'/'Imposter' single launch show as part of Fierce Panda's 20th Birthday shows. It was the most pleasant of surprises to see that lo-fi/dream pop solo artist David Bailey; who performs under the moniker of No Middle Name, was the opening act.
And what an opening act it was! David Bailey is a charismatic and likeable performer who is an overflowing faucet of 1 part laid back and 3 parts easy going, who took the time to literally babble on to the crowd in between each track. Perhaps it was nerves from the overtly attentive crowd who eagerly awaited No Middle Name's next move with a silence that made even the sound of the tiniest pin drop akin to a heard of stampeding elephants. Or perhaps it was the fact that David Bailey usually performs with a backing band but was flying solo for the night and was a bit lonely. But if you ask us, David Bailey is just a friendly, open guy who loves a good chat and addressed the crowd as if they were his mates. In fact,witty rambling such as "I'm looking for a drummer. A female drummer. So we can be like Bucks Fizz. If you're a drummer and you think this looks like fun, we can have fun together. Oh. That sounds like a dating website tagline!" had the room laughing and my friend whispering to me "I like him, he's funny. I'd go for a pint with him!".
No Middle Name performed 10-tracks, 7 of which were taken from his self-titled debut album, the other 3; currently unreleased. His tracks feature a lot of samples as basis or inspiration for a lot of the songs, a loop, a noise or bit of speech. Not to mention groovy guitar solos, rock and roll riffs and a sound evoking images of old children’s programs from the 70s or 80s where Bailey has created music over the presenters talking. Definitely one of the most underrated, promising talents on our radar at the moment. David Bailey, we dig you, your moves and your colourful beaded necklace.
Set list:
Intro (unreleased)
Late Bloomer
Two Friends
Dance With Devil And Me (Unreleased) ACOUSTIC "Yeah this is going to happen, I'm going to do an acoustic track. Don't worry, it's only short".
My Friend Jenny (Unreleased) "this one's rock and roll one. Well, hardly"
From The Barrel Of A Loaded Gun "great guitar solo".
Last One To Know It
When Forever Ends - got his groove on.
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