London gig review: Mayzel, Sacha Gordon and Ella Morgon play at Biddle Bros
Some time ago I met Sacha Gordon in Paris. We hung out on rowing boats in Bois De Vincennes, as you do, while Bella Berry interviewed him and Jules, the other main writer in his band Sacha Gordon and the Weird Orchestra. It was a great time, naturally. After the interview we went to get some drinks at a local bistrot and I got talking to Sacha, he was telling me more about his music, and also how he really wanted to do a gig in London, so I said to let me know when he was planning on visiting, and that I would sort him something out.
Once he had given me the dates of the weekend he was coming to London I spoke to Ella from Hella Morgan, who said she would talk to Biddle Bros, a wacky, dingy, rock n roll pub in east London. Perfect. She then found headline band Mayzel, made a poster, and suddenly we had all the ingredients for a great gig.
Biddle Bros is a great venue, a hidden gem in Clapton, East London I had never heard of until now. A thin, corridor-like bar clad in classic pub aesthetic leads to the venue portion of the building, perfect size for smaller bands and solo acts, and easy for the crowd to all be right in the action; especially when bands like Mayzel utilize the whole space. Downstairs are the toilets… I know it seems strange to bring up the toilets, but when you see them you’ll understand. A sort of storage room has 2 doors to loos with the strangest sink in the middle, like right in the middle of the room. Go see for yourself, for the venue, but also for the toilet experience. Sad House Daddy Presents promote nights there, well worth getting in contact if you’re a band in London starting out, or just looking for somewhere a bit different to play.
The first act of the night was Ella Morgan, playing acoustic versions of her songs and a heavy cover of Where Did You Sleep Last Night by Lead Belly, a song that will pretty much always go down a treat. Her songs bring heavy, dirty, classic ‘dad rock’ vibes with gritty blues that meets an almost country/folk edge with her story telling songs of alcohol addiction and sex, ‘bad things’, as she puts it.
Second was our man Sacha with his girlfriend, doing some exquisite duets of both original songs and a great cover of David Bowie I Love You by Brian Jonestown Massacre, a left-field choice the crowd loved; Sacha's voice with its strange vibrato suited the song so well; and the way they used vocal harmony to replicate the accordion in the original was beautiful.
The jaunty feel of the set suited the venue and the night so well and Sacha knew how to play to the British crowd with his quips about his songs: “This song is called Six Months! It’s about cocaine and bathrooms!” and “So one time I got married… This is a song called Tattooed Legs.” both of which saw the room roar.
I’m not sure what to compare his music with to be honest… which is rare. It’s definitely a very original spectacle: dissonant chord progressions and melodies accompany some extremely light hearted, jovial lyrics, a strange antithesis when discussing potentially heavy subject matter such as toxic relationships and divorce. A few of his lyrics were quite dark, though, and some really stuck with me, such as: “Let me please be a mess… I’d rather be high in bed”; “Save yourself from pain, cause I'll destroy promises I’ve made.” and my personal favourite “No grown man should be living in a memory.”
Mayzel were the headline band, and christ did they act it: a flurry of energetic indie-rock songs reminiscent of the early 00s Brooklyn scene of The Strokes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and alike, wild frontman-ism from the French lead singer Falko that would’ve given Karen O a run for her money, and in such a small space felt so much more intimate and crazy.
When speaking to the band after I asked what the name meant and Falco told me: “So it's basically taken because my mum is English and the way she pronounces my wings in French is ‘mes ailes’... i just thought about it, so its like a direct translation but I wrote it like shit, like you know what? This music is our way to be free and break everything and have fun together, so those are my wings, those are our wings.”
All in all it was a great night; the musicians were on fire and the venue’s quirky charm potentiated the magic, I recommend Biddle Bros to anyone planning to venture out to Clapton, and if you’re ever in Paris try to catch Sacha Gordon and the Weird Orchestra, you will not be disappointed; I promise you will not have heard anything like it.