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Mark Gardener, Goldrush, and the Stratford 4 Veronica and i hit the town for sushi with Danny followed by Mark Gardener, Goldrush, and The Stratford 4 at Bottom of the Hill. We'd witnessed a f$@#ing brilliant acoustic set by Mark at the Middle East in Cambridge, and i was looking forward to seeing what he could do with a backing band (in the form of Gold Rush). Locals the Stratford 4 got things going. I really like their sophomore album Love & Distortion, and i had never seen them live so i was eager. Eager enough to arrive at the designated start time of a show, for a change. They were okay. Their songs are very nice, but seem to fall into a pattern after you've heard four or five. Also, they don't seem to have figured out how to orchestrate swells of feedback amongst themselves, producing a cacophonous drone rather than a song-ending climax. The members of Gold Rush, clad in outfits from casual to western wear to those awful hippie-esque blouse-like tops, then took the stage. I'd never heard them before, but they played some good country-tinged pop and rock songs. At long last (my feet just can't take four hour shows anymore), Mark came out. He played "See What You Get", "From Time To Time", and "Chrome Waves" on his own (three of my favorite songs from his acoustic set, luckily). Two Gold Rushers then joined him for a few more songs, including a version of "Vapour Trail" featuring the closing violin piece and Mark's debut solo single "Magdalen Sky" including the backing trumpet. Finally, the rest of GR emerged and Mark launched into full-fledged renditions of both new songs and Ride classics. The ones i remember: "In A Different Place", "Dreams Burn Down", "Snow in Mexico", "Where Did You Go", and a new song, "You're Always Out Of Reach" that sounded surprisingly horrible. A great show, one that got me excited about the prospect of Mark's new material. I picked up the 3 song tour ep that includes "Snow in Mexico" and a new version of "Dreams Burn Down", it's fab.
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