Alessi's Christmas Crackers at The Luminaire

Alessi's Ark
Treetop Flyers
Jake Bellows
The Luminaire, 10 December 2009

Alessi is easily my favourite discovery of the year. There’s something kind of magical and unique about the little world she creates through her songs and drawings. It’s no wonder then that a cool little scene seems to be building up around her, much like the Saddle Creek scene she aspired to when she began writing songs. Some of these fellow artists she gathered together for a special Christmas concert, a cool little mini festival of sorts featuring comedians, bands and Christmas tunes all tied together by Alessi’s sweetly endearing personality.
Sadly I missed out on the two comedians opening the night but made it just in time for the music starting with Jake Bellows. The man behind one of Alessi’s favourite bands, Saddle Creek alumni Neva Dinova, Bellows sings on several songs on the first Alessi’s Ark album, most notably The Horse. Bellows begins his set singing alone with just a guitar and there’s no doubting the strength of the songs. He’s no looker but comes across charming enough to connect with the audience with ease. The best part of his set comes when The Ark, Alessi’s backing band, joins him on stage particularly on one song where Alessi channels her inner Meg White and takes to the drums. It’s obvious there’s a mutual appreciation going on, also evidenced by the fact that Alessi and Bellows are playing lots of dates together all through December.

Alessi with Jake Bellows

Another band who have played with Alessi in the past were also on the bill, Treetop Flyers. Named after a Stephen Stills song (with the guitarist sporting a cool Neil Young, Harvest t-shirt), their sound is very much rooted in that Laurel Canyon rock sound of the 60s and even without the name, it’s obvious they’ve intently listened to their Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young records. As a young London band they could have easily sounded contrived and inauthentic but their love of rootsy country rock shines through and it sounds completely natural, raw and real. Playing the entirety of their debut self-titled EP, despite trying to sell their excellent pedal steel player to the audience and extolling the virtues of Status Quo, Treetop Flyers were the surprise of the night and I’m really looking forward to catching them live again.

Alessi with Robyn Hitchcock

I’ve seen Alessi live twice before, once completely solo and another time with her band, but in a much more stripped down performance. Tonight, dressed in a pretty brown floral dress, she has a full band and it sounds fantastic. Starting off with new song The Robot, she gives a preview of all the songs from her upcoming new EP (out in February apparently) and already I can’t wait to get hold of it. With Bellows on hand she brings him up to sing, as he does on the album, on The Dog and The Horse and then comes a surprise. She brings up the legendary Robyn Hitchcock and then abandons the stage leaving him to treat the crowd to two songs, one (Madonna Of The Wasps) preceded by a long, weird, surreal and rambling story. It’s a nice moment but I have to admit, given that Alessi’s sets tend to be pretty short in the first place, I was a little disappointed not to have more songs from her. Still when she takes to the stage again she launches into a magical The Asteroids Collide and an epic Glendora, which finishes with the band rocking out on its rousing instrumental finale. I've actually never heard Alessi get quite so loud and it's pretty cool to see. Overall, there's something perfectly charming about how awkward, down to earth and unspoilt Alessi is. I really hope she never becomes too polished, because right now it's refreshing how natural and unpretentious she is.
So another lovely night with Alessi, complete with Christmas decorations, comedy, introductions from Alessi herself and some very special guests, but a little more music from the lady herself would have been nice.