The Emperors - Sovereigns of the Sublime | livemusic.fm

I have to admit that I didn't catch all of this gig but by the time I entered the underground caverns at the Borderline the confines were packed to the gills with fellow punters who were all engaged by the performance of Tom McKean and his Emperors. I'm pleased I made the effort to get to see this star of the alternative wave - and I wasn't the only one. I first met Tom in North London a couple of weeks ago (funnily enough I liked his jacket and asked him where he got it ... New York as it turned out unfortunately!) Anyway we got talking and he very humbly mentioned he was a musician in a band and if I wasn't doing anything to come along to the Borderline. So, after some tussle with the missus over double-bookings for a friends' birthday, I managed to extricate myself for half an hour and catch the Emperors. The Borderline is another one of those "would-have-been-smoky-before-the-ban" dens of iniquity that are the lifeblood of the 'real' live music scene in London. It holds about 100 or so people, has a decent stage where the band can perform (and punters can get right up close) - and a pretty decent sound system and bar to boot. I'd downloaded a few of The Emperors songs from their website http://www.tommckean.co.uk and had been impressed. I have to say that although the downloads didn't do their live performance justice, the MP3s were original and provoking. Although I hate pigeon-holing a band it would perhaps help if I described their sound, original though it is - as something along the lines of Nick Cave jamming with Tom Waits playing in a Jazz Bar during a Tarantino movie. In fact the Borderline definitely fits in with a kind of Rodriguez/Tarantino-esque vibe too, so was a perfect setting one might say. Anyway - to the live performance. I was late as I mentioned but managed to catch the final 4 songs of the the 40 minute or so set ... Which meant I caught fine renditions of "Tell the Angels" "One Thing on My Mind" "A Little Something" and the crowd-pleasing encore, a cover of "Old fashioned Morphine". The Emperors were breaking in a new bass player, Ed Miller, but to be honest you wouldn't have known if Tom hadn't told you as the numbers were tight and full of the evocative power that underlines each and every one of the Emperor's songs. Tom McKean's voice has many qualities - smoky, gravelly velvet with a good range from bass register up to the higher notes; and toe-curlingly good in pretty much every number. The rest of the Emperors also acquitted themselves well - from Bobby Williams punk'd country and western guitar, to Iain Ross's well-measured drums and Andy Simms imaginative keyboards (and sublime clarinet on "Morphine") Above all though McKean's gentle style, warm personality and laconic sense of humour shone through during the set - to which the punters responded in-kind and cheered and whistled to the rafters when the Emperors finished the last number. Quite rightly too - I'd recommend getting to see the Emperors before they get themselves booked into the Empire ...and see them while they're still playing intimate gigs like the Borderline!