Connan Mockasin (original) (raw)
A Connan Mockasin gig is unlike other gigs. The first time I saw him was supporting Crowded House in a biggish venue.
A man he'd apparently met the day before, and who looked like he'd come straight from his office job, played keys and danced peculiar moves across the stage whilst Connan played his singular jazz influenced psychedelic guitar music accompanied by his unique vocals from behind that mass of blonde-white hair.
The audience at large seemed bemused. I was hooked. I bought his album, then called 'Please Turn me into the Snat*', later reissued as 'Forever Dolphin Love', and played it on repeat for a long time. I then saw him support Warpaint at an O2 Academy. He claimed the whole band was drunk, but this seemed to mean that the band (now featuring a middle aged man he claimed to be his Dad) just played the complex music with even greater speed and energy.
The first solo show I saw was in a noisy, and pretty tiny, bar. He had the packed room in the palm of his hand and finished the gig playing a new track sat on the sticky floor with the whole crowd seated around him, singing backing vocals in hushed tones. It was pretty special.
This year (2014) I saw him at the Soup Kitchen in Manchester at what BBC 6music's Marc Riley called one of the best gigs he'd ever been to. A packed room, dancing, singing and at one point, once again, joining him on the floor. Incredible. My brother-in-law, dubious after watching a couple of videos on YouTube was an instant convert... I'd recommend you take the opportunity to see him live, even if his records aren't working for you.
Random Trivia? 1. Connan Hosford had a band called the Mockasins. When the band disbanded, he kept the name and recorded his debut album at home under pressure from his mum to do something productive. 2. Connan Mockasin recorded an album with his Kiwi friends Liam Finn, Lawrence Arabia, Eliza-Jane Barnes and Seamus Ebbs under the name BARB. It's well worth a listen. 3. Connan is featured on the most recent Charlotte Gainsbourg album, also worth a spin. *half snake, half rat.