Now then, where was I? Oh yes:
Saturday (or, the greatest day of gigging ever):
Bleary eyed from falling asleep in my contact lenses i slowly rose then steadily headed to the John Peel Tent to watch The Nightingales (11.00am). They suffered some horrendous sound problems during and after their first song, but frontman Robert Lloyd kept the crowd entertained by singing some poetry. When all was fixed, the band blasted out some post punk brilliance, with Lloyd manic throughout the set.
I wandered across the site to see Blue Roses (Queens Head, 12.00pm) perform a fantastic set of beautiful acoustic music. Laura Groves has a fantastic voice and can certainly write some good songs. Me and Alex were off to Metric next but decided to take a detour through Jazzworld to try and catch some of Rolf Harris. Couldn't get anywhere near the place it was so packed and we were forced to find another route. whilst this went on I tried some Kangaroo. It tastes very good I have to say. Anyways, Metric (Other Stage, 1.05pm) were a bit ace. It was weird watching them in broad daylight rather than and atmospheric venue but they were very entertaining. Monster Hospital and Gimme Sympathy got the crowd going and Stadium Love was a stunning set closer.
By this point in the day the sun was high and everyone thought they were being cooked. I still made my way to see Spinal Tap (Pyramid Stage, 2.50pm) though and I was not disappointed. Sex Farm was rocking and Stonehenge was epic. They even had dancing druids! It was hilarious and fantastic. It was back to Queens Head for Broken Records next (4.10pm) who filled the tent with their fantastic brand of epic scottish indie. They gave an extremely heartfelt performance and won over many new fans in the crowd from what I could tell.
It was a return to John Peel now for The Gaslight Anthem (5.25pm). They rocked, they got the crowd to sing along and were extremely good. And then it got better. BRUCE FUCKING SPRINGSTEEN JOINED THEM ONSTAGE!!! he joined them for The '59 Sound which was not only one of the performances of the day, but one of the best of the festival. The Boss only stayed for the one song but christ the tent went mental for it. Gaslight anthem still carried on the momentum even after Bruce left, not even phased by his presence.
I left Gaslight slightly early cos I wanted to see some more legends. If I could spend every sunny afternoon listening to Crosby Stills and Nash (Pyramid Stage, 6.00pm) and playing catch with a group of strangers I would. It was perfect. The harmonies, the postive vibes, Crosby joking about songwriting in the band ("Stills writes the great Rock n Roll, Nash writes anthems and I write the weird shit) everything was fantastic. For What It' Worth is a song you MUST hear live.
I began my trek towards the front of the pyramid after CSN and got halfway to watch Kasabian (8.00pm) who were suitably anthemic and revelled every minute they had onstage. I've never actually seen Kasabian before but I thought they were great. They really went for it live (even thoguh Ian said it was the weakest he'd seen them out of the 5 or 6 times he's seen them. I want to see them on a good day if that was them weak) and songs like Club Foot and Empire have a great crowd pleasing quality to them.
Though they're nothing compared to Bruce Springsteen (Pyramid Stage, 10.00pm). Now that man knows how to please a field of a couple of thousand people. He opened with a tribute to Joe Strummer (playing Coma Girl) before launching into Badlands and leaving the rest of the bands playing that day in his stride. The crowd didn't know all the words which amused Bruce and just urged him to perform harder. And when he played fantastic versions of Because The Night, Outlaw Pete and No Surrender (featuring Brian of Gaslight Anthem guesting for Bruce this time) you don't think it could get better. Oh it can. The final 45 minutes of his set are simply mind blowing. The River, Radio Nowhere, Lonesome Day, The Rising and Born To Run finish his main set, then he's barely offstage to come back to an encore of Hard Times (an old fold song) Thunder Road, Land Of Hope And Dreams, American Land, Glory Days and Dancing In The Dark. You could actually see the steam coming off Bruce's body he was putting so much effort into his set. The best moment of the set was a skit between Bruce and guitarist Steve Van Zandt during the encore:
Bruce: STEVE! I think it's curfew time!
Steve: What?!
Bruce: I said I think it's curfew time!
Steve: No! It's not curfew time!
Bruce: Well... what time is it?
(music pauses whilst Steve thinks)
Steve: ... IT'S BOSS TIME!!!!!!!
(music kicks back in)
An unbelieveably good set. Everyone I've spoke to since has said they thought it was amazing too. The Boss seemed to win over a lot of new fans that night.
Saturday shenanigans had barely started though. A group of us decided to go to Trash City finally but we were coerced into a detour to meet someone. We lost half our party and eventually got to trash city at a silly time when all the clubs were either too full to let anyone in or closing. We found an electronic grafiti wall though which had some comical results ('draw a big cock!' Ciaran writes the work cock in huge letters). We then wandered to Arcadia at about 4am for no really reason, where we had the most unexpected suprise of the festival. Keith allen appeared on a tiny stage with a band, who then proceeded to knock out ska infused versions of classic songs such as Rock The Casbah, Ace of Spades, Smells Like Teen Spirit and Anarchy in the UK. It was unexpected, bizarre, crude, offensive, but downright hilarious. One of my highlights of the festival for sure.
Sunday:
Somehow sleeping for 5 hours I awoke even more bleary eyed than previous days, but still intending to trudge on. It took a while to get going though as The Boxer Rebellion (Other Stage, 11.30am) didn't exactly excite the crowd. In fact they were just plain dull, which was disappointing as i'd liked their song Code Red when I heard it.
Fortunately Art Brut were next (Other Stage, 12.40pm) and they never fail to make me smile. It was a typical set from them yes but they were funny and entertaining. I didn't watch the end as I ran across the site, primarily to see my brother but also to catch the end of 6 Day Riot (Avalon Stage, 12.40pm) which was lovely. Very nice acoustic fold stuffs. A long wander around shang-rila later and I headed to Croissant Neuf. Firstly, I caught Ian Ritchie and John Aston Thomas perform some lovely intrumental covers (which was nice), but mainly to see Biggles Wartime Band (4.00pm) who are still one of the funniest bands I've ever seen. Sketches about the recession and sammy the fish will be remembered for a long time.
A sprint was required to return to the Queens Head for the final time and catch Fight Like Apes (5.00pm). Yes I missed the Yeah Yeah Yeahs to see them but I don't care, I love Fight Like Apes and their noisy synth rock... stuff. They were energetic and cheerful throughout and when a synth broke they got someone in the crowd to sing the synth line for Battlestations. Fantastic stuff. I jumped around a bit too much during the gig and was exhausted. I watched some of Bat For Lashes (Other Stage, 6.00pm) but couldn't pay attention to her performance so I crashed at the tent for a while.
I made sure I got to the pyramid stage for the legendary Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds though (22.00pm). I'm not entirely sure how well they went down with the crowd but I loved every moment of their set. Tupelo, Dig Lazarus Dig, Red Right Hand, Deanna, Midnight Man, The Ship Song, Henry Lee, We Call Upon The Author, The Mercy Seat, There She Goes My Beautiful World, The Weeping Song, Papa Won't Leave You Henry and Stagger Lee gave one hell of a setlist, and an hour and a bit of brilliance. One of the best performances of the weekend.
Then finally, it came time for the last band to watch. So, I did what came natural to me and watched Blur (pyramid Stage, 9.50pm). I remember jumping around my brothers bedroom listening to Blur when we were kids. They mean a lot to me that band. Did they live up to expectations? Answer: Yes, and then some. They were my favourite headliner of the weekend, and belted out the hits whilst Damon Albarn jumped around like a man on pills and gave an incredibly emotional performance during the likes of Tender, Coffee And TV and he even started to cry before This Is A Low. The crowd sung along to every single word, even the lesser known songs like Oily Water, Jubilee, Trimm Trabb and Advert (one of my all time favourite Blur songs). Tender was easily the song of the festival as the crowd sung it during the breaks between the main set and the encore set. The Universal closed the gig and the weekend perfectly. The refrain of 'It really really really can happen' has never felt more poignant to me.
So bands were over and me and my friends went to buy fudge and make a return to Flagtopia to survey the land we'd spent the past 5 nights in and reflecting on it. Well, until the wind picked up and we thought heading back to our tents would be a good idea. It was an amazing idea as it turned out as it pissed it down when we got halfway. Back at the tents we all collapsed and slept.
Monday:
We got up by 7 and had packed out tents and set off by quarter to 8. We spent about half an hour walking across the site and an hour waiting for a bus. Then a half an hour wait at Castle Cary and approximatelt 3 hours on the train made for a much easier journey home.
Overall, Glastonbury lived up to expectations and completely exceeded them. It was far better than the previous time I went to Glastonbury in 2007 (when it rained all weekend) and I think the overall atmosphere was so much better. Comparing the line ups of who I saw at each weekend both were equally brilliant and I saw a great many bands at each that I love. This year still wins hands down though. It was nearly perfect. I will hopefully return next year for the 40th anniversary.
Time to get some well deserved sleep I feel.
Monday, 29 June 2009
Glastonbury Special! Part 1.
So Glastonbury 2009. There's so much that could be be said about the weekend but it can be summed up in a few words: Fucking awesome! I'll do this in two parts so it's slightly easier to digest.
Wednesday:
Bright and early at 7am I got up. At 9am I set off for Birmingham New Street. At 10.05 I met with friends Dan, Alex and Elliot and we got the 10.12 to Taunton in somerset. After excitement on the train we switch to a Castle Cary bound train and arrived there just after 1pm and got in the line to board a shuttle bus to the site.
4 hours later we actually boarded a bus to the site. Which then dropped us off 2 miles away instead of at the gate. We had to walk the last 2 miles. Finally arrived at the site by about 6-ish and had met up with friends Ian and Morena and pitched tents by 7.30. I wasn't very happy with the lack of organisation for the shuttle buses but in hindsight we were let off easily. Apparently there were accidents on both the M4 and M5 so any coaches or cars coming to the festival were fucked. I'm aware that the 7am coach from Manchester still hadn't arrived by 10.30pm. Bad times indeed.
So we got off lightly, but whe were pitched and saved a spot for other friend Ciaran, Chris and Mark who got there about 9-ish, followed by Dave and Abi after midnight. At some point we went for a wander to Flagtopia and the stone circle then some of us went to Williams Green to a bar playing reggae classics. It was all good.
Weather- mostly sunny and hot. Shame most people spent most the day on a coach, car or in a line.
Thursday:
The Festival kicked off properly here. A wander around the markets and greenfields was called for. It rained slightly but the sun was soon out again and the heat was blistering. Then about 3 me and some others headed to the Queens Head tent for-
Maximo Park (Queens Head, 4pm)
The williams green field was packed for this. You could get near the tent at all. So a lot of people settled for watching the gig on the village screen nearby. Unfortunately, when Maximo Park came on the screens sound wasn't working, so the first 3 songs seemed to pass by in silence. The sound gradually arrived though and got louder. From the looks of it, the band gave a blistering set including their classic singles and the rarely played (and personal favourite) Limassol. Paul Smith was at his hip swinging best and the band were all very energetic. Great way to start the festival.
After this, I went to meet Alex so he could put his tent up next to ours, then a group of us decided to see East 17 in the dance field. Unfortunately, they were moved to a later slot and we weren't bothered by returning later to see them. I met my mate louis for a drink and ended up sheltering in the John Peel Tent for about half an hour as a flash storm appeared.
Following on, I returned to the tent where there was merriment to be had. it was at this point we tried to think of rumours and decided to spread one Michael Jackson had died. This sort of backfired as the first group who passed our tents replied with 'yeah he'sin a coma now' not joking at all. Rapidly we got out phones out to get on the internet where we were greeted with the news that the King Of Pop was dead. We couldn't really comprehend such a legend being dead. We always assumed he'd find immortality somehow. Completely overwhelmed by this we did the only thing we could do in this situation...
We took the piss with no holding back. Yes the paedo jokes came out and we were mostly offensive and insultive but sometimes making fun of a bad situation is the only way to confront it. I can't remember them now (i was slightly drunk) but I do recall some corkers being there. We went for a wander to Arcadia and Shangri-la and ended up in the same reggae bar as the night before. We felt like we already had our moneys worth from glasto. Oh, if only we knew what the next few days would bring...
Friday:
First proper day of music. So what better ways to kick things off than to see an average rap, pop stuff from Mr Hudson (Other Stage, 10.50am)? Well, i can think of many better ways to start a music fest than Mr Hudson really. He wasn't bad but he wasn't good either. He was just, there.
A few of us went to check out Bishi (Park Stage, 12.00pm) who was quite entertaining with her electric sitar and dancers. Nice pop music. Kinda distracted by spotting a Q & A session with Michael Eavis though. We watched it and enjoyed some lovely facts about the festival and an amusing exchange:
Eavis: Bruce wanted 3 hours but we compromised on 2 and a half. If we can though we'll try and let him play the 3 hours.
Accountant: There's £300 a minute fine for every minute we go over curfew!
Eavis: Oh yes, how much is that for half and hour then?
Accountant: £9000.
Eavis: Ok, maybe we won't let him do that then!
After all of this went down I went to see a song of The Rakes (Other Stage, 1.15pm) which was quite entertaining as expected (Open Book by the way. Ace song). I then ran to see Regina Spektor do a wonderful performance at the Pyramid Stage though. (13.40pm). An hour of gorgeous piano ballads and whimsy, I'd forgotten how amazing that girl was. Just superb. Unlike N.E.R.D. afterwards (Pyramid Stage, 15.10pm). Energetic yes, but not really as entertaining as I'd hoped they'd be really. I got a bit bored I guess.
Now then, a big (non) suprise was the fact Jack Whites new band Dead Weather were the Special guests on the Park Stage at 6.45pm. All I can say is WOW! Heavy blues riffage from hell and Alison Mosshart slinking about the stage like a sexy minxread to fuck the stage it was a superb performance. Dean Fertita is a stunning guitarist, but when Jack White took over for their last song it was like heaven had opened. Jack played was of the best solo's I've ever heard and left the audience stunned. Brilliant through and through.
A suprise for me was The Specials not long after (Pyramid Stage, 8pm). I've never been a massive specials fan, but they were ace live. Two Tone goodness that kept the crowd entertained. And following this? Well the mighty Neil Young (Pyramid Stage, 10.00pm) rocking the living shit out of glastonbury. 2 hours and no let up at all, he played a load of classic's including Hey Hey My My, Cinnamon Girl, Heart Of Gold, Spirit Road, Needle And The Damage Done and an epic 15 minute version of Down By The River. He ended with a brilliant rendition of The Beatles' A Day In The Life. Highlight of friday easily. We returned to our tents intending to go to trash city but collapsed and fell asleep instead.
Part 2 to follow in the near future.
Wednesday:
Bright and early at 7am I got up. At 9am I set off for Birmingham New Street. At 10.05 I met with friends Dan, Alex and Elliot and we got the 10.12 to Taunton in somerset. After excitement on the train we switch to a Castle Cary bound train and arrived there just after 1pm and got in the line to board a shuttle bus to the site.
4 hours later we actually boarded a bus to the site. Which then dropped us off 2 miles away instead of at the gate. We had to walk the last 2 miles. Finally arrived at the site by about 6-ish and had met up with friends Ian and Morena and pitched tents by 7.30. I wasn't very happy with the lack of organisation for the shuttle buses but in hindsight we were let off easily. Apparently there were accidents on both the M4 and M5 so any coaches or cars coming to the festival were fucked. I'm aware that the 7am coach from Manchester still hadn't arrived by 10.30pm. Bad times indeed.
So we got off lightly, but whe were pitched and saved a spot for other friend Ciaran, Chris and Mark who got there about 9-ish, followed by Dave and Abi after midnight. At some point we went for a wander to Flagtopia and the stone circle then some of us went to Williams Green to a bar playing reggae classics. It was all good.
Weather- mostly sunny and hot. Shame most people spent most the day on a coach, car or in a line.
Thursday:
The Festival kicked off properly here. A wander around the markets and greenfields was called for. It rained slightly but the sun was soon out again and the heat was blistering. Then about 3 me and some others headed to the Queens Head tent for-
Maximo Park (Queens Head, 4pm)
The williams green field was packed for this. You could get near the tent at all. So a lot of people settled for watching the gig on the village screen nearby. Unfortunately, when Maximo Park came on the screens sound wasn't working, so the first 3 songs seemed to pass by in silence. The sound gradually arrived though and got louder. From the looks of it, the band gave a blistering set including their classic singles and the rarely played (and personal favourite) Limassol. Paul Smith was at his hip swinging best and the band were all very energetic. Great way to start the festival.
After this, I went to meet Alex so he could put his tent up next to ours, then a group of us decided to see East 17 in the dance field. Unfortunately, they were moved to a later slot and we weren't bothered by returning later to see them. I met my mate louis for a drink and ended up sheltering in the John Peel Tent for about half an hour as a flash storm appeared.
Following on, I returned to the tent where there was merriment to be had. it was at this point we tried to think of rumours and decided to spread one Michael Jackson had died. This sort of backfired as the first group who passed our tents replied with 'yeah he'sin a coma now' not joking at all. Rapidly we got out phones out to get on the internet where we were greeted with the news that the King Of Pop was dead. We couldn't really comprehend such a legend being dead. We always assumed he'd find immortality somehow. Completely overwhelmed by this we did the only thing we could do in this situation...
We took the piss with no holding back. Yes the paedo jokes came out and we were mostly offensive and insultive but sometimes making fun of a bad situation is the only way to confront it. I can't remember them now (i was slightly drunk) but I do recall some corkers being there. We went for a wander to Arcadia and Shangri-la and ended up in the same reggae bar as the night before. We felt like we already had our moneys worth from glasto. Oh, if only we knew what the next few days would bring...
Friday:
First proper day of music. So what better ways to kick things off than to see an average rap, pop stuff from Mr Hudson (Other Stage, 10.50am)? Well, i can think of many better ways to start a music fest than Mr Hudson really. He wasn't bad but he wasn't good either. He was just, there.
A few of us went to check out Bishi (Park Stage, 12.00pm) who was quite entertaining with her electric sitar and dancers. Nice pop music. Kinda distracted by spotting a Q & A session with Michael Eavis though. We watched it and enjoyed some lovely facts about the festival and an amusing exchange:
Eavis: Bruce wanted 3 hours but we compromised on 2 and a half. If we can though we'll try and let him play the 3 hours.
Accountant: There's £300 a minute fine for every minute we go over curfew!
Eavis: Oh yes, how much is that for half and hour then?
Accountant: £9000.
Eavis: Ok, maybe we won't let him do that then!
After all of this went down I went to see a song of The Rakes (Other Stage, 1.15pm) which was quite entertaining as expected (Open Book by the way. Ace song). I then ran to see Regina Spektor do a wonderful performance at the Pyramid Stage though. (13.40pm). An hour of gorgeous piano ballads and whimsy, I'd forgotten how amazing that girl was. Just superb. Unlike N.E.R.D. afterwards (Pyramid Stage, 15.10pm). Energetic yes, but not really as entertaining as I'd hoped they'd be really. I got a bit bored I guess.
Now then, a big (non) suprise was the fact Jack Whites new band Dead Weather were the Special guests on the Park Stage at 6.45pm. All I can say is WOW! Heavy blues riffage from hell and Alison Mosshart slinking about the stage like a sexy minxread to fuck the stage it was a superb performance. Dean Fertita is a stunning guitarist, but when Jack White took over for their last song it was like heaven had opened. Jack played was of the best solo's I've ever heard and left the audience stunned. Brilliant through and through.
A suprise for me was The Specials not long after (Pyramid Stage, 8pm). I've never been a massive specials fan, but they were ace live. Two Tone goodness that kept the crowd entertained. And following this? Well the mighty Neil Young (Pyramid Stage, 10.00pm) rocking the living shit out of glastonbury. 2 hours and no let up at all, he played a load of classic's including Hey Hey My My, Cinnamon Girl, Heart Of Gold, Spirit Road, Needle And The Damage Done and an epic 15 minute version of Down By The River. He ended with a brilliant rendition of The Beatles' A Day In The Life. Highlight of friday easily. We returned to our tents intending to go to trash city but collapsed and fell asleep instead.
Part 2 to follow in the near future.
Wednesday, 10 June 2009
May gig round up
I'm a bit late doing this but who cares:
Live At Leeds 2009- 02/05/09 @ various venues across Leeds
I say various venues, I was extremely hungover and ill for most of the day so apart from watching Tigers That Talked (who were average, but then again, I wasn't feeling 100%) at Josephs Well I spent vitually all day at The Cockpit. Wise decision I think seeing as I was happy to watch nearly all the bands there.
When I arrived White Light Parade were playing, and though they're just straight forward nme indie stuffs, they actually put on quite a good show and were very entertaining.
Fight Like Apes were up next and were the band I was most desperate to see. I was not disappointed, they were unbelieveably energetic and active onstay, with singer Maykay even joining in with the jumping crowd whilst singing Jake Summers. I'm just sad they had to stop.
Sky Larkin followed and whilst they were at their usual high standard of performance, the crowd was strangely muted, and no one seemed to be enjoying them as much as me. Still, Katie stood on the edge of the stage during the closing Beeline, spotted me and leant down to say hello. That was nice.
Slow Club followed and were extremely lovely. It was strange seeing them on such a big stage, as their music has a warm and cosey feel to it that would probably work better in a tiny venue. Still they were full of smiles and entertaining.
I Like Trains were the following band and were absolutely fucking amazing. Now reduced to a 4-piece but they haven't lost any of the passion that drives their epic music. Terra Nova, A Rook House For Bobby, and Spencer Percieval were all played (SP was especially good) and two new songs I didn't catch the name off were featured. Damn they were good though.
Next was Wintermute. Who were awful. Like, really really awful. Imagine Foals. Now, I don't mind a bit of Foals every now and then though I wouldn't say I was a fan. Now imagine, if Foals were unbelieveably shit beyond comprehension. You'd get Wintermute, who basically try and do the same thing as Foals, but whilst Foals actually succeed in making average-good songs, Wintermute are just shit every single time. I managed 20 minutes before I went for some fresh air.
I returned quickly though to get to the front for a band I love. Future Of The Left. Falco, Kelson and Egglestone set up their gear, then ripped into 40 minutes of mayhem . The new material sounded absolutely fantastic (Kelson: 'If you knew the words to that song then you're a dirty pirating fuck!') whilst the old material was brilliant too. The set descended into a jam, Falco started to violate his guitar with a drum stick, Kelson jumped into the crowd then climbed the light rigging, Flaco destroyed his guitar strings so dismantled Egglestones drumkit (whilst he was still playing) and some bright spark started a stage invasion. Overall, fucking amazing and the highlight of the day.
Live at Leeds was pretty fun overall. I hung out with friends Olli and Rosie most of the day and we all had fun. I think I shall be returning next year.
Metric w/ DJ Fish @ Manchester Academy 3, 11/05/09
DJ Fish was exactly what it says on the tin. A DJ. An alright one but nothing special. Metric were fantastic. It was the first time I'd seen them since they last toured in 2006 and they put on a great show. The new material off Fantasies sounded fuller in a live environment and stood well against the songs from Live It Out and Old World Underground. Emily was extremely talkative and entertaining and the rest of the band were all entertaining to watch (especially guitarist Jimmy Shaw).
Johnny Foreigner, w/ [We Are] The End, Calories, Copy Haho @ The Deaf Institute, Manchester 17/05/09
[We Are] The End sounded EXACTLY like Linkin Park and not even half as good. Calories and Copy Haho were nice if slightly similar indie stuffs but entertaining. Johnny Foreigner were great as expected. New material sounded very good and they were as energetic and talkative as ever. Banter about the new Star Trek film and blowing up pedals was included, the band being as funny as ever. Have high expectations of the new album having heard the new material.
Future Of the Left, w/Pulled Apart By Horses @ Manchester Academy 3, 21/05/09
Wow. PABH were unbelievable. They couldn't stay on the stay. they were in the crowd, on the speak stacks, in the drums. If the music wasn't any good then they would've just been irritating but the passion they played with and the quality of their songs really hit home.
FOTL were just as good, if not better than they were in Leeds earlier in the month. Energetic, funny, and crazy (they finished with another destructive jam, this time, kelson hanging from the lighting rig by his legs, exposing a hole in his trousers and showing off his arse) this is a band I could never get tired of seeing live.
Nine Black Alps @ Hungry Pigeon Festival, Urbis, Manchester, 23/05/09
After enduring a succession of awful bands (mostly oasis soundalikes and NMe indie aping shit), Nine Black Alps finally got onstage and blew the venue away. Their new material is their heaviest yet, with Buy Nothing, Salt Water and Cold Star being the highlights of the set. Sam Forrest despaired at the state of current indie music ('it's all fucking shit' or something like that was what he said) and the band were active throughout. If the venue either didnt have a barrier or at least one which wasn't the same as the type you get in banks, it would've been easier to cope with the moshing crowd. But no, the flimsy barrier had to stay cos there were photographers between it and the stage virtually all set. Eventually though, when NBA's roadie finished his duties he got the photographers to move away, tore down the stupid barrier and stopped the cunt of a bouncher (he really was being a heavy handed dick) from pushing everyone back and putting it back up. My hat is tipped to that man. Anyways, the usual closing duo of Ironside and Shot Down closed the set, the crowd went mental and I was pushed onto the stage with half the crowd on top of me. So much fun it was untrue.
Patrick Wolf w/ We Fell To Earth and Serafina @ Manchester Academy 2, 31/05/09
We Fell To Earth were very minimal rock stuffs and very enjoyable at that, even if they were a bit static. Serafina were a harp and keyboard playing duo who were superb and did and excellent cover of Morrissey's... Suedehead I think it was? I can't quite remember now, but they covered Morrissey and it was ace.
Now Patrick Wolf was so utterly good I (metaphorically) orgasmed several times throughout the gig and had a stupendously huge smile throughout. New material from The Bachelor was stunning (Oblivion and Who Will? in particular. Damaris was pretty ace too) and sat well with songs from The Magic Position and Wind In The Wires. Nothing from Lycanthropy sadly tonight but the gig was amazing, and he had Tom White from The Electric Soft Parade/Brakes fame on guitar duties which was nice. I met Mr White afterwards and had a lovely conversation with him about ESP, playing with patrick and how he smashed me over the head with a guitar accidently during a Brakes gig. Legend. Overall, this was probably the gig of the month and a fine way to bow out May.
Next months edition will probably be slightly shorter than usual. One: cos there's not many gigs I've been to in June yet. Two: There's not many gigs I want to go to in June. Three: It's making way for a Glastonbury special for when I return from the fest. I'm so excited about that.
Right, time to play more of Half Life 2.
Live At Leeds 2009- 02/05/09 @ various venues across Leeds
I say various venues, I was extremely hungover and ill for most of the day so apart from watching Tigers That Talked (who were average, but then again, I wasn't feeling 100%) at Josephs Well I spent vitually all day at The Cockpit. Wise decision I think seeing as I was happy to watch nearly all the bands there.
When I arrived White Light Parade were playing, and though they're just straight forward nme indie stuffs, they actually put on quite a good show and were very entertaining.
Fight Like Apes were up next and were the band I was most desperate to see. I was not disappointed, they were unbelieveably energetic and active onstay, with singer Maykay even joining in with the jumping crowd whilst singing Jake Summers. I'm just sad they had to stop.
Sky Larkin followed and whilst they were at their usual high standard of performance, the crowd was strangely muted, and no one seemed to be enjoying them as much as me. Still, Katie stood on the edge of the stage during the closing Beeline, spotted me and leant down to say hello. That was nice.
Slow Club followed and were extremely lovely. It was strange seeing them on such a big stage, as their music has a warm and cosey feel to it that would probably work better in a tiny venue. Still they were full of smiles and entertaining.
I Like Trains were the following band and were absolutely fucking amazing. Now reduced to a 4-piece but they haven't lost any of the passion that drives their epic music. Terra Nova, A Rook House For Bobby, and Spencer Percieval were all played (SP was especially good) and two new songs I didn't catch the name off were featured. Damn they were good though.
Next was Wintermute. Who were awful. Like, really really awful. Imagine Foals. Now, I don't mind a bit of Foals every now and then though I wouldn't say I was a fan. Now imagine, if Foals were unbelieveably shit beyond comprehension. You'd get Wintermute, who basically try and do the same thing as Foals, but whilst Foals actually succeed in making average-good songs, Wintermute are just shit every single time. I managed 20 minutes before I went for some fresh air.
I returned quickly though to get to the front for a band I love. Future Of The Left. Falco, Kelson and Egglestone set up their gear, then ripped into 40 minutes of mayhem . The new material sounded absolutely fantastic (Kelson: 'If you knew the words to that song then you're a dirty pirating fuck!') whilst the old material was brilliant too. The set descended into a jam, Falco started to violate his guitar with a drum stick, Kelson jumped into the crowd then climbed the light rigging, Flaco destroyed his guitar strings so dismantled Egglestones drumkit (whilst he was still playing) and some bright spark started a stage invasion. Overall, fucking amazing and the highlight of the day.
Live at Leeds was pretty fun overall. I hung out with friends Olli and Rosie most of the day and we all had fun. I think I shall be returning next year.
Metric w/ DJ Fish @ Manchester Academy 3, 11/05/09
DJ Fish was exactly what it says on the tin. A DJ. An alright one but nothing special. Metric were fantastic. It was the first time I'd seen them since they last toured in 2006 and they put on a great show. The new material off Fantasies sounded fuller in a live environment and stood well against the songs from Live It Out and Old World Underground. Emily was extremely talkative and entertaining and the rest of the band were all entertaining to watch (especially guitarist Jimmy Shaw).
Johnny Foreigner, w/ [We Are] The End, Calories, Copy Haho @ The Deaf Institute, Manchester 17/05/09
[We Are] The End sounded EXACTLY like Linkin Park and not even half as good. Calories and Copy Haho were nice if slightly similar indie stuffs but entertaining. Johnny Foreigner were great as expected. New material sounded very good and they were as energetic and talkative as ever. Banter about the new Star Trek film and blowing up pedals was included, the band being as funny as ever. Have high expectations of the new album having heard the new material.
Future Of the Left, w/Pulled Apart By Horses @ Manchester Academy 3, 21/05/09
Wow. PABH were unbelievable. They couldn't stay on the stay. they were in the crowd, on the speak stacks, in the drums. If the music wasn't any good then they would've just been irritating but the passion they played with and the quality of their songs really hit home.
FOTL were just as good, if not better than they were in Leeds earlier in the month. Energetic, funny, and crazy (they finished with another destructive jam, this time, kelson hanging from the lighting rig by his legs, exposing a hole in his trousers and showing off his arse) this is a band I could never get tired of seeing live.
Nine Black Alps @ Hungry Pigeon Festival, Urbis, Manchester, 23/05/09
After enduring a succession of awful bands (mostly oasis soundalikes and NMe indie aping shit), Nine Black Alps finally got onstage and blew the venue away. Their new material is their heaviest yet, with Buy Nothing, Salt Water and Cold Star being the highlights of the set. Sam Forrest despaired at the state of current indie music ('it's all fucking shit' or something like that was what he said) and the band were active throughout. If the venue either didnt have a barrier or at least one which wasn't the same as the type you get in banks, it would've been easier to cope with the moshing crowd. But no, the flimsy barrier had to stay cos there were photographers between it and the stage virtually all set. Eventually though, when NBA's roadie finished his duties he got the photographers to move away, tore down the stupid barrier and stopped the cunt of a bouncher (he really was being a heavy handed dick) from pushing everyone back and putting it back up. My hat is tipped to that man. Anyways, the usual closing duo of Ironside and Shot Down closed the set, the crowd went mental and I was pushed onto the stage with half the crowd on top of me. So much fun it was untrue.
Patrick Wolf w/ We Fell To Earth and Serafina @ Manchester Academy 2, 31/05/09
We Fell To Earth were very minimal rock stuffs and very enjoyable at that, even if they were a bit static. Serafina were a harp and keyboard playing duo who were superb and did and excellent cover of Morrissey's... Suedehead I think it was? I can't quite remember now, but they covered Morrissey and it was ace.
Now Patrick Wolf was so utterly good I (metaphorically) orgasmed several times throughout the gig and had a stupendously huge smile throughout. New material from The Bachelor was stunning (Oblivion and Who Will? in particular. Damaris was pretty ace too) and sat well with songs from The Magic Position and Wind In The Wires. Nothing from Lycanthropy sadly tonight but the gig was amazing, and he had Tom White from The Electric Soft Parade/Brakes fame on guitar duties which was nice. I met Mr White afterwards and had a lovely conversation with him about ESP, playing with patrick and how he smashed me over the head with a guitar accidently during a Brakes gig. Legend. Overall, this was probably the gig of the month and a fine way to bow out May.
Next months edition will probably be slightly shorter than usual. One: cos there's not many gigs I've been to in June yet. Two: There's not many gigs I want to go to in June. Three: It's making way for a Glastonbury special for when I return from the fest. I'm so excited about that.
Right, time to play more of Half Life 2.
Monday, 25 May 2009
Glastonbury's a-comin'
I'm off to Glastonbury in a months time. Here's who I think I might go and see based on whats been announced today. Not in any particular order. (NB I don't think ANYONE knows the full line up until the event itself. There's loads of little stages where you only find out the line up on site)
Thursday:
Queens Head: Maximo Park, Liz Green, Metronomy
Friday:
Pyramid: NEIL FUCKING YOUNG!, Regina Spektor,
Other Stage: White Lies, The Rakes, The Whip (Bloc Party clash with Neil Young so won't get a look in sadly)
John Peel: Little Boots, Metronomy (Doves clash with NY)
Acoustic: Scott Matthews, Fairport Convention
Dance Village: The Whip
The Park: The Horrors, Noah And The Whale
Avalon: British Sea Power
Queens Head: Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip, The Rakes, The Big Pink
Saturday:
Pyramid: BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN! Kasabian, Crosby Stills & Nash, Spinal Tap, Eagles Of Death Metal
Other Stage: Franz Ferdinand, Maximo Park, Metric, Peter Bjorn And John,
John Peel: Jarvis Cocker, White Lies, Florence And The Machine, Gaslight Anthem, The Big Pink, The Nightingales,
Acoustic: Lisa Hannigan,
Dance Village: DJ Yoda
The Park: Bon Iver, M Ward, Horace Andy,
Avalon: The Wonderstuff, Badly Drawn Boy,
Queens Head: Blue Roses, Theoretical Girl, Emmy The Great, Noah And The Whale,
Sunday:
Pyramid: BLUR! NICK CAVE AND THE BAD SEEDS!!
Other Stage: Bon Iver, Bat For Lashes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Art Brut, Boxer Rebellion
Jazz World: Roots Manuva
John Peel: Echo & the Bunnymen (though they clash with Blur), Emmy the Great, Twisted Wheel,
Dance Village: Mr Scruff,
The Park: Cold War Kids, Alberta Cross,
Avalon: Seth Lakeman, Dodgy, The Mummers
Queens Head: The Aliens, Magic Numbers, Joe Gideon and The Shark, FIGHT LIKE APES!
A lot of the smaller bands that I've been listening to off late (Sky Larkin, Joy Formiable, Future Of The Left, Nine Black Alps) seem to be sadly absent, as do some more legendary bands about at the moment (Manic Street Preachers, Idlewild, probably some others).
Overall though, I don't care about the lack of bands I like atm, I'm more concerned with seeing all the bands that are playing. This could potentially be better than 2007 when I last went and had the best time of my life.
Thursday:
Queens Head: Maximo Park, Liz Green, Metronomy
Friday:
Pyramid: NEIL FUCKING YOUNG!, Regina Spektor,
Other Stage: White Lies, The Rakes, The Whip (Bloc Party clash with Neil Young so won't get a look in sadly)
John Peel: Little Boots, Metronomy (Doves clash with NY)
Acoustic: Scott Matthews, Fairport Convention
Dance Village: The Whip
The Park: The Horrors, Noah And The Whale
Avalon: British Sea Power
Queens Head: Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip, The Rakes, The Big Pink
Saturday:
Pyramid: BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN! Kasabian, Crosby Stills & Nash, Spinal Tap, Eagles Of Death Metal
Other Stage: Franz Ferdinand, Maximo Park, Metric, Peter Bjorn And John,
John Peel: Jarvis Cocker, White Lies, Florence And The Machine, Gaslight Anthem, The Big Pink, The Nightingales,
Acoustic: Lisa Hannigan,
Dance Village: DJ Yoda
The Park: Bon Iver, M Ward, Horace Andy,
Avalon: The Wonderstuff, Badly Drawn Boy,
Queens Head: Blue Roses, Theoretical Girl, Emmy The Great, Noah And The Whale,
Sunday:
Pyramid: BLUR! NICK CAVE AND THE BAD SEEDS!!
Other Stage: Bon Iver, Bat For Lashes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Art Brut, Boxer Rebellion
Jazz World: Roots Manuva
John Peel: Echo & the Bunnymen (though they clash with Blur), Emmy the Great, Twisted Wheel,
Dance Village: Mr Scruff,
The Park: Cold War Kids, Alberta Cross,
Avalon: Seth Lakeman, Dodgy, The Mummers
Queens Head: The Aliens, Magic Numbers, Joe Gideon and The Shark, FIGHT LIKE APES!
A lot of the smaller bands that I've been listening to off late (Sky Larkin, Joy Formiable, Future Of The Left, Nine Black Alps) seem to be sadly absent, as do some more legendary bands about at the moment (Manic Street Preachers, Idlewild, probably some others).
Overall though, I don't care about the lack of bands I like atm, I'm more concerned with seeing all the bands that are playing. This could potentially be better than 2007 when I last went and had the best time of my life.
Monday, 18 May 2009
Music I have got since The Rakes review but cannot be bothered making a full blog about
Like many people, I'm a lazy sod. I should try and be a bit more proactive and update this blog a bit more than I usually do (i.e. once-twice a month) but I tend to be distracted easily. Mostly by shiny objects. So basically I'm going to try and endevour to make a blog about all the new things I've listened to each week. How successful this plan will be I don't know but I'll give it a go (though there will still be some proper long reviews for albums I think are worth it). So here's some brief reviews of all the new albums/EPs?Mini-LPs (to me at least) I've listened to since I reviewed The Rakes in the order I aquired them:
Bob Dylan- Desire
Classic album obv and it has Hurricane and Isis on it. No need to say anything else. 8/10
David Bowie- Diamond Dogs
Mindblowingly amazing. Weird mix of glam and the soul direction he was about to move onto. Has Rebel Rebel which is one of the best songs ever and loads other brilliant tracks like Big Brother and the title track. 9/10
No Age- Nouns
Two piece pyschedelic shoegaze stuffs. Creeps is the clear standout but it's ace to chill out to. 8/10
Serena-Maneesh- Serena-Maneesh
Norwegian shoegaze which is alright for the most part but does seem a bit straight forward compared to other stuff thats out there. Don't Come Down Here is a right chooooon though. 7/10
Fight Like Apes- Fight Like Apes and the Mystery Of The Golden Medallion
I'm completely indebted to a french girl named Vee for introducing me to this album. 12 tracks of near perfect noisy pop with vocals that range from soft and emotional to manic screaming. Jake Summers is possibly the most addictive song ever and Battlestations just screams EPIC during its outro. Brilliant Brilliant Brilliant!!! 9/10
Doves- Kingdom Of Rust
It was 4 long years since Doves last released an album but the wait was bloody worth it as it's possibly their best. Their vision has gotten even more expansive than before with Jetstream and 10.03 sounding like the soundtrack to the universe. There's some classic Doves rocking out on Winter Hill but the albums at it's best during its weirdy rockers The Outsiders and The Great Denier, the former being tense and heavy, the latter featuring some very odd song structuring. Could potentially be the album of the year. 9/10
Yeah Yeah Yeahs- It's Blitz
Completely different to nearly everything they've done before and yet they're still good. Mostly. Half of the album is superb whilst the other half is kinda lacking. Hysteric, Skeleton, Zero and Heads Will Roll are brilliant, Soft Shock and Dull Life are pretty good and the rest is all just ok really. 7/10
Now, Now Every Children- Cars
I heard Sleep Through Summer and thought this could be a bit special. Sadly, it's kinda basic indie in a vague Broken Social Scene way and nowhere near as good. 5/10
The Joy Formidable- A Balloon Called Moaning
I wasn't sure about this at first. Again I thought it was basic indie. But there's definately something about TJF thats special. The melodies they seem to create are just so bloody addictive. After the first 'meh this is alright' listen, I couldn't get most the songs out my head for days. They range from atmospheric doom laden optimism (The Greatest Light Is The Greatest Shade, Ostrich), to sad reverb laden acoustica (9669) to full on noisy indie rock (Cradle, Whirring). It's a bit ace really, shame it's only 8 tracks. 8/10
Ash- Trailer
I've had this waiting on my hard drive for aaaages but only just got around to listening the other day. It seems more like a demo tape than proper mini-lp really but Jack Names The Planets and Obscure Thing are brilliant. The rest are ok and show the promise that soon developed from them. 6/10
Super Furry Animals- Dark Days/Light Years
I had 3 SFA albums before this, but this is the one that made it all click in place. Because it's just bloody weird. It's filled with amazingly groovy and psychedelic music like Crazy Naked Girls and Inaugual Trams whilst featuring some nice lighter moments too. I pretty much love this band now. 9/10
British Sea Power- Man Of Aran
Basically, BSP go post rock. And they do it very well. At times sounding a bit like Godspeed, at others like Cody-era Mogwai. Brilliant chilled out bliss. 9/10
Brakes- Touchdown
Hmm, not as good a their last two albums, but Touchdown is still a decent album from Brakes. Oh Forever is the clear standout, whilst Hey Hey and Don't Take Me To Space (Man) are very enjoyable. The slower songs are a bit weak though really and the albums is at its best when they rock out. 7/10
Bruce Springsteen- Nebraska
I came in my pants when I heard this. Ok not literally but I might as well have done. The Boss an acoustic guitar and occasionally a harmonica, singing some of the most gut wrenching brilliant, brutal and honest songs about working class life in america. Atlantic City is stunningly anthemic for such a stripped down song, Highway Patrolman is absolutely beautiful and State Trooper is just a dark and intense masterpiece. My Fathers House nearly made me cry and Reason To Believe is a gloriously optimistic closer after the darkness preceding it. MASTERPIECE! 10/10
Super Furry Animals- Hey Venus!
Having finally got SFA I absolutely loved this. It's simple and too the point unlike a lot of SFA albums but its a lot of fun to listen to and dance along with. 8/10
Talking Heads- Remain In Light
I know this is one of the most critically acclaimed albums ever or something but I didn't think this was the masterpiece I was led to believe it was. Once In A Lifetime is definately a classic single though and I liked the rhythms used throughout it like on Born Under Punches (The Heart Goes On). I think I just need to have more listens to it tbh. It's definately special though. 8/10
Manic Street Preachers- Lipstick Traces (A Secret History Of Manic Street Preachers)
Bsides albums are always interesting and this is no exception. There's some brilliant tracks like Prologue To History and Judge Yrself whilst there's some dull stuff too like Valley Boy. The cover of Last Christmas is beautiful too. 8/10
The Reindeer Section- Y'all Get Scared Now, Ya Hear!
Scottish supergroup instigated by Gary Lightbody of Snow Patrol It's rathe lovely too, being mostly indie folk stuffs. Will You Please Be There For Me is gorgeous and Sting is quietly epic. Maybe a bit too samey at times but good nonetheless. 7/10
Johnny Foreigner- We Left You Sleeping And Gone Now
Unreleased album from the brummie band beofre they became the brilliant indie pop band they are now. More experimental and ambient that what they've become known for and still very good. There are hints at their current sound at times but mostly it's stuff like My Interest In Saving You Is More Than Idle Curiosity and I'm Leaving... Soon that are weirdy ambient sound collages really. It'd have been interesting to see them carry on like this. 8/10
Hope Of The States- Demos, download only tracks and sessions
Basically, I was given a load of HOTS material by my friend Alex when I was round at his the other day. The Fingerprints EP, Amm=ibm, Winters, the 8 track demo tape, various christmas downloads, Radio 1 Live Lounge appearance, Maida Vale sessions cover of the YYY's Maps, Later... With Jools Holland tracks, Dear Wendy, Winter76arcs, Left Sessions tracks, an XFM session and finally I downloaded the Three Days In The West EP separately from the rest of it. Some of it is better than others, but even the weaker stuff is nothing less than superb. Maybe I'm just biased cos they're one of my most cherised and favourite bands but I just loved all of it. 10/10
Ok that's all I've got to talk about for now. There maybe a proper review of the new Manics album soon an I still have a HUGE backpile of music to listen to, which I will try and get around to . Enjoy this for now though.
James
Bob Dylan- Desire
Classic album obv and it has Hurricane and Isis on it. No need to say anything else. 8/10
David Bowie- Diamond Dogs
Mindblowingly amazing. Weird mix of glam and the soul direction he was about to move onto. Has Rebel Rebel which is one of the best songs ever and loads other brilliant tracks like Big Brother and the title track. 9/10
No Age- Nouns
Two piece pyschedelic shoegaze stuffs. Creeps is the clear standout but it's ace to chill out to. 8/10
Serena-Maneesh- Serena-Maneesh
Norwegian shoegaze which is alright for the most part but does seem a bit straight forward compared to other stuff thats out there. Don't Come Down Here is a right chooooon though. 7/10
Fight Like Apes- Fight Like Apes and the Mystery Of The Golden Medallion
I'm completely indebted to a french girl named Vee for introducing me to this album. 12 tracks of near perfect noisy pop with vocals that range from soft and emotional to manic screaming. Jake Summers is possibly the most addictive song ever and Battlestations just screams EPIC during its outro. Brilliant Brilliant Brilliant!!! 9/10
Doves- Kingdom Of Rust
It was 4 long years since Doves last released an album but the wait was bloody worth it as it's possibly their best. Their vision has gotten even more expansive than before with Jetstream and 10.03 sounding like the soundtrack to the universe. There's some classic Doves rocking out on Winter Hill but the albums at it's best during its weirdy rockers The Outsiders and The Great Denier, the former being tense and heavy, the latter featuring some very odd song structuring. Could potentially be the album of the year. 9/10
Yeah Yeah Yeahs- It's Blitz
Completely different to nearly everything they've done before and yet they're still good. Mostly. Half of the album is superb whilst the other half is kinda lacking. Hysteric, Skeleton, Zero and Heads Will Roll are brilliant, Soft Shock and Dull Life are pretty good and the rest is all just ok really. 7/10
Now, Now Every Children- Cars
I heard Sleep Through Summer and thought this could be a bit special. Sadly, it's kinda basic indie in a vague Broken Social Scene way and nowhere near as good. 5/10
The Joy Formidable- A Balloon Called Moaning
I wasn't sure about this at first. Again I thought it was basic indie. But there's definately something about TJF thats special. The melodies they seem to create are just so bloody addictive. After the first 'meh this is alright' listen, I couldn't get most the songs out my head for days. They range from atmospheric doom laden optimism (The Greatest Light Is The Greatest Shade, Ostrich), to sad reverb laden acoustica (9669) to full on noisy indie rock (Cradle, Whirring). It's a bit ace really, shame it's only 8 tracks. 8/10
Ash- Trailer
I've had this waiting on my hard drive for aaaages but only just got around to listening the other day. It seems more like a demo tape than proper mini-lp really but Jack Names The Planets and Obscure Thing are brilliant. The rest are ok and show the promise that soon developed from them. 6/10
Super Furry Animals- Dark Days/Light Years
I had 3 SFA albums before this, but this is the one that made it all click in place. Because it's just bloody weird. It's filled with amazingly groovy and psychedelic music like Crazy Naked Girls and Inaugual Trams whilst featuring some nice lighter moments too. I pretty much love this band now. 9/10
British Sea Power- Man Of Aran
Basically, BSP go post rock. And they do it very well. At times sounding a bit like Godspeed, at others like Cody-era Mogwai. Brilliant chilled out bliss. 9/10
Brakes- Touchdown
Hmm, not as good a their last two albums, but Touchdown is still a decent album from Brakes. Oh Forever is the clear standout, whilst Hey Hey and Don't Take Me To Space (Man) are very enjoyable. The slower songs are a bit weak though really and the albums is at its best when they rock out. 7/10
Bruce Springsteen- Nebraska
I came in my pants when I heard this. Ok not literally but I might as well have done. The Boss an acoustic guitar and occasionally a harmonica, singing some of the most gut wrenching brilliant, brutal and honest songs about working class life in america. Atlantic City is stunningly anthemic for such a stripped down song, Highway Patrolman is absolutely beautiful and State Trooper is just a dark and intense masterpiece. My Fathers House nearly made me cry and Reason To Believe is a gloriously optimistic closer after the darkness preceding it. MASTERPIECE! 10/10
Super Furry Animals- Hey Venus!
Having finally got SFA I absolutely loved this. It's simple and too the point unlike a lot of SFA albums but its a lot of fun to listen to and dance along with. 8/10
Talking Heads- Remain In Light
I know this is one of the most critically acclaimed albums ever or something but I didn't think this was the masterpiece I was led to believe it was. Once In A Lifetime is definately a classic single though and I liked the rhythms used throughout it like on Born Under Punches (The Heart Goes On). I think I just need to have more listens to it tbh. It's definately special though. 8/10
Manic Street Preachers- Lipstick Traces (A Secret History Of Manic Street Preachers)
Bsides albums are always interesting and this is no exception. There's some brilliant tracks like Prologue To History and Judge Yrself whilst there's some dull stuff too like Valley Boy. The cover of Last Christmas is beautiful too. 8/10
The Reindeer Section- Y'all Get Scared Now, Ya Hear!
Scottish supergroup instigated by Gary Lightbody of Snow Patrol It's rathe lovely too, being mostly indie folk stuffs. Will You Please Be There For Me is gorgeous and Sting is quietly epic. Maybe a bit too samey at times but good nonetheless. 7/10
Johnny Foreigner- We Left You Sleeping And Gone Now
Unreleased album from the brummie band beofre they became the brilliant indie pop band they are now. More experimental and ambient that what they've become known for and still very good. There are hints at their current sound at times but mostly it's stuff like My Interest In Saving You Is More Than Idle Curiosity and I'm Leaving... Soon that are weirdy ambient sound collages really. It'd have been interesting to see them carry on like this. 8/10
Hope Of The States- Demos, download only tracks and sessions
Basically, I was given a load of HOTS material by my friend Alex when I was round at his the other day. The Fingerprints EP, Amm=ibm, Winters, the 8 track demo tape, various christmas downloads, Radio 1 Live Lounge appearance, Maida Vale sessions cover of the YYY's Maps, Later... With Jools Holland tracks, Dear Wendy, Winter76arcs, Left Sessions tracks, an XFM session and finally I downloaded the Three Days In The West EP separately from the rest of it. Some of it is better than others, but even the weaker stuff is nothing less than superb. Maybe I'm just biased cos they're one of my most cherised and favourite bands but I just loved all of it. 10/10
Ok that's all I've got to talk about for now. There maybe a proper review of the new Manics album soon an I still have a HUGE backpile of music to listen to, which I will try and get around to . Enjoy this for now though.
James
Sunday, 3 May 2009
March and April gig round up
I went to 3 gigs in march which was barely worth a blog to itself. So I thought I'd combine it with Aprils:
Amplifier with Charlie Barnes @ Rio's, Leeds. 07/03/00
Charlie was great as always and Amplifier rocked the joint. New material sounded amazing too. The Octopus is going to sound HUUUUUUUUUGE. Notable for waiting at huddersfield station with a wall of water wailing past 4 feet to my left. A storm I'd rather forget.
Pure Reason Revolution with League Liege @ Moho Live, Manchester 08/03/09
League Liege were the reason I went to this gig and they were very very good. I even managed to convert some friends I took with me. PRR were good too, though I'm not overly enamoured with them. An entertaining night nonetheless.
Dave McPherson with League Liege @ Jabez Clegg, Manchester 12/03/09
Again League Liege were the reason I was here. This time they were acoustic and did a cover of Thom Yorke's Harrowdown Hill. It was a bit ace. Dave McPherson (InMe) was also acoustic and was entertaining at that. Maybe slightly too emo for my tastes (I might get hounded for that, oh well), but good.
Hundred Reasons with Johnny Foreigner @ Moho Live, Manchester 01/04/09
Fuck me this was a good gig. JoFo won over a crowd that was initially wary of them and Hundred Reasons just rocked the joint. I don't think I've ever seen such a huge mosh pit at any gig ever.
Dananananakroyd @ The Deaf Institute, Manchester, 03/04/09
Despite the fact I was having an awfully depressing day, Dananana were fantastic and cheered me up when I most needed it. Though a lack of a wall of cuddle meant it wasn't quite as good as when I last saw them.
...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead @ Urbis and Academy 3, Manchester, 17/04/09
Possibly the best of all the gigs I'm talking about in this post. Firstly a session for Channel M which was very entertaining, then they metaphorically destroyed Academy 3 in the evening. They broke 2(!!!!) snare drums for gods sake! The band was so amazingly energetic it was impossible to not have fun.
Das Wanderlust with Internet Forever and Ratface @ Fuel Cafe, Manchester, 18/04/09
A quieter gig this time but fun all the same. Ratface was energetic rap stuffs, Internet Forever liked to make weird noises and Das Wanderlust were supremely fun pop. Noice.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs @ Academy 1, Manchester, 22/04/09
They only paid an hour and a quarter, but YYY's were great. Karen O was mental and they sound so good live. I've waited 5 years o finally see them and I wasn't disappointed.
65daysofstatic with Amusement Parks On Fire @ The Deaf Institute, Manchester 23/04/09
Another contender for best gig I went to in this time period. APOF were absolutely dreamy and 65 were as fantastic as they've ever been. Their new stuff sounds very DnB heavy which is aceness.
League Liege @ Roadhouse, Manchester, 25/04/09
I arrived annoyingly late but League Liege did yet another lovely gig despite sound problems. Apparently the summer will be spent recording new material. I can't wait for that.
Doves @ Academy 1, Manchester, 26/04/09
And finally another fantastic gig. Doves hometown gig was received very well by the crowd (which included Badly Drawn Boy and members of Elbow) and they did a superb set playing a great mix of tracks. Missing The Cedar Room but it was so good I can forgive them for leaving it out.
And that's it. More whenever I decide to update again.
Amplifier with Charlie Barnes @ Rio's, Leeds. 07/03/00
Charlie was great as always and Amplifier rocked the joint. New material sounded amazing too. The Octopus is going to sound HUUUUUUUUUGE. Notable for waiting at huddersfield station with a wall of water wailing past 4 feet to my left. A storm I'd rather forget.
Pure Reason Revolution with League Liege @ Moho Live, Manchester 08/03/09
League Liege were the reason I went to this gig and they were very very good. I even managed to convert some friends I took with me. PRR were good too, though I'm not overly enamoured with them. An entertaining night nonetheless.
Dave McPherson with League Liege @ Jabez Clegg, Manchester 12/03/09
Again League Liege were the reason I was here. This time they were acoustic and did a cover of Thom Yorke's Harrowdown Hill. It was a bit ace. Dave McPherson (InMe) was also acoustic and was entertaining at that. Maybe slightly too emo for my tastes (I might get hounded for that, oh well), but good.
Hundred Reasons with Johnny Foreigner @ Moho Live, Manchester 01/04/09
Fuck me this was a good gig. JoFo won over a crowd that was initially wary of them and Hundred Reasons just rocked the joint. I don't think I've ever seen such a huge mosh pit at any gig ever.
Dananananakroyd @ The Deaf Institute, Manchester, 03/04/09
Despite the fact I was having an awfully depressing day, Dananana were fantastic and cheered me up when I most needed it. Though a lack of a wall of cuddle meant it wasn't quite as good as when I last saw them.
...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead @ Urbis and Academy 3, Manchester, 17/04/09
Possibly the best of all the gigs I'm talking about in this post. Firstly a session for Channel M which was very entertaining, then they metaphorically destroyed Academy 3 in the evening. They broke 2(!!!!) snare drums for gods sake! The band was so amazingly energetic it was impossible to not have fun.
Das Wanderlust with Internet Forever and Ratface @ Fuel Cafe, Manchester, 18/04/09
A quieter gig this time but fun all the same. Ratface was energetic rap stuffs, Internet Forever liked to make weird noises and Das Wanderlust were supremely fun pop. Noice.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs @ Academy 1, Manchester, 22/04/09
They only paid an hour and a quarter, but YYY's were great. Karen O was mental and they sound so good live. I've waited 5 years o finally see them and I wasn't disappointed.
65daysofstatic with Amusement Parks On Fire @ The Deaf Institute, Manchester 23/04/09
Another contender for best gig I went to in this time period. APOF were absolutely dreamy and 65 were as fantastic as they've ever been. Their new stuff sounds very DnB heavy which is aceness.
League Liege @ Roadhouse, Manchester, 25/04/09
I arrived annoyingly late but League Liege did yet another lovely gig despite sound problems. Apparently the summer will be spent recording new material. I can't wait for that.
Doves @ Academy 1, Manchester, 26/04/09
And finally another fantastic gig. Doves hometown gig was received very well by the crowd (which included Badly Drawn Boy and members of Elbow) and they did a superb set playing a great mix of tracks. Missing The Cedar Room but it was so good I can forgive them for leaving it out.
And that's it. More whenever I decide to update again.
Monday, 6 April 2009
The Rakes- Klang
After the whining from my last blog about a lack of albums been released that I want to hear, he's a somewhat positive about an album thats been released that I wanted to hear. That album being The Rakes' 'Klang'.
It's been two years since Ten New Messages (their sadly under rated second album) and The Rakes have returned with an album which is more intense and downright more fun than the last album. No it's still not as good as debut Capture/Release, but then few bands can make an album as brilliant as that and carry on the momentum into every album afterwards. What Klang is though, is an album that shows a band still having fun regardless of what the critics think.
'That's The Reason' is an obvious track to look at for this. It's got the classic Rakes attributes to it, groovy bass lines and jagged guitars, along with Alan Donohue's stream of thought esque lyrics. It's nothing new from them, but it's still absolutely ace in every single way. 'You're In It' is the opener and a lot darker than most Rakes songs, opening as it does with the line 'Sometimes you can't smell the shit 'til you're in it'. It's still an insanely catchy song though.
It highights a werid thing about some of the songs on Klang. Some of the songs are darker than usual, yet still make you want to smile and then dance like a loon, 'The Woes Of The Working Woman' is another example of this, with its panicked piano line. For the most part though, The album is very energetic and see's The Rakes in their usual semi-happy, semi-derranged mood.
'1989' is one of The Rakes' best singles yet, being in the '22 Grand Job' class of being able to get people to sing along and is just perfectly formed with tempo changes and instruments dropping in and out. 'The Light From Your Mac' is a bit ace too, it's more relaxed but the on/off bass is utterly brilliant.
There are of course some tracks which fall a bit short. 'Bitchin' In The Kitchin'' doesn't live up to its brilliant title, and 'Shakleton' is instantly forgettable. these deviances do little to deter from the fact Klang is another great album from The Rakes. They probably won't make an album as brilliant as Capture/Release again, but as long as they keep making albums which are still fun and entertaining like Klang, then The Rakes will survive another day. And keep me extremely entertained too.
8/10
It's been two years since Ten New Messages (their sadly under rated second album) and The Rakes have returned with an album which is more intense and downright more fun than the last album. No it's still not as good as debut Capture/Release, but then few bands can make an album as brilliant as that and carry on the momentum into every album afterwards. What Klang is though, is an album that shows a band still having fun regardless of what the critics think.
'That's The Reason' is an obvious track to look at for this. It's got the classic Rakes attributes to it, groovy bass lines and jagged guitars, along with Alan Donohue's stream of thought esque lyrics. It's nothing new from them, but it's still absolutely ace in every single way. 'You're In It' is the opener and a lot darker than most Rakes songs, opening as it does with the line 'Sometimes you can't smell the shit 'til you're in it'. It's still an insanely catchy song though.
It highights a werid thing about some of the songs on Klang. Some of the songs are darker than usual, yet still make you want to smile and then dance like a loon, 'The Woes Of The Working Woman' is another example of this, with its panicked piano line. For the most part though, The album is very energetic and see's The Rakes in their usual semi-happy, semi-derranged mood.
'1989' is one of The Rakes' best singles yet, being in the '22 Grand Job' class of being able to get people to sing along and is just perfectly formed with tempo changes and instruments dropping in and out. 'The Light From Your Mac' is a bit ace too, it's more relaxed but the on/off bass is utterly brilliant.
There are of course some tracks which fall a bit short. 'Bitchin' In The Kitchin'' doesn't live up to its brilliant title, and 'Shakleton' is instantly forgettable. these deviances do little to deter from the fact Klang is another great album from The Rakes. They probably won't make an album as brilliant as Capture/Release again, but as long as they keep making albums which are still fun and entertaining like Klang, then The Rakes will survive another day. And keep me extremely entertained too.
8/10
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