Mumford & Sons

October 9, 2010

It’s safe to say that Mumford & Sons helped reinvent folk music and successfully brought the genre back into mainstream attention. Tonight, London’s Hammersmith Apollo is filled to capacity (for the second night in a row) with fans of all ages, as the band return to their hometown for one last UK show before touring the US and then heading to the recording studio to work on a new album.

Opening acts Matthew And The Atlas and Johnny Flynn kick off the show to an extremely receptive crowd, getting them ready for a night of folk-rock music and modern-day hoedowns. Johnny Flynn and his band, in particular, receive a warm welcome – partially due to their energy and lively music, and partially due to guest drummer Mr. Marcus Mumford (yes, that Marcus Mumford). An unexpected, early stage visit from the headliner’s frontman is the perfect surprise.

Our only complaint with the night’s line-up is that the three acts are dangerously similar to one another. Now, we’re not saying that all folk music sounds the same, or that folk bands can’t open for other folk bands, but the running order is a bit too seamlessly alike. While the two opening bands are great, it’s difficult to listen to them and not to compare them to the headliners, as their music really does sound quite similar. The openers are, however, successful in putting us in the right mood for Mumford & Sons.

When the headliners take to the stage, they dive right into ‘Sigh No More’ – the venue darkens, as the four men stand in a line with small lights shining on each one. When the music picks up, the stage lights brighten, and the band carry on with hit after hit.

‘Roll Away Your Stone’ inspires so much jumping around and dancing in the crowd that even keyboardist Ben Lovett starts rolling around on the stage floor. Marcus Mumford tells the crowd, “I bruised my heel stomping too much.”

Fans are also treated to quite a few new songs tonight, serving as the sounding board for a band that writes most of their material on the road.

The highlight of the night is a surprise visit from Ray Davies of The Kinks, who joins Mumford & Sons onstage for the last song before the encore, providing vocals for a beautiful rendition of his songs ‘Days/This Time Tomorrow’ (which will appear on the singer’s forthcoming album See My Friends).

It’s obvious how much tonight’s show means to Mumford & Sons, and how much they truly appreciate their fans, as the frontman tells the crowd, “playing this venue in our hometown is a very big deal for us…Not to sound all lovey dovey, but it’s been a very big year for us four dudes.”

“Sometimes I wish we had a bit more swagger so we could seem cooler,” Mumford tells the crowd tonight. But after seeing their live performance, it’s apparent that London thinks they’re really cool. A successful homecoming, indeed.

Sublime With Rome

October 8, 2010

Sublime were a huge band in America in the early ‘90s, or at least amongst the uni-aged stoner crowd (which is a rather large demographic there). So it’s no surprise that tonight, Shepherd’s Bush Empire is full of dreadlocked punters, or that the aroma of certain illegal substances spreads over the crowd in a cloud of smoke.

Even though Sublime might not have reached the level of fame in the UK as they had in the States, tonight’s show (part of the band’s first-ever overseas tour) is sold out. Fans crowd into the venue to find out if new singer, 21-year-old Rome Ramirez, can live up to the legacy of original vocalist Bradley Nowell (who died from a heroin overdose in 1996).

Turns out, Rome comes pretty darn close. Surprisingly, he sounds an awful lot like Nowell (or at least he does with a crowd of people singing along to every song).

We overhear a couple of people chatting in the toilet queue, one saying, “It might not be Nowell, and people complain about that and say it’s not Sublime. Well, we still get to see two-thirds of Sublime tonight, and that’s still amazing! I never thought I’d get to see this in my lifetime.” And we completely agree.

Tonight, it’s apparent that everyone else at Shepherd’s Bush Empire agrees, as well. They’re all just happy to be there. From the start of the show (with opening ska band The Skints) to the headliner’s encore (classic tracks ‘What I Got’ and ‘Santeria’), every single member of the crowd has a huge smile and is dancing along (or “skanking” along, for those versed in ska-talk).

It might have taken over 20 years for members of Sublime to perform in the UK, but it’s about time. And with this reincarnation of the band recording a new album in early 2011, we’re eager to hear if new material will hold up to the classics they perform so well tonight.

October 6, 2010

of Montreal

OK Go are largely known for their bizarre, complex music videos that spread across the web like wildfire. Many critics claim the band’s videos even outshine their music, rendering them a one-trick-pony act. Now, I personally enjoy their music, but the point is that people like to bash a band for sticking with a particular aspect of their art that works.

Similarly, of Montreal have garnered a great deal of attention for their flashy, over-the-top, seemingly acid-inspired live shows. Being from the States originally, I’ve seen my fair share of these outlandish shows. Last time I went to see the band, I left Boston’s Paradise venue covered in a combination of fake blood, shaving cream, feathers and glitter. Now that’s a good night.

Unfortunately, this spoiled me a bit when it comes to seeing the band live. While logistically, they couldn’t transport all of their elaborate props to London, or fly over the horse frontman Kevin Barnes once arrived on stage atop of, I can’t help but miss the insanity that ensues at one of their live shows.

However, what this does allow for is for me to remember how much I enjoy of Montreal’s music. With a lack of dancing gold Buddhas and liquid substances sprayed across the crowd, all eyes are focused on Barnes and his bandmates, not on trying to follow what’s happening on stage.

Now, for the more conservative members of the audience, the frontman’s shiny eye makeup and flowing, assless skirt might be a bit much to handle. But hell, when he can sing like he does, who even cares?

Fortunately, there’s a good mix of old and new material in tonight’s setlist – not too False Priest-heavy, and the band digs out some gems. ‘She’s a Rejector’ and ‘Heimdalsgate Like A Promethean Curse’ (off of their 2007 album Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?) get some of the best reactions from the gig-goers, while set closer (before the finale) ‘A Sentence Of Sorts In Kongsvinger’ (from the same album) sees confetti drop from the ceiling, and a ninja/gas mask-wearing crowd-surfer, who also happens to be the singer’s sibling. “Take care of my brother,” Barnes jokingly warns the audience.

The highlight of the night is undoubtedly the encore – one song, but a rarity at their live shows. ‘The Past Is a Grotesque Animal’ (also from Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?) is nearly 12 minutes in length, and is rather slow paced for a live show. Though after a few years of longing to hear the song performed live, this is an extremely pleasant surprise. Apparently the band closed their set the night before in Manchester with a Michael Jackson medley, which was probably great. But this song is so powerful that once it kicks off, it’s hard to imagine the show ending any other way.

Placebo

September 28, 2010

Disclaimer: Placebo are my favourite band, as anyone who has ever met me likely knows.

That being said, going to see them live is always a treat. And this being about the tenth live show I’ve been to of theirs, there are a lot of expectations to be met. While their music is ace and their lyrics are mind-blowingly brilliant, the thing about Placebo is that you don’t actually have to like their music to enjoy them live. Brian Molko and co. have so much energy on stage that permeates their set, and their sound is so tight, that even the most anti-Placebo punter has to admit that they sound good.

Tonight’s line-up at O2’s Brixton Academy (the second night of two shows; this one added after the first night sold out) kicks off with an opening spot from Little Fish (who recently opened for Blondie on tour). Amidst the growing sea of folky boy-girl duos, it’s rather refreshing to see that this one can rock. Frontwoman Juju proves that there are still women in rock music that can actually sing.

California-based rockers Evaline follow, and the energy drops a bit in the venue. One of those nine or ten Placebo gigs I’ve previously attended  (Boston, USA, 2006) also had Evaline as the support slot. The band’s sound has definitely changed since then, shifting from a fairly unique, interesting mix of orchestral and rock, to what is now mainly generic rock. However, it makes sense that they’re opening for the band, as Placebo’s recently-added drummer replacement Steve Forrest used to be the drummer for Evaline, during that 2006 US tour.

Placebo start their set with classic crowd-pleaser ‘Nancy Boy’. The rest of their set-list is Battle For the Sun-heavy, which is to be expected on a tour promoting the recent album. While that album is good, I am a bit partial to their older material.

A heavier, more upbeat version of ‘Sleeping With Ghosts’, as well as ‘Every You Every Me’, ‘Special Needs’ and ‘Teenage Angst’, are the lucky older tracks to make the cut, along with ‘Song To Say Goodbye’, ‘Bitter End’ and ‘Taste In Men’ in the encore.

The encore also includes latest single ‘Trigger Happy Hands’, a result of the band’s partnership with clothing brand/new record label Atticus. To fit in with the lyrics “so we’re living in a culture made of death and fear”, confetti and white balloons with the words “death and fear” drop from the ceiling during the song. While that’s always a nice touch for the end of a gig, it seems a bit showy for the gender-bending band that spent most of its career on the outskirts of the mainstream.

Regardless, the band’s music sounds spot-on all night, and they really do know how to put on a live show. And if you happened to miss it, rumour has it that the night has been recorded for a “Live at Brixton” DVD due out some time around Christmas.

Bestival 2010

September 9-12, 2010

Torrential downpour – check. Amazing line-up – check. Four days of live music, booze, fairground rides and overpriced food – check. Bestival is pretty much like any other UK summertime music festival, only transplanted onto an isolated island and surrounded by magic meadows and a castle in the sky. And the 2010 fancy dress theme of “fantasy” means unicorns, fairies, Oompa Loompas and Smurfs are just about as common to spot as empty, crumpled cups on the ground.

Now, getting to the Isle of Wight from London is not the easiest of journeys, and upon arrival to the festival site on Thursday, we’re so exhausted that assembling a tent is pretty much the most difficult task of the entire weekend. But after a quick wander around the site, a pit stop to see Janelle Monae and a good night’s sleep in a semi-stable tent, we’re ready for Bestival to begin.

photo: Rebecca Schiller

Quick note on Janelle Monae’s performance: we were really looking forward to seeing her, as many of us over here at Muso’s Guide are huge fans. But something about her set at the Big Top Tent just didn’t seem right. The sound quality in the tent is a bit dogdy all weekend, and the early time slot didn’t really do her justice. Despite the tent being packed, her usually knockout vocals didn’t impress us. Kudos to her energy, though – she danced up such a storm that her poof of hair exploded.

Our Friday kicks off with The Vegetable Orchestra, who use vegetables as musical instruments. It’s a cool concept, but after ten minutes or so, the novelty wears off and we’re ready to move on. Four Tet stirs up a massive mid-day dance party in the Big Top Tent soon after, which is a welcomed shift from leek violins and pumpkin drums.

Over at the Main Stage, Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip deliver one of the best performances of the weekend. Sroobius Pip knocks out the hits while chugging on a bottle of wine and chatting with the crowd. After briefly mentioning their earlier appearance at Camp Bestival, the rapper jokingly shouts “Fuck the kids”, which is met with a rapturous applause from the crowd.

Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip, photo: Rebecca Schiller

Unfortunately, we miss The xx (who recently won the coveted Mercury Award). Then again, we’ve seen them perform before, and their live sets don’t really seem to change much. Hot Chip and Dizzee Rascal also perform on Friday night, but their sets are a bit bland compared to some of the other acts of the weekend.

Saturday is met with buckets of rain, so trekking across the site to see Hurts in the afternoon without slipping in the mud is an atrocious experience. Fortunately, the band are worth it. Looking classy as ever in their matching suits and slicked back hair, the men of Hurts crank out the ballads. Frontman Theo Hutchcraft jokes, “Sorry we didn’t come in fancy dress, our idea of fantasy is a business meeting”, before stating that Bestival is the “greatest festival this summer”.

Hurts, photo: Rebecca Schiller

Mumford and Sons, on the other hand, go all out with the fancy dress, appearing on stage in Musketeer costumes. As lively and spot-on as ever, the Bestival crowd appear to love the folk band as much as the rest of the world does.

As we mentioned, Bestival 2010’s line-up is full of amazing acts, Roxy Music being one of our personal favourites, followed by festival staples The Flaming Lips. “Thank you for being such freaks,” shouts Wayne Coyne. “I hope this festival goes on another hundred years.” Our only criticism is that we’d like to see a bit more variety in their live act. Yea, the bear, the confetti and Coyne’s big bubble are impressive the first few times, but for any live Lips veteran, the shtick gets a bit repetitive.

The festival closes out with three great back-to-back performances from The Prodigy (who set fire to the castle after their set for a bonfire and fireworks), Fever Ray (who can barely be seen on stage amidst the smoke and illuminated lamps, but still sounds awesome) and LCD Soundsystem (well, James Murphy’s greatness is pretty self-explanatory. Insert melancholic comment on his upcoming retirement here).

The Rinky Dinks

At what other festival will you find beds and couches to relax on, pianos for people to play, kid-size portaloos, a ukulele band (go check out the Rinky Dinks, who played at the Gaymers stage) and a venue inside a tree? If you’re after an eclectic musical line-up and an elaborate, breathtakingly gorgeous festival site, then make Bestival one of your musical ventures for next summer.

of Montreal - False Priest

After hearing the single ‘Coquet Coquette’, an early version of ‘Hydra Fancies’, and a televised performance of ‘Sex Karma’, we knew False Priest would be a great album. And after seeing the album artwork, we knew it would be a colourful and bizarre concoction of genius. Now that we’ve listened to False Priest in its entirety, we can safely say that this Athens, Georgia-based, modern-day glam band’s 10^th full-length studio album is worth all of the hype it’s been receiving. With cameos from Janelle Monae and Solange Knowles, a baffling hodgepodge of lyrics and the soulful falsetto of Kevin Barnes, this is one album we just can’t seem to turn off.

Most of False Priest is a rather upbeat collection. And much like the band’s previous releases, this is the kind of album you can listen to hundreds of times, and continue to discover pieces you’ve missed during previous listens. It was only on our ninth or tenth listen that we caught sporadic bits like “Are zombies licking your window?” and “Unicorns eating baby meat”.

But these aren’t even the strangest moments on the album. One of the two tracks featuring Monae’s vocals, ‘Our Riotous Defects’, is certainly the most humorous. Barnes sings about a girl he met at an Al-Anon meeting who was initially intimidating, but he soon discovered she was crazy – like when on their second date she got mad at him and threw his Beta fish out the window. Truly, these are only things of Montreal could sing about and still be taken seriously. This story probably isn’t true, like most of those we find in their music, but Barnes’s ability to cook up insane, fabricated stories is one of the best aspects of the band’s music.

of Montreal have also always impressed us with their ability to seamlessly pack what sounds like several entirely different songs into one track, and we see this again in False Priest. What we also see is a continuation of their last album, Skeletal Lamping (2008), which was heavy on the sexual references. While False Priest isn’t as in-your-face with them (not that this was a bad thing last time), they’re definitely still there. ‘Sex Karma’, featuring Solange, is like a shinier, kinkier version of John Mayer’s ‘Your Body Is A Wonderland’, with lyrics like “’Close your eyes and count to three/I’ll kiss you where I shouldn’t be/’Cause you look like a playground to me”.

The most interesting, standout track for us is album closer ‘You Do Mutilate?’, which finishes with distorted vocals giving a rather powerful, thought-provoking speech: “Everybody’s searching for a cause, a reason to blow themselves up/Could be anything/When will certain people realise that afterlife is nothing to live for, nothing to die for, nothing to fight for?…If you think God is more important than your neighbour/You’re capable of terrible evil/If you think some prophet’s words are more important than your brother and your sister, you’re ill and you’re wrong”. Not since ‘The Past Is A Grotesque Animal’ (from Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?, 2007) have we been this touched by an of Montreal song.

If you’re already familiar with the band’s back catalogue, then False Priest will be a delightful continuation of outlandish lyrical musings, and if you’re new to their music, then prepare yourself for 13 unique, mind-blowingly, brilliant tracks.

Sonisphere Festival

July 30-August 1, 2010

For a festival that’s only two years old, Sonisphere UK 2010 has been a success in almost every way. The traveling European music festival made a stop at Knebworth, England this past weekend, treating 55,000 rock and metal music fans to some of the biggest, baddest names in rock’n’roll history, including Iggy and the Stooges, Alice Cooper, Iron Maiden, Rammstein and other influential rockers.

The sold out three-day festival is remarkably well-organised and surprisingly tame. On the first night of arrival, before the live musical acts begin, the campsites are quiet and the main festival area is deserted by 2am – which, for a festival, is an early night. Besides a silent disco and some rock karaoke (think a tent full of metalheads singing along to Guns N’ Roses), there’s not much reason to be there yet – except for scoring a good place to pitch a tent.

Friday kicks off full force, though, as campers are woken up at 10am by Rage Against the Machine’s ‘Killing In the Name Of’ blasting over the speakers. The rest of the afternoon is lacking in excitement, though, as the main Saturn Stage acts don’t begin until 5pm. After performances from Delain and Tsurias, fans wait rather impatiently through Europe’s set, sticking around until ‘The Final Countdown’ is played – it’s clear that’s the song everyone is waiting to hear. And for Europe fans, the fun continues, as a marching band donning striped trousers and mullet wigs play the song while marching around the festival for the remainder of the weekend.

Unfortunately, we miss Gary Numan – we would have loved to hear ‘Cars’. But we make it back to the Saturn Stage just in time for the night’s headliner, Alice Cooper. His first festival appearance for nearly 30 years is nothing but perfect. Not only do fans get to hear ‘School’s Out’ twice (as the first and last songs), but the shock-rocker’s set is full of death-related stunts and props, including his rather famous guillotine act. No matter how many times this guy dies on stage, not once does his performance suffer. Even in a red straightjacket, he manages to impress every single person in the crowd. Let’s hope he doesn’t wait another few decades to make his next festival appearance.

Saturday’s wake-up call (for late risers) is to the tune of Family Force 5’s dance party at the Apollo Stage – which later sees performances from Papa Roach (again, the majority of the crowd seems interested in their final song, ‘Last Resort’) and Placebo (who play a good mix of old and new material, as well as a cover of Nirvana’s ‘All Apologies, and put on a hell of a show that is one of our favourites of the weekend). Good Charlotte also make an appearance, but we decide to give the Bohemia Tent’s comedy series a try, with some hilarious bits from transvestite metalhead Andrew O’Neill and Australian funnyman-with-a-piano Tim Minchin.

Brian Molko, Placebo

Rammstein’s Saturday night headline performance is over-the-top and brilliant. Their first ever UK festival appearance is full of fireworks and flame-throwers, and the German industrial metal band pump out some heavy foreign tunes. At one point, a “punter” jumps on stage, catches on fire, and is “rescued” by some stage technicians. It’s all staged – but it looks convincing and leaves us a bit rattled. They close out their set with a cannon that shoots foam and confetti at the crowd, and keyboardist Flake crowd surfs on a mini boat.

Rammstein

By Sunday, despite being exhausted and in need of a good shower, we’re ready for some of the best performances to come. Before Alice In Chains, Slayer and Pendulum arrive, we’re treated to a thirty-minute set from The Fab Beatles, a cover band that manage to inspire a huge crowd of rockers to dance and sing along to ‘Twist And Shout’ and ‘Hey Jude’. When Iggy Pop later plays with the Stooges, he proves that at 63, he’s still got a whole lot of rock and rebellion in him, and he doesn’t plan on stopping any time soon. He might have sold out in many’s eyes after signing on to sell car insurance, but that doesn’t make him any less of a rock and roll legend.

Iggy and the Stooges

Closing out the weekend are Iron Maiden, who play for two hours (unfortunately, though, it’s heavy on new material). Although we would have personally enjoyed seeing Iggy and the Stooges or Alice Cooper play for a full two hours instead, Iron Maiden prove to be deserving of the coveted end slot.

Sonisphere UK 2010 is full of amazing live music, well-structured performance scheduling, genuine music fans and a surprising amount of families with young children. This festival just goes to show that no one is too young or too old to enjoy metal, and we really look forward to Sonisphere 2011.

Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse - Dark Night Of the Soul

It’s been a tumultuous journey for the release of Dark Night of the Soul, the second and final collaborative effort from Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse. After a lengthy legal battle with EMI and a deliberate Internet leak from the artists themselves, the album is finally available, more than one year after the initial release date.

It’s challenging to pinpoint an exact sound for Dark Night of the Soul – largely due to its extensive list of contributors. Parts of the album are fused with pure rock – Iggy Pop lent his signature deep vocals for ‘Pain’, and Pixies frontman Black Francis’s ‘Angel’s Harp’ is a bluesy, gritty number.

One of the album’s highlights is ‘Little Girl’, starring Julian Casablancas of The Strokes. With another uniquely brilliant set of vocals, Casablancas makes this an insanely catchy song. This is certainly one of the best collaborations on the album.

These three tracks are sandwiched between a slew of more moving songs, many seemingly bleeding with pain. Made even more poignant by the recent suicide of Sparklehorse’s Mark Linkous, it’s difficult to not draw some parallels between them.

Opener ‘Revenge’ (featuring Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips) is one of the most emotional moments of Dark Night of the Soul. “Pain, I guess it’s a matter of sensation”, sings Coyne. “In my mind/I have shot you and stabbed you through your heart/I just didn’t understand/The ricochet is the second part”. And as he repeatedly sings “The more that it backfires” over quiet drumbeats and simple, airy hums, it’s obvious this will be one treat of an album.

With other appearances from Gruff Rhys of Super Furry Animals, Grandaddy’s Jason Lytle, James Mercer of The Shins and Broken Bells (side-project with Danger Mouse), Nina Persson of The Cardigans and Vic Chestnutt (who also committed suicide, on Christmas Day 2009), this star-packed album is strikingly beautiful and genuine the entire way through.

Dedicated to the late Linkous and Chestnutt, Dark Night of the Soul is a timeless collection that leaves a legacy they can be proud of.

The album can be streamed in full here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104129585

June 22, 2010

Vampires are the latest craze to strike the entertainment industry, so it’s only natural that they have now infiltrated the music business. Hunter S. Thompson famously called the music industry a “cruel and shallow money trench” for “thieves” and “pimps”, but today it’s being portrayed as a home to thirsty bloodsuckers.

Rob Stefaniuk’s latest film, Suck, premiered at London’s Soho Screening Rooms on Tuesday night, and the small crowd was treated to a preview of the next installment of sexy vampire fiction…only this time, it’s got rock ‘n roll royalty.

Featuring cameos from Alice Cooper, Iggy Pop, Henry Rollins (Black Flag) and Dimitri Coats (Burning Brides), this comedic spoof on the current vampire phenomenon traces the overnight success of an average, unknown band (The Winners) that drive around in a hurst, become vampires and get a taste of celebrity (and the groupies they feed on).

The Winners

Every aspect of this film makes it a budding cult classic. Not only does it also star Malcolm McDowell of A Clockwork Orange, one of the biggest cult classic films of all time, but it also has so many minor touches that music buffs will love to spot. For instance, a few classic album cover scenes are subtly recreated throughout the film, including T.Rex’s Electric Warrior, Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the U.S.A., The Beatles’ Abbey Road and The Who’s The Kids Are Alright soundtrack. And we don’t want to spoil anything, but one vampire gets killed after being impaled with a guitar. There’s also a featured newspaper headline that reads, “Vampires Eat the Jonas Brothers”. How’s that for irony?

Alice Cooper

Suck is a Universal Pictures (UK) film. The DVD will be released in October. Suck is also an official sponsor of the Bloodstock 2010 Festival (August 13-15), which supports the Metal 2 Masses unsigned bands competition (www.bloodstock.uk.com)

Broken Bells

From June 11th – 21st, singer-songwriter and guitarist Richard Thompson is directing a series of concerts at Southbank Centre‘s riverside venues. Included in the series are Loudon Wainwright III (with Richard Thompson), Elvis Costello and Broken Bells (with Lone Wolf).

For the full line-up, go to meltdown.southbankcentre.co.uk.

You can also download a free track from Broken Bells here.