9 May, 2011
The early comers line up at the barrier whilst the rest mill at the bar. The first beer has already been spilt. It’s going to be a good night. The second room at the Bristol branch of O2′s venues is a strange one – it’s long and it’s thin with a rather deep stage. You can just about see the drum kit at the back! … Continue Reading
9 May, 2011
There are certain things which you come to expect from a hardcore punk show. Distortion, sheer volume, slam dancing/moshing (delete as appropriate to your decade of birth) and a relentless sense of visceral abrasion. And whilst Fucked Up subvert conventional notions of what punkrock ‘is’ or ‘does’ in some ticklish ways, they by no means prove the exception to these rules. Fucked Up are a hardcore punkrock band, and their live shows unambiguously evidence this fact. Playing through punishingly loud amps and broken microphones, Fucked Up lead the charge of flailing bodies, flying beer, and half-abortive crowd surfing attempts. It’s punkrock, exactly as we know it, exactly as we want it.
8 May, 2011
Home-city gigs are typically a pretty special affair, and when you’re a band with such a devout fan-base as Wild Beasts this becomes especially true. On the cusp of the release of their third album Smother - a record which is (quite rightly) widely anticipated as having the potential to be the band’s OK Computer - Wild Beasts choose to play in the Brudenell Social Club: one of the city’s best loved and most cosily intimate venues. Naturally, the limited floor space makes for a surge of demand for tickets, leaving me to attend a specially added ‘matinee’ performance designed to satiate the surplus fans. Odd as the concept of having a gig in the afternoon seems and feels, Wild Beasts – and their new material – have the strength to bring a sense of occasion to a gorgeously sunny afternoon (the sort of gorgeously sunny afternoon which takes something rather special to entice you into a working men’s club).
May 8, 2011
Playing in support of accomplished debut album Meet Me At The Muster Station, Benjamin Nelson & Paul Saunier (manning the microphone like a king-sized King of Leon) hammer their way through the bulk of that release’s content. Kicking off with the title track this is a lean performance from the Canadian duo with little space for banter with the crowd (most of whom are committed to just absorbing the onstage riffing and drum pounding anyway rather than exchanging chat) so they waste no time in doing the business.
May 3, 2011
The bill at Cargo in East London on Tuesday night boasts two former bedroom acts who are pushing electronic music into their own unique, upbeat territories. Manchester’s Star Slinger clearly owes a great deal to the late J Dilla, though he weaves samples from hiphop, soul, girl groups and even Musical Youth into his bright, energetic compositions with a skill that makes the whole thing sound easy. Largely unknown this time last year, Baths represents the sincere, pop arm of LA’s sprawling beat scene – his absorbing, heartfelt LP, Cerulean, and almost constant touring has brought him a considerable amount of success. … Continue Reading
April 30, 2011
Due to a logistical error (the word “upstairs” being rather too small on the event poster and missing from other communications), I’m completely unable to report on the first night of this so you’ll need to look elsewhere for blow-by-blow accounts of The Men From Uncle Dad, Charles Randolph Rivers Slim Rythym Revue, Keith Douglas & The Corps of Discovery, Hidden Masters, The Fnords and The Thanes but I’ve been assured by a trusted source that at least the final third of the night was “pretty good”. Undeterred by this set-back though night two is faithfully attended.
16 April, 2011
It is fitting that on the weekend of the FA Cup Semi-Finals the Pewsey locals hanging on the boughs of branches on the other side of the fence to hear some of the acts at the inaugural Honeyfest remind us of those doing the same at the famous Hereford vs. Newcastle game some 39 years ago. … Continue Reading
April 19, 2011
Thursday, proud owners of some of the most earnest fans in the known Universe, walk onstage to LOUD SCREAMING and jump into a massive version of No Devolucion’s ‘Fast To The End’, which, to be fair, has enough component parts to it to make Thursday’s three guitarists (really guys? Come on) not completely superfluous. Geoff Rickley displays the standard microphone-waving, amp-standing histrionics and the band jerks and bounces about in the appropriate manner. Two songs in, however, this happens: ‘Thanks everyone. We’re going to play a couple of more new ones then we’re going to play some Full Collapse.’ The crowd response is a hearty ‘BWAHAAA WOO ARGH!’, indicating approval, and Thursday begin to whip through their 2001 album with obvious relish. The crowd response is borderline epileptic, particularly during riff-nuggets ‘Understanding In A Car Crash’ and ‘Paris In Flames’, curing which the majority of the crowd cry, pass out, cry, scream and cry. … Continue Reading
April 20, 2011
If The Futureheads had got their heads together before tonight’s Japanese Tsunami Relief Benefit show and attempted to sketch out the ideal set of circumstances in which to extract optimum charitable goodwill, they would probably have struggled to come up with a better scenario than that which we actually encounter tonight. The seemingly endless supply of bank holidays stretched languidly in front of us has dovetailed beautifully with the unexpected delight of the first proper sunshine of the year, making Ouseburn Valley a pretty fucking happy place. Throw in a stellar supporting cast of some of the North East’s finest musicians, and you’ve got practically the perfect recipe to tease hands into pockets. … Continue Reading
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