January 2011
1 post
9 tags
Boy Cried Wolf @ Camden Barfly 25/01/11 - "This Is...
One of my most consistent mottos in life is, Panic: It gets shit done. Brash, but true. I never thought I would see it demonstrated as perfectly as it was at Boy Cried Wolf’s gig at Camden Barfly last night.
When the impeccably dressed Wayne Murray took centre stage, ready to launch into the head-bending opener, Ghost In A Photograph, I saw a pale and wide-eyed expression more suited to a...
December 2010
1 post
10 tags
Quote Of The Day...
This amazing exchange came courtesy of my friend David, lead guitarist of Ageless Oblivion (http://twitter.com/#!/AgelessOblivion). If, like me, you are cynical of the need for death metal to exist, you’ll be surprised to know they’re rather good.
Me: <Insert Dom Howard-related comment here>
David: “Who’s he?”
Me: “The drummer from Muse.”
David:...
July 2010
3 posts
21 tags
“So Retro” – Jet @ Shepherds Bush Empire...
It’s not like me to review the same band twice in a row, but there is a reason behind my fangirling.
“Are they still going?” was the question that followed almost every mention of going to see Jet. Almost as frequent was this exchange, recounted verbatim:
“Who are Jet?”
“You know, Are You Gonna Be My Girl?”
“Oh yeah! God, are they still...
12 tags
“That Band’s Gone Genius, uh oh oh oh oh oh OH!” –...
I’ve never liked support bands. Even when they’ve been support bands I’ve liked, I’ve never liked support bands. Bands that are on before my preferred band on a festival bill count as a support band. They tend to serve nothing more than a better (though this is often not the case…) way to pass the time than staring morosely at a drum-kit and backdrop while supporting myself on the barrier because...
21 tags
“Leeds vs. Lisbon” – Optimus Alive, 8th-10th July...
So it transpires that football isn’t the only thing that the Portuguese are superior at. Music festivals can also be added to the (somewhat extensive) list.
Optimus Alive festival is a three-day heavy rock affair in Alges, up-town Lisbon. The line-up was a failsafe combination of Florence & The Machine, Kasabian, Manic Street Preachers, Pearl Jam, Deftones, Faith No More, Jet and LCD...
June 2010
1 post
15 tags
Kasabian @ Le Bikini, Toulouse 09/06/2010
Toulouse didn’t sell itself well. From the moment I arrived to about four hours before doors the rain poured solidly, almost mockingly. Also the venue, Le Bikini, doesn’t appear to live up to its glamorous title, being situated in the middle of a largely deserted industrial estate full of nothing but warehouses and a very conspicuous Mexican Grill. Also, this gig is cursed.
No really, it is....
May 2010
1 post
15 tags
The Drums (Oh Johnny boy...)
Once again, due to my habit of intentionally ignoring everything NME has to say with fingers in my ears and a loud, ‘Blah blah blah, The Skids, blah blah blah…’ I have been rather slow on the uptake with this band, but bear with me.
I first stumbled across them supporting Florence & The Machine at Hammersmith Apollo. They were preceded by an almost 50s-style scene with an outbreak of...
March 2010
7 posts
14 tags
I've Never Voted Conservative Before...
I may be delving into unsafe waters here in writing about politics, but with the general election in May approaching with the speed and unpredictability of a crazed rally car, I felt compelled to reflect.
You could say that the small number of people who have decided to vote are already giving some indication as to how their decision was made. Whereas once politics was about ideology,...
11 tags
Frankie Boyle (warmup) @ Hen & Chickens Theatre
It could have started better. For me, I mean, rather than Frankie. While waiting for my tickets at the box office I became quite excited recounting a story to my friend, with much laughing and fist-waving to animate my point. What I didn’t realise was that mid fist-wave Frankie was standing next to me waiting to go upstairs. What followed, after what must have looked to Frankie like an...
13 tags
Alice In Wonderland, directed by Tim Burton. No,...
When I grow up I want to be Marina Hyde. An effortlessly cool writer for The Guardian with sport, politics and Lost In Showbiz columns, she is invariably right about everything. One of her recent articles asked if we could now officially claim Tim Burton as one of ours, an honorary Brit who rejects the homogeny of Hollywood in favour of the twisted and bizarre. As a worshipper at her altar I would...
17 tags
This Is Not A Review - Lady Gaga @ Cardiff CIA...
This is not a review. It cannot be a review. A review is meant to sum up a gig succinctly and accurately, and I can do neither. The more she gives of herself, the more the clothes come off and the singles shoot to an automatic number one, the more mystique she seems to command.
To see her live is to take leave of your reality, pitch up in the Monster Ball and prepare yourself for an...
14 tags
Speechless - Lady Gaga @ Cardiff CIA 03/03/2010...
There will be a review here soon, of Lady Gaga at the Cardiff CIA, maybe even in the next day or so if I’m on form. It puts into perspective how hard writing can be, how limiting your own language is, when you can’t find any word to describe how mindblowing, how spectacular, how iconic, and how inhuman in her performing perfection Lady Gaga really is. There are no words, just a pang of...
17 tags
Delphic - Acolyte
Let’s get this straight. I am vehemently against new bands and prone to reading NME articles in WH Smith with a look of superior disgust on my face before walking home to a soundtrack of Oasis and David Bowie.
However, once in a while, I stumble across someone who genuinely excites me, who can induce a strange Tourettes-like state whereby I recount the artist/band’s name plus a rambling...
20 tags
There's Something Depressing About The UK...
John and Edward Grimes.
No, really.
You may think that I’ve finally lost my mind and turned to hallucinogenic drugs to get myself through life but, really, I haven’t. I’m being 100% serious. Or as serious as you can be when talking about these identical quiffed Irish invaders of the UK Charts.
I’ll put it concisely: I adore Jedward, and this is my case as to...
February 2010
3 posts
17 tags
The Beginning & They're Winning - Manic Street...
“Apparently Ed O’Brien called me a wanker!” Nicky Wire explodes before the Manics’ glorious decade-spanning set draws to a close. “Fuck off back to boarding school you c***!” Almost twenty years into his career and he hasn’t lost his taste for an ill-advised fight, or an ill-advised amount of makeup. Less smokey-eyed and more deranged racoon, but still as full of anarchistic enthusiasm as he was...
10 tags
MORE SEX PLEASE, WE'RE FRENCH - Kasabian @ Paris...
Seeing Kasabian’s name in lights outside the venue seemed wonderfully 1950s, but the French attitude towards queueing for gigs is very modern in comparison. Running appears to be actively encouraged, even in the case of stairs (or later in the tour a courtyard layered with a sheet of ice). I agree with this method of entry; it’s like natural selection. Those tough enough to withstand...
6 tags
Same Old Terry, Always Cheating
Still quite aghast at how John Terry coerced one woman into having sex with him, let alone several. Slow-acting rohypnol aftershave? He is a footballer, he could probably afford to have some made. Terry is one of those unfortunate people who is so thoroughly rough that he looks as though he was born straight into a young offender’s institute. What’s the betting his first birthday...
January 2010
2 posts
10 tags
Are You Sleeping With The NME?
No, I am not. Firstly, because considering the average age of their writers and target audience the sex wouldn’t even be legal. Secondly, because what was once the authority on the then-aspiring music genres of rap, reggae, punk rock, rock ‘n’ roll, metal, and pop, has shrivelled to a barely recognisable parody of its former self. Flip to the reviews section and you’ll feel as though a gig, that...
That'll Be 30 Pieces Of Silver Please.
It was always going to be an interesting fight, wondering whether the Luddite or the exhibitionist in me would win out. The exhibitionist unfortunately benefits from the likes of guns, tanks and taser guns over the Luddite’s club and loin-cloth, so it was, in hindsight, a foregone conclusion. Pleased to meet you and welcome to the 21st Century. I’ve just sold my soul and am planning to...