Baby I'm Bored.........

Summer 2011 Mixtape

2011-08-27T12:24:00.001-07:00

Summer 2011 Mixtape by Gumgum on Mixcloud

Queens of the Stone Age - O2 Academy Bournemouth - 28th June 2011

2011-06-29T05:27:00.000-07:00

Arriving in our little neck of the woods after headlining the other stage at Glastonbury 2 nights before you’d have forgiven Josh Homme and company for being a little bit chilled, perhaps suffering some slight post coital exhaustion after one of their biggest ever gigs. You’d also be very, very wrong.

Playing a gig for no other reason than to keep their momentum going between festival shows, tonight was without doubt one of the greatest gigs I’ve ever been witness too, 90 minutes of straight up, sleaze drenched rock and roll from the coolest fucking band on the planet right now.

Walking into the venue you could tell this wasn’t just another gig, with 30 minutes to go the place was rammed, the sense of anticipation electrifying as they took to the stage and slammed into Regular John, taking the roof off the place from the very first chord.

To be honest the band could have played anything and the devoted crowd would have had the time of their lives, as it happened what we got was a fine mix of greatest hits (Feel Good Hit, No One Knows, Go With the Flow) and career spanning album tracks (In The Fade, Hangin’ Tree), all killer, no filler should be the band’s motto on nights like these.

Homme was on imposing form, prowling the front of the stage, taking hits from a bottle of tequila “on doctors orders” before passing the bottle to the front of the crowd, reacting with disgust as the security quickly tried to confiscate it, shouting “Let them have it, tonight you work for me, this is a fucking rock show for Christ’s sake”, I couldn’t quite see the outcome but he’s a not a man to be fucked with that’s for certain. Throughout the show he semi joked that he wasn’t feeling too good but joke or not you’d be hard pressed to find a more impressive, enigmatic front man, reinforcing every lyric, every note with attitude and dripping awe inspiring cool over everything he touches, this is what rockstars are supposed to be like aren’t they?

All in all an amazing night for everyone who witnessed these 5 guys doing what they love doing, what they were born to do, made all the more special because tonight with nothing to promote, they were simply playing for the hell of it.

Regular John
Feel Good Hit of the Summer
3’s and 7’s
Do it Again
Avon
Better Living Through Chemistry
In The Fade
Hangin’ Tree
Misfit Love
Make it Wit Chu
Little Sister
Tangled Up in Plaid
First it Giveth
I Think I Lost My Headache
Go With The Flow

Burn The Witch
No One Knows
A Song For The Dead

The Classic House Hour 20/02/2011

2011-02-20T12:17:00.001-08:00

The Classic House Hour 20/02/2011 by Simon Renouf on Mixcloud

The first in a semi regualr series of classic house mixetapes, this time around mostly on the soulful vocal tip, using 100% vinyl, 2 decks, 1 mixer, nothing else. Enjoy!

Tracklist

1. Love Station - Love Come Rescue Me (Classic Mix)
2. Evolution - Love Thing (Original Mix)
3. Degrees of Motion - Shine On (Extended LP Mix)
4. Gat Decor - Passion (Naked Mix)
5. MK - Burning (MK Remix)
6. Brand New Heavies - Back to Love (Graeme Park Mix)
7. Future Force - What You Want (Mark!'s Massive Mix)
8. Duke - So In Love With You (Full Intention 12" Mix)
9. 3rd Nation - I Believe (Nice and Stoned 70's Mix)
10. Blackout Allstars - I Like It Like That (D'Ambrosio Club Mix)
11. Lil' Mo' Ying Yang - Reach ('Little' 'More' Mix)
12. Pulse - The Lover That You Are (Club Vox)

Baby I'm Bored Top 25 Albums of 2010

2010-12-31T14:25:00.000-08:00

25 - Jimmy Eat World - Invented

24 - Skunk Anansie - Wanderlustre

23 - Aeroplane - We Can't Fly

22 - Gil Scott Heron - I'm New Here

21 - Groove Armada - Black Light

20 - Rox - Memoirs

19 - Jamiroquai - Rock Dust Light Star

18 - Sia - We Are Born

17 - The Bees - Every Step's a Yes

16 - The Naked and Famous - Passive Me, Aggresive You

15 - The Apples - Kings

14 - Laura Marling - I Speak Because I Can

13 - Phosphorescent - Here's to Taking it Easy

12 - Imelda May - Mayhem

11 - Warpaint - The Fool

10 - School of Seven Bells - Disconnect From Desire

9 - Arcade Fire - The Suburbs

8 - Jónsi - Go

7 - Hot Chip - One Life Stand

6 - Plan B - The Defamation of Strickland Banks

5 - Four Tet - There is Love in You

4 - Hurts - Happiness

3 - LCD Soundsystem - This is Happening

2 - Manic Street Preachers - Postcards From a Young Man

1 - The National - High Violet

Baby I'm Bored Top 10 Films of 2010

2010-12-31T10:38:00.000-08:00

10. Green Zone

Seen by many as Bourne 4.0 this was Paul Greengrass and Matt Damon at their most dynamic, mixing politics and high octane action to amazing effect. The film is probably most notable though for Jason Isaacs tache-tastic scene stealing turn as the enemy within.

9. How to Train Your Dragon

In a bumper year for animation Dreamworks How To Train Your Dragon stood out from the crowd thanks to a very funny, adultscentric script, faultless animation and a voice cast made up of the great and good of young American comedy. Charming, laugh out loud hilarious and great fun.

8. The Expendables

Well, everyone needs a guilty pleasure and this is the one to end them all, Stallone assembles a cast of passed their sell by date 80’s action heroes including Dolph Lundgren, Eric Roberts, Terry Crews and Steve Austin all joined by current action golden boy Jason Statham trying to keep up.

Forget plot (it's basically nicked from Commando), forget character (there aren’t any), this is 100 minutes of balls to the wall action, stunts, guns and explosions that will bring a tear to the eye of most thirty something men who spent their formative years obsessing over these boys the first time around. All of this plus the scene of the year as Sly, Bruce and Arnie meet on screen for the first time ever.

7. Monsters

The biggest little film of the year, made for next to nothing, the film is essentially a road movie set in an area of Mexico quarantined following the arrival of alien life to planet Earth (the titular Monsters). The infected zone is astonishingly well rendered and given the budget of around $250,000 the special effects are unbelievable, but the film is above all about character and story.

6. Splice

Brilliant low key horror from the director of Cube, the film sees two scientists (Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley) performing gene splicing experiments against the wishes of their employers, eventually creating a creature called Dren who forms very different relationships with her two creators.

5. Kick Ass

Now this is how to subvert a genre and boy does this genre need a kick up the ass (ahem). Darkly hilarious, grimly violent and in a year of Superhero dirge by far the best of the bunch, Matthew Vaughn and Jane Goldman bring the wonder of Stardust and the fucked up humour of Layer Cake to the superhero arena to incredible effect.

A central character with no discernible super powers bar the ability to get really, really beaten up, the rarity that has become a brilliant Nicholas Cage performance and a twelve year old girl saying cunt before despatching a room full of henchmen sending middle England running screaming to the Daily Mail website. Quite simply a triumph on every level.

4. The Road

Criminally underrated adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s brilliant novel. Capturing the hopelessness, desperation and bleakness of the book perfectly, John Hillcoat’s film sees Viggo Mortensen play a father who will do literally anything to protect his son (an astonishing turn from newcomer Kodi Smit-McPhee) as they travel south in a post apocalyptic landscape where other survivors as just as dangerous as the failing eco system that hinders them at every turn.

3. Toy Story 3

Making a trilogy without a falling foul of the law of diminishing returns has proved virtually impossible in the past but Pixar nailed it with the third part of Toy Story, as spectacular, funny and heart warming as the previous two films (if not even better) and a perfect conclusion to our favourite toys saga. It also makes Toy Story officially the best movie trilogy ever made, take that Coppola!

2. The Social Network

A movie about the history of Facebook? You mean a documentary right? No a movie, starring Justin Timberlake? WHAT? Fear not, in the hands of David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin what we got was a genuinely mesmerising story about friendship and betrayal amid the creation of the Facebook phenomenon.

1. Inception

Proof that a massive budget blockbuster can be intelligent and challenging, as a post Dark Knight Christopher Nolan, given free reign by the studio to do whatever he wanted produced one of best, most original films ever made and made a star out of Tom Hardy in the process.
An epic, complex, spectacular mind fuck of a film that has you gripping on for dear life just to keep up with every intricately placed, thoroughly audacious plot twist with an ending to end all endings.

This is cinema at its best, no exposition drip feeding here, you keep up or you go home, but don't worry everything is as it seems and it all makes perfect sense, all this and a Summer blockbuster that didn't feel the need to use the vile novelty of 3D to get bums on seats, thank you Mr Nolan for treating your audience like adults, more of this please.

Elbow - Lippy Kids

2010-12-30T10:02:00.000-08:00

Elbow have released the first material from their forthcoming album Build a Rocket Boys. Guy Garvy had said that the new album would be geared towards the larger venues that the band would be playing since the astronomical success of The Seldom Seen Kid but this track called Lippy Kids is a lush, understated number along the lines of Scattered Black and Whites or Crawling with Idiot. Lyrically the track eulogises over the innocence and excitement of youth, embracing the gang of hoodies on your street corner rather than demonising them and as we've some to expect from the band it is typically brilliant stuff.

Adele - Rolling in the Deep

2010-11-15T15:45:00.000-08:00

The lovely Adele is back with the storming new single Rolling in the Deep, from her forthcoming album 21. Hear it here backed with some great footage of her recording the album.

I Love Sarah Jane - Brilliant Australian Zombie Short

2010-11-09T11:31:00.001-08:00

Manic Street Preachers - (It's Not War) Just The End of Love, Behind The Scenes Making Of

2010-10-30T09:35:00.000-07:00

A behind the scenes look at the makingh of the promo video for the single (It's Not War) It's Just The End of Love, starring Michael Sheen and Anna Friel.

Daft Punk - Derezzed - Tron Legacy Soundtrack

2010-10-30T09:12:00.000-07:00

I think this may be the first time I've been more excited by a movie soundtrack than the movie itself.

Download - Daft Punk - Derezzed (NTEIBINT Remix)

The Walking Dead - Pilot (Days Gone Bye) Review

2010-10-27T10:02:00.000-07:00

With the rise of all things vampiric over the last couple of years with the likes of True Blood and Being Human rejuvenating the horror genre for the small screen it was never going to be long before producers and studios started looking around for other stories to tell and as luck would have it they’ve chosen my favourite horror sub–genre, the humble zombie and one of my favourite graphic novels The Walking Dead.

If ever there was a graphic novel begging to be adapted into a well made TV serial, it’s this one, created by Robert Kirkman it’s one of the comic worlds more enduring titles, up to its 80th issue and counting and tells the tale of a small band of survivors led by local town sheriff Rick Grimes in a world fallen after a zombie apocalypse. It’s brilliantly written making character and story the number one priority to the point where at times the zombie element is almost incidental and could be replaced by any other catastrophe.

The series has been developed and brought to the screen by American cable channel AMC, makers of the awesome Mad Men and promised much from early on with the inclusion of The Shawshank Redemption and The Mist’s Frank Darabont as producer, co-writer alongside Kirkman, as well as director on the first episode, whilst casting raised excitement levels even further with our very own Andrew Lincoln (This Life, Teachers) grabbing the lead role of Rick Grimes.

The tone is set from the opening scene as our hero searches a deserted petrol station for fuel and encounters…., well I won’t spoil it but needless to say that Darabont and crew have captured the atmosphere of the books very well, creating a hauntingly downbeat rhythm, keeping the whole thing perfectly low key, with an unsettling “everything is completely fucked” tone. And, just like the books the series seems thankfully intent on concentrating foremost on character meaning that by the time anyone gets themselves into trouble we know them and actually give a damn about them and if this follows the same path as the books as it seems that it will, when it comes to who will live and who will die all bets are off, imbuing the whole thing with a satisfyingly heart pounding sense of terror and suspense.

It’s so good to see the zombie genre treated with so much respect too, with its originator Romero’s output getting weaker and weaker, especially after the appalling Survival of the Dead and umpteen other direct to video efforts apparently missing the point that the ghouls in 28 Days/Weeks Later were infected and not undead (there is a BIG difference), so let’s just have super fast zombies running around chewing up the scenery, The Walking Dead tells its story with extraordinarily high production values and a supremely talented cast and actually takes the subject matter seriously to the point where at times everything is so run of the mill, so realistic, whether it be a conversation between two characters or an attack by the undead, that you’re only a step away from believing the zombie horde in front of you could actually be real, that this could actually happen, something that hasn’t really been achieved on screen since Day of the Dead way back in 1985.

In short, on the basis of this impressive pilot episode everyone involved has done a fantastic job, this is television that you haven’t seen the likes of before, gritty, intelligent and at times completely horrific, with a strong cast (notably Lincoln, Sarah Wayne Callies who plays his wife Lori and the always impressive Lennie James) and a production team dedicated to pushing the envelope of what we can expect from an independent television series. Long may it continue.

The show airs on AMC on 31st October and over here in the UK on FX on November 5th.

Manic Street Preachers - O2 Academy Bournemouth - 22nd October 2010

2010-10-25T09:36:00.000-07:00

I don’t think I’ve ever been to a Manics gig where the pre/post Holy Bible split in the audience was so obvious, but then I guess it has been 16 years since its release and 18 years since Generation Terrorists so those first three incendiary years do represent an ever decreasing chapter in the band’s 24 year history.

Even so as they burst into You Love Us the muted reaction from the crowd is still a surprise and it seems to take an age for the assembled throng to give themselves over to the band, but once they do, bizarrely during Ocean Spray of all tracks, the atmosphere shoots through the roof and it’s business as usual, although too late for Roses in the Hospital and This is Yesterday to make the impact they deserve.

Obviously with a back catalogue as expansive as theirs it’s impossible to keep all the people happy all of the time but I always feel that the band do a brilliant job of mixing it up and tonight deliver a career spanning set that’s high on emotion if a little sparse in the angst and bile department and it’s a shame that we only get Peeled Apples from the awesome Journal for Plague Lovers which they seem to have sidelined almost completely since the last tour.

Surprisingly they also keep new material to a minimum (how many bands would only play 4 tracks from an album they’re ostensibly on the road to promote?) but what we do get fits in perfectly with the rest of the set, with Some Kind of Nothingness sounding more like a classic every time I hear it and talking of classics, if they’re not playing new songs then there’s all the more room for the likes of Everything Must Go, La Tristesse and a rare outing for Suicide is Painless, we even get (cruelly) teased with the opening bars of Nat West-Barclays-Midland-Lloyds which James rightly points out is more prophetic now than ever. Way ahead of your time as always eh boys?

For any band as enduring as the Manics the anger of youth will always dissipate somewhat but you can always rely on James to summon up the vitriol required to make the likes of Faster, Masses Against The Classes and Motown Junk sound as vital and enthralling as they ever have and as the night draws to a close with the mass sing along that has become Design For Life all that’s left is to reflect on yet another brilliantly triumphant gig from Blackwood’s finest as they slip ungraciously kicking and screaming into middle age still genuinely looking as if they’re having the time of their lives ten albums and however many years down the line and I for one see no reason for anything to ever change.

Manic Street Preachers played:

You Love Us
Your Love Alone Is Not Enough
Motorcycle Emptiness
(It’s Not War) Just the End of Love
Peeled Apples
Roses In The Hospital
Postcards From A Young Man
This Is Yesterday
La Tristesse Durera
Some Kind Of Nothingness
Ocean Spray
Masses Against The Classes
Everything Must Go
If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next
Small Black Flowers That Grow In The Sky (Acoustic)
You Stole The Sun From My Heart (Acoustic)
Faster
No Surface All Feeling
Golden Platitudes
Suicide Is Painless (Theme From M*A*S*H)
Motown Junk
Tsunami
A Design For Life

Video courtesy of Luke Duffield

Jimmy Eat World Return With Their Best Theory

2010-08-14T11:15:00.000-07:00

Jimmy Eat World return with the brilliant new single 'My Best Theory' from their forthcoming album 'Invented'.

Manic Street Preachers - I'm Leaving You For Solitude

2010-08-10T12:59:00.000-07:00

B-Side to the first single (It's Not War) It's Just The End of Love.

Manic Street Preachers - (It's Not War) It's Just The End of Love

2010-08-08T05:00:00.000-07:00

The first single from the Manics tenth studio album 'Postcards From a Young Man' sees the boys on sparkling pop form with a chorus as catchy as anything they've written before, a good indication that the album will definitely be on the 'Everything Must Go' 'Send Away the Tigers' tip.

Camp Bestival - 30th July to 1st August - Lulworth Castle, Dorset

2010-08-08T04:53:00.000-07:00

Camp Bestival shines in 2010

Festivals can be a strange animal, ever evolving in response to feedback from festival goers and artists but few attain perfection in the short time that it’s taken Camp Bestival to become the country’s leading family festival.

2010 sees the festival’s third year and in just this short amount of time the event has transformed into a three day cavalcade of fun, frolics and music designed to be as enjoyable for a four year old as it is for any grown adult.

For the kids this year the amount of entertainment on show was jaw dropping, with the kids field extended to twice the size of previous years to include not one but two circuses, old fashioned fairground rides, numerous appearances and shows from kids favourites Mr Tumble and The Gruffalo, dressing up areas and countless activities to keep even the most needy child entertained for the entire weekend.

On top of this two new arenas in the shape of the Freestyle Sports Village giving older kids the chance to try their hand at BMXing and Skateboarding inbetween spectacular shows from the pros and The House of Fairy Tales, full of story telling, puppetry and art which perfectly helped transform the festival into this year’s Fairy Tale theme, all meaning that the words “Mummy I’m bored” were never likely to be heard.

Musically, as has come to be expected from the team behind Bestival the acts ranged from the well known to the obscure and everything else inbetween, taking in pretty much every genre of music you could wish for, the only common denominator being the quality of each performance from Madness’ brilliant Saturday headlining show to Gruff Rhys and Tony Da Gatorra decidedly experimental noise core there was without a doubt something for everyone.

Personal musical highlights included a spellbinding set from Stornaway, discovering Israeli 9 piece jazz turntablists The Apples, finally catching a show from Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, the pure pop perfection of Ellie Goulding and a quite astonishing headline set from Friendly Fires, who knew they made that kind of noise, absolutely brilliant, along with awesome DJ sets from Zero 7, DJ Yoda, Mr Scruff and Greg Wilson and a truly loopy performance from Giles Peterson’s farming collective The Countryside Alliance Crew.

Add to all of this a truly unbelievable range of food outlets (no dirty burger vans here), spacious campsites and for the most part 30,000 smiling up for it punters and what you’ve got is a festival accessible to all, regardless of age or walk of life, an extremely rare thing indeed.

A+ Camp Bestival, go to the top of the class.

Jamiroquai - Hard Rock Calling, Hyde Park, London - 26th June 2010

2010-06-28T12:36:00.000-07:00

Your first major UK gig in nigh on four years in front of fifty thousand people in Hyde Park might daunt some performers, not though Jay Kay, who sauntered onto the sundrenched stage, resplendent in a giant black and white feathered hat and immediately asked the masses if they would pose with him for his next album cover, well the man has always had big kahunas and the crowd happily oblige before Jay Kay kicks his band into a filthy bass heavy version of ‘Revolution’.

With an new album out at the end of the Summer we might have expected a couple of new tracks today but I guess the man’s also savvy enough to realise that today’s not all about him so sticks for the most part to the big guns from his first, third and fifth albums and by the time the piano intro of ‘Virtual Insanity’ breaks out it’s as if the man had never been away, with the massive crowd lapping it up and singing ever word, whoever chose Jamiroquai to support big Stevie knew exactly what they were doing.

From then on we get a succession of Jamiroquai hits, from ‘Too Young to Die’ to ‘Alright’, ‘Space Cowboy’ to ‘Love Foolosophy’, it’s easy to forget just how many great song’s the band, in all it’s previous guises has produced over the last two decades with one constant running through it all, one of the greatest frontmen around, his voice still as impeccable as it ever has been and his moves still capable of exciting the female members of the audience, I’ll look forward to the new record even more than ever now and hopefully the presence of so many songs from ‘Emergency on Planet Earth’ today might even point to a return to basics and a more organic funk odyssey this time around, rather than the overly electronic excursions of recent years, we can only hope.

Jamiroquai played.

Revolution
When You Gonna Learn
If I Like It I Do It
Virtual Insanity
Too Young To Die
Little L
Alright
Hooked Up
Space Cowboy
Love Foolosophy
Deeper Underground

Manic Street Preachers Announce New Album and UK Tour

2010-06-01T11:58:00.000-07:00

The Manics have today announced the release of their tenth studio album 'Postcards From a Young Man'. The album will be released on 20th September 2010.

Announcing the release on their website the band have candidly said that the album will be "One last shot at mass communication" leading to many fans speculating on whether or not this could be the band's final album, although personally I'd say there's more than a little mischief in the statement. James has also stated to the NME that the album isn't a follow up to 'Journal For Plague Lovers' but a much more commercial affair "We're going for radio hits on this one, it isn't a follow up", a return to 'Everything Must Go' then?

To support the release of the album the band will embark on an extensive tour of the UK, starting out in Glasgow on 29th September.

Full dates are:

O2 Academy Glasgow (September 29)
Aberdeen Music Hall (30)
Edinburgh Corn Exchange (October 2)
Carlisle Sands Centre (3)
Hull City Hall (5)
Sheffield Academy (6)
Liverpool University (8)
Blackburn King George's Hall (9)
O2 Academy Leeds (11)
Derby Assembly Rooms (12)
Manchester Apollo (14)
Lincoln Engine Shed (16)
Norwich UEA (17)
Southampton Guildhall (19)
Southend Cliffs Pavillion (20)
Bournemouth Academy (22)
Newport Centre (23)
Bristol Coulson Hall (25)
O2 Academy Birmingham (26)
London O2 Academy Brixton (28, 29)
Leicester De Montfort Hall (31)
Cambridge Corn Exchange (November 1)

British Sea Power will provide support on all of the dates.

LCD Soundsystem - O2 Academy, Bristol - 2nd May 2010

2010-05-13T08:59:00.000-07:00

If, as rumour has it 2010 is to see the swansong of LCD Soundsystem then James Murphy and crew certainly seem determined to go out on a high.

From the off the band grabbed the gig by the scruff of the neck, leading with Us vs Them which set the atmosphere to extreme party bounce, helped in no small way by the fact that this was bank holiday Sunday and a large proportion of the crowd had already been in the pub for a good few hours and there it stayed for the full ninety minute set.

With this gig a couple of weeks ahead of the release of new album This is Happening new material is kept to a minimum with the focus firmly on big hitters like Get Innocuous, Daft Punk is Playing at My House and Tribulations, while of the new material that’s on show party rocker Drunk Girls gets the biggest response from the crowd and Pow Pow turns out to be a wriggling 10 minute disco monster.

Highlight of the evening is easily the always stunning All My Friends with its simply perfect piano line underpinning a funk soaked groove to end all grooves, if Cameron Crowe ever makes a film about clubbing then this has to be the theme tune.

To disband LCD Soundsystem when they seem to be at the height of their powers does seem to be a bit of a strange decision, or it might be complete genius, why risk carrying on just to produce lesser works, why not quit while you’re ahead, which on this evidence James and co certainly are, there really isn’t anybody out there producing live dance music to this level of style and imagination, even if Soulwax do come a close second. Bring on the festivals.

LCD Soundsystem played

Us vs Them
Drunk Girls
Get Innocuous!
Yr City's a Sucker
Daft Punk is Playing ay My House
Pow Pow
All My Friends
I Can Change
Tribulations
Movement
Yeah

Someone Great
Losing My Edge
New York I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down

The National - Royal Albert Hall - 6th May 2010

2010-05-12T11:27:00.000-07:00

One of the great things about music is when you stumble across a band in its infancy and then over the course of a few albums/years watch it grow into the wider population’s consciousness. The trouble is that these days this very rarely happens, with bands thrust into arenas by their record companies at the first sniff of next big thing hype, before disappearing completely shortly afterwards. Very few bands today are afforded the slow burning success that say, Elbow have enjoyed and even fewer have been given the chance to evolve and establish themselves over the space of a decade and five albums as The National have. Even five years ago on the release of their breakthrough third album Alligator you would have struggled to find a handful of people who had even heard of them, but now with the release of their fifth and by far best album they arrive on these shores to play a sold out gig at London’s Royal Albert Hall and their star it seems has finally risen to the heady heights of crossover success.

The atmosphere in this, the grandest of gig venues is definitely one of celebration tonight, with just over 5,000 devotees rapturously greeting the band as they take to the stage for what is by far their biggest UK gig to date and there’s a palpable sense of being part of something special as the band break into a sublime version of Mistaken for Strangers followed by first new track, Anyone’s Ghost. Then at the beginning of Bloodbuzz Ohio as Matt Berninger reaches down and drags a guy in the front row to his feet and the rest of the huge room follow suit the atmosphere changes from special to something altogether ecstatic.

For a band that deal in the darkest of lyrical themes the main thing that exudes from the stage is a warmth that envelopes the crowd, creating a sense that the band are here to protect us from the bad times that their songs reference, to give us all a sense of hope and joy, contradictions that carry through into some of the versions of their most loved songs, most notably Squalor Victoria which Berninger warns will blow our asses off, which is an understatement if anything, opening with a thunderous extended drum solo which it uses as a launch pad to the heavens, a song truly transformed into an epic sonic excursion, perhaps with tonight’s venue in mind.

It’s a testament to the band that even though half of the set is made up of unreleased material (the new album won’t be out for another 4 days here) the atmosphere never dips once and by the end the crowd are virtually in worship mode, completely besotted by what’s gone on in front of them tonight, no more so than with set closer and bone fide classic in waiting Fake Empire which reaches crescendos of wonder that most bands can only dream of achieving.

The National, a band that have taken their time to get to where their going so far really do deserve to kick on and become one of America’s biggest indie exports and perhaps they will do one day, but hey, take your time boys judging by tonight’s incredible performance and the crowd’s response no one’s in any hurry to get anywhere else but right here.

The National played

Mistaken for Strangers
Anyone's Ghost
Bloodbuzz Ohio
Secret Meeting
Baby We'll Be Fine
Afraid of Everyone
Slow Show
Squalor Victoria
Little Faith
Conversation 16
Apartment Story
England
Abel
Sorrow
Fake Empire

Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks
All The Wine
Mr November
Terrible Love
About Today

The Temper Trap - O2 Academy Bournemouth - 27th April 2010

2010-04-28T09:19:00.000-07:00

What’s this, a buzz band that actually deserves all the hype that’s being heaped upon them? Get away.

For the majority of the last 18 months the Melbourne 4 piece have toured relentlessly before and after the release of their debut “Conditions”, gradually building up a small army of fans, testament to which is the fact that they’ve sold out the O2 tonight, an achievement that very few (much more established) bands have managed since it became part of the Academy Group late last year. It’s also got to bode well when a large section of the crowd are belting out the chorus of one of your songs a good half an hour before you’re actually due on stage, creating a genuine air of excitement and expectation as the band appear..

They open with a thunderous instrumental that’s all drums and searing guitars before breaking down into the “ooh baby” refrain of “Rest” and we’re off, carried along on Dougie Mandagi’s faultless falsetto, a voice that just gets better and better as the evening wears on., as the set does, building through the lush pop of “Fader” and the enchanting “Fools”, by the time the opening keys of “Love Lost” kick in band have two thousand adoring souls in the palm of their hand and deservedly so, this is a band with no gimmicks, no frills, just a hell of a lot of talent and a collection of stunningly powerful tunes that are for the main better live than they are on record.

“Soldier on” is spun out into epic proportions before morphing into a thumping drum beat and jagged guitar that gets the crowd bouncing until it drops into the intro for “Sweet Disposition” and the place goes off completely, two thousand voices desperately trying to keep up with Mandagi’s amazing vocal gymnastics.

One thing these guys really know how to do is to use their songs to their advantage, ratcheting up the atmosphere steadily through the night climaxing with the crescendo that is “Resurrection” and finishing with the almost post-rock thunder of “Drum Song”.

Their encore brings the only new song of the night with the light acoustic led “Rabbit Hole” sounding not entirely like the finished article before ending with a massive version of “Science of Fear”. All done, in little under an hour The Temper Trap more than lived up to their reputation as one of the best live bands around at the moment and if there’s any justice their second album will see them rise further up the ranks of the world’s biggest bands, on this performance they’ve certainly got the tools and the talent that’s for sure.

Setlist

Rest
Fader
Fools
Down River
Love Lost
Soldier On
Sweet Disposition
Resurrection
Drum Song

Rabbit Hole
Science of Fear

The National - High Violet - Album Review

2010-04-21T09:26:00.000-07:00

Three years is a long time in music, especially if your last record was one of the finest albums of the preceding decade, as Boxer undoubtedly was, meaning the National’s follow-up has become the most anticipated release in quite some time and if ever an album was worth waiting for I’m happy to say that it’s this one.

Opening track Terrible Love begins with a scuzzed up, distorted guitar line that harks back to Alligator before Matt Berninger’s vocal and a simple piano riff lift the song towards the heavens. Everyone can relax, The National are back and at their brilliant best.

Throughout the album Berninger displays his stunning talent for writing lyrics that for the most part contest the darker side of life, “Sorrow found me when I was young, sorrow waited, sorrow won”, “I’m afraid of everyone......, I don’t have the drugs to sort it out”, but his words never come across as maudlin or depressing, this is song writing of the highest order, his pathos drenched baritone wrapped up in beautifully strident arrangements that somehow give a sense of hope and romance to the most desperate of Berninger’s tales.

For the most part the band have taken the elements that made Boxer so special and built on them, standout track (if there is one, everything on this record is impeccable) Bloodbuzz Ohio starts almost identically to Brainy with a broken beat and strings before an almost bombastic piano breaks in and the song spends the next 4 minutes growing to widescreen, epic proportions, this is The National at their soul stirring best and while there isn’t anything quite as vulnerable as say, Slow Show, the band still show off their gentle melancholic side on tracks like the heartbreaking Runaway and the beautifully rousing England.

Put simply High Violet is one of the finest records I’ve ever heard, transcending anything the band have produced before, it’s records like this that remind you why you fell in love with music in the first place and 2010 will be a very special year indeed if we get another album that comes even close to its vaulting ambition and heart on sleeve tenderness. I expect there’ll be a fair few superlatives written about this album over the coming weeks but for me there’s one word that sums this record up perfectly and that is simply, Majestic.

Tracklist

Terrible Love
Sorrow
Anyone’s Ghost
A Little Faith
Afraid of Everyone
Bloodbuzz Ohio
Lemon World
Runaway
Conversation 16
England
Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks

5/5

James - O2 Academy, Bournemouth - 13th April 2010

2010-04-14T11:53:00.000-07:00

Tonight we’re gonna party likes it’s 1992, well sort of. For a band as enduring as James it would be impossible to play a gig without a hint of nostalgia creeping in, although they’re wise enough not to bask in their former glories too much, tonight playing a set spanning their entire career from their formative Factory days to their new mini album “This Night Before”.

As the lights go down and a cheer goes up, the crowd face the stage with bated breath as the sound of an acoustic guitar strikes up, but what’s this, no band? It takes a while for everyone to see the single torch beam at the back of the room and even longer for them to pick out the strains of “Sit Down” as Tim starts to sing, accompanied by Larry on guitar led by a couple of burly security men, they slowly start to make their way through the crowd towards the stage, Tim bouncing like a boxer about to enter the ring, surrounded by a throng of a thousand devoted fans singing and hanging on his every word.

Finally making it onto the stage the two are joined by the rest of the band and just for a few seconds they all pause to drink in the recognition and love that rains down on them from the devoted crowd before launching into “Tomorrow”, sending the throng bouncing into further raptures.

The band may have been together for almost thirty years now (off and on) but you’d never know, displaying the same enthusiasm and passion for their music whether it’s “Hymn From a Village” from way back in 1985 or “Ten Below” from the new record, their almost decade long hiatus that saw them return in 2007 seems to have rejuvenated them into men half their age, especially Tim whose dancing remains a sight to behold and Andy Diagram who bounded about the stage, trumpet in hand like a mop haired Bez.

While the biggest responses from the crowd were inevitably saved for classics like “Come Home” and “Sound” their newer material proved that the band’s reformation isn’t some cynical pension funding exercise with songs like “Crazy” and Hey Ma’s “Oh My Heart” and “Porcupine” sounding as vital and impressive as anything else played tonight, showing that they’ve lost none of their songwriting prowess, especially when it comes to a show stopping chorus.

Finishing their set with jangly, slow burning version of “Sometimes” the Academy shakes with the crowds stamping, clapping and screaming pleas for an encore, to which the band duly oblige with a low key version of “Ring The Bells” before Tim makes his way to the front barrier for a spellbinding version of “Say Something”, the chorus picked up and carried along by the crowd who, still singing it long after the band had stopped, before leaving us with the epic “Laid” which inspired one of the most out of tune (me included) singalongs I’ve ever experienced.

All in all a brilliant gig from one of our most treasured bands who effortlessly proved tonight that they’re as inspiring today as they ever have been.

Setlist

Sit Down
Tomorrow
Hymn From a Village
Dr Hellier
10 Below
Porcupine
Come Home
Oh My Heart
I Wanna Go Home
Out to Get You
Possible
Crazy
Getting Away With It
Sound
Sometimes

Ring the Bells
Say Something
Laid

Amy MacDonald - O2 Academy Bournemouth - 5th April 2010

2010-04-07T11:33:00.000-07:00

I guess if truth be told Amy MacDonald inhabits the same territory as the likes of James Blunt, making safe Radio 2 friendly music that’s openly accessible to the masses, but sometimes there’s nothing wrong with that, especially when you’ve got a bunch of songs that sound as good as MacDonald’s, sometimes you just need to tether your cynicism and take it for what it is, damn fine pop music from an accomplished young singer, songwriter and musician.

Another thing she seems to have in common with Blunt is a debut album that came from absolutely nowhere and went on to sell an absolute shed load, leading to understandable expectations for the sometimes “difficult” second record. No difficulties for Amy on that part though as her second album delivers and then some, building on her folk pop sound with a much bigger stadium rock (see Coldplay, U2 etc) guitar edge whilst retaining her brilliant talent for writing relaxed almost conversational lyrics, the album is a bit of a corker and I was really looking forward to seeing it played live as Amy brought her live show to Bournemouth for the first time.

The first thing you notice when you see her is just how petite she is, taking to the stage almost dwarfed by her acoustic guitar, although looking stunning in a black sequined mini dress it has to be said, she leads her band into opening number “An Ordinary Life” from the new record and that new bigger sound is immediately noticeable, as is her powerhouse of a voice, seriously how the hell does such a slight 22 year old girl produce such a huge, almost world weary vocal range, much deeper live than on record but no less powerful and awe inspiring.

Continuing with a trio of tracks from her first album it’s not until before “The Youth of Today” that she addresses the crowd, greeted almost immediately by some drunken barracking from a couple of fellow Scots shouting some kind of monosyllabic encouragement that she politely takes in her stride, swiftly moving on with a knowing glance and a half joking reminder that whilst she appreciates the support there are a good 1,000 or so other people in the room that might not be in on the joke, an ability to handle a crowd surely picked up playing the pubs and clubs of Glasgow from the tender age of 15.

Halfway through and the gig deconstructs a little for four semi-acoustic numbers the highlight of which has to be Mr Rock and Roll” spun out into a bouncing acoustic romp that finally seemed to wake the previously subdued crowd into action before the band departed the stage and she was left to play a slightly redundant cover of Springsteen’s “Born to Run” which the majority of the crowd did seem to lap up but which was completely lost on me.

The second half of the set was top heavy with new material and proved just how good it really is, building with the countrified march of “Troubled Soul” into the pop bluster of “No Roots” and “Don’t Tell Me That It’s Over” before settling down on familiar territory with the epic “Run” and set closer “What Happiness Means to Me”, that comes over as a neat cross between Lennon’s “Imagine” and the best of Snow Patrol bringing things to a suitable crescendo before returning for an encore of the two biggest tracks from the first album “This is the Life” and the ridiculously huge “Let’s Start a Band” send a now buoyant crowd singing themselves out into the cold night air.

Set List

An Ordinary Life
Poison Prince
LA
Youth of Today
This Pretty Face
Spark
Love Love
Road to Home
Your Time Will Come
Mr Rock and Roll
Born to Run
Troubled Soul
No Roots
Don’t Tell Me That It’s Over
Give It All Up
Next Big Thing
Run
What Happiness Means to Me

This is the Life
Start a Band

Hot Chip - O2 Academy, Bournemouth - 22nd February 2010

2010-02-23T09:17:00.000-08:00

I was surprised to read in a recent interview with Hot Chip’s Joe Goddard that it was never the band’s intention to cross over into the mainstream and become a full time album producing enterprise, let alone the five headed electro pop monster that they’ve evolved into over the last few years, just as well for us that they have though as their new long player is already a candidate for album of the year.

Since breaking through with 2006’s “The Warning”, Hot Chip have grown into one of electronic music’s most endearing creative forces, only really rivalled in what they do by LCD Soundsystem, so tonight’s show, coming in support of their brilliant fourth album “One Life Stand” promised to be a cracker from the start.

Opening with a reworked version of “Boy From School”, replete with a steel drum intro and new synth arrangement it took a while of the band and the crowd to get into things, probably due to the sub zero conditions outside more than anything else, but by second track “Thieves in the Night” everyone concerned had warmed up nicely, bouncing along to the song’s Visage referencing synth line, before pop gem “I Feel Better” sealed the deal and we were putty in their hands.

Mid-set and it’s time for our first “moment” as a massive kick drum builds into a sea of percussion and the start of “Over and Over” leading the throng into a massive bouncing singalong, a single plastic pint pot shooting up into the air perfect as testament to the track’s impact.

At the heart of the band’s live show is the ridiculously talented Al Doyle, flitting between instruments like a whirlwind, even playing guitar and steel drum at the same time, then keys, then percussion and at one point re-tuning Owen Clarke’s bass while he was actually playing it, to Owen’s mild displeasure it has to be said and while frontman (of sorts) Alexis, introduced by Joe tonight as the band’s “pocket-sized heart throb” may be diminutive in size he possesses the voice of an angel, showcased on the beautiful ode to brotherhood “Brothers” backed by Al Doyle on Flugelhorn (is there nothing this man can’t play?) the track works brilliantly, floating along on a simple synth line and a thumping kickdrum.

While their new album is by far their poppiest work to date, when it’s played live you can really get a sense of how much of it is underpinned by a Detroit tech sensibility that Kevin Saunderson would be proud of, no more so on the rumbling underbelly of “One Life Stand” and it was also nice to see a band completely rework some of their older more well known tracks, keeping them fresh and at times unrecognisable, no more so on the last track of the night which started in a maelstrom of percussion before breaking down into the familiar “Do it, Do it, Do it now” refrain of ready for the floor which sent the crowd into raptures and was the perfect end to the perfect eveing.

I guess one of the most interesting things that struck me about the band tonight though was how much they’ve incorporated live instrumentation into their sound, at times sounding completely organic without a sequencer in sight and also how impressively talented a group of musicians they all are, producing a sound that is markedly different from anything else out there, even LCD who revolve around James Murphy and drip NY cool, while Hot Chip’s sound is something altogether more quintessentially English, displaying a wit, charm, heart and soul that is sadly missing from the majority of today’s electronic output.

NME Awards Tour - O2 Academy, Bournemouth - 16th February 2010

2010-02-18T14:35:00.000-08:00

The last time I mustered the energy to check out an NME Awards Tour gig was way back in 2006 when Maximo Park had the unenviable task of following Arctic Monkeys as half the audience streamed out of the venue. The 2010 line-up though caught my attention firstly because it contained The Maccabees and secondly because the tour was landing in Bournemouth for the first time.

With the O2 Academy seemingly incapable of getting even a third of the queuing throng into the venue before the first band came on The Drums played to only a handful of people, not including me I have to say as I was stuck outside in the rain watching the overzealous security demand to see I.D. from everyone under the age of 30 so I’ll have to catch them another time, or not as the case may be, I have to say their brand of overly derivative surf pop leaves me a little bit cold.

The Big Pink on the other hand make a fucking spectacular racket, built around Milo Cordell’s electronics and Robbie Furze’s guitar they create a monstrous wall of sound reminiscent of My Bloody Valentine at their loudest, albeit with a sleek pop edge, I don’t think MBV ever induced a singalong to rival that one that greeted set closer Dominoes tonight.

Bombay Bicycle Club do their thing and do it well, but it borders a little too much on the twee side of the musical spectrum for my liking, they are an extremely young and talented bunch though so there’s plenty of time to develop as a band, or disappear into obscurity, although I think the former is probably more likely judging by the majority of the crowd’s bonkers reaction to them, a circle pit at a BBC gig may be a first for the band, although maybe the crowd were just killing time amusing themselves before the main event.

2009 was the year that saw The Maccabees finally achieve the kind of success and recognition that their music has always warranted due in no small way to the release of their brilliant second album Wall of Arms, a collection of epic indie pop gems that set the music world alight and earned the band an army of new fans as the year culminated in a sell out “homecoming” show at the Brixton Academy, proof enough to the bookers at NME that here was a band more than capable of carrying their annual jaunt on their young shoulders.

Bounding onto the stage Orlando and the boys are on typically jubilant form, ripping through a set filled with sincerity, romance and passion, 3 things that sum up the band’s music for me encapsulated perfectly by the beautiful “Precious Time” and “Toothpaste Kisses”, while the likes of “One Hand Holding”, “No Kind Words” and the ridiculously epic “Love You Better” show just how huge a sound this band can produce, backed tonight by a 3 piece brass section that only add to the scope of the music.

Once the tour finishes in Brixton on Saturday the band decamp to start writing and recording their third record which, should it follow the progression between albums one and two will by rights be a world beater, here’s hoping.

Daft Punk - Fragile (Tron Legacy Soundtrack)

2010-01-22T12:18:00.000-08:00

Word has it that this is a brand new Daft Punk track set to appear on the much anticipated Tron Legacy soundtrack- I'm not 100% convinced but make your own minds up.

Blur - No Distance Left to Run documentary

2010-01-17T11:35:00.000-08:00

A documentary film about Blur, accompanied by a live recording of their performance at Hyde Park is due for release on DVD, through Parlophone Records on February 15, 2010.

The film finds Graham Coxon, Damon Albarn, Alex James and Dave Rowntree set to perform together for the first time in nine years. Intimate new interviews recount the highs and lows of Blur: from Colchester to Goldsmiths, throughout the heady Britpop years and the band's headline return at Glastonbury and Hyde Park.

The live DVD concert film was filmed over two nights at Hyde Park in July 2009. The multi-camera edit was filmed in HD by Giorgio Testi for Pulse Films and features stereo and surround sound options.

dan le sac Vs Scroobius Pip - Get Better - Official Video

2010-01-14T15:24:00.000-08:00

The Road - A rare journey indeed.

2010-01-14T15:12:00.000-08:00

The Road is easily my favourite book and as such I was terrified that once Hollywood got their hands on it the first thing they would do would be to remove the essence of what makes this such a powerful story. Fear not though, this is without doubt the most faithfull adaptation of a book you are ever likely to see, perfectly capturing the unrelenting bleakness, desperation and unbearable emotion of McCarty's masterpiece.

While Viggo Mortensen gives a powerhouse performance as The Man and Kodi Smit-McPhee is a revelation as The Boy the real star of the film is the production design with the book's shattered landscapes brought to life (or indeed death) with unnerving accuracy and realism. For once a film that can sit proudly next it's source material, if only more film makers were as brave as this.

A hauntingly beautiful triumph.

5/5

The Lovely Bones - Mini Review

2010-01-11T10:19:00.000-08:00

Beautifully directed and a perfect companion piece to Heavenly Creatures this is Jackson at his most hypnotic, managing to tell a heart wrenching story without ever getting over sentimental or melodramatic. The fifth star is for Susie's brother having the same NFL bed linen that I had when I was about 7, that's how well the film captures the era.

5/5

Up in the Air - Mini Review

2010-01-11T10:17:00.000-08:00

Film making at it's wittiest and most intelligent, if Juno marked Reitman's emergence as a major directing talent then this will surely cement it, add to this a career best performance from Clooney and a brilliant supporting cast and you have a simply unmissable piece of cinema

4/5

Listomania, the best of 2009!

2010-01-11T10:13:00.000-08:00

2009 has been a brilliant year for both music and films in my humble opinion, here are my favourites from the last 12 months.

Films

1, Let the Right One in
2, Moon
3, The Hurt Locker
4, Up
5, District 9
6, The Escapist
7, Zombieland
8, Harry Brown
9, The Hangover
10,The Damned Utd

Albums

1, Manic Street Preachers – Journal for Plague Lovers
2, Morrissey – Years of Refusal
3, Editors – In This Light and on This Evening
4, Mos Def – The Ecstatic
5, The Maccabees – Wall of Arms
6, Them Crooked Vultures – Them Crooked Vultures
7, Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz
8, The Temper Trap – Conditions
9, Florence and the Machine – Lungs
10, Kasabian – West Pauper Lunatic Asylum

Gigs

1, Blur, Glastonbury Festival, 28th June 2009
2, Elbow, Bournemouth International Centre, 2nd March 2009
3, Soulwax, Bestival, 11th September 2009
4, Doves, Portsmouth Pyramids, 18th March 2009
5, Editors, Southampton Guildhall, 26th October 2009
6, Florence and the Machine, Camp Bestival, 25th July 2009
7, Skunk Anansie, Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms, 5th October 2009
8, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Bournemouth O2 Academy, 10th December 2009
9, Seasick Steve, Bestival, 12th September 2009
10, The Macabees, Brixton Academy, 3rd October 2009

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Bournemouth O2 Academy - 10th December 2009

2010-01-11T10:09:00.000-08:00

When the Yeah Yeah Yeahs released new album It’s Blitz in March 2009 it more than raised a few eyebrows as one of the US’s most raucously stripped down guitar acts traded in their post-punk garage rock styling’s in favour of electronic basslines, glitterball synths and disco infused grooves. It’s testament to the band’s talent however that those eyebrows didn’t remain raised for very long, the album being universally acclaimed as a major step forward for one of the world’s best loved (previously) lo-fi rock outfits.

In my experience the success of a Yeah Yeah Yeahs live show however very much depends on how front woman Karen O feels on that particular night. I’ve seen them in the past and she’s been borderline shambolic, missing cues, fucking up her lines, wandering round aimlessly between songs and faux collapsing, behaviour put down to artful exuberance, which is fair enough but for me it did nothing but destroy the gig’s momentum and wind up the crowd, again this may have been completely deliberate on her part.

That said, over the last couple of years the band have visibly honed their stagecraft from stripped down punk, anything could happen riot to slickly produced, glamour fuelled art house extravaganza, so while their live show may have now lost a little of its intensity it more than makes up for it in spectacle.

There is no denying the brilliance of Nick Zinner, he’s without doubt one of the finest guitarists I’ve ever seen, while Brian Chase’s drumming is occasionally nothing short of breathtaking but it doesn’t take long before the night becomes the Karen O show. It’s impossible to keep your eyes off her whether she’s bounding around the stage, bouncing like a jack in the box or stood on the monitors in a mutual moment of worship with the crowd. Her vocals are nothing short of scintillating and in line with tour’s glammed up approach I counted at least 5 costume changes, from the sublime (a silver lace pagan princess shroud) to the ridiculous (I’m not sure whether it was a lizard or a dinosaur but it wouldn’t have looked out of place on Sesame Street) and my favourite, an awesome leather rockers jacket that Joan Jett would have been proud of.

Musically the gap in genres between the new album and the old stuff was crossed seamlessly as garage riffs were smashed into before descending into mangled distortion only to emerge as slick NYC disco basslines, this was the sound of an band at the height of their powers, a cauldron of ideas and bravado that for the most part worked perfectly.

For all of the glamour and glitter of the new material though the highlight of the evening was without doubt the encore of Maps and Date With the Night prooving that whilst a band should always be looking forward they should never forget where they came from.

Setlist

Black Tongue
10 x 10
Kiss Kiss
Dull Life
Pin
Rockers to Swallow
Rich
Soft Shock
Cheated Hearts
Gold Lion
Machine
Turn Into
Heads Will Roll
Zero
Y Control

Maps
Warrior
Date With the Night

Kasabian - Bournemouth International Centre - 25th November 2009

2010-01-11T10:04:00.000-08:00

The first time I saw Kasabian they were the opening act on the bill supporting The Von Bondies back in 2004. At the time I remember being left slightly cold by them, mainly because of the air of unwarranted arrogance the band displayed and what I thought of as a rather derivative, sub-Madchester sound and post gig quickly forgot about them.

Then their debut album dropped and I have to say I’ve never been happier to be completely wrong about a band. Their self titled debut was an astonishing record, yes there were shades of Primal Scream and Oasis, although given an incredibly fresh twist but what I had mistaken for arrogance turned out to be a vaulting ambition missing from the majority of new music coming out back then.

Fast forward half a decade and Kasabian are on the cusp of greatest, with two further albums, Empire and new long player West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum showing an unbelievable progression in sound and theme from dancefloor friendly beats to stadium baiting anthems.

This tour in support of West Ryder sees the band playing the UK’s largest arena venues and man do they have a stage set to match. With the stage framed by a massive by a massive LCD picture frame the side screens showed a countdown that lasted a full 4 minutes, winding the crowd up nicely for their and slightly bizarre choice of opening number, B side Julie and the Mothman, but quite frankly the band could have played anything and the crowd wouldn’t have noticed as the air became a sea of beer, the floor a writhing mass of hysteria, ramped up even further when they kick straight into Underdog.

The band have many things on their side when it comes to playing live, a frontman to rival the likes of Gallagher and Gillespie in presence and self belief for one, Tom Meighan stalks the stage encouraging the crowd at every turn, this is a lead singer who knows exactly how good his band’s music is and he isn’t about to start apologising for it, the second and most important thing the band have on their side though is a set list that is definitely all killer, no filler from the big beat electro workouts of their earliest stuff through the bombast of tracks like Empire and Shoot the Runner to psych rock loopiness of Where did all the Love go and Fire every song sounds as vital and engaging as the next.

Since the recent demise of Oasis there have been numerous debates about who would or even could step up and take their mantle as the country’s biggest band. For me there can only really be one choice, as that early ambition that drove Kasabian from the very start seems to have finally paid off.

Julie and the Mothman
Underdog
Where did all the love go
Swarfiga
Shoot the Runner
Cutt Off
Processed Beats
Secret Alphabets
Thick as Thieves
Take Aim
Empire
Last Trip (In Flight)
Ladies and Gentlemen (Roll the Dice)
Fire
The Doberman
Club Foot

Vlad the Impaler
Stuntman
L.S.F.

Editors - Southampton Guildhall - 26th October 2009

2009-11-03T10:38:00.000-08:00

While a lot of the music media seem to have dismissed Editors new album, I honestly believe it to be their best yet and with virtually all musicians these days following the “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” school of thought it’s also an incredibly brave move that pays off in spades.

Taking to the stage to a pretty cool LED screen backdrop they open with “In This Light and on This Morning” which creates a palpable sense of tension and excitement as it builds to it’s epic conclusion before they smash into “Bullets” my favourite track from the first album, still sounding as awesome as ever, releasing all of that tension with it’s explosion of guitars.

The sound in the Guildhall is at best usually atrocious but tonight it seems OK, perhaps it’s just my enthusiasm and goodwill for the band but some of the stuff actually sounds incredible, none more so than “You Don’t Know Love” which, while being one of the standout tracks on the new album is transformed from a synth drenched lament to relationships lost to a striding, melancholy masterpiece.

While the new album might be viewed as a massive departure for the band, when the material is fused together with the older tracks the transition in styles makes complete sense making the journey one of exciting twists and turns in atmosphere, pace and mood from the epic riffage of “Racing Rats” to the dark brood of “Eat Raw Meat = Blood Drool” to the majesty of “Camera” which, it has to be said never fails to get me just that tiny bit emotional and the funny thing is the band look and sound like they've being playing the new material for years.

For the encore they pull out the big boys, starting with “Munich”, which is of course embraced by a mass sing along before “Papillon” transforms the room into a heaving disco maelstrom, all Blade Runner synths and pounding bass . They finish as always with “Fingers in the Factories” which is a neat trick as no other song reminds you better why you fell in love with this band in the first place.

If you’ve been put off the new album by the band’s dramatic change in style then I implore you to see the band live where I promise you it will all make perfect sense and you’ll realise that the shift really isn’t that dramatic at all, just the sound of a band in the full flow of evolution and ambition.

Setlist.

In This Light And On This Morning
Bullets
An End Has A Start
You Don’t Know Love
Blood
Like Treasure
Bones
The Racing Rats
Eat Raw Meat = Blood Drool
The Big Exit
Lights
You Are Fading
Camera
Smokers Outside The Hospital Doors
Bricks And Mortar
Walk The Fleet Road

Munich
Papillion
Fingers In The Factories

Puressence - O2 Academy Islington - 23rd October 2009

2009-10-29T13:16:00.000-07:00

13 years is a pretty long time for a love affair to remain unconsummated but that’s exactly how long it’s taken me to finally get around to seeing one of my favourite bands live, as albums were released and tours were embarked on the stars never quite aligned for me.

From the release of their self titled debut back in 1996 I have to admit to being mildly obsessed with the Oldham four piece who for me are without a doubt this country’s best kept musical secret and it is still unfathomable to me how on earth they never made it into the mainstream, save a brief flirtation with chart success with their second album “Only Forever”.

Another first for me was the Islington Academy, a great little venue with a brilliant sound rig, so everything was set and I waited nervously for our night of passion, would it be all that I had hoped, would they perform, I mean life’s full of disappointments right? This could be the end of over a decade of unrequited love.

Or it could be and is one of the best musical experiences I’ve ever had, silly me for ever doubting them. On record Puressence have a polished almost perfect sound which it has to be said can sometimes dilute their more epic moments, but live they are magnificent, James Mudriczki’s extraordinary voice always to the fore, backed by a sound that just three musicians have no right to be making, their sound is quite frankly massive and rightfully so, these are songs designed to be heard on the largest available platform but filled with enough intimacy and intelligence to connect just as well in a small venue like this.

Highlights of the set for me have to be the older songs as they are the ones that are most ingrained on my brain, the likes of “I Suppose”, “India”, “This Feeling” and “Standing in Your Shadow” still sounding as vitally incredible as the day I first heard them over a decade ago and “Sharpen up the Knives” is without doubt the greatest “lost” song of the nineties, that said though the new material on show tonight is strong enough to prove that Puressence still have alot to say and it's all worth listening to. Simply Stunning!

Setlist

Near Distance
I Suppose
Walking Dead
In Harms Way
All I Want
Make Time
How Does It Feel
Standing in Your Shadow
Sold Unseen
Raise me to the Ground
Life Comes Down Hard
Burns Inside
India

Our Numbers Oracle
This Feeling
Sharpen up the Knives

Franz Ferdinand - O2 Academy Bournemouth - 21st October 2009

2009-10-29T12:50:00.000-07:00

Before tonight I’m not sure you’d have called me a Franz Ferdinand fan, I’d always been a little put off by their art school pop credentials although the danceability of their back catalogue can’t be denied. In fact tonight was really just a chance to take advantage of Bournemouth’s newest (old) venue, the O2 Academy in Boscombe, formerly the Opera House, it’s a great venue that has been criminally underused for live music over the years and conveniently enough is right on my doorstep, which is nice.

Not having to travel miles to a gig also has the advantage/disadvantage of being able to get their in time to catch the support and tonight’s was pretty good, called Music Go Music they were like a cross between ABBA and Blondie, but in a good way you understand, they peddle almost illegally catchy tunes designed to set fire to glitter balls and melt young hearts everywhere. Based on this alone I’d expect to see a lot more of them in 2010.

On to the main event and the boys bound onto the stage opening with “No You Girls” and “Do You Want To” from second long player You Could Have it so Much Better before going back further with “Dark of the Matinee” and “Tell her Tonight” and then it happens.

About halfway through “Can’t Stop the Feeling” the first track tonight from their latest album, a sudden realisation hit that this band are absolutely fucking brilliant, why in god’s name have I never been to see them before? It’s official, I am an idiot, not a particularly spectacular epiphany I’ll admit but with all of the terrible bands I’ve wasted my time going to see suddenly flashing before my eyes, a slight sense of embarrassment and guilt jabbed me in the ribs, a bit like a naughty child being told by a parent that they weren’t angry with them, just very disappointed.

Those art school pretentions that put me off might still crop up on some of their recorded work but live Franz are about nothing more than having the best time possible, built around a set of tunes with ridiculously contagious choruses, bombastic riffs and more hooks than a fishing tackle shop they manage to create a sound that’s edgily fresh and reassuringly retro in equal amounts.

Obvious highlights were the mass singalongs of “Take Me Out” and “Michael” and the robustly pumped up version of “Outsiders” that closed the main set. When they come back on for the encore Alex asks if we’d like one more, erm go on then, yes please and thank you is the reply, to which they go on and play another seven tracks, not so much an encore as half time then but they manage to keep the energy and enthusiasm up throughout finishing the night with a stunning version of “Lucid Dreams” which climaxed with a 10 minute acid drenched bugout that LCD Soundsystem would have been more than proud of.

Franz Ferdinand, I salute you and promise hand on heart that I will never ignore you again and yes, I am thoroughly ashamed of myself.

Setlist.

No You Girls
Do You Want to
The Dark of the Matinee
Tell Her Tonight
Can't Stop the Feeling
Send Him Away
This Fire
Turn it on
Take me Out
Ulysses
Michael
Outsiders

40'
Walk Away
Live Alone
Van Tango
Darts of Pleasure
What She Came for
Lucid Dreams

Zombieland, don't believe the hype.

2009-10-12T15:23:00.000-07:00

Not that funny, and definately not that scary, the film carries itself through with wit and charm but very few jokes or scares.

After the first 20 minutes or so the "zombies" pretty much become superfluous to proceedings and we head into road movie territory very similar to Midnight Run, which certainly isn't a bad thing, unless your film is called Zombieland.

That said, I loved the "rules" shredding the 4th wall and Jesse Eisenberg certainly has the potential to steal Michael Cera's geek king crown, with Woody Harrelson as good as ever on suitably manic form. Kudos also to first time director Ruben Fleischer who's smart enough to keep proceedings brief and bring the film in under an hour and a half.

Not necessarily destined to do well in cinemas, this could and should go down very well on DVD.

3/5

The Northwestern Announce E.P. and UK tour

2009-10-12T15:15:00.000-07:00

Hope Returns.............

From the ashes of two of my favourite now defunct bands, Hope of The States and The Open comes The Northwestern.

Featuring frontman Sam Herilhy and drummer Simon Jones from HOTS and guitarist Jonny Winter from The Open the band promise a much rawer, uplifting, indie rock edge to their music than the epic bombast of their previous incarnations, a promise backed up by their first single Telephones released back in June to enthusiastic critical acclaim.

Now back with their first e.p. proper, The Ghostrock E.P. and backed by a string of UK dates The Northwestern look set to make 2010 their year.

The Northwestern play......

London Hoxton Bar & Kitchen (November 11)

Manchester Roadhouse (12)

Birmingham Hare & Hounds (13)

Glasgow Captains Rest (15)

Newcastle Academy 2 (16)

Liverpool Korova (17)

Southampton Joiners (18)

Bristol Louisiana (19)

Leeds Cockpit (21)

Oxford Jericho (22)

Telephones

Zero 7 - London Roundhouse - 9th October 2009

2009-10-12T11:36:00.000-07:00

Whilst Zero 7 are officially the duo of Sam Hardaker and Henry Binns no one can deny that their finest and most successful work has been produced from their collaborations with the amazing Sia Furler, who was unfortunately unable to join them on this project due to continuing work on her fourth solo album.

Taking that into account it was always going to be a daunting prospect to firstly record their first album without her and secondly reconstruct their live performance, which in the past had always relied heavily on Sia's personality, charm and extraordinary vocal talent.

Album wise they certainly pulled it off with their new record Yeah Ghost being up there with their best work, maintaining 2006's The Garden's more upbeat focus, it's a collection of fluid, driving, rhythmic tracks with an almost pop, R&B slant to them.

Live, however it was always going to be a struggle and it was clear from the start that the packed crowd here at the Roundhouse may have been a little disappointed to realise that tonight's gig would be sans Sia and it has to be said that it took a while for the crowd to settle as the band opened with a string of tracks from the new album. That said, new vocalist Eska Mtungwazi does have a brilliantly powerful voice, which while not as warm as Sia or Sophie Barker's perfectly suited the more up-tempo R&B styling’s of the new material.

A beautifully subtle version of Home did sate the crowd's appetite for some of the old material with another new cohort, folk wunderkind Martha Tilson doing a fine job on vocals before Eska returned to the mic once more for an almost unrecognisable version of Destiny, changing the chill out anthem into a driving four four backed disco monster that for me didn't quite work, but with Hardaker and Binns using this tour as much as an opportunity to rework the Zero 7 live experience in Sia's absence as to promote their new material, I can understand why they would also try to reinvent their most defining moment with her.

If this had been my first time at a Zero 7 gig then I’m sure they would have blown me away but as this was my fourth it was just a little disappointing that they didn't live up to those previous performances, losing alot of what made them so special as a live outfit, namely their warmth, soul and charm and replacing these with fluid efficient rhythmic vocal set pieces and dark bass driven instrumental excursions that didn’t quite capture the magic that I know they are capable of producing.

Skunk Anansie - Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms - 5th October 2009

2009-10-08T09:56:00.000-07:00

Back in early 2001, Skunk Anansie didn't so much split up as completely burn out. Legend has it that in the 6 years following the release of their debut single the longest break they'd given themselves was the 2 months before they recorded 1999's Post Orgasmic Chill, a grueling schedule that eventually destroyed the band but not before they had achieved massive worldwide album sales and headlined the world’s most famous music festival, Glastonbury in 1999.

Now, with the current resurgence of interest in all things Britpop, bolstered no doubt by Blur's own reformation this summer, the time is certainly ripe for a re-teaming of one of the 90's most dynamic bands, who, while pigeonholed into the whole Britpop movement were about as different as you could get from your Pulps, Kingmakers or Sleepers of the day, providing a decidedly darker, jagged edge to their music, described at the time by Skin herself (with tongue firmly in cheek) as “Clit Rock”, a sound that was embraced as much by readers of Kerrang! as readers of Melody Maker and NME.

Anyway, after the best part of a decade Skunk Anansie are back and tonight marks the first gig of their European “comeback” tour, a warm up of sorts in the teeny Wedgewood Rooms. Taking to the stage to a ripped up, dubstep rework of Yes It’s Fucking Political, crowd going completely mental, 10 years of pent up excitement/frustration about to be unleashed, they crash into debut single Selling Jesus and Skin bounds onto the stage, as beautifully terrifying as ever, with THAT look in her eye, yeah, this is going to be fucking brilliant!

For the first quarter of the set the band satisfy themselves with letting the music do the talking, barely pausing for breath they tear through their back catalogue showing that while they may be ten years older they’re also ten years better, every song sounding as urgent, vital and utterly compelling as ever, none more so than on their new songs, "Because of You" and the punk rock exocet that is I Don’t Want to Kill You which Skin admitted she’d “only written the lyrics for that afternoon on the tour bus so might fuck it up”, needless to say she didn’t.

As good as Ace, Cass and Mark (where the hell did those muscles come from!) are, the heart of the band is still Skin, her voice still tender enough to break your heart and powerful enough to burn the hide off a rhino, sometimes within the same song, she’s a constant whirlwind of energy, bounding from the drum riser to the barrier, loving every single minute and taking us with her every step of the way.

As encores go, starting off with Hedonism then surefire hit of the future Squander before finishing with the vicious punch in the face that is Little Baby Swastika doesn’t really get much better and it also showcases why Skunk Anansie sold those millions of records, showing their achingly beautiful, chart friendly and downright confrontational songwriting skills and versatility of their live performance, in the space of just 3 songs.

If burning out and then reforming a decade later has this kind of revitalising effect on every band then there are a few around today that I could recommend it to, in short Skunk Anansie are back and quite simply as stunning as ever.

Setlist:

Selling Jesus
I Can Dream
Because Of You (New Song)
Charity
Charlie Big Potato
We Don't Need Who You Think You Are
I Don't Want To Kill You (New Song)
Weak
Brazen
Twisted (Everyday Hurts)
Cheap Honesty
On My Hotel T.V
Tear The Place Up (New Song)
The Skank Head

Hedonism (Just Because You Feel Good)
Squander (New Song)
Little Baby Swastika

The Maccabees - Brixton Academy - 3rd October 2009

2009-10-06T11:47:00.000-07:00

South London indie gems play massive, celebratory homecoming show.

Although now based in Brighton, The Maccabees roots are firmly planted in South London, so while their decision to stage the London leg of their current tour at Brixton Academy may have seemed a little ambitious to some, the band themselves knew what they were doing, the gig selling out with ease.

By the time the band reach the stage the place is packed to the rafters with adoring fans, a palpable level of expectation in the air only ever really achieved when a band have something truly special about them, which it would appear The Maccabees do, in spades. Shrouded in darkness the throb of No Kind Words sets the atmosphere perfectly, building to a machinegun strobing crescendo before the warmer One Hand Holding gets the place bouncing, band and audience hitting their stride as one.

As they had at Glastonbury earlier in the year the band recruited a 3 piece brass section to add a bit of gravitas to proceedings, leading to a smart contrast between their earlier art-rock influenced tracks and the newer more intense material which Orlando Weeks’ vocals helped to be both epic and intensely intimate in the same way that obvious influences Arcade Fire do so perfectly.

That emotion and intensity of the night obviously affected the band too as while not a lot was said from the stage, a declaration of “I think this must be the best day of our lives” pretty much left you in no doubt that the modest 5 piece may have even surprised themselves by the level of adoration in the room, no less on the beautiful Precious Time which saw the band visibly moved by the 4,000 strong choir that stood before them singing every single word back to them and by the time they encored with the massive Love You Better the all out love in was complete.

2009 certainly seems to be ending on a high for a band that have not so much reinvented themselves as grown immeasurably in the space of just two albums, one can only hope that they continue on this ascent to greatness as based on tonight they have the tools and the talent to produce something magically spectacular in the future.

Setlist

No Kind Words
One Hand Holding
X-Ray
Tissue Shoulders
Can You Give It
Young Lions
Wall of Arms
Latchmere
Accordian
Precious Time
Dinosaurs
Kiss and Resolve
Toothpaste Kisses
Lego
Mary
Hearts That Strangle
William Powers
First Love

Bag of Bones
Seventeen Hands
Love You Better

Here We Go Again

2009-10-01T15:17:00.000-07:00

Rising from the ashes of an old blog I contributed to, Musical Mandate which unfortunately died a death due to lack of time and inclination, I've finally decided to have another crack reviewing and talking about my favourite music and this time cinema, books and generally stuff that floats my boat.

I've started by posting a choice selection of articles from Musical Mandate.

As always feel free to comment, whether you agree with me or not it's your duty to have an opinion :-)

x

Elbow - Portsmouth Guildhall - 7th October 2008

2009-10-01T15:15:00.000-07:00

Originally Published on Musical Mandate 08/10/2008

For me Elbow represent the beating heart of the British music scene, possessing more originality and fearlessness than any other band of the last decade. A bold statement you may say but look at their output so far. Four perfectly formed albums all possessing the kind of heart, honesty and creativity that seems to be so glaringly absent from today’s musical landscape. Live, they are never anything other than exhilarating and with this tour coming so soon after the band’s well deserved Mercury Prize triumph, excitement and expectation were even greater than normal.

Opener ‘Starlings’ saw the whole band take to the stage with trumpets in hand to hammer home the horn stabs and give the night a suitably dramatic start, before settling down into new single ‘The Bones of You’ by which time the crowd are well and truly under Guy Garvey’s magical spell. ‘Leaders of the Free World’ follows reminding us how little has changed in the world in the 3 years since the song was released, the lyrics still as prevalent as they always have been, the song still a stomping, passionate call to arms.

One of the most impressive things this band do is retain an intimacy in the music and the gig as a whole, even though their rise in stature has inevitably led to them playing bigger and bigger venues and they illustrate this no better than in the next trio of songs, sweeping through ‘Mirrorball’, ‘Some Riot’ and the exquisite ‘Red’ whilst managing to somehow cocoon the whole crowd under their epic brilliance but at the same time make every single one of us feel like we’re the only person in the room with them. ‘Red’ also gives us a chance to appreciate just how talented these 5 fellas really are, making the complicated arrangement of the song seem almost simple.

As Guy sings the opening line of ‘Weather to Fly’, asking “are we having the time of our lives” it occurs that actually, yeah we might be doing just that, before reinforcing their more powerful side with a raucous ‘Grounds for Divorce’ and the driving ‘Mexican Standoff’.

I have to admit that from the new album ‘The Loneliness of a Tower Crane Driver’ was probably the track that most passed me by, live however it is massive, an epic, sky scraping ballad that draws on everything that is good about the band, their sense of scope, musicality and emotion laid bare for all to see, while ‘Great Expectations’ displays Garvey’s incredible storytelling ability, transforming the minutiae of love from run of the mill circumstance to epic possibility in the space of a few bars.

And then the moment we’d all be waiting for (well, me anyway) and when Guy sets himself on a chair with an acoustic guitar it means only one thing. Even though ‘Newborn’ was on their first album and all of their subsequent releases have always bettered what’s gone before I don’t think the band have ever come up with anything touching the expansive scale of this track, a song that the word epic was invented to reference and one that stirs and breaks the heart in equal measure. ‘One Day Like This’ on the other hand was written to be an anthem, a Glastonbury torch song, designed to be sung by 40,000 voices in unison, although I have to say that the 4,000 here tonight did a pretty good job of sending the boys off in style.

Instead of a crowd doing the usual clapping and cheering for a band that they know have just nipped off for a quick fag before they come back for an encore, Guy had asked us to sing them a song, to which we duly obliged with gloriously shambolic 3 minute rendition of ‘I do like to live beside the seaside’ before the band returned for an understated but no less beautiful 3 song encore of ‘Puncture Repair’ and ‘Station Approach’, finishing with a sublime version of ‘Scattered Black and Whites’

Never one to shy away from the sensitive side of things, Elbow are and always have been my perfect band, intelligent, natural and most of all honest songwriting that never comes from anywhere but the heart, they are a band to treasure, each of there albums an opus to loves lost and won, lives shattered and rebuilt always with the onus on the powers of love and hope. Live they bolster this with wit, charm and a musical talent that few bands could hope to match, a truly, truly special night.

Setlist (from memory so may not be 100%)

Starlings
The Bones of You
Leaders of the Free World
Mirrorball
Some Riot
Red
Weather to Fly
Grounds for Divorce
Mexican Standoff
The Loneliness of a Tower Crane Driver
Great Expectations
Newborn
One Day Like This

Puncture Repair
Station Approach
Scattered Black and Whites

Sia - Thekla, Bristol - 4th October 2008

2009-10-01T15:14:00.000-07:00

Originally Published on Muscial Mandate 06/10/2008

Being a huge admirer of Zero 7 I’ve seen Sia perform a number of times but this was my first experience of her solo show. I’m also a huge fan of Sia’s extraordinary second album ‘Colour The Small One’ which from a song writing perspective was far superior to any of the Zero 7 output, bar perhaps a couple of tracks from ‘Simple Things’ and the same can also be said of Sia’s new album ‘Some People Have Real Problems’ which has seen Sia grow as an artist, both in scope of sound and subject material to produce a sublime mix of sensual, often heartbreaking balladry and perfect pop moments.

One of the things that isn’t conveyed by her records though is the immense sense of fun that goes with seeing her live, mainly due to the fact that in no small way Sia is ever so slightly bonkers. Taking to the stage in fluorescent suites with massive smiley glow in the dark faces her band launched into ‘Buttons’ as Sia bounced onto the stage like some kind of acid infused kinds t.v. character, immediately making clear that this wasn’t going to be your average run of the mill gig.

Shedding the fluro suit and mask to reveal the widest of smiles, next up was ‘Little Black Sandals’ and the incredible ‘Lentil’ which gave Sia her first opportunity to unleash that unbelievable voice. Only one other person has ever blown me away vocally the way that Sia did tonight and that was Liz Fraser from Cocteau Twins and it’s no exaggeration when I say that Sia is right up there with Fraser, conveying emotion from the simplest of lyrics to reinforce her touching, heartfelt words so that at times it felt as if they were being delivered by the most heartwarming of emotive sledgehammers.

This isn’t to say though that at any point you could say that a Sia gig is depressing, considering that the majority of her lyrics reference loss, death, loneliness and longing the inbetween song banter lifted the mood to create an emotional roller coaster of an evening, having you in fits of laughter one minute and on the verge of tears the next.

With the majority of the set made up of the new album there was still room for a new song, in the form of ‘Co-Dependant’ which proved that Sia’s future definitely appears to be as promising as her past.

Midway through, we got our first Zero 7 track with ‘Pageant of the Bizarre’ sending the crowd into raptures, as did previous single ‘The Girl You Lost’. Biggest crowd response of the night was predictably saved for a stirring ‘Destiny’ but the highlight for me was always going to be set closer ‘Breathe Me’ and you could of heard a pin drop as the crowd stood transfixed in wonder, wrapped up as one in the beauty of it all.

In a world where a mumbling, crackhead, dullard can shift ten’s of millions of albums and court more press inches about their personal life than their music it’s an absolute crime and a total mystery that someone of Sia’s talent and charm hasn’t risen higher in the nation’s affections but I feel that there may be time yet for that all encompassing breakthrough to the mainstream proper. That said though it’s an unbelievable treat and an honour to see an artist this wondrous in such intimate surroundings, something that will inevitably be lost should further success be achieved.

Setlist

Buttons
Little Black Sandals
Sunday
Lentil
Playground
Death by Chocolate
Co-Dependant
You Have Been Loved
Academia
Pageant of the Bizarre
The Girl You Lost
Soon We’ll Be Found
Destiny
Taken For Granted
Electric Bird

Somersault
Breathe Me

Bestival 2008 - Britains best festival comes of age on it's fifth birthday

2009-10-01T15:12:00.000-07:00

Originally Published on Musical Mandate 12/09/2009

Rain, Mud, Music, Madness and the time of our lives.

Bestival's 5th Anniversary promised to be their best weekend yet with a stellar line up of acts and DJ's. Even the impending weather forecast promising the odd spot of rain over the weekend couldn't dampen the spirits or the level of excitement. I mention the weather forecast as this was to become the major player of the weekend, pretty much from the moment we started to queue up to get in.

Apparently about an inch and a half of rain was expected through Friday and into Saturday, which in itself is quite a fair amount. What we actually got was over 8 inches of rain from late Thursday evening non-stop through pretty much all of Friday and into Saturday, turning the site into a river of mud of near biblical proportions.

Given the circumstances there are two things that can be done, the first is to bitch, moan and eventually give up and go home, a course of action that by late Saturday a good couple of thousand had decided to do, although that said a lot of these people did have young children to look after and I can only imagine how hard that is at the best of times, the second is to say fuck it and attempt to have the best weekend of your lives regardless of what god is currently trying to throw at you, a philosophy I'm glad to say the majority took up and ran with.

Musically, Friday kicked off in style for us with a slightly odd improvisational main stage set from Jamie Lidell and a stunning show from Ladyhawke, who keeps on impressing the more I see her and with her album not even out yet a full to bursting Big Top suggests that mainstream success may just be around the corner for the young New Zealander.

One of the biggest downsides of the weather was that the stages at the bottom of the hill quickly flooded and/or became unstable, this unfortunately meant no Jestival all weekend and only occasional sets from the BBC Introducing Stage on Friday and Saturday which whilst frustrating was completely understandable given the torrential conditions that were hitting the site. It did however also mean that with less music to grab our attention we were free to explore the other delights that Bestival had to offer, ending up in the Time for Tease Cabaret tent which by the time we got in there was in full party mode, turning out to be one of the highlights of the weekend, special mention also has to go to the Hurley Burley cafe which fed and entertained us deep into the small hours.

I've been to Glastonbury a good few times when the devil has taken over the weather and it's never failed to astound me how people keep a smile on their faces and just get on with having the best time that they can, but for Bestival this was completely unknown territory. Only in it's fifth year the previous 4 events had all been blessed by glorious sunshine, so much so that some had even suggested that Rob Da Bank may well have sold a large part of his soul in return for the guarantee of no rain over the Isle of Wight during the first weekend in September. And oh how everyone coped, to such an extent that at one point I was actually glad it was pissing down as the conditions and the people had come together to create one of the best atmospheres I've ever experienced at a festival, yet again Bestival and all that sailed in her had surprised and delighted in equal measure, creating pure magic out of mayhem and potential disaster.

Rob Da Bank has always managed to bring in surprise acts but this year he outdid himself bringing us the bone fide super stardom of Ms Grace Jones (nice hats, very weird, couldn't get a view to a kill out of my head) and best of all the newly reformed The Specials for a mid afternoon main stage set that saw thousands dancing and singing without even noticing the torrential weather conditions that had again taken over, an hour that was worth the admission price on it's own.

By early evening on Saturday the weather had finally abated and the whole place sprung into life with 25,000 or so fancy dressed lunatics bouncing around the site as parties sprung up everywhere. Hot Chip confirmed their status as one of our finest electronic acts, playing to a rammed main stage, the biggest crowd I think I've ever seen for an act there. And then it was onto the most controversial choice for a headlining act that I think I've ever come across with forums and message boards pretty much equally split on whether or not Amy Winehouse could pull off her headlining slot.

We knew she had turned up because we heard her sound check from our tents in the morning but that was 12 hours before her show so anything could happen. Supposed to be on stage at 10.30pm this came and went with the main stage masses kept more than entertained by some fine tunes from the DJ and then 40 minutes late MS Winehouse graced us with her presence and and the crown went......hmmmm. As far as I could tell her first song didn't even get a response.

It wasn't that she was a shambles, she was just a little bit, well dull to tell you the truth and the stream of people leaving the main stage after just a couple of tracks attested to the fact that if you're going to keep 15,000people waiting for almost an hour you'd better pull out the stops when you finally turn up, a real shame and a definite missed opportunity for what could have been a chance for Amy Winehouse to finally silence her critics and doubters, instead she just managed to prove them all right.

When we got ourselves going on the Sunday you could actually feel a change in the atmosphere, with no rain forecast (well, a five minute shower aside) everyone seemed determined to make this day as special as possible and with plenty of gaps where the tents of the less brave had once stood there was also a feeling that we had survived something extraordinary and come out of the other side, today was ours and no-one was taking it away.

Today was also all about the main stage for us, from Sebastian Tellier to Baaba Maal, through Roni Size, George Clinton, Beardyman and onto Underworld there was no need for us to move all day and none of the bands or acts disappointed.

Sebastian Tellier can simply be described as being very, very French, but in a good way you understand, his Gallic electro rock and inspired balladry setting him out as our generation's Serge Gainsbourg. Senegalese legend Baaba Maal showcased his fine mix of African rhythms and jazz influenced guitar hooks which along with his dancers, drummers and band had everyone grooving along.

Any aches, pains and frustrations that still remained from the weekend's tribulations then disappeared in an instant as Roni Size and his Reprazent crew quite simply shook the main stage to it's foundations with an hour of classic, live, drum and bass that in my experience was completely peerless, simply breathtaking, as was Mr Clinton and co with an epic 2 hours of P-funk madness.

Beardyman once again showed us what a genius he is with 2 inspired sets, the first just him and a mic and the second before Underworld involving some kind of sampler with which he managed to do a near perfect rendition of Massive Attack's Teardrop, goosebumps on goosebumps I tell you, before getting the whole place raving along nicely with some choice made up, thumping beats, the perfect introduction to the grand masters of world techno to send us home flying, Underworld were at their finest, pure, refined beauty in every beat and chord, simply stunning.

I've been going to festivals now for a good fews years and I still only really have an inkling of the time, effort and organisation it takes to put something of this scale on when the gods are with you. I certainly haven't a clue what the organisers of Bestival have had to go through over the last few days to ensure that a, the festival actually went ahead and b, that everyone that was there stayed safe and sound in some of the worst weather conditions I've ever encountered, even the photos can't really convey the severity of it all.

One thing is for sure though and that is that once again everyone involved succeeded in making the weekend a truly magical experience for the vast majority that came down, partied, endured, laughed, cried and survived!! See you next year with very big bells on.

I'd really like to also give a personal thanks from myself and all of my friends to the clean up teams from Robin Hill and Bestival that went in once we'd left, I can't start to fathom how you make that mess right again, thanks to Baloo from the Bestival forum for this photo of the site a week later, you can see the scale of the effort for yourselves.

For loads more photos click HERE

Camp Bestival 2008 - Another Da Bank Triumph!

2009-10-01T15:10:00.000-07:00

Originally Published on Musical Mandate 22/07/2008

The inaugural Camp Bestival promised to be the UK's first truly family friendly music festival combining the magic of it's big Isle of Wight sister with the fun and frolics of a traditional fifties holiday camp, and did it deliver? Damn right it did.

With any first time event there are bound to be teething problems and issues and I did hear that there were some problems with queues and camping space on the Friday afternoon but as we got there pretty early on Friday morning I can only go by what I experienced and that is damn near the most perfect festival experience I've ever had.

When we got there, there were no real queues, maybe 30 minutes tops to get in, including a visit to the box office and then once we got in absolutely loads of room to set up the tents.

Once sorted and with a short wander down to the main arenas it became immediately apparent how much effort had gone into the whole shebang, we seriously couldn't believe that Rob Da Bank and co had created a perfect mini Bestival in the grounds of Lulworth Castle, the only difference being the number of added kids and families.

As a group of five 'adults' that like to party and didn't include any kids we had wondered, if not slightly worried what effect the younger ones would have on the festival vibe but on the whole I would have to say that if anything, having a few thousand kids running around the place just added to the smiles and kept everybody that much more chilled helping to create the perfect festival atmosphere, I know I keep saying perfect but there really is no other word to describe it.

From the bing bongs and hi de hi's that woke us up every morning to the manic energy of the Bestival Bluecoats I thought the essence of the best bits of old holidays 'over here' was captured brilliantly, although if there was a knobbly knees contest I sadly missed it and would definitely have been in with a shout too.

Being essentially a Bestival experience it didn't really matter about the music on offer in so much as there is always something, somewhere that you can find to entertain you, with hours spent bouncing around the woods, animal farm and kids field and just a few spent chilled with friends in the Koppaberg tent next to the main stage.

That said though for an 8,000 or so capacity event the line up was exemplary. From the headliners, a rather old but no less impressive Chuck Berry, a stunningly psychedelic and crowd pleasing Flaming Lips and an always lovely Kate Nash to the breakthrough acts like Black Kids, Tawiah and Ladyhawke, every single performer/band that I saw gave it their all and genuinely looked as if they were enjoying themselves.

Special mention from me however has to go to a few very special moments in the form of Beardyman's two Sunday afternoon sets which both set the main stage alight, Florence and the Machine, Suzanne Vega (Marlena on the Wall had a certain friend in very happy tears), the mammoth disco funkathon that was Hercules and Love Affair's amazing non stop Saturday set before Flaming Lips, Sir William of Bragg's moving duet of New England with Kate Nash and finally, rounding off the weekend singing our hearts out round a piano in the magic meadow at 2.00 a.m. on the Sunday.

All in all this was one of the best weekends I have ever had and I'm being completely serious when I say that nobody knows how to put on a party like the boys and girls at Sunday Best. I know it's all a bit gushing but it's exactly how I feel about the weekend, from meeting a shedload of new friends to having an amazing weekend with my best friends, the memories of Camp Bestival 2008 will forever put a very big, very stupid grin on my face.

The Flaming Lips

Castles and frocks go hand in hand, no?

The Mighty Cuban Brothers

The Magic Meadow

Tawiah on the Insect Stage

Batman in full effect

Put that thing away!

Strange goings on down in dingly dell

The wonderous Ladyhawke

Beardyman

DJ JFB and Beardyman

Never too young to rock

Burlesque Barberella

Well and truly putting the 'Camp' into Camp Bestival

Sombrero Sound System rock the Camp Bestival Main Stage

Suzanne Vega

Kate Nash

Billy Bragg

An old joanna and a couple of fellas in skirts, the perfect end to the perfect weekend

The Flaming Lips Spectacular Entrance

Loads More Photos Here

Beck - Southampton Guildhall - 1st July 2008

2009-10-01T15:08:00.000-07:00

Originally Published on Musical Mandate 03/07/2009

Seeing one of your musical heroes play live can go one of 2 ways, it's either an amazing experience that reminds you why you bother going to gigs or a huge disappointment that was never going to live up to massive expectations. I'm glad to say that tonight fell into the first category.

I don't usually get to gigs in time for the support act but I made a special effort tonight as what I'd heard of New York's Yeasayer had intrigued me to say the least. They certainly didn't disappoint either. Initially looking like your average 5 piece indie band, but once they started playing it became immediately clear that there was nothing average or run of the mill about them at all, squelching guitar riffs through samplers and building up walls of sound shot through with a certain kind of funkiness that brought to mind the sound that Gorillaz achieve when they play live (minus the Monkeyz obviously).

The last time I saw Beck was at Glastonbury in 1997 when he was in full Odelay mode and back then it was all rhinestone cowboy hats and hip hop attitude, a showman of the highest order. What a difference a decade or so makes as tonight he chooses a far more laid back approach to things, dressed in a simple lumberjack shirt he stays front and centre behind his mic stand for the whole gig, guitar in hand, no frills, tonight is all about the music.

Small warm up gigs like this (preceding the Wireless Festival at the weekend) can also be a bit hit and miss, especially when the artist has a new album around the corner but again no worries on that front as Beck hits us with what is essentially a greatest hits set with a liberal smattering of stuff from his new album Modern Guilt. Kicking off with Devils Haircut and then the awesome Nausea the place starts to bounce nicely, if a little politely given that it's 3/4 full of men of a certain age whose best is just a little passed them, i.e. me.

The New Pollution ramps things up again and by the time he pulls out Loser, it's job done and we were only half an hour into things. Almost apologetically the man then announces that he does indeed have an new album out next week and he'd like to play a couple of tracks from it if we didn't mind. It then becomes apparent why we have the band set up tonight rather than the usual full on show that he's more famous for. The new stuff is a lot more stripped down, simple, powerful "proper" guitar tracks that again prove the genius and versatility of the man.

Highlights of the night for me were definitely a massive version of Black Tambourine that seemed to build for a age setting down a bass heavy gut wrenching groove and a great cover of The Korgis Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometime, it was also nice to get a couple of tracks from Sea Change towards the end of the set sounding just as complex and spellbinding live as they do on record. Where it's at finishes things off nicely before an encore of new single Chemtrails and E-Pro sent everyone home singing and smiling.

Whether being the ultimate showman or simply playing a guitar and singing in a band it would appear that Beck Hansen is a genius capable of great things, including turning in a gig that will live a very long time in the memory.

Setlist

Devil's Haircut
Nausea
The New Pollution
Girl
Timebomb
Minus
Loser
Gamma Ray
Modern Guilt
Soul of a Man
Think I'm in love
Youthless
Black Tambourine
Orphans
Walls
Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometime
Lost Cause
Sunday Sun
Where It's At

Chemtrails
E-Pro

Adele - Southampton Guildhall - 3rd May 2008

2009-10-01T15:06:00.000-07:00

Originally Published on Musical Mandate 06/05/2008

With her name up in lights at the back of the stage and a lone microphone bathed in a single spotlight at the front the stage was set for a grand entrance as the band burst into a funky jam.

That expected grand entrance never comes though as Adele bounds onto the stage more like an excited school girl than a Brit Award winning soul diva with the future of the British music industry on her shoulders.

From the off it’s obvious that Adele is either completely oblivious or just frankly untroubled by the fuss that has surrounded her since she came to light little over a year ago, letting her voice do the talking (singing) she belts out the opening song before settling down with an acoustic guitar for a spellbinding performance of ‘Daydreamer’.

On record Adele’s music can suffer for being a little too smooth and produced but live it takes on a whole new sense of power and edge lead from the front by a voice that harks back to the true soul divas of the 30's, 40's and 50's, perfectly illustrated when, later on in the set she performs a spellbinding cover of Etta James' 'Fool That I Am', hitting every note with room to spare.

Between songs she continually refers to how nervous she is but you'd be hard pressed to tell as her banter with the crowd and her band is never less that charming and witty and at times is unintentionally hilarious, especially when trying to persuade the crowd to buy one of the merchandise babygrows on sale, starting out by saying how cute they were before talking herself out of it and admitting that actually they were a bit rubbish and we shouldn't bother.

The media have been obsessed with comparing Adele to the current slew of female singer/songwriters like Duffy, Winehouse and Lily Allen but for me Adele comes across more like a young and ambitious Alison Moyet, displaying Moyet's vocal talents and strong willed attitude in spades and unlike her other peers I personally would back Adele to be one of the few still to be around making and writing music in 30 years time.

From the massive ballads 'Chasing Pavements' and 'Hometown Glory' to the more funk filled 'Cold Shoulder' and 'Tired' to the folk infused 'Daydreamer' Adele covers the musical spectrum, with each different style displaying the depth of her vocal and songwriting talent and at such a tender age I would imagine that her performance tonight is just the tip of the iceberg for what we can expect from her in the future.

Jose Gonzalez - Bournemouth Pavilion Theatre - 13th April 2008

2009-10-01T15:04:00.000-07:00

Originally Published on Musical Mandate 06/05/2008

The Pavilion Theatre in Bournemouth is, let's face it a pit of a venue who's best best are many decades past so it was with some misgivings that we tentatively looked forward to the arrival of Jose Gonzalez.

It soon became apparent however that there was absolutely nothing to worry about.
As soon as the man took to the stage and the warm, elegant tones of his music spread across the theatre we could have been anywhere in the world, immediately transfixed by one of the world's finest guitarists who just happens to also have one of the most spellbinding voices to match.

Joined occasionally on stage by two percussionists this was very much a showcase for Jose's undeniable talents not only as a singer and guitarists but also as a gifted songwriter with tracks from latest album In Our Nature melding perfectly with the older material he mesmerised the crowd for a full hour with a set that built perfectly from more stripped down subtle songs to his more musically complex songs such as 'Crosses', 'Down the Line' and 'In our Nature'.

One of the things that I really admire about Jose Gonzalez is his ability to pick out the work of other artists and make it his own, producing some amazing cover versions to rival his own work and tonight we are treated to wondrous versions of Massive Attack's 'Teardrop', The Knife's 'Heartbeats' and his awesome cover of Kylie's 'Hand on Your Heart'.

With Bournemouth Council currently promising a multi million pound overhaul of the Pavilion let's hope that next time Jose Gonzalez comes calling we will have a venue that is worthy of this great man's talents.

The Boy Least Likely To - Southampton Joiners Arms - 2nd March 2008

2009-10-01T15:02:00.000-07:00

Originally Published on Musical Mandate 03/03/2008

Going to a gig by a band you know virtually nothing about is always a bit of a minefield. If you're unlucky you'll spend the night fidgeting, waiting for the magic words "this is our last song", if you're lucky you'll spend the night wishing you really had listened to that album your mate lent you and then going home and falling in love with the album, only for the band to disappear off the face of the earth for the next 2 years to record their next album.

But if you're really lucky it wont matter a bit that you don't know any of the songs because the band will be so good they will sweep you up in their arms and carry you along triumphantly. I'm glad to report that this was one of those nights.

The Boy Least Likely To, are quite frankly a joy. The brainchild of singer/songwriter Jof Owen and multi-instrumentalist Peter Hobbs, as a live act they extend their line up to a magical seven piece to take in banjo, guitar, keys, fiddle, recorder, bass and drums to produce some of the finest good time indie-pop you're ever likely to come across.

Taking their lead from the likes of Dexys Midnight Runners they create a sound that takes in good old fashioned country tinged indie pop with a very English folk sensibility that never fails to put a smile on your face. Their set was apparently made up equally of old and new material, but not knowing what was what I have to say you couldn't tell the difference between the songs quality wise. Some people might say that this doesn't show any particular musical progression but when you can produce music this good there is absolutely no need to change what you're doing.

The band also display, in their songs and their slightly shambolic in-between song banter a wonderful sense of English eccentricity and self deprecation. Song titles like I'm Glad I Hitched My Apple Wagon To Your Star and Hugging My Grudge may at first appear a little twee but give them a chance and they turn out to be songs full of hope and happiness, not for the cynical among us perhaps, but then sometimes it's just good to revel in the joyful experience of a band that wears it's heart so unapologetically upon it's sleeve, singing songs about love, loss and chocolate biscuits.

NME Big Gig - O2 Arena, London - 28th February 2008

2009-10-01T14:59:00.000-07:00

Originally Published on Musical Mandate 02/03/2008

Organised to coincide with this year's NME Awards which were held earlier in the day in the adjacent O2 Indigo venue this was the magazine's first stab at a gig of this magnitude and it has to be said they almost, very nearly pulled it of.

Kicking off proceedings were The Cribs, accompanied by rock royalty in the form of the one and only Johnny Marr they blasted through a short seven song set of their usual impressively spiky northern indie pop, with Ryan Jarman quite rightly pointing out that the venue may have cost £1 Billion to build but the sound was nevertheless shit.

Next up Klaxons, also struggled with the shoddy sound set up, not helped in any small way by the fact that they looked like they would have preferred to be anywhere else in the world at that moment other than attempting to impress 15,000 people in an aircraft hanger in London.

The atmosphere did start to build with the arrival of Bloc Party to the stage, a huge roar greeting the opening bars of Hunting for Witches before going on to play a mini greatest hits set that included Banquet, The Prayer, So Here we are, Flux (accompanied by a rather fetching laser lightshow) before finishing with Helicopter.

But it wasn't until the arrival of The Kaiser Chiefs that a band grabbed the venue by the wotsits and made it work properly for them. Their explosion in popularity over the last couple of years has seen then regularly selling out venues of this size so it was not surprise that they weren't intimidated one bit and stormed through a set that included all of their biggest tunes along with two new songs, Never Miss a Beat and You Want Some History which both showed no real progression in the band's sound but if it ain't broke..........

And so to the moment that about half of the room had been waiting for and the only real reason I bought a ticket, the arrival of tonight's headliners and this year's NME Godlike Genius Award recipients Manic Street Preachers. Preceded onto the stage by a impressive 20 strong band of pipers and drummers the band kicked off with Masses Against The Classes and we were off on a brief history of the Manics as for the next hour we were treated to some of their biggest hits, although sadly only Faster made it into the set from The Holy Bible, but I suppose you can't have everything. Surprise of the night was their brilliant cover of Rhianna's Umbrella which really should come with a health warning as all the way home and all day the next day all I had in my head were the words "Ela Ela Ela Ela Ela" on constant rotation.

Watching the Manics headline this event was quite strange really, the atmosphere was nowhere near the intensity that you would usually find at one of their gigs as let's face it half of the people who had bought tickets had just come to see the other bands but for me it was like watching your favourite football team win the F.A. Cup after years of being written off.

An acknowledgment of a band that have never compromised and have remained relevant over the course of their 18 year career. Even today the Manics are the only band out there making music in the UK who really have something to say about the world around them, or perhaps they're the only band that aren't afraid to say what they think.

The band themselves looked genuinely pleased by it all, perhaps a vindication of their talents by a publication that hasn't always been friendly to them, but then they understand the need for the vicious side of journalism, the need to weed out the mediocre and the irrelevant from today's music scene.

By the end of it all, glancing around this huge arena it was great to see that the majority of people had stayed right to the end and perhaps the boys had even made some new fans for themselves, as the first strains of A Design for Life signalled the end of this gig and perhaps even this chapter in the career of one of this countries finest, bravest and most intelligent musical forces.

Manic's Setlist

'The Masses Against The Classes'
'Motorcycle Emptiness'
'Autumnsong'
'You Love Us'
'Faster'
'If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next'
'Everything Must Go'
'Umbrella'
'Send Away The Tigers'
'She Sells Sanctuary'/'Motown Junk'
'Your Love Alone Is Not Enough'
'You Stole The Sun From My Heart'
'A Design For Life'

Photos courtesy of NME

Manic Street Preachers - Godlike Geniuses

2009-10-01T14:57:00.000-07:00

Originally Published on Musical Mandate 27/02/2008

Whilst it pains me to promote the usually, completely irrelevant rag yet again, this weeks NME celebrates 18 years of the Manics as they prepare to accept this year's Godlike Genius Award at the NME awards, followed by a headline set at London's O2 Arena.

Jimmy Eat World - Southampton Guildhall - 17th February 2008

2009-10-01T14:55:00.000-07:00

Originally Published on Musical Mandate 19/02/2008

Jimmy Eat World have always appealed to me for two reasons. One, the hearts on their sleeves, honest emotion that their music and especially lyrics have always displayed and two, as a live act they are up there with the very best.

Touring in support of last year’s ‘Chase This Light’ (I think the UK must have been last on the touring schedule) they start with the first single from that album ‘Big Casino’ and the crowd respond with the first sing along of many tonight before continuing with the pounding ‘Salt, Sweat, Sugar’ as the Guildhall starts bouncing nicely thank you very much.

For the next hour or so we’re treated the best of the last 3 albums with a sprinkling of older stuff with definite highlights being ‘Pain’, ‘Sweetness’ and the very bouncy ‘Here it Goes’.

One of the odd things about Jimmy is that the world is most definitely made up of two camps. The first made up of people who have absolutely no clue who they are and the second made up of people who have had their hearts captured by the band.

The room tonight is most definitely made up of the latter as they start they’re encore with a great new version of ‘Your House’ and by the time play ‘Hear You Me’ there isn’t a dry eye in the house. Finishing with biggest hit ‘The Middle’ before you know it they’re off into the night leaving us safe in the knowledge that romance is safe and well and not to be taken too seriously.

Travis - Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms - 8th February 2008

2009-10-01T14:53:00.000-07:00

Originally Published on Musical Mandate 13/02/2008

I have to admit that I didn’t really know what to expect from this gig. After buying the tickets on the spur of the moment on the simple basis that Travis are quite a fun band and the Wedge would be a great little room to see them play. After then going onto the Travis’ website and realising that they were playing a small club tour to road test new material for an as yet unrecorded album, excitement levels dropped considerably.

The band took to the stage and after a brief recorded intro launched into the first of the 11 new songs they were to play tonight. Most bands who present brand new material usually intersperse the new tracks with older ones to keep the short of attention span (i.e. me) from heading to the bar but tonight Travis decide to rattle through these new songs in one go, not even pausing for a hello, how are you. Amazingly they manage to hold the crowd for the just under an hour that it takes to get through the new stuff, largely because of the sheer amount of love there is for them in the room but more importantly due to the quality and charm of the music on show.

After briefly vacating the stage the Travis that we all know and love return to the stage finally breaking their self imposed silence and addressing the crowd, explaining that the second half of the show would be full of slightly more familiar material they launch into "Sing" and the crowd visibly relax and become very happy indeed. After six or seven more tracks, including "Love Will Come Through" and Writing to Reach You" and a great cover of the Kinks "Lola", the band then open the setlist up to the crowd and to everyone’s delight we then get the surprise inclusion of bone fide classic "All I Want to do is Rock" along with my (and quite a few others) choice, the group hug that is "Flowers in the Window".

What this second set did prove, if proof were indeed needed is that Travis are one of the most charming, fun bands to have come out of the Britpop era and indeed to have come out of this country full stop. Genuinely enjoying every second that they spend on stage, Dougie especially has the widest smile across his face for the entirety of the evening. Despite being around since the early nineties there isn’t a ounce of cynicism about them, they just do what they do because they love doing it. That coupled with the first hour and you can be sure that Travis will be putting smiles on faces for a few more years to come.

Set List
Intro
Chinese Blues
J. Smith
Something Anything
Long Way Down
Broken Mirror
Friends
Get up
Last Word
Quite Free
Song to Self
Before You Were Here

Sing
Eyes Wide Open
Last Laugh
Love Will Come Through
Sailing Away
Side
The Fear
Writing to Reach You
Falling Down
Lola
Selfish gene

Last Train
All I Want to do is Rock
Falling Down
Re-Offender
Flowers in the Window
Blue Flashing Light

Manic Street Preachers - Bournemouth International Centre - 9th December 2007

2009-10-01T14:51:00.000-07:00

Originally Published on Musical Mandate 14/12/2007

Due to the fact that I'd been up until dawn the previous night waiting for Ricky Hatton to get his arse kicked in Las Vegas, tonight's gig finds me a tad lethargic and not a little unenthusiastic. It's also the first time I'd been to the BIC since it's multi million pound make over and I have to say the home is pretty impressive, well for Bournemouth anyway. The place is filled up nicely as the band take to the stage kicking off with 'Motorcycle Emptiness' including it's 2002 synthy intro and any thoughts of knackeredness on my part immediately disappear.

Tonight's set is definitely designed to make the most of the venues size and the massive screens each side of the stage also help to create a suitably epic atmosphere as they rattle thorough (most of) their hits along with some nice surprises ('Roses in the Hospital' and the absolutely blinding 'Forever Delayed').

The band themselves are in fine form, although James does occasionally apologise for not being able to reach the high notes, blaming the lurgy that he's recently picked up, although the only obvious sign of this is the lack of his usually stage bounding. Nicky more than makes up for this though, on top form throughout and looking as gorgeous as ever.

The only down side I can think of tonight is a complete lack of songs from The Holy Bible, although this is a really minor point as whenever songs get dropped from the set that just presents the opportunity for them to bring in other great stuff. 'Slash 'n' Burn' gets dedicated to 'Super' Joe Calzaghe for winning that evening's Sports Personality of the Year before we are treated to a very rare, spellbinding outing of 'Forever Delayed'. The first half of the set finishes with an energetic version of 'If You Tolerate This' before the band vacate the stage to leave James and his trusty acoustic guitar. Dedicated as always to Richey 'Small Black Flowers' can't fail to bring a tear to the eye and James does brilliantly, managing to create a moment of intimacy in what is essentially an aircraft hanger.

The rest of the band return, Nicky resplendent in mini skirt and knee highs and it's full steam ahead to the end of the set with barely a pause for breath and all of the energy of a band half their age. We even get a bit of The Cult as they intro 'Motown Junk' with the first section of 'She Sells Sanctuary' to great effect, and before you know it we're into the first strains of 'Design For Life' and that's your lot for another Manic Street Preachers extravaganza, never less than perfect and always full of emotion, they round their best year in a decade off with a triumphant live performance.

Motorcycle Emptiness
Autumnsong
Everything Must Go
You Love Us
Roses In The Hospital
Ocean Spray
Slash ‘n’ Burn
Indian Summer
Forever Delayed
La Tristesse Durera
1985
Your Love Alone Is Not Enough
Kevin Carter
If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next
Small Black Flowers That Grow In The Sky (acoustic)
The Everlasting (acoustic)
Send Away The Tigers
She Sells Sanctuary / Motown Junk
Little Baby Nothing
You Stole The Sun From My Heart
The Masses Against The Classes
A Design For Life

Foals - 27th November 2007 - Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms

2009-10-01T14:49:00.000-07:00

Originally Published on Musical Mandate 28/11/2007

Arriving late we are greeted by an already packed and sweaty Wedgewood Rooms, the crowd seemingly made up almost entirely of absolutely leathered mid-teens. Not knowing much about the band, bar the summer single ‘Hummer’ and a brief listen outside the tent they were playing in at Bestival and taking into account the under-age crowd I have to say I wasn’t particularly looking forward to the gig, expecting another evening of ‘next big thing’ indie nonsense.

I am pleased however to report that I couldn’t have been more wrong. Taking to the stage 15 minutes early the 5 piece wasted no time crashing into a stirring instrumental track, verging on the epic and a little out of keeping with the rest of the set. Fronted by the diminutive Yannis (is he sitting down, no he’s standing up, no he’s sitting down, no, no he’s definitely standing up) they barely pause for breath before we’re into the second song, Yannis’ vocals now to the fore.

Immediate impressions bring comparisons to The Cure (his voice is the double of Robert Smith’s) and the dance rock edge of The Rapture. But whilst it’s easy to draw comparisons with other acts it has to be said that Foals do seem to offer something a bit more original than most bands that are emerging at the moment, the music being less about the melody and more about shaping monolithic grooves which those vocals manage to sit perfectly on top of.

Brief on banter, we get ‘a song about vampires’ another ‘about Heathrow on Christmas eve’ the band race through the set, possessing an incredible energy between them, bunching into little groups or bounding around the stage, the keyboard player’s dancing making Ian Curtis’ stage persona looked composed. It’s obvious that they love what they do and take it completely seriously, 6 or 7 songs, no fillers and they’re off stage 35 minutes after they took to it, a punch in the face of a set that left you dazed in a ‘what the fuck just happened’ kind of way but also leaving you with the feeling that you might have just seen something a little bit special.

Foo Fighters - 17th November 2007 - London O2 Arena

2009-10-01T14:47:00.000-07:00

Originally Published on Musical Mandate 21/11/2007

The O2 Arena in London is the city’s newest venue and part of what was the old Millennium Dome complex. I’d never been to the dome and had always thought of it as this country’s ‘White Elephant’ joke of an attempt to mark the millennium celebrations, which turned into a bottomless money pit.

Well that may have been true back then, but now the place has been converted into a state of the art entertainment centre, finally doing the site and the amount of money spent on it some justice. Half of the dome (essentially a bastard big tent) is taken up with the arena itself, a 20,000 capacity self contained behemoth of a building, at least twice the size and height of the old Wembly Arena. The other half is where it gets a bit odd, as it’s made up of real streets, lined with real buildings containing real restaurants and bars, which meant that we ended up getting a bite to eat in a restaurant, in a building, in a tent, like I said odd. The remainder of the site is made up of a 12 screen cinema and the smaller 2,000 capacity Indigo music venue.

Anyway, enough of the venue, on with the music. After seeing the Foos headline Reading a couple of years back I had no doubt that that would be able to rock a massive arena like this and I wasn’t disappointed, they were absolutely incredible. The atmosphere was very intense for such a big venue and as the band took to the stage at 8.45pm the place went mental as they started with 2 new songs, Let it Die and the awesome first single ‘Pretender’.

One of the, no sorry THE best thing about Foo Fighters, is frontman, genius, official nicest guy in rock™ Dave Grohl who from the off makes it his business to make sure that every single person who has paid their money to come and see his band have the best gig of there lives, he realy is the epitome of the perfect frontman. Another great thing about the Foos is that they appreciate the fact that they have an incredible back catalogue of music, so while other bands may try to shove their latest album down their fans throats we’re treated to a 2 hour plus greatest hits set that includes all the biggies (‘Times Like These’, ‘Breakout’, ‘Monkey Wrench’)and some slightly more obscure stuff (‘Marigold, ‘Weenie Beenie’).

The evening was basically split into three sections with the first brought to a close with a massive and I mean massive rendition of stacked actors including a dualing metal guitars and a chance for Taylor to show off his skills turning in a spectacularly long drum solo.

After this the band made their way to the centre of the arena as a circular stage lowered itself from the roof and the band set about a stunning 45 minute acoustic set starting with the lovely Skin and Bones before the band were joined by Queen legends Brian May for Roger Taylor for a cover of Queen’s folky ’39. This seemed to be the band’s favourite part of the show as they relaxed into it and produced some great banter, which included Dave persuading their percussionist to perform the world’s first triangle solo before spine tingling acoustic versions of My Hero and the always beautiful Everlong, starting with Dave on his own before the rest of the band brought the track to a almighty crescendo. The band then returned to the main stage to finish off the set nicely with extended versions of Monkey Wrench and All My Life.

As they disappeared backstage the video screens show them in the dressing room with a set list of all the songs that they had already played as if that was our lot, before Dave peeled off a sticker on the bottom of the page to reveal loads more songs to a massive roar from the crowd.
Returning to the stage we were treated to an encore of older material in form of the awesome ‘Wattershed’ and ‘Weenie Beenie’ along with ‘My Poor Brain’ before finishing with ‘Best of You’ prompting the biggest singalong of the night.

I’m not usually the biggest fan of huge gigs like this but when you get a band like the Foo Fighters there really isn’t any other kind of gig for them to do, the tunes and the band’s own presence demand the arena/stadium setting and produce an incredible experience for their fans

The National - 10th October 2007 - Portmouth Pyramid Centre

2009-10-01T14:42:00.000-07:00

Originally Published on Musical Mandate 21/11/2007

New York’s The National have been making fine music since 1999 but I have to admit to coming to the party late, only becoming aware of them after the release of their third album ‘Alligator’ and this was the first time I’d ever seen them live.

Considering the kind of emotive music that the band make it was a surprise to see the six unassuming men dressed in plaid shirts amble onto the stage, lead singer Matt Berninger cutting a tall figure as they kicked off with the slow burning ‘Start a War’ from this year’s incredible ‘Boxer’ album.

It was during the opening bars of the second track ‘Mistaken for Strangers’ that the silly grin appeared on my face, you know that grin you get when you realise that greatness is being bestowed on you, the type of grin that only shows it face when something you’ve anticipated for ages turns out to be better than you could ever have expected. The set is made up of the majority of ‘Boxer’ with the best bits from ‘Alligator’ and ‘Secret Meeting’ is met by yelps of appreciation from the crowd who, almost to a person know every word to every song and totally adore the band.

On record the musical focus leans towards Berninger’s gorgeously morose vocals but live each member of the band comes together to create a patchwork quilt of sound that warmly envelopes you, none more so than on the heartbreakingly beautiful ‘Slow Show’ the exquisite ‘All The Wine’ and even on the rockier tracks like ‘Abel’ and ‘Brainy’ they never lose the dense richness of their sound. It’s fascinating too, to watch the band as they flit between instruments, swapping guitars, Bass, keyboards and violin between themselves, sometimes mid song.

The gaps between the songs are filled with shouted requests for different songs but the biggest cheer of the night is reserved for the only older track of the ‘Lucky You’, ironically introduced by Berninger as “a song that no-one ever asks for”. My favourite track ‘Fake Empire’ closes the set, the horns from the recorded version here replaced by a crescendo of guitar and violin.

A short encore follows taking in ‘Green Gloves’ and the alt-rock majesty of ‘Mr November’ where Berninger finally lets loose, screaming the chorus out and teaching bands like The Killers a thing or two about how to structure wordy songs.

Throughout the night it’s easy to pick up the bands influences, from The Tindersticks to early R.E.M. to Tom Waits and Lou Reed but that’s not to say that The National are unoriginal, in fact quite the opposite is true as they manage to produced beautifully honest music with a heart and soul all of it’s own. The National really are a sparkling gem of a band.

Set List

Start a War
Mistaken for Strangers
Secret Meeting
Brainy
Baby, We’ll be Fine
Slow Show
Squalor Victoria
Abel
All The Wine
Racing Like a Pro
Ada
Lucky You
Apartment Story
Daughters of the Soho Riots
Fake Empire

Green Gloves
Mr November

'Lucky You' Portsmouth Pyramid Centre, 10th November 2007

Delays - 9th November 2007 - Southampton Joiners Arms

2009-10-01T14:40:00.000-07:00

Originally Published on Musical Mandate 12/11/2007

Back with a new e.p., preceding the release of their third album in early 2008, Delays played a very special hometown gig at the teeny Joiners Arms in Southampton and we were lucky enough to get tickets (thanks Stew).

With the place absolutely rammed to capacity as you would expect, the atmosphere was electric with anticipation as the band took to the stage just after 10. The crowd needn’t have worried either as, just like a good wine, Delays are a band that just get better with age. Every time I see them they just seem to get tighter and more locked in as a unit and this time was no exception as they mixed up a set of oldies including the double whammy of ‘Wanderlust’ and ‘Nearer Than Heaven’ with material from the new e.p. ‘Love Made Visible’ and the Aaron sung ‘Panic Attack’, the new material sitting up just as strongly as the older tunes.

The 3 tracks that got the place going absolutely mental though were all from the second album luckily for me were all my favs, with ‘Hideaway’ and ‘You and Me’ only being beaten by the ever brilliant ‘Valentine’.

If you’re looking for something euphoric, uplifting and unbelievably danceable then look no further than Delays, another top notch British band going from strength to strength whose future certainly sounds and looks very rosy indeed.

Captain - 8th November 2007 - Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms

2009-10-01T14:38:00.000-07:00

Originally Posted on Musical Mandate 09/11/2007

One of my favourite bands, Captain return to the live circuit with a small tour in preparation for the release of their second album, the follow up to last year’s magnificent ‘This is Hazelville’.
With none of their new material released for public consumption yet, it is a brave band that takes to the road to play a set made up predominately of brand new material. But fresh from the studio on completion of the album, Captain are obviously confident enough in the quality of the new stuff, with 9 out of the 15 tracks being brand new.

And for me it was a decision that paid off with no problems at all. The quality of the new tracks was at times extraordinary with the band having a to be expected nervous energy about them that only increased the intensity of the at times epic nature of new tracks such as opener ‘Spoils’ and the huge ‘The Gamble’. Once the soundman had cottoned on to the idea that there were actually 2 singers in the band and turned Clare up to an acceptable level, hers and Rik Flyn’s harmonies were as elegantly beautiful as always. It was also clear that with this new record the band have tried to broaden their musical horizons with Clare no longer tied to her keyboard and now flitting between it and a shiny new accordion, a xylophone and accoustic guitar.

The band were obviously mindful of shoving too much unheard stuff down ourt throats and did treat us to the best of the last album with the lies of ‘Havelville’, ‘Broke’, ‘Frontline’ and ‘Glorious’ keeping everyone very happy indeed.

With the new album in the bag and pencilled in for an early 2008 release and on the basis of the tracks on show tonight, this could and should be the record that finally gives Captain the success that their talent and songs so obviously deserve.

Setlist

Spoils

Hazelville

Loose Lips Sink Ships

Broke

Little Echos

The Gamble

Frontline

Last Page

Safe Harbour

This Heart

Animal

Glorious

Lost the Bottle
.....................................
Build a Life

Cicely

Mark Ronson - 29th October 2007 - Portsmouth Pyramids

2009-10-01T14:36:00.000-07:00

Originally Published on Musical Mandate 09/11/2007

I’ve been a fan of Mark Ronson’s production work since he emerged with his debut album ‘Here Comes The Fuzz’ in 2003. With the US urban scene at that time becoming more and more generic and bland he was a breath of fresh air, delving into every musical genre from indie to funk to breaks to dancehall to create an album of show stopping hip-hop cuts that certainly raised a few eyebrows.

The last 2 years have seen Ronson dipping into the world of pop producing work for the likes of Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen, Robbie Williams and Christina Aguilara, before starting work on his own 2nd album, this years ‘Version’ a collection of cover versions of mainly indie tracks that Ronson grabbed by the scruff of the neck, took out for night on the town and introduced to the world of Motown and Hip Hop. On paper so many things could have gone wrong with these covers and collaborations but the album turned out to be a work of genius, this time giving the stale world of pop the kick up the arse that it so richly deserves.

So, knowing that the man is a production and Djing genius I couldn’t wait to see what he would offer us as a live act and for that matter exactly how ‘live’ it would actually be. My main interest was actually how involved he would be and it was a great surprise to see that he was the hub of the whole performance. Whilst he’s surrounded him with some serious talent, Stuart Zender (ex-Jamiroquai) on bass, a brass section made up of Scotland’s awesome Haggis Horns, the legend that is Sean Lennon and the great up and coming talent of vocalists Daniel Merriweather and Tawiah it was obvious from the start that Ronson was the heart of the band with every other member feeding off of him, watching his every move and prompt as he flitted between guitar and keyboards.

Starting off with the incidental ‘Inversion’ before launching into an awesome instrumental take on Maximo Park’s ‘Apply Some Pressure’, the crowd and the band having just as much fun as each other. Ronson wasted no time in introducing Daniel Merriweather to the stage where he launched into ‘Toxic’ (ahh, poor Britney, how times change) the set charged along, taking in the best version of ‘Apache’ I’ve ever experienced. Female vocalist Tawiah showed Lilly Allen how it’s done on the vocals of ‘Oh My God’ giving the song a soulful edge that Allen never quite managed to pull off.

And then it was time for a little bit of pop royalty with the emergence of Sean Lennon onto the stage to perform an perfectly beautiful rendition of the Beach Boys ‘Sail on Sailor’ before adding his soulful vocals to the bands cover of Radiohead’s ‘Just’. Returning to the stage Daniel Merriweather performed a track from his forthcoming (Ronson Produced) debut, which pointed at great things for him in the future before the band finished their set with chart topping Zuton’s cover ‘Valerie’.

Everyone returned for a brief 2 track encore but what a pair of songs, firstly an awe inspiring version of ‘We Can Work It Out’ with Sean Lennon, Daniel Merriweather and Tawiah all taking turns on vocals and managing to do justice to both the Beatles and Stevie Wonder all at the same time, before the night ended the only way it could with Ronson performing his biggest hit to date ‘Stop Me’.

Mark Ronson, Producer, DJ and now Live Performing genius, without a doubt.

Editors - 2nd October 2007 - Portsmouth Guildhall

2009-10-01T14:34:00.000-07:00

Originally Published on Musical Mandate 03/10/2007

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, finally a band living up to and delivering on their potential. After seeing Editors a few times when they toured their first album it was always apparent that they could become something great and tonight they proved undoubtedly that they have done just that.

Taking to the stage at a rammed Guildhall they launched straight into new single "An End Has a Start" and the first thing you notice is how much bigger their sound has become. Chris Urbanowicz’s guitar is now at the forefront of their sound, cutting through the track like a razorblade.

There’s also a confidence coursing through the whole band as they bound around the stage that I’ve never seen before, as if they’ve relaxed into this ‘being in a band’ lark and are completely happy with where they are right now. So relaxed in fact that the first words that Tom speaks are "Good Evening Norwich", er no Tom that was last night but he and the crowd take it with the humour of the Spinal Tap moment that it is and the evening moves swiftly on as the opening bars of "Bones" and rapturously greeted.

Everything is starting to warm up very nicely thank you when the double whammy of "Bullets" and a gigantic "Bones" send the atmosphere evermore skyward. The set is really well balanced between old and new with the appearance of one new track "Banging Heads" proving that the band have no intention of taking on a more minimal sound anytime soon. The best thing about the night for me though was how good the new stuff sounded, with tracks like "Escape the Nest", "Racing Rats" and especially "Spiders" more than holding their own alongside favourites, nay classics like " All Sparks" and "Munich".

To my mind too many bands on their first and second albums are taking the easy option and choosing to play small tours in massive arena venues for the big hit, quick buck and it’s so nice to see Editors take a more considered approach. They could quite easily have gone down the route of playing massive arenas (which they no doubt could have sold out easily), instead they’ve chosen to play mid size venues on a larger tour, giving a much more personal and intimate feel to the gigs.

Editors remain a serious band, making serious music along the lines of Interpol, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Kings of Leon but the most important thing about them from my point of view is that they are a great English guitar band who appear to be doing things on they’re own terms, not hurrying to take over the world but slowly and surely winning people over to their way of thinking.

Set List

An End Has a Start
Bones
Bullets
Blood
The Weight of the World
Escape the Nest
Banging Heads
All Sparks
When Anger Shows
Spiders
Lights
The Racing Rats
Fall
Munich
Open Your Arms

Bestival - 7th,8th,9th September 2007 - Robin Hill Park, Isle of Wight

2009-10-01T14:30:00.000-07:00

Originally Published on Musical Mandate 15/09/2007

Bestival is a small but perfectly formed festival held on the Isle of Wight, now in it's 5th year. Curated by Radio 1's Rob Da Bank with artistic direction (all the hard work) coming from his partner Josie.

This year was was my first year at Bestival and I can't tell you how impressed I was. I'm a Glastonbury veteran having been 11 times since 1990 and have been to Reading 4 or 5 times too but I have to honestly say that this is the best festival I have ever been to without a shadow of a doubt and here's why.

The Music

From the bands that I definitely wanted to see to the ones that I'd never heard of and stumbled across, every performance I saw was top class, with every artist embracing the atmosphere and ethos of Bestival. Personal highlights included Fields in the big top on Friday afternoon, who despite playing to a barely quarter full tent gave it their all. The Levellers brought back many a youthful memory with a proper festival greatest hits set as did 'surprise' special guests Madness who were absolutely brilliant. Now the band may not be the coolest in the world but watching the few "too cool for school" people stood around with arms folded be totally converted and skanking along by the second song was hilarious.

More old school memories with Soul II Soul who were reunited with original vocalist Caron Wheeler for a beautiful sunset set on Saturday with tunes like 'Back to Life' and 'Keep on Moving' taking you back to a time when soul music meant just that. Seasick Steve's show stopping Bandstand set proved why he has become such a worldwide blues force over the last couple of years absolutely rocking it, how one man, three strings and a box make that kind of sweet noise is totally beyond me.

Bringing on the legends, Gregory Isaacs and Marlena Shaw didn't disappoint both showing everyone why they deserve their status with effortlessly heavyweight sets. The Gossip keep impressing me more each time I see them and this time Beth Ditto (almost) kept her clothes throughout, the awesome singalong anthem 'Standing in the way of control' and a great hi-energy cover of 'Careless Whisper' definite highlights.

Friday Headliners The Chemical Brothers were suitably huge, even though the set was a bit new material heavy they still made room for some oldies and The Beastie Boys on Saturday and Sunday were just sublime with 2 genre busting sets. Of the bands that I'd never seen heard of before The Kissaway Trail, Foals, Patrick Wolfe and Fighting Cocks were all impressive, while Bat for Lashes and Spank Rock have become immediate firm favourites.

But the highlight musically over the whole weekend? Without a date The Cuban Brothers main stage Saturday funkathon, I've never smiled, sung and danced so much in all my life.

The People

One of the standout things that you immediately realise is how happy everyone is at Bestival, even the man who insisted I was his mate from Brighton for the duration of the Chemical Brothers set couldn't have been happier, even when I tried to explain that he might possibly have his wires a little bit crossed and the guy who's mate rugby tackled him into the bar causing him to hit it face first and knock his front teeth out before getting up and dancing off saying he couldn't feel a thing had us in slightly concerned fits of laughter.

But seriously, Bestival is full of like minded, slightly trolleyed shiny happy people all with one mission, to have the time of their lives and make sure that everyone else does too along the way. With a demographic ranging from babies with cool ear protectors on to the old beardy fella dancing behind us at 4 in the morning in the big top, Bestival attracts an eclectic mix of open minded chilled out individuals and I think the intimate nature of the setting helps too as there's a real feeling of being in things together and being part of something really special that seemed to spur everyone on, creating an amazing good time vibe the likes of which I've never experienced before.

The Fancy Dress

Saturday at Bestival is fancy dress day and everyone gets involved. This years theme was pirates, although you could go as anything you wanted. The trouble that some people went to was unbelievable, with one group of people dressing up as a huge box of crayons, another coming as a table football team complete with the bar holding them all together, a group of 27 smurfs and all manner of seafaring sights to behold. It gave the place such a great atmosphere as everyone barriers were immediately down due to the fact that most of us looked completely mad.

The Site

What a refreshing change to go a festival where they don't try to shoehorn you into a cattle pen. Bestival is spread out across acres and acres of rolling countryside, incorporating a working country park and everything that has been set up is for the benefit of the festival goer. There's bags of room to sit and chill around the numerous tents and stages with huge bars and tons of food stalls with food from all corners of the world, meaning that not only are you spoilt for choice there wasn't a queue in sight and whilst space is of a premium because your in a valley surrounded by woodland the whole thing has an amazingly intimate feel to it.

Apart from the music other great stuff laid on included a burlesque tent serving champagne and tea whilst various pretty ladies twizzled their bits, a farmers market, a WI tent selling the best homemade cakes known to man, Restival a great place to go to recharge the batteries with massages and hammocks galore and not forgetting the Come Dancing ballroom that will attempt to teach you every style of dancing from Samba to the Lindy Hop.

4, Jestival

A great little tent showcasing some of this country's and the world's finest comedians. With big hitters like Ed Byrne, Marcus Brigstocke and Phil Jupitus rubbing shoulders with lesser known but no less funny comedians such as the great Craig Cambell, Glen Wool and Carey Marx. Special mention too to Andrew Maxwell's Fullmooners which was an awesome way to finish off the festival on the Sunday night.

The Weather

I don't know how they manage it but in the five years that Bestival has been going all they've had is sun, sun, sun and this year was no exception. After a summer of floods, storms and biblical plagues it was just so nice to spend 4 days sat in the sum without a care in the world.

At the moment Bestival seems to remain everyone's best kept secret but as has happened with Glastonbury over the years I fear that it might become a victim of it's own success. I truly hope it doesn't and that the organisers don't feel the need to keep expanding the site and increasing the amount of people that it allows in each year as this for me was perfect, from the size of everything to the music and entertainment on offer to the kind of people that it attracted.

So next year I urge you to get down to Bestival, just don't tell anyone else that you're going and certainly don't tell them how good it was when you get back.

The perfect end to the summer.

The Hold Steady - Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms - 4th July 2007

2009-10-01T14:28:00.001-07:00

Originally Published on Musical Mandate 05/07/2007

The Hold Steady are a five piece from Minneapolis and New York, who despite releasing their third album in America and first in the UK last year are still somewhat of an enigma in this country. That album, “Boys and Girls in America” is a collection of Alt-Rock gems, best described by frontman Craig Finn tonight as “these four guys playing some mean rock and roll and me talking bullshit over the top of it”.

That “bullshit” as he so politely puts it is actually the heart and soul of the music, an amalgam of Bruce Springsteen’s voice, Randy Newman style storytelling and Jarvis Cocker’s self awareness. Whilst the lyrics are extremely detail heavy there is a wit and charm that runs through it all that draws you in and carries you along.

Tonight we are treated to the majority of “Boys and Girls in America” plus some of the more accessible moments from the first two albums and live the band immediately makes sense. When I’ve listened to the albums before tonight, I’ve always thought of them as rather serious affairs that might just take themselves a little to seriously. But live there is a sense of joy in everything that they do and when you experience the songs delivered from five men with uncontrollably beaming smiles the lyrics take on that context too, as if saying, hey, life’s just one big party and don’t worry if you can’t keep up, we’ll carry you if we have to.

Starting with album opener “Stuck Between Stations” the packed Wedge is immediately jumping and the pace continues throughout, only pausing for a beautifully heart-warming version of “First Night”. As a frontman, Craig Finn is a bolt of energy, bounding about the stage, nailing every lyric, encouraging the crowd, it’s impossible not to be swept up in it all.

Other set highlights include the singalongs “Massive Night” and “Party Pit” and the awesome “Almost Killed Me”, these guys display a tightness and quality that only a band that have played together for years and understand each other completely can do. To be honest the sound that these guys make is frankly astonishing.

Towards the end of the set we are pointed out the irony that is a successful US band spending Independence Day trying to impress a bunch of brits but there is really no need to try. The Hold Steady are quite simply one of the best live bands I have ever seen and I implore anybody, whether you’ve heard their music or not to check them out as soon as possible.

Muse - Wembley Stadium - 17th June 2007

2009-10-01T14:25:00.000-07:00

Originally Published on Musical Mandate 22/06/2007

A bit of a weird one this, as knowing what to expect was pretty impossible, what with Muse stepping up a level to full blown stadium act plus the fact that they were playing in a place that no-one had even seen yet.

The Stadium itself is about as impressive as a structure can be, you can (almost) appreciate where all the money went and the organisation inside was unbelievable. From the moment we got there, there wasn’t a queue to be seen with a huge staff presence both inside the stadium and on the pitch itself, directing, helping and also enforcing a rather strict smoking ban. Let’s not talk about the price of the food on offer though as it appeared that the pies must have been made out of gold and filled with angels tears at £4.50 a pop.

Onto the music and the only support act of note were Biffy Clyro who aired the majority of their great new album "Puzzle" plus a few oldies to a half-filled but appreciative Wembley.

At bang on 8.00pm Muse make their grand entrance, rising up into the middle of the stadium before making their way up to the impressively set up stage and ripping straight into "Knights of Cydonia". I always think that they somewhat throw this huge track away by playing it first but in order not to be dwarfed by their surroundings they needed to come out guns blazing and by the time the massive riff cracks open halfway through and the 70,000 strong crowd go off with it the whole stadium gig thing suddenly makes perfect sense. It's a long, long way from Teignmouth to Wembley Stadium but these boys have made it look easy.

Every track tonight sounds absolutely gigantic as the band whip through their substantial back catalogue continuing with the solid punch of "Hysteria" and the Prince on acid funk of "Supermassive Black Hole" the first half of the set firmly concentrating on the bands previous 2 albums. It takes until almost 40 minutes in, when Matt Bellamy takes a rest from being the worlds greatest guitar player and settles down at this piano, that we get anything from the first two albums, namely the Nina Simone cover "Feeling Good" and the awesome "Sunburn" which was definately the highlight of the night for me.

Slipping into poppier territory the singles "Invincible" and "Starlight" followed, before the set wrapped up with "Time is Running Out" and a monstrous twisted and extended version of "Newborn".

Completely dark by now the stage set came to life with massive glowing balloons, antennaes and Aerials created an epic, sci-fi backdrop.

As the band returned to the stage for the first encore and play back to back ballads with "Soldier’s Poem" and the beautiful "Unintended" two massive ballons appeared from either side of the stage with a silver clad gymnast suspended under each, proceeding to float over the crowd performing acrobatics, impressive to say the least if a little Spinal Tap, which isn’t a bad thing.
Back to rockier business and the second encore begins with a rasping "stockholm Syndrome" before the night draws to a close with the fitting "Take a Bow".

Any worries that Muse wouldn’t or couldn’t pull off a gig of this magnitude flew out of the window early doors, as they more than proved their stature as the county’s best live act around today, showing enough confidence, bombast and bravura to rock 70,000 people with the greatest of ease.

Set List:

Knights Of Cydonia
Hysteria
Supermassive Blackhole
Map Of The Problematique
Forced In
Sing For Absolution
Butterflies & Hurricanes
Hoodoo
Apocalypse Please
Feeling Good
Sunburn
Invincible
Starlight
Blues Jam
Time Is Running Out
Newborn
Soldiers Poem
Unintended
Blackout
Bliss
Plug In Baby
Stockholm Syndrome
Take A Bow

Daft Punk - O2 Wireless Festival - Hyde Park, London - 16th June 2007

2009-10-01T14:22:00.000-07:00

Originally Published on Musical Mandate 21/06/2007

Daft Punk have been at the top of my "must see before I die" list for a very long time now, they are an act that have an amazing mystique about them, compounded by the fact that no one has seen their faces for over a decade and there has been very little in the way of press. They have seem to have survived and thrived solely on the strength of their music and legendary live shows alone.

Playing in London for the first time in nearly a decade, the curtains on the main stage slowly draw open to reveal a giant video screen pyramid with the Daft Punk boys looking stunning in their robot helmets and leather suits perched on top of it. You could just feel that this was going to be something special.

The familiar tones of the Close Encounters da da da’s resound around Hyde Park, quickly switching to a vocoded "Robot/Human" refrain that builds until the beat of "Robot Rock" slams in and the place goes absolutely mental. What follows for the next hour and a half is a journey through 15 years of some of the best, most powerful dance music ever produced, accompanied by a stage and light show to match it.

Playing non-stop, the majority of their three albums (really, just three?), are remixed, mashed up and pumped out to the huge crowd’s sheer delight. The lyrics from "One More Time" sitting perfectly over the riff of "Aerodynamic", "Technologic" popping up throughout the set as tune after tune morphs and melts into one another without the music ever losing it’s energy or more importantly it’s funk filled groove.

It’s nice to hear so much stuff from the first album too, especially "Alive" and obviously "Da Funk", whilst other set highlights include "Around the World" which is drawn out and teased to within an inch of it’s life and a massive version of "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger".

If all of this was good, the encore was quite frankly ridiculous. Returning to the stage in red glowing costumes they kicked off again with "Human After All" mixed with "Revolution 909" before slipping into a version of Thomas Bangalter and DJ Falcon’s "Together" and then launching into an amazing mix of Stardust’s "Music Sounds Better With You" at which point the crowd simply exploded as one. As the set reaches its finale with a reprise of "Aerodynamic" it suddenly occurs to me that through absolutely no fault of my own I haven’t actually stopped dancing since they hit the stage.

Whilst it’s easy to wonder exactly how much of the set is actually "live" it should be remembered that Daft Punk create each set as they go along, using Ableton software, sequencers and samplers to drop the different loops and samples into the mix making each show unique and much, much more than a just a DJ set.

What Daft Punk prove here tonight is that they are head and shoulders above their peers when it comes to rocking a crowd and tonight has more than definately affirmed their status as the worlds biggest dance act. Let's face it without Daft Punk's influence where would the current crop of dance acts like Digitalism, SMD, certainly Justice and maybe even Klaxons be? Probably sat in James Murphy's front room not listening to very much I imagine.

Daft Punk are quite simply Legends.

Robot Rock

Oh Yeah

Touch It

Voyager

Technologic

Television Rules The Nation

Crescendolls

Steam Machine

Around The World

Harder Better Faster Stronger

Burnin

Too Long

Face To Face

Short Circuit

One More Time

Aerodynamic

Forget About The World

Brainwasher

Phoenix

Prime Time Of Your Life

Rollin and Scratchin

Alive

Da Funk

Daftendirekt

Superheroes

Rock N' Roll

Human After All

Revolution 909

Together

Music Sounds Better With You

Aerodynamic

Loads More Photos Here

Digitalism/Simian Mobile Disco - O2 Wireless Festival - Hyde Park, London - 16th June 2007

2009-10-01T14:20:00.000-07:00

Originally Published on Musical Mandate 21/06/2007

The last couple of years have seen a real upsurge in live electronic acts as the dance scene looked to reinvent itself in the face of a dwindling club scene.

Two of these acts at the forefront of this movement at the moment are German duo, Digitalism and Brits, Simian Mobile Disco.

Playing to an extremely up for it crowd in the XFM Tent, Digitalism deliver a slick set of bass heavy tunes taken from their debut album "Idealistic". Tracks life "Idealistic" and especially "Pogo" go down well and despite a lack of improvisation, with each track pretty much set out as it is on the album, the set more than satisfies the early afternoon crown.

Formed from the ashes of indie band Simian, Simian Mobile Disco are Jas Shaw and James Ford. After spending the last 2 years remixing the likes of Soulwax and The Gossip the pair have finally delivered their own debut album, "Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release", which as it happens turns out to be one of my favourite albums of the year so far.

As with the album the sets started with the throbbing tech-house of "Sleep Deprivation" before spinning off into a twisted amalgam of the album.

These boys certainly know how to work a crowd too, each tune going straight for the jugular with no filler in the trim 40 minute set, the riff from "Tits and Acid" going straight into a pounding version of "Hustler" through to the funky lyric of "Hotdog" to produce that rarest of things, an electronic act that are willing and eager to reinterpret their work to suit the audience, rather than just spit out a bunch of pre-recorded "Live Versions" of their back catalogue.

With dance music notoriously faceless and throwaway, it seems (and I hope) that Simian Mobile Disco will be around for quite a while and I don't think it will be long before they are challenging for the status of the likes of The Chemical Brothers and Underworld.

Loads More Photos Here

Unsung Heroes - Puressence

2009-10-01T14:16:00.000-07:00

Originally Published on Musical Mandate 13/06/2007

Puressence hail from Failsworth in Oldham and met on a bus on their way to watch the now legendary Stone Roses, Spike Island Gig on 27th May 1990. Inspired by the genius of Mani, Kevin Matthews rushed out afterwards and bought his first Bass Guitar, closely followed by the rest of the band.

With virtually no musical experience between them it was decided that the role of lead vocals would go to James Mudriczki with Neil McDonald on guitar and Tony Szuminski on drums, Puressence were born in early 1991.

After a year or so of hard work and constant practice the band released their first single "Siamese" on Rough Trade, followed by two more singles on 2 Damn Loud Records, the "Petrol Skin EP" and the "Offshore EP". These singles showed enough promise for the band to be picked up by major label Island Records and they set about recording their first album.

The self-titled "Puressence" album was released in April 1996, on the back of singles "I Suppose" and "Fire" which both failed to dent the UK singles chart. On it’s release the album was greeted with rave reviews drawing comparisons to Radiohead’s "The Bends" as everything with a guitar seemed to do back in the mid nineties. The album produced another three non-charting singles, which when you consider that there were only ten tracks on the album itself is quite impressive. All of these singles also failed to chart, as did the album but undeterred the band regrouped to start work on the next album.

The summer of 1998 saw the release of the band’s most successful work and it was in this year that I first discovered them. First single "This Feeling" was, in the context of things, a hit reaching number 33 in the UK. The song received strong airplay from all of the major radio stations and was Simon Mayo’s record of the week on Radio 1 (at the time I assure you this was a big deal). This led to T.V. appearances on shows such as T.F.I. Friday and the ITV chart show.

The album itself "Only Forever" showed a much more mature, accomplished sound, sometimes verging on the downright epic and really was one of those records you occasionally come across where ever song on it could have been a single. It seemed that the band might finally be going places, the album charted at number 36, with reviewers likening the album to The Verve’s "Urban Hymns" and Manic Street Preachers "Everything Must Go", high praise indeed. However, with the Britpop movement in it’s death throes and manufactured pop being spat out by all of the big record labels and indeed the radio stations it was becoming increasingly more difficult for guitar bands to succeed, the labels demanding immediate results on an album release. It may be for this reason that the other two singles from the album were released without the same publicity and backing that the first and the album received, "It Doesn’t Matter Anymore" failing to chart and "All I Want/It Doesn’t Matter Anymore" squeezing in at 39.

In October 2002 the band’s third album "Planet Helpless" again saw the band change direction musically, this time showing a much tighter, even danceable groove to the tunes. The fact that the album didn’t chart on release coupled with the record companies refusal to promote it properly led to the breakdown of relations between the band and Island(Island reportedly suggesting that the band might want to make their sound a little more Savage Garden!). This resulted in only one single being released but despite virtually no promotion "Walking Dead" still managed to make the top 40, albeit at number 40.

In the fallout from "Planet Helpless" the band sacked their long time manager and left Island Records for good.

In August 2003 founding member Neil McDonald made the decision to leave the band and was replaced by Lowell Killen, then of little known Manchester band Dry Riser. The band continued to tour in support of "Planet Helpless" despite the lack of a record label.

Puressence, produced some of the most emotive and powerful music of the late nineties and beyond. Take "Only Forever" for example, a tour de force containing a clutch of the best songs you are likely to hear, from the radio friendly strum of "This Feeling" through to the epic power in the guitar solo of "How Does It Feel". The backbone of their music has to be James’ voice, as individual as anything I’ve ever heard before, it has the power to evoke any emotion without ever becoming melodramatic. That coupled with the band’s talent for writing great songs, with massive choruses, makes it all the more unjust that they have never quite made it.

I guess what the story of the band tells us is that talent and determination, aren’t always enough to succeed in an industry driven by profit above all else. A combination of mismanagement and record company foibles resulted in virtually none of the band’s output being distributed or promoted properly and ultimately stopped them becoming one of the north west’s greatest exports, up there with The Verve, Oasis, The Smiths even Joy Division at times.

Now signed to independent Manchester Label Reaction the band are set to release their fourth studio album later this year, along with a compilation of their first 3 albums which will be released to the US market. You never know, away from the constraints of major label interference’s the band may finally be able to reach an audience on their own terms and reap the rewards that they so rightly deserve.

Links:

Artist Website

MySpace

Manic Street Preachers, Southampton Guildhall, 5th June 2007

2009-10-01T14:13:00.000-07:00

Originally Published on Musical Mandate 07/06/2007

Manic Street Preachers live is always going to be the highlight of my year regardless of the reason they are on tour. The fact that this tour is on the back of their best album in a decade and with promises from of the band of a "Springsteen-esque" long set list, anticipation and excitement are understandably at an all time high.

Taking to the stage to a delirious reception from 2000 devotees the band launch into "Stay Beautiful" the crowd singing every word along with James, especially the "why don’t you just fuck off" refrain.

Next up the thumping groove of "Imperial Bodybags", the first of 6 tracks tonight taken from the new album and it was immediately clear that the new tracks would be as enthusiastically received as any of the older ones and deservedly so, although saying that when the opening bars to "Motorcycle Emptiness" fire up it does bring home the moments of songwriting genius that these boys have created over the years.

With the opening riff of "Faster" the place goes completely berserk as it becomes apparent that this is going to be a night as much about the old as the new with very few chances for a breather, the set bounds on with a good mix of hits ("La Tristesse", "Everything Must Go", "Tolerate"), tracks from the new album and a smattering of the rarely played ("Born to End").

James Dean Bradfield is a sight to behold throughout the whole gig, the stage barely containing him as he spins and pirouettes through his solos, his vocals never less than exceptional, although for once Nicky Wire seems strangely subdued. Perhaps the fact that this gig comes towards the end of a 20 something date tour might have something to do with it but he doesn’t even manage a few words and there’s no costume change during James’ acoustic interlude either.

Ahh the acoustic section, "The Everlasting" has always been a favourite (of mine anyway), and to hear it played acoustically brings a whole new majesty to it, as always "This is Yesterday" is dedicated to Richey and as always I end up in tears, gets me every time.

The rest of the band return to join James and explode into "You Love us", if the Guildhall did still have a roof at this point it just disappeared into the solent. Proving that the band do listen to their fans, after years of being shouted out at gig after gig we're treated to the rare appearance of "Sleepflower", which more than likely is just to shut us up but it's rapturously received anyhow.

As if to show us that he is indeed human James buggers up the beginning to "Little Baby Nothing" and before we know it the set draws to a close with the first verse of "Condemned to Rock and Roll" crashing into "Motown Junk". That just leaves perennial set closer "A Design For Life" which never fails to leave you with the sense that something very special has just happened.

So not quite the mammoth set that we had been promised but I didn't hear anyone complaining as the crowd sang every word of every song, a sense of triumph in the place as the devoted are repaid with justification for sticking with these boys through what can realistically be seen as leaner times.

After the Lifeblood and Past,Present,Future tours you couldn’t help but wonder what the future held for the Manics. The fact that they could come back better and stronger than ever with a classic album (a term not used loosely I assure you) and a tour de force live show was probably the last thing on many peoples minds but they’ve pulled it off and then some. The band have a reinvigourated sense of energy and hunger that is radiates from everything that they do at the moment and long may that continue. Bring on the winter arena tour.

Setlist

Stay Beautiful
Imperial Bodybags
Motorcycle Emptiness
Winterlovers
Faster
La Tristesse Durera (Scream to a Sigh)
Send Away The Tigers
Everything Must Go
From Despair to Where
The Second Great Depression
Born to End
Ocean Spray
Your Love Alone Is Not Enough
If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next
The Everlasting (Acoustic)
This Is Yesterday (Acoustic)
You Love Us
Sleepflower
Autumnsong
You Stole The Sun From My Heart
Little Baby Nothing
Condemned to Rock and Roll/Motown Junk
A Design For Life

Fields - Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms - 18th April 2007

2009-10-01T14:10:00.000-07:00

Originally Published on Musical Mandate 19/04/2007

I have had many a great night at the Wedgewood Rooms in the past but this has to rank as one of, if not the best of them musically.

Kicking off the night were local band Red Campion, who played a descent enough mix of acoustic folk/rock that, had the next 2 hours not been so fantastic might have stuck in the head a little more.

Next up were the surprise of the night, Hush The Many (Heed The Few) a five piece of Guitar, Violin, Cello, Bass and Drums and what a surprise this was. Starting off with a folky, ambient track that drew you in they had me in the palm of their hand almost immediately, before the track exploded about 3 quarters of the way through into a post rock crescendo that put a smile on my face that is still refusing to leave.

Apparently the band usually have a lead electric guitar in their ranks that is tonight replaced by violin due to the guitarists absence but this doesn’t make them feel lightweight or wanting in any department, if anything it gives the music even more emotion and texture.

Everything about this band works, from the lead singer Nima's sometimes Nick Drake like lyrics to the waves of colour and light painted by the strings and the warmth and depth of the bass rhythms. The only downside to the set was that it had to be cut short because the first band overran (damn them) but final track "Song of a Page" was an absolute revelation. A gigantic track that built and grew with a power all it’s own, entrancing the room so much so that it took a second at the end for people to collect themselves enough to rapturously applaud the band off the stage.

I know that I have a habit of occasionally be wildly over enthusiastic about new bands/music/films etc, but I mean it from the bottom of my heart when I say that Hush The Many are a quite extraordinary band that deserve every success that comes their way. I certainly haven’t been this excited about a band since Hope of the States broke onto the scene and I can’t wait to see them again to see what happens when the guitar element is added. It's nights like this that remind you why you go to gigs in the first place.

It would take a special band to follow that, but we had nothing to fear as special is something Fields have in spades. Taking to the stage and kicking off with a storming version of single "If You Fail We All Fail" they immediately took the breath away with an energy that matched the music perfectly.

Fields are a band that I love dearly (see there I go again) and the sound that they manage to produce live is astonishing. A kind of folk/rock explosion with tinges of post rock epic soundscape and ambient beauty offset by the wonderful melodies in Nick Piell and Thorunn Antonia’s emotive lyrics.

Set highlights included the thunderous "Feathers", a stirring "Charming the Flames" and the unbelievably epic "Song For The Fields", but in all honesty the whole set was a delight to experience.

The music that Fields play has an uncanny ability to create an atmosphere of impending doom, of a great overbearing power, but at the same time has an element of optimism and hope. To me it seems to instil visions of days gone by before the industrial revolution when people worked for their lives out on the land and with anything that harks back to a bygone era this effects a real sense of romance and passion.

There isn’t enough notice being taken of bands like Fields and Hush the Many and only time will tell if a their particular brand of intelligent folk/rock will cross over into the mainstream and get the success and respect that it deserves. In the meantime at least we know they are there and that they are producing very special things.

Fields Setlist:

If You Fail We All Fail
Brittlesticks
Feathers
You Don't Need This Song
Charming The Flames
Knives
Isabel
You Brought This On Yourself
School Books
Song For The Fields
The Deaf

Manic Street Preachers - Send Away The Tigers

2009-10-01T14:06:00.000-07:00

Originally Published on Musical Mandate 18/04/2007

The 7th May 2007 sees the release of Manic Street Preachers 8th Studio Album, Send Away The Tigers and while any output from the Manics is always eagerly anticipated it is with a sense of trepidation after a couple of below par offerings. For once though there is no need to worry as the band produce their best work for a decade.

The title of the album refers to the words that Tony Hancock would say whenever he began to drink and is also a comment on the liberation of Baghdad Zoo by allied forces who set free the animals in a somewhat misguided act of liberation and freedom.

Musically the album sees the band return to their roots, it’s full of the rock and roll bombast and glam sensibilities of Generation Terrorists but with emotionally charged lyrics that are more in common with Everything Must Go and This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours.

The title track and album opener sets the tone with a huge chorus that’s simply to die for, a trick repeated on other tracks “The Second Great Depression” and “I Am Just A Patsy”, the latter surely being the first successful use of the word Patsy in a song.

Free to download track “Underdogs” with opening lyrics “This one’s for the freaks, for you’re so beautiful” appears to be a thank you to the bands more devoted and ever so slightly barmy hardcore fanbase, a call to arms to match “You Love Us” from their first album. First single proper “Your Love Alone” sees the band duet with the lovely Nina Persson to great effect, producing their most radio friendly output in years.

But it’s not all lipstick and feather boas as the band finally manage to recapture the magnificence and epic nature of those middle albums, here on “Indian Summer” and “Autumnsong” and also prove that they can still fire those political barbs with “Rendition” and more obviously on “Imperial Bodybags” a direct attack on current foreign policy and the war in Iraq wrapped up in an awesome punk rock scream.

Album closer “Winterlovers” is a melancholy discussion on the coldest of seasons and is similar in structure to “Tolerate”, before the album ends with a slightly unnecessary, grungy cover of John Lennon’s “Working Class Hero” as a bonus hidden track.

After the disappointment of Know Your Enemy and the middle of the road whimper that was Lifeblood, Send Away The Tigers is quite simply a joy. The band have obviously revisited their greatest triumphs over their 17 year career and have taken the best bits, along with inspiration from heroes such as Guns 'n' Roses and Smashing Pumpkins to produce an assured, sincere, emotional and most of all a fun album, full of promise and optimism. Manic Street Preachers are back and this time, finally they mean business again.

Tracklist

1. Send Away The Tigers
2. Underdogs
3. Your Love Alone Is Not Enough (feat. Nina Persson)
4. Indian Summer
5. The Second Great Depression
6. Rendition
7. Autumnsong
8. I Am Just A Patsy
9. Imperial Bodybags
10. Winterlovers

Scott Matthews - Portsmouth Pyramids - 3rd April 2007

2009-10-01T14:04:00.000-07:00

Originally Published on Musical Mandate 04/04/2007

Scott Matthews is a 31 year old singer songwriter from Wolverhampton whose music is hard to pigeonhole but could be described as urban folk with tinges of Blues, Rock and Eastern sensibilities.

Emerging last February whilst still on his friends independent label San Remo, he immediately began to be favourably compared to Nick Drake and Jeff Buckley, with radio DJ’s Mark Radcliffe, Janice Long and Gideon Coe picking up on his talents while the likes of Wiley and Lowe were still obsessing about a certain band of Monkeys and crackhead simpleton Pete Doherty.

His debut album "Passing Stranger" contained 17 tracks of bluesy rock, heart breaking introspective ballads and eastern influenced tabla wig outs and now signed to major label, Island, tonight sees him on his biggest tour to date, venue wise at least.

Having already seen the man play a small solo acoustic gig at the Wedgewood Rooms last year I was really looking forward to seeing him with a full band, as however good he is on his own, the real power of the albums more upbeat tracks was never really conveyed.

But he kept us waiting just a little longer as he began the gig on his own with beautiful b-side "The Wasp and the Jar" and new song "Myself Again", before being joined by a violinist for a blissed out version of "Eyes Wider Than Before".

Just as the audience was settling into the chilled, calm vibe the remainder of the band joined the stage and ripped into a blues heavy, as yet untitled instrumental groove that was crying out for a descent lyric to turn it into the classic it almost was. One for the future perhaps. It certainly woke the crowd up and as the band eased into album opener and the most Buckleyesque moment of the evening, "Dream Song" the atmosphere turned into something quite special.

Other set highlights included the bluegrass jam of "Sweet Scented Flowers", the glorious pop of Passing Stranger and the out and out rock of set closer "The Fools Fooling Himself".

Although a lot of his output can be seen as introspective, Matthews himself contradicts this with a scatty, cheerful persona. Constantly obsessed with making sure his guitar is tuned to perfection and his audience is enjoying themselves, but occasionally becoming slightly self conscious, slipping from his native black country twang to a Texan drawl to mask his embarrassment if for no other reason.

For the encore Scott returned to the stage by himself for the moment that the majority of the room had been waiting for and he didn’t disappoint. On record "Elusive" is an emotive gem of a song, live it’s a magical, spellbinding experience that is truly unforgettable. Dedicating last song "Earth to Calm" to all his fans who come to support him live it seems that he is an artist who believes that the live experience is so much more important than just buying the records and I for one can not agree more.

Scott Matthews is a rare thing, an intelligent, talented songwriter and performer who does things by his own rules, not concerned with current trends, celebrity or hype. He could just end up being the most important West Midlands export since Robert Plant.

Eagles of Death Metal - Portsmouth Pyramids - 10th March 2007

2009-10-01T14:01:00.000-07:00

Originally Published on Musical Mandate 21/03/2007

Formed in 1998, Eagles of Death Metal have finally been gaining a serious audience over the last couple of years, mainly I imagine due to the fact that if you see these guys live you simply have to take them seriously, albeit with a massive fucking grin on your face.

Originally and wrongly seen as a side project for Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme (the band was co-founded by Homme), the band has grown out of a need to not take the music scene too seriously but at the same time put down some rock hard tunes with a fuck yeah attitude.

Playing the Pyramids as part of their eagerly awaited UK tour the band stride onto the stage with a coolness that only these guys can pull off, frontman Jesse "the devil" Hughes grinning from ear to ear, all aviator shades and redneck facial hair, picks up his guitar and the band rip into "Bad Dream Mama" to the crowds obvious delight.

It’s impossible not be carried along by the band's passion and enthusiasm, every riff, every wiseass lyric bringing a cheer and a smile, Hughes repeatedly telling us that we’re the best crowd ever( I bet that’s what he tells all the crowds), it always makes a difference when you know a band are loving a gig as much as the crowd are and this was obvious throughout. So much so that I don’t think anyone even noticed/cared that it was Gene Trautman rather than Josh Homme banging out the beats.

Set highlights included the massive "Cherry-Cola", "Whorehoppin’(Shit Goddamn)", the always great cover of "Stuck in the Middle (Metal) With You" and the moment during a particularly spectacular solo when the rest of the band including the drummer dropped their instruments to surround guitarist Dave Catching just to offer their appreciation for a fine piece of fretwork.

There’s no point looking for hidden meanings with Eagles Of Death Metal, purely and simply this is about the party, about the chicks, about the rock and roll and about the business of getting the fuck down as dirty as you can and there ain't nothing wrong with that.

As a footnote I feel that it is my reponsibility to warn you that overexposure to Eagles Of Death Metal can result in acts of great personal danger, such as frequenting clubs where the Dee Jay still talks over each Lionel Richie/George Michael/Alexander O'Neil track he plays, running through hawthorns with your trousers round your ankles and being overly offensive to the nicest taxi driver in the world. Forgive us lord for we know not what we do and here are the scars to prove it.

Charlotte Hatherley - Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms - 4th March 2007

2009-10-01T13:54:00.000-07:00

Originally Published on Musical Mandate 08/03/2007

On tour in promotion of her second solo album, The Deep Blue, the Wedgewood Rooms played host once more to the lovely and talented Charlotte Hatherley.

Kicking off a disappointingly half-filled Wedge were Shuffle, a bonkers six piece from London sounding like a cross between the Go-Team and George Gershwin, on crystal meth. Playing with energy that the room of blank faces didn’t particularly warrant they gradually got everyone on side with a set full of rough basslines, pop hooks and off the wall lyrics.

Taking to the stage with her new touring band, Charlotte immediately launched into new single I Want You To Know storming through it with an intent that grabbed hold of you and never let go.

Now that she has officially split from Ash she finally has the freedom to give her material 110% without feeling the constraints of what other band members think and that freedom certainly comes over in the complexity, assuredness and downright solidness of the new material on show here tonight.

Playing one of your best known songs early in a set is usually a no no but not for Charlotte as the bubble-gum pop of "oldie" "Kim Wilde" from 2004’s debut "Grey Will Fade" was greeted with a rapturous reception.

The first thing you realise when seeing Charlotte Hatherley is what a different proposition her music is live to on record. Take a Track like "Be Thankful", which on the album sounds quite mellow, somewhat lightweight even. Played live however, it takes on a life of it’s own starting off slow and brooding, building powerfully all the time to really show how she has matured as a songwriter over the last couple of years.

Download only single "Behave" transformed from a quirky piece of solid pop into a monster of a tune and whilst Charlotte is so obviously talented a lot of her live success must come down to the musicians she surrounds herself with.

Supported by a new line-up from the "Grey Will Fade" tour and including a happy as ever Luke Smith from the now sadly defunct Clor, they were as tight as any band your are likely to see. This in itself seems extraordinary given the fact that they only rehearsed for a week and a half before going out on the tour.

Other stand out tracks included "Bastado", "Roll Over", set closer Siberia and an awesome cover of XTC’s "This is Pop" for the encore.

With on stage banter kept to an absolute minimum ( names of songs if we were lucky) we weren’t sure if she might have been a bit pissed off by the barely half filled room but she certainly played and sang her heart out throughout the whole of the lean 45 minute set showing a confidence and style reminiscent of PJ Harvey at times which can only be and good thing and bode well for the future of Charlotte as a serious solo artist.