Just announced Stereophonics are in town 11th May.
Thatās right at the end of the season for outdoor stuff here but providing work stuff doesnāt get in the way - canāt wait - saw them on the beach about 5 years ago with Damascus Saint (whoād never heard of them and ended up buying their albums.)
Would anyone be interested in taking 2 face value tickets for Gomez on Sat 5th May at Kentish Town Forum off my hands? Should be cracking in that small venue but Iāve now got other plans.
My annual plug for Beautiful Days festival. Pretty happy with the line-up this year.
A theme of āriot of colourā for the Sunday so bletch, if you go, youāll be able to wear that hideous shirt which is usually too much (even for you).
Fever Ray was actually at The Troxy (apparently reading tickets is hard). I hadnāt been there before, itās a really gorgeous old Art Deco building. The show itself was alsoā¦interesting. Probably not a surprise if you have heard Fever Ray or The Knife, both delight in their wonderfully weird avant-garde nature. This show was very much built in that image. That said, I enjoyed it very much, there seemed to be more of an uptempo, dancier feel to the tracks live, as opposed to their recorded versions. It worked really well. Would happily catch them again at Primavera, clash permitting.
Young Fathers. A band I have been excitedly yammering on about for a few years now. It was the first time I have seen them at their own show, having previously caught them at Glasto & Bestival. Whilst they were good both those times I saw them, I enjoyed them much more last night. Having their own sound set up definitely made a huge difference.
They are an act Iāve often struggled to describe, partly because they sound like no other act out there at the minute, and partly becuase they quite clearly draw on so many influences (Hip Hop, Trip Hop, Garage, Jungle, Gospel, Punk, Pop). It sounds like it shouldnāt work, but damn it really does. The show was a properly raucous, sweaty affair. Tune after tune, there wasnāt a duffer in the set. The mood oscillated between cathartic & euphoric. One of the best gigs Iāve been to in quite some time. I cannot recommend them enough.
Go see Saints of Sin. Local band. They have āSaintsā in their name.
They write their own songs, have an album, and they can do it live. Caught them at the Engine Rooms when they were supporting two tribute acts. These were better than all of them.
Sold my Gomez tickets via Twickets in less than 24 hours. They did have Ā£7.80 off me but was pretty easy. Itās a fan to fan site. Though how the actually police that is another matter.
Just got back from The Joiners having seen Ben Marwood with loads of support.
I fucking love live music!
I went into real fan mode with Helen Chambers, who Iād seen before at The Brunswick in Hove.
I told her that she was just amazing and that I couldnāt believe she wasnāt more famous. She blushed slightly more than I did.
I also mentioned that after the Hove gig I bought her album, learned all the words and had just ruined her gig for the 10 people standing around me by singing along v loud.
Anyway, here she is.
Also was introduced to Nick Parker - very witty lyricist and great stage performer. The stand-out song from his set was called Departures but I canāt find a video so hereās one that is nearly as good.
Yes, the last album was trash. Yes, the promo around it was annoying as fuck. But they are still a great live band. Plus mother is probably a bigger fangirl than me, and it is great getting to share that with her.
Clinton - no. Vince - oh yes, but you forgot Englebertā¦
Also randomly, Iāve seen Tom Jones 3 times (uncool BUT bucket list shows tbh). The second time was when my Mum was down here some 15 years ago. She cried with joy when I showed her the ticket and she had to sit down as she almost feinted when he came on stage. She must have been about 67 at the time as well, luckily I managed to talk her out of the whole knicker throwing thing, that would have been a step too far.
Yeah I forgot Englebert, she liked him too. My dear lady wifeās claim to fame is she was at The Gaumont in '63 to see The Beatles, although she says she couldnāt hear a thing because of the screamingā¦not a dry seat in the house either. She also saw Tom Jones when he took the place of PJ Proby in the trouser splitting scandal.
Went to Arcade Fire last night. We had really good seats with a great view of the stage in the round. Iām not a massive fan (shock horror) but enjoyed their show, thereās a lot going on. Their two special guest were Florence Welch (a live show I find quite dull) and Boy George. Enjoyed watching all the fans enjoying it all. I think thatās a result of years working in a venue and watching the crowd.