You have taken one for the team - four times!
Originally posted by @Lets-B-Drinking
The Roundhouse is a funny venue. The hall is spacious and the sound was good, but it has a row of pillars seperating the stalls from the Circle and they obscure the stage for quite a few seats.
Yep - that is an issue. Always get standing tickets at the Roundhouse. Off to see the messianic Father John Misty there in May.
Tame Impala were fantastic on Friday at Ally Pally. Getting up there and back was uncharacteristically painless (always walk down to Alexandra Palace station at get the train - not tube - down to Kings Cross after, FYI) as well, which is a nice bonus. I get they are a bit pretentious, but the songs just sounded fantastic.
Anyway, off to Everything Everything & Foals tonight. Iām not really a fan of EE, but mate insists we get there for them. Listening to Foals now, and I canāt really remember why I agreed to go. Bar their newest album, they have never really done much for me.
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Busy olā couple of weeks coming up.
17/02 - Isy Suttie (of Peep Show) - comedy. Discovery Centre, Winchester
19/02 - The Hell. Talking Heads, Southampton
22/02 - Enter Shikari. BIC, Bournemouth
24/02 - Baroness. Engne Rooms, Southampton (may sack this off though)
28/02 - Hacktivist. Joiners, Southampton
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Originally posted by @ant
24/02 - Baroness. Engne Rooms, Southampton (may sack this off though)
If you do go to this, can you report back, please?
Mate wants me to go and Iām on the fence. Itās the day before another gig Iām at 
Originally posted by @KRG
If you do go to this, can you report back, please?
Mate wants me to go and Iām on the fence. Itās the day before another gig Iām at
Yeah, 'course. Money/time no object Iād say definitely go as theyāll almost certainly be immense. Great mix of sludgy 'n progressive riffs and harsh but soulful vocals. Now with even more complexity layered in by way of string arrangements.
Iād be a definite but am pre-empting financial ruin (car service/MOT this month) and potential burnout by then. Plus itās the only one I havenāt got tickets for yet.
Yeah same. All these gigs are bleeding me dry, plus Iāve got a stag in Berlin, Primavera & Glasto coming up.
Iāve listened to their stuff and do like it, so me having no restraint whatsoever find myself tempted, still.
Foals last night, meh. By no means bad, but they just donāt do much for me. Donāt think they are an arena band. Everyone else seemed to enjoy, so maybe itās just me.
Off to Talking Heads tomorrow night for one-time Rainbow and Alcatrazz front man Graham Bonnettās latest offerings, imaginitively named The Graham Bonnett Band. Supported by a band called Evyltyde who, from what Iāve Googled, should be decent.
Might return there next month for Aussie rockers Tracer. Got all 3 of their albums to date and saw them at Islington O2 a couple of years ago on their first tour.
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Fucking excellent! At least when turned up at right venue - when the fuck did Talking Heads move to the polygon?!
What an absolute legend Graham Bonnet is. 68 years old, suffering from a bronchial virus and he can still bang out the vocals!
Support act, Evyltyde were pretty decent too. A bit of a mash-up of Evanescence (mainly due to the female vocal), living colour (bass was awesome) and Slipknot (very capable axeman).
Would definitely go to see either act again without hesitation.
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Looking forward to Kendal Calling this summer, as I am up this way. Not the biggest of artist play but a good one to go to with the family for the weekend. Bonus us I quite like Noel Gallagher and he is one of the headliners.
Great venue for standing, but you do get some celebrates at this venue. I saw Paul Weller and Kasabian with a full orchestra at the proms about 8/9 years ago.
Saw Hinds at Koko last night. Really enjoyed it.
Love their sound, bit of a surfer rock vibe going on. Theyāre also deceptively shambolic, with the heavy use of tempo changes and jangly guitars it can sound like itās all a bit unplanned but they are certainly a very tight band.
Would recommend.
A few more added since going to New York. The Charlatans (hopefully better than they were at Newcastle), ASH, The Darkness, Madness, Catfish & The Bottlemen, Everything Everything, The Hives, We are Scientists, Lightining Seeds and one of my favourites Band of Skulls.
Iām seeing so many great gigs in Austin, I couldnāt even begin to contribute to this thread. But night before last, Raul Malo getting out from the audience to do a couple of songs was pretty great, but also, so typical of this place. Music is all around. They make it seem so natural.
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Originally posted by @Mangobean
Fucking excellent! At least when turned up at right venue - when the fuck did Talking Heads move to the polygon?!
You can very much be forgiven as itās only happened within the last fortnight.
Enjoyed The Hell there last night, although 90% of the crowd were static (on a Friday night?!) and the new venue doesnāt seem to have the ale selection that the old one did. There was a single tap of very bog-standard bitter. 
Sound seemed solid enough and thereās some good raised areas in the corners if you want respite.
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At the Troxy tonight to see City and Colour, support is Lucy Rose. Never been to this venue and way more excited about the art deco venue than the music currently. Want the lights up so I can see it all properly.
Saw Jamie xx last Friday at Ally Pally.
Really good fun. Not often I get me raving shoes on these days (subsequently ruined in the process 
).
Slightly strange that the biggest reaction of the night were to two songs not by Jamie. He started his set with Letās Dance, and the entire place went insane. Other was I feel Love, which had a similar if slightly less raucous reaction.
Next up, Eagulls in Hackney tomorrow.
Will Varley at the Joiners on Friday.
So looking forward to it.
OK, so I saw Will Varley (and others) at the Joiners on Friday. Absolutely fantastic gig. The man is a talent.
Unfortunately, I was very drunk and met him afterwards and insisted on enveloping him in a massive, and awkwardly long man-hug.
Got a signed tour poster (he wackily signed in Frank Turner).
All was good.
This morning, however, the wife was ironing the expensive Tommy Hilfiger* shirt I wore to the gig.
She came up to me and said
Do you realise that someone has written across your new shirt in marker pen, Bletch?
It turns out I told Will Varley to sign my shirt!
Apparently he was reluctant, but I insisted. He probably thought Iād give him another hug.
This is a āselfieā he took at the end of the gig. I think thatās me, but I had people with me that I donāt recognise.
Oh, dear, Bletch.
*Bletch doesnāt wear brands (except for George at ASDA), but his brother-in-law gave him this shirt last weekend! It lasted 7 days before it got ruined!
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Tonight Iām off to the Continental Club to see the legendary (well, everyoneās a legend out here according to me) Wagoneers:
I am very excited about this.