F E E D B A C K

My reviews elsewhere

2008-12-14T11:34:00.004Z

Album review: Los Campesinos! - We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed

Live Review: Of Montreal - Koko - 16th October 2008

Live Review: Shearwater - St. Giles Church - 22nd November 2008

Album Review: Franz Ferdinand - Tonight: Franz Ferdinand

Rob's Top 50 Albums of 2008

2008-12-13T21:28:00.040Z

If any of these albums sound interesting to you, just click on the title of the best track to get a free preview!

[50] Islands - Arm's Way
Best Track: Creeper
Rob's View: Bombastic, adventurous, but overall too much so. Some songs go on pointlessly and at 68 minutes, wearing for the listener. Not without a few gems though.

[49] Los Campesinos! - We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed
Best Track: Ways to Make it Through the Wall
Rob's View: Releasing two albums in one year shows the enthusiasm these youngsters have, but in the end most of these songs were only b-side material. Cut off a few tracks and you have a fantastic EP.
AWARD: Worst Album Art, 2nd Place
[Read Full Album Review]

[48] Atlas Sound - Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel
Best Track: River Card
Rob's View: An electronic, experimental and (mostly) ambient release from Bradford Cox, the man behind Deerhunter. Great background music, not all that much more.
AWARD: Best Album Title, 1st Place

[47] Deerhoof - Offend Maggie
Best Track: My Purple Past
Rob's View: Loud indie-pop is what we've come to expect from Deerhoof. There's nothing different here, maybe just not quite as immediate as previous albums.
AWARD: Worst Album Art, 3rd Place

[46] Spiritualized - Songs in A&E
Best Track: Sitting on Fire
Rob's View: Fantastically orchestrated as always, possibly a bit more stripped back than earlier Spiritualized albums. There's nothing wrong with this album at all, excpet maybe a little lack of variation.
AWARD: Best Album Title, 2nd Place

[45] Mount Eerie - Lost Wisdom
Best Track: Voice in Headphones
Rob's View: At only 24 minutes this album is easy to digest and perfect to listen to over a cup of tea on a cold day. However, the shortness [sic] of it does become a bit of a let down when looking for something more to sink your teeth in to.

[44] Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid
Best Track: Bones of You
Rob's View: Three outstanding tracks and then eight pleasant ones. That's all there is to it.

[43] M83 - Saturdays = Youth
Best Track: Couleurs
Rob's View: Some of the tracks are what Kate Bush would sound like if she made an electronic album .Some cheesy lyrics let it down, the ambient tracks are the obvious highlights.
AWARD: Best Album Title, 3rd Place

[42] Beck - Modern Guilt
Best Track: Volcano
Rob's View: After the over long 'The Information' it was nice of Beck to make a short and sweet album. Unfortunately some of the songs are not only short but under thought. Still some Beck magic in there though.

[41] Bloc Party - Intimacy
Best Track: Signs
Rob's View: Trying to break out of their indie-mould has yielded mixed results. However some of the most touching songs you'll hear all year make this album worthwhile.
[Read Live Review]

[40] Fleet Foxes - Sun Giant EP
Best Track: Mykonos
Rob's View: Recorded after the album but released before it... confusing. There's nothing confusing about how good this band is though. A nice collection of 5 songs featuring some of their best.
[Read Live Review]

[39] She & Him - Volume One
Best Track: Sentimental Heart
Rob's View: With the help of the amazing M. Ward, Zooey Deschanel proves that movie stars can make good music after all.

[38] Coldplay - Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends
Best Track: Strawberry Swing
Rob's View: Putting two songs on one track is stupid but forgiveable once, but three times!? Just annoying. This album has some good music but Martin's lyrics let it down in places. This album could do with losing some songs and it would be easier to listen to all the way through.

[37] Sigur Rós - Með suð I eyrum við spilum endalaust (AKA Thank God for Copy and Paste [Unofficial Title])
Best Track: Inní mér syngur vitleysingur
Rob's View: An extremely pleasant album for the first 8 tracks but the last 3 are downright boring.

[36] Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours
Best Track: So Haunted
Rob's View: Is it electro? Is it indie? It's a bit of both! "The Australian LCD Soundsystem" doesn't really cut it but that's what I've come up with.
AWARD: 1st Place, Best Album Art

[35] Fuck Buttons - Street Horrrsing
Best Track: Sweet Love For Planet Earth
Rob's View: Certainly not for everyone. Hushed vocals mixed low under dense electronics made with toys. It's great once you get your head around it.

[34] Foals - Antidotes
Best Track: Red Sock Pugie
Rob's View: Touted as "math rock". They're not. They're indie pop with interesting time signatures, and at their best they're great, but there's a lot of filler on this album.

[33] Ratatat - LP3
Best Track: Mirando
Rob's View: Laid back dance music with a world music vibe, what's not to like?
AWARD: Worst Album Art, 5th Place. Worst Album Title, Joint 3rd Place

[32] One Little Plane - Until
Best Track: Lotus Flower
Rob's View: Thanks to Radiohead for revealing this one to us when they recommended it on Dead Air Space. There are a lot of female singer-songwriters these days but Kathryn Bint sings in such a beautiful voice that keeps you interested. She works the vocal loops brilliantly too.

[31] Little Joy - Little Joy
Best Track: Brand New Start
Rob's View: Easily the best thing to come out of The Strokes long absence. Drummer Fab Moretti has produced the soundtrack to the summer... shame it came out in November.

[30] Metronomy - Nights Out
Best Track: Heartbreaker
Rob's View: Basically something to listen to to tide you over until the next time you go see them live. You MUST see them live to fully appreciate the songs, but these recordings will get your head nodding too.

[29] Cajun Dance Party - The Colourful Life
Best Track: The Hill, the View and the Lights
Rob's View: These guys are still so young and that's plain in the youthful joy that's injected into the majority of these songs. However there is a dash of maturity in there too which maybe indicates where they'll go on future releases.

[28] The Notwist - The Devil, You + Me
Best Track: Good Lies
Rob's View: Just overall beautiful simple guitar based songs with a smidgeon of orchestration thrown in here and there.
AWARD: Best Album Art, 4th Place

[27] David Byrne and Brian Eno - Everything That Happens Will Happen Today
Best Track: Strange Overtones
Rob's View: A far cry from their previous album both in terms of time and sound. Is this what Talking Heads would sound like today? Possibly. 11 great tracks, each with a hook that will keep you coming back again.
AWARD: Worst Album Art, 1st Place. Worst Album Title, 1st Place

[26] Tokyo Police Club - Elephant Shell
Best Track: Your English is Good
Rob's View: The glossy sheen on these tracks may have put off fans of their lo-fi sound but they're seriously missing out if they don't give this album a chance. Only one track over 3 minutes long, these boys know how to keep it short and sweet. Any Desperate Housewives fans may have spotted them in the current series (they were the other band in the battle of the bands).
AWARD: Worst Album Title, 2nd Place
[Read Live Review]

[25] Mogwai - The Hawk is Howling
Best Track: I Love You, I'm Going to Blow Up Your School
Rob's View: Another album of songs that generally go quiet-loud-louder-(optional end quiet) yet Mogwai have mastered the technique of making it sound new each time they do it.

[24] Port O'Brien - All We Could Do Was Sing
Best Track: I Woke Up Today
Rob's View: A folk-pop gem. Maybe not quite as immediate as other bands in this genre (Fleet Foxes) but no less worthy of your time.

[23] The Killers - Day & Age
Best Track: Losing Touch
Rob's View: 'Sam's Town' saw The Killers evoking the spirit of their home town Las Vegas. This album is them trying to expand and garner influences from wider pastures, whilst still keeping their synth-heavy 80's vibe. Luckily for them they know what they're doing and on this album they've pulled it off.

[22] School of Seven Bells - Alpinisms
Best Track: Half Asleep
Rob's View: In a year when Secret Machines' third album was released it was a surprise that it was overshadowed by this band featuring one of their ex-members. Synth, heavy guitars and haunting female vocals make this an essential listen.
AWARD: Best Album Art, 2nd Place

[21] Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
Best Track: Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa
Rob's View: Simple guitars underpinned with african influenced rhythms and featuring great sing-along vocals this album must be the most fun of the year.

[20] The Last Shadow Puppets - The Age of the Understatement
Best Track: Calm Like You
Rob's View: Proof, if it was needed, of Alex Turner's great talent and lyrical prolificness [sic]. Alongside sweeping orchestrations from the great Owen Pallett, there's no way this could have gone wrong.

[19] Why? - Alopecia
Best Track: Fatalist Palmistry
Rob's View: Why aren't there more hip hop indie rock bands like Why? Why indeed! If they could all produce lyrics as funny, self-depricating and witty as Jonathan “Yoni” Wolf then there would be no need for any other genre of music. Of course, they can't.
AWARD: Best Album Art, 5th Place

[18] Okkervil River - The Stand-Ins
Best Track: Starry Stairs
Rob's View: Could be viewed as left-overs from 'The Stage Names' but there's a lot more to it than that. Will Sheff's potent vocals are intact as well as his ingenious wordplay. They sound great even without Jonathan Meiburg. Most of the songs cannot be faulted, so why so low? Unfortunately there's only 8 actual tracks on this album and from here on in every album is virtually without fault.
AWARD: Best Album Art, 3rd Place

[17] The Gaslight Anthem - The '59 Sound
Best Track: Miles Davis and the Cool
Rob's View: Could be lumped in with the current pop-punk scene but these guys have a lot more to offer. This album is full of great imagery, nostalgia and insanely catchy hooks. I also think that if The National made a punk album, this might be what it would sound like...

[16] The Walkmen - You & Me
Best Track: In the New Year
Rob's View: The guitar on this album sounds like it's being played from deep inside a well, and at times vocalist Hamilton Leithauser seems to be down there with it. A much more mature album than they've previosuly produced and the perfect soundtrack to a good drinking session.

[15] Conor Oberst - Conor Oberst
Best Track: Lenders in the Temple
Rob's View: This album was recorded in sunny Mexico in what must have been a fun trip for Conor and his Mystic Valley Band. Although he was on holiday he certainly wasn't slacking off and on this album he shows how he's matured and made what was for me at least, the soundtrack to the summer (and this one was released in August).

[14] The Hold Steady - Stay Positive
Best Track: Lord, I'm Discouraged
Rob's View: Fantastic guitar riffs, check. Craig Finn's American drawl, check. Satirical lyrics detailing the lives of the losers of America, check. References to the Mississippi river, Ybor City and being positive, check. It's got all the makings of another great album by The Hold Steady.

[13] Death Cab For Cutie - Narrow Stairs
Best Track: Cath...
Rob's View: On their last album 'Plans' Death Cab tried to pick up the atmosphere and go for a sunshine sound on every track to mixed results. 'Narrow Stairs' sees them back at their brooding best and producing some of their darkest material to date.
[Read Live Review]

[12] Wolf Parade - At Mount Zoomer
Best Track: California Dreamer
Rob's View: On their first album they kept the songs short, but here Wolf Parade try to make most of the songs a mini-epic, and to be fair they have done a good job.
AWARD: Worst Album Art, 4th Place

[11] Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight
Best Track: The Twist
Rob's View: Is it just me or are there a lot of good Scottish bands at the moment? These guys are probably the cream of the crop for me at the moment. The songs reveal some depth whilst the songs are simple and will keep your foot tapping throughout.

[10] Man Man - Rabbit Habits
Best Track: Top Drawer
Rob's View: The first half of this album is brilliantly catastrophic whilst the second half reveals a brooding side to this hyper-active band from Philadelphia. The characters in their stories are given colour through the excellent use of xylophones, violins and all-encompassing vocals.
[Read Live Review]

[09] Los Campesinos! - Hold On Now, Youngster
Best Track : You! Me! Dancing!
Rob's View: Shouty, twee, energetic and completely lovable. It's only a matter of time before you get the Los Campesinos! bug.

[08] Deerhunter - Microcastle/Weird Era Cont.
Best Track: Nothing Ever Happened
Rob's View: They stripped back the distortion and overall noise to reveal some great pop songs underneath. This may have been to the dismay of some older fans but it was to the delight of thousands of new ones.

[07] Shearwater - Rook
Best Track: The Snow Leopard
Rob's View: After Will Sheff's departure it was up to Jonathan Meiburg to prove that he was worthy of captaining the Shearwater ship, and he has done so most admirably here. Delicate ballads interspersed with foot stomping rockers (and one horrible interlude) all woven brilliantly together with Meiburg's haunting voice. This album is a must hear.
[Read Live Review]

[06] Department of Eagles - In Ear Park
Best Track: Floating on the Lehigh
Rob's View: This is Daniel Rossen from Grizzly Bear's other band, although they don't sound all that much different. The main difference is that the songs are less dense and lacking the harmonies that Grizzly Bear has. But what it lacks it makes up for in beauty and overall is a very fulfilling listen.

[05] The Raconteurs - Consolers of the Lonely
Best Track: Many Shades of Black
Rob's View: The Raconteurs deliver more of what they gave us on their first album, namely southern rock with edgy guitars and fantastic dual vocals from Jack White and Brendan Benson.

[04] The Dodos - Visiter
Best Track: Paint The Rust
Rob's View: At the core of it there's just two of them, one on acoustic guitar and one on drums but yet they still manage to make fourteen tracks that have their own individual sound and style. And all of them are fantastic! You have to hear it to believe it.
AWARD: Worst Album Title, 2nd Place
[Read Live Review]

[03] Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
Best Track: White Winter Hymnal
Rob's View: You have to have been hiding under a rock on Mars to have not heard of Fleet Foxes by now. With their pitch perfect harmonies and utterly divine pop-folk melodies they've captured the hearts of music lovers everywhere, and they utterly deserve it.
[Read Live Review]

[02] TV on the Radio - Dear Science
Best Track: Dancing Choose
Rob's View: Gone are the multi layered mid-tempo songs of 'Return to Cookie Mountain', here we have an upbeat dance-rock-soul hybrid that's compelling from beginning to end. The band's guitarist-come-producer has sprinkled his genius all over this one and has whipped up a magical result helped greatly by his fellow band members and the fantastic voice of Tunde Adebimpe.
[Read Full Album Review]

[01] Portishead - Third
Best Track: Threads
Rob's View: Long time no see Portishead! Ten years absence and you've been sorely missed, thankfully it has been worth the wait. A dark, atmospheric and haunting album the engrosses the listener. Beth Gibbons vocals sound as bold as ever and yet become strained or weak at the perfect moments. This is probably the best album that a band ending with 'head' has released in the last 7 years, but you didn't hear it from me.
AWARD: Worst Album Title, Joint 3rd Place
[Read Live Review]

Most Disappointing Albums of 2008

[03] Lightspeed Champion - Falling Off The Lavender Bridge
[02] of Montreal - Skeletal Lamping
[01] Ryan Adams & the Cardinals - Cardinology

Top 10 Live Performances of 2008

[10] Man Man @ Cargo [Read Review]
[09] Wolf Parade @ Electric Ballroom
[08] Spoon @ Scala
[07] Portishead @ Hammersmith Apollo [Read Review]
[06] Shearwater @ St. Giles Church [Read Review]
[05] Death Cab for Cutie @ Electric Ballroom [Read Review]
[04] Okkervil River @ Shepherd's Bush Empire
[03] Ryan Adams & the Cardinals @ Brixton Academy
[02] Radiohead @ Victoria Park (Night 2)
[01] Fleet Foxes @ ULU [Read Review]

Bloc Party - The Forum - 30th September 2008

2008-10-01T13:38:00.005+01:00

On the 21st of August this year Bloc Party released their third album 'Intimacy', only three days after it was announced, exclusively via their website. It is, for the most part, a clear step away from the sound that made them popular on their first two albums and certainly a very ambitious project for the band. Tonight is the first home town show they have played since releasing the album and without doubt an exciting prospect for them, as it is the first real chance they will get to see how their new songs will be received in the live arena.

I'd definitely give a penny for their thoughts on how the gig went from their perspective. Here was mine.

Kicking off the night with a new song, namely the clunker that is 'Halo' from 'Intimacy' was definitely a false start. This was not much improved by the atrocious sound levels that reduced it to not much more than a mesh of noise. Shortly followed by songs from their previous two albums in 'Hunting For Witches' and 'Positive Tension' the game was raised a little but these two regular crowd pleasers were still restrained by the sound quality, although the majority of the members of the audience seemed not to care and continued to have a good time.

Any good done by this double header was soon canceled out by the second new song of the night 'Talons'. This is to be Bloc Party's next single, but this performance was not a good advertisement for it. The sound levels seemed to reach a new low at this point, rendering the song almost unrecognisable but the crowd proceeded to bounce along to this jumble of muck regardless.

For me the performance really got going with the next track, and my personal favourite from the new album; 'Signs'. The first slow song of the night and the first new song that the crowd actually seemed to recognise and be interested in. A beautiful vocal from Kele Okereke over the simple xylophone line played by bassist Gordon Moakes combined to make a rousing performance of the poignant ballad.

This was built upon by an excellent double header of old crowd favourites 'Song For Clay' and 'Banquet', the former running straight into the latter without a moment to catch your breath. Now the gig was really going.

Unfortunately not for long. Once again the momentum gained was rapidly diminished as another new song was played, this time the culprit was 'Better Than Heaven', which is one of my personal favourites from the new album, but it's safe to say it didn't translate to the live stage very well. This saw a record number of people heading to the bar and a new low for the night. Even Okereke didn't seem to believe in the performance. Whereas normally he plays up very well to the audience and gets them going, during this song he constantly looked down or away from the crowd.

Following hotluy on the heels of 'Better Than Heaven' were the harsh tones of latest single 'Mercury', which served another puncture to this rapidly deflating performance. Sampled vocals that were audibly out of time made this song that is so far removed from their older material hard to bear. After the song finished there were audible boos amongst the lukewarm cheers.

They finished out the set with four older songs which appeased the crowd and got them active and dancing once more. These included a beautiful performance of 'This Modern Love' and a spirited rendition of 'Like Eating Glass'. This is what the majority of the crowd had paid to see. But the pattern of the night continued, so just as the energy was reaching its peak it plummeted once more as they left the stage for what seemed like a ridiculously long period of time.

Finally they returned to the stage to play the opening track from their latest album, 'Ares'. Unfortunately the live version still includes the asinine lyrics such as "We dance to the sound of sirens". I may dislike the song, but I can't deny that it got the crowd going again instantly. Channelling the energy of Pendulum, Bloc Party were a different kind of beast during this bass-heavy, dance infused song. The rave vibes continued with a performance of hit single 'Flux' (with a brief detour at 'Price of Gas'). The crowd was visibly confused when Okereke sung the lyrics to Prince's 'I Would Die 4 U' over the start of Flux, and were audibly relieved when the actual song kicked in. They were probably just glad that it wasn't another new song.

The night finished predictably with Bloc Party's classic single 'Helicopter'. An unsurprising end to an average encore. After this the house lights came up and the music came on, all the regular signs that the gig is over.

But it wasn't.

Half the crowd had probably already left the building by the time Bloc Party surprisingly returned to the stage for a second encore. Okereke thanked the crowd and offered that they would play whatever was shouted into the microphone first. He then proceeded to throw the microphone into the crowd. After a mad scuffle the reply came back in a resounding chant form "Skeleton! Skeleton!" ('Skeleton' is an old b-side that has become a fan favourite and has been rarely played, but the times it has have gone down it Bloc Party fan folk-lore.)

"We haven't played this for a while," Okereke stated defensively before starting. He needn't have worried the band churned out a fantastic performance of the song that saw the hard-core fans down the front going more insane than at any other point in the night. To say they redeemed themselves in my eyes is an understatement.

Overall it was a strange night, full of highs and lows. It may seem like the new songs are at fault for the lows but I think it was the crowd reaction towards them that was more to blame. Overall Bloc Party are still a solid live band, the new songs are going to need time to grow into fan favourites, and a lot of repeated plays to make them succesful in a live situation. But until then they still have their old songs to lean back on, and that alone is just about worth the price of the ticket.

Rating: 6.8/10
Best Part: The unexpected return to the stage and even more unexpected performance of 'Skeleton'.

I'm sure you've all heard of Bloc Party, but here are some of my favourite new songs and b-sides that you may not have heard that you can download:

'Skeleton' (b-side)
'Signs' (from 'Intimacy')
'Better Than Heaven' (from 'Intimacy')
'Selfish Son' (b-side)
'England' (b-side)

Latitude Festival 2008 - My Top 5 Musical Acts

2008-07-22T17:27:00.009+01:00

Latitude is a festival that I'd heard a lot about from several different sources, and everything that I'd been told about it was positive. I couldn't wait to go. The best thing about it was that it lived up to expectations and more!
Set in an arena that is far different to the vast flat expanses of larger festivals it really is like a little wonderland with woods, lakes and wildlife.
The choice of things to see is almost endless from the cabaret to theatre, you can barely walk fifty yards without coming across something of interest.
Anyway what I really went for was the music, which had a great mix of established artists and up and coming acts. Here are my top 5 performances of the weekend.

Artists appear in order of appearance, not in order of preference.

Broken Records - Sunrise Arena - 1.30pm, Friday 18th July

My first experience of this intimate stage set in the woodlands and a memory that will probably stay with me for a good while. I didn't know what to expect from the seven-piece band from Edinburgh but they excited and enthralled me from beginning to end of their set, which seemed far too short.
Using a variety of instruments including accordion, mandolin and glockenspiel they played through their small ensemble of songs which combined influences including Arcade Fire and Jeff Buckley producing epic and affecting folk-rock music.
They only got twenty minutes on stage, but that was more than enough to get me excited about this band and proclaim myself an immediate fan. So far they have only released one EP but I can't wait to hear more from these guys who could be the future of British indie music.

Elbow - Obelisk Arena - 8.00pm , Saturday 19th July

Elbow have been a band that I've eternally been meaning to listen to but never found the time. That will now change.
Taking to the main stage just before the headliners Sigur Rós they seemed to me to be a well suited warm up for that evening but they turned out to be so much more. They really made the stage their own playing their mellow anthems in the fading sunlight made for a perfect summer's evening. Guy Garvey's beautiful vocals seemed to float on the light breeze and pleasantly into the crowd's ears.
Switching easily between moments of admirable musical arrangements to high flying sing-along choruses it included everything that could be desired from a band playing at a festival.
The highlight was the finale of 'One Day Like This' which saw the whole crowd chanting the "So throw those curtains wide/One day like this a year'd see me right" refrain for several minutes over the beautiful string part.
A truly memorable performances from one of Britain's most underrated bands.

Sigur Rós - Obelisk Arena - 9.30pm, Saturday 19th July

Exactly two weeks since I last saw them, they played the same set but such is the power and the beauty of their songs and live show that it was still absolutely stunning.
Once again Jónsi Birgisson's vocals were spot on changing from fragile to powerful or harsh all perfectly fitting with the mood of the moment.
The songs may all be individual pieces of work but something about a Sigur Rós performance sometimes makes you feel that it's all one epic and carefully crafted piece of art that leads you through an hour and a half with more emotion and excitement than your average Hollywood blockbuster would provide.
The band clearly feel the same way as they always return to the stage after they have finished with their supporting members to take a well-deserved bow.

Okkervil River - Uncut Arena - 7.25pm, Sunday 20th July

I've been listening to this Texan band almost non-stop for quite a while now and I was ridiculously excited to get the chance to see them at Latitude, which was definitely an unexpected surprise.
Thankfully they lived up to expectations. Playing songs mostly from their most recent album 'The Stage Names' they spanned all their different moods in such a short set. From the catchy indie pop song (The Latest Toughs) to the rocker (Unless It's Kicks) and my personal favourite of theirs, the fragile ballad (A Girl in Port).
Lead singer Will Sheff seemed to be held in place only by his duty to sing. Any time he could get away from the mic he would, to go rock out elsewhere. Climbing up on the drum platform or heading to one of his fellow band members to enjoy the moment with them he really put his all into the performance.
The band were solid and tight layering all their sounds together to bring their music into full focus to the crowd's delight.
Unfortunately in such a short space of time they couldn't fit in the great longer songs such as 'So Come Back, I Am Waiting' or 'Westfall', but their set was almost pure gold nontheless and I will definitely see them again as soon as possible.

Interpol - Obelisk Arena - 9.30pm, Sunday 20th July

The Sunday night headliners, and closers of the festival may not have been to everyone's taste, but for anyone who is even the slightest Interpol fan there is definitely something in their live show to keep you watching.
They came on stage as usual sharply dressed in expensive suits, which certainly made those of us in the crowd who had been sleeping in tents for the past three nights feel under-dressed!
Their style in terms of clothing also transfers across to their style in music. Playing simple rock songs that are lifted to another plain by brilliant bass lines or subtle guitar lines there is not a cooler band in the world.
They play their songs live with ease and grace, barely stopping between songs. They mixed their set evenly between their three albums and included all of the crowd favourites such as 'Evil' and 'PDA'.
When the weather turned sour towards the end of their set and it started to rain, moods were not dampened, it just seemed to suit the moment and make it all the more special particularly for the grand finale of 'Stella Was A Diver and She Was Always Down'.
Overall it was a great end to a fantastic weekend!

Rock Werchter 2008 - My Top 5

2008-07-10T17:23:00.015+01:00

The 34th edition of the Belgian festival was my second experience of European festivals. It excelled in all categories including line-up, performances, crowd attitude and general atmosphere. It is probably the best festival I have ever been to, and here are my top five acts of the weekend along with a little blurb to explain why I have chosen them.

Artists appear in order of performance, not in order of preference.

The National - Pyramid Marquee - Thursday 3rd July, 7.00pm

The first real stand-out performance of the weekend, and the first time for me seeing a band that have become one of my very favourites over the past year.
Some sound issues at the start didn't seem to phase them as they played confidently through their hour-long set consisting solely of songs from their last two stand-out albums, 'Alligator' and 'Boxer'. The guitars sounded pitch perfect during more delicate songs such as 'Secret Meeting' and switched effortlessly to crunching riffs for songs such as 'Mistaken For Strangers'. The horn section, which was barely audible during the muddy sound of the first few songs made themselves vital during 'Fake Empire' especially during the uplifting outro. The violinist put on a great show switching between playing traditionally and plucking it like a guitar, often moving to centre stage to show off his talents.
Amid this torrent of talent was Matt Berninger, the vocalist who, for me, stole the show. Cupping the microphone as if cupping the face of a loved one to croon in his low baritone during some songs then screaming out his life until his throat must have been red raw on songs such as 'Abel' and the closing 'Mr. November'. A truly emotional, passionate and breath-taking performance.

My Morning Jacket - Pyramid Marquee - Friday 4th July, 4.45pm

Handed a mid-afternoon slot and charged with the task of livening up a crowd full of people who were eagerly anticipating Neil Young's headline slot that evening may seem like a daunting task, but not for My Morning Jacket.
Touted as the best live band in the world by all and sundry, including Neil Young himself they certainly showed us why this afternoon. Condensing their set which usually spans over two hours into a short one hour slot may seem like a waste to any hard-core MMJ fans, but for me as a newcomer it was the perfect dose. None of Jim James' ranged emotions were lost on me, from the delicate falsettos to head banging theatrics, I, along with the rest of the crowd lapped it all up.
The set spanned a mountain range of noises rising and falling from epic rock outs to dainty melodies.
Overall it was a great introduction to a band that I've been listening to a lot since I got home. I will certainly be going to see their full-length live extravaganza next time they grace our shores.

Sigur Rós - Main Stage - Saturday 5th July, 9.35pm

The Icelandic foursome recently released their fifth LP of melancholy rock which anyone with half an ear can tell is as beautiful as any other piece of art in the world.
Tonight they are joined on stage by a whole host of supporting musicians including an all female string quartet and a fully equipped brass section.
They draw from all of their back catalogue except for the debut album Von. As I have already mentioned they are more recognised for their slower and more downbeat songs, but tonight it's the more upbeat tracks that go down better, it is a festival after all! In particular 'Inní Mér Syngur Vitleysingur' and fan-favourite 'Hoppipolla' shimmer as they undulate through several minutes of glorious neo-pop. Recent single 'Gobbledigook' sees all of the supporting musicians take to the stage in order to bang drums rhythmically in time with lead-singer Bjirgisson's acoustic guitar and on top of it all, an explosion of confetti over the crowd for the finale of the song.
It is a triumph for any band that doesn't sing in English to become popular outside of their home country and tonight Sigur Rós bask in that glory. Even though it is brief it was still thoroughly enjoyable.

Radiohead - Main Stage - Sunday 6th July, 12.30am

Following Sigur Rós on stage were my favourite band in the world, the almighty Radiohead.
Thom Yorke and Ed O'Brien have both admitted that this was probably their worst show of the European tour. Loose performances, forgotten lyrics, technical problems and just general tour-weariness were the cause, nevertheless I loved every minute of it.
Having seen them perform almost perfectly two nights in a row during daylight the week before it was nice to see them in the dark and take in the magnificent lighting rig in it's full glory. I also feel they were being hard on themselves, it was still an extremely enjoyable performance, and hearing the mistakes made this performance different from the others, which is quite nice when it's your fifth time of seeing them live!
Rolling out the festival-friendly "hits" such as 'Just' and 'Paranoid Android' was always going to be the case but they also played some fan favourites such as 'Climbing Up The Walls' and 'The Gloaming'.
I'm sure I'm not the only one who enjoyed it, the festival seemed to be packed with people wearing newly-bought Radiohead t-shirts the next day!

The Raconteurs - Main Stage - Sunday 6th July, 6.15pm

Handed the early headlining slot "Jack White's other band" gave a master-class in performing live.
One of the tightest musical performances I have ever seen (something The White Stripes are widely noted as not doing), they exhibited all of the same positives as My Morning Jacket a couple of days earlier. The only slight hiccup coming when Benson addressed the crowd as "Brussels", but nobody seemed to mind.
Riffing through early tracks warming the crowd up delightfully before focusing the crowd's attention in the early evening sunshine for slower ballads such as 'Your Blue Veins'.
The vocals switched effortlessly between White and Benson who both exhibit similar vocal styles which works brilliantly when they combine during powerful moments of songs.
White, always the entertainer encouraged Belgium to "wake up" and sparked up one of the weekend's greatest moments of crowd participation for the ending of popular single 'Steady As She Goes'.
Overall it was another great performance by a band who had always been on my musical radar but I have never given the appropriate attention to. Thanks to this showcase I certainly have belatedly corrected this oversight.

The full list of bands that I saw this weekend, in order of appearance was:

Day 1:

Modern Skirts
Vampire Weekend
The National
Lenny Kravitz
R.E.M.

Day 2:

Slayer
Ben Folds
My Morning Jacket
The Verve
Neil Young
Digitalism

Day 3:

Galactic
MGMT
Editors
Kings of Leon
Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals
Sigur Rós
Radiohead

Day 4:

John Butler Trio
Panic At The Disco
Mark Ronson
The Raconteurs
Kaiser Chiefs
Beck

Tokyo Police Club - Scala - 18th June 2008

2008-06-19T23:06:00.012+01:00

Canadian quartet Tokyo Police Club first came to the attention of music fans in 2006 when they released their critically acclaimed debut EP 'A Lesson in Crime' which consisted of seven tracks that flew by in a very short but thoroughly enjoyable sixteen minutes. It was the definition of short and sweet.

Two years on they finally released their long-awaited full-length debut 'Elephant Shell', although at twenty-eight minutes long calling it a full-length is generous, but what it lacks in quantity it certainly makes up for in quality; the energy that endeared them to their fans is still evident here.

It is supporting this album that brings the band to London tonight, on the last date of their British tour.

The youthful foursome take to the stage and singer/bassist Dave Monks gives a goofy grin and "Hello" before they launch straight into 'Graves' from the new album.

The second track is popular b-side 'Box'. It's obvious that they are more than willing to draw from all of their sources of songs to make the gig as long and enjoyable as possible.

The top of the show consists mainly of songs from the new album which all go down a treat but when the opening chords and chanting of 'Your English is Good' come into play this turns from an awkward rhythmic knee-jerking affair to a full on rock show. The crowd bounces wildly turning the cramped room into a tiny festival arena.

From here on the crowd doesn't let up the energy and the band are in great form. They mix it up with newer songs, a cover of The Rentals' 'Friends of P' and songs from 'A Lesson in Crime', to the crowd's obvious delight. Only one of the songs stretches beyond the three-minute mark so they come in rapid-fire with barely a breath to spare before the next hit.

The band are all very active on stage, making full use of the spacious stage by swanning about whilst playing, as if to mock those of us who are being crushed down at the front. Nevertheless the crowd do their best to pull their arms free and clap along at the slightest suggestion from the band, most notably on the mid-set highlight 'Citizens of Tomorrow'.

The most energetic of the band members is Graham Wright. Despite playing the most constricting instrument he manages to expend ample amounts of kinetic energy on each song, at times when he is enthusiastically banging his tambourine his arms seem nothing more than a blur! However whenever he gets a moment to rest he is the complete opposite of this, taking time to sip from a glass of wine which he has brought to the stage with him.

Tokyo Police Club are more well known for their faster songs but for me the highlight of the night comes in the slower, reverb drenched rendition of 'Listen to the Math' which is played towards the end of the show. Monks croons into the microphone the song which details becoming a father and raising a daughter. On a night consisting mainly of jagged guitar lines played over rapid pounding drum rhythms this song cuts away from the rest and sticks in the memory for longer.

After this 'Be Good' finishes the main set before the band wander off-stage. The time they spend off stage is correctly proportioned to the length of their songs, with my estimation being around ten seconds. They are keen to get back onto the stage and see of the end of their British tour in style. They play a new song, cleverly entitled 'New New Song' before finishing with the very song that introduced us to Tokyo Police Club 'Cheer It On', the first track from 'A Lesson In Crime', and the perfect way to see out the night.

Rating: 8.2/10
Best Part: "Operator!? Get me the President of the World! THIS IS AN EMERGENCY!" - 'Cheer It On'

To see the rest of my photos from this gig, click here

If you haven't heard any Tokyo Police Club songs, here are some you can check out:

Cheer It On (from 'A Lesson In Crime' EP)
Citizens of Tomorrow (from 'A Lesson In Crime' EP)
Box (from 'Smith' EP)
In A Cave (from 'Elephant Shell')
Tessellate (from 'Elephant Shell')
Your English Is Good (from 'Elephant Shell')
Listen to the Math (from 'Elephant Shell')

The set list:

Fleet Foxes - ULU - 11th June 2008

2008-06-12T12:33:00.011+01:00

Whenever it was in their lifetimes that the members of Fleet Foxes heard of 'using the voice as an instrument' they clearly took it to heart. Their releases thus far have been nothing but joyous folk pop with the power of the voice being used to great effect on all tracks.

Tonight they start with their strongest suit, kicking off with three-part a cappella harmonies that usher in the the shining sound of 'Sun Giant' a song that is a tribute to the sun which fuels all life and the things that inspires Fleet Foxes' organic sound. This quickly rolls into 'Sun It Rises', the opening track of their recently released eponymous debut album. The band kicks in and the foxes are in full flow, pitch-perfect vocals over the top of simple and beautiful folk tunes.

The set tonight consists of songs from their recent LP and also the 'Sun Giant' EP, both of which have been released this year (strangely the EP was recorded after the LP but released before it).

The band are on fantastic form in every way possible. Vocally they remain strong throughout whether they split the vocals into different parts to layer several melodies into their songs as they do on 'English House' or combining them to create a rainbow of noise. Even guitarist Skyler Skjelset who is the only member of the band that doesn't sing is mouthing along the words enthusiastically as he plays.

When lead singer Robin Pecknold is left alone on stage with just his acoustic guitar to play stripped down ballads such as 'Oliver James' he manages to put raw power and emotion into the songs using his voice, which has a range and a certain distilled purity that encapsulates everything that's brilliant about the band. These are heights that many of today's new bands strive to reach and fail miserably.

Pecknold himself is only 22 but you wouldn't know it either from his heavily bearded appearance or the from the maturity in his lyrics and songs. Of course the other members all played their crucial part in bringing his visions to life and show many of the same qualities.

Tonight though, their youthfulness is on full show as they seem truly bewildered and beside themselves with happiness that this many people would come to see them, especially in London, several thousand miles from their homes in Seattle. During the cheers the band members are visibly shaking their heads in disbelief the the reception they are receiving. Despite this they are not over awed by the situation and are perfectly happy to partake in some banter with the audience, which is one of the glorious things about playing in intimate venues. It's unlikely that Fleet Foxes will be playing venues of this size for much longer so this a real treat.

The crowd for their part is perfect, giving the band extremely handsome applause for each and every song before falling perfectly silent and attentive ready for the next song. During the brief moments of mid-song silence and the quieter acoustic songs you could have heard a pin drop. All 1000 people in the audience held their collective breath with rapt attention are hung on every note, lusting for what's coming next.

They finish the main set with a bombastic rendition of EP highlight 'Mykonos', extending the ending to finish as they started, with more powerful harmonies.

The band are off stage for barely twenty seconds before Robin comes bounding back on and picks up his acoustic guitar for a rousing rendition of 'Tiger Mountain Peasant Song'. After this the rest of the band rejoin their leader on stage to finish with 'Blue Ridge Mountains'. The band thank the crowd profusely and their gratitude is returned in kind. The band are smiling from ear to ear as they leave the stage and so is everybody else in the room.

Folk music may not be as popular today as it has been in the past but if there's anybody who's going to bring back the recognition that it deserves there's nobody more likely to accomplish the job than Pecknold and his merry men.

Rating: 9.6/10
Best Part: Harmonies, harmonies, harmonies, it's all about those harmonies!!

If you haven't heard any of Fleet Foxes then you must check them out. Both their EP and album have been recently released and are worth every penny. Here are a few tracks you can download to whet your appetite:

White Winter Hymnal (from 'Fleet Foxes')
Your Protector (from 'Fleet Foxes')
Blue Ridge Mountains (from 'Fleet Foxes')
English House (from 'Sun Giant' EP)
Mykonos (from 'Sun Giant' EP)

See the rest of my photos by clicking here

Video: 'Oliver James' (sound quality is ok since it's an acoustic song)

The Dodos - Hoxton Square Bar and Kitchen - 2nd June 2008

2008-06-03T16:51:00.014+01:00

Tonight is the Dodos' first ever performance in London, their outstanding second album 'Visiter' isn't due out in England for over a month, but the amount of praise and reputation that it's been getting via the internet is enough to draw a sell-out crowd tonight. They seem nervous as they take to the stage but they needn't be, the crowd is excited and maybe even feel privileged to be at the show of one of modern music's best kept secrets, which probably won't be a secret for much longer.

Meric Long, looking like an indie Tom DeLonge with twice as much talent, sits down on a battered looking wooden chair and is instantly ready to play. They start the show with a few songs from their debut LP including standout track 'Trades and Tariffs'. Logan Kroeber on drums sporting what can only be described as a "porno tash" adds backing vocals firming up the songs.

Early on in the show Long shows off his multi-instrumental skills by producing a trombone from the side of the stage and playing a haunting solo. He also uses his looping pedals to great effects to create an eerie backing that leads into the next song.

The crowd take this all in with warm applause for each track, but it's not until Kroeber's big drums, which are characteristic of the fantastic sophomore album and signify the beginning of 'Fools' that the crowd gets truly excited. When the crowd chants along with the song's floating chorus Long seems genuinely surprised and a smile instantly takes to his face.

From here on the majority of 'Visiter' is played with gusto and passion, singer and drummer seem to have a telepathic bond, managing to keep time perfectly through their sweeping and ever changing range of songs. There are complaints from the crowd that the vocals are inaudible and Long is keen to keep the audience happy so does his best to tell the sound tech to increase the vocals to little avail. The vocal levels finally seem to be fixed just in time for one of their finest songs 'Red and Purple', unfortunately it seems that the guitar sound has been sacrificed for this. The slight problem doesn't slow The Dodos' one bit, Kroeber's tribal influenced drums are solid as ever and pin the song down keeping the crowd enraptured. The duo seem determined to enjoy their first experience of the English capital.

They are often joined on stage by Joe Haener who is there to add a few additional tinkles on xylophone from time to time, but mostly to add to the noise by banging on a trash can rhythmically in time with the music.

A colossal 'Paint the Rust' is the highlight of the night, all three performers playing their hearts out to one of their rockiest songs. Long rocks back and forth like a manic old man in a rocking chair whilst strumming his guitar, just about managing to steady himself enough to get out the vocals when the time comes. Kroeber makes plenty of noise despite not having a bass drum (a tambourine taped to the bottom of his foot is preferred) and Haener, as ever, is banging on the trash can with as much strength as he can muster. It's a rousing performance.

When the time comes for the main set to end, the band avoids walking off stage through the crowd only to make them call them back on again, they don't have super sized egos yet. Instead they sit at the side for a few seconds soaking up the applause before returning to their instruments.

At the request of the crowd they play the sublime 'Ashley' which is a definite highlight of the night. Haener is more constructive in this song, adding haunting atmospheric keyboards to the delightful tune. Long's vocals are spot on and take the song to another level.

Video: The Dodos - 'Ashley'

Without fully stopping between songs they move straight into 'The Ball' a song from their first album. It gradually builds up into a nice cacophony of rhythmic strumming and drumming before returning back down to earth for the members to play out the end of the show. It's a nice way to finish.

At the end the band are all smiles as they leave the stage, but their job is not done yet, they're off to the back of the room to sell their merchandise!

Rating: 7.8/10
Best Part: Band and crowd alike rocking out during 'Paint the Rust' and enjoying it thoroughly

See the rest of my photos from the gig by clicking HERE

If you haven't heard of The Dodos here are some of my favourite songs for you to download:

Trades and Tariffs (from Beware of the Maniacs)
Red and Purple (from Visiter)
Fools (from Visiter)
Joe's Waltz (from Visiter)
Paint the Rust (from Visiter)
Jodi (from Visiter)
Ashley (from Visiter)

or download the whole of 'Visiter' which is certainly one of the best albums of 2008 and I highly recommend it, by clicking HERE (.zip file)

Video: The Dodos - 'It's That Time Again'

Man Man - Cargo - 13th May 2008

2008-05-14T16:07:00.014+01:00

It's disconcerting seeing the gear of a band like Man Man being set up right in front of your eyes as you stand in the front row. With as much gear as they have it seems that the amount of space they have to move on this small stage is diminishing so rapidly that you wonder if by the end they will be able to fit themselves on! It's not solely musical instruments that are set up on the stage but about half the time setting up is spent adornng the stage with various random objects such as random bicycle bells, toy rabbits or miniature furbies. The odd plastic snake can be spotted in various places too. If this doesn't immediately strike you as different then I don't know what will. There's something else strangely familiar about their roadies as well...

Of course they are their own roadies, but it's not until they retake to the stage in their all white stage outfits and have decorated their faces with war paint that they become Honus Honus, Pow Pow, Sergei Sogay, Chang Wang and Critter Crat.

The next hour or so that they play turns out to be one of the most ridiculous shows that I have ever seen. It's hard for me to describe exactly what goes on, but a recipe for a Man Man gig would definitely include one part rock show, one part religious sermon and one part tribal ceremony. Mix them all together with a whole lot of energy and sweat and you're getting close.

They run through a whole host of songs, mainly from their last two albums 'Rabbit Habits' and 'Six Demon Bag'. They don't stop for a second between songs to even get out a single "hello" lest the momentum falter.

Throughout the show lead singer Honus Honus cannot keep still, either rocking backwards and forwards violently on his "stool" (merely a box) whilst singing or jumping up and down all over said stool causing mayhem. None of the other members are any less enthusiastic in their performance, drummer Pow Pow, who unusually for a drummer is at the front of the stage, hits the drums with definite style and vigour throughout the night keeping the band members in time and the audience members highly entertained.

Most of their more energetic songs from their back catalogue are played and the range of musical instruments used by the other members of the band span from saxophones to xylophones in order to achieve a carnival-like atmosphere.

The most entertaining parts come when all five band members join together for one purpose and one purpose only: to make noise. This is sometimes in the form of joining together to chant or scream powerful vocals, another time they all pull out plastic toy horns and blow into them as hard as possible, but more often than not their method of noise making will include hitting something, anything to make a racket. Every member has access to drumsticks and is more than ready to play some sort of percussion when the time is right. Various kitchen pans around the stage are smashed adding to the din of noise, Pow Pow isn't satisfied with the drum kit in front of him or the random objects all around so often reaches into his box of tricks set on stage beside him to hit somthing in there. Honus Honus whacks the legs of his Rhodes piano so hard it's a wonder that it doesn't collapse. By the encore Critter Crat has no skin left on his personal drum because he has progressively gone about piercing it and then ripping it out, so is forced to just bash the rim in order to make noise for the final few songs. Even the crowd, including myself, gets to join in during the build up to 'The Ballad of Butter Beans'. Pow Pow offers us the opportunity to play with some of his toys and make as much noise as we can, great fun.

Despite all of this madness going on they don't just produce random noise, there is always a rhythm and a purpose for what they're doing and they know where they're going with it. Eye contact is important between members throughout the show which is probably why Honus Honus and Pow Pow sit facing each other at the front of the stage. This is the definition of controlled chaos, though at times that control seems equatable to that which a ten year old might have over a stampeding rhinoceros.

The only downside to all of this fun is that the lead vocals struggle to overcome the noise normally making them indecipherable and the high pitched backing vocals are more often than not drowned out completely.

However this is what makes the slower songs work well. There may not be as much energy, but for songs such as 'Gold Teeth' or the finale of 'Van Helsing Boombox' it's the words and melody that do the talking and now that we can actually hear them they can make these songs just as powerful as any of the others. Not that there isn't any percussion, standing right next to Pow Pow it is obvious that during these quieter moments that he is itching to hit something and will make noise by any means possible including shaking something, scraping something else or rolling around his sticks on the cymbals, as long as it doesn't intrude on the songs. For the most part these unorthodox methods of percussion add very nicely to the atmosphere.

The gig seems to go by in a flash, but by the end the whole crowd is worn out, but surely not as much as the band members who have put on an extremely entertaining show.

"Unique" is a word that is used to describe a lot of bands nowadays but when it comes to describing the works of Man Man and even more so their live act, it is has rarely been more justified. From the brilliant showmanship to the onstage freakouts, you will never see anything else quite like it.

Rating: 9.0/10
Best Part: The plethora of random instruments used

To see more of my photos from the gig click HERE

If you don't know any songs by Man Man (which is probably the vast majority of you) here are some of my favourites for you to download and check out:

The Ballad of Butter Beans (from 'Rabbit Habits')
Easy Eats or Dirty Doctor Galapagos (from 'Rabbit Habits')
Top Drawer (from 'Rabbit Habits')
Tunneling Through The Guy (from 'Six Demon Bag')
Van Helsing Boombox (from 'Six Demon Bag')
Black Mission Goggles (from 'Six Demon Bag')
Gold Teeth (from 'The Man In A Blue Turban With A Face')

Death Cab For Cutie - Electric Ballroom - 6th May 2008

2008-05-07T13:27:00.024+01:00

Seattle's Death Cab for Cutie first came to the attention of the general public around the release of 2003's Transatlanticism. Several of the tracks from this album were used in many popular American TV programs, namely The OC, within which Seth Cohen, one of the main characters was a self-confessed Death Cab superfan. They also appeared on the show in season two. From there they signed to Atlantic Records and released their first major label album Plans in 2005.

Tonight sees them in the middle of a short tour to promote the release of their second major label album Narrow Stairs, due out next week. The capacity of tonight's venue is a mere 1000, much smaller than they're used to (they return in July to play the 5000 capacity Brixton Academy) so it's only the real hard core fans who have grabbed tickets for this one, ensuring that the atmosphere will be amazing.

They arrive on stage promptly at 9pm and with nothing but a cheerful 'Hi' they get straight to business. The opening double salvo of the undulating 'Bixby Canyon Bridge' and the anthemic 'The New Year' is a powerful one. It might seem out of place for 1000 people to be yelling 'So this is the new year!' at the beginning of May, but tonight it seems natural. This is Death Cab's world and we're all being sucked into it.

The band are in full swing from the off, lead singer Ben Gibbard never seems to stop hopping from foot to foot as if he's standing on hot coals whilst they bust out several their loveable indie tunes from their now sizeable back catalogue. They even find time to throw in non-album track 'Photobooth' for the fans. Several tracks from the forthcoming album are dropped in along the way and all go down very well, the only slight downer is the mellow 'Talking Bird' which works nicely in the context of the album but seems rather boring onstage. It's not a problem, we all needed a moment to catch our collective breath anyway.

The tempo is upped to a new high when Death Cab jump into a frenetic rendition of 'Soul Meets Body' which has Gibbard hopping more madly than before and the crowd are enjoying every second of it. This is immediately followed by the mid-set highlight; a double header of 'I Will Follow You Into the Dark' and 'I Will Possess Your Heart'. The former sees Gibbard on his own in a spellbinding singalong that is evidence of the power that one man and and an acoustic guitar can create when everything is done right (see video). The latter is an eight-minute epic and also happens to be the lead-off single from the new album. The fact that Death Cab would even write a song expanding beyond the eight minute mark let alone release it as a single is testament to how they have grown greatly in confidence and as a band over the years. This confidence is clearly well founded tonight and it oozes out of them onstage. Seeing these two songs juxtaposed mid set is a great snapshot of the two extremes that Death Cab's songs can reach, and they manage to hit just about every single peak in between.

Video: 'I Will Follow You Into The Dark'

'We Laugh Indoors' is an extremely enjoyable surprise towards the end of the main set, and at this point it couldn't be clearer that the band is having the time of their lives. Guitarist Chris Walla mouths along all the words while he plays as if he is just another die-hard fan in the crowd, whilst Nicholas Harmer thrashes around at centre stage, the heavily bearded bassist is seemingly lost amid the euphoria.

When the band leaves the stage its hard for me to see them go, and it seems the same for everyone else in the crowd. Each and every person is kicking, stamping, clapping and bursting lungs in cheering to get them back on to the stage. This is not a request, this is an order.

They return to the stage to bring an encore of the finest quality, starting off with my personal favourite 'Title & Registration', which is another great singalong moment. The best of tonight's new songs, 'Cath...' is saved for the encore too and they rock it out harder than on the album, a great performance.

Finally comes the ending couplet of 'Your Heart is an Empty Room' followed by the magnificent 'Transatlanticism'. The emotional verve of 'Empty Room' comes and goes in three and a half minutes of pure bliss and leads off perfectly for the ultimate closer. 'Transatlanticism' is the crescendo of all crescendos, starting off slowly and gradually building into a tumultuous cacophony of beautiful noise that sees all four band members pouring all of their strength into the final few bars, particularly drummer Jason McGerr who is hitting his kit so hard it's a wonder that nothing breaks. Then suddenly it cuts out perfectly, leaving just Gibbard and his voice to sing out the last few notes over the heady applause from the crowd. This by far the best ending to a gig that I have ever seen.

Before the band leaves the stage Gibbard has one last message; "Thanks you guys, this has been the best show we have played for a long time" and you know he is being sincere. The feeling is mutual, and I absolutely cannot wait to see them again at Latitude Festival in July.

Rating: 9.5/10
Best Part: The final repeated chorus of "Come ooooooooon!" at the end of 'Transatlanticism'

If you don't know Death Cab here are 5 of my favourite songs for you to check out (click to download):

I Will Follow You into The Dark (from Plans)
Title and Registration (from Transatlanticism)
Transatlanticism (From Transatlanticism)
Grapevine Fires (From Narrow Stairs)
A Movie Script Ending (From The Photo Album)

The rest of my photos are avaliable here <----click

Video: 'Your Heart is an Empty Room'

The Camden Crawl 2008 - 18th + 19th April

2008-04-20T16:47:00.027+01:00

The Camden Crawl is an annual event at which dozens of mostly lesser known and often unsigned artists descend upon the mile-long stretch between Mornington Crescent and Chalk Farm tube stations for two days of performances in intimate venues at which they will try to win over new fans and get their music heard.
This year the crawl has extended to twenty-five venues and has been moved to the weekend for the first time in its history, it was sure to be a memorable one.

Day One

Once we'd picked up our day's schedule and decided what we wanted to see we joined in some of the afternoon's activities by playing some musical bingo. Unfortunately we didn't win.
After that we were ready for our first dose of live music, so we headed down to the Red Bull Bedroom Jam in the hope of catching Bombay Bicycle Club.
The venue turned out to be a little more than a dusty alleyway with a tiny stage somehow crammed in at one end. We emerged to find Hadouken! unexpectedly taking to the stage.

Hadouken - Early Mews - 3.30pm Friday

We soon discovered that Early Mews is the only venue at Camden Crawl that is accessible to under 18's, which explained why there were so many young people around, most of whom seemed to be thirteen or fourteen years old. They may have lacked live music experience, but they certainly didn't lack enthusiasm.
I've never personally been a fan of Hadouken's music but they put on an enjoyable live show. The young 'uns show no fear in kicking up the dust and starting a circle pit so we duly obliged by joining in. Being larger and therefore heavier than most was a definite advantage here, but not so much when it came to attempting to crowd surf.
The energy of the crowd attracted the lead singer of Hadouken who left his band onstage to keep bashing out their indie-electro-punk onstage to join in the fun. Unfortunately this only lasted only for half a song and we were soon being subjected to more of his "rap". To be fair he wasn't helped by the sound, but how good could the acoustics in an alleyway be?

Rating: 6.8/10
Best Part: The same little kid going up crowd surfing at least ten times

Hadouken @ Early Mews

We stuck around for Bombay Bicycle Club who were on next.

Bombay Bicycle Club - Early Mews - 5pm Friday

Bombay Bicycle Club are a group of four teenagers who play knee-jerkingly catchy indie rock from the same school of sound as The Strokes. At their age they must be commended on having written plenty of catchy tunes.
The enthusiasm in the crowd was still there and they showed their appreciation by bouncing around with the mellow tunes, and some songs such as "Open House" somehow spawned a circle pit, which was actually quite annoying as we were just trying to listen. This enthusiasm wasn't really returned by the band, but they put in a good performance anyway and are definitely one to look out for in the future. Besides they were probably tired after their first week back at school after the easter holidays.

Rating: 7.0/10
Best Part: Getting pissed off with the young circle pitters and deciding to mow some down.

Bombay Bicycle Cub @ Early Mews

By then it was time for the evening schedule. We had planned to see Cage The Elephant but we soon discovered a huge queue outside the Earl of Camden so we tried our second choice of Slow Club at The Enterprise. Unluckily we found another unmoving queue there.
Eventually we ended up at the Oh! Bar, just catching the last few songs of Lucy & The Caterpillar, a female singer songwriter with nothing much original to offer.
What we had really come to the Oh! Bar to see were the band that followed her onstage.

Shut Your Eyes and You'll Burst Into Flames - Oh! Bar - 8pm Friday

Shut Your Eyes and You'll burst into flames win the award for the most energetic band of the weekend by miles. From the moment the dance-punk quintet hit their first notes they were flying all over the stage, and one one of the guitarists decides to head out straight into the middle of the crowd and get them all moving.
They are obviously extremely practised at this mayhem because incredibly they manage to avoid any major collisions between members, which seemed inevitable. They put on an extremely loud and fairly impressive show, one of the highlights being an impromptu funk jam whilst some tuning is done. In the middle of the set the singer announces "This next one is a ballad. You don't mosh to a ballad, unless you're Hadouken! fans" - he has obviously spotted some of the band members who have appeared in the crowd to watch. The joke is better than the song which doesn't suit their style and seems flat. Their music is definitely enjoyable but nothing outstanding and their claim that they will bring out the "best British album in years" certainly seems unfounded.
During the last couple of songs audience members are pulled up onto the stage to join in the frenetic dancing whilst the guitarist once again flies off the stage to go take out the Hadouken! band members. A crazy ending to a crazy performance.

Rating: 7.0/10
Best Part: The band's insane dancing

Shut Your Eyes and You'll Burst Into Flames @ Oh! Bar

From there we headed to the Electric Ballroom, one of the two larger venues that play host to the more well-known artists, to catch one of our "must see" acts of the weekend; Metronomy.

Metronomy - Electric Ballroom - 8.40pm Friday

Over the last year the gospel of Metronomy has been spread by word of mouth amongst various indie crowds all over the country. This is mainly based on their fantastic live show which promises something different to anything else you're likely to see.
They have three synthesizers, touch lights on their chests, choreographed dance moves and a whole bunch of infectiously catchy songs. Combine this with top notch lighting and a crowd who is in the mood to party and you're guaranteed a fantastic show. The fact that they're in one of the main venues means that they can play a longer set than most of the other acts on the crawl and the crowd gladly lap it up,
The band are visibly having fun too except for Oscar who seems a little worried when one of the others tells the crowd to boo him when he plays his saxophone solo. This instantly brings a barrage of rubbish raining down on poor Oscar, which quickly changes the singers mind who tells the crowd to cheer instead.
The ending seems to come far too soon, but the band are off to get even more drunk on free beer and they certainly deserve it.

Rating: 8.5/10
Best Part: The choreographed salute

Metronomy @ Electric Ballroom

Next up is Make Model at Dingwalls which is a small venue situated within the Camden Market. We arrive to catch the last few songs of Eugene McGuinness who is pretty terrible. Trying to sing in a falsetto that is obviously beyond his grasp he delivered run-of-the-mill boring rubbish and we are glad to see the back of him.

Make Model - Dingwalls - 10.30pm Friday

We didn't really know much about the band before we saw them play, but by the time they finished I think I can safely say that we were all fans.
They are an indie-rock sextet from Glasgow in Scotland and they rocked. Playing brilliantly crafted pop songs with lovely harmonies and insanely catchy melodies they had the whole crowd's undivided attention throughout the set. The contrasting male-female vocals were used to full effect and all the guitars (and there were a hell of a lot of them) played a vital part in bringing the songs to life.
As yet it appears they don't even have an album's worth of completed songs so their set was fairly short but this little snippet has convinced me that these guys can go a long way and are definitely one to keep an eye on.

Rating: 8.6/10
Best Part: Everything!

Video: Make Model

Make Model @ Dingwalls

Next up we headed across the road to the Barfly. We caught the end of Eastern Conference Champions who seemed like a decent rock band, but I didn't see enough to judge fully. After enjoying a bit of a dance it was time for Chik Budo.

Chik Budo - Camden Barfly - 12.30am Saturday

Chik Budo are a fairly original band, making dance-rock with a jazz tinge. There were no vocals in this band, they let their saxophones do the talking. This sometimes worked brilliantly but at others was quite grating.
The crowd seemed to be enjoying it, but nobody was loving it as much as the clearly hammered keyboardist who was their biggest fan, which was made clear when he shouted "Whats next? Oh yeah I fucking love this one!!".
The novelty of Chik Budo wore off pretty quickly and their songs seemed to be becoming more and more repetitive towards the end, but they were certainly worth seeing.

Rating: 6.5/10
Best Part: Any time the keyboardist went insane, which was most of the time.

Chik Budo @ The Barfly

Once we left the Barfly, we were all ready for bed in order to regain some energy for day two!

Day Two

The second day started off with a stroll down to the Spread Eagle to catch some acoustic sets. We walked in to find a girl called Kerry Leatham playing her last song which happened to be a very nice rendition of Radiohead's 'Blow Out'.
Shortly up after that were a trio known as Naked and the Boys.

Naked and the Boys - The Spread Eagle - 1.30pm Saturday

We had never heard of Naked and the Boys but this stripped down set was a very nice little showcase of their bluesy-folk songs.
Backing up the lead singer who also played acoustic guitar was a double bassist who thickened out their sound and strengthened their songs.
The singers voice suited their music very well which in turn suited their chilled out surroundings and it made for very pleasant afternoon viewing, and a nice slow start to the day.

Rating: 7.0/10
Best Part: A very nice and relaxed atmosphere

Naked and the Boys @ The Spread Eagle

The main reason we had come down to the Spread Eagle was to see Noah and the Whale, who we were expecting to see next, but we were duly informed that a scheduling change meant that they would now be appearing at Bar Vinyl instead so we hot footed it down there.

Noah and The Whale - Bar Vinyl - 3pm Saturday

It appeared that the schedule change had not only confused us but the band as well, who turned up to the venue with an obscene amount of gear only to be presented a tiny platform for a stage, causing one of the band members to turn to another and ask "Is this supposed to be acoustic?"
After a bit of deliberating they decided that since they'd brought all their gear with them they might as well use it.
The crowd was small due to the unannounced change and this meant that the show was the definition of intimate. It was a real delight seeing this band in such a small room, on a stage that was visibly shaking under the weight of the six of them and their many instruments, which the singer likened to "playing on a trampoline".
The main source of illumination for the show came from a skylight above the stage that perfectly suited their natural sounding songs that ebb and flow beautifully from one verse to the next. Emboldened by the trumpet and trombone their songs sore and capture the imagination of the listener. A definite highlight of the crawl.

Rating 8.6/10
Best Part: The equipment shaking violently as they played.

Video: Noah and The Whale

Noah and the Whale @ Bar Vinyl

We didn't really know what to do next so we decided to head up to the Roundhouse to check out the 'Future Shorts' project.

Joana and the Wolf - Camden Roundhouse Freedm Studio - 4.15pm Saturday

The idea of the future shorts is to present a rock show in more than one media, namely for the bands to play songs in time with videos which are played on the background.
Evidently this was quite different from everything else we saw this weekend. The crowd was sitting down to watch the show which saw the band split in half with two members at either end of the stage so that the view of the screen was unhindered. It was also strange to see the band taking cues from the videos, which were very diverse and strange, from chases through woods to cartoon car crashes.
As for the music itself, it wasn't very exciting or original but I felt that it did fit the videos quite well. The vocals were often just shrieks which possibly meant to double up as another form of bringing the videos to life, but seemed to fail in that effort.
Overall it was nice to see something different, but it may have been achieved better by another band.

Rating: 5.8/10
Best Part: The climax of one of the videos which saw a father catching his teenage son kissing his own reflection in the mirror.

Joana and the Wolf @ Roundhouse Freedm Studio

After that it was time for the evening schedule to begin so we headed right to the other end of Camden to the other larger venue; Koko.

Los Campesinos! - Koko - 6pm Saturday

I saw Los Campesinos! earlier in the year at the Astoria and they were good then, but they were even better today. The main factors in this were a better atmosphere and lead singer Gareth appeared to be in a good mood where as last time he had seemed somewhat uninterested.
Since releasing their debut album Hold On Now, Youngster earlier in the year Los Campesinos! have garnered a decent fanbase, quite a few of which appear to have turned up for this performance.
The seven band members put their all into recreating the buoyant sound of their album on the stage and the crowd bobbed up and down in appreciation.
When it came to the final two songs the band and crowd stepped up a gear to blow the roof off with 'You! Me! Dancing' causing a ruckus in the crowd followed by a whole hearted sing along from the fans in the crowd for 'Sweet Dreams Sweet Cheeks'. By now even members of the crowd that hadn't heard them before must have considered themselves fans.

Rating: 8.2/10
Best Part: Crowd sing along of "One blink for yes! two blinks for no!"

Los Campesinos! @ Koko

The crowd was sad to see them go but there was plenty more to do, which for us was a voyage to the Underworld.

Elle S'Appelle - The Underworld - 7pm Saturday

The scouse trio of Elle S'Appelle play a simple synth and bass oriented brand of bouncy indie pop songs. Today they are in a jovial mood as they infect the crowd who seem to be enjoying their colourful music in the dark environment of the Underworld.
They switch between male and female vocals for different songs but none of them really seems to bring anything much exciting for me. Though some of the crowd seem to be throughly enjoying it, jumping up and down unceasingly throughout the upbeat moments.
In the end I can understand the appeal fo Elle S'Appelle but their songs all seemed far too similar and quite generic.

Rating: 5.8/10
Best Part: When a sock was thrown on to the girl's synthesizer to her disgust

Elle S'Appelle @ The Underworld

Once we escaped the underworld we were off to visit the Purple Turtle to see a band called The Answering Machine who had been highly recommended by some people we'd met.

The Answering Machine - The Purple Turtle - 8pm Saturday

The answering machine dressed like the quintessential indie band, white shirt, skinny tie, jacket. They produced general indie music, but it was extremely enjoyable. Similar to that of The Wombats or The Rumble Strips, their jagged guitar lines and simple choruses worked very well to produce some interesting indie pop.
They responded well to the jam packed room getting everyone moving to their songs and playing up to the crowd well. They seemed genuinely happy to have drawn such an enthusiastic crowd and to play their songs for them. The crowd responded in kind by giving them handsome applause for all of their songs.
There was nothing original about The Answering Machine, they're just another product of the current indie scene, but they have written some songs that have a heart and a purpose, which is more than a lot of bands out there.

Rating: 7.8/10
Best Part: When it appeared a crazed fan had jumped onstage, only for it to turn out to be the singer's mum (see video).

Video: The Answering Machine

The Answering Machine @ The Purple Turtle

From there we had a walk to the furthest venue of the Crawl to catch our last two acts of the weekend.

Fanfarlo - Bullet Bar - 9.15pm Saturday

Fanfarlo are a London based band that play a kind of pop-folk. They have plenty of good lyrics and good melodies to bring them to life.
They are similar to Arcade Fire in their number and use of instruments, but don't really sound anything like them, though their songs do have the same amount of heart and commitment poured into them.
They also have an experimental side which is shown tonight when the female multi-instrumentalist pulls out a saw, upon which she plays like a violin to produce a strange high-pitched metallic wailing sound., which is very different indeed.
Thier songs are mostly upbeat and get the crowd bobbing and swaying. Unfortunately some of the songs are hindered by some brutal feedback but the band are indifferent and keep playing, clearly having a good time.

Rating: 7.5/10
Best Part: The female member playing an impressive amount of different instruments

Fanfarlo @ Bullet Bar

Luckily having walked this far the next act we want to see is playing at the same venue, so we can give our legs a much-needed rest by sitting on the stage and waiting for M83.
Unluckily it becomes obvious early on during the setting up of the equipment that there is a problem when they abruptly stop plugging in various different instruments and disappear outside for a long time.
They are supposed to be on stage at 10.30, but this quickly passes with little more happening on stage. Shortly after the compere announces that there is a problem (as if we hadn't noticed), they have left a vital piece of equipment in France.
Instead of canceling altogether Anthony Gonzalez decides the show will go on, if not exactly as planned.
He spends a good amount of time re-programming the keyboards and finally at 11.10 (40 minutes late) they are ready to begin.

M83 - Bullet Bar - 11.10pm Saturday

They were supposed to play as a full band, but due to the technical hitch only two of them take to the stage. Instead of playing the electro-pop songs of recent album Saturdays = Youth they play us some of his "experimentations" similar to what can be heard on 2007's collection of ambient work Digital Shades Vol. 1.
This is not what the crowd had expected to hear, but after such a long delay they are glad to hear anything at all and it is also pretty decent. Gonzalez seems to be for the most part improvising, or he is not used to playing these songs live.
What they produce is hypnotic and brilliant and has the crowds full attention. Gonzalez is hulked over his keyboards swaying with the noise and feeling each beat as if it were that of his own heart.
To the crowd's anger they finish after only three songs, not by their choice but they are forced off due to the regulations of the venue.
At least while it lasted it was extremely enjoyable.

Video: M83

M83 @ Bullet Bar

It was a somewhat disappointing end to what was otherwise an amazing weekend of live music. From there we were off back to Koko to enjoy the Buttoned Down Disco.

Portishead - Hammersmith Apollo - 10th April 2008

2008-04-12T15:36:00.006+01:00

The fact that Portishead can sell out the 5000 capacity Hammersmith Apollo over ten years after they last released a studio album proves just how important this band are to the British music scene. Their Mercury prize winning debut 'Dummy' is the most well known album in the short-lived but not forgotten "trip-hop" genre, that came out of the Bristol area in the early-mid 90's. Therefore it's not a surprise that the announcement of a tour and a new album, simply yet appropriately entitled 'Third', has brought a buzz to every music message board on the internet. Those old copies of 'Dummy' and their second eponymous album have been found and played once more in preparation for what is surely one of the most anticipated comebacks in recent times amongst music fans.

Judging from tonight's audience Portishead have not only reignited the passion of their old fans, but have also won over some new ones in their absence, with many younger faces seen in the crowd.

As soon as the lights go down and the symbolic P that can only stand for one thing on this night appears on the screens there is ecstatic applause, many of the crowd have been waiting years for this moment. The band appear on stage and once their instruments are ready to go the crowd are instantly attentive.

A Brazilian monologue is played and signifies the beginning of 'Silence' the first track for the forthcoming album, with strong South American influenced drums running throughout that gets the crowd moving their feet. This is followed by the slower 'Hunter', but the first big cheer of the night comes as soon as the opening notes of old favourite 'Mysterons' are played by Geoff Barrow on guitar. The accompanying blue and green lights suit the mood of the song perfectly and Beth Gibbons' vocals seem much stronger than on the first two songs. Hearing a song they know and love, the crowd is finally getting into it.

Unfortunately at this point proceedings are called to a halt and the band must leave the stage for five to ten minutes whilst some technical difficulties. The crowd takes this in good stead and return to chatting amongst themselves whilst they wait.

The band returns shortly after and have it all to do again as the crowd seems to need re-exciting once more. They perform this amiably. They play an equal mix of old and new songs, and they seem to be working better together than ever. This is signified by the fact that whenever she is not singing Beth decides to turn away from the crowd and enjoy the show being put on by the rest of her band mates, which encourages the crowd to do the same. The new songs seem to go down well amongst the intrigued audience members, 'Magic Doors' and the pounding sounds of lead-off single 'Machine Gun' are extremely well received, but there's no doubt that the older songs are the certain highlights.

These include a stripped down version of 'Wandering Star'. Beth who sits down for this song and seems to be lost in her own world as her vocals and Geoff's spooky guitar over the thumping bass bring a poignant beauty to this song about depression and self loathing.

The bands heads off stage for what seems, to me at least, to be a premature end to the main set, but maybe this is because I am just enjoying it too much.

This disappointment is cast aside when the band returns for a magnificent encore. 'Threads' is even darker and more threatening than on record and it seems as if Beth is going to burst a lung towards the end as she puts her all into it. 'Cowboys' and the epic 'We Carry On' see out the night. Towards the end Beth shows her gratitude by running into the crowd and hugging as many as possible.

It must be an amazing feeling to still have this kind of reaction from fans after ten years away, and with a new, truly amazing new album on the way it seems as if Portishead are truly back, and we're more than happy to have them.

Rating: 9.1/10
Best Moment: The beginning of 'Mysterons' when the crowd cheered, the song kicked in and the green lights roved over the crowd.

The Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra and Tra La La Band- Scala - 8th April 2008

2008-04-09T22:25:00.015+01:00

The Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra started off as a happy accident for lead singer Efrim Menuk. Taking time out in 1999 from his then current band Godspeed You! Black Emperor, he started it as a project through which he hoped to learn to read music. He soon gave up on this original plan, but A Silver Mt. Zion continued as a side project and has now lived on beyond the recently disbanded Godspeed You! Black Emperor, to become arguably the most recognised band in the post-rock genre.

There wasn't always seven members in the band, originally there were only three, but tonight, as they play their 143rd gig, it's hard to imagine any of the members missing, each has a key role to play in carrying out the mammoth songs that the band writes and records.

They kick off with a new song "I Built a Metal Bird and Fed it the Wings of Other Metal Birds", which on first listen seems like an uncharacteristically conventional song for Mount Zion. Eric Craven on drums holds down a steady rock beat whilst the rest of the band drive the song through several minutes of balls out rock that even seemed to contain a verse-chorus structure, something rare in the Silver Mt. Zion catalogue.

From there they play "Black Waters Broke/Engine Broke Blues" which starts off slowly but with one strong strum of his double bass Thierry Amar turns a gentle breeze into a full on tornado of sound. From here Mt. Zion are in their element, creating chaotic yet beautiful noise that extends for minutes on end. The strings create havoc over the top of the din being created by the rest of the band. They seem lost in a chaotic music storm and are furiously inviting the crowd to join in . Harmonies that seemed to falter in the first song are now pitch perfect. A brilliant performance.

As if to salute those imaginary comrades who didn't make it through the last song "1,000,000 Died to Make This Sound" is up next. This sees most of the band on vocals, producing ghostly harmonies that sound as if they could be sung by corpses. A truly eery effect that builds into a dizzying rock out that sounds as if it is soundtracking a gruesome and epic battle. This is a certain highlight.

Their music may be serious but we are glad to learn that they are down to earth and humorous people. The band are glad to engage the crowd in a conversation that goes off on more tangents than a circle, from water to giants to Pantera to New Jersey and finally ending up inexplicably on New Labour. This enjoyable little excursion produces much laughter from both sides and helps to bring the crowd and the band closer together.

They complete the rundown of their most recent album "13 Blues for Thirteen Moons" with the title track followed by "Blindblindblind". The latter is the certain highlight of the night. Menuk stands back from his microphone to produce powerful, wailing vocals that make you wonder if he actually needs it all. The song builds up into a crescendo like no other with all band members playing furiously to create a melange of noise that works against all odds. The crowd seem to be really getting into it, the majority of them furiously head banging in time with Amar's pounding bass lines that hold the band together and pin the song down. At the very finale six of the seven members are on vocals repeating the lines "Some hearts are true and some hearts aren't true" for several minutes in perfect harmonies. A truly breathtaking finale that stuck in my mind all evening. This is a great way to end the main set.

They return to rapturous applause to perform "Microphones in the Trees" from the "Pretty Little Lightning Paw EP", which sees more experimentation when violinist Sophie Trudeau sings into her violin to spooky results and sees out the song nicely. They leave the stage once more, but aren't gone for long, the crowd wants more.

They finish off with another new song "There is a Light". An extremely pretty song that rises and falls several times to great effect. Violin and cello take centre stage through this one, a song that is extremely delicate and will certainly be a highlight on their next LP.

What amazes me about A Silver Mt. Zion is that they have found in each other people that share enough talent and vision to produce songs as they do, of such grandiose and epic form, which is surely rare. Even more impressive tonight is the fact that they can carry off these songs on stage with just as much precision and even more energy than on record, often losing themselves in the music, but never losing sight of where they are heading.

Rating: 8.4/10
Best Moment: The epic finale of "Blindblindblind" with six part vocals.

Gogol Bordello - Brixton Academy - 2nd April 2008

2008-04-06T16:59:00.003+01:00

On this chilly Wednesday evening in London, each and every pub will be packed to the brim with boozed up football fans causing a ruckus as they cheer on their respective teams as the quarter finals of the Champions League unfold, but not so far away in one of the nation's most popular venues another different type of crowd is gathering, and this one is even louder than the football fans.

Tonight the New York based Ukraine/Russian/Israeli/Ethiopian/Thai/Chinese/Scottish/American self-proclaimed "gypsy punk" outfit Gogol Bordello are in town once again and they've pulled their biggest British crowd yet down to Brixton Academy for an evening of ear-drum splitting entertainment.

Ever since appearing on stage with Madonna at last summer's Live Earth concert at Wembley Stadium, Gogol Bordello have attracted quite a following and judging from tonight's audience they are not restricted to just one age group or type. People from their early teens up to the middle-ages have come down for the show tonight and amongst them punks, rockers, hipsters and of course gypsies. But here, unlike in the pubs, there is no rivalry between the different groups, everyone here, band included, is of the same mind: let's have some fun.

As soon as Eugene Hutz steps on to the stage there is a storm brewing, and that storm is in full swing when the band kicks into 'Ultimate', the opener of their most recent album 'Super Taranta!'

The crowd is quickly warmed up and in the mood to dance for the first few songs, with Hutz entertaining the crowd by donning a long blonde wig and prancing about the stage during 'Zina-Marina'. As soon as the first bars of recent single 'Wonderlust King' are played the crowd is heated to boiling point. Jumping around like a man possessed Eugene Hutz leads the crowd, who are absorbing his energy and sending it right back to the band a thousand times stronger, not one member of the crowd can resist the urge to jump and sing. From here on in the band are in party mode. Hutz is not the only one enjoying the enthusiasm of the crowd, Rybatsev, Lemeshev and Gobena often come forwards to the front of the stage to play up to the crowd and soak in the atmosphere. For some of the louder songs the band are joined on stage by their two additional female members who add extra backing vocals and percussion as well as adding to the excitement of the crowd

The set spans their entire discography and the different genres of music within it, from the neo-metal '60 Revolutions' which encourages some members of the audience to express their appreciation by opening up a circle pit as vicious as any one might find at a Korn or Metallica gig to the slower songs such as the African influenced 'Tribal Connection' for which Benji Webbe, lead singer of support act Skindred joins them on stage.

Where Gogol Bordello really triumphed on this night was in their more upbeat songs that the crowd could sing along to, particularly 'American Wedding' and breakthrough hit 'Start Wearing Purple'. The latter gets the whole crowd pogoing up and down higher than at any other point in the night, particularly the ones who have worn something purple specifically for this moment. This is followed by 'Think Locally, Fuck Globally' which sees all eight members on stage again and Hutz playing on his signature bucket hung over his microphone which brings a raucous ending to the main set.

The crowd didn't get any quieter from the moment that the band left the stage until the point when Hutz takes to the stage once more to do "something special", a brand new acoustic song, at which point the crowd is quiet and attentive once more. This quickly subsides into another quiet slow burner; 'Alcohol' and fellow members of the band gradually rejoin their leader on stage to build up to the climax of the song.

From there Gogol Bordello see out the rest of the night with what they do best, more favourites including 'Harem in Tuscany' and to finish off a ten minute epic 'Baro Foro'. By the end Gogol Bordello are just a couple of elephants short of a carnival, but rarely do people return home from a carnival this tired, sweaty and overall enthralled.

Rating: 8.8/10
Best Moment: The First Chorus of 'Start Wearing Purple', the whole crowd jumping wildly.