LOS CAMPESINOS (London Islington Assembly Hall, 15/12/12)

Los Campesinos have a lot of really hardcore fans. I should have been one of them, but after a mediocre 2007 show, a far-too-polished debut album and some dreadfully pretentious interviews from Gareth, I simply didn’t listen to them for half a decade. It was only after encountering them at Latitude this year that I realised the error of my ways – over the years, they’ve become an impressively accomplished musical outfit, with a shedload of excellent sing-alongs and a live vitality up there with the best. Tonight’s show made it even clearer that they deserve a second chance- even though I didn’t know most of the tunes, I loved almost every moment. That said, the inevitable highlights were old favourites “You! Me! Dancing!” and “Sweet Dreams, Sweet Cheeks” - and the resulting moshpit which I may or may not have ventured into. Great fun.

(Photo: Steve Parkinson)

STARS OF THE LID (London St. John-at-Hackney Church, 10/12/12)

There’s nowt as wonderful as a winter gig in a church, and Stars of the Lid’s ambient orchestral loveliness and breathtaking projections were the perfect match for the grand, if pneumonia-inducingly cold environs of St Johns-at-Hackney. Basically imagine the last 20 minutes of 2001: A Space Odyssey, but with a greater danger of frostbite.

(Photo: OutsideContext)

PULP (Sheffield Arena, 08/12/12)

This was Pulp’s first hometown show in over a decade, and goddamn, was it a corker. I mean, a twenty four song, two and a half hour set including Help The Aged (the only favourite of mine I hadn't heard them play before) and quadruple-whammies of Disco 2000->Sorted For E's and Wizz->FEELINGCALLEDLOVE->I Spy AND This Is Hardcore->Sunrise->Bar Italia->Common People – I couldn’t have asked for more, really. Plus, we were also treated to their very first single from 1983, My Lighthouse, with Jarvis' sister Saskia on backing vocals and a fuckload of toilet roll chucked into the crowd (recreating their pre-fame stage antics), and a finale of Something's Changed segueing into White Christmas complete with a proper Flaming Lips-style cascade of white confetti. There’s rumours that after the Coachella cruise they're calling it a day again - that'd be an incredible shame, but at least I've had the opportunity to see them at the top of their game.

BORIS (London Scala, 06/12/12)

Whilst I admire the Japanese heavy rockers eclecticism, flitting between shoegaze, power-pop and straight-out doom with skill and panache, there just weren’t enough riffs for me tonight. Also a serious contender for the Biggest Sausage Fest of 2012 award, given I've not seen Mogwai this year.

SUUNS (London Village Underground, 05/12/12)

Review: HERE

MONO (Bristol Exchange, 01/12/12)

I love Mono, but really can't deny most of their songs do kinda sound the same after a while. That said, post-rock-by-numbers > most genres, especially when faced with the intensely sublime likes of “Everlasting Light”.

THE REVIVAL HOUR (London Village Underground, 29/11/12) 

DM Stith + one of the guys from The Earlies = a band that kinda sounds like DM Stith fronting the Earlies. This is certainly not a bad thing.

(Photo: Kitty Fisher)

SHEARWATER (London Garage, 24/11/12)


Not seen Shearwater live for almost four years, so it was good to see them again – even if they’re not quite the band they used to be. The soaring richness of Jonathan Meiburg’s voice and the power of their songs remain undiminished, but they’ve sacrificed some of their nuance for volume and although the new drummer is fine, well, he’s just not Thor. That said, if you’ve got a thing for topless ornithologists, tonight would have pressed all the appropriate buttons.

FANFARLO (London Union Chapel, 22/11/12)


Can’t go wrong with a show at the majestic Union Chapel, and Fanfarlo’s pleasant indie-folk stylings was the perfect fit for its candlelit beauty. New material sounded promising, and although I’m not nearly as much as a mega-fan as the *really* enthusiastic guy sitting on the front pew, can’t deny they’re a talented bunch.

DESTROYER (London Village Underground, 13/11/12)


A certain friend may have derisively described them as “Bob Dylan fronting Simply Red,”, but man, I love Destroyer. Dan Bejar is an atypical frontman, not providing much in the way of banter or dynamicism, but his intensity and stream-of-consciousness delivery makes him a curiously hypnotic presence; and his band, although perhaps a tad overreliant on the saxophone, really know how to produce a glorious barrage of sound. Plus, they performed “Rubies” which is objectively one of the best songs of the last ten years. Still, no denying he does sound a bit like Dylan…

THE POLYPHONIC SPREE (London HMV Forum, 31/10/12)


If this had taken place at any venue but the Destroyer of Gigs, this would have been a show-of-the-year contender. Alas, due to the Forum’s soundsystem magical ability to make even the most powerful music sound like it’s emitting from the speaker of a Nokia 3310, this was merely really bloody good. True, the Rocky Horror Picture Show half fell a bit flat, Time Warp excepted, but the traditional Spree extravaganza was an absolutely joyous, all-killer no-filler hour of big old choruses, orchestral flourishes and of course, an fuckload of confetti. Hope to see them back in the UK soon- albeit at a less shit venue.

EFTERKLANG (London Barbican, 30/10/12)

I can’t deny missing the Efterklang shows of old, before orchestral formality superseded lo-fi, ramshackle charm, but damn, this was a beautiful musical experience. What I love about Efterklang is that despite exponentially growing in popularity between the first time I saw them at Bush Hall and now, they still retain that earnest goofiness and genuine pleasure at performing that would make them easy to love, even if their music wasn’t an intricate, ethereal mass of wonderfulness.

(Photo: Kafka Joubert)

FIGHT LIKE APES (London Lexington, 29/10/12)

They didn’t play “Something Global”, but May Kay and her hyperactive Irish synth-poppers nonetheless ensured this quickly descended into one big sweaty mess of a gig. As her countrymen might say, “savage.”

RICHARD CHEESE (London Cadogan Hall, 27/10/12)

Novelty acts aren’t generally my thing, but I couldn’t pass up the chance to see the legendary Monsieur Cheese and his swinging covers of entirely inappropriate songs. And although the occasional number fell flat, for the most part it was a hilariously lewd, crude and smooth experience for all concerned – loads of crowd participation, some inspired takes on popular tunes (a Mexican-tinged “Sunday Bloody Sunday” was pretty special) and naval officers dancing down the aisles to the sultry sounds of…Radiohead. Not sure the posh old dears stewarding the event really appreciated his take on “Show Me Your Pussy” though…

ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE (London Café Oto, 23/10/12)

The (in)famous Japanese psychedelic rock band advertised their second London show in two days as a one-off “electric jazz" set. What actually happened was they got bored of jazzin' within 20 minutes and ended up going off on the most brilliantly bizarre musical tangents I’ve ever experienced, encompassing a Jethro Tull tribute where the band pranced about with recorders, a cover of Tubular Bells with percussion courtesy of their guitarist (who doesn’t know how to play drums), a gravelly Delta Blues pastiche and finally, an incredible half-hour version of their spaced-out epic “Pink Lady Lemonade”. Not the kind of thing I’d ask for every day, but as a one-off it was a left-field, thoroughly enjoyable triumph.

(Photo: Mike Winship)

ISLANDS (London Garage, 19/10/12)

Review: HERE

SOAP & SKIN (London Royal Festival Hall, 06/10/12)

Another terrifyingly, beautifully intense show from Anja Plaschg in a venue much more attuned to her gothic majesty than her Scala. The addition of female harmonies (most notably on “Cynthia”) almost reduced me to unmanly tears on more than one occasion, and although it wasn’t her most “full-on” performance (that honour goes to her 2010 Union Chapel show), there was still more brutal emotion in one of her songs than the combined oeuvre of 90% of bands out there.

BLACK DICE (London Birthdays, 04/10/12)

Under normal circumstances I would have enjoyed the abrasive earth-sundering synths of this Brooklyn trio, but due to the exceptionally low stage of the venue and the exceptionally high twattiness of the crowd I soon realised I wasn't having fun and left. So it goes.

SHONEN KNIFE (London Cargo, 01/10/12)

Review: HERE

(Photo: Richard Pearmain)

THE SUN-RA ARKESTRA (London Barbican, 29/09/12)

These jazz-playing space wizards blew my mind at ATP this March, so I thought I’d rejoin the Arkestra for another session of toe-tapping bebop, mad squalls of avant garde noise and everything in between. And bloody good it was too. Marshall Allen is still a force to be reckoned with as he approaches his 89th birthday, and although some of their oeuvre could be considered…”challenging,” one never gets the impression, as with some of their contemporaries, that they take themselves too seriously (to be fair, the sparkly robes and cartwheels are kind of a giveaway...)

DAN DEACON (London Scala, 26/09/12)
 

 
Even though I’ve seen Dan Deacon do pretty much this exact same show seven times by now, it still engenders a level of glee unmatched by anything else under the sun. The new iPhone/Android app that pulses coloured lights in time with the music adds a fancy new form of interactivity to proceedings, but as always, it’s the core triumvirate of brilliantly trippy songs, hilarious banter and a shedload of audience participation that made this an absolute joy to be part of. True, one day it’d be nice to see a DD performance that reflects the increasing maturity and majesty of his music, but for now, let’s all head to the mountain of snow, upon the big glen…

(Photo: Eleonora Collini (The 405))

CALEXICO (London HMV Forum, 18/09/12)

Review: HERE

(Photo: Anthony Keiler (The Line of Best Fit))

LEONARD COHEN (London Wembley Arena, 09/09/12)
 







Due to a heavily-undersold second night at Wembley Arena (well, what do you expect if the cheapest tickets are £74?), the promoters decided to give away thousands of free Leonard Cohen tickets on the day of the gig. Hence I unexpectedly found myself seeing the legendary singer-songwriter perform what turned out to be one was undoubtedly one of the best shows I've seen in a very long time. Cohen freely admits that he only returned to touring after his ex-manager screwed him out of his fortune, but unlike his contemporary Bob Dylan, there's absolutely no sense he's phoning these shows in – indeed, his energetic showmanship would be impressive from someone much younger than his 77 years. For over three hours he left the audience spellbound, unleashing hit after hit with his superb backing band, and although I wasn't previously au fait with his material, his gloriously gravelly bass voice and wonderful turn of phrase made me an immediate fan. An absolute joy of a performance, and if he ever returns to these shores, I think I'd be more than willing to shell out the ridiculous prices he charges to see him again.

(Photo: John Gleeson)

65DAYSOFSTATIC (Lyon La Marche Gare, 06/09/12)

Not as punchy as their London show earlier this year due to muddy sound and a rather sedate audience, but few things are finer than that double whammy of Radio Protector and Retreat! Retreat!, although my eardrums may care to disagree.

SIGUR ROS (Amsterdam Paradiso, 29/08/12)


A far more stripped down affair than the confetti-and-marching band extravaganza of the last couple of tours, but when it comes to the slow-burning post-rock crescendo, Sigur Ros are still in a league of their own. Concerns that the more muted, ambient material from new album "Valtari" would lead to a less exciting live show are mitigated by the fact they don't play much of it, with the focus very much on old favourites such as Hoppipolla, Vaka, Hafsol, Festival, Glosoli and Svefn-g-englar, (though Varud is undoubtedly a fine addition to their oeuvre). And when all is said and done, Untitled 8 still remains the greatest live song of all time, bar none. So glad to have them back.

COCOROSIE (London Royal Festival Hall, 04/08/12)

The sisters Casady have long established themselves as some of the more eccentric presences in the hipstersphere, but the years have mellowed their weirder, more inscrutible tendencies. Their unique fashion stylings and androgyny remain (although the 'taches are notably absent), but their music is more accessible than ever and, in my opinion, much better for it. That's not to say they've shifted into MOR territory - they've got a beatboxer doing the percussion for Chrissakes - but Sienna's angelic soprano and Bianca's gravelly rasp are underpinned by song structures more traditional than their sometimes alienating earlier material. Slightly disappointed they didn't play the incredible "Lemonade", but the beautifully striking contrast between their voices coupled with their marvellous blend of quirky folk, classical and hip-hop made this one of the foremost musical pleasures of recent months.

(Photo: Stefanos Zachariadis)

YNDI HALDA (London Hoxton Hall, 19/07/12)













Review: HERE

M83 (London Somerset House, 16/07/12)

 
Basically this with more shiny things and a considerably greater number of scenester twats. Middle of set sagged a little, and the absence of "Kim and Jessie" was a cause for sadface but dear God, "Couleurs" was brain-melting in its epicness.

LATITUDE FESTIVAL (Henham Park, Suffolk, 12/07/12-15/07/12)

Review: HERE

(Photo: John Gleeson)

ERYKAH BADU (London Hammersmith Apollo, 27/06/12)

  

Not really my bag (lady), but a enjoyably groovy performance nonetheless. Did prove once and for all though that it’s impossible to look cool whilst rocking the jazz flute.

(Photo: Styleblazer)

BO NINGEN (London Hotel Street, 16/06/12)

Do you enjoy brutal riffage, psychedelic swirls of noise and/or mental long-haired Japanese men leaping off speaker stacks and swinging electric guitars precariously close to your face? Then go check out Bo Ningen, one of the best goddamn bands in the country right now. Face-melting, eardrum-battering, axe-soloing brilliance, and tonight, all for a grand total of 3 English pounds. Sweeeeet.

REPTAR (London Birthdays, 07/06/12)

Review: HERE

(Photo: Roseanne Liu)

MOONFACE (London Cargo, 29/05/12)

As a paid up member of the Spencer Krug fan club, the last couple of years have been tough. Wolf Parade disbanded just as they were hitting their peak as a live band, and Sunset Rubdown (one of my most beloved bands in the world) announced their indefinite hiatus shortly afterwards. Bereft of further opportunities to sing atonally over “Dear Sons And Daughters of Hungry Ghosts”, the immortal maxim “God doesn’t always have the best goddamn plans” rung truer than ever. And thus, I’ve awaited this Moonface gig with the same fervour Spencer has against ghosts, snakes and possibly ghost snakes. I was not to be disappointed. True, tonight didn’t reach the manic kaleidoscopic peaks of the best WP/SR shows (and the set admittedly did flag towards the end), but the reverb-drenched majesty of “Lay Your Cheek on Down”, the yelping intensity of “I’m Not The Phoenix Yet” and the krautrock odyssey that is “Shitty City” are all fantastic additions to the Krugian oeuvre, and damn, that guy can still hammer those synths like nobody else.

(Photo: John Gleeson)

BEACH HOUSE (London Village Underground, 24/05/12)

Review: HERE

(Photo: Minh Le (via The Line Of Best Fit)

OF MONTREAL (Brighton Concorde 2, 26/04/12)

Of Montreal shows can be somewhat hit and miss - the best of them truly joyous occasions, bringing the best out of their disco-funk psychedelia; the worst an ungainly mess of silly gimmicks and musical sloppiness. Thankfully, tonight fell firmly into the former category, with a Hissing Fauna-heavy setlist, appearances from “Wraith Pinned From The Mist” and “The Party’s Crashing Us” and Kevin Barnes on sterling form, flouncing about on stage dispensing confetti and unleashing lycra gimps upon the assembled masses. No “The Past Is A Grotesque Animal” unfortunately, but that’s literally the only fault I can level against it. Fantastic stuff.

THE MAGNETIC FIELDS (London Royal Festival Hall, 25/04/12)

Music’s most loveable grump delivers another delightful set of macabre ditties and cynical wit wrapped up twee. The absolute highlight was the haunting cover-of-sorts of “Smile! Nobody Cares How You Feels”, but two hours felt like two minutes in the midst of Stephen Merritt’s unimpeachable baritone and disdain for pretty much everything.

(Photo: John Gleeson)

KISHI BASHI (London Waiting Room, 24/04/12)

What a gig! Sure, it’s easy to compare Kishi Bashi to fellow string-loopers Owen Pallett and Andrew Bird, but to his massive credit he does something innovative with a formula that’s gone a bit stale over the years. His violin skills impress although aren’t quite Bird-level, but the main draw is his love of improvisation, his melding of genres and of course, his awesome beatboxing. “Just a Tip” is dance-hall inspired filth, another song incorporates Arabesque touches, and Manchester is pure, shimmering indie-pop joy. The best new act I’ve seen this year by a country mile, and one I hope to playing much bigger stages in the very near future.

SOAP & SKIN (London Scala, 11/04/12)

Oh, if only this had been at a more suitable venue than the Scala. Anja Plaschg is one of music’s most terrifyingly intense performers, her gothic industrial compositions punctuated with brutal piano hammering and screams of pure anguish, but even her dark drama loses something when it’s incessantly interrupted by the click of a malfunctioning smoke machine. Nonetheless, there were some truly spine-tingling moments, not least the apocalyptic “March Funebre” or the slow-building and stunningly atmospheric encore of “Pale Blue Eyes.”

(Photo: John Gleeson)

65DAYSOFSTATIC (London Garage, 10/04/12)

My first 65daysofstatic show in half a decade, and man, I’d forgotten how good a live band they are. Achieving a perfect balance between the math-rock instrumentals of old and the dancier material of recent years, there was hardly a moment to catch one’s breath as they unleashed one killer onslaught of grinding guitars and shimmering electronica after another. Plus, they finished their main set with the unbeatable double-whammy of Retreat Retreat->Radio Protector, which automatically made this the most sweatily enjoyable show of 2012 so far.

(Photo: Rachel Lipsitz)

SUFJAN STEVENS, BRYCE DESSNER AND NICO MUHLY (London Barbican, 09/04/12)
 

Three doyens of the independent music scene joined forces to perform a series of compositions inspired by the Solar System - with varying degrees of success. We were warned before the show started that this was a “work in progress” and it shows; “The Sun” sounded like an unfinished sketch rather than a meaningful part of proceedings, and a couple of other planets suffered from repetitive or aimless structures. That said, when “Planetarium” was good, it was very, very good, the baroque and ostentatious Jupiter and brassy cinematics of Mercury being particular highlights. Not a patch of Sufjan’s live shows last year, but an interesting and worthwhile experiment all the same.

(Photo: John Gleeson)

RETRIBUTION GOSPEL CHOIR (London Old Blue Last, 05/04/12)



Alan Sparhawk ditches the understated melancholy of Low for straight-out, balls-to-the-wall rock ‘n roll. Good fun, if a bit samey at times.

(Photo: S Shingler)

DARK DARK DARK (London Bush Hall, 04/04/12)



C'mon, there was a man who played a trumpet and accordion AT THE SAME TIME. If that isn’t totally awesome, I don’t know what is. Chamber-folk may have got a bit stale as a genre recently (strings and wind instruments don't always compensate for mediocre songwriting), but Dark Dark Dark's compelling instrumental and stylistic eclecticism makes them a joy to experience.

(Photo: Pimlicoco)

THE 802 (London Barbican, 16/03/12)



A dissonant, chaotic, mesmerising smorgasbord of folk, electronic and modern classical-tinged compositions courtesy of Nico Muhly, Sam Amidon, Doveman and Owen Pallett. Particularly memorable was “The Only Tune,” a powerful and original reimagining of an traditional English folk song which may mark the only occasion where the amplified sound of head-scratching has ever been utilised in a serious musical composition.

(Photo: Tastelackingmodernist)

JEFF MANGUM (London Union Chapel, 13/03/12-14/03/12)



Yes, there could have been a bit more brass, yes, the sing-alongs were more muted than I would have liked, but goddamn, I just saw Jeff Mangum sing pretty much the entirety of “In The Aeroplane Over The Sea” in London’s most beautiful gig venue. I could go on about the rawness and power of Jeff’s voice, or the shivers “Oh Comely” sent down my spine, but what really sums it all up is that the standing ovation he received on the second night was perhaps the loudest and most passionate I’ve experienced in over 750 gigs. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.

ALL TOMORROW’S PARTIES: CURATED BY JEFF MANGUM (Minehead Butlins, 09/03/12-11/03/12)



HIGHLIGHTS:

Jeff Mangum (the only man who could compel a thousand Guardian-reading halloumi munchers to sing “I LOVE YOU JESUS CHRIST”)
BOREDOMS (standing next to the speakers for the climax of ‘Acid Police’ was both the best and worst thing I’ve ever done.)
Joanna Newsom (as ever, ‘Sawdust and Diamonds’ nearly made me blub like a 5-year old girl)
Sun Ra Arkestra (I too want to be a cartwheeling, jazz-playing space wizard)
Electric 6 Holiday Special (which ended with half the band singing or sousaphoning Sun Ra covers out by the chalets)
Apples In Stereo (The perfect joy-pop salve for what remained of my eardrums post-Boredoms)
Mike Watt and George Hurley Play The Songs of The Minutemen (Simply bad-ass, even 30 years on).
Yann Tiersen (no accordion, but violin wig-outs and vintage synths galore. No complaints here.)
Group Doueh (Saharawi grooves and awkward hipster dancing. Even spotted Jeff Mangum throwing a few shapes.)
Magnetic Fields (Stephen Merritt and I nearly walked into each other outside the artist’s catering area. He did not look impressed.)
The impromptu Elephant 6/Sun Ra/Magic Band/Boredoms/ACME jam session in Reds at 1:30 Monday morning.

LOWLIGHTS

The atrocious sound for Olivia Tremor Control.
The ill-thought-out setup for the A Hawk And A Hacksaw-scored film screening, which meant you could neither see the film nor band.
Too...much...Finnegans.

Overall: Up there with the Ten Years and Matt Groening weekends, and a return to form after the dreary GY!BE event. Roll on December!

(Photo: John Gleeson)

ANDREW BIRD (London Barbican, 05/03/12)



An unconventional set from Chicago’s whistler-in-chief, comprising a run through his new album and an encore of traditional folk songs, covers and one or two old favourites. Not something you’d want for every show of course, but as a one-off it was interesting, and to be honest, Andrew Bird could play two hours of Creed covers and still make your jaw drop with astonishment.

(Photo: John Gleeson)

OBERHOFER (London Lexington, 22/02/12)



See review: HERE

M83 (London Shepherd’s Bush Empire, 16/02/12)



Let’s face it- an M83 show is basically the album played really, really loud with lots of shiny lights, unyielding percussion and judicious amounts of cowbell. And I wouldn’t have it any other way. By far the most enjoyable gig of 2012 so far.

THE LONG COUNT (London Barbican, 04/02/12)



There was no way a "multimedia concert" about the Mayan creation myth wasn’t going to be pretentious, but all things considered, this was a dramatic, intense and at times breathtakingly epic work from the Brothers Dessner. Tunde Adebimpe was the star of the show, his rumbling baritone eerily reminiscent of Matt Berninger at times, but My Brighest Diamond and Kelley Deal also impressed in their role as Mayan goddesses. Bit expensive for 75 minutes though.

(Photo: John Gleeson)

WILD FLAG (London Electric Ballroom, 01/02/12)



Scientific fact: Carrie Brownstein is better than you. And if all the new material is as good as the stuff they previewed tonight, she has scope to kick your ass even more.

(Photo: Jason Williamson)

LAURA VEIRS (London Queen Elizabeth Hall, 30/01/12)



Cute, but not really my thing.

(Photo: John Gleeson)