Mikal Cronin's bassist looks like a cross between Thor and Scooby Doo's Shaggy. Their vibrant mixture of surf-rock and psych-rock is pretty nifty too.
(Photo: Josh Halliday)
Sunday, August 25, 2013
THE POLYPHONIC SPREE (London Village Underground, 06/08/13)
The white robes have given way to tie-dyed garments, the confetti cannons have gone, and there's only(!) fourteen of them now. But almost nine years since I first saw them, The Polyphonic Spree remain one of the most all-out joyous gig experiences a man can experience. The new songs are solid enough, but let's face it- few things can top the likes of “Hold Me Now”, “Soldier Girl” and “Running Away” for sheer arm-waving, singing-from-the-top-of-your-lungs euphoria. And the encore, with Tim DeLaughter descending from the stage during “Lithium” to initiate a venue-wide mosh pit would have been, in years less brilliant than this, my gig moment of 2013.
The white robes have given way to tie-dyed garments, the confetti cannons have gone, and there's only(!) fourteen of them now. But almost nine years since I first saw them, The Polyphonic Spree remain one of the most all-out joyous gig experiences a man can experience. The new songs are solid enough, but let's face it- few things can top the likes of “Hold Me Now”, “Soldier Girl” and “Running Away” for sheer arm-waving, singing-from-the-top-of-your-lungs euphoria. And the encore, with Tim DeLaughter descending from the stage during “Lithium” to initiate a venue-wide mosh pit would have been, in years less brilliant than this, my gig moment of 2013.
Saturday, August 03, 2013
FIRST AID KIT (London Somerset House, 15/07/13)
Review: HERE
(Photo: Sara Amroussi/The Line of Best Fit)
Review: HERE
(Photo: Sara Amroussi/The Line of Best Fit)
JENNIFER LOPEZ/CHIC (London Hyde Park, 14/07/13)
I must admit not to be the greatest aficionado of chart-topping popular music, but even those more attuned to the genre must have been disappointed by J-Lo's shallow, soulless, mostly mimed excuse of a “performance”. Thankfully, Chic were around to deliver a barrage of real pop classics (seriously, how many bona fide hits has Nile Rodgers had a hand in?), but even they were hindered by overheating equipment and busted soundsystems. Disappointing.
I must admit not to be the greatest aficionado of chart-topping popular music, but even those more attuned to the genre must have been disappointed by J-Lo's shallow, soulless, mostly mimed excuse of a “performance”. Thankfully, Chic were around to deliver a barrage of real pop classics (seriously, how many bona fide hits has Nile Rodgers had a hand in?), but even they were hindered by overheating equipment and busted soundsystems. Disappointing.
RAY DAVIES (London Hyde Park, 12/07/12)
Ray Davies' voice may be pretty much busted at this point, but let's face it- hearing the Greatest Hits of the Kinks for free (including “Waterloo Sunset” at sunset) was always going to be an incredible experience regardless of the great man's inability to carry a tune. What was particularly striking is that even after half a century Davies still seems to really enjoy performing, his enthusiasm lending a lot to one of the most straightforwardly enjoyable gigs of the summer so far.
GOAT (London Electric Ballroom, 27/06/13)
Tribal rhythms and mighty riffs from pseudo-mystical Swedes with the best costumes this side of a Lordi show. They were superb (as were Teeth of the Sea), but the hipsterish, “oh-look-at-me-I'm-too-cool-to-express-any-emotion-but-disdain” audience...not so much.
THE NATIONAL (London Roundhouse, 26/06/13)
In contrast to popular opinion, I've not been that much of the fan of the last two National abums, believing them to be pale retreads of “Boxer” and “Alligator”. That said, this was the best show of theirs I've seen in years. Maybe it was the visuals, maybe it was the soundmix, but for once I found myself actually enjoying the non-Bloodbuzz material from High Violet, and of course I'll never tire of hearing “Fake Empire,” “Abel” and “Apartment Story” live. Local Natives were also pretty impressive in support- always wrote them off as a vapid hype band, but them kids have some decent musical chops. Top stuff.
(Photo: Fiona Petch)
(Photo: Fiona Petch)
PATTI SMITH (London Shepherd's Bush Empire, 19/06/13)
Review: HERE
(Photo: Burak Cingi/The Line of Best Fit))
Review: HERE
(Photo: Burak Cingi/The Line of Best Fit))
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN (London Wembley Stadium, 15/06/13)
Now I understand why he's called the Boss. For years, I'd ignored Springsteen due to a distaste for “Born In The USA” and his reputation for over-earnest cheesiness, but I've come to realise my terrible error. For this three hour show plus at Wembley Stadium was truly worthy of the epithet “epic,” a showcase of quality songwriting, peerless musicianship and the all-consuming charisma of Bruce. His tricks and gimmicks may be well practiced (the placards, the back-to-back runthrough of an entire album, the getting a child up to sing on stage), but they're so effective they feel spontaneous and natural. Jake Clemons has taken up his legendary uncle's mantle with aplomb - although they didn't play Jungleland (the sole disappointment of the night), he absolutely killed the solo of “Born To Run”- and the rest of the E-Street Band were tight as fuck despite the partly-unplanned setlist and the sheer length of the show (31 songs!) Doubtlessly the gig of the year, and one that made me sincerely regret not checking him out sooner.
(Photo: petereduk)
(Photo: petereduk)
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