When I reviewed Cursive's excellent Dingwalls show in 2009 I commented they "belong to a select group of bands that provide a potent reminder of the wisdom in investing in a good set of earplugs". Alas, I forgot all about this, hence why my ears are still ringing daus later. Are they still good though? Hell yeah - intense, jagged post-hardcore/indie-rock excellence (also, more loud bands could do with a cellist, just saying).
My 100th gig of the year, and I spend it watching some obscure folk singer who can't even enunciate correctly. (I quite enjoyed it really, although I was rarely sure if Dylan's contributions had any connection to the song being played).
Perhaps not quite as madcap as their heyday, but it was a real pleasure to witness Honus Honus' gruff-voiced vaudeville exuberance again after an eleven-year absence from these shores. He even sat on my lap and gave me a peck on the cheek mid-song, as you do.
Flute solos! Yodelling! Thijs van Leer's sideburns! Yes, I finally saw Dutch legends Focus deliver a 2+ hour prog-rock masterclass yesterday afternoon, and it was "verdomd goed" indeed.
Dark and atmospheric jazz noir in a dark and atmospheric Union Chapel. Extremely cool, and I particularly appreciated Christoph Clöser's dry German wit- his impassioned, if mood-killing yell of "Oh SCHEIßE!" when his kit malfunctioned was very funny too.
A brilliantly effervescent start to a night that ended considerably less so, I have absolutely no idea why Ahmed Gallab isn't playing venues 10 times bigger. So much energy! So much funk!
These guys have come a long way since I saw them at the Flowerpot in Kentish Town in 2009! Mellow electro-pop vibes perfect for a Monday unwind, now with crowdsurfing alien astronauts.
I'm not entirely sure I have a soul, but if I did I'd give They Might Be Giants permission to build a birdhouse in it. Two sets, 30+ songs (one performed/taped in reverse, then played back "the right way") and a full brass section - good, eccentric fun.
A last-minute addition to the gig schedule, this free 80 minute performance as part of KCCUK's "New Talents" programme was pretty impressive: think Jambinai, but with more jazz and ambient elements. Surprisingly intense at times!
Two key bands of my Pitchfork-imbibing youth, together at last. The Okkervil set was good, if slightly obscure in its content but I it was the Antlers solo set that really hit me - I've seen them many times since 2009, and I don't think Peter Silberman's voice has ever sounded so ethereal.
Another show I attended at Oto simply because the blurb on the website sounded interesting, and my word! Japanese TV theme tunes, Balkan bops, avant-garde improv and some honest to god J-pop with no less than 17 musicians "on stage". The bassist from Led Zep even turned up! Weird, but pretty wonderful.
"I'm an optimist- I see the glass as half-full...just like this venue." That's because your people originally priced even the crap seats at £70, Jason! On the plus side, this meant I got to see this superb show with a discount AND upgraded seats. Probably the most straightforward concert I've seen CG do, albeit one that featured timpani-accented rants about the racist Richard Wagner and cancel culture, a whole bit on AI Spotify playlists and Jarvis Cocker covering Tina Turner's "Private Dancer", but he remains one of the greatest showmen/raconteurs of our time. Peter Serafanwicz also sang "Hotline Bling" in the guise of Elvis, for obscure reasons.
The Japanese group's new album "Oath" - performed in full tonight with strings and other frippery- is surely one of their 'mellower' offerings, albeit one that retains at least 5 pulverising post-rock climaxes because of course it does. Good stuff for the most part, if a bit MONO-by-numbers. (I will admit however that closing number "Everlasting Light" was so transcendently epic, it made this middle-aged man wipe more than one tear from his eye).
Awesome Japanese noise duo blew the detritus of a tiring week into smithereens; can they play here every Friday please?
"An indie rocker flexing like the Hulk" was Caroline Rose's summary of tonight's performance, which featured delicate, intricate orchestration by members of the LCO rather than gyrations behind an unwitting security guard, but I reckon they undersell themselves- 99% of indie-rockers could never pen anything as majestic as "Love / Lover / Friend". Classy and beautiful, just like me.
Two hours of blissful Syrian qanun, accompanied by piano and percussion, in beautiful St Martin's. A world away from the squalling noise of Barbican Estate the day before, but just as mesmerising.
My third time seeing the Tokyo-birthed, London-based art-psych noiseniks in action, and my Lord, they're so good. Flutes! Flair! Ungodly degrees of shreddage!
Two point five hours of electronic soundscapes - including 1974's legendary 'Phaedra' in full - from one of the original pioneers in that space. Sounded superb, and they even included some of their work from Grand Theft Auto V!
If you include their alter-egos Liima, I've seen Copenhagen's cheeriest chaps seventeen times and every time I've walked out with a smile (or more usually, a big dopey grin) on my face. Tonight was no different, with cellist Mabe Fratti adding her considerable talents to the mix and the now standard, but never-less-than-joyous whole band foray into the audience.
1. This was actually quite a daring crowdsurf- no lead-in, just Haley suddenly corkscrewing through the air, hoping people would catch her.
2. Was pretty impressed the Underworld had a spare "Ø" for their marquee, that's what you get for being a metal venue I guess.
3. 70 minutes, 20 songs- I approve.
A rare UK sighting of Albuquerque's premier Balkan folk duo, who first enchanted me with their lively instrumental pizzazz as a fresh-faced 21 year old, and continue to do so now I'm pushing 40.
Like the sound of hummingbirds flittering amongst the morning dew, except the hummingbirds are shrieking, unyielding hell spirits who CANNOT BE STOPPED. Qujaku were the highlight tonight- neutron-star heavy but with light and shade- but no-one can sonically bludgeon a man into submission like Melt-Banana. Shame about the sightlines at Dingwalls though...
Big melodies, squalling cacophonic skronk and hypnotic motorik grooves are three of my favourite musical things, and this Canadian collective fuses them together into pure dynamite. Are they secretly the band I wish post-Isaac BCNR would be? Maybe. Tremendous in any case.
Maximum goth witch vibes courtesy of Nika Danilova, a piano, and a magnificent Victorian church with painted fire blazing across its ceiling. Quite succinct, but I don’t think anything could have topped an extraordinary rendition of the Ukrainian folk song “Plyve kacha”, performed with such breathtaking intensity and Galas-esque high notes I feared for the venue’s stained glass.
Not even an airline 'misplacing' her iconic Buchla synthesizer could fully derail the "Diva of the Diodes", who instead presented a pre-recorded set using her trademark quadrophonic setup. Still sounded epic (although the sound quality dipped towards the sides where the pillars were) but....does this still count as a gig? Also, I don't tend to post about support acts, but I found myself completely mesmerised by Hekla Magnúsdóttir's haunting fusion of theremin and dark electronics. Music you could raise the dead to; necromancer-core if you will.
Nice to see Jeff preview some new material, dust off some old material and wryly answer the wide-ranging questions of the general public, deep in the notorious gig desert of North West London.
The same lively vignettes about local characters, losers and lovers as you'll find with the Hold Steady, but with less parties and more poignancy. "Messing With The Settings" in particular is a true gem of a track.
What an audio-visual spectacular this was! I rarely feel like mid-size gigs are "An Event" these days, but I was massively impressed by the ambition, technical skill and kaleidoscopic joy on display here.
A War Child fundraiser, this was an "in-progress" preview of the band's new material. Thought it showed quite a bit of promise despite the rough edges; if 'Ants...' was BCNR's "Funeral", the new stuff leans more towards "Ys" or "Bitte Orca". Georgia, Tyler and May harmonise brilliantly (and the former does seem to be central to proceedings despite her Jockstrap duties) and the finale had huge Opus/Basketball Shoes vibes. Will be interesting to see how these songs pan out in the future.
Stephin Merritt and his jaunty gang, performing '69 Love Songs' in full over two nights? Truly, I am the Luckiest Guy On The Lower East Side (Of North Watford). Night 1 had The Hits, but I also really rated the more obscure, quirkier numbers of Night 2.
A truly stunning West London setting for Joanna's sweetly eccentric, emotionally stark balladry. Think Carole King plus Daniel Johnston, with a touch of Kimya Dawson.
A truly mighty performance by the Indonesian noise-wranglers that could have scored the End of Days. Not for the weak-hearted!
Happy to report Gibbardfest absolutely exceeded my expectations: Death Cab hit me right in the feels ("Transatlanticism" is one of my all-time favourite live songs) and The Postal Service delivered a bright burst of electro-poppy nostalgia to wrap up a very busy bank holiday weekend. And let's not forget The Decemberists, who provided a timely reminder of their cut-throat folk brilliance with a truly barnstorming if all-too-brief set. The mid-Noughties really were the glory days, eh?
My second year at this lovely local charity event organised by the fine folks from The George Tavern, a world away from the corporate behemoth of All Points East. Great sets from House of Women, Vanity Fairy, Millie Turner, Skydaddy (ft. Tyler from Black Country New Road) and Mary in the Junkyard, all to raise money for refugees. Apparently they smashed their fundraising target too!
Not enough volume for my tastes, but still the best of the three LCD gigs I've seen at Victoria Park. "Losing My Edge" was bloody magnificent!
Not sure how Jess and Holly coped with those massive coats in the unforgiving sweatbox that is VU! I can see the appeal, but this perfectly pleasant set didn't fully click with me.
The Beirut experimental psych-folk band, not the Indian boy band, as some punters apparently discovered a little too late. Hypnotic, albeit over all too quickly!
A typically lively set of indie-pop-with-a-hint-of-Deerhoof from the Norwegian dynamos.
After an unexpected two-day jaunt to the hospital I needed something re-energising, and Japanese shoegazers TAFFY hit the brief perfectly with a brief but excellent set of fuzzed-out guitars and waifish vocals.
A dozen or so Japanese men with giant drums and traditional instruments performing frenzied takes on hardcore punk (including Dead Kennedys covers) in a poncey jazz cafe in Dalston? Quite possibly the most exhilarating gig I've been to this side of lockdown. Phenomenal!
A poignant, stripped-down set from the frontman of Canadian supergroup Broken Social Scene, dedicated to his late Essex-born mother (some of whose ashes resided in a jar on his keyboard). Who would have thought "It's All Gonna Break?" would work so well as a duet?
If Hyde Park last year felt like an ageing fighter contemplating his mortality, this was the old man proving to the world he wasn't yet out for the count. Towards the end, the almost 75-year old Boss taunted the audience "you *think* you can outlast the E-Street Band?!" and frankly after that 31 song, 190 minute tour-de-force I almost believe that they could outlast the Almighty Himself.
Always an honour to be in the same vicinity as the greatest punk-poet of them all. The signs of age are sadly starting to show (she's 78 this year after all), but that raw fire-and-brimstone-preacher energy remains undimmed.
She does what she wants! We do what she wants! Everyone is happy! But seriously, what an honour to see Ezra back after a few years away- a beautiful, cathartic testament to the power of song.
Once again proof of that immutable law of the Universe: bring more than one African musician to London and you WILL summon Damon Albarn. Lovely set though.
Sharp wit, free whiskey, exquisite musicianship. What more could you ask for? Mangos? Well, she was giving them away too. A stunning performance.
Apparently it's not enough to perform my favourite album of the 21st century in its entirety two nights in a row- no, Arcade Fire had to throw out "Headlights Look Like Diamonds" and "Cars and Telelphones" (an ancient, absolutely beauty of an unreleased song they have NEVER played in London before) too. Goddammit Win, you make it really hard for me to hate your stupid skeevy face.
The all-female punk tsunami from Kyoto obliterates Camden once again (although weirdly there's still a busker playing Green Day songs by the canal...)
Surely it's beyond argument now that Janelle is the one of the most impressive all-round performers of our generation? Maybe she doesn't have the budget or megahits of a TayTay or BeyBey, but her showmanship and vocal prowess is truly up there with The Greats. Killer vibe too thanks to a diverse and inclusive audience...an exceptional evening!
In 1972, a young composer named Arthur Verocai released a fantastic self-titled album that fused soul, jazz-funk, bossa nova and samba, and like most great art, it was roundly ignored by the listening public. Half-a-century later, that a performance of said album (featuring the maestro himself) sells out the London Barbican, with every song triggering some of the loudest ovations I've heard in my life. Sometimes, it takes a while for genius to shine...
