PRIMAVERA SOUND FESTIVAL (Barcelona Park del Forum, 25/05/11-29/05/11)
HIGHLIGHTS
-Pulp, naturally. Managed to pogo my way to the front during opener Do You Remember The First Time?, sang my heart out to the likes of Disco 2000, This Is Hardcore and Babies, absolutely lost my shit when they played F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.O.V.E and managed not to die during the inevitable insanity that accompanied Common People. Everything I could have hoped for, really.
-Mercury Rev playing Deserter's Songs. Absolutely magnificent, I nearly cried during “Opus 40”.
-Girl Talk's 5am dance party extravaganza. Ended up with several hundred hipsters singing along to Lulu. Yup.
-El Guincho, and not just because of the hot ladies in short shorts throwing pillows at each other/lezzing out.
-Dean Wareham. Haven't listened to much Galaxie 500, but this was gorgeous stuff.
-tUnE-YaRdS cajoling everyone to sing along to Hatari (although overall she's better without her band)
-Sufjan Stevens' Auditori light show.
-Of Montreal's Hissing Fauna-centric setlist. A Sentence of Sorts->Heidmalsgate->She's A Rejector = YES.
-Battles being Battles.
-John Cale's Paris 1919, although the newer songs he played afterwards were a tad ropey.
-Picnic at the Parc Central del Poblenou soundtracked by the 90’s indie-pop strains Comet Gain. Lovely way to spend an afternoon.
LOWLIGHTS
-James Blake. Whiney bollocks of the worst kind.
-Missing Gang Gang Dance/Glasser/Suicide Of Western Culture/Holy Ghost!
-Wayne Coyne becoming a parody of himself. His constant exhortations to "COME ON!" annoyed me so much I left after four songs. That said, still gutted that he arrived at the absinthe bar on Tuesday two minutes after we’d departed.
-Not seeing Emeralds because I got lost in the mountains and ended up 15 miles away from where I was supposed to be. Again.
Sunday, June 05, 2011
Saturday, May 21, 2011
STAG & DAGGER FESTIVAL (Various Hoxton Venues, 19/05/11)
Echo Lake’s voluminous spectral shoegaze aside, this year’s edition of EastLondonMoodyHipsterFest failed to impress. D/R/U/G/S was a bit too bleepy-bloopy for a 9pm time-slot and Post War Years had promise but were too slavishly in hock to LCD Soundsystem and Foals to stand out on their own merits.
(Photo: Tony Coleby)
Echo Lake’s voluminous spectral shoegaze aside, this year’s edition of EastLondonMoodyHipsterFest failed to impress. D/R/U/G/S was a bit too bleepy-bloopy for a 9pm time-slot and Post War Years had promise but were too slavishly in hock to LCD Soundsystem and Foals to stand out on their own merits.
(Photo: Tony Coleby)
HANDSOME FURS (London Lexington, 16/05/11)
Man, Handsome Furs are awesome. As well as being the most lovable (and loved-up) couple in the whole of indie-rock, their ferociously dynamic performance, combined with some blinding new material made this one of the most exhilarating sets of the year so far. RADIO KALININGRAD, STATIC ON A BROKEN WIRE!
(Photo: John Gleeson)
Man, Handsome Furs are awesome. As well as being the most lovable (and loved-up) couple in the whole of indie-rock, their ferociously dynamic performance, combined with some blinding new material made this one of the most exhilarating sets of the year so far. RADIO KALININGRAD, STATIC ON A BROKEN WIRE!
(Photo: John Gleeson)
REVERBERATIONS FESTIVAL: SESSION 6 (London Barbican, 08/05/11)
God knows what Owen Pallett was doing at a festival dedicated to one of the forefathers of minimalism in the first place, but I couldn’t help thinking his orchestra-augmented performance of “Heartland” was a slight disappointment. Fact is, Owen’s own looping skills are so phenomenal that not even a full retinue of classically-trained musicians could really add that much to his sound, and indeed, only the last song truly made full use of their talents. Also could have done with 90% less drums. Ah well.
On the plus side, Clogs were excellent. The lullaby they performed with a children’s choir was one of the most beautiful things I’ve heard this year.
(Photo: John Gleeson)
God knows what Owen Pallett was doing at a festival dedicated to one of the forefathers of minimalism in the first place, but I couldn’t help thinking his orchestra-augmented performance of “Heartland” was a slight disappointment. Fact is, Owen’s own looping skills are so phenomenal that not even a full retinue of classically-trained musicians could really add that much to his sound, and indeed, only the last song truly made full use of their talents. Also could have done with 90% less drums. Ah well.
On the plus side, Clogs were excellent. The lullaby they performed with a children’s choir was one of the most beautiful things I’ve heard this year.
(Photo: John Gleeson)
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
DEERHOOF (London Garage, 04/05/11)
It’s Deerhoof. Of course they were great. My admiration for Greg Saunier’s drumming skills and bemusement by his raconteurship remains unabated, and Satomi Matsuzaki can still star-jump like the best of ‘em.
(Photo: Anika "Tang Fiend" Mottershaw)
It’s Deerhoof. Of course they were great. My admiration for Greg Saunier’s drumming skills and bemusement by his raconteurship remains unabated, and Satomi Matsuzaki can still star-jump like the best of ‘em.
(Photo: Anika "Tang Fiend" Mottershaw)
O’DEATH (London Cargo, 02/05/11)
First time I’ve seen O’Death in two and a half years, and I fucking miss “Adelita.” Grrr. That apart, I'm glad to report there’s still no-one who can match them in the frenzied, Deliverance-tinged hoedown stakes. Nearly lost my voice during "Lay Me Down"...
(Photo: James Evans)
First time I’ve seen O’Death in two and a half years, and I fucking miss “Adelita.” Grrr. That apart, I'm glad to report there’s still no-one who can match them in the frenzied, Deliverance-tinged hoedown stakes. Nearly lost my voice during "Lay Me Down"...
(Photo: James Evans)
SUFJAN STEVENS (Copenhagen Vega, 01/05/11)
If you're a stickler for subtle, low key performances, you may not enjoy Sufjan Stevens' current tour. If you like things that are totally awesome, I suspect you will. "Age of Adz" is a glorious mess of an album, and his live set-up accentuates that a hundredfold; I don't wish to spoil too much for those who are yet to experience it, but we're talking Flaming Lips levels of audio-visual ridiculousness here. But unlike the Lips, there's no undue reliance on backing tapes; Sufjan's gathered together an incredible band that takes the material from the new album and significantly enhances it ("Vesuvius" was an absolute fucking blinder). I was expecting good things, but last night blew all my expectations out of the water – one of the most riveting, over-the-top, luscious live performances I've ever seen.
Oh, and he played "Casimir Pulaski Day." That was pretty sweet.
If you're a stickler for subtle, low key performances, you may not enjoy Sufjan Stevens' current tour. If you like things that are totally awesome, I suspect you will. "Age of Adz" is a glorious mess of an album, and his live set-up accentuates that a hundredfold; I don't wish to spoil too much for those who are yet to experience it, but we're talking Flaming Lips levels of audio-visual ridiculousness here. But unlike the Lips, there's no undue reliance on backing tapes; Sufjan's gathered together an incredible band that takes the material from the new album and significantly enhances it ("Vesuvius" was an absolute fucking blinder). I was expecting good things, but last night blew all my expectations out of the water – one of the most riveting, over-the-top, luscious live performances I've ever seen.
Oh, and he played "Casimir Pulaski Day." That was pretty sweet.
Friday, April 29, 2011
BATTLES (London Institute of Contemporary Arts, 20/04/11)
Review: HERE
(Photo: Sebastien Dehesdin/The Line of Best Fit)
Review: HERE
(Photo: Sebastien Dehesdin/The Line of Best Fit)
Saturday, April 16, 2011
JENIFEREVER (London Lexington, 11/04/11)
Post-rock Mew. Had their moments (I mean, an epic crescendo IS an epic crescendo), but all a bit too generic for my tastes.
(Photo: eyeball.fm)
Post-rock Mew. Had their moments (I mean, an epic crescendo IS an epic crescendo), but all a bit too generic for my tastes.
(Photo: eyeball.fm)
Saturday, April 09, 2011
Saturday, April 02, 2011
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
JENS LEKMAN (London Nettlefold Hall, 19/03/11)
Oh, you're so amazing Jens. Not only did he trek over from Gothenburg to play a charity all-dayer protesting the UK Government's dreadfully misguided cuts in library funding but his hour long solo set was perhaps even more joyous than his excellent Union Chapel show last summer. True, the reliance on backing tapes wasn't ideal, but the stripped down arrangements served to focus attention on his impressive vocal talents, which he too often swamps with orchestral frippery. Drawing heavily on "Night Falls over Kortedela," he also previewed some new songs (including one about stalking Kirsten Dunst, which seemed to resonate with an alarmingly high percentage of the audience), and broke the venue's curfew for a Sipping On The Sweet Nectar-centric dance party encore. Oh, and he waived his performance fee for the event too. What a gent.
(Photo: The Line Of Best Fit)
Oh, you're so amazing Jens. Not only did he trek over from Gothenburg to play a charity all-dayer protesting the UK Government's dreadfully misguided cuts in library funding but his hour long solo set was perhaps even more joyous than his excellent Union Chapel show last summer. True, the reliance on backing tapes wasn't ideal, but the stripped down arrangements served to focus attention on his impressive vocal talents, which he too often swamps with orchestral frippery. Drawing heavily on "Night Falls over Kortedela," he also previewed some new songs (including one about stalking Kirsten Dunst, which seemed to resonate with an alarmingly high percentage of the audience), and broke the venue's curfew for a Sipping On The Sweet Nectar-centric dance party encore. Oh, and he waived his performance fee for the event too. What a gent.
(Photo: The Line Of Best Fit)
Friday, March 18, 2011
EDWARD SHARPE AND THE MAGNETIC ZEROES (London Old Vic Tunnels, 11/03/11)
Review: HERE
(Photo: Kelly Anne)
Review: HERE
(Photo: Kelly Anne)
Saturday, March 12, 2011
ROBYN (London Roundhouse, 03/03/11)
Unpretentious, all-out Swedish pop goodness, delivered by a woman who seems to be on a perpetual sugar rush even when recovering from a throat infection. Frankly, it's exhausting just watching her.
(Photo: Tom Salter/The Line Of Best Fit)
Unpretentious, all-out Swedish pop goodness, delivered by a woman who seems to be on a perpetual sugar rush even when recovering from a throat infection. Frankly, it's exhausting just watching her.
(Photo: Tom Salter/The Line Of Best Fit)
SEA OF BEES (London Westminster Reference Library, 26/02/11)
Contrary to popular belief, I don't hate all acoustic-guitar-wielding solo artists. I just hate the vast, vast majority of them. A rare exception is Julie Baenziger, an wonderfully eccentric, emotionally open figure with a voice that could charm the most hard-hearted of cynics. I mean, seriously, check out "The Woods." Spine-tingling stuff.
(Photo: Anika Mottershaw)
Contrary to popular belief, I don't hate all acoustic-guitar-wielding solo artists. I just hate the vast, vast majority of them. A rare exception is Julie Baenziger, an wonderfully eccentric, emotionally open figure with a voice that could charm the most hard-hearted of cynics. I mean, seriously, check out "The Woods." Spine-tingling stuff.
(Photo: Anika Mottershaw)
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