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As a venue, The Flapper has to be one of my favourites; it's small, dark and hovers just the right side of not being a total shithole! The sound isn't usually unnecessarily loud and has just the right level of intimacy. Not a full on in your face assault, but a more feeling of warmth as you enter the dimly lit dungeon. At least these were my prior thoughts before heading into day two of this three day mini music festival, Off The Cuff. |
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Sweat, love and rock n’roll. Tonight’s gig, headlined by a certain William Control (aka Wil from Seattle Alt Rock legends Aiden), had it all. |
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I love this time of year. Hot sunny days, long warm nights, shorts and BBQs… And if you’re a music lover or Gig Junkie it means music festivals going off up and down the country every weekend. Of course there’s the biggie, the one every band wants to play – Glastonbury. By far the greatest asset of Glastonbury is it’s sheer power in bringing some of the worlds greatest bands to these shores. And whilst here why not turn one festival appearance into a mini tour and play a small handful of gigs in the few minutes you have spare. Taking this into account means that London, Bristol, Manchester and Birmingham get the chance to see alternative Blues / Rock duo ‘The Black Keys’ before embarking on a full US tour. |
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It was much of a surprise when I turned up at the venue to find a crowd of all walks of life and more surprisingly ages at this gig. This band obviously attract the masses so it seems. From the moment the doors opened, the crowds got bigger and bigger... Keane evidently have evolved over the years into a band who have an affinity with everyone. Their radio friendly tunes appealing to all has definatly proved successful for them this evening as I can only assume that ticket sales have been rewarding for them tonight... |
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Right, mustn’t mention the World Cup... bollocks... okay that’s the last mention of it. Promise. Especially as the English team’s probably been knocked out/injured/ defected to a team with at least some frickin’ hope of winning by now. Gah! Did you see the game against the USA? Good grief. I only watched up to the point where our goalie decided to roll the ball into his own net. Genius. Speaking of (cheesy link ahoy) the USA (see, told you) tonight’s gig saw a brace of bands from way over United Stateside, kicking off (damn... bloody football) with |
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Imagine having the top of your head lopped off, your brains scooped out with one of those ice cream scoops, placed carefully on the floor, battered with a series of blunt objects, then carefully put back in your skull again...that’s pretty much what tonight’s gig was like. |
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Man, that’s some powerful voodoo going on there. How else could you explain the sudden transportation of the Hare and Hounds from humble ol’ Kings Heath to the darkest depths of the Mississippi delta eh? Yep, shut your eyes tonight and you can almost hear the ‘gators a snappin’ at yer heels (if they hadn’t all been poisoned by several trillions of gallons of oil that is). |
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There seems to be a bit of an indie revival going on at the moment. What with Slint marking the release of their landmark album 'Spiderland' last year by playing it live, and with Pavement currently hitting the road, now it's the turn of Built To Spill, who sound eerily like Stephen Malkmus and co, although a three guitar line up gives them a lush edge to their jangly antics, with their Hendrix-esque freakout moments. Frontman Doug Martsch is a low key but steady presence at the microphone, but then the crowd weren't here for flashy. |
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Old Albarn may be the most famous Blur-ite but GC’s been putting out all kinds of good shit over the last decade or so, culminating in 2009’s 'The Spinning Top' – an ambitious concept album that tells one man’s story from birth to death (actually, as Graham pointed out tonight it doesn’t... not really... he just said that in an interview and now it’s all people talk about... and I’ve just gone and compounded this misconception... balls). |
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I don’t think I’ve ever been excited about a gig as I have tonight. I’ve idolised Courtney Love since around the age of 15, and now at 27 years old and 6 and a half months pregnant, actually getting to see them play live was just one of those events that I’d resigned myself to believing I’d missed out on forever. |
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Over the years there have been quite a mixed bag of bands emerging from Australia. From the great: AC/DC, INXS, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds to the truly awful: Ermmm, this includes pretty much anything involving daytime soaps and the talents that soon emerge onto the popular music scene with voices you’d rather forget. Obviously this list excludes Kylie and maybe the other Minogue but has to include Australia’s very own version of the Hoff – Stefan Dennis and who could possibly forget Craig McLachlan? |
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Ladies up and down the country clamour to obtain the miracle anti aging cream that Gary Stringer and the boys from Reef have evidently using during their self imposed hiatus from the music scene for the past 7 years... A spokesman for the band refused to comment on the boys lack of aging, although reports are now in that they have been adopting some vehicular method of cheating the space/time continuum. Evidently this vehicle must have been a 3 seater, as the aging process has been a little less kind to the Bass player Jack Bessant. |
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In a world that (quite rightly) holds the psychedelic ramblings of Syd Barrett in such high esteem why the chuff isn’t Robyn Hitchcock much better known and respected? It’s a mystery to me, just like some of his lyrics in fact, but as I’m discovering, that’s part of the charm of a man who has, for over 30 years, seemingly ploughed his own sweet furrow through the musical landscape. |
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Bit of a contrast tonight at the Academy in Brum. In the main room, a mixture of punk, rock and hardcore, in the form of AFI, SOIA and The Dear and Departed, and in the Academy 3, Joshua Radin? I hope they have good soundproofing as I have a feeling Joshua won’t be loud enough to sing over tonight’s line up in the main room! |
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