GIGS

[iamnotahero]

Patrick Watson & Barr Brothers @ Komedia, Brighton

Following Mr Mangan, more Canadians with boisterous ex-pat support. Both new to me, but well worth the £12.50 even if it did put an end to the tour of Brighton's real ale pubs which was real purpose of my trip dangerously south. I enjoyed the Barr's low-key set enough to buy the LP.

Patrick's set was an odd mixture of gorgeous piano and vocals ballads ("To Build a Home" the stand-out), and very discordant ramblings from the five piece ("Adventures in your own backyard") which also seemed to go down well. Don't know how much the set leaned toward the new record. Patrick's interaction with the crowd was the highpoint, particularly the campfire songs he sangs a capella in the middle of the crowd, balanced on a bar stool.

Komedia is pleasant but not great for viewing more than four rows back, and the video screens seem a bit incongruous. Sound was pretty good, certainly on the solo material.

Edited May 7, 2012 by iamnotahero

[perfectpassion]

The Understudies - Everyone Deserves One Summer of Love World Tour - 5th May - Hertfordshire

This was probably the only time I will ever get the chance to ask the band to play loud enough to drown out the rest of the audience.

The bride was wearing a charity shop dress and the groom for once was not wearing shorts and a t-shirt. The venue was decked out in bunting and funny record sleeves. Afternoon tea was served on miss-matched china and included scones with clotted cream and cakes.

The Understudies have been around for a while, they are the kind of band I love and the kind of people who play for the love of it. Indie pop with wry lyrics.

" More superior indiepop, here one week away from the gathering of the cardiganed clans at Indietracks. The Understudies have been ploughing a furrow of Edwyn Collins-flavoured melodic heartache for a little while now but this 7" on Odd Box might be their most fulfilled, and hence most fulfilling, exultation. Romantic and heartaching while positive in a way only young Morrissey and fey Scotsmen (see also Roddy Frame) can seemingly otherwise pull off. It's not cynical in the slightest, really, it's open minded to the possibilities and pull of the season." Sweeping the Nation

Thank you everyone you meet the best people on this forum xx

ps I forgot to say that The Understudies are playing this saturday 19th May at the George Tavern Whitechapel E1 0LA

Edited May 14, 2012 by perfectpassion

[killyourtv]

Willis Earl Beal & Pins @ Hare & Hounds, Kings Heath, Brum

Driving back from the Etihad with nerves shredded last night, I thought about giving this a miss having been bemused by Willis's LP, but would have missed one of my great musical nights.

I don't know if I get the message, but the range of delivery was mesmerising, and he does have a wonderful voice. The set sounded nothing like the record, being largely driven by a backing tape that could come off a Cocteau Twins outtake, but I was transfixed. A bit glad it was only 45 minutes mind. No idea how it will go down at EOTR, but hopefully audience chatter won't require Willis to tell us to "shut the xxxx up" as last night.

Honorable mention to the Pins whose regulation post-punk sounded superb, which was also a tribute to great sound at the Hare & Hounds, with no bleed from Ozric Tentacles (!) next door.

Oh what a day.

[Infinite Jest]

Slow Down, Molasses - Brixton Windmill

We arrive near the end of Heath!'s set. He plays solo with a guitar sound that reminds me of early Billy Bragg. All big and echo-y.

Half Moon Run are billed as folk, indie and pop with warm electronica, and that will do me. Kinda like if Caribou were playing one of their more chilled songs, and then midway through half the band decided they'd rather be a folk band. I heard hints of Lemon Jelly too, as well as some 70s soul/rock (think what Primal Scream were doing on Give Out...). I enjoyed this set a lot, and bought a CD - which, I have to say hasn't quite lived up to the live set yet, but I'll give it time.

The only problem with this gig was the miserably small attendance. I kept expecting more people to turn up, and they didn't.

It's kind of weird reviewing a band when one of 'em is a member of this forum, but I'll try. Slow Down, Molasses played a good set of their shoegazy/indie/folk goodness, in spite of the sparse crowd. They opened with several songs off Walk Into the Sea then played a couple of tracks from their next album that had a harder sound to my ears. The singer was wearing an EoTR t-shirt, which made him the second-coolest person in the room* and they seemed to be having fun. No My Bloody Valentine covers or

this time, though**.

I enjoyed the night a lot - all three acts were well worth listening to, it's just a shame about the size of the crowd.

*I was wearing an EoTR t-shirt from an earlier festival, so clearly I was the coolest person there .

** Video from previous Windmill show (I was standing about three feet to the left of the camera)

[Infinite Jest]

Crunchy Club IV, with The Tremelo Beer Gut + Lars and the Hands of Light + Snake and Jet's Amazing Bullitt Band

This is a free Scandanavian band night in a pub in Camden.

Lars ATHOL were a pleasant enough indie band, but I was already struggling to remember what they sound like by the time the second band were on.

Snake and Jet are a duo who play rockier stuff - I was convinced that one song was going to turn into a Stooges cover, but it didn't, it just kept sounding vaguely like the Stooges. Not bad but not earth-shattering. They did a shout-out to my friend, who was apparently the only Londoner in the venue (or the only one willing to admit it).

I was tired and getting ready to leave when the Tremelo Beer Gut came on, and made me glad I hadn't. They play surf, and not only that but good surf. (All surf is good, but some is better, you know what I mean). They had a decent stage presence and banter, and managed to make their surf cover of 'The Model' sound not only logical, but inevitable. A lot of fun.

[Dixiedown]

Ooh Hare and Hounds, I live down the road from there haha. Haven't actually got a review because I haven't been to a gig since Bon Iver in Birmingham, last november. Which was brilliant by the way but I don't think the O2 Academy is a very good venue for Justin Vernon and the gang. But its almost a year to the day I saw Sufjan Stevens in Manchester 02 Apollo which was probably the best gig of my life and I've Brian Wilson a few times which is quite an achievement being only 19. Sufjan was such a good show, just mental and so entertaining, Age of Adz worked so good on tour. Wearing swan wings and a plastic rocket on his head, astonding, I adore Sufjan.

But i'm going to see the Horrors on friday, Philip Glass and Kronos Quartet later in May, Field Day, Best Coast, Lucy Rose (at the H and H actually) in June. Maybe Sharon Van Etten in July and the ones I really can't wait for in August, Blur and Grandaddy in Wolverhampton and Manchester. Ahhh so excited I'm going to explode.

[riverlodge]

This was probably the only time I will ever get the chance to ask the band to play loud enough to drown out the rest of the audience.

[wackojackohighcliffe]

Springsteen in Manchester Friday night - simply unbelievable - best night of my life. So energetic, so much fun, so many great songs. Couldn't recommend it more. I even got to meet some of the band (by chance) at their hotel for IOW.

[RedRockRick]

Springsteen in Manchester Friday night - simply unbelievable - best night of my life. So energetic, so much fun, so many great songs. Couldn't recommend it more. I even got to meet some of the band (by chance) at their hotel for IOW.

[wackojackohighcliffe]

Sunderland good, Manchester even better. After queuing in the rain for 9-10 hours, being treated like crap by the appalling Manchester City security (who only deigned to hand out pit wristbands to those in the queue after a direct intervention by Bruce's people), faith was, as ever, rewarded. No-one to touch him and no-one ever will.

[Nigey_boy]

Yeti Lane - Norwich Arts Centre - 22 June 2012

Thought they were decent but not essential viewing at EOTR. See what you think?

[killyourtv]

Low @ Halifax Minster

Enjoyable set, drawing less from C'mon than of late, but mainly noted here because of the wonderfulness of Halifax Minster as a venue with its warm sound and candlelit loveliness (unless you're deparate for a perfect view). Polite crowd with a couple of glares sorting out the chatterboxes behind me. Doghouse to be congratulated on getting Low, I am Kloot and John Grant here. Halifax is a great night out too.

[talulah]

Jonathan Wilson @ the Lexington. Another great performance from Jonathan and band at the Lexington on Wednesday. It's a great little venue, especially if you get there early and get a good spot in one of the raised areas at the back of the room. Very well behaved crowd - a bit of light entertainment provided by a couple of inebriated but very enthusiastic young chaps standing at the side of me. A mixture of tracks from Gentle Spirit plus some new material (new album due out 'in the Spring') - Jonathan even threw in a cover of the ballad of John and Yoko which was a bit unexpected. Really tight band - looking forward to seeing them again at EOTR as part of Bella Union day (one of my 'definitely not to be missed' bands) ... if you've not seen Jonathan live but have just listened to Gentle Spirit, don't be fooled into thinking he's just a mellow west coast folkie ....

I'm just a bit worried I might be developing stalking tendencies ...

[RedRockRick]

Bruce Springsteen - Hard Rock Calling, Hyde Park

Actually, through a combination of where I was standing, who I was standing close to and what I was standing on, this was one of those rare Springsteen shows I have reservations about. I wasn't too far from the front (my usual spot is five from the front, Clarence's side) but all the minuses as distinct from the pluses that you'll have heard about swung it the wrong way. And I've let my fitness slip for these fourteen-hours-standing-nonstop kind of days.

As to the supporting cast:

Hey Monea!: who Monea?

Tom Morello: pretty darn good, and his frequent guest appearances were welcome too

Lady Antebellum: slick, polished and utterly plastic

John Fogerty: all the right spots hit, but seriously, no-one's going to believe that hair colour is natural

[Infinite Jest]

Arnocorps: The Bull & Gate

Perhaps not to everyone here's taste, but this was the most fun I've had at a gig in a long time. Arnocorps claim to play Austrian folk music. They are actually a Californian metal band with lyrics taken from Schwarzeneggar movies. The whole thing is somwhere between performance art and a particpatory pantomime, with the band dressed up in military gear and most of the audience ("goddamn heroes and sheroes") wearing facepaint at the least, carrying inflatable guns, etc. Everyone knows the catchphrases and yells them at each other before the show "C'mon!", "Can you believe this?", etc. The crowd are also one of the friendliest I've been in.

The show itself is non-stop dancing, stagediving, crowd surfing (including the bassist crowd-surfing standing on his bass case). During the encore I drop my glasses in the moshpit when a crowd surfer falls on me. Two songs laer, I find them miraculously undamaged. This is the power that Arnocorps has! And I even built lean muscle mass at the show! Great great fun if you ever want to let go and jump around.

[killyourtv]

Thanks for the Arnocorps heads-up just as they finish their tour IJ ! Love their web-site too.

[MattL80]

Arnocorps: The Bull & Gate

Perhaps not to everyone here's taste, but this was the most fun I've had at a gig in a long time. Arnocorps claim to play Austrian folk music. They are actually a Californian metal band with lyrics taken from Schwarzeneggar movies.

[GeordieMartin]

Howdy,

If any of you fancy seeing the deep dark woods before they grace the woods stage at EOTR, then they are playing in Brighton THIS Saturday (25th) at the haunt in Pool Valley. Seriously, do yourselves a favour and see this band play a relatively small venue like the haunt before seeing them play the woods stage because by this time next year, they're going to be as big as the fleet foxes (not to compare them, i just mean that's the way they're going)

Also. Jackie Greene, who is massive in Canada supports as well as one of the UK's best Alt-country bands, Society. 3 bands for a tenner? Bank holiday weekend? What's not to like?

You can find tickets online here. Trust me, this band are one the best live bands i've ever witnessed.

http://www.wegottick...om/event/169145

Edited August 20, 2012 by GeordieMartin

[perfectpassion]

Sounds fantastic, unfortunatly I am busy, as it probably would be worth the trip to Brighton for that. Love Deep Dark Woods, was hoping to see them at EoTR but the Woods Stage, hum may not bother then

[RedRockRick]

The Felice Brothers @ The Haunt, Brighton

Not been to the Haunt before: another Brighton pub/bar/club deciding to become a music venue, for a while at least. Probably explained the early curfew. Well, I quite enjoyed the Felice Brothers, certainly more than I did earlier in the year, without quite escaping the feeling that they'd left something in the tank at the end of the night. I also can't escape the feeling that Simone Felice took most of the better songs, and left them with the ramshackle energy. Spotty sound and a few technical problems on the night.

[acstalker]

Howdy,

If any of you fancy seeing the deep dark woods before they grace the woods stage at EOTR, then they are playing in Brighton THIS Saturday (25th) at the haunt in Pool Valley. Seriously, do yourselves a favour and see this band play a relatively small venue like the haunt before seeing them play the woods stage because by this time next year, they're going to be as big as the fleet foxes (not to compare them, i just mean that's the way they're going)

Also. Jackie Greene, who is massive in Canada supports as well as one of the UK's best Alt-country bands, Society. 3 bands for a tenner? Bank holiday weekend? What's not to like?

You can find tickets online here. Trust me, this band are one the best live bands i've ever witnessed.

http://www.wegottick...om/event/169145

[riverlodge]

this isn't a gig, but is relevant to eotr interests i guess - marc riley has a session from driver drive faster tonight and next week has jason lytle on.

[riverlodge]

so, we nearly didnt go, but after a late dash i can report that grizzly bear are in fine form based on their cambridge gig tonight. ed droste's voice is as sweet as ever, and mr rossen's counterpoint guitar still sounds like the best impromptu jamming you ever heard. new stuff very good, just wish i could get my hands on it in album form right now.

now, they were supported by perfume genius, who i saw at latitude and - much to my surprise - had perfect respectful silence there which, together with the atmosphere made for a fabulous festival set. unfortunately the cambridge 'i'm more important than the gig and i'm only here for the headline act anyway' cretins were out in force (if i'm not being clear here thats sue's 'chatty twats') and made it pretty difficult to be honest to properly enjoy his set. still, mrs RL seemed very taken with him and i'm sure that with our careful stewarding at eotr he will get the place to play that he deserves. he repeated his cover version of neil young that he did @ Lat, and also did a lovely Madonna cover too.

ps, expensive gig @ £19.50.

[ljsawyer]

Are Cambridge crowds pretty respectful on the whole though from your experience RL? Probably gonna be at the Junction and Portland Arms quite a few times during my uni terms.

[perfectpassion]

Sounds like a good gig RL, but shame about the talkers, the only time I have had that problem at Cambridge was in the students union for Allo Darlin.

LJS usually the crowds are very respectful, especially at the Junction. Greenmind put on a lot of the smaller gigs, and the guy who runs it is a decent bloke. The Portland arms is tiny, saw the Staves there a while ago and it was fantastic. I think I would always chose to go to Cambridge for gigs over London where twatty chatters abound.