The Grimethorpe Colliery Band at the Wycombe Swan !! I've never paid to see a brass band before ... and only really went as I was intrigued ( & feel obliged to support Barnsley bands !! ) as I loved ( & still do - watched it again after the "gig" ) the Brassed Off film ... but I was pleasently surprised !! Made a great end to a birthday weekend. On Thursday, I will be sat on the very same seat ( front row centre ) watching another Barnsley act - Kate Rusby ... which I know will be a totally different experience ... although both acts have collaborated a lot in the past, even to the extent that some of the Grimethorpe guys played at Kate's wedding !!
Last night, Last FM Festival ('festival' bit of a misnomer, but at least there was no mud) at the Forum. Bones (no idea who or what they were or are as missed), Chapel Club, The Young Knives (didn't know they were still going; haven't seen for 3 or 4 years. Terra Firma is an ace song though) and The Futureheads (much tipped, quite liked but didn't quite reach my heart). Chapel Club - love em to pieces. This surely has to be their year. New album has 4* rating in Q and early reviews all good. They opened with, what is for me, the highlight on Palace - Fine Light. Such a song. They are touring UK in Feb - catch them before they move into the big arenas. Best star spot of the night was Bill Oddie - leaving as we arrived! Think he must have only been there for Bones.
Fay Hield Trio I saw this trio last night. They only (sadly) attracted a fairly small crowd but they were wonderful. Fay herself has a terrific voice and her new album will be played a lot in the SteveT household over the coming weeks. http://www.fayhield.com/
Amazing day last Sunday with Chapel Club in Birmingham. Afternoon acoustic then show in evening at Hare + Hounds. Good venue with the lovely Rach + Carlo and nice Mr Security Man (those at the last Nick gig there will remember he sorting the chairs!). Fantastic sell out gig by the Chapel boys - you ALL should see them! - and a wicked late nighter with them. This tis they doing a little pre gig warm up in the Hare dressing room of Lou Reed's Satellite of Love (guys providing the claps are from David's Lyre, the rather good support. Paul is a bit hot too - see him talking here and also Lew from CC http://youtu.be/pz8ehsJ6H-M?a ) http://youtube.com/watch?v=GkPBQvPQgj8 Oh, and here's my CC interview. Now I read I only see the flaws, where I should have furthered questioning etc http://bit.ly/hi4aTh And if you have heard Palace, check this later material. Vastly different. http://t.co/EorPwuU http://t.co/QtA3qHn
KT "goddess" Tunstall and the Pictish Trail in Dunfermline last night - top class, that woman can totally rock out (may be surprising if you've only heard the albums), she gets better every time I see her, and she has a great band including Charlotte Hatherley from Ash... oh and definitely check out the Pictish Trail, he's one of the Fence Records mob and his music was gorgeous, mostly acoustic with a bit of dance-iness thrown in... he came out saying "I'm going to depress the f**k out of you if that's okay" and you gotta love that! (but he didn't really )
Went to see James Blunt the other night :blushing: I got some harsh fb and Twitter remarks for it, but he does put on a great show! Don't knock it till you've tried it, I say. I wanted to just experience dirty lil Blunt the once :wink: But the real one I can't wait to get back to are these http://t.co/uJTRyXt Just over 7 weeks until I meet up again with them for last night of their Euro tour in Paris. Introducing my little French cousin to a wild night of indie revelling! :biggrin:
Went down to St Pancras Old Church last Friday (as mentioned in the Best Venue thread), primarily to catch Porcelain Raft. Porcelain Raft which is really a one man - Mauro Remiddi - mixes keys, guitar (playing with it on his lap at times), loops and samples, in a dreamy, lush way. I had fallen in love with this http://t.co/sR565y1 (which he put together himself) when I saw it. He is gorgeous too - think David Beckham with an Italian accent! :blushing: Very clever guy and totally love his stuff. But also on the bill were Lonely Galaxy - who I think a lot of people here would like - and Oupa (in fact, it was an acoustic lush-fest of a night!). Oupa, which is Dan Blumberg, vox of Yuck's, side project, was a revelation. This song he performed on a Roland, and if you can imagine his vocals (which remind me of a howling cat's :biggrin: but it works somehow) soaring out in the quiet and perfect acoustics of the church, well I can honestly say I had a lump in my throat during http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jfZZfavNew Oh, and one other thing. Not once during either of the three artists' sets did one person talk! Whether that was due to the calibre of the performers or the church setting or a combination of both, I don't know. But it was such a treat.
Great night in Paris seeing my beloved Chapel Club at Point FMR (great venue and location fronting onto the river. See my fb album, friends). Bit teary as they gave Widows a rare airing, and even more when Lewis paused in between songs to ask if I was there (he knew I was intending to be but had only caught up with two of the others before the start). I felt a bit of a twat sticking my hand up, but sweet. Nicest bunch of guys ever. Check out the vid for the new single http://www.nme.com/nme-video/chapel-club--blind/911161807001 The B side is to be the cover of Primal Scream's Star - voila http://bit.ly/gvyiah - and not the cover of Broadcast's Winter Now as has been put out. I have been told I can run with that now, so I am as it is blinding.
Yeah that's what I thought Steve - It was all twang this twang that a couple of years back ... but now these new boys mention her on stage - they are now the best :closedeyes:
:biggrin: Of course I still love The Twang, as I do Exit Calm: my three real 'heart bands', with CC. But they have been quietish of late. It's like you with Roy, you're chuffed when you see them doing well after a lot of effort. Yeah, I've got to know them all, but am still as much of a fan going 'wow!' too. And when they have the grace and thoughtfulness to thank me and acknowledge all the effort I put in on their behalf, well that means a hell of a lot!
Scott Matthews last night at The Stables in Milton Keynes ... in their smaller room ( I didn't even know they had two stages ) with about 120 folk. Scott's singing & guitar playing is so mesmerizing ( even though it's sometimes hard to understand his accent ) and he was playing mostly accoustic last night. Brilliant gig ... with a lot of wierd waffle between songs ... a lot about his spring onions that he is growing at home ... rock 'n' roll !! He also had his new CD ( What the Night Delivers... ) on sale ... though as last night was the last night of his mini-tour; it won't be available again until it's official release on 5th Sept and the following BIG tour ... and even only after a couple of plays ... I think it'll be easily in my top 5 CD's of 2011 when the stormock poll starts at Christmas !! If anyone likes John Martyn AND Jeff Buckley - then I'd suggest giving Scott a listen !!
Roger Waters performing 'The Wall' in Birmingham last monday. Difficult to express how good it was, just immense.
King Creosote and Friends (the 'friends' being fellow Fence Collective band Kid Canaveral) at the Wee Red Bar in Edinburgh... I've only ever seen King Creosote as an opener (for Squeeze and KT Tunstall) in the past, I really loved him in the smaller sweatier setting and appreciated the gorgeous songs a lot more. And if Kid Canaveral are half as good as their playing and the couple of songs I heard, I can't wait to hear them again :biggrin: I also saw the Secret Sisters in Edinburgh this week - they're a pair of guitar-playing sisters (no! ) from Tennessee who were (I think) discovered by T-Bone Burnett who produced their album. Amazing harmonies and fantastic banter (and a look that could be inspired by Reese Witherspoon in Walk the Line)... they're equally influenced by Brandi Carlile and Hank Williams and they're eclectic in the nicest way possible :biggrin:
Last sort of gig, tonight Ben Leftwich doing a little soiree at Soho House on the roof http://t.co/tUqdC7O His album is out today - go buy! All wistful and lovely. And Hayley Hutchinson is on it.
Was gonna say "Me toooooo" :biggrin: But then Squeeze in Greenwich came up and it would have been rude not to go :wink:
Laura Marling last night in San Francisco! Gush gush gush -- she put on an amazing and intense show. Thanks to the Harper fans who put me onto her.
Aww, jealous! I CANNOT stop listening to "A Creature I Don't Know". IMHO, if another musician this year can have 3 album songs in a row more stunning than "I Was Just a Card", "Don't Ask Me Why" and "Salinas", I'll be shocked :biggrin:
