Owner: Greg Rose - Freelance Journalist URL:www.gregrose16.blogspot.com Join Date: Fri, 02 Nov 2007 18:57:29 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: Musings and meanderings on music, sport and much more Site statistics:Click here
Operator Please & Good Shoes Live 2007-11-23 07:22:00 Operator Please
& Good Shoes
Concorde 2, BrightonTuesday 20th NovemberOperator Please sound sketchy, rough and natural. They look fresh, if a little bit frazzled, and genuinely animated. They sing a song about ping pong called ‘Just A Song About Ping Pong.’ It’s fast, jumpy eccentricity with an Aussie twang and a violin.There are certainly more inventive bands around; some of The Maccabees are inside Concorde tonight, for a start. The five-piece may include a violinist, but this isn’t affecting Arcade Fire grandeur and doesn’t intend to be. ‘Get What You Want’ is a bass-driven canter to a bouncy chorus, showcasing the band’s style. The aforementioned table-tennis tribute is well-received, while new single ‘Leave It Alone’ shares its charged pop sensibilities. They may not be ground-breaking, but as the keyboardist giddily galumphs around behind her instrument, their quirky enthusiasm is infectious.Operator Please have the beguiling advantage of striving to elevate th Read more:Operator
The Raveonettes - Lust In Music 2007-11-20 08:19:00 Sune Rose Wagner is a pretty insouciant character. Not surprising really – last year he accepted death. When a Hawaiian holiday went wrong, there looked to be no way back. “I was surfing, but I can’t really surf. My board almost knocked me out; I was stranded for half an hour, nobody could see me. I just let go, I felt very warm and calm. I wasn’t afraid.” Thankfully for him, and for devotees of his band’s inimitable brand of garage-pop, some fortuitously-placed coral reef intervened. A few months on, The Raveonettes have returned with a new album. It’s no wonder the pressures of a hectic touring schedule seem a rather minuscule grievance. Gigwise has found a genuinely humble rock star.Don’t confuse this humility with contentment though. New album Lust Lust Lust is the result of a brooding, self-examination for Sune, its sole songwriter. As the title suggests, it deals with issues of relationships. “It’s primarily based on personal experiences,” he admits. “It Read more:Music
Kings of Leon Live 2007-12-07 05:02:00 Kings of LeonBrighton CentreThursday 6th DecemberKings of Leon look angry. “You guys sing along,” shouts Caleb Followill. “Because the technicians are fucking terrible tonight.” They’re definitely annoyed. Having made the move to venues that resemble airport terminals, they now have to adjust to sound systems that have all the subtlety of a 747.Despite the technical problems, the preachers’ sons show why they’re able to fill such vast venues. Opening with Slow Night, So Long, they play with carnal force and relentless tenacity. Black Thumbnail continues the coarse, spirited sound of a band in charge. The stage set is sparse; four large screens show images ranging from a creepy pole dancer to Caleb’s impossibly skinny legs. It feels aptly uncluttered, providing a platform for the music, not a distraction.With so many arena-friendly anthems, the band can be selective with their setlist. However, they lean heavily on latest album ‘Because of the Times’, following the l
Tottenham Hotpur 3-2 Aalborg BK 2007-12-04 10:05:00 Juande Ramos’ Midas touch in the UEFA Cup continued as he oversaw Tottenham
Hotspur surmount a 2-0 half-time deficit to defeat Aalborg BK.Ramos has won the tournament with Seville two years running; his new side are well placed to reach the knockout stages after a victory that looked very unlikely at one stage.Aalborg out-battled and out-thought Spurs in the first half and were good value for their two goal lead. But Tottenham stormed back after the break, blitzing the opposition with three goals in 20 minutes. Second half goals from Dimitar Berbatov, the impressive Steed Malbranque and substitute Darren Bent sealed a 3-2 win.White Hart Lane was stunned into silence after one minute and 50 seconds when Thomas Enevoldsen, the Aalborg striker, scored with a venomous shot from 20 yards. Collecting lifelong Spurs fan Martin Pedersen’s throw, he shrugged off a half-hearted challenge from Robbie Keane, the Tottenham captain, before rifling the ball past Paul Robinson’s despairing dive.
Bloc Party & The Cribs Live 2007-12-17 09:11:00 Alexandra PalaceFriday 14th DecemberIf a band is trying to gage how far they have progressed, playing Alexandra Palace is the acid test. "Let's pretend for a moment that this is a sweaty little club instead of a huge exhibition centre," pleads Kele Okereke. When you are facing a hall more suited for a political conference than a gig, this isn't an easy task. Bloc Party
manage it with a jerky medley of understated style and in-your-face bravado.The Cribs
find the transition less comfortable. Chaotic kings of sticky-floored settings nationwide, in front of a larger audience they sound flat. "Our Bovine Public' is a disastrous opener marred by the venue's notoriously troublesome acoustics and poor timing. Things improve with "Hey Scenesters', the Jarman brothers mastering the mix between enthusiastic thrashing and maintaining rhythm.Three albums in, the band have an array of songs to choose from, but pluck mostly from latest record Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whateve Read more:Bloc Party
Inter 0 (0) - 1 (3) Liverpool 2008-03-12 05:37:00 Fernando Torres showed his class as Liverpool
strolled into the quarter-finals of the Champions League with a 1-0 victory against 10-man Inter
Milan. The striker scored a superb shot from outside of the box as the English side won the tie 3-0 on aggregate.The Italians had Nicolas Burdisso sent-off early in the second half for two soft bookings and never looked like achieving an upset. Liverpool were happy to shut out the Serie A leaders, and after Torres’ 64th minute strike they were never in doubt of becoming the fourth English team into the last eight of the competition.Both teams starting line-ups were disrupted before the game, with Inter missing Marco Materazzi through suspension and Liverpool without Xabi Alonso, who controversially opted not to travel. Torres was deployed as a lon
Editors - Live 2008-03-07 13:45:00 EditorsAlexandra Palace, LondonWednesday 5th March 2008Another band runs the Alexandra Palace gauntlet. Editors, having done rather well of late, take the leap from big indie band to proper, your-mum-has-probably-heard-of-them, arena showstoppers. Well, not quite - but they give it a decent go.Support bands shouldn’t be allowed at this venue. They should just give everyone a few free drinks, or lower the price and have the gig start later. The venue is just so vast, so open, that anything but the most advanced sound equipment is utterly futile. Sons and Daughters may well be a very exciting young band with a captivating front-woman in Adele Bethel, but they sound flat and tinny against the backdrop of uninterested punters and cloudy vibrations. They look like kids in a school play, compl Read more:Editors
The Futureheads - Interview 2008-03-04 08:47:00 Hello, You Divvies, We’re Back - The FutureheadsBand make great first album. Band get complacent. Band release adventurous second album that sells terribly. Band get dropped. Band split up. It’s a well-worn path, but The Futureheads are refusing to be the next band to walk along it. Having been dropped, they’ve since regrouped, wrote a new album and, apparently, “rediscovered their mojo.” When Gigwise finds an affable, casually dressed Barry Hyde in a London pub, he is brimming with a giddy excitement that has more to do with a reborn zest for life than the lunchtime pin he is sipping. The other band members are milling around, but we can see Hyde has things to get off his chest, and zone in on the chief songwriter. Read on to find out about that Austin Powers reference, how Radi
Vampire Weekend Review 2008-02-28 06:24:00 Vampire Weekend
Brighton AudioSunday 24th February 2008“You’re shit hot!” shouts a typically animated Vampire Weekend devotee. “You don’t like us? Oh…” enquires clearly deflated singer Ezra Koenig. “No, no, shit hot means good over here,” he is assured. Although some things are lost in translation, the band’s irrepressibly joyous pop kitsch is well understood.The New York band have enjoyed (or endured, depending on your viewpoint) more hype than is strictly plausible for a preppie four-piece with a penchant for Peter Gabriel. If this had gone to their heads the ridiculously tiny stage wouldn’t be able to fit even one of their egos, let alone a drum kit. When they jumble into view, forced to perform in a straight line due the delightfully cramped setup, it’s clear the Read more:Vampire
Los Campesinos! Interview 2008-02-22 13:47:00 Los Campesinos! have admitted they “really aren’t that bothered” by unlawful downloads of their new album.“I have downloaded music illegally in the past,” Ellen, the band’s bassist, told Gigwise. “And if I really like it I’ll buy a tangible copy. We’re not that driven by money anyway, with seven of us in the band.” Their debut record, ‘Hold On Now, Youngster’, is released on Monday, but was leaked on the internet a month ago.“We’re excited that it’s finally coming out, but it’s almost an anti-climax because we recorded it so long ago and it’s been leaked.” New single, ‘Death To Los Campesinos!’ came out this week, and Ellen explained the idea behind its rather colourful video, which sees the band ‘killed’ by the likes of flowers, feathers and un
The Best Love Songs Ever 2008-02-18 04:01:00 20. Blur – ‘Tender’ Graham Coxon shuffles about uncomfortably, Damon Albarn is all gawky certainty, and Blur have never been so powerful. Backed by a gospel choir, recalling the imagery of Fitzgerald and Keats, it had altogether loftier ambitions than Blur’s earlier records. However, its charm is the devastating simplicity of both words and music, combining to make a song full of affection.19. The Stranglers – ‘Golden Brown’ A love song about heroin, it waltzes past, seemingly propping itself up on a merry-go-round rhythm that bobs along constantly. Full of contradictions and a tickling vocal, it sounds peculiarly English, a strange vagueness mixing with a stately delivery to get that bubbling affection creeping through. 18. Oasis – ‘Wonderwall’ One of the most recogni Read more:Love Songs
The Worst Love Songs Ever 2008-02-16 06:18:00 20. Robbie Williams – ‘Angels’ After he left Take That, they soon fell by the wayside, and everybody assumed it wouldn’t be too long before the chubby one from Stoke did the same. But no, he released this behemoth of sentimental pap and it went and saved his career. So we still have to look at his smug face in the paper every day.19. Lionel Ritchie – ‘Hello’ Does anyone else get ever so slightly scared by the video? How is the blind love interest’s sculpture so worryingly accurate? Is Lionel Ritchie really that creepy? He shouts hello with such exclamation, and so many times, you can’t even just ignore the song, you’re stuck listening to the repeated greetings of a gibbering idiot.18. Bryan Adams – ‘Everything I Do, I Do It For You’ This Robin Hood soundtrack song Read more:Love Songs
Milan Misadventures 2008-02-10 14:55:00 Giorgio Armani and me, we don’t often cross paths. Tina Turner sends him a panther every Christmas; I watch Peterborough Panthers speedway team occasionally. He’s got an estimated fortune of £4 billion; until recently I spent Friday nights sitting on a Tesco till. As he sat in his mansion, I was hunting down my £13.50-per-night hostel. After a day spent investigating the Duomo cathedral, I sought some less sophisticated entertainment; there’s only so much refinement you can stand on a Saturday afternoon. Even though Milan
is a destination known for fashion, style and elegance, these were far from my mind when entering a pub imaginatively named ‘The Football Bar’ to watch some British sport after a day of continental culture.With Six Nations rugby on TV, I grabbed the last remai Read more:Misadventures
Cat Power - Live 2008-01-28 16:26:00 Cat PowerShepherds Bush Empire, LondonSunday 27th JanuaryYou don’t quite know what to expect from Cat Power. She never seems sure what to expect from herself. Tonight, she is an intoxicating mix of alluring emotion, kooky elusiveness and vocal presence.The start is pedestrian as she pitter-patters onstage, suitably understated in waistcoat and jeans. Her four-piece band, The Dirty Delta Blues, are restless, a note shy, a foot wrong. ‘Metal Heart’ simmers by, adequate but uninspired; Cat saunters, comfortably subdued. It takes the contiguous charm of ‘Dark End Of The Street’ to pierce the normality of the show, coaxing a quivering croon from Cat and sparking her into newfound theatrical interaction.Suddenly, the crowd is laughing at her exaggerated cockney impressions, swooning at Read more:Cat Power
Seasick Steve - Live 2008-01-25 16:59:00 Seasick Steve
Astoria, LondonThursday 24th January 2008If you see an old haggard man wearing dungarees staggering towards you, a guitar slung over his shoulder and a bottle of Jack in his hand, you probably cross the street. If he happens to be Seasick Steve, you join 2000 other people and watch him play blues so raw and raucous you don’t know whether to take that whiskey from him or buy him another bottle.After emerging with a manic grin from the eager crowd, he reels straight into ‘Things Go Up’, churning up a primitive riff before orchestrating aurally-pleasing audience accompaniment. The Astoria’s terraced style aids his aim of producing a sound “like a gospel choir,” but the results owe more to infectious enthusiasm than acoustics. With each brash stroke of his guitar, his
Lightspeed Champion - Falling Off The Lavender Bridge 2008-01-13 12:15:00 Having garnered critical praise for the unruly din his former band Test Icicles made, Dev Hynes decided he didn’t like all that blaring mischievousness after all. The result is another new musical identity, another rubbish name, but surprisingly not another shoddy album.It seems Hynes was hiding an aptitude for melody all along. Falling Off The Lavender
Bridge is considered; glossy but understated, a seemingly light listen, yet resonant. Perhaps the source of this thoughtfulness is producer and long-time Bright Eyes collaborator Mike Mogis. Lightspeed
Champion doesn’t reproduce anything like the juvenile profundity Conor Oberst sometimes conjures, but he picks up the country-tinged romanticism and shattering simplicity.It slides towards flimsiness at times, notably on the pointless 72
I'm Not There Original Soundtrack 2008-01-09 07:39:00 These songs were written by music’s most gifted songsmith and are reinterpreted here by a selection of today’s most talented artists. This sounds like a winning formula, but actually produces a shapeless batch that rouses as much infuriation as inspiration.Luminaries such as Sonic Youth, Antony & The Johnsons and Jack Johnson attempt the impossible in covering Bob Dylan for the soundtrack to his upcoming experimental biopic. His voice is so distinctive that hearing the likes of ‘The Times They Are A-Changin’ in anything except his absorbing, hoarse hum generally sounds alien and ineffective.However, many people find Dylan’s tone more excruciating than exhilarating, so this album is a chance to experience his songs with more acceptable audibility. Cat Power brings a simmering char Read more:Original
, Soundtrack
, Original Soundtrack
Festivals 2008-04-07 13:29:00 You used to know where you stood with festivals. Go to Glastonbury if you want mud and majesty, head to Reading for rough and ready rocking. Chance V for the clean and commercial, or try T in the Park if you can be bothered to trek to Scotland. Now things have changed, with renewed interest in live music heralding a new golden age for festivals.As the season approaches, it appears there are more festivals than fields. Whether it’s independent jaunts in unknown corners of Britain, marauding trips to European hotspots, or corporate events in the capital, there is something for everyone. So why have they got so popular?“Festivals? They’re a place to escape control,” mused Jarvis Cocker at V last summer. “Everyone comes together, and makes something different. It can be brilliant.”
Benicassim 2008-04-10 18:57:00 Waking up at festivals isn’t fun. Your head hurts, mud has miraculously seeped into your tent, you’re thirsty but all there is to drink is a half-empty can of Carling, and you smell like you haven’t washed for three days – because you haven’t. There is no remedy for this, other than to jet away from this meteorologically-challenged isle to Benicassim, where a beach situated five minutes away makes returning to consciousness that much easier.Benicassim is Spain’s premier festival, a veritable feast of sun, sea, sand and sangria. It contains all the usual festival ingredients, but has the added advantage of guaranteed great weather, a stunning setting and the opportunity for a holiday.It has been at the forefront of the growing trend for Brits to head abroad for festivals since i
Shout Out Louds - Our ill Wills 2008-04-10 08:48:00 Sometimes an album sounds fun on first listen, and then repeated plays reveal a previously hidden ripe underbelly of symphonic treats and aural pleasures. ‘Our Ill Wills
’ doesn’t. It’s rather nice, but there are puddles with more depth. The darling harmonies and summery arrangements that typified debut album ‘Howl Howl Gaff Gaff’ are present and correct, as is the endearing lyrical optimism and naivety. Shout Out Louds know about heartache, romance, that indistinguishable period between the two, plus the bit before and the time after. And they’ll be damned if they are going to write a song about anything else.Just in case the band weren’t twee enough, they rope in Bjorn again – the Peter, Bjorn and John member and long-time Shout Out Louds producer, not the Abba tribute
Tindersticks - The Hungry Saw 2008-04-14 19:34:00 The luxurious sound conjured on Tindersticks’ long-overdue return appears to justify the frustrations and convulsions of an eventful and painful five-year-long disappearance. The record is a simply sumptuous effort, leaving the listener bathed in the opulence of a band clearly thrilled to be making music again. Since the Nottingham collective last recorded together, the line-up has been trimmed to a core of three original members, while singer Stuart Staples now has two solo albums under his belt. There is a reinvigorated comfort and togetherness to the sound, shown in the steady progression of ‘Boobar’, with its wounded harmonies and circular structure.The focal point of their compositions remains the dreamlike, smoky vocals of Staples. His injured utterances shape and match the und Read more:Hungry
The Postelles and Cage The Elephant Live 2008-04-27 15:51:00 Thursday 24th AprilProud GalleryCamden Town, LondonThere are about six bands on tonight, but the ones worth mentioning are inconveniently placed at either end of the bill. Both are very young, very American, and very good in very different ways.The Postelles are a stylish four-piece from New York that dress, sound and act like The Strokes. They have even got Albert Hammond Jr. to produce their new single. Their debut EP hasn’t quite garnered the same acclaim as ‘The Modern Age’, but is promising nonetheless. ‘White Night’ is an uncomplicated jig filled with Kooks-borrowed wails and catchy couplets, jerky enough to tease a few people away from their stables.Oh, I forgot to mention: Proud has moved to a former horse hospital, so all the seating stalls are actually stalls and the co
The Maccabees and Good Shoes Live 2008-05-05 04:47:00 The Maccabees and Good ShoesConcorde 2, BrightonSaturday 3rd May A summery, seaside stroll down to the secluded setting of this secretive gig is strikingly fitting for this showcase of two sun-kissed bands that really should be a lot bigger.While Scouting For Hoosiers Only continue to brainwash a nation with saccharine tripe, The Maccabees and Good Shoes have released two of the most accessible yet credible pop records of recent years, yet can still amble into their hometown Harry Ramsden’s unnoticed.This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The bands have been left alone to write the follow-up albums, tonight giving a glimpse of their efforts to an adoring audience. Good Shoes begin with a well-received newbie, mainly due to explaining it’s about Brighton. The unheard material is greeted
The Great Escape Festival 2008 2008-05-18 15:54:00 The GreatEscape
Various Venues, BrightonThursday 15th – Saturday 17th May 2008Festival
s don’t have to be about mud, tents and seeing recently reformed groups picking up paychecks almost as big as their egos. The Great Escape takes one city, throws hundreds of new bands into dozens of venues, adds thousands of punters and conjures millions of magical moments, all in three hazy days. On arrival
The Raconteurs Live 2008-05-18 04:47:00 The Raconteurs
Hammersmith Apollo, LondonWednesday, 14/05/08“I’m not sure if there’s a point to the story, but I’m going to tell it again,” preaches Jack White in his distinct primal squeal, beginning The Raconteurs final song. Yes, we’ve heard it all before, but that doesn’t make White and company any less electrifying. In fact, the back story makes their current glory all the more a
Jarvis Cocker - Saying The Unsayable 2008-05-24 10:15:00 Jarvis Cocker
gave a lecture on lyrics at Brighton Festival last night.Special praise was singled out for the lyrics of Amy Winehouse’s track ‘Me And Mr Jones’, with Cocker stating: “Amy just makes words up. What kind of fuckery is this? I dunno, but I like it.”Babyshambles ‘Baddies Boogie’ was also commended, as Jarvis – famed for his own unsubtly sexual songwriting - explained: Read more:Jarvis
Noah & The Whale and Soko Live 2008-06-07 11:58:00 Noah And The Whale
, SokoScala, LondonWednesday 4th July 2008Believe it or not, but a folk band could be about to get big. Noah and the Whale not only pack out this ample venue, they fill it with more woozy, swaying fun than can rightly be expected from a band that just lost their most-lauded member.Tonight, Noah are sans-Marling, but another sprightly songstress is here. French performer Soko has
Laura Marling Live 2008-06-14 18:34:00 Laura MarlingSt. James’ Church, LondonWednesday 11th June 2008This whole playing in a church idea is fraught with some major problems. Creating an atmosphere resembling a standard gig is not only difficult, it almost feels wrong. The acoustics, as The Arcade Fire found last year, can be pretty dreadful. There is no bar. Plus, nobody goes to church these days, do they?It appears they do if Laura Read more:Laura
How to get a Whale out of a pigeon-hole 2008-06-18 14:58:00 How to get a Whale
out of a pigeon
-holeNoah and the Whale. They’re a folk band, right? All tweed and fiddles with twee little fiddly bits. “We want to get to a point where people are so confused about what we are that we can’t be pigeon-holed,” claims Charlie Fink, leader of this bespoke, ramshackle contradiction of a group. “I don’t know what kind of band we are, so how does anybody e
Joe Lean Glastonbury Interview 2008-07-02 13:56:00 Joe Lean Keen On Glastonbury
Festival CrowdsAnd Lily Allen's keen on him...by Greg Rose27 June 2008Photo by: Nathan GallagherJoe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong played the biggest gig of their lives and described it as “the best experience we’ve ever had. It was bonkers, it blew my mind.”Joe Lean was eager to tell Gigwise in the Orange Tent how much he loved the festival crowd and admitted his s
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