Thorin sits down and starts singing about gold.
So I ventured down into the staff restaurant at lunchtime, wondering what delights would await me as a Medieval theme menu had been organised for us hard-working civil service types. Much to my chagrin there were no busty wenches serving mead from large earthenware jugs, a serious lack of jousting and not one person humming the Knights of the Round Table song from Monty Python and The Holy Grail.
*koff*
OK, so hands up who's now got the tune in their heads? Excellent! Moving swiftly on, here's what I found listed in the back pages of this week's NME:
The Strange Death of Liberal England @ The Joiners, Southampton - 08/03/2007
The Five O'Clock Heroes @ The Joiners, Southampton - 18/03/2007
The Strange Death of Liberal England @ The Registry, Portsmouth - 29/03/2007
SixNationState @ The Joiners, Southampton - 06/04/2007
Midlake @ Concorde 2, Brighton - 12/04/2007
Yourcodenameis:Milo @ The Joiners, Southampton - 16/04/2007
The Wombats @ Unit22, Southampton - 05/05/2007
The Pigeon Detectives @ Southampton University - 20/05/2007
Travis @ BIC, Bournemouth - 23/05/2007
New Young Pony Club @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 07/06/2007
New Young Pony Club @ Concorde 2, Brighton - 08/06/2007
I'll add those gigs into the SoMC Events Calendar as soon as I can, if I'm not too busy quaffing ale or saving young maidens from fiery dragons that is. The Events Calendar is jam packed of all sorts of gigs in the local area and can be clicked through to your heart's content just as soon as you've registered on the forum. To pique your interest I've plucked the following gigs from it:
Monique & The Paris Lite Band @ New Theatre Royal, Portsmouth - 02/03/2007
Polly & The Billet Doux @ The Railway Inn, Winchester - 04/03/2007
Barclay James Harvest @ The Anvil, Basingstoke - 13/03/2007
Archie Bronson Outfit @ Audio, Brighton - 20/03/2007
DJ Format @ Ryde Theatre, Ryde - 24/03/2007
The Exits @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 31/03/2007
Martin Carthy @ The Cellars at Eastney, Portsmouth - 11/04/2007
Little Green @ The Joiners, Southampton - 18/04/2007
Anti-Nowhere League @ The Railway Inn, Winchester - 19/04/2007
Ugly Duckling @ The Consortium, Bournemouth - 27/04/2007
Bedouin Soundclash's gig at The Wedgewood Rooms on Thursday 15th March is now SOLD OUT. In a not so surprising turn of events so is the Rick Buckler & Bruce Foxton (from The Jam) gig there on Sunday 27th May.
Pancake Eating Freaks will be supporting The Rage Against The Machine UK Tribute at The Wedgewood Rooms on Friday 16th March. I mention this as it's also their uncle's birthday the same day. He's asked me to ask you to buy him a drink if you see him there, I'm sure you good people won't let me down.
The really rather tuneful One Weird Fish will be appearing at The Cellars at Eastney this Saturday. I'll be there and, although it's not my birthday until May, I'll let you buy me a drink if you feel you must. I'm easy like that.
If you're as confused by the current music licensing laws as I am then why not make yourself heard. A petition has been posted at the Number 10 website for you to register your disapproval, just point your browser here and do the necessary.
And that just about wraps it up for this week, this afternoon I was mostly listening to ELO. Rock. Next week I'll be helping Banto move house, so the Gigwatcher will be hitting the streets on Thursday.
:o)
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Monday, February 26, 2007
IOW Festival sells out
This year's Isle of Wight Festival has sold out, in record time no less.
Doh.
If being too slow off the mark wasn't bad enough, bless the organiser's cotton socks if they didn't email me to rub my nose in it for missing out on one of the 50,000 tickets that went on sale last week (unlike Mr Shue, who was all ticketed up by lunchtime last Thursday).
Of course, I could always go completely insane and buy one of the many tickets that have appeared on ebay since they were released for sale to the public. But, I have to ask myself, do I really want to fork out £360 to see Keane.
H'mm.
That'd be a no then.
Doh.
If being too slow off the mark wasn't bad enough, bless the organiser's cotton socks if they didn't email me to rub my nose in it for missing out on one of the 50,000 tickets that went on sale last week (unlike Mr Shue, who was all ticketed up by lunchtime last Thursday).
Of course, I could always go completely insane and buy one of the many tickets that have appeared on ebay since they were released for sale to the public. But, I have to ask myself, do I really want to fork out £360 to see Keane.
H'mm.
That'd be a no then.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Courtney Pine @ The Wedgewood Rooms 24/02/2007
Jazz.
Even saying the word can provoke an instant, sometimes violent, reaction in people. An over-exposure to Kenny Ball's Jazzmen at an early age can scar someone for life; just the image of a moustachioed man in a bowler hat can cause cold sweats and tremors in folks I know.
Not me though. Oh no.
Unfortunately it's likely this mental conditioning of what jazz is that puts people off. It may also explain the dearth of jazz in our record shops, something Courtney Pine railed against at the end of his set last night, and perhaps even the less than full venue in which he found himself.
Perhaps.
For the most part the ebullient Pine entertained us with some funky slices of sax jazz, backed by his exceedingly talented band (two fifths of which had acted as his support). A selection of his back catalogue, mixed with jazz standards such as the classic Take Five, were dropped on us like funky bombs. The hep-cat kids standing next to me were getting down, the tall guy in front of me was definitely nodding his head.
Great.
Unfortunately just weaving around the melody wasn't enough for Pine; soon the stereotypical jazz noodlings started and I had to strain to hear the notes he wasn't playing. The hep-cat kids were in ecstasy but I was getting lost. And then it got silly. Playing a saxophone fast is one thing and there's no denying that the saxophonic callasthenics were technically impressive. But playing it with no hands, or playing two at once? That's just showing off.
This was showboating for its own sake, the kind of musical masturbation I imagine Steve Vai gets up to. But I appeared to be alone in my opinion. The majority of the audience clapped politely after each noodly tootle; the hep-cat kids next to me shouted their appreciation and blew a large herbal cloud in my direction.
Mellow.
If I could play two saxophones at once I'd damn sure let everyone know about it, but it's a talent I feel would be more at home on Opportunity Knocks than onstage at The Wedgewood Rooms. Thankfully the showing off was reined in toward the end of the set and we were treated to a funky take on the Billy Taylor Trio's I Wish I Knew (How It Would Feel To Be Free) for putting up with it.
Nice.
Before sending us out into the rain, and after making us jump up and down seventy two times to show our commitment to jazz, Courtney Pine made an impassioned plea on behalf of the UK jazz scene. Sadly, to a casual bystander like myself, the more outlandish elements of the evening's performance appear to explain the state it's in.
Even saying the word can provoke an instant, sometimes violent, reaction in people. An over-exposure to Kenny Ball's Jazzmen at an early age can scar someone for life; just the image of a moustachioed man in a bowler hat can cause cold sweats and tremors in folks I know.
Not me though. Oh no.
Unfortunately it's likely this mental conditioning of what jazz is that puts people off. It may also explain the dearth of jazz in our record shops, something Courtney Pine railed against at the end of his set last night, and perhaps even the less than full venue in which he found himself.
Perhaps.
For the most part the ebullient Pine entertained us with some funky slices of sax jazz, backed by his exceedingly talented band (two fifths of which had acted as his support). A selection of his back catalogue, mixed with jazz standards such as the classic Take Five, were dropped on us like funky bombs. The hep-cat kids standing next to me were getting down, the tall guy in front of me was definitely nodding his head.
Great.
Unfortunately just weaving around the melody wasn't enough for Pine; soon the stereotypical jazz noodlings started and I had to strain to hear the notes he wasn't playing. The hep-cat kids were in ecstasy but I was getting lost. And then it got silly. Playing a saxophone fast is one thing and there's no denying that the saxophonic callasthenics were technically impressive. But playing it with no hands, or playing two at once? That's just showing off.
This was showboating for its own sake, the kind of musical masturbation I imagine Steve Vai gets up to. But I appeared to be alone in my opinion. The majority of the audience clapped politely after each noodly tootle; the hep-cat kids next to me shouted their appreciation and blew a large herbal cloud in my direction.
Mellow.
If I could play two saxophones at once I'd damn sure let everyone know about it, but it's a talent I feel would be more at home on Opportunity Knocks than onstage at The Wedgewood Rooms. Thankfully the showing off was reined in toward the end of the set and we were treated to a funky take on the Billy Taylor Trio's I Wish I Knew (How It Would Feel To Be Free) for putting up with it.
Nice.
Before sending us out into the rain, and after making us jump up and down seventy two times to show our commitment to jazz, Courtney Pine made an impassioned plea on behalf of the UK jazz scene. Sadly, to a casual bystander like myself, the more outlandish elements of the evening's performance appear to explain the state it's in.
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Mew Live in Copenhagen DVD
The Mew Live in Copenhagen DVD arrived on my doorstep this morning. This is Mew's first live DVD, recorded at a packed KB Hallen in Copenhagen last March. Needless to say the disc was out of the jiffy bag and into the player before the cellophane could hit the floor.
The 16 track DVD favours the recent And The Glass Handed Kites album but that's to be expected. There are a couple of gems from earlier albums included in the set, both 156 and Comforting Sounds are accompanied by their mind-bending rear-projected films (you'll believe a cat can play the violin, I'm still not sure what those white things are though). In addition Jonas performs a delicate solo medley of Panda, Mica and Saliva at the piano. Also included on the decidedly minimalist DVD (no fancy menus with music) is a bonus 60 minute "documentary" of the making of ATGHK (or rather a collection of clips of the chaps in various rehearsal rooms and studios).
The only criticism I can muster, given that I'm fairly stoked to get my grubby little mitts on it, is that the footage has been tinkered around with too much in post-production; it's decidedly murky in places (either that or my TV screen is due a clean).
The Region 0 DVD was released in Denmark last December and it's not on general sale elsewhere as yet. It can be purchased from the Mew website via a link to Vibrashop but, thanks to a tip-off on the Mew forum, I pointed my browser to the Irish CDWOW site. There the DVD is available for a bargain €5.99 (someone must have screwed up, it should be €22.00 at least!).
Anyway, enough banter, here's the opening track of the DVD, Special:
The 16 track DVD favours the recent And The Glass Handed Kites album but that's to be expected. There are a couple of gems from earlier albums included in the set, both 156 and Comforting Sounds are accompanied by their mind-bending rear-projected films (you'll believe a cat can play the violin, I'm still not sure what those white things are though). In addition Jonas performs a delicate solo medley of Panda, Mica and Saliva at the piano. Also included on the decidedly minimalist DVD (no fancy menus with music) is a bonus 60 minute "documentary" of the making of ATGHK (or rather a collection of clips of the chaps in various rehearsal rooms and studios).
The only criticism I can muster, given that I'm fairly stoked to get my grubby little mitts on it, is that the footage has been tinkered around with too much in post-production; it's decidedly murky in places (either that or my TV screen is due a clean).
The Region 0 DVD was released in Denmark last December and it's not on general sale elsewhere as yet. It can be purchased from the Mew website via a link to Vibrashop but, thanks to a tip-off on the Mew forum, I pointed my browser to the Irish CDWOW site. There the DVD is available for a bargain €5.99 (someone must have screwed up, it should be €22.00 at least!).
Anyway, enough banter, here's the opening track of the DVD, Special:
Friday, February 23, 2007
The Sweater & MuchMusic on late night TV
A long time ago, way before the internet had us in its grip, back when mobile phones were the size of house bricks, my local ITV franchise didn't really know what to do with its overnight strand of programming. It toyed with viewer's votes for dodgy b-movies, re-ran strange one-shot series from the sixties about ghostly detectives or indestructible super police-type people, then wrapped up before breakfast with Casey Kasem telling us what was on at the cinema across the pond.
In-between this random selection of shows some bright spark had decided to crowbar in a 60 minute music show. Of course, being late night tv and having a near non-existent budget they couldn't afford anything expensive. But they could afford something Canadian.
An off the shelf package of promos and interviews from MuchMusic (sort of like MTV, but Canadian) was snapped up. From an editing suite in Toronto came a weekly snapshot of the Canadian music scene ideal for the international market. Just what your average music geek insomniac could ask for. The show was full of bands and artists I'd never heard of and I was frankly surprised to discover that there was more to Canadian music than Bryan Adams or, well, one of his mates.
As much fun as it was staying up until silly AM though I soon decided to tape the programme, spending hungover Sunday mornings watching an odd and often inconsistent mix of artists. More often than not the content was nothing to write home about (there was a reason the show was on at three in the morning) but, once in awhile, an artist would pop up that I'd take notice of.
One such act was a bunch of wacky dudes called Barenaked Ladies (you may have heard of them, they had a hit or two awhile back), another was Meryn Cadell (who no-one seems to have heard of). She produced a bizarre yet catchy tribute to boy's sweaters, spoken word over a rolling beat, which had a fittingly bizarre and memorable video.
And the point of this nostalgic interlude? The album featuring the song is being re-released (after being out of print for ages). I know this because, it being a Friday, I spent the afternoon pootling around the interweb like I usually do and stumbled across the video for The Sweater on YouTube:
In-between this random selection of shows some bright spark had decided to crowbar in a 60 minute music show. Of course, being late night tv and having a near non-existent budget they couldn't afford anything expensive. But they could afford something Canadian.
An off the shelf package of promos and interviews from MuchMusic (sort of like MTV, but Canadian) was snapped up. From an editing suite in Toronto came a weekly snapshot of the Canadian music scene ideal for the international market. Just what your average music geek insomniac could ask for. The show was full of bands and artists I'd never heard of and I was frankly surprised to discover that there was more to Canadian music than Bryan Adams or, well, one of his mates.
As much fun as it was staying up until silly AM though I soon decided to tape the programme, spending hungover Sunday mornings watching an odd and often inconsistent mix of artists. More often than not the content was nothing to write home about (there was a reason the show was on at three in the morning) but, once in awhile, an artist would pop up that I'd take notice of.
One such act was a bunch of wacky dudes called Barenaked Ladies (you may have heard of them, they had a hit or two awhile back), another was Meryn Cadell (who no-one seems to have heard of). She produced a bizarre yet catchy tribute to boy's sweaters, spoken word over a rolling beat, which had a fittingly bizarre and memorable video.
And the point of this nostalgic interlude? The album featuring the song is being re-released (after being out of print for ages). I know this because, it being a Friday, I spent the afternoon pootling around the interweb like I usually do and stumbled across the video for The Sweater on YouTube:
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
The Gigwatcher 21/02/2007
Woop ah whoa yeah yeah.
Ah, that Wednesday feeling again. Don't you just love it? No? How about when you realise it's nearly nearly almost the weekend. Almost.
OK, so that's a bit desperate.
Umm.
Moving swiftly on; this week's NME features a wee article about the Danish music scene. Sadly it neglects to mention the mighty Mew (who's concert DVD I'm still waiting for CD-WOW to dispatch) but does name-check The Blue Van and Figurines. Nice. There's also a mention of probably the best night-club in the world (that I've been to), Vega.
If only I'd not dropped my cheese and onion roll onto the article midway through reading it.
*koff*
This way to the cafeteria... here's what I found listed in the back pages this week:
Jack Peñate @ Lennon's, Southampton - 03/03/2007
Pull Tiger Tail @ Audio, Brighton - 04/03/2007
Mando Diao @ Audio, Brighton - 05/03/2007
The Hours @ Pressure Point, Brighton - 10/03/2007
Bedouin Soundclash @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 15/03/2007
The Rumble Strips @ Audio, Brighton - 23/03/2007
Jack Peñate @ Engine Rooms, Brighton - 02/04/2007
Fortune Drive @ Ocean Rooms, Brighton - 07/04/2007
Mumm-Ra @ Concorde 2, Brighton - 14/04/2007
Mumm-Ra @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 16/04/2007
The Maccabees @ The Old Market, Brighton - 18 & 19/04/2007
The Maccabees @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 26/04/2007
The Twang @ Concorde 2, Brighton - 09/05/2007
The Maccabees @ The Old Fire Station, Bournemouth - 16/05/2007
Funeral For A Friend @ The Guildhall, Portsmouth - 21/05/2007
The Twang @ The Pyramids, Portsmouth - 28/05/2007
If I'm not trapped under something heavy I'll add the above gigs into the SoMC Events Calendar. As mentioned once or twice already the Events Calendar contains listings of gigs in the local area and available for all to peruse (just as long as they've registered on the forum). I've lifted the following teasers from it to tickle your fancy:
The Kiks @ Havana Bar, Southsea - 23/02/2007
Ed Tudorpole @ The Railway Inn, Winchester - 24/02/2007
African Soul Rebels (featuring Femi Kuti & Ba Cissoko) @ The Anvil, Basingstoke - 24/02/2007
John Otway @ The Railway Inn, Winchester - 01/03/2007
The Frank & Walters @ The Cellars at Eastney, Portsmouth - 04/03/2007
Artie Fishel & The Promised Band @ The Anvil, Basingstoke - 08/03/2007 (one for all you Klezmer fans)
Focus @ The Brook, Southampton - 16/03/2007
The Bootleg Beatles @ The King's Theatre, Southsea - 16/03/2007
Cutting Crew @ The Brook, Southampton - 22/03/2007
Three Men & Black (featuring Pauline Black from The Selecter) @ The Cellars @ Eastney, Portsmouth - 25/03/2007
The James Taylor Quartet @ Havant Arts Centre, Havant - 06/04/2007
Ticket prices for The Who's gig at the Rose Bowl have been released. Standing tickets are £45.00 though, with a 10% booking fee per ticket plus postage per order, they'll set you back considerably more. If that's too rich for your blood then local tribute act Who's Who will be performing Quadrophenia in its entirety at The Wedgewood Rooms on the 25th of May.
The Manic Street Preachers tour in May is now, apparently, completely SOLD OUT. No, I couldn't believe it either.
As mentioned earlier the provisional line-up for this year's Isle of Wight Festival has been released. Snow Patrol headline the Friday night with Muse topping the bill on the Saturday. The headliners for the Sunday night have yet to be announced, I'll update the thread on the forum with more information as and when it's released.
Jeff Wayne is breaking out the lasers and giant Richard Burton head once more to bring his classic take on War of the Worlds to the stage. Justin Haywood again joins an assembled group of session musicians this December for the tour which stops at the BIC in Bournemouth on the 17th and at the Brighton Centre on the 19th. Uuuulllaaaaaaaa!
And that just about wraps it up for this week, this afternoon I was mostly listening to The Killers and Iron Butterfly. If you want to know what I'm listening to the rest of the time then check out my Last.FM.
:o)
Ah, that Wednesday feeling again. Don't you just love it? No? How about when you realise it's nearly nearly almost the weekend. Almost.
OK, so that's a bit desperate.
Umm.
Moving swiftly on; this week's NME features a wee article about the Danish music scene. Sadly it neglects to mention the mighty Mew (who's concert DVD I'm still waiting for CD-WOW to dispatch) but does name-check The Blue Van and Figurines. Nice. There's also a mention of probably the best night-club in the world (that I've been to), Vega.
If only I'd not dropped my cheese and onion roll onto the article midway through reading it.
*koff*
This way to the cafeteria... here's what I found listed in the back pages this week:
Jack Peñate @ Lennon's, Southampton - 03/03/2007
Pull Tiger Tail @ Audio, Brighton - 04/03/2007
Mando Diao @ Audio, Brighton - 05/03/2007
The Hours @ Pressure Point, Brighton - 10/03/2007
Bedouin Soundclash @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 15/03/2007
The Rumble Strips @ Audio, Brighton - 23/03/2007
Jack Peñate @ Engine Rooms, Brighton - 02/04/2007
Fortune Drive @ Ocean Rooms, Brighton - 07/04/2007
Mumm-Ra @ Concorde 2, Brighton - 14/04/2007
Mumm-Ra @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 16/04/2007
The Maccabees @ The Old Market, Brighton - 18 & 19/04/2007
The Maccabees @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 26/04/2007
The Twang @ Concorde 2, Brighton - 09/05/2007
The Maccabees @ The Old Fire Station, Bournemouth - 16/05/2007
Funeral For A Friend @ The Guildhall, Portsmouth - 21/05/2007
The Twang @ The Pyramids, Portsmouth - 28/05/2007
If I'm not trapped under something heavy I'll add the above gigs into the SoMC Events Calendar. As mentioned once or twice already the Events Calendar contains listings of gigs in the local area and available for all to peruse (just as long as they've registered on the forum). I've lifted the following teasers from it to tickle your fancy:
The Kiks @ Havana Bar, Southsea - 23/02/2007
Ed Tudorpole @ The Railway Inn, Winchester - 24/02/2007
African Soul Rebels (featuring Femi Kuti & Ba Cissoko) @ The Anvil, Basingstoke - 24/02/2007
John Otway @ The Railway Inn, Winchester - 01/03/2007
The Frank & Walters @ The Cellars at Eastney, Portsmouth - 04/03/2007
Artie Fishel & The Promised Band @ The Anvil, Basingstoke - 08/03/2007 (one for all you Klezmer fans)
Focus @ The Brook, Southampton - 16/03/2007
The Bootleg Beatles @ The King's Theatre, Southsea - 16/03/2007
Cutting Crew @ The Brook, Southampton - 22/03/2007
Three Men & Black (featuring Pauline Black from The Selecter) @ The Cellars @ Eastney, Portsmouth - 25/03/2007
The James Taylor Quartet @ Havant Arts Centre, Havant - 06/04/2007
Ticket prices for The Who's gig at the Rose Bowl have been released. Standing tickets are £45.00 though, with a 10% booking fee per ticket plus postage per order, they'll set you back considerably more. If that's too rich for your blood then local tribute act Who's Who will be performing Quadrophenia in its entirety at The Wedgewood Rooms on the 25th of May.
The Manic Street Preachers tour in May is now, apparently, completely SOLD OUT. No, I couldn't believe it either.
As mentioned earlier the provisional line-up for this year's Isle of Wight Festival has been released. Snow Patrol headline the Friday night with Muse topping the bill on the Saturday. The headliners for the Sunday night have yet to be announced, I'll update the thread on the forum with more information as and when it's released.
Jeff Wayne is breaking out the lasers and giant Richard Burton head once more to bring his classic take on War of the Worlds to the stage. Justin Haywood again joins an assembled group of session musicians this December for the tour which stops at the BIC in Bournemouth on the 17th and at the Brighton Centre on the 19th. Uuuulllaaaaaaaa!
And that just about wraps it up for this week, this afternoon I was mostly listening to The Killers and Iron Butterfly. If you want to know what I'm listening to the rest of the time then check out my Last.FM.
:o)
Monday, February 19, 2007
Isle of Wight Festival line-up announced
The provisional line-up for this year's Isle of Wight Festival was announced on Virgin Radio this morning. Unfortunately, despite an email reminder from the organisers, I slept straight through the announcement. Oops. Might've helped if I wasn't listening to the wrong station as well I guess.
Acts thus far confirmed to be appearing are as follows:
Friday 8th June
Snow Patrol
The Feeling
Saturday 9th June
Muse
Kasabian
Ash
Wolfmother
Amy Winehouse
Arno Carstens
Sunday 10th June
Headliner TBC
Keane
The Fratellis
Paolo Nutini
James Morrison
The Sunday headliner will be released in due course, as will most likely several more bands/artists to fill out the (radio-friendly?) bill. As per last year there are, unfortunately, no Day Tickets on sale; a Weekend non-camping ticket will cost £105 (plus booking fee), a Weekend camping ticket will set you back £125. Tickets go on sale at 9am this Thursday.
Acts thus far confirmed to be appearing are as follows:
Friday 8th June
Snow Patrol
The Feeling
Saturday 9th June
Muse
Kasabian
Ash
Wolfmother
Amy Winehouse
Arno Carstens
Sunday 10th June
Headliner TBC
Keane
The Fratellis
Paolo Nutini
James Morrison
The Sunday headliner will be released in due course, as will most likely several more bands/artists to fill out the (radio-friendly?) bill. As per last year there are, unfortunately, no Day Tickets on sale; a Weekend non-camping ticket will cost £105 (plus booking fee), a Weekend camping ticket will set you back £125. Tickets go on sale at 9am this Thursday.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Curtains for the Pyramids?
The News is reporting that Portsmouth City Council are pulling the plug on The Pyramids; apparently the cost of upkeep is too great to justify the expenditure given the numbers of people using the facility.
Of course it could be argued that, if proper investment had been made in the building over its lifetime, it wouldn't be in the rundown and more than a little bit dog-eared condition it now finds itself (and so the numbers of people using it wouldn't have plummeted). The bean counters have spoken however, and the complex looks likely to be demolished. In its place will be built a shiny new hotel and conference centre (which is just what Portsmouth needs... not).
The Pyramids might not be the greatest venue in the world but it's still a venue and one that fills a prime spot in the Portsmouth scene. It sits between The Wedgewood Rooms and The Guildhall, catering for bands too big for one and too small for the other, so it's going to be sorely missed should/when it goes (already the Frog On The Front, underneath the complex and one-time home of Messclean, has closed).
When The Pyramids was first used as a venue for bands it was, if memory serves, at the instigation of the Portsmouth Venue Campaign. Ironically, in their efforts to build a new venue in the city the ended up creating one out of a leisure centre. I wonder if they can do the same with a conference centre.
Of course it could be argued that, if proper investment had been made in the building over its lifetime, it wouldn't be in the rundown and more than a little bit dog-eared condition it now finds itself (and so the numbers of people using it wouldn't have plummeted). The bean counters have spoken however, and the complex looks likely to be demolished. In its place will be built a shiny new hotel and conference centre (which is just what Portsmouth needs... not).
The Pyramids might not be the greatest venue in the world but it's still a venue and one that fills a prime spot in the Portsmouth scene. It sits between The Wedgewood Rooms and The Guildhall, catering for bands too big for one and too small for the other, so it's going to be sorely missed should/when it goes (already the Frog On The Front, underneath the complex and one-time home of Messclean, has closed).
When The Pyramids was first used as a venue for bands it was, if memory serves, at the instigation of the Portsmouth Venue Campaign. Ironically, in their efforts to build a new venue in the city the ended up creating one out of a leisure centre. I wonder if they can do the same with a conference centre.
The Gigwatcher 14/02/2007
It's that time of year again.
Every year it looms up in front of us all and there's nothing we can do about it, just grit our collective teeth and hope it's not as painful an experience as the year before. Someone always makes a fool of themselves or does something to make you feel uncomfortable.
Just what is the point of the Brits anyway?
*koff*
In other news, it's St Cyril's Day, so I hope you all got cards with funny letters on this morning. Moving swiftly on, here's the pick of the gigs from the back pages of this week's NME:
Fields. @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 18/04/2007
Jamie T @ The Guildhall, Southampton - 21/04/2007
Pure Reason Revolution @ The Joiners, Southampton - 05/03/2007
Friendly Fires @ Unit22, Southampton - 10/03/2007
Kubichek! @ The Joiners, Southampton - 14/03/2007
Buswell @ The Hobbit, Southampton - 23/03/2007
Buswell @ The Nell Gwynne, Portsmouth - 24/03/2007
If I'm not too busy opening up my many many valentine's cards (yeah right) I'll add the above gigs into the SoMC Events Calendar. As I've mentioned several times already the Events Calendar contains listings of local gigs and is both free and (relatively) easy to use. To whet your appetite I've plucked from it the following gigs for your delectation and delight:
The Secret Show @ Nexus, Southampton - 18/02/2007
Steve Arnott @ The Frog & Frigate, Southampton - 23/02/2007
Rival Joustas @ Unit22, Southampton - 25/02/2007
Golden Section @ Unit22, Southampton - 28/02/2007
Theatre of Hate @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 28/04/2007
Cradle of Filth @ The Pyramids, Portsmouth - 30/04/2007
The Twang @ The Pyramids, Portsmouth - 28/05/2007
The Maximo Park gig at Southampton Guildhall on the 1st of May is SOLD OUT, as is the Klaxons gig at the Pyramids on the 17th of May. Grobbits.
Snow Patrol and Muse are lined up for this year's Isle of Wight Festival, rumour has it that The Rolling Stones will be there too (yes, that old chestnut again).
Some tuneful whistling in the office this morning led to a small debate on who was the better Hannibal (Lecter that is, not the guy with the elephants) so I knocked up a small poll on the forum to canvas opinion. Go votify.
And that just about wraps it up for this week, this afternoon I will mostly be listening to Klaxons and Cold War Kids. Nice.
Every year it looms up in front of us all and there's nothing we can do about it, just grit our collective teeth and hope it's not as painful an experience as the year before. Someone always makes a fool of themselves or does something to make you feel uncomfortable.
Just what is the point of the Brits anyway?
*koff*
In other news, it's St Cyril's Day, so I hope you all got cards with funny letters on this morning. Moving swiftly on, here's the pick of the gigs from the back pages of this week's NME:
Fields. @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 18/04/2007
Jamie T @ The Guildhall, Southampton - 21/04/2007
Pure Reason Revolution @ The Joiners, Southampton - 05/03/2007
Friendly Fires @ Unit22, Southampton - 10/03/2007
Kubichek! @ The Joiners, Southampton - 14/03/2007
Buswell @ The Hobbit, Southampton - 23/03/2007
Buswell @ The Nell Gwynne, Portsmouth - 24/03/2007
If I'm not too busy opening up my many many valentine's cards (yeah right) I'll add the above gigs into the SoMC Events Calendar. As I've mentioned several times already the Events Calendar contains listings of local gigs and is both free and (relatively) easy to use. To whet your appetite I've plucked from it the following gigs for your delectation and delight:
The Secret Show @ Nexus, Southampton - 18/02/2007
Steve Arnott @ The Frog & Frigate, Southampton - 23/02/2007
Rival Joustas @ Unit22, Southampton - 25/02/2007
Golden Section @ Unit22, Southampton - 28/02/2007
Theatre of Hate @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 28/04/2007
Cradle of Filth @ The Pyramids, Portsmouth - 30/04/2007
The Twang @ The Pyramids, Portsmouth - 28/05/2007
The Maximo Park gig at Southampton Guildhall on the 1st of May is SOLD OUT, as is the Klaxons gig at the Pyramids on the 17th of May. Grobbits.
Snow Patrol and Muse are lined up for this year's Isle of Wight Festival, rumour has it that The Rolling Stones will be there too (yes, that old chestnut again).
Some tuneful whistling in the office this morning led to a small debate on who was the better Hannibal (Lecter that is, not the guy with the elephants) so I knocked up a small poll on the forum to canvas opinion. Go votify.
And that just about wraps it up for this week, this afternoon I will mostly be listening to Klaxons and Cold War Kids. Nice.
Friday, February 09, 2007
The Whoooooooooooooooooooooooo!
A wee Gigwatcher bonus.
The Who have today announced dates for their forthcoming European Tour which includes a stop in Southampton. Messrs Daltrey and Townshend pitch up at the Rose Bowl on Saturday 2nd June.
Ticket prices haven't been released as yet but I'll be sure to spill the beans as soon as I know (I can't see them being cheap though). More information can be found on NME.COM and on the Rose Bowl website.
The Who have today announced dates for their forthcoming European Tour which includes a stop in Southampton. Messrs Daltrey and Townshend pitch up at the Rose Bowl on Saturday 2nd June.
Ticket prices haven't been released as yet but I'll be sure to spill the beans as soon as I know (I can't see them being cheap though). More information can be found on NME.COM and on the Rose Bowl website.
Thursday, February 08, 2007
The Blue Van - Revelation of Love
As mentioned previously, Danish rockers The Blue Van are one of the supports on the current Jet tour (the other being New Zealand's The Checks). I stumbled across a couple of tracks from their debut album The Art of Rolling on some blog or other awhile back and liked what I heard; a nicely derivative combination of guitars, Hammond organ and thumping drums that appears to have leapfrogged the past 30 years of music without a second glance.
Here's a taster:
OK so it isn't really ground-breaking, but sometimes all you want to do is rock. Or pretend it's 1968.
Here's a taster:
OK so it isn't really ground-breaking, but sometimes all you want to do is rock. Or pretend it's 1968.
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
The Gigwatcher 07/02/2007
Snow.
This time last year I was happily yomping around Stockholm, marvelling at the city's snow-covered buildings whilst trying desperately hard not to slip over and break something. Happy days. I think the thing that struck me most, other than the fact I discovered I have some mental problem with walking down snow-covered gradients (my chum Smudger has video proof of this), was the nonchalance the locals had to the white stuff.
Honestly, it was wasted on them. I didn't see one Swede throw a snowball. God only knows what they made of us making snow angels, snowballs, Phil writing a message in the snow (with his finger!) and pulling Shaun around like a sledge.
Well. I can hazard a guess.
*koff*
Moving swiftly on, here's the pick of the gigs from the back pages of this week's NME (including two Swedish bands, nice!):
Electric 6 @ The Engine Room, Brighton - 13/03/2007
Love Is All @ The Joiners, Southampton - 17/03/2007
My Luminaries @ Lennon's, Southampton - 17/03/2007
The Sounds @ Pressure Point, Brighton - 19/03/2007
I Was A Cub Scout @ The Railway Inn, Winchester - 23/03/2007
I Was A Cub Scout @ The Joiners, Southampton - 24/03/2007
Paul Steel @ Pressure Point, Brighton - 31/03/2007
The Horrors @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 01/04/2007
The Horrors @ Concorde 2, Brighton - 11/04/2007
Cold War Kids @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 19/04/2007
Ugly Duckling @ Ryde Theatre, IOW - 24/04/2007
Ugly Duckling @ The Consortium, Bournemouth - 27/04/2007
65daysofstatic @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 16/05/2007
Klaxons @ The Pyramids, Portsmouth - 17/05/2007
Willy Mason @ The Pavillion, Brighton - 18/05/2007
Mad Caddies @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 21/05/2007
Manic Street Preachers @ The Guildhall, Southampton - 05/06/2007
Manic Street Preachers @ The Dome, Brighton - 06/06/2007
If I'm not too busy building a Calvin & Hobbes style Snowman Diorama I'll add the above gigs into the SoMC Events Calendar. They'll join many many other gigs I've stumbled across, like these:
Aereogramme @ The Joiners, Southampton - TONIGHT!
Clinic @ Concorde 2, Brighton - 09/02/2007
Keith James & Rick Foot @ The Ashcroft Arts Centre, Fareham
Hugh Cornwell @ The Studio at The Petersfield School - 02/03/2007
Kristin Hersh @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 06/03/2007
Martyn Joseph @ The Brook, Southampton - 13/03/2007
Martin Simpson @ The Cellars at Eastney, Portsmouth - 28/03/2007
Fresh from appearing on the BBC's Just The Two Of Us, Minneapolis-based 80's soul star Alexander O'Neal is touring. He stops at The King's Theatre in Southsea on the 8th of March.
On the forum more weirdness is appearing on the YouTube thread; Stu has posted up some most excellent Star Wars related shorts, I've let the side down somewhat by responding with some Guild Wars funnies.
And that just about wraps it up for this week, this afternoon I have mostly been listening to Radio KAOS (by Roger Waters) and The Tain (as performed by The Decemberists).
OK, so a bit of a strange combo there I know.
This time last year I was happily yomping around Stockholm, marvelling at the city's snow-covered buildings whilst trying desperately hard not to slip over and break something. Happy days. I think the thing that struck me most, other than the fact I discovered I have some mental problem with walking down snow-covered gradients (my chum Smudger has video proof of this), was the nonchalance the locals had to the white stuff.
Honestly, it was wasted on them. I didn't see one Swede throw a snowball. God only knows what they made of us making snow angels, snowballs, Phil writing a message in the snow (with his finger!) and pulling Shaun around like a sledge.
Well. I can hazard a guess.
*koff*
Moving swiftly on, here's the pick of the gigs from the back pages of this week's NME (including two Swedish bands, nice!):
Electric 6 @ The Engine Room, Brighton - 13/03/2007
Love Is All @ The Joiners, Southampton - 17/03/2007
My Luminaries @ Lennon's, Southampton - 17/03/2007
The Sounds @ Pressure Point, Brighton - 19/03/2007
I Was A Cub Scout @ The Railway Inn, Winchester - 23/03/2007
I Was A Cub Scout @ The Joiners, Southampton - 24/03/2007
Paul Steel @ Pressure Point, Brighton - 31/03/2007
The Horrors @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 01/04/2007
The Horrors @ Concorde 2, Brighton - 11/04/2007
Cold War Kids @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 19/04/2007
Ugly Duckling @ Ryde Theatre, IOW - 24/04/2007
Ugly Duckling @ The Consortium, Bournemouth - 27/04/2007
65daysofstatic @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 16/05/2007
Klaxons @ The Pyramids, Portsmouth - 17/05/2007
Willy Mason @ The Pavillion, Brighton - 18/05/2007
Mad Caddies @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 21/05/2007
Manic Street Preachers @ The Guildhall, Southampton - 05/06/2007
Manic Street Preachers @ The Dome, Brighton - 06/06/2007
If I'm not too busy building a Calvin & Hobbes style Snowman Diorama I'll add the above gigs into the SoMC Events Calendar. They'll join many many other gigs I've stumbled across, like these:
Aereogramme @ The Joiners, Southampton - TONIGHT!
Clinic @ Concorde 2, Brighton - 09/02/2007
Keith James & Rick Foot @ The Ashcroft Arts Centre, Fareham
Hugh Cornwell @ The Studio at The Petersfield School - 02/03/2007
Kristin Hersh @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 06/03/2007
Martyn Joseph @ The Brook, Southampton - 13/03/2007
Martin Simpson @ The Cellars at Eastney, Portsmouth - 28/03/2007
Fresh from appearing on the BBC's Just The Two Of Us, Minneapolis-based 80's soul star Alexander O'Neal is touring. He stops at The King's Theatre in Southsea on the 8th of March.
On the forum more weirdness is appearing on the YouTube thread; Stu has posted up some most excellent Star Wars related shorts, I've let the side down somewhat by responding with some Guild Wars funnies.
And that just about wraps it up for this week, this afternoon I have mostly been listening to Radio KAOS (by Roger Waters) and The Tain (as performed by The Decemberists).
OK, so a bit of a strange combo there I know.
Thursday, February 01, 2007
The Gigwatcher 01/02/2007
Everybody out!
[blows whistle]
No, the Gigwatcher isn't delayed because I was watching re-runs of The Rag Trade in my head, us civil servant types were on strike yesterday (oh yes Comrades, come the revolution, etc). Not that I stood on picket duty, singing acapella whilst toasting marshmallows on the flames of a hastily procured brazier you understand. No. I stayed home and watched Diagnosis Murder and HouseMD.
This of course led me to wonder whether Dick Van Dyke's english accent is as good as Hugh Laurie's american accent. Honestly, you'd think I'd have better things to use up the resources of my grey matter with but, as I'm sure you may have noticed by now, I'm easily distracted.
*koff*
This way to the cafeteria.. no.. wait.. I mean, here's what I found in the back of the NME this week:
Halfdis Huld @ Hope, Brighton - 12/02/2007
Patrick Wolf @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 14/02/2007
Little Man Tate @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 19/02/2007
Jakobinarina @ The Engine Room, Brighton - 20/02/2007
Dartz! @ The Joiners, Southampton - 20/02/2007
SixNationState @ The Registry, Portsmouth - 22/02/2007
The Black Keys @ The Old Fire Station, Bournemouth - 25/02/2007
The Holloways @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 05/03/2007
The Rapture @ The Pyramids, Portsmouth - 08/03/2007
Deftones @ The Guildhall, Portsmouth - 19/03/2007
Kate Nash @ Red Roaster, Brighton - 24/03/2007
Just Jack @ The Old Fire Station, Bournemouth - 29/03/2007
Scott Matthews @ The Pyramids, Portsmouth - 03/04/2007
The Cooper Temple Clause @ The Pyramids, Portsmouth - 04/04/2007
The View @ The Guildhall, Southampton - 19/04/2007
Maximo Park @ The Guildhall, Southampton - 01/05/2007
The Sunshine Underground @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 07/05/2007
If I'm not to busy wasting brain cells pondering long on some random element of trivia I'll update the SoMC Events Calendar with the above gigs. To whet your appetite here's a taster of what else is inside:
Hudson10 @ The Hogshead, Southsea - TONIGHT!
The Bluetones @ The Brook, Southampton - 07/02/2007
Puressence @ The Engine Room, Brighton - 09/02/2007
Bog Rolling Stones (Acoustic set) @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 13/02/2007 (in aid of the Tom Prince Cancer Trust)
BlackStarCrash @ Talking Heads, Southampton - 15/02/2007
Bad Toad @ Talking Heads, Southampton - 17/02/2007
One Weird Fish @ The Cellars at Eastney, Portsmouth - 03/03/2007
The Musical Box (performing 'Selling England By The Pound') @ The Guildhall, Portsmouth - 15/03/2007 (I bet Malibu has got tickets already)
Doctor Teeth Big Band @ The Ashcroft Arts Centre, Fareham - 31/03/2007
This Sunday the legendary Red Letter Day are performing at Unit22 in Southampton, joining them will be Adamseed, Lights Alive and The Pancake Eating Freaks (regular readers may remember me mentioning them before; they did fairly well in The Wedgewood Rooms Showcase '06 competition). Tickets are £5.00 on the door (it's a deal, it's a steal, etc).
The Thirteen Senses gig at The Wedgewood Rooms has been rescheduled from 13th of February to the 25th of March, original tickets remain valid. In other news, the support slot for the forthcoming Jet tour has been filled by Danish rockers The Blue Van. Nice. They're rockers. They rock out.
And that just about wraps it up for this week, this afternoon I have mostly been feeling a tad unwell (blech!) but have been listening to the Easy-Star All Stars to cheer myself up.
[blows whistle]
No, the Gigwatcher isn't delayed because I was watching re-runs of The Rag Trade in my head, us civil servant types were on strike yesterday (oh yes Comrades, come the revolution, etc). Not that I stood on picket duty, singing acapella whilst toasting marshmallows on the flames of a hastily procured brazier you understand. No. I stayed home and watched Diagnosis Murder and HouseMD.
This of course led me to wonder whether Dick Van Dyke's english accent is as good as Hugh Laurie's american accent. Honestly, you'd think I'd have better things to use up the resources of my grey matter with but, as I'm sure you may have noticed by now, I'm easily distracted.
*koff*
This way to the cafeteria.. no.. wait.. I mean, here's what I found in the back of the NME this week:
Halfdis Huld @ Hope, Brighton - 12/02/2007
Patrick Wolf @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 14/02/2007
Little Man Tate @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 19/02/2007
Jakobinarina @ The Engine Room, Brighton - 20/02/2007
Dartz! @ The Joiners, Southampton - 20/02/2007
SixNationState @ The Registry, Portsmouth - 22/02/2007
The Black Keys @ The Old Fire Station, Bournemouth - 25/02/2007
The Holloways @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 05/03/2007
The Rapture @ The Pyramids, Portsmouth - 08/03/2007
Deftones @ The Guildhall, Portsmouth - 19/03/2007
Kate Nash @ Red Roaster, Brighton - 24/03/2007
Just Jack @ The Old Fire Station, Bournemouth - 29/03/2007
Scott Matthews @ The Pyramids, Portsmouth - 03/04/2007
The Cooper Temple Clause @ The Pyramids, Portsmouth - 04/04/2007
The View @ The Guildhall, Southampton - 19/04/2007
Maximo Park @ The Guildhall, Southampton - 01/05/2007
The Sunshine Underground @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 07/05/2007
If I'm not to busy wasting brain cells pondering long on some random element of trivia I'll update the SoMC Events Calendar with the above gigs. To whet your appetite here's a taster of what else is inside:
Hudson10 @ The Hogshead, Southsea - TONIGHT!
The Bluetones @ The Brook, Southampton - 07/02/2007
Puressence @ The Engine Room, Brighton - 09/02/2007
Bog Rolling Stones (Acoustic set) @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 13/02/2007 (in aid of the Tom Prince Cancer Trust)
BlackStarCrash @ Talking Heads, Southampton - 15/02/2007
Bad Toad @ Talking Heads, Southampton - 17/02/2007
One Weird Fish @ The Cellars at Eastney, Portsmouth - 03/03/2007
The Musical Box (performing 'Selling England By The Pound') @ The Guildhall, Portsmouth - 15/03/2007 (I bet Malibu has got tickets already)
Doctor Teeth Big Band @ The Ashcroft Arts Centre, Fareham - 31/03/2007
This Sunday the legendary Red Letter Day are performing at Unit22 in Southampton, joining them will be Adamseed, Lights Alive and The Pancake Eating Freaks (regular readers may remember me mentioning them before; they did fairly well in The Wedgewood Rooms Showcase '06 competition). Tickets are £5.00 on the door (it's a deal, it's a steal, etc).
The Thirteen Senses gig at The Wedgewood Rooms has been rescheduled from 13th of February to the 25th of March, original tickets remain valid. In other news, the support slot for the forthcoming Jet tour has been filled by Danish rockers The Blue Van. Nice. They're rockers. They rock out.
And that just about wraps it up for this week, this afternoon I have mostly been feeling a tad unwell (blech!) but have been listening to the Easy-Star All Stars to cheer myself up.
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