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.
Monday, February 26, 2007
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.
Monday, January 29, 2007
Music for Anoraks: Storm Damage
Just when you thought it was safe.
OK so it's been awhile since any of us could be bothered but one of our number has pulled his finger out and knocked up a CD of what he's been listening to lately. The culprit this time is Neil who has lovingly crafted a 15 track trawl through his record collection called Storm Damage.
As is our way reviews will possibly (but most likely not) appear on the forum as the CD makes its peripatetic journey around the office. Its release was delayed for a few days as the first burning suffered from skipping on the last two tracks (the second attempt plays A-OK however).
OK so it's been awhile since any of us could be bothered but one of our number has pulled his finger out and knocked up a CD of what he's been listening to lately. The culprit this time is Neil who has lovingly crafted a 15 track trawl through his record collection called Storm Damage.
As is our way reviews will possibly (but most likely not) appear on the forum as the CD makes its peripatetic journey around the office. Its release was delayed for a few days as the first burning suffered from skipping on the last two tracks (the second attempt plays A-OK however).
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
The Gigwatcher 24/01/2007
Just when you thought it was safe.
There I was at lunchtime, idly flicking through the NME whilst munching on a cheese and onion roll, with not a care in the world. All was good in my world. And then I turned the page. There it was, the news I never thought I'd see. Straight away my skin started to crawl, a cold feeling of dread gripped my stomach and a wave of nausea swept over me.
I read it again. No, it was true. There was no denying it.
James have reformed.
[insert Charlton Heston style NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO like from the end of Planet of the Apes here]
What? What do you mean it's not that bad? It is, trust me. If I hear that bally song of theirs one more time I'll go postal. Or cry. Or possibly both.
*koff*
It's not all gloom though. In a karmic balancing act akin to that of the Mint card adverts I read on the BBC News site that Crowded House are reforming as well. Nice.
Anyway, enough of that.. here's what I found listed in the back of the NME this week:
Foals @ The Joiners, Southampton - 12/02/2007
The Early Years @ The Engine Room, Brighton - 13/02/2007
Duke Special @ Duke of Yorks, Brighton - 17/02/2007
Micah P. Hinson @ Audio, Brighton - 19/02/2007
The Pigeon Detectives @ Audio, Brighton - 04/03/2007
Bromheads Jacket @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 11/03/2007
The Hours @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 12/03/2007
Towers of London @ Concorde 2, Brighton - 19/03/2007
Good Shoes @ Concorde 2, Brighton - 28/03/2007
Enter Shikari @ The Pyramids, Portsmouth - 28/03/2007
The Waterboys @ The Guildhall, Portsmouth - 08/05/2007
Ray Davies @ The Centre, Brighton - 26/05/2007
Damien Rice @ BIC, Bournemouth - 09/10/2007
As is usual practice I'll add the above gigs into the SoMC Events Calendar. I've lovingly plucked the gigs below from the calendar as a taster:
Whole Lotta Led @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 26/01/2007
Hundred Reasons @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 30/01/2007
Bluesky Research @ The Cellars at Eastney, Portsmouth - 31/01/2007
Fairport Convention @ The Brook, Southampton - 02/02/2007
pluck @ The Ashcroft Arts Centre, Fareham - 10/02/2007
Sonny Black @ The RMA Tavern, Portsmouth - 15/02/2007
Zoot Money's Blues Quintet @ The Brook, Southampton - 22/02/2007
Frank Sidebottom @ The Alma Arms, Portsmouth - 25/02/2007
A provisional line-up for this year's Wickham Festival has been released. As I alluded to last week the big headline act for the opening night is Jethro Tull; also there this August will be Boo Hewerdine, The Hamsters, Eliza Carthy, Eddi Reader, The Men They Couldn't Hang, The Sawdoctors and (wait for it) Dean Friedman. I'll add a posting on the forum with more information.
This Saturday Portsmouth Guildhall plays host to a rocktastic showcase featuring four local bands. Big Squirrel, Five Mile Drive, Dragon Eye Morrison and Little London make up the bill, tickets are a very reasonable £8.00 in advance (or £10.00 on the door).
And that just about wraps it up for this week; I was going to rant off on one about the NME giving The Decemberists' new CD a measly 6 out of 10 but I predicted they'd do as much months ago. This afternoon I have mostly been listening to The Young Knives, they're a bit bonkers but I like 'em.
There I was at lunchtime, idly flicking through the NME whilst munching on a cheese and onion roll, with not a care in the world. All was good in my world. And then I turned the page. There it was, the news I never thought I'd see. Straight away my skin started to crawl, a cold feeling of dread gripped my stomach and a wave of nausea swept over me.
I read it again. No, it was true. There was no denying it.
James have reformed.
[insert Charlton Heston style NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO like from the end of Planet of the Apes here]
What? What do you mean it's not that bad? It is, trust me. If I hear that bally song of theirs one more time I'll go postal. Or cry. Or possibly both.
*koff*
It's not all gloom though. In a karmic balancing act akin to that of the Mint card adverts I read on the BBC News site that Crowded House are reforming as well. Nice.
Anyway, enough of that.. here's what I found listed in the back of the NME this week:
Foals @ The Joiners, Southampton - 12/02/2007
The Early Years @ The Engine Room, Brighton - 13/02/2007
Duke Special @ Duke of Yorks, Brighton - 17/02/2007
Micah P. Hinson @ Audio, Brighton - 19/02/2007
The Pigeon Detectives @ Audio, Brighton - 04/03/2007
Bromheads Jacket @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 11/03/2007
The Hours @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 12/03/2007
Towers of London @ Concorde 2, Brighton - 19/03/2007
Good Shoes @ Concorde 2, Brighton - 28/03/2007
Enter Shikari @ The Pyramids, Portsmouth - 28/03/2007
The Waterboys @ The Guildhall, Portsmouth - 08/05/2007
Ray Davies @ The Centre, Brighton - 26/05/2007
Damien Rice @ BIC, Bournemouth - 09/10/2007
As is usual practice I'll add the above gigs into the SoMC Events Calendar. I've lovingly plucked the gigs below from the calendar as a taster:
Whole Lotta Led @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 26/01/2007
Hundred Reasons @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 30/01/2007
Bluesky Research @ The Cellars at Eastney, Portsmouth - 31/01/2007
Fairport Convention @ The Brook, Southampton - 02/02/2007
pluck @ The Ashcroft Arts Centre, Fareham - 10/02/2007
Sonny Black @ The RMA Tavern, Portsmouth - 15/02/2007
Zoot Money's Blues Quintet @ The Brook, Southampton - 22/02/2007
Frank Sidebottom @ The Alma Arms, Portsmouth - 25/02/2007
A provisional line-up for this year's Wickham Festival has been released. As I alluded to last week the big headline act for the opening night is Jethro Tull; also there this August will be Boo Hewerdine, The Hamsters, Eliza Carthy, Eddi Reader, The Men They Couldn't Hang, The Sawdoctors and (wait for it) Dean Friedman. I'll add a posting on the forum with more information.
This Saturday Portsmouth Guildhall plays host to a rocktastic showcase featuring four local bands. Big Squirrel, Five Mile Drive, Dragon Eye Morrison and Little London make up the bill, tickets are a very reasonable £8.00 in advance (or £10.00 on the door).
And that just about wraps it up for this week; I was going to rant off on one about the NME giving The Decemberists' new CD a measly 6 out of 10 but I predicted they'd do as much months ago. This afternoon I have mostly been listening to The Young Knives, they're a bit bonkers but I like 'em.
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Wickham Festival 2007 line-up announced
The line-up for this year's Wickham Festival, which takes place in early August, has been released. Once again there's a definite folk feel to the proceedings, though the Friday night has been given to the blues.
The Festival fires into life on Thursday 2nd August with prog-folk legends Jethro Tull headlining (what are the chances of curry-loving frontman Ian Anderson paying a visit to the Verandah in the square after the performance?).
The Hamsters top the bill on the Friday night, with Eddi Reader and Kathryn Tickell appearing on the Saturday.
The Sunday session includes Dean Friedman, Hazel O'Connor and Eliza Carthy. The Festival comes to a close with what looks to be a rousing singalong with The Men They Couldn't Hang and The Saw Doctors. Full details follow:
Thursday 2nd August (1930-2300)
Jethro Tull, The Spooky Mens Chorale
Friday 3rd August (1300-2300)
The Hamsters, Maggie Bell & The British Blues Quintet, Hans Theesink, The Spooky Mens Chorale, Les Barker, Ashley Hutchings' Rainbow Chasers, The Mick West Band.
Saturday 4th August (1300-2300)
The Donnie Munro Band, Eddi Reader, Kathryn Tickell, Yves Lambert & Le Bebert Orchestra, Eivor, Lisa Knapp.
Sunday 5th August (1300-2300)
The Saw Doctors, The Men They Couldn't Hang, Eliza Carthy & The Ratcatchers, Shooglenifty, Hazel O'Connor, Dean Friedman, Quimantu, Boo Hewerdine.
For its sophomore year the Festival will be moving a short distance up the road from Wickham Community Centre to a new green field site on adjacent farm land. This will mean more room, better facilities and the organisers won't have to obscure the location on their website (something intentionally done last year as, sadly, a community centre just doesn't have the same cachet).
Tickets are on sale now, with "early bird" pricing in place on weekend season tickets until 31st March.
The Festival fires into life on Thursday 2nd August with prog-folk legends Jethro Tull headlining (what are the chances of curry-loving frontman Ian Anderson paying a visit to the Verandah in the square after the performance?).
The Hamsters top the bill on the Friday night, with Eddi Reader and Kathryn Tickell appearing on the Saturday.
The Sunday session includes Dean Friedman, Hazel O'Connor and Eliza Carthy. The Festival comes to a close with what looks to be a rousing singalong with The Men They Couldn't Hang and The Saw Doctors. Full details follow:
Thursday 2nd August (1930-2300)
Jethro Tull, The Spooky Mens Chorale
Friday 3rd August (1300-2300)
The Hamsters, Maggie Bell & The British Blues Quintet, Hans Theesink, The Spooky Mens Chorale, Les Barker, Ashley Hutchings' Rainbow Chasers, The Mick West Band.
Saturday 4th August (1300-2300)
The Donnie Munro Band, Eddi Reader, Kathryn Tickell, Yves Lambert & Le Bebert Orchestra, Eivor, Lisa Knapp.
Sunday 5th August (1300-2300)
The Saw Doctors, The Men They Couldn't Hang, Eliza Carthy & The Ratcatchers, Shooglenifty, Hazel O'Connor, Dean Friedman, Quimantu, Boo Hewerdine.
For its sophomore year the Festival will be moving a short distance up the road from Wickham Community Centre to a new green field site on adjacent farm land. This will mean more room, better facilities and the organisers won't have to obscure the location on their website (something intentionally done last year as, sadly, a community centre just doesn't have the same cachet).
Tickets are on sale now, with "early bird" pricing in place on weekend season tickets until 31st March.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
The Gigwatcher 17/01/2007
What's that coming over the hill? It's Niko Kranjcar. It's Niko Kranjcar.
Hello again.
Yes, it's Wednesday, it's long past lunchtime, it must be Gigwatcher time (I spent about 10 minutes working out an elaborate Crackerjack-style opening but it just didn't work. Maybe I should've used Howdy Doody instead).
*koff*
Moving swiftly on; I put my nut cutlet and chilli sauce baguette to one side just long enough to flick through the back pages of the NME, where I found the following:
The Black Velvets @ The Railway Inn, Winchester - 27/01/2007
Blood Red Shoes @ The Joiners, Southampton - 29/01/2007
Make Good Your Escape @ The Albert, Brighton - 30/01/2007
Assembly Now @ Unit 22, Southampton - 03/02/2007
Ben Taylor @ Komedia, Brighton - 05/02/2007
Last Gang @ The Joiners, Southampton - 06/02/2007
Aereogramme @ The Joiners, Southampton - 07/02/2007
The Rapture @ The Pyramids, Portsmouth - 08/02/2007
The Violets @ Unit 22, Southampton - 10/02/2007
1990s @ The Joiners, Southampton - 03/03/2007
Charlotte Hatherley @ The Wedgewood Rooms - 04/03/2007
Ash @ Southampton University - 06/03/20073
The Twang @ The Joiners, Southampton - 28/03/2007 (this is the CORRECT date, the information lifted from NME.COM last week was wrong).
Incubus @ BIC, Bournemouth - 08/04/2007
If I'm not too busy trying to make my Guild Wars character stand like the lead singer of Jethro Tull this evening I'll add those onto the SoMC Events Calendar. The Events Calendar contains a selection of local gigs for local people, all you need to do is log into the forum to access it. Here's a taster of some of the gigs I've stumbled across that I've added in already:
Saiichi Sugiyama @ The RMA Tavern, Portsmouth - 18/01/2007
Marmalade @ The Cellars at Eastney, Portsmouth - 19/01/2007
Karmadeva (with Hudson10 supporting) @ Unit22, Southampton - 21/01/2007
I Am Kloot (Acoustic Set) @ The Joiners, Southampton - 28/01/2007
Bluesky Research @ The Cellars at Eastney, Portsmouth - 31/01/2007
Red Letter Day @ Unit22, Southampton - 04/02/2007
Bedouin Soundclash @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 15/03/2007
The line-up for this year's Gosport & Fareham Easter Festival has been released. Amongst the artists gracing the stage of Ferneham Hall this April are Kate Rusby and Seth Lakeman. More information is available here. The bill for this year's Wickham Festival is due to be released next week (I can however let slip that the headline act for the first night will feature a guy who stands on one leg and plays the flute).
There's still time to catch the 2006 Festive Fifty on Dandelion Radio; the station operates a rolling programme over a 16 hour period, check the forum link for the schedule.
And finally, The Obligatory YouTube Thread has had some bizarre Darth Vader skits, new British hip hop and a lot of Eddie Murphy added to it. Well that just about wraps it up for this week. This afternoon I have mostly been listening to Gogol Bordello. Bojemoi!
Hello again.
Yes, it's Wednesday, it's long past lunchtime, it must be Gigwatcher time (I spent about 10 minutes working out an elaborate Crackerjack-style opening but it just didn't work. Maybe I should've used Howdy Doody instead).
*koff*
Moving swiftly on; I put my nut cutlet and chilli sauce baguette to one side just long enough to flick through the back pages of the NME, where I found the following:
The Black Velvets @ The Railway Inn, Winchester - 27/01/2007
Blood Red Shoes @ The Joiners, Southampton - 29/01/2007
Make Good Your Escape @ The Albert, Brighton - 30/01/2007
Assembly Now @ Unit 22, Southampton - 03/02/2007
Ben Taylor @ Komedia, Brighton - 05/02/2007
Last Gang @ The Joiners, Southampton - 06/02/2007
Aereogramme @ The Joiners, Southampton - 07/02/2007
The Rapture @ The Pyramids, Portsmouth - 08/02/2007
The Violets @ Unit 22, Southampton - 10/02/2007
1990s @ The Joiners, Southampton - 03/03/2007
Charlotte Hatherley @ The Wedgewood Rooms - 04/03/2007
Ash @ Southampton University - 06/03/20073
The Twang @ The Joiners, Southampton - 28/03/2007 (this is the CORRECT date, the information lifted from NME.COM last week was wrong).
Incubus @ BIC, Bournemouth - 08/04/2007
If I'm not too busy trying to make my Guild Wars character stand like the lead singer of Jethro Tull this evening I'll add those onto the SoMC Events Calendar. The Events Calendar contains a selection of local gigs for local people, all you need to do is log into the forum to access it. Here's a taster of some of the gigs I've stumbled across that I've added in already:
Saiichi Sugiyama @ The RMA Tavern, Portsmouth - 18/01/2007
Marmalade @ The Cellars at Eastney, Portsmouth - 19/01/2007
Karmadeva (with Hudson10 supporting) @ Unit22, Southampton - 21/01/2007
I Am Kloot (Acoustic Set) @ The Joiners, Southampton - 28/01/2007
Bluesky Research @ The Cellars at Eastney, Portsmouth - 31/01/2007
Red Letter Day @ Unit22, Southampton - 04/02/2007
Bedouin Soundclash @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 15/03/2007
The line-up for this year's Gosport & Fareham Easter Festival has been released. Amongst the artists gracing the stage of Ferneham Hall this April are Kate Rusby and Seth Lakeman. More information is available here. The bill for this year's Wickham Festival is due to be released next week (I can however let slip that the headline act for the first night will feature a guy who stands on one leg and plays the flute).
There's still time to catch the 2006 Festive Fifty on Dandelion Radio; the station operates a rolling programme over a 16 hour period, check the forum link for the schedule.
And finally, The Obligatory YouTube Thread has had some bizarre Darth Vader skits, new British hip hop and a lot of Eddie Murphy added to it. Well that just about wraps it up for this week. This afternoon I have mostly been listening to Gogol Bordello. Bojemoi!
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
The Gigwatcher 10/01/2007
Giggity!
Well, here we are again. Another year, another Gigwatcher for your delectation and delight. I hope you all had a lovely super smashing Christmas and took the opportunity of the festive break to recharge your batteries. I indulged myself by lounging around the house listening to music, accompanied by a pile of books and an endless supply of coffee. Is there a better way to waste time over Christmas? Probably not.
I also got beaten hands down at Star Wars Top Trumps. I've since have come to the conclusion that it's impossible to lose if you've got Yoda in your deck after the deal (not that I'm bitter or anything).
*koff*
Moving swiftly on, the NME must have pigged out at Christmas and gone on a crash diet; it's noticeably thinner post-yule but it still has a fair selection of gigs coming our way listed:
Loney, dear (supporting The Boy Least Likely To) @ The Wedgewood Rooms @ 24/01/2007
Hot Club de Paris @ Pressure Point, Brighton - 23/01/2007
Clinic @ Concorde 2, Brighton - 09/02/2007
Larrikin Love @ Garden Court, Southampton University - 10/02/2007
Switches @ The Joiners, Southampton - 13/02/2007
The KBC @ The Joiners, Southampton - 15/02/2007
Mika @ Concorde 2, Brighton - 20/02/2007
And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead @ Concorde 2, Brighton - 22/02/2007
Howling Bells @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 27/02/2007
The Twang @ The Joiners, Southampton - 28/02/2007
Forward, Russia! @ Garden Court, Southampton University - 02/03/2007
Aim @ The Brook, Southampton - 09/03/2007
The Broken Family Band @ Komedia, Brighton - 11/03/2007
The SoMC Events Calendar is liberally sprinkled with a selection of local gigs for local people, all there for your perusal, and those above will soon be added on. Those below I stumbled across earlier:
Arachnotaur @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - TONIGHT
The Electric Light Orchestra Experience @ The Brook, Southampton - 12/01/2007
Tom Lillywhite @ The Joiners, Southampton - 15/01/2007
Steve Arnott @ The Frog & Frigate, Southampton - 20/01/2007
Bluesky Research @ The Cellars at Eastney, Portsmouth - 31/01/2007
Aereogramme @ The Joiners, Southampton - 07/02/2007
John Otway @ The Joiners, Southampton - 09/02/2007
Portsmouth Guildhall plays host to not one but two local showcases this month. The first is promoted by Native (no, me either), features Before We Left, Jaimison, Run Riviera and Sheilatakeabow and takes place on Saturday 20th January. The second is promoted by Portsmouth Scene Promotions, features Big Squirrel, Five Mile Drive, Dragon Eye Morrison and Little London and takes place on Saturday 27th January.
Online broadcaster Dandelion Radio have inherited John Peel's mantle and taken on the task of producing the famed Festive Fifty. Follow this link to the forum for more information and details on when to "tune in" to the finished programme.
Also on the forum, freshly added to The Obligatory YouTube Thread, is just about the weirdest advert I've ever seen. It's for the Microsoft Musicbrick (aka the Zune) and, well, you'll see if you go here.
Included with the Festive Gigwatcher was the lovingly compiled Most Fantastic Lyric Quiz. Several of you took the challenge and, as promised, it's time to name the winners.
In third place, having combined their efforts with the rest of their office, are Ali and Jim. In second place are the triumvirate of Simon, Claire and Dan; together they solved several of the sneakier and more obscure lyrics included (so I now know I'm not the only person who bought Highway 5 by The Blessing). There must be a winner though, and the soiled chalice of victory goes to Team HSBC (aka Shaun and his chums at the bank).
Congratulations, high fives and tickertape are directed in their direction. As promised there is a prize for winning; sadly Calendar Club had run out of Hollyoaks Babes calendars so they'll have to make do with whatever I can find. I suppose you want to know the answers now? Click this link to get them (they'll be available for download for the next 7 days).
And that just about wraps it up for the first Gigwatcher of the new year, late hitting the streets though it was. This afternoon I have mostly been listening to Girls Aloud's Greatest Hits, ding dang doo!
Well, here we are again. Another year, another Gigwatcher for your delectation and delight. I hope you all had a lovely super smashing Christmas and took the opportunity of the festive break to recharge your batteries. I indulged myself by lounging around the house listening to music, accompanied by a pile of books and an endless supply of coffee. Is there a better way to waste time over Christmas? Probably not.
I also got beaten hands down at Star Wars Top Trumps. I've since have come to the conclusion that it's impossible to lose if you've got Yoda in your deck after the deal (not that I'm bitter or anything).
*koff*
Moving swiftly on, the NME must have pigged out at Christmas and gone on a crash diet; it's noticeably thinner post-yule but it still has a fair selection of gigs coming our way listed:
Loney, dear (supporting The Boy Least Likely To) @ The Wedgewood Rooms @ 24/01/2007
Hot Club de Paris @ Pressure Point, Brighton - 23/01/2007
Clinic @ Concorde 2, Brighton - 09/02/2007
Larrikin Love @ Garden Court, Southampton University - 10/02/2007
Switches @ The Joiners, Southampton - 13/02/2007
The KBC @ The Joiners, Southampton - 15/02/2007
Mika @ Concorde 2, Brighton - 20/02/2007
And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead @ Concorde 2, Brighton - 22/02/2007
Howling Bells @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 27/02/2007
The Twang @ The Joiners, Southampton - 28/02/2007
Forward, Russia! @ Garden Court, Southampton University - 02/03/2007
Aim @ The Brook, Southampton - 09/03/2007
The Broken Family Band @ Komedia, Brighton - 11/03/2007
The SoMC Events Calendar is liberally sprinkled with a selection of local gigs for local people, all there for your perusal, and those above will soon be added on. Those below I stumbled across earlier:
Arachnotaur @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - TONIGHT
The Electric Light Orchestra Experience @ The Brook, Southampton - 12/01/2007
Tom Lillywhite @ The Joiners, Southampton - 15/01/2007
Steve Arnott @ The Frog & Frigate, Southampton - 20/01/2007
Bluesky Research @ The Cellars at Eastney, Portsmouth - 31/01/2007
Aereogramme @ The Joiners, Southampton - 07/02/2007
John Otway @ The Joiners, Southampton - 09/02/2007
Portsmouth Guildhall plays host to not one but two local showcases this month. The first is promoted by Native (no, me either), features Before We Left, Jaimison, Run Riviera and Sheilatakeabow and takes place on Saturday 20th January. The second is promoted by Portsmouth Scene Promotions, features Big Squirrel, Five Mile Drive, Dragon Eye Morrison and Little London and takes place on Saturday 27th January.
Online broadcaster Dandelion Radio have inherited John Peel's mantle and taken on the task of producing the famed Festive Fifty. Follow this link to the forum for more information and details on when to "tune in" to the finished programme.
Also on the forum, freshly added to The Obligatory YouTube Thread, is just about the weirdest advert I've ever seen. It's for the Microsoft Musicbrick (aka the Zune) and, well, you'll see if you go here.
Included with the Festive Gigwatcher was the lovingly compiled Most Fantastic Lyric Quiz. Several of you took the challenge and, as promised, it's time to name the winners.
In third place, having combined their efforts with the rest of their office, are Ali and Jim. In second place are the triumvirate of Simon, Claire and Dan; together they solved several of the sneakier and more obscure lyrics included (so I now know I'm not the only person who bought Highway 5 by The Blessing). There must be a winner though, and the soiled chalice of victory goes to Team HSBC (aka Shaun and his chums at the bank).
Congratulations, high fives and tickertape are directed in their direction. As promised there is a prize for winning; sadly Calendar Club had run out of Hollyoaks Babes calendars so they'll have to make do with whatever I can find. I suppose you want to know the answers now? Click this link to get them (they'll be available for download for the next 7 days).
And that just about wraps it up for the first Gigwatcher of the new year, late hitting the streets though it was. This afternoon I have mostly been listening to Girls Aloud's Greatest Hits, ding dang doo!
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