Industrial action is, as well being a good name for a Yorkshire-based death metal band, a good way to waste the day. Yesterday I exercised my democratic right to stay in bed later than usual, watch TV and drink alcoholic Ginger Beer, all in the name of the people's right to more money.
*koff*
Well, it's the thought that counts. Moving swiftly on, here's what I found listed in the back pages of this week's NME:
Ben's Brother @ The Joiners, Southampton - 11/05/2007 The Wayne Foundation @ The Old Fire Station, Bournemouth - 14/05/2007 Thirteen Senses @ The Joiners, Southampton - 14/05/2007 The Wayne Foundation @ University Student Union, Southampton - 17/05/2007 Mr Hudson & The Library @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 20/05/2007 Cherry Ghost @ Komedia, Brighton - 18/06/2007 The Bravery @ Concorde2, Brighton - 25/07/2007
If I've not managed to glue my fingers to the wings of the Airfix plane I'm building I'll add the above gigs into the SoMC Events Calendar just as soon as I can. The Events Calendar is just full of local gigs that might fire up your loins, like these for example:
Firebird @ The Joiners, Southampton - 03/05/2007 Flip Top @ The Tap, Portsmouth - 04/05/2007 Hummingbird (Amy Wadge, Cathy Burton & Edwina Hayes) @ The Ashcroft Arts Centre, Fareham - 05/05/2007 Kenney Jones & The Gang @ The Brook, Southampton - 05/05/2007 Polly & The Billet Doux @ The Railway Inn, Winchester - 06/05/2007 Lou Rhodes @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 10/05/2007 CANCELLED! The Exits @ The Registry, Portsmouth - 10/05/2007 The Cartel @ Havana Bar, Southsea - 11/05/2007 Orange Goblin @ The Joiners, Southampton - 12/05/2007 Parka @ Lennons, Southampton - 19/05/2007 Big D & The Kids Table @ The Joiners, Southampton - 24/05/2007 Gretchen Peters, Suzy Bogguss & Matraca Berg @ The Anvil, Basingtoke - 27/05/2007 Red Letter Day @ The Cellars at Eastney, Portsmouth - 03/06/2007 Graham Bonnet @ The Brook, Southampton - 01/07/2007 Runrig @ The Guildhall, Southampton - 19/10/2007
The Wedgewood Rooms has confirmed that the rescheduled Cooper Temple Clausegig, planned for Wednesday 23rd May, is indeed cancelled following the announcement of the band's split last week. Punters are advised to contact their point of purchase for a refund. Likewise The Joiners have confirmed the Dustin's Bar Mitzvah gig scheduled for Monday 21st May has been cancelled following the band's recent decision to call it a day.
The support slots for the Nine Black Alps gig at The Wedgewood Rooms on Sunday 6th May have been filled by a couple of local bands. Portsmouth's Cut The Blue Wire and Chichester's Golden Section have been named as the warm-ups, so I'd advise missing out the pre-gig beer in the Duke of Devonshire and getting to the venue early to check them out.
Legendary goth club night Resurgence returns for a 10th Anniversarycelebration on Sunday 6th May. As per usual the action takes place at my favourite hole in the ground, Scandals on Hampshire Terrace in Southsea. Doors open at eight o'clock and the fun runs through til midnight.
Whilst also in that neck of the woods, just down from Scandals the venerable public house The Wig & Pen has started hosting acoustic open mike nights on Mondays. There's also a chill-out session on Sunday afternoons, more details are available on the pub'sMyspace.
And with the sun burning my eyes I think that'll do for this week (I really must get those window blinds repaired). This afternoon I have mostly been listening to Nigel Stonier and The Shins. Join me next week when I may well have finally got around to adding the "That Sounds A Good Name For A Band" thread to the forum.
Details of the (quite extensive) line-up for this year's Bestival, which takes place the weekend of 7th-9th September, have been released. The Chemical Brothers headline the Friday night, with The Beastie Boys taking charge of Saturday and Primal Scream wrapping things up on the Sunday.
As for who else will be entertaining the masses at Robin Hill Country Park on the Isle of Wight..
[deep breath]
Adjagas, Babyhead, Bat For Lashes, Billy Bragg, Bishi, Bonde de Role, Cagedbaby, Calvin Harris, Candie Payne, Daedalus, Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip, Dub Pistols, Duloks, Easy Star All-Stars, Electrelane, Emmy The Great, Fields, Figurines, Fionn Regan, Foals, Friendly Fires, Fujiya and Miyagi, George Pringle, Gossip, Gregory Isaacs, Horace Andy, Infinite Scale, Jackson Analogue, Jah Wobble, John Foxx, Johnny Flynn & The Sussex Wit, Jon Hopkins, Kate Nash, Kid Carpet, Kid Harpoon, Kitty, Daisy and Lewis, Kleptones, Kode 9 & Spaceape, Levellers, Man Like Me, Marlena Shaw, Max Sedgley & The Shoots, Mr Hudson and The Library, Natty, Noisettes, Planning to Rock, Plastic Little, Port O'Brien, Remi Nicole, Robyn, Ruarri Joseph, Seasick Steve, Shakes, Shy Child, Simian Mobile Disco, Simple Kid, Ska Cubano, Slow Club, Son of Dave, Soul II Soul Soundsystem Live, Spank Rock, Sportsday Megaphone, Super Nashwan, The Bobby McGees, The Cuban Brothers, The Go! Team, The Hat, The Kissaway Trail, The Maccabees, The Orb, The Rumblestrips, Thee Earls, Three Daft Monkeys, Tunng, Xerox Teens and Zion Train
[and relax]
That's just the bands appearing, the list of DJs is just as long (and knowing how these things go, both lists are likely to have additions before the gates open on the first day). Similarly to the Isle of Wight Festival no Day Tickets are available this year (doh); weekend tickets start at £115 and are still (just about) available.
If, like me, you've been captivated by the haunting tune which plays on the current SAAB advert, then you may be interested to know that the song is called Release Me and is by Swedish newcomers Oh Laura.
Southampton's Delays wrapped up a hectic 2006 (new album, lots of touring, new record deal) with a homecoming Christmas Extravaganza at Southampton Guildhall. Cameras were there to record the gig for posterity, and the following trailer has recently appeared on the band's MySpace to plug the forthcoming DVD release:
The DVD is released on Monday 7th May 2007 and will be available for purchase via the band's website.
If Virgin Media's new tagline is 'Happiness Guaranteed' how come I had to spend forty five minutes on the phone speaking to five different people just to get one thing done.
Oh.
It's ironic. Right. Got you. *koff*
Moving swiftly on, here's what I found listed in the back pages of this week's NME:
The Electric Soft Parade @ Fopp, Southampton - 29/04/2007 (instore gig, onstage @ 1500) Hot Club de Paris @ Concorde2, Brighton - 17/05/2007 Candie Payne and The Draytones @ The Gloucester, Brighton - 19/05/2007 Kate Nash @ Pressure Point, Brighton - 19/05/2007 Mutemath @ Concorde2, Brighton - 20/06/2007
Slim pickings this week I'm afraid; we're nearing Festival season so the back pages of the NME are awash with ads for all sorts of outdoor events up and down the country. Fingers crossed there'll be more rumours of tours in next week's edition. I'll add the above into the SoMC Events Calendar as soon as I can (I'm easily distracted though so don't hold your breath). The calendar is, of course, freely accessible via the forum, and an example of the delights it contains follows:
The Rebel Ching, The Elements, The Exits & Wiservice @ Little Johnny Russell's, Portsmouth - 26/04/2007 (Acoustic sets) The Neville Staple Band @ Chicago Rock Cafe, Southsea - 26/04/2007 Klashnekoff @ Nexus, Southampton - 27/04/2007 Steve Arnott @ The Frog & Frigate, Southampton - 27/04/2007 Forever Like Red @ Unit22, Southampton - 28/04/2007 Flip Top @ The Cellars at Eastney, Portsmouth - 28/04/2007 Recreation @ The Nell Gwynne, Portsmouth - 28/04/2007 Thea Gilmore @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 03/05/2007 (Acoustic performance) Superfly @ The Red Lion, Stubbington - 04/05/2007 Nine Black Alps @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 06/05/2007 The Velvet Hearts @ The Cellars at Eastney, Portsmouth - 13/05/2007 Gilkicker @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 19/05/2007 Oddzial Zamkniety @ The Guildhall, Southamtpn - 20/05/2007 (Polish Rock!) Los Pacaminos @ The Cellars at Eastney, Portsmouth - 04/07/2007
After several years together, surviving changes in record labels and one of their number running off to join Carl Barât, The Cooper Temple Clause have finally decide to call it a day. A "so long and thanks for all the good times" goodbye letter has been posted on their website, so that appears to be that. It would therefore appear that their rescheduled date at The Wedgewood Rooms on Wednesday 23rd May might not now be happening, but there's no word on the venue website as yet.
Environmental Rock 2007 takes place this Saturday at The Hobbit in Southampton. The all day festival, which promotes awareness of local environmental issues as well as offering the chance to harangue representatives of the major political parties, also features appearances by local bands such as BossNass and Dlugokecki. If that wasn't enough Chris Packham will be there too. The fun starts at midday and runs through to half past six. Entrance to the event is FREE as well, which is nice.
And that brings this edition of the Gigwatcher to a close; this afternoon I have mostly been listening to Metric and The Harvey Girls (who's interpretation of Billy Idol's White Wedding is a lovely thing indeed). Join us next week when I'll be making a life-size replica of the RMS Titanic out of empty Coke bottles.
I've just realised what the mint flavoured Salt Water Taffy that Stu brought back from Florida remind me of; they taste just like Pacers.
Mmm. Pacers.
[tumbleweed]
What do you mean you don't remember Pacers? Bah. You'll be telling me next you don't remember Texan bars either!
*koff*
Moving swiftly on, here's what I found listed in the back pages of this week's NME:
Help She Can't Swim @ The Joiners, Southampton - 17/05/2007 Kill Kenada @ The Registry, Portsmouth - 17/05/2007 Biffy Clyro @ The Pyramids, Portsmouth - 20/05/2007 Funeral For A Friend @ The Guildhall, Portsmouth - 21/05/2007 Kill Kenada @ Unit22, Southampton - 26/05/2007 Hadouken! @ Concorde 2, Brighton - 08/06/2007 Devo @ The Dome, Brighton - 18/06/2007 The Bravery @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 24/07/2007 Natasha Bedingfield @ The Guildhall, Southampton - 25/09/2007 The Proclaimers @ The Guildhall, Southampton - 12/10/2007
If I'm not getting misty-eyed for sweets they don't make any more I'll add the above gigs into the SoMC Events Calendar. Don't forget that I update the Events Calendar with details of the many many gigs I seem to stumble across on my journeys across the interweb. The calendar is, of course, freely accessible via the forum and I've plucked the following events from it to pique your interest:
Pama International @ The Joiners, Southampton - 20/04/2007 The Levellers @ City Hall, Salisbury - 25/04/2007 The Dodge Brothers (featuring Mark Kermode) @ The Talking Heads, Southampton - 26/04/2007 The Australian Pink Floyd @ The Guildhall, Portsmouth - 29/04/2007 Sherman Robertson & BluesMove @ The Cellars at Eastney, Portsmouth - 02/05/2007 Babyhead @ The Talking Heads, Southampton - 04/05/2007 Los Lobos @ The Anvil, Basingstoke - 11/05/2007 Billy Bragg @ City Hall, Salisbury - 25/05/2007 Tom McRae @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 04/06/2007 Riders On The Storm (featuring Ray Manzarek & Robby Krieger) @ The Guildhall, Southampton - 19/06/2007 Ted Leo & The Pharmacists @ Pressure Point, Brighton - 05/07/2007 Easy Star All-Stars (tbc) @ The Brook, Southampton - 18/07/2007
Details of this year's Beaulieu Summer Pops have been announced, the event this year runs from Friday 6th to Sunday 8th July. The Australian Pink Floyd return from last year to headline the Friday night with Girls Aloud taking charge of Saturday. Jools Holland, his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra and Lulu will be wrapping things up on the Sunday.
Ant "Guitar Meister" Shue has informed me that he has tickets available for the Brannigan's Law gig on Spitbank Fort on Saturday 12th May. Tickets are a bargain £10 (plus £5 for the boat out to the venue), for which you'll be entertained by five local bands (yes, they've added another one to the line-up) in a most interesting venue. Contact The Shuperton via his MySpace for more info and possible haggling.
And that's it, put a fork in me, I'm done.. tune in next week for more nostalgic burblings about 70's confectionery and what I find in the back of the NME. In the meantime I will mostly be listening to Corrina Repp and Fields. Nice.
Chichester's Golden Section have released their debut album, Attack//Decay//Sustain//Release, as an electronic download from their MySpace site. Not only is it available for the bargain price of £5 but, if you produce the proof of purchase at one of their gigs, you'll be able to get your mitts on a physical copy of the CD (once it's pressed that is). The album has a somewhat transitional feel; some tracks present were released previously on their 2005 and 2006 EPs, those have a more anthemic feel than some of the newer material. However it all meshes together well to produce a cohesive listening experience (yes, I've bought a dictionary).
If parting with a fiver seems too much of a hardship then the three-track 2005 EP (containing a slightly longer version of Interchange than on the album) is available as a free download on their website.
I know it's decidedly immature but, no matter how I've tried to dress it up, I haven't been able to think of a way of saying how much I enjoyed playing with Phil's new console without chortling like a schoolboy every time I mentioned the name.
I spent an enjoyable Saturday evening playing with Phil's Wii[chuckle]. It was a bit hard at first [wibble] but once I'd got to grips with his Wii[chortle] I didn't want to stop playing with it [guffaw].
Seriously though, it really is a fun piece of kit that gets you out of your chair and involved in the whole gaming experience. It's just a shame about the name. Honestly, what were they on when they came up Wii?
I dread to think what they might call their next handheld...
*koff*
Moving swiftly on, here's what I found listed in the back pages of this week's NME:
Video Nasties @ The Joiners, Southampton - 24/04/2007 Rolling Dog @ The Registry, Portsmouth - 26/04/2007 Rolling Dog @ Unit22, Southampton - 28/04/2007 Thomas Truax @ The Joiners, Southampton - 06/05/2007 The Transgressive Roadshow #2 (feat. Foals, Battle & Mechanical Bride) @ Concorde 2, Brighton - 18/05/2007 The Law @ The Joiners, Southampton - 26/05/2007 The Enemy @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 18/06/2007 Ray Lamontagne @ The Guildhall, Southampton - 29/10/2007
If I'm not camping outside Phil's house for some more quality time with his Wii[yik yak gibber] I'll add the above gigs into the SoMC Events Calendar. I add any and all gigs I happen to stumble across into the Events Calendar and, because I felt like it, it's now accessible to all (yes, none of that having to register malarkey). I've lifted the following events from it to whet your gigging appetites:
To Every End @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 12/04/2007 Autons @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 17/04/2007 Oceansize @ The Brook, Southampton - 26/04/2007 The Smyths @ The Brook, Southampton - 27/04/2007 Ben Allison Quartet @ The Turner Sims Hall, Southampton - 28/04/2007 Abdoujaparov @ The Railway Inn, Winchester - 04/05/2007 Ezio @ The Cellars at Eastney, Portsmouth - 08/05/2007 Steriogram @ The Joiners, Southampton - 15/05/2007 ASWAD @ Chicago Rock Café, Southsea - 24/05/2007 Rufus Wainwright @ The Guildhall, Portsmouth - 24/05/2007 The Aliens @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 11/06/2007 INXS @ The Opera House, Bournemouth - 19/06/2007 The Proclaimers @ The Opera House, Bournemouth - 30/06/2007
To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the release of their seminal George Best album, The Wedding Presentwill be embarking on a UK tour this October. They'll be visiting the same towns as the original release tour did back in the day and will be pitching up at The Wedgewood Rooms on Tuesday 30th October. Rumour also has it that they'll be playing the entire album as part of the tour set. Woohoo!
The eclectic line-up of this year's Isle of Wight Festival has been further increased. The Sunshine Superman himself, Donovan, will be performing on the Saturday. Donovan is a veteran of the IOW Festival, playing the last of the original events back in 1970.
And that just about wraps it up for this week, this afternoon I was mostly listening to Fields, Golden Section and The Police. Ding dang doo.
There I was, sitting at my desk contemplating life, the Universe and the random fluctuation in beer prices, when the sound of beautiful music filled the room; Franz Lizst's Liebestraum no. 3 was drifting gently out of the ceiling speakers. Had Andy Dufresne taken over the Tannoy controls? Were we to be herded upstairs after lunch to tar the roof?
No. It was just the security guards checking the office's emergency broadcast system by connecting it up to ClassicFM. Well, it made a change from "testing testing 1 2 3" I suppose.
I wonder if they take requests?
*koff*
Moving swiftly on.. here's what I found listed in the back pages of this week's NME:
Simple Kid @ Komedia, Brighton - 16/05/2007 Kate Nash @ The Pressure Point, Brighton - 19/05/2007 Son of Dork @ The Pyramids, Portsmouth - 25/05/2007 Oppenheimer @ Unit22, Southampton - 14/04/2007 Kharma 45 @ Unit22, Southampton - 14/04/2007 Hayseed Dixie @ The Old Fire Station, Bournemouth - 20/04/2007 The Films @ The Joiners, Southampton - 06/06/2007 The Cribs @ The Pyramids, Portsmouth - 06/06/2007 Gallows @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 19/06/2007 The Hold Steady @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 04/07/2007
If I'm not digging a tunnel to freedom I'll add the above gigs into the SoMC Events Calendar. The Events Calendar, as I may have hinted once or twice previously, has eyes the size of dinner plates. In order to peruse its contents you'll need to register on the SoMC forum (but I might make it available for all over Easter, you'll have to go there and find out). Here are some gigs I found earlier to tease you:
Rolling Dog @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 04/04/2007 The Young Knives @ The Pyramids, Portsmouth - 06/04/2007 Laura Marling @ The Dorchester Arms, Southampton - 08/04/2007 John Martyn @ The Brook, Southampton - 15/04/2007 The View @ The Guildhall, Southampton - 19/04/2007 Flip Top @ The Contented Pig, Portsmouth - 20/04/2007 One Weird Fish @ The Contented Pig, Portsmouth - 28/04/2007 Nigel Clark (ex-Dodgy) @ The Cellars at Eastney, Portsmouth - 29/04/2007 Miles Hunt & Erica Nockalls @ The Brook, Southampton - 02/05/2007 Tony Benn & Roy Bailey @ New Theatre Royal, Portsmouth - 05/05/2007 Matt Barry (aka Dr Lucien Sanchez) @ The Brook, Southampton - 30/05/2007 Marillion @ The Pyramids, Portsmouth - 09/06/2007 Fish @ The Brook, Southampton - 29/09/2007
Neil Innes' gig at The Cellars at Eastney on Wednesday 25th April has unfortunately had to be postponed, more information on a rescheduled date as soon as I find out out about it.
The Ferneham Hall in Fareham again plays host to the annual Easter Folk Festival this weekend. A varied selection of folk talent fills the three days of the festival, with appearances by Kate Rusby (Saturday evening), Seth Lakeman (Sunday evening) and Boo Hewerdine (Sunday afternoon) being of interest to me. Limited tickets for Sunday's programme are still available.
After 10 year's hard gigging local power-pop trio Hudson10 have decided to call it a day. Good luck to the chaps in whatever projects they pursue next, though according to their MySpace (where selections from the band's archives will be appearing over the next few weeks) they may take to the stage one last time for a farewell gig.
The ever impressive Steve Arnott returns to the Frog & Frigate on Friday 27th April, once again he'll be entertaining all present with selections from his vast library of songs. When Steve isn't standing under the stairs at the Frog he can be found treading the boards with the Portchester Players. They'll be performing their award winning production of Shelagh Stephenson's Five Kinds Of Silence at the Ashcroft Arts Centre in Fareham, April 12th-14th (for which there are still some tickets available).
And that just about wraps it up for this week, this afternoon I have mostly been listening to the schmoove sounds of Gil Scott-Heron. Nice. Have a super smashing Easter, mine starts tomorrow at lunchtime when I'm off to a smoky hostelry to imbibe some alcohol and talk bobbins.
Danish band Mew were recently approached by an advertising company, working for a Norwegian Pay-TV channel, for the use of one of their songs in an upcoming campaign.
"Can we use Comforting Sounds in the new Canal Digital ad?" they asked.
"OK, but you'll have to pay us some money" said Mew.
"Err, we'll get back to you" replied the advertising company, who then proceeded to get someone to knock up a just-different-enough-so-they-won't-sue soundalike tune for their shiny new ad...
If you ask me that's not really different enough at all, it's practically the same. The band thought so to, as did their record company and their lawyers (if your Norwegian is good then you can read more information on the Verdens Gang website).
Following some intense legal banter later a deal was struck so that the ad could be shown this one time, with Mew compensated for the possible copyright exposure. Should the ad campaign be re-run at a later date however the tune in question will be changed to something that really doesn't sound anything at all like Comforting Sounds. Which, by the way, sounds like this...
[insert long and aimless rant here about changing all the clocks in the house, which of course includes the video you never use anymore so you have to find the pesky remote which is behind the sofa but it doesn't work because the batteries are flat and it takes those tiny AAA ones which you never ever have quite enough of]
And relax.
*koff*
Yes well, that's quite enough of that.. here's what I found listed in the back pages of this week's NME:
Dub Pistols @ Komedia, Brighton - 11/04/2007 The Beat @ Concorde 2, Brighton - 13/04/2007 The Ripps @ Lennons, Southampton - 14/04/2007 Foals @ Lennons, Southampton - 21/04/2007 Zico Chain @ The Joiners, Southampton - 23/04/2007 The Envy Corps @ Lennons, Southampton - 05/05/2007 The Black Ghosts @ Pressure Point, Brighton - 17/05/2007 The Envy Corps @ The Railway Inn, Winchester - 18/05/2007 The Pigeon Detectives @ Southampton University, Southampton - 21/05/2007 The Holloways @ The Opera House, Bournemouth - 01/06/2007 The Cribs @ The Pyramids, Portsmouth - 06/06/2007
If I'm not watching endless re-runs of CSI on FiveUS I'll add the above gigs into the SoMC Events Calendar. As mentioned once or twice before the Events Calendar is made of ticky tacky and to use it you just need to register on the SoMC forum. In a Blue Peter style, here are some gigs I found earlier:
Scott Matthews @ The Pyramids, Portsmouth - 03/04/2007 The Model Village @ Havana Café Bar, Portsmouth - 06/04/2007 Winnebago Deal @ The Railway Inn, Winchester - 13/04/2007 Wiservice @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 14/04/2007 Jeniferever @ The Hope, Brighton - 20/04/2007 Curtis Stigers @ The Anvil, Basingstoke - 26/04/2007 Cradle of Filth @ The Pyramids, Portsmouth - 30/04/2007 Peter & The Test Tube Babies @ The Joiners, Southampton - 30/04/2007 Hot Chip (DJ set) @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 12/05/2007 The Hold Steady @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 04/07/2007
Chichester's Golden Section will be appearing at The Wedgewood Rooms this Saturday as support for local outfit The Exits. Also on the bill are Hijera from Southampton (aka "that band that won that thing on BBC South Today last year"). Some new tunage from Golden Section can be heard on theirMySpace (it's well worth a listen if you get the chance).
Some more additions have been made to the line-up for this year's Isle of Wight Festival. Koopa, who made history by becoming the first unsigned band to break the UK Top 40, will be appearing on the Friday night. The Sunday bill now boasts the presence of ex-Spice Girl Melanie C. *koff* If, like me, you were unsuccessful in obtaining tickets for this year's Newport shindig then help is at hand, the organisers have announced an auction of an additional 100 weekend tickets. The bidding begins on Ticketmaster at 9am tomorrow morning. Clickity.
And that just about wraps it up for this week, this afternoon I have mostly been listening to the new LCD Soundsystem album (and resisting the temptation to break out the glo-sticks) and trying to get the sound of Peter Griffin singing that damn Music Man song out of my head.
The song will only be available for a limited period and, whilst perhaps sounding like a potted version of The Dark Third, is a good sign that the band is back on track after recent problems.
If you caught the band on their recent tour you may have picked up a CD sleeve which can be used to house this 'single' should you choose to burn the song to a CDR.
Furthermore a new fan-forum has sprung up, replacing the defunct official one on the band's label-led website. You can now join fellow fans in The Realm of The Divine. Which is nice.
Do you want a pie with your gravy and fries combination?
I tell you, I'm getting proper fed up with the seemingly endless engineering works that Network Rail are inflicting on Portsmouth and the surrounding areas. Saturday night should have seen me quite happily sitting on a comfy chair, drinking beer whilst watching Holly Valance and Devon Aoki impress me with their martial artistry.
Instead I found myself standing at a bus stop for nearly an hour, freezing my Converse off, waiting for a replacement bus service because the men in the orange rave gear were doing things to the signals again. When the blinking flip bus finally arrived I impatiently leapt aboard (no, really I did) and scampered up to the top deck. All went well as far as Cosham, after which it soon transpired that I'd got on the wrong bus.
It sped past the Farlington turn-off and took me toward a more wretched hive of scum and villainy than Mos Eisley spaceport.
Thankfully the coach I was looking for made an appearance before too long and, with an ABBA loving coach driver at the wheel, I made it safely to Portsmouth.
I was only two hours late as well, which is pretty good for me.
*koff*
Moving swiftly on.. here's what I found listed in the back pages of this week's NME (which this week came with FREE stickers, just what I need to decorate my Sociology textbook):
The Little Flames @ Lennon's, Southampton - 24/03/2007 Air Traffic @ The Old Fire Station, Bournemouth - 25/03/2007 The Bees @ Audio, Brighton - 27/03/2007 Stephen Fretwell @ Red Roaster, Brighton - 11/05/2007 Duke Special @ The Brook, Southampton - 11/05/2007 Laura Marling @ Mono, Southampton - 08/04/2007 Good Books @ The Hope, Brighton - 12/04/2007 Good Books @ The Railway, Winchester - 14/04/2007 Ghosts @ The Joiners, Southampton - 15/04/2007 Luke Toms @ The Joiners, Southampton - 25/04/2007 The Cribs @ The Pyramids, Portsmouth - 06/06/2007 Kings of Leon @ BIC, Bournemouth - 04/07/2007 Babyshambles @ Brighton Centre, Brighton - 25/11/2007 Babyshambles @ BIC, Bournemouth - 26/11/2007
If events don't conspire against me again, and I don't get on the wrong bus and end up somewhere in the back of beyond, I'll update the SoMC Events Calendar with the above gigs just as soon as I can. The Events Calendar ecky ecky ecky ftang ftang gnarly whoop and all you need to do is register on the SoMC forum to use it. Here are some gigs I've lifted from the Events Calendar to tickle your fancy:
Buswell @ The Nell Gwynne, Portsmouth - 24/03/2007 The Strange Death Of Liberal England @ The Registry, Portsmouth - 29/03/2007 The Fall @ The Old Market, Brighton - 29/03/2007 The Cheese Doctors @ The Cellars at Eastney, Portsmouth - 31/03/2007 The Mods @ The Brook, Southampton - 05/04/2007 The Hollies @ The Anvil, Basingstoke - 11/04/2007 Voodoo Glow Skulls @ Nexus, Southampton - 18/04/2007 Steve Winwood @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 21/04/2007 Loudon Wainwright III @ The Guildhall, Southampton - 22/04/2007 The Go! Team @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 17/05/2007 The ELO Experience @ The Brook, Southampton - 18/05/2007
Monday night's cancelled Deftones gig at Portsmouth Guildhall has been rescheduled to Sunday 15th April. Karnataka's cancelled Thursday 1st March gig at The Brook has been rescheduled to Thursday 19th April. Original tickets for both events remain valid, which is nice.
What must be the worst kept secret this year, that The Rolling Stones will be headlining the Sunday night of the Isle of Wight Festival, was inadvertently sort of confirmed by Virgin Radio yesterday. The official site have yet to say it's so, and the article on Virgin Radio's website has up and disappeared, but it looks certain that rock's favourite pensioners will be strutting their stuff in Seaclose Park this June (if they don't fall asleep during Keane's set that is).
As mentioned previously the mighty Brannigan's Law will be sailing out into the Solent for their next gig, having been booked to play Spitbank Fort on Saturday 12th May alongside The Model Village and The Fret. As some regular readers may recall the SoMC's own guitar hero Ant Shue is in the band, pictures of him perfecting his power lunge are available on the band's MySpace. Giggity!
In other news, I've posted up a link to the Museum of Bad Art on the sleepy confines of the forum; it really does feature some of the most appallingly bad paintings I've seen. Excellent.
Loveable northern scamps Arctic Monkeys are back with a taster of the new album, Favourite Worst Nightmare, and there's still no sign of the inevitable backlash from the NME. On the contrary Brianstorm was named Single Of The Week in today's issue.
I've given the song a couple of listens and, though at first I wasn't too sure, now I'm certain they've borrowed Brian Molko's Rhyming Dictionary; lyrically it's weak, though there are a couple of typically choice lines. Musically the tune fair roars along. The drums are louder, the guitars faster and it would appear that all the touring has paid off with a desire to rock things up a bit.
The video is slickly done, though bears no relation to the song at all. I haven't the foggiest why the Monkeys appear to be locked in Joy Division's rehearsal room whilstP.Diddy's dancers shake their collective booty next door.
There's something about that initial "Brian" that makes me think of Monty Python. Guesses to how long before a "He's not an Arctic Monkey, he's a very naughty boy" mash-up hits the net on a postcard please.
A weekend spent imbibing Jérôme Hatt's miracle elixir greatly assisted my recovery from last week's exertions; my muscles have recovered and I can now go from sitting to standing to walking smoothly (and not like the badly animated claymation figure I was last Thursday and Friday).
Excellent.
Though it was fun pretending to be Morph for a couple of days.
*koff*
No time for the Gallery I'm afraid, here's what I found listed in the back pages of this week's NME (which this week came with a free DVD, so was of course dearer than usual):
Thirteen Senses @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 25/03/2007 Josh Pyke @ Engine Room, Brighton - 26/03/2007 Herman Dune @ Dome Bar, Brighton - 01/04/2007 Arctic Monkeys @ The Guildhall, Southampton - 09/04/2007 (tickets are only available via the band's website) The Wombats @ Unit22, Southampton - 05/05/2007 Groove Armada @ The Guildhall, Southampton - 11/05/2007 Biffy Clyro @ The Pyramids, Portsmouth - 20/05/2007
If I'm not hiding in cigar boxes or plopping through Tony Hart's big desk I'll update the SoMC Events Calendar with the above gigs. The Events Calendar is yadda yadda yadda yadda blah blah blah and all you need to do is register on the SoMC forum to use it. The following gigs are a taster of what can be found on the Events Calendar:
OK Tokyo @ The Railway Inn, Winchester - 15/03/2007 Captain @ LUX/Student Union, Portsmouth University - 16/03/2007 Stout @ The Joiners, Southampton - 16/03/2007 10cc @ The Guildhall, Portsmouth - 18/03/2007 Fitkin:Garland @ The Anvil, Basingstoke - 21/03/2007 Ben Mills @ Chicago Rock Cafe, Fareham - 26/03/2007 Bad Manners @ Chicago Rock Cafe, Southsea - 29/03/2007 David Kitt @ Audio, Brighton - 21/04/2007 The Wildhearts @ The Brook, Southampton - 23/04/2007 Tom McRae @ Concorde2, Brighton - 20/05/2007 Alabama3 @ The Opera House, Bournemouth - 05/06/2007
Following in the steps of The Police, Crowded House and Genesis the cheeky chaps from Squeeze have decided to dusting off their boots and head out on tour; they'll be stopping at Southampton Guildhall on Tuesday 27th November. From what I can make out it's Messrs Difford and Tilbrook plus some other guys, no sign of Jools Holland (who'll be on tour himself at roughly the same time), Paul Carrack or any of the other chaps on the band's Wikipedia entry.
To celebrate the refurbishment of Bournemouth's Opera House a special Indie Rock'n'Roll Launch Party is being held there on Friday 1st June. Jo Whiley does the honours with the red ribbon after which The Twang, The Young Knives and The Holloways will be entertaining the crowd. The Futureheads will be performing a DJ set as well, which is nice.
The ever impressive Steve Arnott will be standing underneath the stairs again at the Frog & Frigate this coming Friday. As it's also Red Nose Day there's a slim chance he may treat you to a couple of the (fairly rude) comedic songs he knows, make him an offer and see what he says.
And that just about wraps it up for this week, this afternoon I was mostly listening to OKGo and contemplating buying several treadmills to furnish my lounge with.
If, like me, you're a sucker for Last.FM you may be interested in this fairly pointless internet doohickey I stumbled across.
The AEP Calculator works out how diverse your musical tastes are, or not, based on the top 50 artists in your Last.FM overall chart. Utilising some off-screen jiggery-pokery it does some sums and returns a number, usually under 5, equating to how varied your aural choices have been.
Greater than 4 means a very diverse taste in music, greater than 3 means fairly diverse taste in music, and so on. A 0 would most likely mean you listen to one artist obsessively, lower than that, and minus figures are possible, and you're probably faking it.
If you want to check what your AEP (apparently it stands for Anti-Exponential Profile) is then just click here and enter your Last.FM username in the box. Once your AEP is worked out you can add it to your Last.FM profile, show it off to your friends, that sort of thing.
My AEP is (currently) 3.09, though I think I could boost that it if I listen to more nose flute and Bulgarian hip-hop. Well, it's something to do.
I feel like a military academy, bits of me keep passing out.
No, it's not the latest song by Panic at the Disco, it's genuinely how I feel today. After helping Banto move house yesterday (hence the 24 hour delay in the Gigwatcher hitting the streets) I appear to have discovered muscles that I'd long neglected. After discovering them I gave them a good kicking and told them not to bother me again.
Does anyone have a girdle I could borrow?
*koff*
Eyes down for a full house, here's what I found listed in the back pages of this week's NME:
The Xcerts @ The Joiners, Southampton - 12/03/2007 The Electric Cinema @ Pressure Point, Brighton - 27/03/2007 The Rakes @ The Guildhall, Southampton - 30/03/2007 Camera Obscura @ The Joiners, Southampton - 04/04/2007 Fortune Drive @ Ocean Rooms, Brighton - 07/04/2007 The Moths @ Audio, Brighton - 13/04/2007 Camera Obscura @ Komedia, Brighton - 17/04/2007 The Electric Soft Parade @ The Joiners, Southampton - 29/04/2007 Mr Hudson & The Library @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 20/05/2007
If I'm not liberally spraying parts of myself with Ralgex (which, as everyone knows, has a more potent effect than Lynx) I'll update the SoMC Events Calendar to include the above gigs. The Events Calendar is sprinkled with a wide variety of gigs in this here locale, to access it all you need do is register on the SoMC forum. For your consideration I've snipped the following gigs from it:
Jack Peñate@ The Railway Inn, Winchester - 09/03/2007 Dragon Eye Morrison @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 10/03/2007 Rachelle Van Zante @ The Railway Inn, Winchester - 14/03/2007 Mastodon @ The Pyramids, Portsmouth - 14/03/2007 Perfect Alibi @ The Brook, Southampton - 24/03/2007 Keith Waith and the Macusi Players @ The Ashcroft Arts Centre, Fareham - 24/03/2007 Martin Simpson @ The Cellars at Eastney, Portsmouth - 28/03/2007 Scott Matthews @ The Pyramids, Portsmouth - 03/04/2007 Racketeers @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 13/04/2007 Julian Cope @ The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth - 15/05/2007
As nearly every other date on the Cold War Kids current tour has SOLD OUTit should come as no surprise that their gig at The Wedgewood Rooms on Thursday 19th April has done the same. Grobbits. The 36 Crazyfists gig at The Wedgewood Rooms on Sunday 22nd April has also SOLD OUT.
The Red Stripe Music Award 2007 Tour, effectively a countrywide battle of the bands competition (though the website says otherwise), pitches up at Talking Heads in Southampton on Thursday 12th April. Local acts Hijera, The Young Brothers Band and I Falter will be plying their trade in front of press, promoters and A&R types. Once the tour finishes in April a judging panel (made up of A&R teams present at each gig) will pick the best six acts from the whole shebang. The final will be held in London in May with the winning act receiving a support slot on tour with "a profile band". Which is nice.
The most excellent Erin McKeown has been announced as the support for the equally excellent Thea Gilmore on her imminent tour (which visits The Brook on Sunday 18th March). I'll be there, as will Smudger and The Shar, and hopefully I'll have recovered from whatever St Patrick's Day shenanigans I inflict on my liver the night before.
And that just about wraps it up for this week, this afternoon I mostly listened to Pure Reason Revolution (which doesn't sound like a good name for a band, but it is.. a band I mean) and the sonorous offerings of Mr Perry's Didgeridoo(which isn't a band but sounds as though it should be).
As venue's go it's definitely one of strangest (not quite as bizarre as Sealand I'll grant you but it's not far off) and has all the makings of an excellent evening. Local bands The Fret, The Model Village and Brannigan's Law are all confirmed, Reading's The Skies complete the bill and tickets are a bargain £10.
OK so there's the additional £5 for the boat to Spitbank Fort to consider but, for a night's entertainment in most unusual surroundings, I can't see that being a problem. Buy your tickets, buy them now.
