Posted: 28 March 2008 | Author: Chris Unitt | No Comments »
As support bands go you can’t ask for much more than what Youthmovies provided. Revealed later on to be Foals’ favourite band, they were a diverting hotch potch of styles and genres. Their set included some Money Mark-stle keyboards, the guitarist abandoning his guitar to be a second drummer and an LCD Soundystem-esque finale. A few of the crowd bounced about enthusiastically in thanks. I’d probably not go out of my way to see them again but in terms of a warm-up they hit the spot. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: 16 February 2008 | Author: Chris Unitt | No Comments »
Frank Carter can rail all he likes against fans making idols of bands but if he’s a subject of adulation it’s no doubt a result of his thrillingly visceral and menacingly charismatic performances. If there’s a single reason why Gallows have been embraced (if a little cautiously) by mainstream indie and won plays on Radio 1 daytime it’s the force of of his personality. Is he uncomfortable with the constant acclaim his band have garnered or is he wary of suffering a backlash having signed a recent big deal in the States? Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: 13 February 2008 | Author: Chris Unitt | No Comments »
The show ended as it started – from ‘Broken Heartbeats Sound Like Breakbeats’ with it’s shouty count-in to the final unaccompanied, shouted chorus of ‘Sweet Dreams, Sweet Cheeks’. It set the tone for the whole of the show quite succinctly too, with all seven members involved at high volume in a slightly quirky, unabashed and ramshackle manner.There was little time for banter before songs (Gareth later blamed his recent abstention from alcohol) as they slipped quickly into ‘Don’t Tell Me To Do The Math’ and then into a performance of ‘Death To Los Campesinos! that got the already enthusiastic crowd really bubbling up. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: 6 February 2008 | Author: Chris Unitt | No Comments »
In past years getting tickets for the annual NME tour was a case of hammering the phone lines as soon as they opened. Tickets sold fast and with good reason – some timely booking secured acts such as Franz Ferdinand, The Killers, Arctic Monkeys, Kaiser Chiefs and Maximo Park when they were on the cusp of national recognition. However, last year was a low ebb (Mumm-Ra anyone?) and this year’s bill didn’t seem to get the juices flowing either; tickets were still available on the door. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: 14 November 2007 | Author: Chris Unitt | No Comments »
I missed Au Revoir Simone when I went to see We Are Scientists a while back and kicked myself for it. If you’ve not come across their floaty-light ethereal pop tunes, and if that description even half interests you, then I’d urge you to pick up one of their albums. Unfortunately, despite turning up earlier than I usually do I still managed to miss them so this portion of the review comes courtesy of a couple of my friends (hi Kelly and Rich) who I bumped into as I arrived. They’d bought tickets just to see Au Revoir Simone and were going home perfectly happy. I guess that’s a ringing endorsement from them then. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: 11 November 2007 | Author: Chris Unitt | No Comments »
Musical taste is a strange and wonderful creature. Not content to divide bands between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ there’s an annoying subset I call ‘good on paper but you’d rather not actually listen to them, y’know?’. Catchy, isn’t it? These ones tick all the right boxes and should be right up your metaphorical alley but something doesn’t click and the chemistry isn’t there.That was the Test Icicles for me. On paper there was so much to recommend them – they made an almighty, parent-baiting racket, had stupid names, lacked anything approaching professionalism and split after one album. Oh, and theirs is the only wikipedia entry that has ever made me laugh (History, para 3). But for all that my heart didn’t like them as much as my head said it should. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: 7 October 2007 | Author: Chris Unitt | No Comments »
I have to say I didn’t used to like The Maccabees. In fact I didn’t dislike them. I nothinged them. They were another one of the wearying stream of bands that have nothing but a tenuous USP to distinguish them – the one with their dad in, the ones that used to be banned everywhere cos their mates were a bit lairy, the Young Knives (um, do they even have a ‘thing’) and the ones that are from Leeds but aren’t the Kaiser Chiefs.You know what I mean? A constant flow of bands tumbling off the treadmill that are fine and maybe reasonably good but can anyone really get that excited about them? (As an aside – someone reading over my shoulder just mentioned the Kaisers’ vid for ‘Everything Is Average’. Tom Lehrer would have something good to say about that).
The point I’m slowly creeping up on? Well, to that list I’d have added The Maccabees – the ones who sing about a swimming pool. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: 12 June 2007 | Author: Chris Unitt | No Comments »
“Over 14’s? I reckon I can pass for that” – message on the Hadouken! fan forum. Yep, the kids were out in force for this one and that, for any grumpy old men out there, was no bad thing. There was a palpable sense of excitement in the venue and when Does It Offend You, Yeah? took to the stage the screams of delight were louder than I’d ever experienced for any support band in this place. Ever. Read the rest of this entry »
