The Futureheads @ King's College Student Union, 29/11/2007

Tonight is an oppurtunity for The Futureheads to showcase some songs from their third album, but before anyone in the crowd can even think about that, Detroit four-piece HiFi Handgrenades have an opportunity to wow a London crowd on the last date of their UK "tour".


Well, I have to hand it to these guys, they do a great impression of Millencolin. And of Sum 41. In fact, all the major pop-punk bands of the nineties are thrown into the mix. But its been so long, this stuff almost seems retro. At least for me. Taking you back to a simpler time, when pop-punk was all about girls and wanking. Occasionally in that order. Rather than nowadays, with your My Chemical Underpants and your Fall Out Boy singing about dead people and... whatever Fall Out Boy sing about.

www.myspace.com/hifihandgrenades

When these guys are done, it's up to Dananananakroyd (I think that's how its spelt) and their six-pronged, two-drummered attack of noise from Glasgow with pride. To be honest, these guys kicked some arse. Both drummers broke their sticks within the first song from playing to hard. Even though song names were lost in the noise, and the singer's diving into the crowd to scream into the mic was a little annoying, by sheer enthusiasm and guts, they put on a great, if somewhat shambolic show.

www.myspace.com/dananananaykroyd

So, without much further ado, the main event begins and The Futureheads kick off their first UK show in 2007 with classics "Meantime" and "The City Is Here For You To Use" before playing, for the first time in the UK, free mailing list song "Broke Up The Time". Whilst this isn't a massive change in direction for them, with the usual power-pop-punk hooks and singalong chorus, its still a fairly promising preview of their unreleased, although finished third album, and the song itself leads to a small group in the crowd to chant "Fuck 679", which doesn't go on unnoticed by the band.

Other new tracks scattered amongst the majority of the first album and only a couple of tracks nervously selected from News And Tributes (including single "Skip to The End" and "Worry About It Later") are "Everythings Changing Today", "Radio Heart" and "The Beginning of The Twist". Finishing on debut album closer "Man Ray", the band were soon back out for an encore including fan favourites "Area" and "Piece Of Crap" as well as live rarity "Picture of Dorian Gray" that left many fans crying for even more.

However, with the new tracks being slightly "more abrasive" as promised, if only still within their previous indie-pop confines, the new album is unlikely to win them over many new fans, but will definately be welcome for those whose preference was their eponymous debut rather than their "more mature" sophomore effort, which, although enjoyable, never really lived up to its predecessor.

Their as-yet-untitled third album look set to be released early next year.
www.myspace.com/thefutureheads
http://www.thefutureheads.co.uk/

Foals, 27/11/2007 @ Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth

The Followills have captured so ne'er do well new-rave refugee with a telecaster wandering around in the desert. At least that was my first impression of the band first on tonight, Kentucky 5-piece Cage the Elephant. Based around Schultz brothers Matt (vocalist) and Brad (Rhytm Guitar and wearer of all things red), their resemblance to the Kings Of Leon plus one is uncanny.

Although initially the influences seem to be rather obvious classic rock during opener "In One Ear", they begin to live up to their appearance during their second song "Soil To The Sun", which could easily have been a hijacked KoL B-side. However, the band really come into their own during "No Rest For The Wicked", Despite this being another heavily derivative track (this time sounding like Red Hot Chili Peppers before they got a bit rubbish), the bands musical, if not their creative, skills shine through.

Obviously still excited after supporting Queens of The Stone Age stateside and set to tour with The View and The Wombats shortly, they are a band to watch for the future.

http://www.myspace.com/cagetheelephant

The next band to face the cynical nodding and the sceptically folded arms were hotly tipped New Zealanders Cut Off Your Hands, althought they arguably received a better reception, even despite lead singer, Nick's belief that "no one in here wants to party" along with his inclination to leap into a crowd of despairingly indifferent fans and climb onto speakers that are already nearly touching the ceiling.

Although they got better as the set went on and as Nick decided to calmed down a bit, their jangly powerpop soon gets boring as each song is as formulaic as the last. Their best, or at least most memorable song was a cover by The Sonics. Whose name I forget.

http://www.myspace.com/cutoffyourhands

Not long after Foals came on, ditching the formerly infamous Gwen Stefani introduction that they used to perform, and, after Yannis broke a string that was hastily replaced by some helpful members of Cut Off Your Hands, they soon made up for this with a host of songs, old and new, that seem set to feature on their debut album.

Unfortunately for them however, theirs and tonight's two biggest songs, the amazing "Hummer" and equally danceable "Matheletics", are apparently not set to feature on their LP by their own choosing. A risky move perhaps, but with every indiephile worth his salt surely already to be found with these mp3s on their computer already, they appear to be banking on the strength of their other material, which tonight doesn't fail to impress, with highlights including "Cassius" and "Oxford Step".

In fact, the band seem to be going from strength to strength and gaining in confidence, with Yannis finally getting a voice when he needs to (although still singing with his back to half the crowd, perhaps for technical issues), and the band actually looking slightly less serious and slightly more like they were enjoying themselves.

While this particularly brand of Indie-dance isn't quite to everyone's taste, and it certainly seems as if they will not be the next band to make it big in the pop charts, they and their scenester fanbase wouldn't have it any other way.

Good, if not overwhelming, their debut album (minus "Hummer" and "Mathletics") looks set to be released via Transgressive In March next year.

http://www.myspace.com/foals

The Raveonettes, Brighton Barfly @ The Gloucester, 15/11/07

Satirical newspaper "The Onion" once ran an article entitled "U.S. Dept. Of Retro Warns: 'We May Be Running Out Of Past'", and it seems to be coming true in ol' Blighty as well. This observation is based solely on the fact that opening band tonight, Heels Catch Fire, with their time sig trickery and suitably wiry guitar lines masking a pretty pedestrian pop-rock sound, make me nostalgic for bands like Hundred Reasons, Kinesis, Serafin and other such "Big in 2001" fare. This obviously doesn't make them any good, although the odd stray riff or chorus does hit home, especially in "Glass Pedestals", gamely played minus the bass, which had a broken a, erm, A string. Ultimately, Heels Catch Fire are let down by the often overblown, preening vocals and the fact that you can never imagine them producing something better than they are now.

I have perhaps been a little harsh on HSF here, considering the affront to my ears that was the second support, Educated Animals. I present my review to you in the form of an open letter to the band:

Dear Educated Animals,

Hi! How's it going!

Anyway, I have a couple of questions for you regarding your show at The Barfly, Brighton on November 15th:

1. You opened your set with an act of considerable rock bravado, namely throwing glowsticks into the crowd. Why then, instead of playing anything exiting or in-any-way-agitating, did you accidentally sound like Athlete? In a slightly wimpy mood?

2. Why did you throw glowsticks at my face, you dicks? You could have had an eye out. My eye.

barnew

(Seriously, check it, if you're a fan of the emotion of boredom: http://www.myspace.com/educatedanimals)

All became well, however, when The Raveonettes, in their current touring incarnation of Sune, Sharin and a drummer/DAT machine operator, finally emerge. Beginning with a set songs off of their new long player, Lust Lust Lust (which I can tell you from experience has the shittest 3D effect cover, but is brilliant), what is immediately apparent is how little the criticised gimmickry of the band (whole albums in one key? no live bass? Ghost Riders?) matters. Perhaps because the crux of said "gimmick", 50s lets-go-to-the-hop songs of love, speed and coy sexuality done in a dead-eyed shoegaze haze of guitar noise and cooing harmonies, is so fundamentally, accessibly fantastic, and, ahem, cooooool.

One of the new songs, Lust, sums up the appeal. As the drummer pounds out her lolloping yet pounding beat over heartbeat, programmed bass, Sharin Foo's chords are enveloped by a lead line which sounds as New York no-wave hipster as the duo look tonight, dressed in all black (the drummer, with her album promoting shirt, is a touch incongruous). The lyrics spell out visions of sin, hell and sex, and it all ends, as many of tonight’s numbers do, with the unmistakable sound of Fenders being pummelled into screaming like a dominatrix’s bitch. It's awesome.

I couldn't tell you which songs got the best crowd reaction, because when The Raveonettes play, the sheer wall of sound that hits every time a song roars, lurches or thrusts into action renders you unable to process anything but these perfect blasts of, and I'm loath to use this phrase, rock and roll. The singles fare especially well - Love in a Trashcan's (off the underrated “Pretty in Black”) domineering riff and That Great Love Sound's Spector-pop thrash and sheen - for what it's worth, and the mid-set “B-flat minor, old stuff”, as introduced by Sharin, fully deserves it’s cheering response. When the gig ends, ears-a-ringing, it's almost a surprise to turn and see a bunch of people who were mere minutes ago enjoying the stylings of Educated Animals (more than one expressing this enjoyment in an embarrassing dad-dance fashion). It’s a surprise to be in a two-for-one-on-Apple-Sourz mid level gig venue at all, such is the place that The Raveonettes take you to. Go and see them next time they're in town, not many bands could pull off what they do with the same style, sound and tunes.

Bjork on Tour

After playing some of the festivals last year, Bjork is embarking on a short UK Tour in April:

Friday 11th April: Manchester Apollo
Monday 14th April: London Hammersmith Apollo
Thursday 17th April: London Hammersith Apollo
Tuesday 22nd April: Plymouth Pavilion
Friday 25th April: Wolverhampton Civic Hall
Monday 28th April: Belfast Waterfront
Thursday 1st May: Blackpool Empress Ballroom
Sunday 4th May: Sheffield City Hall

Bjork's next single "Declare Independence" from her latest album Volta is released on the January 1st.

Foo Fighters, o2 Arena, 17/11/2007

So who cares if your last two albums were the worst?

Foo Fighters are a live event that everyone must see. And the amount of times they've come to London surely means nearly everyone has seen them.

But if you haven't, I urge you to buy a ticket to their next tour, and to always have £40 on standyby to do so (EDIT: In fact, they have literally just announced that they are playing Wembley Stadium in June 2008), because these guys almost always pull it out of the bag, mixing it up with something different every tour, every big show. So, with me seeing them for the fifth time tonight, I was starting to know what to expect.

After a lacklustre set from a Scottish band I can't remember the name of (although ironically, it seems as if they played their best song as I was queuing at the bar), and a set-cum-lecture from Serj Tankian, dressed like an even more evil Colonel Sanders and with a band dressed like professional mourners. His was not only was heavily taken from his album "Elect the Dead", but with the oh-so-familiar sound of his former band System of A Down also.

Kicking off with two songs from the new album "Let It Die" and lead single "The Pretender", Foo Fighters quickly found their feet as the then crashed into classics "Times Like These" and "Breakout". Before long the crowd were putty in Dave "STILL the nicest guy in rock" Grohl's hands as he made sure everyone knew "this isn't one of those shows where we just play for an hour and fifteen minutes, oh no, we're here for a few more hours..."

Then mixing up some "old shit, some new shit, some acoustic shit, and some rock shit" throughout the night including songs "Stacked Actors" and "Learn to Fly", about halfway through Dave Grohl lead the rest of the band as well as all of those who apeared on the Skin and Bones tour, including former guitarist and living legend Pat Smear, into an acoustic session in the centre of the crowd, on a stage that was lowered from the roof.

This also included a quick cameo from Queen veterans Brian May and Roger Taylor who played the Queen song "39", little over a year since their appearance at Hyde Park together playing "Tie Your Mother Down". Dave then proceeded to introduce the now larger band, including Smear, an organist and a violinist as well as inviting percussionist Drew Hester to perform a triangle solo for the crowd.

After wrapping up the acoustic mini-set, which included the songs "Skin and Bones" and "Cold Day In The Sun" from the second disc of In Your Honor, as well as a version of my personal favourite "My Hero".

Long before this got tiresome, the band were soon back on the main stage with some "rock shit" which included "DOA" and debut single "This Is A Call" before finishing the main set with belter "All My Life".

After some mysterious footage on the video screens, Dave Grohl's face turned up, appearing to ask if anyone wanted anymore songs. After eventually agreeing to playing four more songs, Dave, Taylor, Nate and Chris, who appeared to have based his look tonight on legendary Crystal Maze presenter Richard O'Brien came back out and played five more songs, most of which were from their debut self-titled album, including the likes of "Weenie Beenie" and "For All The Cows", the band finished their slightly extended five song encore with the lead single from In Your Honor, "Best Of You".

Although the overall impression was that perhaps they began their set with a better selection of songs than they finished with, overall they played songs from every Foo Fighters "era" with what with any other band could be described as a greatest hits set. However, the songs from Foo Fighters sit perfectly alongside the new songs from Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace and are played with such vigour that youd be forgiven for thinking that all these songs are classics.

Which bring me back to my first point, in that regardless of the fact that the last two albums have not been quite to my taste, and listening to Foo Fighters acoustically seems to be, in theory at least, a contradiction in terms, they pull out of the bag time and again.

Tonight was the fifth time I saw them, and while at times I was dissapointed with the setlist (just the next night they would play their Arcade Fire cover "Keep the Car Running" and bring up Serj Tankian onstage to play Dead Kennedys' "Holidays in Cambodia") or often frustated with the crowd (when some guys got bored with the acoustic set, so started moshing out to anything), I have never, ever been dissapointed with the show or with the band. They always bring it out the bag.

British Sea Power

British Sea Power have a announced a new tour calling at:

Thurs 17 Jan - Belfast Spring And Airbrake
Fri 18 Jan - Dublin Whelan's
Sun 20 Jan - Norwich Waterfront
Mon 21 Jan - Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms
Tues 22 Jan - Nottingham Rescue Rooms
Weds 23 Jan - Leeds Irish Centre
Thurs 24 Jan - Kendal Brewery
Sat 26 Jan - Glasgow The Arches
Sun 27 Jan - Manchester Academy 2
Mon 28 Jan - Oxford Academy
Tues 29 Jan - Brighton Komedia
Thurs 31 Jan - London Koko

This is in support of their new album "Do You Like Rock Music?" released on the 14th January 2008, and the single "Waving Flags" which is released a week earlier.

I'm looking forward to this tour. They've been one of my favourite bands ever since I saw them play Reading in 2005 to a relatively tiny crowd in the NME Tent while everyone else went to watch boring boring Incubus play as if they were in their living room playing to their nans.

They were my best band of the weekend then and should be amazing to see now, I've missed so manyof their tours now its getting beyond a joke...

And the new albm should be alright...ish...

Digitalism, Brighton Concorde 2, 14/11/2007

Firstly, a word about the venue. I’ve never been here before, heck, I’d never even been to a gig in Brighton (I know, I know, what you must be thinking of me now), but I would have to say it’s pretty awesome. Its right on the seafront. Literally walk a hundred yards in the wrong direction and not just your feet will be wet close to the seafront. And plus it seems that the only way to get to it is to walk across the seafront for a couple of hundred yards. And seems like just the right size for a band like Digitalism.

But of course, first up, at least after the obvious, but still pleasant, playing of the legendary Daft Punk album Discovery, were Australian band Midnight Juggernauts, taking to the stage under a veil of smoke and the beating of the drums. Unfortunately plagued by the seemingly almost inevitable support band pandemic, of having their mics (or even perhaps, their voices) turned down so that everything they say becomes as incoherent, or even less so, than they guy next to you trying to tell you the name of the band.

Incidentally, however, their live stuff worked fairly well, reminescent perhaps of a more upbeat Maps, even with the overall aura of melancholy. Except that for these guys it wasn't just the songs just that they don't need to smile or express emotion because they are that fucking cool. Ironically, their most memorable songs were those were the keyboardist and bassist swapped round. I would love to give you their song names, but the combination of the mic problems and that just the plain coolness of these guys means that I didn’t hear any names even if they did have some.

So after another bout of One More Time to Too Long, and the setting up of the fairly cool equipment (pictured at another gig above*) Digitalism start the show. At first, songs are easily recognisable as separate entities, with them kicking straight into my personal favourite "Anything New" right up until their biggest hit, "Pogo", placed beautifully mid-set, and everything else afterwards blurs into one, even Digitalism in Cairo is almost lost in the noise but for an egyptian hierpglyphics light show. But why should that matter?

Fair enough that their album (Idealism, which is very good) could be criticised for being quite derivative of their obvious inspiration in Daft Punk, live they completely come into their own. From drum machines to samplers, the equipment that litters what appears to be two tables nicked from an old school cafeteria, is all used to massive effect on every song. Everything comes together and theres barely a pause for breath. Singing into a retro fifty's microphone, over rising drums and all sorts of beeps and noises. Simply whacking electronic drums and samplers, they simply look like they're having amazing fun, and that feeling is soon shared by the crowd.

It's one thing to make an album that is pretty much instantly listenable to turning into what can only be described as a four course feast of noise ten times greater than what was recorded.

*Photos very uncunningly stolen from here.