Musical Exuberance

Julian Casablancas @ HMV Forum

2009-12-16T20:00:00.001Z

Perhaps I wasn't in the right mood on a Wednesday night for this, but I was a bit bored. Didn't see any of the supports, and only had upper circle tickets so getting down into the crowd may have helped. Regardless, after exhausting all 8 tracks of "Phrazes For The Young" and another couple of new songs their was a Christmas song and we all filed out fairly orderly. I don't think he has progressed too far from The Strokes and given that it was a 6 (or maybe 7?) piece band I'm sure he could have made it a lot more interesting than it was.

Little Boots, Ellie Goulding, Wolf Gang @ Shepherds Bush Empire

2009-12-11T20:00:00.003Z

It's quite obvious from the picture we were miles away, but it was a rather last minute decision to go and this was the best we could do. That aside, I felt a bit like I was at a Britney concert, given the number of teenagers scattered about. Still, Ellie Goulding and Little Boots put on pretty good shows. I would say my favourite was Ellie Goulding which I wasn't expecting. That's not to say that Little Boots didn't put on a great show, it was just a little close to the record for my liking and I really hoped she might do a bit more with her Tenori-on.

The Living End, Sucioperro @ HMV Forum

2009-12-02T20:00:00.006Z

Got to this a little late and I'm not sure who opened, but caught the end of Sucioperro. Didn't realise until later that the front man (JP Reid) was the other half of Marmaduke Duke. Regardless, not bad, but didn't grab me too much.

Of course the main draw of the evening was The Living End. Chris Cheney as awesome as last time I saw them circa 12 years ago in Australia. This man is one of the most impressive live guitarists I've watched. And of course it wouldn't be The Living End without Scott Owen balanced precariously on his double bass playing the shit out of it. In fact the whole band brings such a big sound its hard to believe a 3 piece can make so much noise. Crowd pleasers aplenty, everyone seemed as into the performance as the band and all in all a good night out.

Reasonable venue, although I'm not that great a fan of the old theatre places like The Forum around London.

Bang Bang Eche, Polka Party, Dark Sparks @ The Fly

2009-11-21T21:00:00.003Z

A night of impressive drummers.

Opening up was Sheffield's Dark Sparks. I really enjoyed these guys, really tight with big drums and a great groove that sounded far less emo than expected. Fronted by the vocally strong, synth wielding Leigh Greenwood this was definitely an act to look out for again.

It took me a little while to get into Polka Party but after a few songs (and a few beers) I started to enjoy their raw-ness. Another great drummer, looking effortless through a fairly taxing set.

All the way from New Zealand were the synth-punk Bang! Bang! Eche! and pretty damn cool. Between the killer samples and the 'fuck you' demeanor, the whole band rocked out really hard, with barely a moment between tracks. In a few years these guys have had success in the US with their debut EP, and have been playing the festival circuits, so this was an awesome chance to see them in a small venue right up close.

Not a bad venue, nothing flash but better than your average basement.

Matt Deighton, T Mandrake, Dixie, Parish Music Box @ Water Rats

2009-11-12T20:00:00.003Z

By far my favourite act of the evening was T Mandrake, a nine piece (of which only eight were present, but I'm not sure there was much room left on stage) which I can only describe as a mix of rock, soul and jazz. Well worth checking out.

Dixie were good, but after the impression left by the T Mandrake horn section (ok, in particular the trumpeter) it was going to take a lot to better.

Venue (Water Rats) is cool, apart from the water coming from the roof, but that's still rather rock and roll.

Glass Candy, Desire, A Mountain of One, Mike Simonetti @ Cargo

2009-11-07T21:00:00.002Z

Great electro. Fantastic night. Although the drinks really caught up with me the next day.

Mike Simonetti was the DJ between acts, and mixing in out of the bands was a great novelty.

Desire kicked off the evening and got the room moving early. Details are fuzzy but I do remember enjoying it.

Mountain of One not so great. Not bad, just not great. The point of the DJ was rather lost on me though as I couldn't find him in the mix.

Glass Candy were gold standard this evening. Go out and buy there records now. They are one of the most engaged bands I've seen for a long time.

The venue was Cargo, never a disappointment. If you've never discovered this gem in Shoreditch I thoroughly recommend making an evening out of it.