Usually I post a picture with anything I post here, it does make it look more... inviting, however it can to be a fairly fiddly, lenghty and potentially annoying procedure, finding the pics, uploading them, and then they sometimes post in a different order, etc.
So this post has no pictures but hopefully more text (than usual) to compensate.
I've been on a bit of a roll going out, especially to see gigs, recently. The smoking ban has definitely changed a lot for me, opened places up for me that i previously avoided. That, and the fact we moved back to the East End where there are gigs happening all the time, often free or very cheap, has meant there have been many evenings out lately. Too many maybe. But so far it's still new and for me totally great. I can concentrate on the music without having to zone in on who is smoking where around me and how can i avoid them. How did i put up with this shit, I don't know...
So a list of bands I saw recently with short descriptions/comments. Yes, I wore earplugs for some of them...
Boris/Isis: Not entirely convinced by Boris, but Isis put in a really majestic show, serene and noisy at the same time. They are always very good live, but the last time at ATP the air quality in the upstairs club/smokehole was so horrible, and the noise was too much (it was Sunday) I had to leave after a while. Singer wore a KTL tee shirt!
Four or Five Magicians: a family outing for the London GBV fans at the cosy Notting Hill Arts Club. This *young* Brighton band manage to invoke that early 90s US indie sound but it's not really a pastiche either. However the personality of a Bob Pollard or even a Lou Barlow is still missing even if they get that sound right(could also be the lightshow obscuring their faces, and giving it a pleasingly swirly shoegazing effect) Their set used to consist of at least some GBV covers but this afternoon it's Sebadohs "Gimme Indie Rock". I've just read the lineup is changing too...
The Thermals@Dingwalls: Wow, what a great show! I hear Trev and his mates started the (middle aged) moshpit after "Pillar of Salt", and it definitely went off in the front halfway through. Beautiful. And very concentrated.
Plus, Of Arrowe Hill, The Flying Gambinos, Country Mark @ Cross Kings: Yes, we put on our own evening, and it worked really well. We might do it again. I wore a black wig that looked vaguely 80s hair metal and introduced the acts. Usually when we play a little venue like that the smoke used to annoy me so much after a while, as you have to stick around the whole evening, from soundcheck til the show, but all that isn't a problem anymore. Our set was slightly longer too. Some videos may be forthcoming.
The Guillotines, Black Wire: OK The Guillotine's saxophonist did light up on stage but thankfully noone in the audience followed his example. I can live with that. They looked and sounded like they wanted to be outlaws anyway, hmmmm, pretty good swampy rock'n'roll, definitely with personality. Followed by Black Wire who do that young post punky thing quite well too.
Prinzhorn Dance School: my first instore show at the great new Rough Trade space, noisy, shouty and monotonous, but the post punky vibe worked well in that space, twenty minutes is enough though. Probably the first of many.
then across the road to the back room of Cafe 1001 for these interesting fellas: moody post rocky. a bit weedy but had someting...
The Left Outsides: Hardly anyone there, but their beautiful "sepia toned" psychedelic folk still managed to somehow fill the big room at 93 Ft East, communing with the ghosts maybe? A pretty good free rehearsal for them in any case...
The Nanny Maze: My friend Lolo's indie electro pop duo, I liked their sound a lot, it had it's wobbly moments, but when I came together it was very nice. The intimate downstairs space of Stage B in Stoke Newington worked for them too, again a place I would have avoided previously.
Followed by The White Russians at the White Hart (there was a festival of free live music, The N16 Fringe Festival, all over Stokey over the weekend): A Big Lebowski reference? They are an ace party band, even though they can be quite dark and brooding too. Fun...
and I went to the very sold out Field Day yesterday which was mostly very good (despite bad queues) and saw Battles, Late of the Pier (impressively full on youngsters taking on experimental but mostly very groovy elecro pop) and finally LIARS who took everyone to a very strange place, they were fantastic....
I thought there were more, and there may be some I'm forgetting. I guess my main point here would be to say that there are people out there who will go out more now that smoking is finally banned in live venues. And that gigs are slightly less annoying for me these days. But I need to take a break now maybe...
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