Gigs Of 2010

GIGS OF 2010

Another stellar year for gigs in London. I do feel privileged to live in a city where I could go to a gig every night of the year if I so desired, and if I had the constitution of a herd of rhinos…

Before I wax lyrical, can I just say how miserable I am to have missed the following bands’ shows, despite the fact that they all played in London: Tame Impala, Citay, Ty Segall and Thee Oh Sees. Curses! Please come back…

The ones that really stood out were, in chronological order:

Local Natives at the Hoxton Bar & Kitchen on 19th January. A packed venue rewarded the band with an ecstatic reception, which they repaid with a set that just got better and better. Here’s a clip of them playing ‘World News’ at London’s Heaven nightclub, a few weeks later:

Broken Bells made their UK debut at the ICA on 3rd March, with arguably the best sound I have ever experienced at any show, anywhere! Crystalline, powerful and intimate, this was one of the gigs of the year. The encore, a double whammy of Neil Young’s ‘Don’t Let It Bring You Down’ and Tommy James and the Shondells’ psych-pop masterpiece, ‘Crimson And Clover’ left the audience drooling. To hear (and just about see) what you missed, check this clip out:

On March 13th and 14th, Grizzly Bear and Beach House played the Roundhouse in north London, a double bill made in heaven. Beach House have no stage craft per se, but were mesmerising, with their beautifully understated intensity and melodic sensibility proving a big hit with two sell out crowds, and Grizzly bear rose to the challenge by playing a typically stunning set. For me, the highlight of the first night was when Beach House’s Victoria Legrand joined GB for ‘Two Weeks’ – check out that very performance here:

Whenever Patti Smith comes to town, it’s a must see show. I’ve been going to her gigs since the ‘70s and she never lets the crowd down, whether you are a first timer or a long term fan. This year I had the privilege of seeing Patti perform at three very different venues: firstly when she appeared at Foyles, on the South Bank on March 20th. This was actually an appearance where she signed copies of her book, ‘Just Kids’. She performed several songs with just an acoustic guitar, but she was marvellous, gracious and impassioned.

The second performance occurred twenty four hours later, at Islington’s Union Chapel. She was accompanied throughout by Tony Shanahan, and Patrick Wolf and Seb Rochford on a few numbers too. Again, totally brilliant, with a rare, (at least to these ears and eyes) live rendition of ‘Birdland’.

The June 29th performance, in a tent in Hyde Park, part of a series of gigs pretentiously dubbed ‘The Serpentine Sessions’ by Live Nation, was the one though. A set which mixed familiar favourites with hidden classics was raised up by cover versions of Jim Carroll’s ‘People Who Died’; The Rolling Stones’ ‘Play With Fire’ and Lou Reed’s ‘Perfect Day’. Click here for a truly majestic version of ‘My Blakean Year’ from the Hyde Park show:

May turned out to be the best all-round month for shows in London and the UK, with Iggy And The Stooges playing two barnstorming shows at Hammersmith Apollo, on May 2nd and 3rd. The entire ‘Raw Power’ album was not so much revived as beaten to death by a band who played like teenagers. Added to the set list were the highlights from ‘Kill City’ and ‘Metallic KO’, click here for ‘Raw Power’ from the first night:

Deerhunter returned to London on May 6th, and blew the minds of all in attendance. For a taste of what it was like to be there, here is a link to the performance of ‘Fluorescent Grey’ from that night:

Two of the best gigs of the past few years, not just 2010, took place on May 14th and 16th May at Shepherd’s Bush Empire and Birmingham Academy 2, respectively. Brian Jonestown Massacre played two indescribably great shows – here’s ‘Supersonic’ from the London show:

…And here’s ‘Sailor’ from the Birmingham gig:

The Pixies reunion bandwagon rolled into town on June 3rd and 4th, and both nights were celebratory affairs with the band never sounding better, old faves and obscure fan requests all sounding glorious. Here’s ‘Here Comes Your Man’ from the first of those two nights:

It felt like a very Canadian influenced year, and two outstanding shows were delivered by Elephant Stone at a packed Macbeth in Shoreditch on July 1st, and by Arcade Fire, in the very intimate setting of the Hackney Empire six days later. We don’t have a live clip of Elephant Stone, but here’s their wonderful video for their track ‘I Am Blind’ (2009):

Arcade Fire’s anthemic ‘Wake Up’ was met with joyous anticipation at the Hackney Empire gig, here it is in all its glory:

August’s best show was a low key set by California’s Avi Buffalo, a magical trio who delivered their bittersweet tales with such unimposing passion that only the coldest of hearts would have been left unmoved. Once again, we couldn’t find any footage from the show, but here’s the soft-summer-psych of their beautiful ‘What’s In It For’, recorded and filmed earlier in the year, when they were still a quartet…

Wilco have been on the live circuit for over a decade now, but just keep getting better. A breathtaking two hour show at London’s Royal Festival Hall on September 14th covered the band’s entire career, and whilst this clip of their performance of ‘Impossible Germany’ is visually below par, the sound quality is good, and the playing immaculate:

Ben Sommers has been on the UK gig circuit for three or four years now, both with his band and as part of the duo, (and occasional trio) Mozzy Green. 2010 saw him launch his career as far as the outside world are concerned, with three self directed videos, and a brilliant debut single, ‘Hillary, Oh Hillary’. He also played several memorable shows, none more impressive than his performance at Hoxton Bar & Kitchen on September 16th, with the wonderful Pandora’s Box acting as his backing band. Here’s Ben’s stop-motion video masterpiece for his single:

360 Degree Music – Goodbye to MMX

The final 360 gig of our year (in collaboration with Stroll On) was at The Social in London, where The Supernovas braved the snow and mush to put on a show worthy of any year end party. Unfortunately, Wigans finest, The Captive Hearts weren’t able to make the journey down and kept themselves cozied up North. Off course it was a sad loss that they couldn’t play, but the night was a great success and we expect Frith’s mighty men to visit the capital very soon.

So as 2011 inches it’s way to us, there is nothing left to do now but turn out the lights of MMX and raise a glass (or two) to the coming of the extra I.

Coming to 360 in 2011…

Ben Sommers’ debut album; new single from The Captive Hearts; New music from The Supernovas and much much more.

Check out our Soundcloud link for some of last years tunes.

Warpaint / Camp Basement 26.8.10

So I get told…“go see Warpaint when they come to London… you have to go see Warpaint when they come to London.” I’m like, “what is all the fuss about?” So I found out – what all the fuss was about – and I LOVED the fuss!

When I arrived at Camp Basement it was rammed to the rafters with industry people and famous hangers-on, not to mention, Nicholas Hoult of Skins fame and Michael Fassbender, star of Inglorious Basterds… It was a who’s who kind of affair, but hey, gigs like this one always are. For me, not being familiar with any Warpaint songs, just added to the fascination about this band that has become one of the most talked about in recent months.

So where do I begin…

Well, not knowing what to expect, I felt sheer joy as that first ‘90s indie riff got shredded and an instant grin appeared across this writer’s face, that’s for sure. Dreamy, psychedelic shoe gazing wonderment in abundance as Warpaint gently eased themselves into their set list. What amazed me most was just how enigmatic they are as musicians, with what seemed like a perfect mix of Shocking Blue and Sonic Youth riding the wave of Tank Girl comic book geekdom. I did feel like I’d stepped into Empire Records though, and was being entertained by an in-store band which was a great feeling – a step into nostalgia if you like. Also don’t get me started on how fucking brilliant their drummer, Stella Mozgawa was – just simply off the scale, with her rip roaring drumming skills – crashing and creating such wonderful noise. At times I wondered if I was hearing a drum machine, but it was just perfect sticksmanship which stood out as one of the highlights of the night for me. The band continued through their set, harmonising effortlessly, while all the time just oozing coolness with a total belief in themselves that did not once transpose into egotism.

Tonight was a preview gig for the bands Reading and Leeds slots this coming weekend and it certainly did have that feel. We were left in no doubt that this was something special we were witnessing as the band rattled effortlessly through songs off their recently released EP as well as, what will be new tracks from their just announced album ‘The Fool’, released through Rough Trade Records in October.

So, as the night drew to a close and heads were slowly coming to a head-shaking end, a feeling of jubilation was left in the air. It takes a special kind of band to come through a night like that unscathed and Warpaint did. Finally, we have a band that lives up to the hype.

Pete

360 gig picks… so far.

The first half of 2010 has whizzed by in a blur of unprecedented proportions. Amongst the madness of the global meltdown, earthquakes, hurricanes, flooding, a football world cup, personal and professional ups and downs, we managed top get out and see a few gigs. Here are the pick of the bunch:

Broken Bells, ICA, London, 3^rd March

John Cale, Royal Festival Hall, London, 5^th March

Grizzly Bear / Beach House, Roundhouse, London, 13^th March

Patti Smith, Union Chapel, Islington, London, 21^st March

Arrows Of Love / The Shivers, The Legion, Shoreditch, London, 13^th April

Wooden Shjips, Bush Hall, Shepherds Bush,19^th April

Iggy & The Stooges play Raw Power, Hammersmith Apollo, London, 2^nd May

Iggy & The Stooges play Raw Power, Hammersmith Apollo, London, 3rd May

Mozzy Green, Lexington, Islington, London, 5^th May

Deerhunter, Heaven, Embankment, London, 6^th May

Brian Jonestown Massacre, Shepherds Bush Empire, London,14^th May

Brian Jonestown Massacre, 02 Academy 2, Birmingham,16^th May

Flight Of The Conchords, Hammersmith Apollo, London,17^th May

Avi Buffalo, Old Blue Last, Shoreditch, London, 24^th May

The Pixies, Troxy, Hackney, London, 4^th June

Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti, Scala, King’s Cross, London, 15^th June

Patti Smith, Hyde Park, London, 29^th June

360

MOZZY GREEN – BLUE LULLABY

360 and pals LIVE In 2009

The first gig of the year took place at Proud Galleries in Camden, I can still recall the walk from the tube station to the Lock, on a freezing cold evening when I saw just one person on my way to the gig. Camden a ghost town? It really was that night, but forty or so brave souls showed up to see Krakatoa play a set that soon warmed the crowd up.

Fast forward three and a half months to a beautiful spring day in April. 360 Degree Music are hosting the Camden Crawl at Tommy Flynn’s, a hostelry situated between Mornington Crescent and Camden stations. Actually, it’s the Camden Trawl, as the venue is not officially part of the Crawl, but that doesn’t stop us from having bigger crowds than many of the official venues.

Thirteen bands play in twelve hours, everyone goes on at the scheduled time, there are only three minor skirmishes, no ones head gets busted, and stars of the day are Krakatoa, (yes it’s them again, and this time they are headlining this extravaganza); The Supernovas, (a storming set that wins the best reception of the day on their North London home turf); Rum Shebeen, (proving once again what a great band they are, but why only one single in three years?); a wonderful debut set by Savants; Reader’s Wives’ London debut, which is a totally assured, singalong affair; a rollicking, Beatlesque, Motown meets the modern age set by Inwits; and a sparse solo performance from Paul Liddell, which wins plaudits from journalist Gavin Martin.

Stroll On’s remarkable residency at central London’s The Social provided several highlights of the year, with The Metros’ penultimate gig in March, which drew a sellout crowd by 9.30; Mozzy Green’s beautiful intensity enrapturing the audience in April, and an astonishing aural barrage/sonic symphony from Screaming Tea Party in June. Later in the year, Gringo Star ,The Supernovas and Yves Klein Blue gave garland winning performances on a glorious night in November.

Also in November, Reader’s Wives returned to London with storming sets at two packed-to-the-rafters gigs at Peter Parker’s in old Tin Pan Alley, and Tommy Flynn’s (I see a theme developing here…). The same week bore witness to three shows from Sweden’s psychsters Mono Stereo, who played a fine show at Kentish Town’s Flowerpot, and an absolute stormer supporting Violens at Proud Galleries.

Upon returning to Dublin, Reader’s Wives played a launch show, in support of their ‘Secrecy & Sex’ EP, at Dublin’s stunning Odessa Club. Contraceptives were dispatched into the crowd from the stage, people drank and danced, and a jolly good time was had by all. Support band Mozzy Green were disappointed with their own performance, but they were the only ones, and they received a warm reception from a very warm and appreciative audience (that’s Dublin for ya!).

Talking of Dublin, Krakatoa and The Supernovas both visited the fair city in July for their debut Irish shows, both winning many fans and compliments. Both bands also followed their return to London with single launches, Krakatoa selling out the Legion on a warm July night, and The Supernovas repeating the feat in a sweaty night at The Social at the beginning of August.

Oh, did I mention that Krakatoa played 18 gigs in 18 nights, supporting Alabama 3 on a trek that took in the length and breadth of the country. And Gaoler’s Daughter and The Supernovas playing high profile support slots with Babyshambles?

2009’s live activity ends with a show at the Stroll On Christmas party, at Hoxton Bar & Kitchen on Monday 22^nd December. Krakatoa, The Supernovas and Inwits will all play – IT’S GONNA GO OFF!