First off, gotta say that THE KILL VAN KULLS were really ace. Loved them.
Wasn’t sure about The Naked and Famous when I first heard them on the radio, but they’re fab live and I’m really getting their music now. Kudos to them for battling exploding planes and laryngitis to get on stage too.
I love The Gaslight Anthem. Love love love them. I saw them in June at Brixton and they were incredible then. This time round, they upped the ante and were somehow even more amazing.
Starting at the beginning, Sharks, the first support band, were ok. Nothing too memorable though and I think I would have enjoyed them more in a smaller venue with more people there to actually see *them*.
Chuck Ragan, the second support, was epic. Had no idea he was in Hot Water Music until I got home and googled him (I only know Hot Water Music from a split they did with Alkaline Trio, but what I’ve heard I do like). Great songs, especially whatever the new one was that he dedicated to his wife, and he has great stage presence – it was just him and the guy with the violin (John Gaunt?) and that stage was filled. No need for drummer or bassist or anything, which really contrasted with Sharks I guess, thinking about it now.
The main event, obvs, was The Gaslight Anthem. 
Their set was epic. I mean it. It was WAY WAY WAY long, but it didn’t feel like it was long. Every single song was great and it was amazing to hear She Loves You live. There were songs from all three albums and they all fit well together. I don’t think I can really express how much of a lovely person Brian Fallon seems to be on stage – the whole band really give the performance their all and his rambling little stories really add to the whole experience. They didn’t do any full covers, but at one point I was singing along and realised they were playing the beginning (at least) of Ben E. King’s Stand By Me! Bit random that.
I really think that I’m gonna have to try and see Gaslight every time they come to London. They are THAT good.
And just found the setlist on setlist.fm and Jesus, 27 songs? Wow.
Chazzstock was kind of an album launch/wake/party kind of affair. You may or may not be aware of the band Ou Est Le Swimming Pool, whose singer Charlie sadly killed himself back in August. The rest of the band decided to press on with releasing their debut album and then came up with Chazzstock to raise money for the mental health charity MIND, to celebrate the life of Charles Haddon and to celebrate the release of their album.
Anyway, I was already sold on the idea of going when I heard that Tony Hadley (yes, from Spandau Ballet) would be performing. So I got my ticket and went and omg, it was awesome. Loads of bands and artists I wasn’t aware of, a couple I was and Ou Est Le Swimming Pool’s album covered by every performer there. Well. Apart from Mr Hadley.
Stand-out performers of the night for me were MPHO, The Vaccines (and that guy from The Horrors), Mr Hudson, Tony Hadley and Ollie Wride. None of whom I had heard of, apart from obvs that guy from Spandau Ballet. MPHO did a cracking cover of Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill (although I’m only really familiar with the Placebo cover version). Ollie Wride was an incredible presence on stage – with the potential to have Pele Almqvist of The Hives’ level of stage presence.
The whole shebang was compered by Eddy Temple-Morris who made an impassioned speech on the importance of TALKING (especially for you boys out there) about stuff that’s bothering you. He blogged most of what he said on his Eddy Says blog and I recommend you check it out and then email the link to everyone you know. It really is important to talk about even the little niggles as for some, it’s a matter of life and death.
Just a mini-gig for various competitions winners for the album launch so started pretty early and finished pretty early but the songs were rockin’ and definitely convinced me to get the album.
Fenech-Soler do remind me a bit of Head Automatica – not just for the vocals but sort of generally too. Not in a bad way though as I love Head Automatica.
While I was listening, thanks to having listened to a radio program about the whole fade-out thing on Classic FM last week, I noticed that all of their songs fade out. None of them just end. Which (and I noticed this there also) can make it difficult to tell when a song is over. Gaslight Anthem do the other trick of a fake almost ending before the actual ending.
I am such a nerd.
Aside from being weaksauce at keeping this blog updated in any way other than being the latest version of the software….I’ve been busy. Going to gigs mostly, although not really that often when I think about it.
Last night was Alkaline Trio, who I saw at the Slam Dunk Festival and at The Roundhouse earlier in the year. Slam Dunk was fab and I was only really there for the Trio and got bonus Against Me! AND caught Your Demise, whose guitarist I went to primary school with*.
The sound at the Garage was WAY better than at the Roundhouse – I think the acoustics there just didn’t work for it. Generally they were amazing, especially since they’d just hopped off the plan from the US in the morning.
Can’t remember the setlist, I never do, but they played Sadie, Radio…and looking on last.fm has found it for me.
I less than three Dine, Dine My Darling big time – mostly for it’s morbid sentimentality I suppose, and it was epic. Radio and This Could Be Love got the usual massive singalong. All round it was fab.
The support were rockin’ too. Loved The Exposed who were on first – definitely going to check out more of their music and probably actually buy the album I didn’t want to spend my emergency just-in-case tenner on last night.
Off With Their Heads were ok too – jetlagged but funny. Just wasn’t feeling their music as much as The Exposed’s though.
*It’s weird, that. Really weird.
Renegades last night were AMAZIN’. They’re a sort of Feeder side-project and a tiny bit ramshackle, what with playing new songs and getting it wrong occasionally. Only makes them move lovable I say. 
I rocked out so hard, I hurt today. Or maybe I’m just getting old!
The support, the Cherry Break Wells were wicked too, should try and find out if they have any CDs out.
End of the night.
Kasabian were WICKED. But first…the support.
Dark Horses were lamecore. Sounded a bit like a cross between a substandard PJ Harvey and Kasabian themselves, which may be ok if I’m sitting at home listening to a CD or something.
Live on the other hand, the singer is aloof and distant – never engaging at all with the audience. Maybe they’re just too arty in a bad way.
The Hours were great. The singer is a bit awkward – but when it looks like he forgets he’s on stage singing in front of a few hundred people that all disappears. And at least he talked to us! The songs were cool and I’m definitely gonna listen to more of their stuff.
Kasabian, of course, ruled. I’ve bought exactly one mp3 of theirs and that’s it – so I didn’t think I’d really be familiar with much of their music….but it turns out that yeah, I’ve heard them on the radio a heck of a lot and bizarrely they’ve been around a lot longer than I thought.
Of course, I feel like I’m still in 2004 and can’t quite wrap my head around it being 2010 next year i.e. officially The Future.
The set was great and LSF is a FAB song to finish on – the crowd were singing it still all the way through the rain to the train station!
Awesome awesome gig.
SO.
Yesterday, I was listening to xfm. Dave Berry tries to badger his producer into staying home to watch the football instead of going to see Maximo Park at Brixton Academy and so, on the spur of the moment, I text the show volunteering to take his ticket if he changes his mind.
10 minutes later, Dave Berry calls me and asks if I want to go see Maximo Park. Blatantly I do and thusly I am the recipient of two tickets for last night’s gig.
Which, incidentally, I had been trying to buy last minute tickets to the day before and failing dismally.
Maximo Park were AWESOME. More than awesome in fact. They were both AWESOME and WICKED.
The Hives were AWESOME. Caught up with a friend from back in the day. Well. Not that far back.
Awesome enough that I really should get hold of some of their music.
image: detail of installation by Bronwyn Lace
