Paolo Nutini

Paolo Nutini plays the Paradise on February 3rd and the Paradise webpage lets us know the tickets will be on sale soon. When I first saw Paolo Nutini at the Scottish Arts Music showcase at SXSW 2006 it seemed very low key and he didnt have a track on the CD they gave away as if he was a late addition and I don't think it was advertised who he was and that he was playing. I was struck by the music and took the time to find out who he was (thanks to Vic Galloway). Times have changed, his debut CD, These Streets, was released in the UK and went platinum. He now is regarded as a big deal. Whether he will sell out the 650 capacity Paradise will remain to be seen and I am surprised that he isnt starting smaller. I will certainly be there and so should you.
Paolo's webpage. Paolo's myspace.
Oh and if you are reading this around christmas take yourself over to The Wombats myspace page where they have a christmas song free to download. Scissors for Lefty also have one here here

Whiskas Review of FR playing Boston

Stolen From FR's site so I can easily reference it.


BOSTON, MA

So!

The start of our US tour proper, and hopefully we can keep this more upto date!
So all refreshed after a week off, we were up early and on our to Manchester airport on a Sunday morning.

Manchester Airport seems to have adopted a policy of being the most unhelpful airport in the world, and we had numerous problems getting our gear on the plane. Ahh well, we did arrive with enough time to have breakfast at the airport, which I think is a world place.

A few more security checks and we got on the plane, which was alright. Continental Airlines this time - nothing special.

Arrived at Newark Airport about 2.30pm local time after a 8 hour flight, and despite people being lovely it took us about an hour to get through immigration to meet our new tour manager Kelly. Kelly seems really organised and we were to spend our first night in the US in the Hilton! Check us the fuck out

We have loads of press to do on this tour, including an 11pm phone interview the night we arrived (4am UK time) and a 9.30am radio interview the next day. Not condusive at all. But anyway, before we had our night's sleep it's worth mentioning that we went out for food. All the boys had ribs, me and Dan Kiener had Strawberry Daquari's. Both these things will probably figure prominantly over the coming weeks. Had a quick drink in the bar trying to figure out American Football too - my team is the Buffalo Bills I think. I may change. Dan is supporting the Seahawks I think.

Anyway, first full day we do a cool radio interview early, hooking up with Elena from Mute Records. Actually I expand, cos this radio station isn't a normal radio station. They played my request of Frequency Ass Bandit by Botch while we were there (at 10am) - aparently it's kinda Pirate radio, but not really. Messugah is a favourite on the breakfast show too. Wierd.

Snowden have pulled out of the first gig - bless 'em they only played in the UK a couple of days ago, I don't blame them. They will join us tomorrow in New York. Their mystery replacements only ends up being Read Yellow though, fresh from finishing their 2nd album. They played The Vine you know back in the day.

So that was cool and they were awesome.





We missed the beggining unfortunately cos we were eating somewhere that had 105 beers on tap. No Tyskie though. Or Kingfisher. Me and Kiener had Daquari's. Possible error before a show, more likely completely awesome.





The show was cool, we seem to have some very enthusiastic fans in Boston, which was warming on our first show back. US electricity and the majority of our gear had a massive falling out as usual and we spent a couple of periods trying to fix stuff that had gone wrong, as well as problems with Tom's mikes (ripping the lead unplugged and then not knowing where to plug it in again) and my guitar (the screw falling out of my strap, so I need to glue it back together tonight)

We played:

Thirteen
Fifteen Part II
Twelve
Seventeen
Eighteen
Sixteen
Fifteen Part I
Seven
Nine
Eleven

A nice night! Just getting to Manhatten now, hopefully we can keep this updated better than over the last few weeks

Stupid radio DJs

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR! I am so mad. When Little Man Tate came to Boston I tried so hard to get them some attention and was mostly ignored by the local DJS. Now British Accent's David Virr has decided it is time to play them - Moron! Too little too late may you rot in hell.

British Accents Year end Poll

My responses
TOP 10 ALBUMS
-any album released in the US or the UK in 2006 is eligible. So technically, you could vote for some of the same albums that you voted for last year. Please rank them as #'s 1-10, as your #1 will be ranked higher than your #10.
Larrakin Love The Freedom Spark
The Holloways So This is Great Britain
The rifles No love Lost
Stoney The Scene and The Unseen
Battle Return to Earth
The Long Blondes - Someone To Drive You Home
DPT - Waterloo To Anywhere
milburn - well well well
Forward russia - give me a wall
the young knives voices of animals and men
TOP 10 SONGS
-to qualify, the song must be from an album released in the US or the UK in 2006, or released as a single in either country in 2006. This means that a song from an older album could be eligible if it was given a single release this year. Like the albums category, your picks will be weighted from 1-10, so please number them.
The Rifles she's got standards
Little Man Tate Man I hate your band
Battle Tendency
Jarvis Running The World

WORST 5 ALBUMS
-do what you wish with this category. pick 5 albums from acts you hate, or you could pick 5 disappointing albums from artists you otherwise enjoy.
The Fratellis
The Killers
The Ordinary Boys
My Chemical Romance
The Automatic

WORST 5 SONGS
-these can be either those grating, annoying songs that you heard on the radio a few times, or simply a weak or disappointing song from an artist you ordinarily love.
snow patrol
my chemical romance
bravery
(add any of their new stuff)

BEST COMPILATION (various artists)
-soundtracks, label comps, tribute albums, box sets... any collection that contains various artists
who cares

"BEST BEST OF" (single artist)
-best of CD's, live albums, b-sides collections, remix albums, box sets... any collection featuring a single artist that's not a new studio album or a reissue.
who cares
BEST REISSUE
-any re-mastered, re-released, or re-packaged CD.
who cares

ARTIST OF THE YEAR
-what artist had a career year in 2006?
Arctic Monkeys (blah)


BEST NEW ARTIST
-who stands out among 2006's newcomers?
Pigeon detectives

PERSONAL FAVORITE ARTIST
-who are your current personal favorites, among bands still active and solo artists still alive? they don't have to have been active in 2006, as long as they're a favorite of yours.
The Cribs

BEST LIVE SHOW
-name up to 3 concerts or festivals that blew you away this year. Shows can be from anywhere, not just in your city.
SXSW
The Cribs Great Scott
Dirty Pretty Things, Scissors For Lefty 8/13/2006 Great Scott


MUSICAL HIGHTLIGHT OF 2006
-what was the most exciting thing to happen musically in 2006 - pretty much anything you can think of counts.

MUSICAL LOWLIGHT OF 2006
-what was the biggest disappointment for you musically? Could be a death, breakup of a band, closing of a club, a bad record, a disappointing tour...anything negative that happened in the musical realm in 2005.
Flaming Lips at SXSW

BEST DVD
-can be the DVD release of a movie or a musical DVD of video clips, live shows, etc.

BEST FILM
-that opened in theaters in 2006

BEST MUSIC PUBLICATION
-any print magazine or newspaper that you go to for music news, reviews, articles, etc.

BEST MUSIC WEBSITE OR BLOG
-where do you go online for news, downloads, reviews, interviews, etc?
NME.com

BEST RECORD STORE
-do I need to explain this one?

BEST CLUB NIGHT
-any night that ran during some part of 2006 in any city is eligible.

BEST RADIO STATION (broadcast)
-what's your favorite terrestrial radio station that you listen to with a radio?
you ARE joking?

BEST RADIO STATION (online)
-what's your favorite radio station that you listen to online? Can be a terrestrial station if you listen to the web stream more often.
6 music

BEST REASON TO LOOK FORWARD TO 2007
-here's where you get to predict who will break out next year.
Battle, little man tate, milburn, pigeon detectives too many to mention
New Cribs CD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SXSW 2007

starting to hear about bands who will be at SXSW 2007.
So far- Little Man Tate, The Cinematics, ¡Forward, Russia!, The Young Knives, Foals, Jeremy Warmsley, iLOVETRAINS, The Pigeon Detectives, The Wombats, Battle, Popup and Yes Boss. I am getting so happy about this already! As the comment says so are Metal Hearts (not sure who they are!)
first announcement of official bands
The Stooges
Interpol
Lily Allen
Bloc Party
Devin The Dude
Hoodoo Gurus
Matt & Kim
Ghostland Observatory
The Watson Twins
Stax 50th Anniversary Soul Review
Ozomatli
Turbonegro
Cold War Kids

iForward, Russia! Great Scott Allston 20061127

So if you didn't go to see Forward, Russia last night because Snowden cancelled then more fool you. Snowden seem to be a pretentious bunch of prima donnas. When they played Boston last time Brad of Bradley's Almanac recorded the show with his normal disclaimer about removing it, the standard of his bootlegs are moderate and muffled at best. But snowden thought this was too much of an infringement and got the show recording removed. Last night mid-afternoon Snowden contacted Great Scott and cancelled as they didn't want to play with jet-lag. What a bunch of wusses. Read Yellow were a welcome and able replacement
We got to Great Scott early last night to catch the sound-check. After it seemed many hours (OK 45 mins) they actually played a couple of songs. Interesting and not a waste of time in my book.
I managed to talk to each of the band while waiting around. Forward Russia are so intimately linked to Dance To The Radio a indie record label which supports Leeds bands I was very interested to talk to them about what was going on.
Tom, the singer is an interesting character, if you start to listen to Forward Russia the obvious question is what the heck is he singing about. You might eagerly grab for your copy of the Cd to decipher and understand- WRONG! If you start to read the lyrics you will end up with way more questions than answers. I did ask him exactly what drugs was he on- he was rather indignant saying he didn't take drugs- which begs the question what mind flow puts down such elegant, obscure and wonderful lyrics with absolutely no external chemical assistance. But more to the point he did say the point of the lyrics were pretty ordinary things but enunciated in a more intersting manner than just singing ' I went down the road today to the store'.
Ok - revamping this- points
Tom hates his vocals on the demos and cant listen to them any more
Don't be a doctor will probably be released on a limited 10".
FR, Yes Boss and the Pigeon Detectives will all probably do a Dance to the Radio show at SXSW.
FR are dying to get into the studio early next year to record the new songs they have been writing and hope this wont be a problem with SXSW.
Katie seemed to like the chocolates I brought her.
Tom noticed I was visible on the photo on the flyer for the forward Russia show.
We discussed the fact that American music basically sucks and had a friendly disagreement about whether flaming lips sucked at SXSW ( I think they did).
Rob turned out to be a real sweetheart.
Whiskas says he is still hands on with DTTR (too much) and says that the first compilation will not be rereleased as the bands dont like the quality of the songs. He suggests we just find some place to download them.
Also found out that iliketrains are signed to beggars banquet and will also be at sxsw.

Read Yellow put on a decent set, then FR started to put on the signature t-shirts. when Whiskas finally changed, the set started. Whiskas did review the night here
I had forgotten just how insanely animated Tom is while he performs. As he sings he wraps teh mic wires around him, around his neck in a almost self flagellating way also bringing to mind poor Michale Hutchence and his foibles. He bites at teh wire and generally pulls teh poor wire to a fairly harsh extreme at teh same time emoting to teh extreme. Behind him Katie, whiskas and Rob provide a strong wall of sound that rocks to the N'th degree. Despite it being a late gig I ended up dancing like crazy and dripping with sweat. You have got to love this music whilest hating 90% of american dross. So why were'nt you there?

¡Forward, Russia!

Yeah, finally the chance to see ¡Forward, Russia!, the punctuation loving band from Leeds again. A recommendation straight from Lammo and I totally agree. We saw these guys twice in SXSW 2006 and barely missed their third performance This band is amazing- I just hope Boston will both turn out and also be an enthusiastic audience. Filter and Spin have both been providing some hype which is good because local press has been non-existent And of course this is also an opportunity to figure out what is happening in the Leeds music scene and more precisely the excellent Dance to the Radio recordlabel. Guitarist Whiskas - yes the one with the ginger beard and sister to drummer Katie, is also one of the founders of Dance to The Radio which boasts excellent bands like 'The Pigeon Detectives, iLikeTrains, This Et Al, O'Fracas amongst many others. Time to ask what we can hope to see at SXSW 2007.
Lets hope they play their new one 'Don't Be a Doctor'.
I will try to blog this gig soon.

New bands found on myspace

Just wanted to list some of my new finds on myspace. I was pointed to find a Wakefield band called Last Gang. Moments after they became my friend another Wakefield band called The Labels asked me to be their friend and I listened and liked their cheeky brazen lyrics and riffs.
Randomly listening to 6music I heard that Paul Haig has a new band Cathode Ray. Paul Haig is the genius behind Josef K. Josef K, The Fire Engines and the Gang of Four are now accepted as the three bands post punk that have moulded the music that is happening now. Becoming a Paul Haig and Cathode Ray 'myspace friend' gave me one of the biggest thrills since being accepted by The Cribs.
Also being listened to- The Wombats, The KBC, trying to listen to Vib Gyor again.
Definitely ashamed I haven't listened to 'Cat the Dog', Mumm-ra, Maccabees,Cajun Dance Party, foals much more!

Last.fm Compatibilty

Just a random thought. I use Last.fm and love the way it tracks what I listen to, what concerts I am going to, what my friends are listening to and allows me to find new music. The new music compatibility feature is also a nice amusing feature. BUT WHY is it I have REALLY low compatibility with everyone I see here in MA but if I find 18-25 year olds from Yorkshire my compatibility is SUPER? I am so living in the wrong place.

The Cinematics, Phoenix 40th anniversary Part Avalon Boston 20061116

I am Scottish born in Edinburgh and spending nearly 3/4 of my life there. It sounds patronising and twee but there is definitely a Scottish sound. I seem to have spent half my life listening to and appreciating wonderful bands that are certainly not known over in the US.
Last night after seeing the Cinematics, a foursome based in Glasgow but not originally from there (I think some if not all come from Dingwall), I am inclined to reminisce and listen to some of the music in my collection that hasn't been played for a while that I love.
Scamper were the opening act and I hate to say they reminded me of every reason why I abhor 90% of American music. Dreary unimaginative music with losers posing and making non witty comments between the songs. The last song did have some promise though.
So eventually we got to The Cinematics. This kind of music can sometimes get written off especially in the American music press. However I always feel that in order to survive playing in Glasgow bands have to learn to handle an audience or get bottled or worse off stage. The Cinematics really impress live with meaty bass and drum under the melodic guitar and soaring vocals.
Scott, who plays guitar but mostly concentrates on singing. I found the set uplifting, danceable and fun. Though most people just stood, the band did get a lot of applause and when 'Break' was played (the only song being played over here) people got more interactive and appreciative. This of course being the point about Boston audiences that drives me crazy that they seem unable to appreciate music they haven't heard before - call me exempt from this one.
We also got a chance to briefly chat to Scott and Ross at the Merch table asking them how they were finding America and of course if they were going to be at SXSW. They currently think the album is going to be Strange Education (Changed from 'A Trick of The light' previously reported and leaked) out about February both sides of the pond with a tour to follow again both sides of the pond.
The Cinematics :
Scott Rinning - Vocals and guitar, Ramsey Miller - guitar, Adam Goemans - Bass, Ross Bonney - Drummer
Cinematics Set
Race To The City
Maybe someday
Strange Education
Rise And Fall
Human
Keep Forgetting
Break

Another Scritti Politti Review

original link here
Politti fans in Paradise as Gartside ends hiatus
by Christopher John Treacy
Tuesday, November 14, 2006

The turnout for Scritti Politti’s first-ever Beantown show Sunday night was enthused, but meager.
But Green Gartside seemed not to mind. The 50-year-old Wales-born musician looked like a kid in a candy store, taking the Paradise stage for a set touching on all aspects of his sporadic recording career.
Opening with a trio of songs from the sublime new “White Bread, Black Beer,” - “Snow in Sun,” “Robin Hood” and “After Six” - the touring Politti sextet, displayed accomplished musical chops with a unique blend of reggae beats, soaring choruses and blissed-out synth melodies. Scritti Politti’s hybrid has never been more relevant, albeit more than a quarter century down the pike.
Frontman Gartside’s one-of-a-kind blue-eyed soul pipes are described as both breathy and twee, but what’s amazing is how well they work in a variety of settings. He even rapped convincingly, busting out covers of DJ Premier’s “Come Clean” and Mad Skillz’s “Hands Up.” When he rested his guitar to deliver “The Boom Boom Bap,” he transcended the shiver-inducing quality of his own studio take.
It took a fair bit of electronic noodling to re-create Scritti’s heavily textured studio sound, with varying results. The newest and the oldest songs, including the fuzz-guitar laden “Skank Bloc Bologna” and island-hopping “The Sweetest Girl,” worked wonderfully. Unfortunately, the group’s biggest stateside success came with the MIDI-sequenced dance tracks from “Cupid & Psyche ’85,” and performing them is tricky. Of two songs chosen from that release, “Word Girl” triumphed with its low-slung bass groove and playful keyboard line, but “Wood Beez” seemed more of a chore.
But despite seeming befuddled by sound issues and not feeling 100 percent, Gartside made an impressive return to the stage after a hiatus of 26 years. Hopefully he’ll visit again sooner than later.
Scritti Politti with Jeffrey Lewis. At the Paradise, Sunday.

ctreacy2003@yahoo.com
original link here

Scritti Politti makes ‘Beer’ run
By Christopher John Treacy
Friday, November 10, 2006 - Updated: 02:37 PM EST

Anxiety and self-doubt haunt everyone. For Scritti Politti ringleader Green Gartside, they were a menacing hindrance to his career.
Touring the States for the first time, Britain’s Scritti Politti plays the Paradise on Sunday, supporting its recent release, ‘‘White Bread, Black Beer.” The band achieved international pop stardom in the mid-’80s with the synth-pop masterpiece ‘‘Cupid & Psyche 85,” but acclaim only agitated the Wales-born Gartside, now 50, and he retreated into obscurity.
‘‘I hated success. It didn’t suit me at all,” he said from Toronto. ‘‘Success felt as horrible as failure. It didn’t agree with me, and I ran away.”
Gartside’s panic attacks halted the band’s first and only tour - with Joy Division and Gang of Four - in 1980. Two albums later, Scritti Politti had a global hit on its hands; Miles Davis even recorded a cover of the single ‘‘Perfect Way,” adding fuel to Gartside’s neurotic fire.
‘‘That just made everything worse,” he said. ‘‘It all felt completely undeserved, and that sort of thinking seeps into everything. You feel unattractive, unintelligent, worthless. I’d never taken compliments well; positive feedback felt the same as derogatory. And, in a room full of supporters, the one naysayer is the person I’d think really knew what they were talking about.”
Spawned from Britain’s burgeoning underground post-punk scene in 1979, Scritti Politti came together as a philosophical and political collective, fueled by dub reggae beats, a vegetarian diet and enough amphetamines to kill a horse. Gartside admits the lifestyle did nothing to help his anxiousness, ‘‘but,” he said, ‘‘we didn’t know any better.”
After the band moved away from its musically subversive roots into more accessible territory, Gartside’s condition kept it off the road. Between 1988’s ‘‘Provision” and now, Scritti Politti has made only two CDs. But it’s the long periods between projects that have kept Gartside in the game at all.
‘‘I’ve been fortunate,” he said. ‘‘Every time I’ve felt the itch to record again, somebody’s stepped up to help me. The new disc is a direct result of being reunited with (Rough Trade records’) Geoff Travis. He bought me a home studio and sort of looked after me. We’d talked about starting a Rough Trade hip-hop label, but then he asked about making another disc around my singing.
‘‘Music is one of a few ways to make life more bearable and stave off anxiety and boredom. Being able to work at a leisurely pace has made all the difference in the world. It’s the only way I could have gone about this. Honestly? I never thought I could make a record on my own.”
‘‘White Bread, Black Beer” feels like a culmination of all Gartside has learned en route.
‘When you disappear for seven or nine years at a time,” he said, ‘‘all that fear begins to dissipate. Because if you’re doing nothing, you’ll neither succeed or fail. But working with people I know and trust cast an entirely different light on this project. And what you get from that is a bit more confidence. These days, I feel like I basically lead a charmed life.”

another Bravery review

I decided to just copy this here so it will be permananent. The real link is here .
‘Secret’ show lets Bravery work out kinks
By Kerry Purcell
Boston Herald Features Reporter
Wednesday, November 15, 2006

The Bravery played “Fearless” during Monday’s “Not So Secret Show,” at T.T. the Bear’s Place, but the Brooklyn-based band looked hesitant as it played tunes from its unreleased CD, “The Sun and the Moon.”
Compared to past shows at which crowds jumped up and down as singer Sam Endicott stood tall on stage amps and bassist Mike H. jumped from speakers in nothing but heavy eyeliner and a smile, this was subdued. For the first of three intimate preview concerts, the Bravery squeezed on stage in business-casual attire - sans eyeliner - and sparked the night with fan favorite “Unconditional.” Audience members bobbed their heads to the keyboard-heavy tune but never showed an abundance of enthusiasm. After all, they were just feeding off the band’s energy.
New tracks from the unreleased album - “Believe,” “This Is Not the End,” “Knife,” and “If This Is It” - offered a refreshing change from the rings, beeps and the boops of tracks from the Bravery’s debut CD. With deeper keyboard notes, rock-solid bass lines and tempestuous guitar riffs, the new stuff has a melancholy sound but it still prompts people to dance.
Drummer Anthony Burulcich’s speedy cymbal combinations and steady bass drum beats are essential to the band’s danceability but he hasn’t mastered Phil Collins’ talent for drumming and singing at the same time. Most songs were overloaded with shaky harmonies but this was band members’ first time playing the new songs live - we’ll cut them some slack.
Following a short break, the band smooshed back onto T.T.’s stage for a two-song encore of “Honest Mistake” and “Rat In a Wall.” The latter looks like a promising hit for these guys who once had a media-fueled beef with the Killers.The IV Thieves, who hail from England but live in Austin, Texas, opened.
The Bravery with IV Thieves At T.T. The Bear’s Place, Cambridge, Monday.

kapurcell@bostonherald.com

Oh God how bad can music be?

So I have had a spate of effusive blogs extolling the virtues of various bands- this is not one of them!
We went to see The Bravery last night at TT the Bear's, this was a gig for them to showcase new songs. We got there in time to hear the end of the Four (IV) Thieves. They were pretty good, and I would probably have liked to see more but the weather sucked and getting into town took far longer than we expected. The club was packed as people milled around looking to see the first time the Bravery showed off their new songs. at the front was a contingent of young girls who I would have doubted being 18, if they were not that young they certainly were juvenile.
The band came on and played through some of their hits and songs from the new album.
Set included An honest mistake, Unconditional. As I stood I realised that the new songs stunk just as much as the old ones. Yes there was some reaction mostly from the young girls and family for the new ones but there was a lot of people just standing around. The music is just awful, bland pathetic and abysmal trite lyrics. Then there is the band who are just ridiculous, pathetic and full of themselves. These guys are a waste of a record contract lets hope the new CD bombs like a submarine and this group disappear off the face of the earth.

I died and went to Heaven.......

and was serenaded by an angel called Green Gartside.
When I was a teenager and was listening to music more influenced by pretty boys and glamorous videos, I was handed a copy of 'Songs to Remember' and told this was the music to adore. I learnt and became a person with a wider music landscape.
When I heard that Green had been nominated for the 2006 Mercury prize I was surprised and intrigued. I delved around and found a copy of "White Bread Black Beer". It wasn't until I spotted the gig at the Paradise being advertised that I started to seriously listen to this album. Sounding deceptively simple the songs weave their tendrils into your brain until you are seriously hooked.
Last night just seemed to be the gig I have been waiting half my life to see. Jeffrey Lewis opened up, interesting as we had seen him open for Sons and Daughters last year but hadn't caught who he was. He plays interesting little tracks with his angle being for many songs he creates little cartoon videos for them. Music isn't wonderful and the voice can be atonal but the concept is sweet and his songs amuse.
Setlist for Scritti
Snow in Sun
Robin Hood
After 6
E 11Th Nuts
Come Clean
The Word Girl
Dr Abernnathy
The Boom Boom Bap
The Sweetest Girl
Hands Up
Brushed
Cooking
Road To No Regret
Skank Bloc Bologna
Die Alone
Mrs Hughes
Woodbeez
Encore
Edge
D2O

Green seemed not totally at ease on stage but was open and talked to the audience throughout the show. He had to have lyrics for many songs because as he told us once he has recorded songs he doesn't like to listen to them again. Many times he was very self denigrating but his voice was everything it is on record. Green isn't rough but at over 6 foot, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt he is certainly not effete in any manner you might imagine. For this man to open his mouth and pure honeyed vocals to stream out was a pleasure to behold. A side note he felt his voice was rough! The audience was in the palm of his hand warmly applauding and gently moving to his music. I do not tend to gentle sweet songs but several times I just stopped in my tracks and took in the wonder of this man singing.
To be honest I probably would have paid twice the ticket price just to see him sing The Sweetest Girl but to have the opportunity to see him sing through 19 tracks was astounding. A funny moment happened during the start of a song shortly after he had
taken a drink, he stopped and had to burp.The crowd just laughed. I can start to pull out highlights but when the songs you loved start to get over 1/3 of the set you start to realize you just loved the whole experience.
You missed this? Shame on you!
The murmurings after the show suggested it was worthwhile sticking around, so we did. As we waited we tagged our way into the edge of a conversation with the keyboard player (keyboard plus 2 apple macs). He was telling the story of practising WoodBeez for the first time and how Green had stopped and said no it wanst quite right. At which point he turned round to the musicians and asked if they Had a copy of the original- they didn't. They ended up downloading the track from itunes so they could make sure they got the details right. There had been an article in The Boston Phoenix saying WoodBeez was impossible to play live and I mentioned this comment. The keyboard guy said it was pretty impossible and he had been managing about 4 different parts with all the computers etc and how Green refuses to have anything recorded before hand. The sound guy did a sweet job.
Then Green came out and stood talking to folks, hugging women and posing for photos and just being as sweet as can be. Yes I got my hug and to tell him just how amazing both the new album is and his concert voice is in general.
I just seem to be on a roll of talking to people in bands who are just as nice as can be. But then I am going to see the Bravery tonight so I am sure that will stop.

Scritti Politti, Bravery, Cinematics

So what gigs are coming up? We are going to see Scritti Politti on Sunday. 'The Sweetest Girl' has ended up on more various CDs than would be imaginable for a guy/band that is such a publicty-phobe. So having first heard and fallen in love with Green Gartside's voice more years ago than I would admit without severe coercion, I am actually going to get the chance to see him live. It was astounding to see his CD "white bread and black beer" get a Mercury nomination and listening to this CD you do tend to worry about hyperglycymia it is just so sweet but also addictive. I don't expect a lively concert but some slower concerts are just required.
The Bravery play TT the Bears on Monday night, the Bravery, a band who are part hyperbole. I am never sure whether to take them seriously but at least at TT's the screaming minors will be exempted and we will have the chance to see how the band have grown if they have and make our own evaluation as to whether they will survive as a band not to be reviled.
Then on Thursday, our local music paper is having a 10 year anniversary party and a surprising addition to the line-up is the Glasgow band The Cinematics. When we went to SXSW last March we had never heard of The Cinematics, but went to the Scottish Arts Showcase on Friday afternoon (at least part time). Waiting to go in we saw several young over frenetic friendly Scottish guys milling around who in retrospect turned out to be members of the Cinematics plus other bands. Their earnestness was kind of cute. When we sat and listened to bands several new bands really made an impression, we liked Lucky Luke, The Cinematics and Paolo Nutini and were very under impressed with The Fratellis. This impression lead us to use the last Saturday night slot to go see The Cinematics do their official SXSW slot. We were impressed and glad to have made the decision though when crib addiction sets in hard I sometimes second guess myself as we missed the chance of a third cribs show to see the Cinematics.
To cut a long story short, they play great music, are good guys and I am so glad to see them play Boston and I will be there hopefully to see them go down well.

Placebo Roxy Boston 20061108

When we decided to go see Placebo at the Roxy, we were looking a November as being a sparse wasteland with no concerts coming up. Now in retrospect we have 8 concerts in November with two concerts at the very tail end of October. This works out to 4 concerts last week, two this week and three next - hardly a wasteland.
So I admit to being only tangentially knowledgeable of Placebo and dismissive of She Wants Revenge. However I always do my musical homework and for the past two to three weeks I have been submerging myself in Placebo and she wants Revenge. So thats my excuse when I barely now any track names in the following screed.
Originally this gig had been touted as 'She Wants Revenge' headlining with Placebo as support. This was changed last week and Placebo set to close the show. Whether this was because of Boston specific murmurs or general tour experience is unclear but this show would have been a wasteland for She Wants Revenge if they had closed.
when SWR eventually came on about 8:40 they played a good fifty minutes to a loud if lukewarm audience. Coming from LA, their set reminded me of a second rate Interpol who guess what really didnt know how to use the stage and had little stage prescence.
Tee audience was largely static but did applaud and shout when songs finished. They are technically fine, I feel the songs can blur into each other with similar musical themes which dont jump out as seperate entities. Tear you apart was their closer and got at least some audience movement. As support bands go I thought they ranked somewhere between 6 and 7, decent performance decent music but not enough to warrant a myspace add or even to consider seeing them as a separate entity if they came to Boston without a pull of a Placebo headliner. But shitty emo as I had previously thought - I change my mind and applaud their efforts as solid in their genre.
Placebo came on stage, and the Placebo true fans are going to kiss my ass but I was just so surprised to see how small and pixie like Brian Molko is. They kicked off with Infra-Red, playing into Meds and kept going with many songs I knew but can't put a name to. They did play Special Needs plus many others. Brian did make a couple of political anti- war anti-government statements- WOO-HOO totally with you Brian!
So synopsis about an hour of playing less interaction than I would prefer, decent music even though some of the songs did tend to blur into each other. VERY weird audience which are not too accepting of other music. Interesting but I am probably on the fence about whether this would be a repeat occurrence.

Little Man Tate Great Scott Allston 20061105

I have been in email, webpage forum and myspace contact with both the band and their management about this gig. Little Man Tate provide a powerful guitar sound without any garage sound to it with catchy tunes and lyrics to make you smile. On a side note it is refreshing to hear a slight lisp in Jon's voice which just makes the music more human. I always find myself singing along and smiling when I play LMT.
Talking to their tour manager (Richard?), the CMJ gig had technical issues with equipment breaking and finding enough adapters leading to them only doing five songs. I dont feel too sorry for the New Yorkers as LMT have currently played there twice and are playing again tonight.
I thought I was having a good time talking to the tour manager when the guys appeared but things just got better. For the next two hours or so me and my husband talked to LMT about what they had been up to, general LMT history, gig war stories etc. There are no pretentions with this band, they seem genuinely to want to meet and get to know the people who come to their gigs. Their attitude is that if a single fan will turn up or even a crowd of newbies they will play their heart out and feel lucky to do so.
They eventually went on (hey guys - this was not LMT's fault as they were waiting to borrow an amp, having come up on the train they tried to minimize what they brought and maximise what they borrowed). Even when the crew who set them up swapped Ben and Maz's normal playing position the guys groaned a little and said what the heck.
Set list was as follows
Man I hate your band
Sexy In Latin
(What what you got - track not played)
European Lover
Little Big Man
Hello Miss Lovely
and finishing with
House Part st Boothys
(missing out Down on Marie)
You can see the setlist here which was signed by the guys
I found it a bit weird to see Jon (lead singer) seems to have the same habit as Alan Rake of gesticulating the lyrics but you adjust. Coming from scotland I said what the heck - and danced despite the fact the place was pretty empty. I got quite a few grins from Jon for that (Did I mention what a total sweetie this guy is......).
There were a few instances of feedback and I think they were still missing an amp but they put on a sweet show and the audience seemed appreciative giving loud applause after each song.
'Man I hate your band' totally kicks off a gig making you want to dance. 'European Lover' is only supposed to be able to be heard at gigs - oops whats that mp3 doing on my computer- mea culpa. 'Little Big Man' is only doing the rounds as a live mp3 and isnt supposed to be doing that. The others are all available either as demos or singles/b-sides. The boys are promising a track which no one has heard for the new album which they are well aware we are waiting for with impatience (January seems so far away). I did put a bug in their ear saying how much I loved 'Saved by A Chat Show' and 'Just Can't Take It' begging them to put them on the album though as these are B-sides they will be unlikely to go on the album. It was funny to hear Jon tell us that 'Who invented these lists' was written on the toilet! True story or pub story I really dont know.
There was much discussion of how the internet changes music and illegal downloads and leaks. I think it became obvious I had the leaked album but I pleaded necessity to keep me sane promising to buy it when eventually it comes out over here.
My point is people are dying for the opportunity to buy the Brakes CD and Battle's CD despite the fact they have a leaked copy, while people are downloading The Ordinary Boys then deleting it because frankly it is DREADFUL.
One point Jarvis Cocker shame on you dissing these boys, it seems Jon is a huge fan and is pretty upset about it while still idolizing you. As I said Jarvis is just a grumpy old man - a maker of sublimely mazing music but still a grumpy old man,
My kind of a night, a chance to meet LMT, to discuss their music, discuss music in general (yeah they think my music taste is way up to date and were amazed at what I am already listening to), discuss how music spreads these dates, plus see a great little set, dance a little and the guys gave me a cuddle - and the hubby didnt mind!


How embarrasing, seems like I typed the title of the taster down wrong and got some of the point wrong - its saved by a chat show not a chart show - God am I blushing! Finally I get it- 'Jeremy Kyle' is a british chat show' which makes the person smile - feeling oh so dumb........

Last week was busy

We saw Albert Hammond Jr on Monday night(10/30/2006). Unsurprizingly the venue was filled with Strokes fans, but don't count me in with this bunch. Sure I have Strokes CDs but they dont jump onto my mp3 player and refuse to leave like my Cribs, Paddingtons, Rifles and Reverend mp3s. I had found the album 'Yours To Keep' out there on the cybersphere - and had been listening to it for a few weeks before the gig. The Boston Globe reviewed the gig here. He played most of his album and the Strokes fans stood still then applauded.
Hey guys- MOVE!
The voice isnt the best in world, his songs can sometimes fall into background but he is trying something on his own. As the review said, the set was short as he only has one set of songs. No guys he definitely isnt going to do Strokes songs despite the underlying feeling thats why you showed up.
I am glad I went but saviour of the new face of music he isnt.


Friday found us at Lloyd Cole. It was pretty suprising to walk into the Paradise and see rows of seats set out. The person we were sitting beside said he heard only about 200 tickets had been sold and this is an easy cop-out to hide this.
Last November (wow it is really that long ago? My memory had this pegged as being in spring) we went to see Echo & The Bunnymen and found ourselves surrounded by aging suburbanites in a depressingly dull crowd. Here at Lloyd Cole you could see the audience had aged with Lloyd. He looks just the same as ever apart from the grey hair but that could have been the subdued red lighting. Coming off a cold he avoided songs with high notes to save his voice for further shows. His statement that he was saving his voice so he didnt disappoint in Canada was met with one of many examples of boorishness from the audience during this show. Loud comments of 'Screw the Canadians who cares about them!' I didn't want to be part of this audience as it sickened me. Between the stupid housewife who called out 'We love you Lloyd' in every dead air moment, the idiots calling out for commotion songs incessantly (He did play 'Are You Ready To Be Heartbroken' and 'Cut Me Down' but I wouldnt have given in that much if I had been him) to the morons shouting out or whooping in totally inappropriate places the audience should have been gassed and put out their misery. Lloyd - there were some sane people in the audience and as one I apologise for the idiots. A beautifully laid back concert totally at sorts from my norm but one for which I certainly glad I made room for.


Now for the concert that made my week. I previously blogged about the fact Little Man Tate were going to play Great Scott and spent time trying to get the word out.
Of course I am biased, as an ex-pat Brit I crave to hear British accents and the broader the better. I also despite every effort can't get 90% of american music and until internet radio saved my listening habits had retreated to only listening to my old CDs. Thank god Steve Lamacq saved the day and pointed me to many bands who make my working day bearable as the soundtrack to craziness.
I can't even remember how I first heard of LMT, via Steve or via an internet board suggesting them but I can track it down to them being my top listens way back at the start of April 2006. Yes I know really late for a UK person but fairly up to date for a person living in this musical wasteland. Review to follow but enough to say if you missed this you are a moron!
My photos are here

Cold War Kids Redux

So a quick recap of last night. Three bands - Foreign Born , Swearing at Motorists and Cold War Kids.
I enjoyed Foreign Born and have added them to my myspace friends to keep up with bulletins, more laid back bluesy percussive than my normal indie stuff but variety is the spice of life. Swearing at Motorists? YUK! Absolutely dreadful, some stoner up on stage playing music badly with multiple references to wouldn't it be wonderful if we gave him drugs. Earplugs were in for this one and I still heard too much.
Cold War Kids, seems like The Futureheads did us a favor, we ended up with a good 50 minute set where their music shined. Again more garage more blues influenced, and cute use of percussion but great to dance to and definitely worth stretching the musical boundaries for.
Oh and straight from the band when you find that hidden track its called Serpent versus the Gospel.
On a side note, DJ Carbo played tracks in between bands most of the night playing a new Cribs demo. Very wordy, very good and yes it has the cribs signature notes in it.
Carbo, sad not to get the demos from you but I admire your ethics.
So Albert Hammond, Jr tomorrow at TT The Bears, its a small venue so worthwhile trying to see what the gig is like.

Robbers, Cowards and Little Man Tate

Last week I heard great news that Little Man Tate are coming to Boston. Checking my Last.fm page I realize I have been listening to these guys since the first week in April. Little Man Tate are a newish band from Sheffield that have been together for about a year. They have catchy poppy little tunes full of sexual innuendo, sorry if that offends you it just amuses me. In the way of all things Net they have an obligatory myspace page and a demo download page .
I have been emailing anyone who I think may publicize this gig. Boston is often left off the list of first time US gigs and so anyone who bothers to come I hope gets support.
On a newer note Cold War Kids headline Allston's Great Scotts on Saturday night. I saw these guys play support for Tapes N' Tapes at the Middle East this Spring and enjoyed the music. This was supposed to be The Futureheads at the Paradise with Cold War Kids supporting until Barry got Tendinitis and The Futureheads cancelled.
Now we get the chance to see this small interesting band in a venue which I am starting to love.

Reasons to Blog

I decided to make this blog as a reaction to other blogs- aren't they all?
Reaction to what - listening to blogs talk about music in Boston a city with a bit of a small town mentality.
People here sometimes don't listen to music until they are told to - why I have no idea.
I know folks who have started blogs to show off their musical taste when they are just followers.
Am I a follower? Perhaps but hopefully I show a little more gumption than some.
So from here on in I will post what I am listening to and what is coming up in Boston.