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.”