tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54620299905617092862024-03-21T18:48:11.633+00:00NIKKI'S NOODLESNikki Noodleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04293259953023685686noreply@blogger.comBlogger45125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462029990561709286.post-85935090623048689812014-08-19T12:39:00.000+01:002016-04-18T16:05:46.557+01:00Album Review - Among The Echoes, "Fracture"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #f108ed; font-size: small;"><b>Album Review:<br />
Among The Echoes, "<i>Fracture"</i></b></span><br />
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It’s been a while since I did a review, but from the moment
I started listening to the latest album from <span style="color: #f108ed;"><b>Among The Echoes</b></span> I knew I
would have to break my hiatus. "<i><span style="color: #f108ed;"><b>Fracture</b></span></i>" is one of the most
addictive and all-consuming LPs I have heard for a long time.<br />
<br />
From the outset, the album’s opener slinks around your head
and into your ear before seeping down to the pit of your stomach and wrapping a
gigantic invisible fist around your soul. At the first thunderous beat of the
album’s title track, "<i><span style="color: #f108ed;"><b>Fracture</b></span></i>", the fist lifts you up and slams you down into
the core of the earthquake of dark beats and bass, crisp anthemic synths and
blistering Bowie-eque vocals that exude a fantastic combination of power, fear,
control, passion and acrimony. <br />
<br />
The production is absolutely superb and is the icing on the
cake to the fabulous electronic powerhouse driving the 13 tracks on the album.
The album is definitely in my top 3 albums of this year so far and I highly
recommend it, particularly for fans of dark and brooding electronica who, like
me, look for music that has the ability to cut you off from the world and hold
your attention completely from start to finish.<br />
<br />
Absolutely outstanding!<br />
<br />
<span small=""><b>Track Listing</b></span><br />
<span style="color: magenta;">Heartbeat </span>(1:41)<br />
<span style="color: magenta;">Fracture </span>(3:58)<br />
<span style="color: magenta;">Sin </span>(3:34)<br />
<span style="color: magenta;">Medusa </span>(5:15)<br />
<span style="color: magenta;">Hate </span>(3:45)<br />
<span style="color: magenta;">Midnight </span>(4:48)<br />
<span style="color: magenta;">Rain </span>(4:01)<br />
<span style="color: magenta;">Control </span>(4:26)<br />
<span style="color: magenta;">Heart Of A Machine</span> (4:40)<br />
<span style="color: magenta;">Freak </span>(4:20)<br />
<span style="color: magenta;">Pure </span>(5:04)<br />
<span style="color: magenta;">24 </span>(0:12)<br />
<span style="color: magenta;">13 </span>(3:04)Nikki Noodleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04293259953023685686noreply@blogger.com0Birmingham, West Midlands, UK52.486242999999988 -1.890400999999997152.176760999999985 -2.535847999999997 52.79572499999999 -1.2449539999999972tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462029990561709286.post-73613696868423535432013-07-31T11:39:00.002+01:002016-04-14T18:42:15.666+01:00Gig Review - Josh Kumra, The Victoria, Swindon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #f108ed; font-size: small;"><b>The Victoria, Swindon, 28th July 2013
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Support: Tom McCarthy, Nick Felix
</b></span><br />
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Going to an artist’s hometown gig is always a bit special, but going to one at a tiny venue is a very rare experience indeed – and that’s assuming you can even get a ticket. But I found myself in this enviable position on Sunday as I stepped down into the back room of The Victoria in Swindon to watch <span style="color: #f108ed;"><b>Josh Kumra</b></span> and his two support acts bring the house down.<br />
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Stepping up first was <span style="color: #f108ed;"><b>Tom McCarthy</b></span>, who became the epitome of multi-tasking as he strummed guitar chords, beat-boxed and fed vocal harmonies into his looper, and wowed the packed venue with his vocal range. He sang a staggering range of covers from <span style="color: #f108ed;">Adele</span> to <span style="color: #f108ed;">Bob Marley</span>, with only a slight timing wobble as he went into one of his final songs, <span style="color: #f108ed;">Gotye's</span> ‘<i>Somebody I Used To Know</i>’. He pulled it out of the bag though, singing both <span style="color: #f108ed;">Gotye</span> and <span style="color: #f108ed;">Kimbra's</span> vocals with startling precision, before coming to a deafening finish with the aid of the ardent supporters in the room. It was a brilliantly engaging set.<br />
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Next up was <span style="color: #f108ed;"><b>Nick Felix</b></span>, whose dulcet tones were an intoxicating blend of <span style="color: #f108ed;">Kelly Jones</span>, <span style="color: #f108ed;">Caleb Followill</span> and <span style="color: #f108ed;">Rod Stewart</span>. The majority of his set was original, bluesy material, some slow and some faster, for which he expertly played the guitar, both as an instrument and as his percussion. The lyrical and musical content of the tracks was fantastic, and they were expertly delivered by <span style="color: #f108ed;"><b>Felix</b></span>, who again evidently had a large following in the room. With the right manager behind him this guy could be huge - he certainly won’t have to work on stage presence or delivery. It was hard to see how <span style="color: #f108ed;"><b>Josh Kumra</b></span> could follow him.<br />
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Finally stepping onto the stage from within the crowd, <span style="color: #f108ed;"><b>Josh Kumra</b></span> and his drummer, <span style="color: #f108ed;"><b>Carra Bacon</b></span>, kicked off proceedings with a cover of <span style="color: #f108ed;">Angus and Julia Stone's</span> ‘<i>Mango Tree</i>’, and the bar was raised even higher. <span style="color: #f108ed;"><b>Kumra's</b></span> vocals were absolutely spine tingling as he steered the crowd through his set, skilfully contrasting light and shade in his performance and drawing the audience under his spell. The timing between <span style="color: #f108ed;"><b>Kumra</b></span> and <span style="color: #f108ed;"><b>Bacon</b></span> was outstanding, and the pair played and exceptionally tight set. <br />
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<span style="color: #f108ed;"><b>Kumra</b></span> played both material from his current album and a couple of covers, dedicating one track to his parents in the crowd. A comedy moment happened as his Grandad, who was also in the crowd, worked his way through the packed room to the front of the stage at the end of a song and said, “Josh! Josh! Play that song, ‘Oak Tree’!” <span style="color: #f108ed;"><b>Kumra</b></span> paused, studied his Grandad’s face, and said, “I just did.” It was a special moment and this, coupled with the enthusiastic crowd that evidently contained a large number of <span style="color: #f108ed;"><b>Kumra's</b></span> family and friends, really made you feel part of a huge family gathering. <br />
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After playing a fantastic set and coming back on for two encores (with much encouragement from the crowd) <span style="color: #f108ed;"><b>Kumra</b></span> and <span style="color: #f108ed;"><b>Bacon</b></span> finished as they had started, with an absolutely brilliant encore of ‘<i>Mango Tree</i>’. It was a truly spectacular gig and it was a great privilege to have been there to share the experience. Having only ever heard his track ‘<i>Don’t Go</i>’ before the gig I really had no idea what to expect, but this very talented young man now has a new, avid fan.<br />
<br />Nikki Noodleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04293259953023685686noreply@blogger.com0The Victoria, 88 Victoria Road, Swindon SN1 3BD, UK51.5533165 -1.77701539999998226.031282 -43.085609399999981 77.075351 39.531578600000017tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462029990561709286.post-72620900112336664942013-07-30T21:54:00.003+01:002013-07-30T21:54:54.578+01:00Gig Review - Cream Club Classics Night, Aylesbury Waterside Theatre <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #f108ed; font-size: small;"><b> Aylesbury Waterside Theatre, 27th July 2013
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K-Klass supported by Marc Fuccio
</b></span><br />
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Anyone who has ever been to the Aylesbury Waterside when the seats have been moved out of the main theatre would be struck at how perfect it is for a club setting. With its high ceiling, large stage, and raised areas around the dancefloor, one can imagine a crowd of clubbers, arms aloft in a haze of lasers, euphorically dancing to a pounding dance track. So it was with some glee that I found out that the theatre had booked <span style="color: #f108ed;">K-Klass</span> to come and bring the legendary <span style="color: #f108ed;">Cream Tour</span> to Aylesbury.<br />
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<span style="color: #f108ed;">K-Klass</span>’ support was DJ <span style="color: #f108ed;">Marc Fuccio</span>, who is also an organiser of the <span style="color: #f108ed;">Cream Tours</span>. His set was diverse, spanning old school classics from <span style="color: #f108ed;">Todd Terry</span>’s staple, ‘<i>Keep On Jumpin’</i>’, <span style="color: #f108ed;">Groove Armada</span>’s ‘<i>Superstylin’</i>’ and <span style="color: #f108ed;">iiO</span>’s ‘<i>Rapture</i>’, through to <span style="color: #f108ed;">Axwell</span>’s ‘<i>I Found You</i>’, and right up to recent releases such as <span style="color: #f108ed;">Martin Solveig</span>’s ‘<i>Rockin' Music</i>’, <span style="color: #f108ed;">Alex Clare</span>’s ‘<i>Too Close</i>’ and, of course, <span style="color: #f108ed;">Daft Punk</span>’s ‘<i>Get Lucky</i>’. Sadly the number of people in the theatre was low so he largely played to a sparse dancefloor. This was really unfortunate because his set was fantastic with great mixing and drops. After topping off the set with <span style="color: #f108ed;">Avicii</span>’s ‘<i>Levels</i>’, two members of <span style="color: #f108ed;">K-Klass</span> (Paul Roberts and Russell Morgan) sneaked onto the stage and picked up the mantel.<br />
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To a backdrop of hypnotic graphics and flawless lasers the duo took it in turns to ride the bass and treble filters, and to deliver a set full of some of the best known dance classics (<span style="color: #f108ed;">Faithless</span>’ ‘<i>Insomnia</i>’, <span style="color: #f108ed;">Liquid</span>’s ‘<i>Sweet Harmony</i>’, <span style="color: #f108ed;">Da Hool</span>’s ‘<i>Meet Her At The Love Parade</i>’, <span style="color: #f108ed;">Tomcraft</span>’s ‘<i>Loneliness</i>’, <span style="color: #f108ed;">Darude</span>’s ‘<i>Sandstorm</i>’ to name a few), amid some more questionable choices (such as <span style="color: #f108ed;">OneRepublic</span>’s ‘<i>Apologise</i>’ and <span style="color: #f108ed;">Coldplay</span>’s ‘<i>Fix You</i>’). This resulted in some slightly frustrating moments where the pinnacle of the clubbers’ euphoria vanished down an imaginary plughole in the middle of the dancefloor, and the clubbers were left a bit exasperated (one complained to me as the ‘<i>Fix You</i>’ organ echoed around the dancefloor of baffled clubbers). But in the DJs’ defence, most DJs play off the atmosphere and euphoria from the clubbers, but because the numbers in the theatre never really increased beyond about 200 people, and those 200 people were lost amongst the vast space of the theatre, <span style="color: #f108ed;">K-Klass</span>’ job was that much harder and their set suffered for it. The best reaction was to <span style="color: #f108ed;">Swedish House Mafia</span>’s ‘<i>Don’t You Worry Child</i>’, which saw almost everyone in the venue with their arms in the air as it dropped.<br />
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Whilst Aylesbury Theatre’s first club night did not go as well as expected, I think this was probably down to the fact that the publicity for the event was very low key. I heard of the event completely by chance the day before it was happening, and speaking with some of the other clubbers it was a similar story with them. However they agreed that a club event such as <span style="color: #f108ed;">Cream</span> would have been huge if more people had been aware. <br />
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So with a bigger publicity drive to the surrounding area and across the county it would be surprising if a similar event (either another <span style="color: #f108ed;">Cream </span>tour, or another tour such as <span style="color: #f108ed;">Godskitchen</span>, <span style="color: #f108ed;">UKF Bass Culture</span> or <span style="color: #f108ed;">Hospitality</span> for example), was not sold out next time, particularly given the reasonable price of the tickets. I know that I, along with a lot of other clubbers, would be really pleased to see another club night at the theatre.<br />
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<b style="color: #f108ed;">Were you at the Cream Classics Club Night? What did you think?</b><br />
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<b>All photos have been kindly provided by Houndscape - for more information visit <a href="http://www.houndscape.co.uk/">www.houndscape.co.uk</a>. © 2013 Houndscape. All rights reserved. </b><br />
<br />Nikki Noodleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04293259953023685686noreply@blogger.com0Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, UK51.814385602452873 -0.8099449523924704451.811931602452873 -0.81498745239247039 51.816839602452873 -0.80490245239247049tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462029990561709286.post-58985800116848902962013-07-22T17:05:00.001+01:002013-07-22T17:05:57.371+01:00Festival Review - Electric Daisy Carnival, London<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #f108ed; font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #f108ed; font-size: small;"><b>Queen Elizabeth, Olympic Park, London, 20 July 2013</b></span><br />
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After sixteen years of travelling far and wide, and bringing EDM to the masses in the US, the <span style="color: #f108ed;">Electric Daisy Carnival</span> travelled across the pond to London to put on the very first European event at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. The event promised dance heavyweights from across Europe on four stages, complete with an audio visual extravaganza incorporating state of the art production design, theatrical performers, fairground rides and a carnival atmosphere. With glorious weather on order it seemed that the first <span style="color: #f108ed;">EDC London</span> would be a surefire hit, and an unforgettable experience.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately the most unforgettable experience happened before a lot of the punters even got through the gates and into the carnival. The organisers had implemented a requirement that each punter was to show ID even if they were very obviously over 18, which caused numerous issues (so much so that they had to drop the policy half way through the afternoon due to the large number of complaints), on top of a very stringent and time consuming search policy. So after queuing for 45 minutes through various barricades from Stratford station to the event gates (which were rightly in place to prevent crowd surges and to cross a busy road) punters then queued for up to 2 hours to get through the relatively small amount of ID, ticket and search gates. Whilst I absolutely agree with the security measures that were being carried out, surely the organisers could see that with the large number of people expected to attend they would need more gates and gate staff? Having spent nearly £70 each on a ticket only to miss nearly 3 hours’ worth of the event queuing to get in was unacceptable, and as a result I missed a lot of acts that I wanted to see and review.<br />
<br />
So, the first act I did manage to see was <span style="color: #f108ed;">Rusko</span>, who also wins the prize for most captivating performance. He blended old school jungle, breakbeat and drum n bass whilst body popping and dancing about, and while his MC whipped the crowd up (I’ve no idea who the MC was but he was brilliant). <span style="color: #f108ed;">Rusko</span> was absolutely immersed in entertaining the crowd, and he didn’t disappoint. It was a fantastic set.<br />
<br />
Over in the NeonGarden, <span style="color: #f108ed;">Feed Me</span> was working a different crowd altogether with an ear-splitting, bone-shattering dubstep set. The craziness in the crowd subsided slightly when the set changed up to a bit of house, but seconds later it was game on again with more shuddering bass and grimy dubstep, and the crowd got back on it. <br />
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Meanwhile, in the adjacent CosmicMeadow tent, <span style="color: #f108ed;">Crookers</span> was unsuccessfully trying to motivate a small crowd as he played through his house set. In contrast, back in the NeonGarden tent, <span style="color: #f108ed;">Mat Zo</span> had a large, bouncy crowd who were treated to various drops in the shape of <span style="color: #f108ed;">The Prodigy</span>’s ‘<i>Breathe</i>’ and <span style="color: #f108ed;">Daft Punk</span>’s ’<i>Get Lucky</i>’ whilst a menagerie of entertainers filed on and off the stage, dancing to his brilliant trance/house set. He had the crowd in the palm of his hand.<br />
<br />
Over at the BassPod, <span style="color: #f108ed;">Nero </span>started in a blaze of graphics, sub bass and shrill vocals to a surprisingly small crowd, although this may be in part because they were up against <span style="color: #f108ed;">Avicii</span> and <span style="color: #f108ed;">Dirty South</span> on other stages. Vocalist Alana Watson took to the stage for ‘<i>Promises</i>’ to a great reaction from the crowd before they dropped in their remix of <span style="color: #f108ed;">Plan B</span>’s ‘<i>The Recluse</i>’ and, later, ‘<i>Innocence</i>’.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #f108ed;">Avicii</span>, accompanied by a giant mechanical spider, was playing to a very large crowd over at the Kenticfield who danced and sang their hearts out to ‘<i>Sunshine</i>’ and ‘<i>Seek Bromance</i>’ (which he’d cunningly previously released under the name of <span style="color: #f108ed;">Tim Berg</span>). After dropping in a snippet of <span style="color: #f108ed;">M83</span>’s ‘<i>Midnight City</i>’ with <span style="color: #f108ed;">Rihanna</span>’s ‘<i>Diamonds</i>’ he rounded off his set with a haze of lazers for ‘<i>Levels</i>’ and then ticker tape for current chart no.1, ‘<i>Wake Me Up</i>’.<br />
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<span style="color: #f108ed;">Sub Focus</span> used his headline set in the BassPod to play tracks such as ‘<i>Rock It</i>’, ‘<i>Out Of The Blue</i>’ and the recent ‘<i>Endorphins</i>’, with the dancing crowd lapping it up. Again, the crowd was smaller than anticipated, but he was up against other headliners <span style="color: #f108ed;">Tiesto</span> and <span style="color: #f108ed;">Madeon</span>, so there was stiff competition. There seemed to be a lot of people who were trying to catch at least some of each of the headliners’ sets, and running between the various stages.<br />
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The main event of the night was <span style="color: #f108ed;">Tiesto</span>’s headline set at Kineticfield, which was epic, as expected. Even with a plethora of tracks from his back catalogue to choose from he still found space to drop in snippets of recent hits by <span style="color: #f108ed;">Macklemore</span> (‘<i>The Heist</i>’) and <span style="color: #f108ed;">Icona Pop</span> (‘<i>I Love It</i>’). In a set strewn with pyrotechnics he played tracks such as ‘<i>Take Me</i>’, ‘<i>Rattle</i>’ and ‘<i>Pursuit of Happiness</i>’ before finishing off with classics ‘<i>Silence</i>’ and ‘<i>Adagio For Strings</i>’. The crowd seemed reluctant to leave at the end of his set.<br />
<br />
Overall <span style="color: #f108ed;">EDC London</span> did a great job of pulling in some major acts as well as some great up and coming acts, most of whom really captivated their audience. However, the long delays to get in at the start did put a dampener on the day given that many missed some of the acts that they had really wanted to see (myself included). I hope that <span style="color: #f108ed;">EDC</span> gets this right if they return in 2014 by drastically improving the number of gates and search staff so that the punters can get inside the venue to enjoy themselves instead of being outside the venue and really infuriated.<br />
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<b style="color: #f108ed;">Were you at EDC London? What did you think?</b>Nikki Noodleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04293259953023685686noreply@blogger.com0Olympic Park, London E20 2ST, UK51.543266499999987 -0.0124773999999661151.503765499999986 -0.093158399999966113 51.582767499999989 0.068203600000033893tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462029990561709286.post-78709254117106560812013-07-21T17:21:00.000+01:002013-07-21T17:21:45.210+01:00EP Review - Among The Echoes, 'Midnight'<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hot on the heels of their previous four track EP, ‘<i>Freak</i>’, back in March, dark wave electronic band <span style="color: #f108ed;">Among The Echoes</span> has been busy making preparations to release a follow up EP. Described by Pete Steer of electronica band, <span style="color: #f108ed;">tenek</span>, as bringing “synth with bollocks” to the party, <span style="color: #f108ed;">Among The Echoes</span> has recently announced a <b>Synthetic City</b> gig with fellow electro artists <span style="color: #f108ed;">Johnny Normal</span> (who has supported the likes of <span style="color: #f108ed;">Adam Ant</span> and <span style="color: #f108ed;">Blancmange</span>) and <span style="color: #f108ed;">Spacebuoy </span>(who has supported <span style="color: #f108ed;">Erasure</span> among others), which sold out within 3 weeks.<br />
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The band has had an eventful year already, with the departure of singer Rachael O’Hara shortly after the release of ‘<i>Freak</i>’ but fortunately this has not held the band back, and their journey seems to be gathering speed at an almost alarming pace. <br />
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The first track of the EP, ‘<i>Midnight</i>’, starts with a purposeful, steady beat which punctuates the band’s trademark dark synth. The band is never afraid to use unusual chord progressions and toplines, and this this song is no exception, with the vocals of frontman, Ian Wall, washing through the track, sounding uncannily like a kind of cross between <span style="color: #f108ed;">Sisters of Mercy</span>’s Andrew Eldritch and <span style="color: #f108ed;">David Bowie</span>. <br />
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The following track, ‘<i>Hallways Of Sin</i>’ starts with a mist of whispers against a constant hard bass drum and incorporates an interesting and unusual guitar riff, providing a new dimension to the chorus. This is another dark track (as you would expect) which is made all the more vivid courtesy of a haunting and brilliant solo piano in the pre-chorus. Sam Wale, who produced the band’s previous EP, has done another sterling job on the production of this track, with the crispness of the beat against the haziness of the synths really shining through.<br />
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‘<i>Cities Are Burning</i>’ changes the pace up a notch and starts with guitars that are reminiscent of <span style="color: #f108ed;">The Cure</span> and <span style="color: #f108ed;">Killing Joke</span>. The unusual feature of this track is the quirky beat, coupled with some fantastic choral chants which become slightly more insistent as the song progresses. The track is a long one, possibly slightly too long, but it holds its own well. Dropping down in pace between the verse and chorus is a nice touch that gives a quirky air to the track. Again, the production is strong.<br />
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Finally, the shining star of the EP is ‘<i>Flowers</i>’, which features vocals from Bridget Gray, singer of electronic band <span style="color: #f108ed;">Destination</span>, adding a touch of light to the otherwise disconsolate place that the song unfalteringly navigates. The track starts in a dark, thumping swirl, with Wall’s vocals providing a gritty backdrop as the lyrics unfold. So raw is the performance that you can almost visualise Wall standing at the grave of a loved one, in the rain, spitting out the words. Gray’s vocals perfectly compliment Wall’s as the chorus lifts the track to a higher place before descending back down into the darkness of the verse. It is a track that is beautifully executed, with lyrics that are both poignant and moving.<br />
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'<i>Midnight</i>' is due for release on 1st August, and will be available on Amazon, i-Tunes, CDBaby and the usual digital outlets. The band will be appearing at <b>The Flapper</b> in Birmingham on 17th August as well as the sold out <b>Synthetic City</b> gig on 19th October at <b>The Actress and Bishop</b>, also in Birmingham. <br />
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<b>Track listing:</b><br />
<span style="color: #f108ed;">1. Midnight <br />
2. Hallways Of Sin<br />
3. Cities Are Burning<br />
4. Flowers</span><br />
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<b>Links:</b><br />
<a href="http://www.amongtheechoes.co.uk/"><span style="color: #f108ed;">Among The Echoes website</span></a><br />
<a href="http://www.samwaleproductions.com/"><span style="color: #f108ed;">Sam Wale Productions website</span></a><br />
<br />Nikki Noodleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04293259953023685686noreply@blogger.com0Birmingham, West Midlands, UK52.486242999999988 -1.890400999999997152.176760999999985 -2.535847999999997 52.79572499999999 -1.2449539999999972tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462029990561709286.post-33243909950126988992013-07-13T17:55:00.006+01:002016-04-14T15:42:34.622+01:00Festival Review - Mainsquare Festival, France - The Verdict<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Having only two stages was a bonus at <span style="color: #f108ed;">Mainsquare Festival</span> because it meant that you could catch at least some of every act that was playing. However its downfall was the close proximity between the two stages, and while this meant that running between stages took a matter of seconds, the dire consequence was that the bands often clashed, resulting in either one band being completely drowned out (usually the one on the Main Stage) or a complete wall of mashed up noise as the sound of the two stages fought against each other. It had a devastating effect on many bands’ sets, and coupled with the fact that the only shade from the blistering heat was the patch of trees between the two stages, it did not make for ideal viewing conditions.<br />
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On the plus side though, there was absolutely no liquid throwing (dubious or otherwise) by the crowd and the volume of litter discarded on the floor as opposed to in the bins was small. It made a very welcome change not to have to wade through a foot of noodles and pizza boxes to get anywhere, and I loved the fact that I was not spending a small fortune on anti-bacterial wipes in a futile attempt to remove dubious substances from my person. That said, it did make the atmosphere much more subdued than that of a British festival. The number of people wasted and the number of moshpits were very low. The most offensive thing at <span style="color: #f108ed;">Mainsquare</span> was the clashing sound, but what <span style="color: #f108ed;">Mainsquare</span> lacked in being hardcore they more than made up for in being impeccably civilised.<br />
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<b><i>Click below to see my reviews of each day, and my verdict of the festival as a whole.</i></b><br />
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<span style="color: #f108ed; font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://nikkinoodlesdancemusic.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/festival-review-mainsquare-festival.html">Mainsquare Festival 2013: Intro</a></b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #f108ed; font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://nikkinoodlesdancemusic.blogspot.com/2013/07/festival-review-mainsquare-festival_13.html">Mainsquare Festival 2013, Day 1</a></b></span><br />
Featuring Candide, Twin Forks, Balthazar, Rival Sons, Haim, Biffy Clyro, Modestep, Thirty Seconds To Mars, Bloc Party, Green day, Enter Shikari, The Prodigy and Netsky<br />
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<span style="color: #f108ed; font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://nikkinoodlesdancemusic.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/festival-review-mainsquare-festival_8824.html">Mainsquare Festival 2013, Day 2</a></b></span><br />
Featuring Mike & the Mechanics, Klink Clock, Local Natives, Kodaline, Saez, Of Monsters & Men, The Hives, Asaf Avidan, Sting, Alt-J, Sting, deuS, C2C and Madeon<br />
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<span style="color: #f108ed; font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://nikkinoodlesdancemusic.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/festival-review-mainsquare-festival_4320.html">Mainsquare Festival 2013, Day 3</a></b></span><br />
Featuring Feini X Crew, Charles Bradley, Left Boy, Volbeat, La Femme, Puggy, Lou Doillon, Stereophonics, Kendrick Lamar, Archive, Wax Tailor and The Dusty Rainbow Experience and Indochine<br />
<br />Nikki Noodleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04293259953023685686noreply@blogger.com0Citadelle d'Arras, 62000 Arras, France50.2828268 2.759714099999996550.242246300000005 2.6790330999999963 50.3234073 2.8403950999999967tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462029990561709286.post-29400707777695924152013-07-13T17:55:00.005+01:002016-04-14T15:43:24.210+01:00Festival Review - Mainsquare Festival, France - DAY 3<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The final day of the festival started over on the Greenroom stage with a short set from French rappers, <span style="color: #f108ed;">Feini X Crew</span>, followed by soul and funk singer, <span style="color: #f108ed;">Charles Bradley</span>, on the Main Stage. <span style="color: #f108ed;">Bradley</span>’s set was perfect for the start of a hot, lazy Sunday afternoon, with his soulful, dulcet tones washing over the drowsy audience and easing them into the last day’s proceedings. However this was not to last long. In a startling rush of sub bass, Austrian rapper, <span style="color: #f108ed;">Left Boy</span>, struck up on the Greenroom stage, drowning out the end of <span style="color: #f108ed;">Bradley</span>’s softer set. However <span style="color: #f108ed;">Left Boy</span> insistently awakened the audience with his mash-ups, including one harnessing the powerful draw of <span style="color: #f108ed;">Gwen McCrae</span>’s <i>“All This Love That I’m Giving”</i>, paving the way for a less restrained affair into Sunday evening, which started with Danish metal band, <span style="color: #f108ed;">Volbeat</span>.<br />
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From the very start <span style="color: #f108ed;">Volbeat</span> presided over a fantastically tight ship, mixing up their own tracks with snippets of tracks from <span style="color: #f108ed;">Rammstein</span>, <span style="color: #f108ed;">Twisted Sister</span> and <span style="color: #f108ed;">Johnny Cash</span>. Playing a tribute to Jeff Hanneman, the late guitarist of fellow metalists, <span style="color: #f108ed;">Slayer</span>, was also a nice touch that the audience seemed to appreciate. Overall their set was extremely tight and heralded a great response from the watching crowd.<br />
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Back on the Greenroom stage <span style="color: #f108ed;">La Femme</span> had begun their set. The band seemed to consist of a cast of thousands, scything their way through an electronic punk set, with singer and keyboard player, Clémence Quélennec, bouncing her way through every track like a lively puppy. Their sound was akin to <span style="color: #f108ed;">Toyah</span>, <span style="color: #f108ed;">Devo</span> and the 80s new wave era. They got a great response from the crowd, and whilst some of that would be due to them playing for a home crowd it certainly didn’t take away from the fact that they played a set of catchy tunes with some great synth hooks.<br />
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Crossing back to the Main Stage Belgian band, <span style="color: #f108ed;">Puggy</span>, began to play a set that was a kind of mix of <span style="color: #f108ed;">Mika</span>, <span style="color: #f108ed;">Scouting for Girls</span> and the <span style="color: #f108ed;">Scissor Sisters</span>. Having previously opened for bands such as <span style="color: #f108ed;">Deep Purple</span> and <span style="color: #f108ed;">Smashing Pumpkins</span> it was clear they were popular in France, and they commanded a very large crowd who all danced and sang along as the band sang in both French and English. Their vocal harmonies were very impressive and the response they got was fantastic. They were followed by French singer (model and actress), <span style="color: #f108ed;">Lou Doillon</span>, who impressed the crowd in front of the Greenroom stage with a selection of tracks including a cover of <span style="color: #f108ed;">Ray Davies</span>’ <i>“I Go To Sleep”</i> (later covered by <span style="color: #f108ed;">The Pretenders</span>). However, being on immediately before the <span style="color: #f108ed;">Stereophonics </span>meant that the crowd dwindled towards the end of her set as they flocked to the Main Stage, but the remaining festival goers gave her an enthusiastic response.<br />
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From the start, the <span style="color: #f108ed;">Stereophonics</span> had drawn in a large, attentive crowd. They played many of their most popular tracks including <i>“Local Boy In The Photograph”</i>, <i>“Maybe Tomorrow”</i> and <i>“Dakota”</i> as well as their latest track, <i>“We Share The Same Sun”</i>, but while their set was expertly executed and perfectly constructed the band appeared to be going through the motions, with long gaps between songs and hardly any attempt made to interact with the crowd. Other non-French bands throughout the weekend had at least made some effort to communicate in some way in French (<span style="color: #f108ed;">Thirty Seconds To Mars</span>, <span style="color: #f108ed;">The Hives</span> and <span style="color: #f108ed;">Biffy Clyro</span> being the ones who made the most effort) but the <span style="color: #f108ed;">Stereophonics </span>made no attempts at all, and actually didn’t communicate much in English either. Consequently the set felt slightly awkward and lacklustre, but despite this, and the fact that the sound from <span style="color: #f108ed;">Kendrick Lamar</span>’s set over on the Greenroom stage drowned out a good portion of the final ten minutes of the <span style="color: #f108ed;">Stereophonics</span>’s set, they still received a warm response.<br />
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Meanwhile <span style="color: #f108ed;">Kendrick Lamar</span> was whipping his small, but extremely dedicated, crowd into a frenzy with his rap infused hip hop. But it was his rendition of his recent hit, <i>“Swimming Pools (Drank)”</i> that got the biggest response with the crowd consistently throwing their right hands towards him as the rapper prowled back and forth across the stage. <br />
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What followed on the Main Stage was, for me, the best performance of the day. Trip hop outfit, <span style="color: #f108ed;">Archive</span>, completely outshone everything else on Sunday. The vocals (particularly Holly Martin’s) were spine tingling, and their set was well balanced with slower and faster tracks and interchanging vocals. The performance was the most captivating of the day, mixing soul-drilling bass with ethereal swirly vocals and guitar and synth licks. The crowd seemed to be as spellbound as I was, standing in awe at what unfurled onstage.<br />
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Over on the Greenroom stage, <span style="color: #f108ed;">Wax Tailor and The Dusty Rainbow Experience</span>, another trip hop artist, started promisingly with a funky set. I had high hopes following the fantastic set from <span style="color: #f108ed;">Archive</span>, but sadly <span style="color: #f108ed;">Wax Tailor</span>’s set quickly deteriorated, going a bit “Jungle Book”. The crowd seemed a bit restless and distracted, with many ignoring the stage to chat amongst themselves, and finally leaving the arena to see the final act of the festival over on the Main Stage, <span style="color: #f108ed;">Indochine</span>.<br />
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<span style="color: #f108ed;">Indochine </span>are clearly well loved in France, and the crowd they drew was the largest I’d seen at the festival except for <span style="color: #f108ed;">Green Day</span> on the first night. Playing a kind of mix of new wave and rock, like a very junior version of <span style="color: #f108ed;">Muse</span> and <span style="color: #f108ed;">Queen </span>in places, they received an overwhelming response from the crowd, who were clearly enthralled by the show which included the standard show gimmicks such as a ticker tape shower. For the French crowd, having <span style="color: #f108ed;">Indochine</span> to close the festival was obviously a stroke of genius, and they went down very well leaving the departing festival goers on the required high note as they left the arena.<br />
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<b><i>Click below to see my reviews of each day, and my verdict of the festival as a whole.</i></b><br />
<br />
<b style="color: #f108ed;"><b><a href="http://nikkinoodlesdancemusic.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/festival-review-mainsquare-festival.html">Mainsquare Festival 2013: Intro</a></b></b><br />
<span style="color: #f108ed; font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #f108ed; font-size: small;"><b><a color:="" f108ed="" font-size:="" href="http://nikkinoodlesdancemusic.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/festival-review-mainsquare-festival.html%3C/a%3E%3C/b%3E%3C/span%3E%3Cbr%20/%3E%3Cbr%20/%3E%3Cspan%20style=" small=""><b></b></a><b><a href="http://nikkinoodlesdancemusic.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/festival-review-mainsquare-festival_13.html">Mainsquare Festival 2013, Day 1</a></b></b></span><br />
Featuring Candide, Twin Forks, Balthazar, Rival Sons, Haim, Biffy Clyro, Modestep, Thirty Seconds To Mars, Bloc Party, Green day, Enter Shikari, The Prodigy and Netsky<br />
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<span style="color: #f108ed; font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://nikkinoodlesdancemusic.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/festival-review-mainsquare-festival_8824.html">Mainsquare Festival 2013, Day 2</a></b></span><br />
Featuring Mike & the Mechanics, Klink Clock, Local Natives, Kodaline, Saez, Of Monsters & Men, The Hives, Asaf Avidan, Sting, Alt-J, Sting, deuS, C2C and Madeon<br />
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<b style="color: #f108ed;"><a href="http://nikkinoodlesdancemusic.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/festival-review-mainsquare-festival_4766.html">Mainsquare Festival 2013: The Verdict</a></b><br />
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Nikki Noodleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04293259953023685686noreply@blogger.com0Citadelle d'Arras, 62000 Arras, France50.2828268 2.759714099999996550.242246300000005 2.6790330999999963 50.3234073 2.8403950999999967tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462029990561709286.post-47545587024798402452013-07-13T17:55:00.004+01:002016-04-14T15:43:51.133+01:00Festival Review - Mainsquare Festival, France - DAY 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Day 2 started a bit later for me due to a bit of sunstroke, so regrettably I missed the likes of <span style="color: #f108ed;">Local Natives</span>, <span style="color: #f108ed;">Kodaline</span>, <span style="color: #f108ed;">Of Monsters & Men</span>, and 80s supergroup, <span style="color: #f108ed;">Mike & the Mechanics</span>. I entered the arena to the strains of French indie rocker, <span style="color: #f108ed;">Asaf Avidan</span>. He has a very unexpected but strangely hypnotising singing voice which carried me over to the Main Stage to where I had gingerly rocked up ready to see Swedish band, <span style="color: #f108ed;">the Hives</span>. From start to finish they whipped through their set like a runaway train, expertly turning the crowd into a partying frenzy and throwing out a string of recognisable hits including <i>“Hate To Say I Told You So”</i> and <i>“Die, All Right!”</i> Their frontman, “Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist” is was a rather endearing loon, strutting and hurling himself around the stage and into the crowd like a young Mick Jagger. The crowd lapped it up.<br />
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Back on the Greenroom stage <span style="color: #f108ed;">Alt-J</span> had begun their set to a sizeable, but slightly distracted, crowd. However, by the time they got to <i>“Breezeblocks”</i> the crowd was listening intently, and they ended with a good reception despite the fact that much of the crowd had vacated over to the Main Stage for the start of <span style="color: #f108ed;">Sting</span>’s set.<br />
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<span style="color: #f108ed;">Sting</span> swept onto the Main Stage to a massive crowd, striking into <i>“Englishman In New York”</i>, and it seemed that everyone in the crowd was singing along with him. He interspersed his own hits with those of the <span style="color: #f108ed;">Police</span>, with the crowd eagerly singing along to the likes of <i>“Roxanne”</i> and <i>“Message In A Bottle”</i>. However some of his set was rather subdued, <i>“Wrapped Around Your Finger”</i> seemed to be too slow, and the heady atmosphere began to dip before it waned completely due to more sound issues. In places it was difficult to hear what was going on and then <span style="color: #f108ed;">deuS</span> struck up on the Greenroom stage, completely drowning out what little sound could be heard. The final blow was dealt by <span style="color: #f108ed;">Sting</span> himself when he introduced his band, with the long self-indulgent instrument noodling and drum solo that followed causing the crowd to lose interest and wander away. Even ending the set on <i>“Every Breath You Take”</i> failed to recapture the unified awe of the crowd from the start of his set, and so another great performer had fallen victim to the sound gremlins of <span style="color: #f108ed;">Mainsquare Festival</span>.<br />
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Meanwhile Belgian rockers, <span style="color: #f108ed;">deuS</span>, were capitalising on <span style="color: #f108ed;">Sting</span>’s loss by drawing in his departing crowd. Their brand of rock lifted the sombre mood and they received a great response as they steered their way through the penultimate set of the Greenroom stage, warming up the festival goers in preparation of the final Main Stage act of the day, French turntablists, <span style="color: #f108ed;">C2C</span>. As expected, <span style="color: #f108ed;">C2C</span>’s set to their home crowd drew in the masses, recreating the party atmosphere as they danced their way through <span style="color: #f108ed;">C2C</span>’s fantastic set.<br />
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But the day’s prize for the most engaged crowd goes to the Greenroom’s final act of the night, French house producer, <span style="color: #f108ed;">Madeon</span>. He blended his own tracks with some ingeniously mixed up crowd pleasers including <i>“Song 2”</i> by <span style="color: #f108ed;">Blur</span>, <i>“Around The World”</i> and <i>“Aerodynamic”</i> from his fellow French dance producers, <span style="color: #f108ed;">Daft Punk</span>, and tracks by <span style="color: #f108ed;">The Prodigy</span> and <span style="color: #f108ed;">Pendulum</span>, and the atmosphere was stratospheric. At one point I looked around me and could not see a single person in the entire arena who wasn’t dancing. At only 20 years of age I think the best of this brilliant dance producer is still to come. He has certainly started on the right foot.<br />
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<b><i>Click below to see my reviews of each day, and my verdict of the festival as a whole.</i></b><br />
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<span style="color: #f108ed; font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://nikkinoodlesdancemusic.blogspot.com/2013/07/festival-review-mainsquare-festival.html">Mainsquare Festival 2013, Intro</a></b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #f108ed; font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://nikkinoodlesdancemusic.blogspot.com/2013/07/festival-review-mainsquare-festival_13.html">Mainsquare Festival 2013, Day 1</a></b></span><br />
Featuring Candide, Twin Forks, Balthazar, Rival Sons, Haim, Biffy Clyro, Modestep, Thirty Seconds To Mars, Bloc Party, Green day, Enter Shikari, The Prodigy and Netsky<br />
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<span style="color: #f108ed; font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://nikkinoodlesdancemusic.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/festival-review-mainsquare-festival_4320.html">Mainsquare Festival 2013, Day 3</a></b></span><br />
Featuring Feini X Crew, Charles Bradley, Left Boy, Volbeat, La Femme, Puggy, Lou Doillon, Stereophonics, Kendrick Lamar, Archive, Wax Tailor and The Dusty Rainbow Experience and Indochine<br />
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<span style="color: #f108ed; font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://nikkinoodlesdancemusic.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/festival-review-mainsquare-festival_4766.html">Mainsquare Festival 2013: The Verdict</a></b></span>Nikki Noodleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04293259953023685686noreply@blogger.com0Citadelle d'Arras, 62000 Arras, France50.2828268 2.759714099999996550.242246300000005 2.6790330999999963 50.3234073 2.8403950999999967tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462029990561709286.post-75377195894632167962013-07-13T17:55:00.003+01:002016-04-14T15:44:30.940+01:00Festival Review - Mainsquare Festival, France - DAY 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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For me, Day 1 of the festival had the most promising line up with many bands who are considered “major” in the UK (<span style="color: #f108ed;">Green Day</span>, <span style="color: #f108ed;">The Prodigy</span> and <span style="color: #f108ed;">Biffy Clyro</span> among them). Each act’s slot was around an hour, with a 20 minute to half an hour overlap where both stages would be live. The day threw up some revelations, with some of the bands completely disappointing me, and others totally surprising me.<br />
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Early performances came from <span style="color: #f108ed;">Candide</span>, <span style="color: #f108ed;">Twin Forks</span>, <span style="color: #f108ed;">Balthazar</span> and <span style="color: #f108ed;">Rival Sons</span>, the latter of which did the best job in shaking awake the subdued audience. By the time <span style="color: #f108ed;">Haim</span> stepped onto the Greenroom stage much of the audience had collapsed onto the grass. It was clear that <span style="color: #f108ed;">Haim</span> are not well known to the French but they still received a good response, particularly when they had an impromptu jamming session to a <span style="color: #f108ed;">Led Zeppelin</span> number, with <i>“Falling”</i>, <i>“Don’t Wait”</i> and <i>“Forever”</i> receiving the best response, as expected.<br />
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Over on the Main Stage <span style="color: #f108ed;">Biffy Clyro</span>, again apparently not well known in France, put everything they had into their set, pulling off a fantastic performance despite the fact that much of the audience stood motionless, moving only to enthusiastically clap between tracks. As they powered through <i>“Sounds Like Balloons”</i>, <i>“That Golden Rule”</i>, <i>“Bubbles”</i> and <i>“The Joke’s On Us”</i> it was abundantly clear which sections of the audience were British, because they were all busy partying and moshing for all they were worth. A comedy moment and the first hint of the sound issues came as <span style="color: #f108ed;">Modestep</span>, who had struck up on the Greenroom stage, drowned out the end of one of <span style="color: #f108ed;">Biffy's</span> quieter tracks. Before launching into the next track <span style="color: #f108ed;">Biffy's</span> lead singer, Simon Neil, declared, “We’re gonna play this next one really loud to drown out that feckin' shite!” And so the first sound battle between <span style="color: #f108ed;">Biffy</span> and <span style="color: #f108ed;">Modestep</span> commenced, confusing the ears of those standing directly between the two stages.<br />
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Crossing over to <span style="color: #f108ed;">Modestep</span>, the dubstep fans in the audience were not disappointed, and the band was well received as they spat out track after track of bone shaking dance fodder. It was clear throughout the weekend that the sound on the Greenroom stage was much better than that on the Main Stage, although some of the Main Stage’s issues were caused by the sound bouncing around the buildings in the square. Obviously the sound of the Greenroom stage really suited <span style="color: #f108ed;">Modestep </span>and every opportunity was taken to drill sub bass through the bodies of the dancing audience.<br />
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Back on the Main Stage, the start of <span style="color: #f108ed;">Thirty Seconds To Mars</span>’ set was kicked off by four people in suits and coloured balaclavas beating large drums. The band started off well with <i>“Hunter”</i> and <i>“Search and Destroy”</i> among others, and there was a great audience response. A few songs in lead singer, Jared Leto, asked, “Where are my dreamers?” He then proceeded to ask the audience (in both French and English) to chant the name of the band’s new album, <i>“Love Lust Faith + Dreams”</i> before completely overdosing on saccharine, wrapping himself in a flag, declaring his undying love to the audience and France, and sweeping from a Rock God to a sycophant in a matter of moments. There seemed to be a mixed response from the audience, with some lapping up everything the frontman was saying, and others wandering away shaking their heads.<br />
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<span style="color: #f108ed;">Bloc Party</span> were next up on the Greenroom stage, starting with a rowdy version of <i>“Banquet”</i>. Drummer Matt Tong was notably absent from the line up but replacement Sarah Jones (<span style="color: #f108ed;">New Young Pony Club/Hot Chip</span>) did an absolutely blinding job of filling in in Matt’s absence. <span style="color: #f108ed;">Bloc Party</span> are due to go on another hiatus, so rumours that Tong has already left the band are rife. Nevertheless the band crashed through some of their best known hits, including <i>“Flux”</i> and <i>“One More Chance”</i>, breaking them up with more subdued tracks such as <i>“Truth”</i> and <i>“Waiting for the 7.18”</i>, before bowing out with a blistering rendition of <i>“Helicopter”</i>. I felt a bit sad that this might be the last time I would see <span style="color: #f108ed;">Bloc Party</span> if they do not return from their hiatus.<br />
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Over on the Main Stage <span style="color: #f108ed;">Green Day</span> received the best response of the day of any band, violently wading through their back catalogue to the obvious glee of the packed arena. They threw in an intro to <span style="color: #f108ed;">AC/DC</span>'s <i>“Highway To Hell”</i> and a mad sax rendition of <i>"The Theme From The Benny Hill Show"</i> amongst hits such as <i>“Basket Case”</i> and <i>“Wake Me Up When September Ends”</i>. It was a truly mental, but utterly brilliant set, which was topped off by a stunt they have employed before where they pull an audience member up onto the stage and have him sing and play the guitar before giving him the guitar. <br />
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<span style="color: #f108ed;">Enter Shikari</span>’s assignment was a mammoth one. They were tasked with following up <span style="color: #f108ed;">Green Day</span>’s performance over on the opposite stage and were also on immediately before dance titans <span style="color: #f108ed;">The Prodigy</span>. Despite the pressure, the band’s brand of dubstep fused rock measured up to the task fairly well. Now that darkness had set in the audience seemed more willing to mosh, although they were not quite fired up enough to do the usual epic crowd surfing fest that normally occurs during <i>“Juggernauts”</i>. Still, the band did a great performance in what must have been a daunting slot.<br />
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To the opening bars of <i>“Voodoo People”</i>, <span style="color: #f108ed;">The Prodigy</span> began their quest to bring the Main Stage to a close. The set started well, with the band throwing in <i>“Poison”</i>, <i>“Breathe”</i>, <i>“Omen”</i> and classic <i>“Firestarter”</i> amid MC Maxim’s usual chants about warriors (although he did come unstuck a bit when he tried to change his chant up to “Where are my French people?” Erm…what?). But it was at the start of <i>“Spitfire”</i> that things started to sadly unravel. <span style="color: #f108ed;">Netsky </span>had started his closing set on the Greenroom stage, and he was absolutely drowning out <span style="color: #f108ed;">The Prodigy</span>. <br />
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Yes, really. <br />
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The audience started to leave the Main Stage in droves because they simply could not hear properly, and <span style="color: #f108ed;">Netsky</span>’s more contemporary sound seemed to become irresistible draw. I guess Hospital Records (to whom both acts are signed) will not be troubled by that, but it must have been galling for <span style="color: #f108ed;">The Prodigy</span> to see their audience drifting away and being powerless to stop it. It was the first time I had ever left a set by <span style="color: #f108ed;">The Prodigy</span> disappointed, and I have been following them since 1991.<br />
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Meanwhile, <span style="color: #f108ed;">The Prodigy</span>’s loss was <span style="color: #f108ed;">Netsky</span>’s gain, and he and his entourage received a fantastic reception to the great set he was playing, which was enhanced further by a live drummer. Most of the remaining audience was dancing, and he seemed to manage to lift the disappointment left by the previous set, closing the night on a high. <br />
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<b><i>Click below to see the intro, my reviews of each day, and my verdict of the festival as a whole.</i></b><br />
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<span style="color: #f108ed; font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://nikkinoodlesdancemusic.blogspot.com/2013/07/festival-review-mainsquare-festival.html">Mainsquare Festival 2013, Intro</a></b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #f108ed; font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://nikkinoodlesdancemusic.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/festival-review-mainsquare-festival_8824.html">Mainsquare Festival 2013, Day 2</a></b></span><br />
Featuring Mike & the Mechanics, Klink Clock, Local Natives, Kodaline, Saez, Of Monsters & Men, The Hives, Asaf Avidan, Sting, Alt-J, Sting, deuS, C2C and Madeon<br />
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<span style="color: #f108ed; font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://nikkinoodlesdancemusic.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/festival-review-mainsquare-festival_4320.html">Mainsquare Festival 2013, Day 3</a></b></span><br />
Featuring Feini X Crew, Charles Bradley, Left Boy, Volbeat, La Femme, Puggy, Lou Doillon, Stereophonics, Kendrick Lamar, Archive, Wax Tailor and The Dusty Rainbow Experience and Indochine<br />
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<span style="color: #f108ed; font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://nikkinoodlesdancemusic.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/festival-review-mainsquare-festival_4766.html">Mainsquare Festival 2013: The Verdict</a></b></span><br />
<br />Nikki Noodleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04293259953023685686noreply@blogger.com0Citadelle d'Arras, 62000 Arras, France50.2828268 2.759714099999996550.242246300000005 2.6790330999999963 50.3234073 2.8403950999999967tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462029990561709286.post-73524015188018173142013-07-13T17:55:00.002+01:002016-04-14T15:41:11.739+01:00Festival Review - Mainsquare Festival, France - Intro<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #f108ed; font-size: small;"><b>Arras, France, 5-7 July 2013</b></span><br />
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Britain’s unpredictable weather is usually a fleeting consideration for those booking tickets to one of our many legendary music festivals. Most people expect at least a bit of rain at some point during the proceedings, even making cursory preparations for the odd downpour by taking a festival poncho and digging out their obligatory festival wellies, and maybe taking a blow up dinghy just in case.<br />
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But last summer was different. No one could really have predicted how wet the entire festival season was going to be. It is one that will go down in Britain’s music festival history as decidedly soggy.<br />
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At the <span style="color: #f108ed;">Isle of Wight Festival</span> many were stranded in gridlocked traffic, unable to reach the festival site. Those who did manage to get onto the site were met with a deep quagmire and the prospect of spending the entire weekend sleeping and dancing within a deep sea of mud. It was much the same picture at <span style="color: #f108ed;">T In The Park</span> and <span style="color: #f108ed;">Download</span>, and <span style="color: #f108ed;">Creamfields</span> even closed a day early, cancelling performances by the likes of <span style="color: #f108ed;">Tiesto</span>, <span style="color: #f108ed;">Deadmau5</span>, <span style="color: #f108ed;">Richie Hawtin</span> and <span style="color: #f108ed;">Paul van Dyk</span>.<br />
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With last summer’s water logged escapades still fresh in my head, I decided to book tickets further afield in a bid to go to at least one rain-free music festival this year. So off I went to <span style="color: #f108ed;">Mainsquare Festival</span> in Arras, France, the little sister of Belgium's <span style="color: #f108ed;">Rock Werchter Festival</span>.<br />
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The site, as the name suggests, is set around Arras’s main square, with the Main Stage in the square itself, and the Greenroom (or second stage) in the adjacent park. Both stages were open and very close together, leading to the first two issues: lack of any suitable shade, and terrible sound clashes. The only real shade was cast by a line of trees and a church in between the two stages, but standing there meant you could hear both stages at the same time (something which had a devastating effect on some of the bands). So to have any chance of only hearing the stage you were watching you had to stand in the blistering sun on the far side of each of the stages. <br />
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I know, I know, I wanted sun, so it was my own fault…<br />
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<b><i>Click below to see my reviews of each day, and my verdict of the festival as a whole.</i></b><br />
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<span style="color: #f108ed; font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://nikkinoodlesdancemusic.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/festival-review-mainsquare-festival_13.html">Mainsquare Festival 2013, Day 1</a></b></span><br />
Featuring Candide, Twin Forks, Balthazar, Rival Sons, Haim, Biffy Clyro, Modestep, Thirty Seconds To Mars, Bloc Party, Green day, Enter Shikari, The Prodigy and Netsky<br />
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<span style="color: #f108ed; font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://nikkinoodlesdancemusic.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/festival-review-mainsquare-festival_8824.html">Mainsquare Festival 2013, Day 2</a></b></span><br />
Featuring Mike & the Mechanics, Klink Clock, Local Natives, Kodaline, Saez, Of Monsters & Men, The Hives, Asaf Avidan, Sting, Alt-J, Sting, deuS, C2C and Madeon<br />
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<span style="color: #f108ed; font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://nikkinoodlesdancemusic.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/festival-review-mainsquare-festival_4320.html">Mainsquare Festival 2013, Day 3</a></b></span><br />
Featuring Feini X Crew, Charles Bradley, Left Boy, Volbeat, La Femme, Puggy, Lou Doillon, Stereophonics, Kendrick Lamar, Archive, Wax Tailor and The Dusty Rainbow Experience and Indochine<br />
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<span style="color: #f108ed; font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://nikkinoodlesdancemusic.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/festival-review-mainsquare-festival_4766.html">Mainsquare Festival 2013: The Verdict</a></b></span>Nikki Noodleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04293259953023685686noreply@blogger.com0Citadelle d'Arras, 62000 Arras, France50.2828268 2.759714099999996550.242246300000005 2.6790330999999963 50.3234073 2.8403950999999967tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462029990561709286.post-80831746611565517492013-05-26T11:16:00.000+01:002016-04-14T18:40:01.874+01:00New "Song Of The Day" posts coming from today on Facebook and Twitter!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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From today I'll be posting up a <span style="color: #f108ed;">"Song Of The Day"</span> on both my Facebook and Twitter feeds. The tracks will mostly be from up and coming bands that I love, and will cover various genres. This week I'll be concentrating on electronic music in all its various guises.<br />
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Feel free to share the posts and retweet the tweets - making people aware of new music and bands is what it's all about!<br />
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As always, I'd love to hear what you think so feel free to comment on the posts or tweet me!<br />
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Here are the links to my Facebook and Twitter accounts, so if you haven't already joined me over there, come and take a look:<br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/www.facebook.com/nikkinoodles.dancemusic">Facebook</a><br />
<a href="http://twitter.com/Nikki_Noodles_">Twitter</a><br />
Cheers<br />
Nikki
Nikki Noodleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04293259953023685686noreply@blogger.com0Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, UK51.815606 -0.80840000000000651.7370765 -0.96976150000000594 51.894135500000004 -0.64703850000000607tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462029990561709286.post-259347834655977602013-05-07T15:59:00.001+01:002016-04-14T18:39:35.005+01:00GIG REVIEW - Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, New Theatre Oxford<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #f108ed; font-size: small;"><b>New Theatre Oxford, 6th May 2013
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Support: John Foxx and The Maths
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After a warm and sunny May Day bank holiday the icing on the cake was still to come. <span style="color: #f108ed;">OMD</span> had chosen this date to bring their electronic bag of tricks to Oxford’s New Theatre to promote their latest album, <span style="color: #f108ed;">English Electric</span>, with support from <span style="color: #f108ed;">John Foxx and the Maths</span>. I was eagerly anticipating my first ever <span style="color: #f108ed;">OMD</span> show having been a hardened electronic fan since the early eighties and the days of <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Souvenir</i></span>, when I played that track over and over with tracks from the likes of Gary Newman, Human League, Blancmange and the mighty Depeche Mode. I’ve been a sucker for electro bands ever since, and to my astonishment I discovered that in that time <span style="color: #f108ed;">OMD</span> have released 12 albums. <br />
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<span style="color: #f108ed;">John Foxx and the Maths</span> (who are John Foxx and Benge) quietly took to the stage, playing a selection of tracks that took advantage of the addition of multi-instrumentalist Hannah Peel to the line up (who, I was interested to read, has previously worked with Blood Red Shoes, amongst others). Foxx was the original lead singer of Ultravox before Midge Ure took over, and has worked with many of the electronic scene’s legends. The waiting audience seemed to really enjoy their no nonsense performance. Foxx kept audience interaction to a minimum, adding to the mystery and moodiness of the set. The highlight of the set was a track called <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>The Running Man</i></span> from the band’s critically acclaimed album, <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Interplay</i></span>, which drew a very enthusiastic response from the crowd. <br />
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After a short wait <span style="color: #f108ed;">OMD</span> appeared for the first track of their set to cheers from the crowd, some of whom immediately leapt to their feet ready for a dance marathon. From the very start, lead singer Andy McCluskey did a flawless job of embracing and including the audience in the gig, sharing playful banter throughout the performance with both the rest of the band and the punters. He declared that the cure for too much barbeque food and sunburn was to have a good dance, and he joked with 15 audience members that they needed to dance harder to ensure a collapse of the “condemned” balcony onto the audience in the circle (cheekily adding that the theatre was insured for such an event). The other band members joined in, with fellow bandmate, Paul Humphreys, jesting that he’d “set the right sound up” for McCluskey when the pair swapped roles (with Humphreys on lead vocals and McCluskey on synth) for old favourite, <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>(Forever) Live and Die</i></span>. <br />
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They played a great mix of older 80s and 90s material with more recent tracks, airing crowd pleasers such as <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Tesla Girls</i></span>, <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Souvenir</i></span>, <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Maid Of Orleans</i></span>, <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Locomotion</i></span>, <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Joan Of Arc</i></span> and <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Sailing On The Seven Seas</i></span> alongside releases from their latest album, such as <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Dresden</i></span> (which has just been added to the Radio 2 playlist) and <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Metroland</i></span>. Throughout the gig the audience clapped, danced, sang and waved their arms with gusto (at times it felt a little like being on a cruise ship due to the mesmerising dancing and waving), with the biggest cheers saved for the final track of the set before the encore (the <span style="color: #f108ed;">OMD</span> classic, <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Enola Gay</i></span>), with every member of the audience on their feet and jigging about. <br />
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Coming back on for the encore, McCluskey was having a bit of shirt trouble – between going off the stage and coming back for the encore he was missing a button. Playing a roaring encore consisting of <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Walking On The Milky Way</i></span> (for which the audience obliged with singing duties) and <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Electricity</i></span>, McCluskey absent-mindedly fiddled with the phantom button while he danced about the stage. The band eventually retired triumphantly from the stage, the crowd cheering, clapping, whooping and whistling for all they were worth. <span style="color: #f108ed;">OMD</span> certainly raised the roof in Oxford! <br />
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<b>My review score: 8/10<br />
</b>Nikki Noodleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04293259953023685686noreply@blogger.com0Oxford, Oxfordshire, UK51.753866253723565 -1.25988185405731251.753559253723566 -1.260512354057312 51.754173253723565 -1.259251354057312tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462029990561709286.post-63323839408801439222013-04-30T14:22:00.000+01:002016-04-14T18:37:58.435+01:00GIG REVIEW - Two Door Cinema Club, Alexandra Palace, London<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #f108ed; font-size: small;"><b>Alexandra Palace, 27th April 2013<br />
Support: Chvrches, Everything Everything </b></span><br />
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It’s not every day that you’re blessed with the good fortune of finding out that a band you’ve been wanting to see for a while is supporting a band you already have tickets for. I was already really pleased to discover that <span style="color: #f108ed;">Everything Everything</span> were supporting <span style="color: #f108ed;">Two Door Cinema Club</span> at Saturday’s gig at the Ally Pally, but when I found out on Saturday morning that <span style="color: #f108ed;">Chvrches</span> were also supporting I was over the moon. I’ve been trying to see <span style="color: #f108ed;">Chvrches</span> for a while but diary clashes had conspired against me. And so I found myself in the crowd, with 17 friends, on Saturday night, eagerly awaiting their arrival on stage. <br />
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Kicking off their set with a slowed down version of the intro to Prince’s <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Let’s Go Crazy</i></span> was a promising start and <span style="color: #f108ed;">Chvrches</span> soon got into their stride, playing a selection of their electro-infused tracks, and swapping vocal and synth duties between the threesome. By the time they struck into their latest EP, <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Recover</i></span>, a large number of people in the crowd were bobbing and singing with them. <br />
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All too soon they disappeared backstage, leaving the scene set for <span style="color: #f108ed;">Everything Everything</span>, who drew whoops and whistles from the crowd with their opener, <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Cough Cough</i></span>. Speeding through their more popular tracks, including old favourite <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>My Kz Yr Bf</i></span> and new track <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Duet</i></span>, the audience were enthusiastic and eagerly clapped and uttered more whoops of encouragement. Both support acts received a great reception, which was well deserved as they really set up the party atmosphere that was ignited as soon as <span style="color: #f108ed;">Two Door Cinema Club</span> took to the stage. <br />
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With a huge roar from the waiting crowd <span style="color: #f108ed;">Two Door </span>started as they meant to go on, building on the electric atmosphere by playing their first four glee-inducing tracks almost back to back, with minimal crowd interaction in between (<span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Sleeps Alone</i></span>, <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Undercover Martyn</i></span>, <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Do You Want It All</i></span> and <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>This</i> <i>Is The Life</i></span>). At this point lead singer, Alex Trimble, addressed the crowd for the first time, humbly thanking the crowd for coming to their biggest UK show to date (which, incidentally, had sold out weeks in advance), and stating that while they were “super-excited to be here” they were also “shitting themselves”. <br />
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Next up was <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Wake Up</i></span> from the latest album (<span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Beacon</i></span>), followed by <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>You Are Not Stubborn</i></span> and <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Come Back Home</i></span> from the first album (<span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Tourist History</i></span>), and the crowd was partying so hard it began to feel like we were part of a big carnival (and actually, a huge conga procession would not have been out of place at all!). The lighting and laser show only served to heighten the carnival feel whilst the band ploughed through more material from the new album in the shape of <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Beacon</i></span> and <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Sun</i></span>. As the kick drum and spangly guitars of the intro to <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Pyramid</i></span> began the lasers came into their own, trapping the smoke from the stage into a mesmerising, laser-lined pyramid. Then came “Ah! Oh! Ah! Ah! Oh!”, signalling the start of <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>I Can Talk</i></span>, and sending the crowd into a whooping frenzy. <br />
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I noticed that there was a slight dip in the dancing activities during <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Costume Party</i></span>, although this could be because it was released as the B side to <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>I Can Talk</i></span> and it does not appear on their albums, so it’s possibly less well known. Nevertheless it’s a great track that continues their knack of producing jangly, grin inducing tunes. In any event, a singalong was next on the agenda, with Trimble asking the audience to fill in for one-time vocalist Valentina on <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>The World Is Watching</i></span>, and the crowd continuing this theme into <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Next Year</i></span>, <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Something Good Can Work</i></span> and <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Handshake</i></span>. <br />
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After thanking the crowd again, the band launched into their final two tracks of the set <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Eat That Up It’s Good For You</i></span> and It’s Too Late) releasing a net full of large white balloons onto the dancing crowd below. The atmosphere was almost indescribable. The band disappeared offstage but the crowd continued to cheer, chase the balloons and party. Within moments they were back, and launched into <span style="color: #f108ed;">Someday</span> in a maze of lasers and balloons, followed by <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Cigarettes In The Theatre</i></span>. The band then addressed the crowd once again, thanking them for a “truly life-changing, unforgettable experience”. And then, amid a plethora of showering streamers, they played the final track of the night, <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>What You Know</i></span> to the elated party goers in front of them. <br />
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If I could give the entire gig 11 out of 10, I would. The support acts were great and really set the crowd up for the main event, <span style="color: #f108ed;">Two Door Cinema Club</span> completely outplayed themselves with an absolute sack load of party friendly tracks, and the atmosphere was electric and akin to being amid a carnival (helped by the balloons, lasers and streamers of course). The only thing missing was that conga procession. <br />
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My voice was shredded, my feet were throbbing, and I had that hangover feeling the next day even though I hadn’t touched a drop of alcohol. That is the sign of an exceptional gig! <br />
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<b>My review score: 11/10 (....ok, ok…rules are rules I suppose....10/10 then)</b> <br />
<br />Nikki Noodleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04293259953023685686noreply@blogger.com0Alexandra Park, London Borough of Haringey, London, UK51.593659521496349 -0.1304236519287087551.588727521496352 -0.14050865192870876 51.598591521496346 -0.12033865192870875tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462029990561709286.post-84469742625516712632013-04-22T16:06:00.003+01:002013-04-22T16:08:33.015+01:00Exciting news! Check out my new "Reading Randoms" column at Strictly Reading & Leeds!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I’m really excited to announce that I have a new column over on the Strictly Reading and Leeds website, called “Reading Randoms”. It’s based on my popular “Unearthing Hidden Gems” series that I’ve been publishing on this blog for some time, but is mostly focused on Reading and Leeds Festival bands, with a weekly “Curveball”. <br />
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So every week I randomly pick four tracks by bands that have played at Reading and Leeds Festival over the years. Like my “Unearthing Hidden Gems” posts, selection is completely random, with tracks being plucked via my itunes shuffle feature from the huge number of tracks released by the vast array of bands that have graced the stages over the years. The fifth track is a “Curveball” from a band that has not played the Festival. <br />
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The aim is to spark some great memories of past festivals and bands, and to introduce some new music to those who have not seen or heard of the bands or tracks. <br />
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Head over to the Strictly Reading & Leeds site to see this week’s edition by <a href="http://www.strictlyrandl.com/features/reading-randoms/">clicking this link </a>. I hope you like it! <br />
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More exciting news to come shortly….. :-)Nikki Noodleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04293259953023685686noreply@blogger.com0Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, UK51.815606 -0.80840000000000651.7370765 -0.96976150000000594 51.894135500000004 -0.64703850000000607tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462029990561709286.post-37863176919774318252013-04-02T14:02:00.000+01:002016-04-14T18:35:05.496+01:00GIG REVIEW - Biffy Clyro, LG Arena Birmingham<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #f108ed; font-size: small;"><b>LG Arena Birmingham, 21st March 2013<br />
Support: City and Colour</b></span><br />
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Having been elevated to headline status for Reading and Leeds Festivals this August, <span style="color: #f108ed;">Biffy Clyro</span> are working hard to prove that they are ready and worthy of their coveted headline spot, starting the year with a 24 date European tour (11 of those in the UK), then jetting off to the US and Canada for another 11 dates, and finally playing 6 European festivals before taking to the Main Stage at Reading and Leeds. Given their usual style of being quite insular when they play (in that they are so into what they are playing that they go into a “band huddle” and they forget they have an audience) and the fact that, despite having six studio albums under their belt, they are fairly new to the UK’s mainstream music chart (although they have been on the rock circuit for years), it is perhaps understandable why there is scepticism as to whether they will be capable of being a memorable Reading and Leeds headliner.<br />
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Taking to the stage at the LG Arena in Birmingham for their second UK date, amid the crowd’s cries of “Mon the Biff!” (being the fans’ usual affectionate chant for the band), the band burst onto the stage in their usual topless state to open with <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Different People</i></span>, the first track of their latest album, <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Opposites</i></span>. They the thrashed their way through <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>That Golden Rule</i></span> and <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Sounds Like Balloons</i></span> to the obvious joy of the crowd, who went into a moshing frenzy. It wasn’t until the start of <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Black Chandelier</i></span> that lead singer Simon Neil said a rather sheepish “hello” to the crowd before leading the first of a number of calmer mass sing-alongs, which befitted the arena setting perfectly.<br />
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As the gig progressed, the band emulated the sentiment of <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Opposites</i></span> perfectly by expertly steering the crowd through instants of ferocious moshing and “lighter in the air” moments, with the set list veering from one extreme to the other in a dizzying, but gratifying, haze. A frantic <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Modern Magic Formula</i></span> was followed by a beautiful rendition of <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Opposite</i></span> , before bassist James Johnston cheekily tried to stoke up a fight between the fans of the previous opening night (in Newcastle) with the Birmingham fans with the usual baiting of “they were good but I think you’ll be better”. After playing <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Justboy</i></span> from their first album, <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Blackened Sky</i></span> , the band launched into <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Living Is A Problem Because Everything Dies</i></span> from <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Puzzle</i></span> , at which point a massive circle pit opened up in front of the stage and the fans went ballistic. The stops and starts of this track were played by the band so tightly that you wouldn’t have even got a gnat’s whisker in between them. It was absolutely breathtaking.<br />
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On a roll, and obviously warming to the task of bringing the audience into the band, Neil declared that he wanted to see the whole arena bounce for <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Bubbles</i></span>, and the audience duly obliged, jumping and singing this popular track as if their lives depended on it. After calming the pace down with <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Victory Over The Sun</i></span>, the band jokingly berated the fans in the seated area of the arena (most of which had been alternating between sitting and standing, but who were almost all seated for the last track) by stating, “You in the seats! You need to get up! This is a fucking rock concert!” And to the opening bars of <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>A Day Of...</i></span> from the album <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>The Vertigo Of Bliss</i></span>, the seated fans leapt up and went for it!<br />
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Following another mass sing-along for their newest single release, <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Biblical</i></span>, and <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Spanish Radio</i></span>, the band launched into <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>There's Such Thing As A Jaggy Snake</i></span> from <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Infinity Land</i></span>, at the end of which Neil scrawled the number 26 on a backboard and showed it to the crowd before the band perfectly executed 26 chops to close the song. The band, including the backing musicians but excluding Neil, all exited the stage while Neil walked out onto a runway and into the crowd to play an acoustic version of <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>God and Satan</i></span>. His performance was so captivating that it was almost as if he was playing to just me in a room. He was then joined by bassist Johnston for <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>The Thaw</i></span> and <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Machines</i></span>, with both band members providing an equally entrancing acoustic performance. <br />
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This didn’t last long, however, due to the sudden frenzy of dance-style lazers, bass and beats that introduced <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Glitter and Trauma</i></span>, which led the audience into a 3-track mini-mosh including the brilliant <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Who's Got A Match</i></span> and <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>The Joke's On Us</i></span>. And then it happened: the “Coldplay moment”. The band struck up for <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Many Of Horror</i></span> and the crowd blew the roof off of the arena as they joined in with the band, singing at the tops of their lungs. Finishing the set with <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Picture A Knife Fight</i></span> and an absolutely outstanding rendition of <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>The Captain</i></span> the band retreated backstage to more shouts of “Mon the Biff!”<br />
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After some frantic rearrangements of the stage area by the band’s techies, Neil reappeared for the encore at the top of a set of stairs, to a spot which appeared to be at the base of a spine. The band then played <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Skylight</i></span> and the more upbeat <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Stingin' Belle</i></span> before saving <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Mountains</i></span> for their last track of the night, which elicited more singing and bouncing from the crowd.<br />
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Playing a wide range of tracks from all six of their studio albums, and performing a perfectly balanced set list ranging from heavy rock to sing-along ballads, the band were fantastically tight and threw themselves completely into the gig. They have obviously worked on the “insular effect”, and whilst they still have these moments (which have obviously benefitted the band’s tightness, and which are necessary to maintain that tightness) they are now more mindful of the fact they have an audience too, and are more comfortable and adept at bringing the audience into this world. This, coupled with the interesting nature of many of their tracks due to their trademark of mixing unusual time signatures, can only lead to one conclusion…<br />
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<span style="color: #f108ed; font-size: small;"><b>Is Biffy Clyro worthy of a headline spot at Reading and Leeds, and will they be memorable? </b></span><br />
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Absolutely, especially if they perform as fantastically as they did at this gig, mixing moshing with sing-along material, and providing a tight performance whilst making the audience feel that they are part of the band. If they do, their slot is sure to be a hit with their fans and should also bring many new fans into the fold. <br />
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<b>My review score: 10/10</b><br />
<br />Nikki Noodleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04293259953023685686noreply@blogger.com0LG Arena, Birmingham52.449493565583786 -1.720905303955078152.444655065583788 -1.730990303955078 52.454332065583785 -1.7108203039550782tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462029990561709286.post-2952574168301340872013-03-27T19:01:00.000+00:002013-03-27T19:01:17.156+00:00GIG REVIEW - Helen Sanderson-White, Trinity Church, Aylesbury<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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With four albums behind her, and the release of her fifth due imminently, <span style="color: #f108ed;">Helen Sanderson-White</span> chose the beautiful and intimate venue of the Trinity Church in Aylesbury to showcase her new material alongside some of her previous tracks, throwing a few covers into the mix for good measure.<br />
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From the very start of the performance Helen drew the audience in to her world, chatting easily and telling the stories of each of the tracks she had chosen to perform. With her trusty sidekick and husband at the helm of the sound and light controls, the pair provided an additional dimension to the show by performing as a double act, sharing witty banter throughout and putting the audience completely at ease. Helen chose to alternate performing to her backing tracks with playing whilst at her piano, which added a further interesting facet to the intimate gig.<br />
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Starting out with two of the tracks from her previous album, <span style="color: #f108ed;">At Second Glance</span>, Helen then introduced the first of the tracks from her new album, <span style="color: #f108ed;">Sirens and other Mysteries</span>, explaining that the song, <span style="color: #f108ed;">All These Chains</span>, was borne out of the frustration of all of the tasks we weigh ourselves down with in modern life. This was followed by a beautiful rendition of a cover by a childhood influence; <i>Carole King</i>’s, <span style="color: #f108ed;">You've Got A Friend</span>. <br />
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Explaining the story behind the second track of the night from the new album, Helen recalled that she had written <span style="color: #f108ed;">I'll Be With You</span> after waking up in the middle of the night with the song in her head in the run up to the wedding of a close friend, and the song was now affectionately known as "The Wedding Song" by them, having been dedicated to the happy couple. Following up with a track from her 2006 album, <span style="color: #f108ed;">Fallen But Not Fatal</span>, the audience was then treated to a goody bag containing various treats before Helen sang the final song of her first set, <span style="color: #f108ed;">Without You</span>, from the new album.<br />
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Kicking off the second set, Helen chose to sing another track from her previous album before introducing a new track, <span style="color: #f108ed;">If That's The Way</span>. In doing so, Helen opened her heart to the audience by telling the story of how the track came about, explaining that the track came at a difficult time in her life following, almost simultaneously, the miscarriage of a much wanted baby and her husband losing his job. A studio session was booked three weeks after these terrible events, and at the session her producer, Andy Baker, had asked her to sum up how she felt about it in one sentence. Helen replied, “If that’s the way it has to be…”, and a song was born. Helen then recorded the song on the same day through a sea of tears and stops and starts. The song is so beautiful, and was sung by Helen at the intimate gig with such feeling and vulnerability, that many in the audience struggled to maintain composure, myself included. This was followed up by another great cover, this time of the <i>Bob Dylan</i> classic, <span style="color: #f108ed;">Make You Feel My Love</span>, which has more latterly been made popular by <i>Adele</i>. <br />
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After singing another track from the new album, Helen skilfully lightened the mood with the tale of how the following song, <span style="color: #f108ed;">Since I Met You</span>, from her 2004 album, <span style="color: #f108ed;">Conversations With The Heart</span>, was conceived. After being pursued by her now husband at university for some time Helen finally gave in and started dating him, and she was so consumed by the relationship that her normally organised world went into complete chaos, sparking the lyrics for this catchy song. This track was followed by another from the new album, <span style="color: #f108ed;">When The Time Comes</span>, before the upbeat <span style="color: #f108ed;">Never Too Late</span> rounded off the evening. <br />
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Helen’s relaxed style, combined with the charming intimate venue and great set list, served to create a perfect and emotional performance which captivated the audience and took her to their hearts. <br />
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Helen’s new album, <span style="color: #f108ed;">Sirens and other Mysteries</span>, is released on 5th April 2013 and will be available digitally from iTunes, Amazon, CDBaby and on CD from <a href="http://www.helensandersonwhite.com/">www.helensandersonwhite.com</a>. <br />
<br />Nikki Noodleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04293259953023685686noreply@blogger.com0Trinity Church, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, UK51.812554944161505 -0.8078421005247946651.810100944161505 -0.81288460052479461 51.815008944161505 -0.80279960052479471tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462029990561709286.post-47083178366296285782013-03-25T18:18:00.001+00:002013-03-27T18:46:00.114+00:00EP REVIEW- Among The Echoes, "Freak"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Following their popular gig at Birmingham’s O2 Academy in January Birmingham band, <span style="color: #f108ed;">Among The Echoes</span>, have been busy recording a new four track EP, <span style="color: #f108ed;">Freak</span>. The addition of producer and guitarist Sam Wale to the band’s line up has added both a new dimension and sparkle to their already polished sound, which skilfully manages to fuse 80s electronica akin to <i>Fiction Factory</i>, <i>Talk Talk </i>and <i>Depeche Mode </i>with a more contemporary sound such as that from indietronica band <i>M83</i>. <br />
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The lead track, <span style="color: #f108ed;">Freak</span>, is an absolute earworm that swirls its way into your head with captivating ethereal synths, heavy bass, and dark vocals before stomping into the chorus with an uplifting 80s synth riff and vocals akin to <i>Siouxsie Sioux </i>and <i>David Bowie</i>, courtesy of Rachael O’Hara and Ian Wall respectively. The following song, <span style="color: #f108ed;">Talk Talk</span>, continues this powerful theme teaming Phil Lockhart’s brilliantly fuzzy bassline with escalating vocals which become fantastically needy by the end of the track. Steve Turrell’s soaring synth in the chorus intensifies the great drop that follows, with the band’s trademark dark edge being present throughout.<br />
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Whilst still firmly in the same vein, <span style="color: #f108ed;">Pure</span>, manages to bring a slightly more rock feel to the table courtesy of a gritty guitar backdrop in the chorus. The vocals are softer than the previous two tracks but this provides a great contrast, and serves to create a fantastic build up to the final track, <span style="color: #f108ed;">Feels Like Heaven</span>. This track covers <i>Fiction Factory</i>’s popular electronic hit of the 80s in a new, unexpected way, resulting in nostalgic electronica with a new twist. With a slow, moody beat overlaid by an otherworldly synth and gravelly rock guitar, the vocals weave in and out of the verses and chorus to an escalating interlude, before bringing the EP to a shuddering close. <i>Fiction Factory’s Eddie Jordan </i>gives a ringing endorsement of <span style="color: #f108ed;">Among The Echoes</span>’ new version of <span style="color: #f108ed;">Feels Like Heaven</span> calling it “amazing”, and he is not wrong.<br />
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With fantastic production by Sam Wale, fans of dark wave, 80s electronica and indie synth pop will not be disappointed with this EP. <span style="color: #f108ed;">Freak</span> is released for digital download on 1st April and is available on Amazon, iTunes, CDBaby and the usual digital outlets.<br />
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<b><font size=3>Hear the first exclusive radio play of the EP in full on Johnny Normal's Radio Show at <a href="http://www.radio-happy.com/">www.radio-happy.com</a> on Tuesday 26th March between 20:00 and 22:00 UK time!</font></b>
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<b>Track listing:</b><br />
<span style="color: #f108ed;">1. Freak <br />
2. Talk Talk<br />
3. Pure<br />
4. Feels Like Heaven</span><br />
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<b>Links:</b><br />
<a href="http://www.amongtheechoes.co.uk/"><span style="color: #f108ed;">Among The Echoes website</span></a><br />
<a href="http://www.samwaleproductions.com/"><span style="color: #f108ed;">Sam Wale Productions website</span></a><br />
<br />Nikki Noodleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04293259953023685686noreply@blogger.com0Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, UK51.815606 -0.80840000000000651.7370765 -0.96976150000000594 51.894135500000004 -0.64703850000000607tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462029990561709286.post-1619451763173106652013-02-23T14:45:00.000+00:002016-04-14T18:26:16.202+01:00GIG REVIEW - Bloc Party, Earls Court London<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #f108ed; font-size: small;"><b> Earls Court London, 22nd February 2013<br />
Support: Old Men, The Joy Formidable</b></span><br />
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Having already completed 20 dates in the US, Japan and Europe this year, this was the final date of the European leg of the tour before <span style="color: #f108ed;">Bloc Party</span> embark on a 14 date tour of Australia, New Zealand and Asia Pacific. The gig was their largest UK performance to date (aside from any festivals), playing at the 19,000 capacity Earls Court One venue. <br />
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Kicking off to a backdrop of lasers and a huge halogen logo from their latest album, <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Four</i></span>, the band threw themselves into the first 13 track first set with a frantic version of <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>And So He Begins To Lie</i></span>, immediately followed by the ever popular <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Hunting For Witches</i></span>. Frontman Kele Okereke was on top form, bantering with the attentive audience and introducing each track by relaying the sentiment behind it, including <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Waiting For The 7.18</i></span> which he described as being “about public transport”, prompting a huge cheer from the crowd. This was followed up by a fantastically tight performance of both <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Song For Clay (Disappear Here)</i></span> and <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Banquet</i></span>, to the obvious glee of the crowd who sang and jumped around like their lives depended on it. At this point I got slightly distracted. It was extremely dark in the venue, with the only light coming from the stage, making the lad directly in front of me look like some kind of cross between a body popper and the Churchill nodding dog due to the strange type of jigging he was executing. It amused me so much that I almost missed some very interesting screenshots of the crowd that were being transmitted from the large screen either side of the stage (the crowd were, at that point, frantically moshing to <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Coliseum</i></span>).<br />
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The band performed an impressive array of tracks from all four of their studio albums, with selected songs being performed in a frenzy of lazers and strobes. The end of the first set was marked with “something different” in the shape of <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>One More Chance</i></span>, and <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Octopus</i></span>. The band then disappeared without a word, to the bemusement of the audience, before reappearing a few minutes later to open the 4 track “Round Two” with <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Kreuzberg</i></span>, which Okereke dedicated to his parents. Finishing the set with an absolutely blistering version of <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Flux</i></span> (preceded by the intro to <span style="color: #f108ed;">Rihanna’s</span> <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>We Found Love</i></span>), the band once again disappeared. <br />
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The first track of the encore was a new one, <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Ratchet</i></span>, which Okereke confirmed had not even yet been recorded, and had only been aired live for the first time in Missouri on the US leg of January 2013’s tour dates. The track itself has the unmistakeable Bloc Party sound, and features an interesting pitch-bending guitar riff, which the crowd eagerly embraced. The following track, <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Truth</i></span>, had been the subject of an email to their mailing list a few days beforehand, where the band encouraged the crowd to download an app to their iPhones and film footage of the track being performed, and this footage would be collected via the app and a video made from the best bits. Okereke seemed a bit uncertain about this concept, but nevertheless asked the crowd to record the track as it was being performed. The final track of the night, <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Helicopter</i></span>, was performed amid an array of lasers to the partying crowd, before the band took their final bows and left the stage. <br />
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Although the venue was not sold out it did not deter the band, who performed a great mix of old favourites and new material, and at least this gave the crowd more room to dance. The gig did perhaps suffer slightly at times in terms of atmosphere due to the size of the venue, but overall the band and crowd had a good rapport. Once again the band showed off their great musicianship, and the tightness of the band really shone through. <br />
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<b>My review score: 8/10</b><br />
<br />Nikki Noodleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04293259953023685686noreply@blogger.com0Earls Court Exhibition Centre, Warwick Road, London, Greater London SW5 9TA, UK51.489827 -0.1969380000000455825.967792499999998 -41.505532000000045 77.0118615 41.111655999999954tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462029990561709286.post-29565481796145891552013-02-20T10:56:00.000+00:002016-04-14T18:21:21.038+01:00GIG REVIEW – Delphic, Oxford Academy<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #f108ed; font-size: small;"><b>O2 Academy Oxford, 18th February 2013<br />
Support: Delphic DJs</b></span><br />
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Having recently released their second album, <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Collections</i></span>, to a largely underwhelmed response, <span style="color: #f108ed;">Delphic</span> are back on the live circuit and are currently on an 18 date European tour. The new album sees a departure from the guitar and synth electronica of their first album, <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Acolyte</i></span>, to a new direction which is heavily influenced by 80s R&B and hip hop. Their current tour is supported by what is billed as “Delphic DJs”.<br />
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Breaking out with a strong start, the band launched the show with the lead single from the new album, <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Baiya</i></span>. With the new addition of live drums the set cantered straight into old favourite, <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Halcyon</i></span>, before slowing for <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Freedom Found</i></span> from the new album. This track worked extremely well live, with the simple bass and shaker background of the verses providing a good contrast to the busier choruses. The set continued into <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Memeo</i></span>, which again worked well live before slowing into a hip hop style intro for <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Clarion Call</i></span>, which was one of the highlights of the whole set.<br />
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<span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Don’t Let The Dreamers Take You Away</i></span> followed, and although this track is one of the weaker ones on their new album, the addition of a new upbeat section at the back end of the track really lifted it, turning a mediocre track into a good one. To a massive whoop from the crowd, the band then embarked on <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Red Lights</i></span>, <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>This Momentary</i></span> and <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Doubt</i></span> from the first album, with all tracks including some epic bass and guitar licks and great vocals. Closing the set with <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Atlas</i></span> from the new album seemed to be a strange choice, but again this track worked well live even though the bass was slightly overwhelming in some places.<br />
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After the briefest of intervals the band came back for a 3 track encore (or “non-core” as the band put it) consisting of <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>The Sun Also Rises</i></span> from the new album followed by old favourites <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Counterpoint</i></span> and <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Acolyte</i></span> from the first album. The former song was the weakest of the whole set but was mercifully cut short in favour of launching (albeit in a slightly disjointed manner) into the final two tracks, both of which were great but which both suffered at times from being overwhelmingly loud, meaning that some of the best parts of the tracks were sometimes lost amongst the sheer wall of noise.<br />
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During the set the band largely dispensed with any chit chat in favour of stringing tracks together and, although this is sometimes a disappointment to the audience who like to feel part of the band that they are watching, in this instance it really suited the set well. Despite a lukewarm reception to their new album, Delphic really showed why live music rocks by completely changing the feel of that album and adapting it into a great live performance which lived up to the brilliance of <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Acolyte</i></span>.<br />
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My review score: 7 out of 10Nikki Noodleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04293259953023685686noreply@blogger.com0O2 Academy Oxford, Cowley Road, Oxford51.746876856700467 -1.234442519604499551.745647856700465 -1.2369640196044995 51.748105856700469 -1.2319210196044994tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462029990561709286.post-51881559595401128522013-02-15T11:48:00.000+00:002016-04-14T18:19:23.343+01:00GIG REVIEW – Everything Everything, Oxford Academy<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #f108ed; font-size: small;"><b>O2 Academy Oxford, 14th February 2013<br />
Support: Outfit</b></span><br />
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With their second album release, <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Arc</i></span>, having recently peaked in the chart at number 5, Manchester-based indie pop band <span style="color: #f108ed;">Everything Everything</span> are currently on a 21 date tour of the UK and Europe. Having already sold out all of the UK dates, the tour will conclude with them jetting off for two shows in LA and New York before finally returning to the UK to support <span style="color: #f108ed;">Two Door Cinema Club</span> at the Alexandra Palace on 27th April. <br />
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<span style="color: #f108ed;">Everything Everything’s</span> support, <span style="color: #f108ed;">Outfit</span>, kicked off the evening by bringing their brand of art rock to the Oxford Academy. Their style was relaxed and slightly reminiscent of <span style="color: #f108ed;">Delphic</span>, with synth and guitar combinations galore. The lead singer chatted to the crowd before the band brought their short set to a close with an excellent upbeat track. <br />
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During the changeover, and looking around the crowd, it struck me how diverse the audience was. Usually the O2 Academy Oxford is almost exclusively filled with students and those within the 18-25 age bracket, but Everything Everything’s sold out gig had attracted a sizeable number of people over 25, which is great to see. As a result there was no frantic moshing and throwing of beer, but rather an audience who was captivated by the performance of the band, and who sang and clapped along just as enthusiastically as the usual moshing crowd does. It made a very refreshing change. <br />
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As the lights dimmed <span style="color: #f108ed;">Everything Everything</span> finally broke onto the stage to start their set. Starting with <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>_Arc_</i></span> from the new album, the band sauntered through a packed track list that spanned both of their albums, filled with moody and melodic synths, jaunty beats, staccato guitars and strings, and the unmistakeable falsetto vocals of lead singer, Jonathan Higgs. By the time the band got to their latest single, <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Kemosabe</i></span>, the crowd was singing and clapping with great enthusiasm. The set really shone for the excellent vocals and harmonies, particularly in the band’s upcoming new single, <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Duet</i></span>, but it was the rendition of slightly rocked-up <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Suffragette Suffragette</i></span> that really showed how tight the band has become. <br />
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Higgs talked to the crowd frequently, and I marvelled at the contrast between his speaking voice, which is quite low and gruff, and his singing voice. This perhaps explains the great range of his vocals, which skip around as much as they produce soaring, pitch perfect legato phrases. <br />
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Playing crowd pleasers including <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Schoolin’</i></span> from first album, <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Man Alive</i></span>, the band treated the audience to tracks from both albums, including <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Armourland</i></span> and <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Choice Mountain</i></span> before finishing the set with the brilliant <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Cough Cough</i></span>. After much baying for more, the band appeared for their four track encore that started with the ever popular <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>My Kz Ur Bf</i></span> and ended with <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Don’t Try</i></span>. <br />
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Even with a couple of strange set list choices (such as choosing the downbeat <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>The House Is Dust</i></span> for the penultimate track of the encore, which prompted those who wanted to beat the crowd to make an early exit), <span style="color: #f108ed;">Everything Everything</span> executed a great performance that contrasted beautiful vocals with their trademark quirky synths and beats. The crowd’s response to <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Cough Cough</i></span> might have made that track a better choice for their final track of the encore, but overall the band have shown that they mean business, and are serious contenders for the indie pop crown. <br />
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My review score: 8/10<br />
<br />Nikki Noodleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04293259953023685686noreply@blogger.com0O2 Academy, Oxford51.746504868631092 -1.233670043408210451.744047368631094 -1.2387125434082105 51.748962368631091 -1.2286275434082103tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462029990561709286.post-19021497613181085132013-01-31T15:02:00.000+00:002016-04-14T18:15:43.426+01:00What A Week!Phew! What a week! Things have been absolutely mental in the Noodles studio...<br />
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<span style="color: #f108ed;">Helen Sanderson-White</span> and I released our latest collaboration, <i>"I Need A Hallelujah"</i>, last Monday (21st Jan), and its first radio airing was on Sunday on <span style="color: #f108ed;">Radio Bicester</span>.<br />
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<span style="color: #f108ed;">Radio Bicester</span> has added both <i>"I Need A Hallelujah"</i> and our previous collaboration, <i>"Insane"</i>, to its jukebox so if you <a href="http://www.radiobicester.co.uk/"><u>tune in to the station</u></a> you're likely to hear them! <br />
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The new track also featured on <span style="color: #f108ed;">SkyHigh Radio's</span> <a href="http://www.unsignedwednesdays.com/"><u>"Unsigned Wednesdays"</u></a> show on Wednesday (30th Jan), and we had loads of great feedback!<br />
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Another first - I put together a video for <i>"I Need A Hallelujah"</i> (all of the tracks I've previously been involved in have not had a video), and I enjoyed doing it so much that I think all of my future releases are likely to get one! You can see the video on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/NikkiNoodlesMusic?feature=watch"><u>my YouTube channel</u></a> here:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/R6ZyYodr9bs" width="560"></iframe><br />
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I also started work on a set for a special gig I'm doing in March, which will involve a completely remixed and produced set of both original material and electronic covers, with accompanying visuals. I'm really excited about it, especially as it will also feature sets from my other musical project and vice, my rock covers band.<br />
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Away from the music production side of things, I managed to get my review of <span style="color: #f108ed;">Delphic's</span> new album, <i>"Collections"</i> published by three fantastic music review sites. So not only is it published in all of its raw glory on my blog, it is now featured in various edits on <a href="http://www.strictlyrandl.com/tag/nikki-hoath/"><u>Strictly Reading & Leeds</u></a>, <a href="http://www.thegigreview.co.uk/author/nikkihoath/"><u>The Gig Review</u></a>, and <a href="http://www.electric-banana.co.uk/reviews/album-reviews/delphic-collections/"><u>Electric Banana</u></a>!<br />
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I've also been busy making a list of topics for upcoming blogs. If there's something musical that you particularly want to see, get in touch! I've got a heap of gigs coming up, and a whole load of albums and singles to review, so I think my Dictaphone's going to be worn out by the end of it!! But as my tagline is <span style="color: #f108ed;"><b>"Life's too short not to do something you love"</b></span> I know I'm going to enjoy every minute of it. :0) <br />
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So all in all, it's been a very busy week! YAY!!<br />
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<span style="color: #f108ed; font-size: small;">Got any comments? Feel like heckling? Want to get something off your chest? Speak now or forever hold your peace.... ;-)</span></Nikki Noodleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04293259953023685686noreply@blogger.com0Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, UK51.815606 -0.80840000000000651.7370765 -0.96976150000000594 51.894135500000004 -0.64703850000000607tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462029990561709286.post-87877068915580137262013-01-28T16:48:00.000+00:002016-04-14T18:13:07.301+01:00ALBUM REVIEW - Delphic, "Collections"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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From the moment I saw <span style="color: #f108ed;">Delphic</span> at Reading Festival in 2009 I was smitten with their style of guitar electro. They were my little gem of the Festival and I couldn’t wait to see them again. I went to the first <span style="color: #f108ed;">Delphic</span> gig I could, which happened to be at the <i>Oxford’s O2 Academy</i> the following January. The gig was small but perfect, and it coincided with the release of their first album, <span style="color: #f108ed;">“Acolyte”</span>. And since that gig I have played that album to death. <br />
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So you could say that I was rather impatient to get my hands on their next album. I knew it would have a lot to live up to, given the brilliance of <span style="color: #f108ed;">“Acolyte”</span>, and finally, some three years after that first album was released, today sees the release of their second album, <span style="color: #f108ed;">“Collections” </span> (although the band has been streaming it online for the last couple of weeks). <br />
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Starting with the first track, <span style="color: #f108ed;">“Of The Young”</span>, I first had to check that the cones in my speakers hadn’t blown because there was a bit of distortion and a strangeness in balance which seemed out of place. After testing other stuff I soon realised that this is a feature of this song, but for me it was very distracting. For the first song of the album it didn’t stand out for me like the first track of their previous album (the fantastic <span style="color: #f108ed;">“Clarion Call”</span> which is my favourite track on the entire album, mostly because it’s one of those tracks that blows stress away at full volume when main part of the song kicks in). I was a little disappointed because the impact just wasn’t there. <br />
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Moving onto <span style="color: #f108ed;">“Baiya”</span>, the lead single of the album which was previewed at the end of 2012, this does sound a lot more like the old <span style="color: #f108ed;">Delphic</span>. It has more electronic elements and a driving beat throughout, and a nice acoustic break. This is followed by <span style="color: #f108ed;"> “Changes”</span> which opens with vocals and a simple piano riff, and becomes more electronic than the previous two tracks. However it is slow paced and laboured, and the influence of the 80s R&B and hip hop that the band admitted they had listened to while writing the album is evident. This track is followed by another slow paced song, <span style="color: #f108ed;">“Freedom Found”</span>, which again really reflects the same influences. <br />
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The next track, <span style="color: #f108ed;">“Atlas”</span>, is the best track so far. It reminds me, for some reason, of <i>Fleetwood Mac</i>, perhaps because of the plodding kick drum. It has a pleasing balance of ethereal vocals, good guitar riff and a nice bridge section, and they have even tried to shoehorn a bit of dubstep in there. <span style="color: #f108ed;">“Tears Before Bedtime”</span> follows, starting with a one-sided phone conversation and some haunting piano with some really stunning drifting vocals. The track is beautifully executed….until the muted trumpet chimes in. Sadly, for me, this detracts from the song completely, making it sound like 80s TV music, which is a crying shame because otherwise the track is great. <br />
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<span style="color: #f108ed;">“The Sun Also Rises”</span> starts more promisingly, with more pace and a good bassline, and is more memorable than the tracks at the start of the album. After that, <span style="color: #f108ed;">“Memeo”</span>, for me, is the best track on the album. The hip hop influence is clear (there’s even a <i>Justin Timberlake</i>-esque “Oh” on a loop in the background), but it is also reminiscent of <i>Everything Everything</i>, and is more like the old <span style="color: #f108ed;">Delphic</span>. <br />
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<span style="color: #f108ed;">“Don’t Let The Dreamers Take You Away”</span>, is a strange mix of their old style (in the verses) and hip hop (in the chorus). It doesn’t work for me at all, and the result is that it just goes on a bit. The penultimate track, <span style="color: #f108ed;">“Exotic”</span>, starts with a bit of beatboxing, and is another slow-paced track which sits firmly in the hip hop genre, complete with rapping. Personally I don’t think that style suits <span style="color: #f108ed;">Delphic</span> whatsoever. <br />
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Finally, the re-edit of <span style="color: #f108ed;">“Good Life”</span> is a more uplifting end to the album, harking back to the more electronic roots of the band’s previous album. <br />
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Overall I have to say that, as an ardent fan of <span style="color: #f108ed;">Delphic’s</span> electro guitar style of <span style="color: #f108ed;">“Acolyte”</span>, I was a tad disappointed by <span style="color: #f108ed;">“Collections” </span>. Gone are the memorable guitar riffs, the electronic wall of sound and the sheer energy of their previous tracks, and they have been replaced by a collection of slow paced tracks in a mish mash of styles, some of which work (just) and others which do not. Perhaps I will change my mind when I see the tracks being performed live in a couple of weeks (it has been known to happen), but for now I will pin my hopes on them quickly releasing a third album which goes back to their former brilliance. <br />
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<span style="color: #f108ed;">My review score: 5/10 </span>(and that is awarded with a heavy heart)<br />
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<span style="color: #f108ed; font-size: small;"><i>Have you heard the album? What did you think? Leave your comments below...</i></span> <br />
<br />Nikki Noodleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04293259953023685686noreply@blogger.com0Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, UK51.815606 -0.80840000000000651.7370765 -0.96976150000000594 51.894135500000004 -0.64703850000000607tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462029990561709286.post-84528067981569171032012-12-26T16:50:00.001+00:002016-04-14T18:10:51.937+01:00MY TOP TEN SINGLES OF 2012 <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Merry Christmas! I hope you have all had a good one.<br />
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So, here we are, almost at the end of 2012! I’ve been thinking about what my favourite tracks were of this year and the list was rather large. After a struggle I’ve managed to whittle it down to my top ten below, so without further ado, and in reverse order, my top tracks of the year were: <br />
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<span style="color: #f108ed; font-size: small;"><b>10. Black Keys “Gold On The Ceiling”</b></span>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yCIDkFI7ew">YouTube</a>
<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gold-On-The-Ceiling/dp/B007AKK6F2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1356538096&s=dmusic&sr=1-1">Amazon</a><br />
Now, I’m not usually a massive fan of bluesy stuff, but I absolutely love this track, I think in part because I love Dan Auerbach’s voice, and also because this track is not overdone with the sort of bluesy widdling that normally puts me off of any blues tracks. In fact it’s kind of the opposite - very simple and effective.<br />
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<span style="color: #f108ed; font-size: small;"><b>9. Gabrielle Aplin “The Power Of Love”</b></span>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNpeK7sDLzE">YouTube</a>
<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Power-of-Love/dp/B00A18B2UI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1356537994&s=dmusic&sr=1-1">Amazon</a><br />
I happen to think that the original of this track, by Frankie Goes To Hollywood, is the greatest Christmas track ever made (although really it’s only the original video that qualifies it as a Christmas song). I usually hate cover version of great classics like this, but in this case I think Gabrielle Aplin’s version is almost as good as the original. Her vocals are stunning, and the arrangement gives it a whole new lease of life which, I think, is superb. Of course it helps that the tear-jerking advert that brought it to our attention (courtesy of M&S) is a stroke of genius. All together now….”Ahhhhh!”<br />
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<span style="color: #f108ed; font-size: small;"><b>8. Photek feat Ray LaMontagne “This Love”
</b></span>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iER_HD4w6Y4">YouTube</a>
<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/This-Love-Album-Mix/dp/B009NPI816/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1356537904&s=dmusic&sr=1-1">Amazon</a><br />
Ray LaMontagne’s voice is not dissimilar to Alex Clare’s (in fact I think I thought it was Alex Clare when I first heard this track). I love the darkness and bass of this track, and with LaMontagne’s vocals there is an added special dimension.<br />
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<span style="color: #f108ed; font-size: small;"><b>7. Gotye “Somebody I Used To Know”
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UVNT4wvIGY">YouTube – Gotye version</a> <br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Somebody-That-Used-To-Know/dp/B006LG1FK6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1356537809&s=dmusic&sr=1-1">Amazon</a><br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aqOe7mKDRU">YouTube – Walk Off The Earth version</a><br />
I’m a bit of a sucker for unusual tracks, and this track falls squarely into that category. With the plucked bass and guitar, and jaunty xylophone intro, this track just hooked me in. Then when another band, Walk Off The Earth, did an acoustic cover of this where all 5 members played the same guitar at the same time (using it as a guitar, bass, and drums), I was captivated all over again by its cleverness. I’ve included the cover link above so you can see what I mean.<br />
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<span style="color: #f108ed; font-size: small;"><b>6. Foo Fighters “Bridge Burning”</b></span>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_VVi1E5Vbw">YouTube</a>
<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bridge-Burning/dp/B004T7PABE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1356537246&s=dmusic&sr=1-1">Amazon</a><br />
When I bought the Wasting Light album back in 2011 this was easily my favourite song, and so when the Foos released it in March of this year I did a little jig! Not only is it a bloody fantastic rock track by one of my favourite rock bands (with one of my favourite rockers, the lovely Dave Grohl, at the helm), it’s produced by one of my favourite producers, Butch Vig. Although I didn’t catch all of the Foo Fighters’ set at Reading Festival this year I did manage to catch this song and it sounded absolutely awesome live. For me, this is one of those tracks that is really, really therapeutic if played at ear-blistering level after a bad day.<br />
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<span style="color: #f108ed; font-size: small;"><b>5. Alex Clare “Too Close”</b></span>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zP50Ewh31E4">YouTube</a>
<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Too-Close/dp/B004VT2H6Q/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1356536772&s=dmusic&sr=1-2">Amazon</a><br />
I can’t be the only one who heard this on the Microsoft advert and was instantly smitten with the dubstep instrumental of this track. After a bit of research I found the vocal version, which I loved even more due to Alex Clare’s smoky vocals. Alex is a former boyfriend of the late sultry singer, Amy Winehouse, and I can only imagine how fantastic the vocals would have been if they had recorded a track together!<br />
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<span style="color: #f108ed; font-size: small;"><b>4. Coldplay “Up In Flames”</b></span>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NyrGXgwgc4">YouTube</a>
<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Up-In-Flames/dp/B005XLQLZE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1356536694&s=dmusic&sr=1-1">Amazon</a><br />
The first time I really took notice of this track was at one of Coldplay’s gigs at the Emirates Stadium in the summer, and I was blown away right from the simple bass/drum and snare at the beginning. The lyrics really resonated with me. They are so simple but say so much. I am not easily brought to tears but this song, for some reason, always brings a lump to my throat. It’s even better live.<br />
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<span style="color: #f108ed; font-size: small;"><b>3. The Weeknd “Wicked Games”</b></span>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1OTWCd40bc">YouTube [Explicit]</a>
<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wicked-Games-Explicit/dp/B009TI42RG/ref=sr_shvl_album_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1356536035&sr=301-2">Amazon [Explicit]</a><br />
I’d heard this track a couple of times, but it wasn’t until I heard The Weeknd playing it live on Jools Holland in November that it blew my head off. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end and I was completely captivated by it. The vocals are fantastic against the slow, dark beat, and even though the lyrics are absolutely laden with expletives (….Argh! I sound like my mother!!), this track is absolutely stunning.<br />
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<span style="color: #f108ed; font-size: small;"><b>2. Rudimental “Feel The Love”</b></span>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/%E2%80%9Dhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oABEGc8Dus0%E2%80%9D">YouTube</a>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/%E2%80%9Dhttp://www.amazon.co.uk/Feel-Love-feat-John-Newman/dp/B007ZEI402/ref=sr_shvl_album_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1356535954&sr=301-1%E2%80%9D">Amazon</a><br />
The first time I heard this happy drum and bass hit on the radio I instantly loved it. I missed the announcement of who it was so I spent half an hour frantically, but fruitlessly, searching the web to find out who it was. When I did eventually find out who it was I pre-ordered it and spent what felt like a very long time waiting for it to become available. Then I played it to death. Despite that, I still absolutely love it, which is a very rare thing for me. Usually if I play a song to death I go off it quite quickly. Fantastic!<br />
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<span style="color: #f108ed; font-size: small;"><b>1. Maccabees "Feel To Follow"</b></span>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HaW5alLnC0">YouTube</a>
<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Feel-To-Follow/dp/B006NBDW28/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1356535875&s=dmusic&sr=1-1">Amazon</a><br />
A fusion of soaring guitars and haunting vocal harmonies, this track effortlessly travels from a laid back, chilled start to a burning, wild finale. The drums, bass and piano provide a solid foundation for the ascending guitar riffs and vocals. It is a brilliantly beautiful song and easily made it to my number one spot.<br />
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<span style="color: #f108ed; font-size: small;"><i>So what do you think of my selection? Do you think I’ve missed a trick somewhere? Which track had you scrambling for the volume knob this year? </i></span>Nikki Noodleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04293259953023685686noreply@blogger.com0Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, UK51.815606 -0.80840000000000651.7370765 -0.96976150000000594 51.894135500000004 -0.64703850000000607tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462029990561709286.post-84804853432902048282012-12-21T22:10:00.002+00:002016-04-14T17:38:44.510+01:00FULL GIG REVIEW – The Prodigy at the Brixton Academy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #f108ed; font-size: small;"><b>"End Of The World Extravaganza"<br />
18th December 2012<br />
Support: Gedo Mega Bitch, South Central, Jaguar Skills, Caspa</b></span><br />
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To celebrate fifteen years since the release of their third album, <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>The Fat Of The Land</i></span>, <span style="color: #f108ed;">The Prodigy</span> generously treated their fans to a re-release of the album (with additional <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Added Fat</i></span> remixes) and three (almost) all night raves at London’s <span style="color: #f108ed;">Brixton Academy</span>. They lined up a whole host of support acts, with <span style="color: #f108ed;">Caspa</span> playing all three nights, and <span style="color: #f108ed;">Jaguar Skills, Araab Muzik, Shy FX, South Central, Gedo Mega Bitch, Devious D and I.R.O.K.</span> sharing deputy support responsibility at various points over the three dates.<br />
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Kicking off on the first night, the first support act up was <span style="color: #f108ed;">Gedo Mega Bitch</span>, who happens to be the wife of The Prodigy’s Keith Flint. The show started tentatively, swinging from trance to dubstep and drum & bass, with opportunities for epic drops being sadly wasted as she, almost timidly, played through her set. The audience didn’t seem particularly excited except at one point when the set crashed into an unplanned silence.<br />
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The following set from <span style="color: #f108ed;">South Central</span> started with more promise, particularly as you could see on the projected screen that they were doing more than just cueing tracks up. They glitched and mashed their way through their set, playing Pendulum riffs over the top of the tracks and making the most of drop opportunities. The crowd cautiously left any reticence behind and started to warm up, and by the time the third support act (Jaguar Skills) emerged, things were starting to go off in the audience.<br />
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<span style="color: #f108ed;">Jaguar Skills</span> presided over his impressively genius set from what looked like the side of an ice cream van. Mindful of the audience before him, he mashed metal classics from Motorhead and Metallica (much to the glee of an avid metal fan behind me) with old school jungle and rave classics like <i>Original Nuttah </i>and <i>Sweet Harmony</i>, and even finished, slightly bizarrely, with Madness’ <i>One Step Beyond</i>. By the final throes of the set the crowd was fizzing and eagerly anticipating the main event of the night.<br />
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And so, just after midnight, <span style="color: #f108ed;">The Prodigy</span> finally took to the stage and launched straight into <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Voodoo People</i></span>. The crowd went nuts. What followed was a set that infused classics such as <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Breathe</i></span>, <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Omen</i></span>, <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Poison</i></span> and <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Firestarter</i></span> with a fresh dubstep-style undertone. With production genius Liam Howlett at the helm of The Prodigy’s control centre, wild-eyed Maxim and scary-haired Flint roamed the stage barking and snarling lyrics, much to the obvious elation of the audience.<br />
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While they were on a roll, the band sporadically threw in new tracks <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Jet Fighter</i></span> and <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>AWOL</i></span> from the new, eagerly anticipated album, <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>How To Steal A Jet Fighter</i></span>, the former of which had been previously aired at Download Festival in the summer. These were well received, as was brand new track <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>The Day</i></span>, with the crowd moshing and throwing themselves about as enthusiastically as when other favourites like <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Thunder</i></span>, <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Run With The Wolves</i></span>, <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>World's On Fire</i></span> and <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Spitfire</i></span> were played. During <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Invaders Must Die</i></span> Flint disappeared (or at least that seemed to be the case to those of us trapped in the Circle seats), and Maxim distracted the crowd by encouraging everyone to do the classic hand movements to Queen’s <i>We Will Rock You</i>.<br />
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Suddenly, as <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Diesel Power</i></span> struck up, Flint appeared in the gangway about 10 feet away from me, at the front of the Circle. How he got there I have no idea, and at this point I’m not sure how the Circle didn’t collapse due to the excited hopping and grabbing that ensued! Far from being the scary mentalist he seems to be onstage, Flint obliged by stopping for pictures and clasping the hands of his adoring fans and then, as swiftly as he appeared, he vanished through the exit and reappeared back onstage in time for the final epic track of the set, <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Smack My Bitch Up</i></span>.<br />
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After opening the encore with <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Take Me To The Hospital</i></span> and another new track, <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Dogbite</i></span>, those of us who have loved the band from the beginning were treated to <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Hyperspeed</i></span> and (my personal all-time favourite) <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Out Of Space</i></span> from their first album, <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Experience</i></span>. Whilst I would have preferred that they had played <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Fire</i></span> from that album instead of <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Hyperspeed</i></span> it was still a perfect journey back to the old school rave classics that started off the band’s 22 year career. And with that, the band disappeared into the murkiness at the back of the stage and left the audience, exhausted but happy, in the hands of their last support act, <span style="color: #f108ed;">Caspa</span>.<br />
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My only other slight disappointment with the set was that they didn’t play <span style="color: #f108ed;"><i>Warrior's Dance</i></span>, which is puzzling since it was such a huge hit for them. But whatever their reasons for omitting that track, the rest of the set was a shining triumph, and they certainly put their Brixton Warriors through their paces!<br />
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My review score: 8.5/10
Nikki Noodleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04293259953023685686noreply@blogger.com0Brixton Academy (Stop C), Brixton, London Borough of Lambeth, London SW9, UK51.464901 -0.1148689999999987851.4253295 -0.19554999999999878 51.5044725 -0.034187999999998775tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462029990561709286.post-2531664123232812662012-12-17T17:03:00.000+00:002012-12-17T17:03:45.248+00:00SINGLE REVIEW - Among The Echoes, "Freak"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Birmingham band, <span style="color: #f108ed;">Among The Echoes</span>, have a unique style that manages to successfully fuse dark wave, synth pop, ambience and 80s electronica, the result of which has spawned tracks such as the intriguing earworm, <span style="color: #f108ed;">"Freak"</span>. Whilst the song would not be out of place in a Depeche Mode set due the expert use of ethereal and swirling synths courtesy of Among The Echoes’ Steve Turrell, it is also reminiscent of the style of current indietronica band, M83, and reminds me in particular of M83’s fantastic track “Couleurs” from their “Saturdays=Youth” album.<br />
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With lead vocals from Rachael O’Hara and Ian Wall, who sound uncannily like Siouxsie Sioux and David Bowie respectively, and edgy bass from Phil Lockhart, “Freak” swirls moodily through dark verses to the stop-start of a softer interlude, before sweeping up into an anthemic chorus. Fans of dark wave electronica will not be disappointed – this an absolute gem that is likely to awaken an urge to dig through your music collection for similar 80s, dark wave and indietronica anthems.<br />
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To listen to "Freak" go to <a href="http://soundcloud.com/among-the-echoes-uk/freak-recorded">this link to Among The Echoes' Soundcloud page</a>. <br />
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Among The Echoes will be headlining the <span style="color: #f108ed;">Birmingham O2 Academy</span> on <span style="color: #f108ed;">25th January, 2013</span>. For more information on the band, gig dates and tracks visit the Among The Echoes website at <a href="http://www.amongtheechoes.co.uk/">www.amongtheechoes.co.uk</a> or their Facebook page at <a href="http://www.facebook.com/amongechoes">www.facebook.com/amongechoes</a>.Nikki Noodleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04293259953023685686noreply@blogger.com2Birmingham, West Midlands, UK52.486242999999988 -1.890400999999997152.176760999999985 -2.535847999999997 52.79572499999999 -1.2449539999999972