Exciting news! Check out my new "Reading Randoms" column at Strictly Reading & Leeds!

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”.

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.

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.

Head over to the Strictly Reading & Leeds site to see this week’s edition by clicking this link . I hope you like it!

More exciting news to come shortly….. :-)

GIG REVIEW - Biffy Clyro, LG Arena Birmingham

LG Arena Birmingham, 21st March 2013
Support: City and Colour

Having been elevated to headline status for Reading and Leeds Festivals this August, Biffy Clyro 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.

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 Different People, the first track of their latest album, Opposites. They the thrashed their way through That Golden Rule and Sounds Like Balloons to the obvious joy of the crowd, who went into a moshing frenzy. It wasn’t until the start of Black Chandelier 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.

As the gig progressed, the band emulated the sentiment of Opposites 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 Modern Magic Formula was followed by a beautiful rendition of Opposite , 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 Justboy from their first album, Blackened Sky , the band launched into Living Is A Problem Because Everything Dies from Puzzle , 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.

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 Bubbles, and the audience duly obliged, jumping and singing this popular track as if their lives depended on it. After calming the pace down with Victory Over The Sun, 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 A Day Of... from the album The Vertigo Of Bliss, the seated fans leapt up and went for it!

Following another mass sing-along for their newest single release, Biblical, and Spanish Radio, the band launched into There's Such Thing As A Jaggy Snake from Infinity Land, 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 God and Satan. 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 The Thaw and Machines, with both band members providing an equally entrancing acoustic performance.

This didn’t last long, however, due to the sudden frenzy of dance-style lazers, bass and beats that introduced Glitter and Trauma, which led the audience into a 3-track mini-mosh including the brilliant Who's Got A Match and The Joke's On Us. And then it happened: the “Coldplay moment”. The band struck up for Many Of Horror 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 Picture A Knife Fight and an absolutely outstanding rendition of The Captain the band retreated backstage to more shouts of “Mon the Biff!”

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 Skylight and the more upbeat Stingin' Belle before saving Mountains for their last track of the night, which elicited more singing and bouncing from the crowd.

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…

Is Biffy Clyro worthy of a headline spot at Reading and Leeds, and will they be memorable?

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.

My review score: 10/10

GIG REVIEW - Helen Sanderson-White, Trinity Church, Aylesbury

 

With four albums behind her, and the release of her fifth due imminently, Helen Sanderson-White 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.

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.

Starting out with two of the tracks from her previous album, At Second Glance, Helen then introduced the first of the tracks from her new album, Sirens and other Mysteries, explaining that the song, All These Chains, 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; Carole King’s, You've Got A Friend.

Explaining the story behind the second track of the night from the new album, Helen recalled that she had written I'll Be With You 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, Fallen But Not Fatal, the audience was then treated to a goody bag containing various treats before Helen sang the final song of her first set, Without You, from the new album.

Kicking off the second set, Helen chose to sing another track from her previous album before introducing a new track, If That's The Way. 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 Bob Dylan classic, Make You Feel My Love, which has more latterly been made popular by Adele.

After singing another track from the new album, Helen skilfully lightened the mood with the tale of how the following song, Since I Met You, from her 2004 album, Conversations With The Heart, 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, When The Time Comes, before the upbeat Never Too Late rounded off the evening.

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.

Helen’s new album, Sirens and other Mysteries, is released on 5th April 2013 and will be available digitally from iTunes, Amazon, CDBaby and on CD from www.helensandersonwhite.com.

EP REVIEW- Among The Echoes, "Freak"

Following their popular gig at Birmingham’s O2 Academy in January Birmingham band, Among The Echoes, have been busy recording a new four track EP, Freak. 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 Fiction Factory, Talk Talk and Depeche Mode with a more contemporary sound such as that from indietronica band M83.

The lead track, Freak, 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 Siouxsie Sioux and David Bowie, courtesy of Rachael O’Hara and Ian Wall respectively. The following song, Talk Talk, 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.

Whilst still firmly in the same vein, Pure, 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, Feels Like Heaven. This track covers Fiction Factory’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. Fiction Factory’s Eddie Jordan gives a ringing endorsement of Among The Echoes’ new version of Feels Like Heaven calling it “amazing”, and he is not wrong.

With fantastic production by Sam Wale, fans of dark wave, 80s electronica and indie synth pop will not be disappointed with this EP. Freak is released for digital download on 1st April and is available on Amazon, iTunes, CDBaby and the usual digital outlets.

Hear the first exclusive radio play of the EP in full on Johnny Normal's Radio Show at www.radio-happy.com on Tuesday 26th March between 20:00 and 22:00 UK time!

Track listing:
1. Freak
2. Talk Talk
3. Pure
4. Feels Like Heaven

Links:
Among The Echoes website
Sam Wale Productions website

GIG REVIEW - Bloc Party, Earls Court London

Earls Court London, 22nd February 2013
Support: Old Men, The Joy Formidable

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 Bloc Party 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.

Kicking off to a backdrop of lasers and a huge halogen logo from their latest album, Four, the band threw themselves into the first 13 track first set with a frantic version of And So He Begins To Lie, immediately followed by the ever popular Hunting For Witches. Frontman Kele Okereke was on top form, bantering with the attentive audience and introducing each track by relaying the sentiment behind it, including Waiting For The 7.18 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 Song For Clay (Disappear Here) and Banquet, 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 Coliseum).

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 One More Chance, and Octopus. 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 Kreuzberg, which Okereke dedicated to his parents. Finishing the set with an absolutely blistering version of Flux (preceded by the intro to Rihanna’s We Found Love), the band once again disappeared.

The first track of the encore was a new one, Ratchet, 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, Truth, 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, Helicopter, was performed amid an array of lasers to the partying crowd, before the band took their final bows and left the stage.

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.

My review score: 8/10

GIG REVIEW – Delphic, Oxford Academy

O2 Academy Oxford, 18th February 2013
Support: Delphic DJs

Having recently released their second album, Collections, to a largely underwhelmed response, Delphic 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, Acolyte, 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”.

Breaking out with a strong start, the band launched the show with the lead single from the new album, Baiya. With the new addition of live drums the set cantered straight into old favourite, Halcyon, before slowing for Freedom Found 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 Memeo, which again worked well live before slowing into a hip hop style intro for Clarion Call, which was one of the highlights of the whole set.

Don’t Let The Dreamers Take You Away 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 Red Lights, This Momentary and Doubt from the first album, with all tracks including some epic bass and guitar licks and great vocals. Closing the set with Atlas 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.

After the briefest of intervals the band came back for a 3 track encore (or “non-core” as the band put it) consisting of The Sun Also Rises from the new album followed by old favourites Counterpoint and Acolyte 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.

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 Acolyte.

My review score: 7 out of 10

GIG REVIEW – Everything Everything, Oxford Academy

O2 Academy Oxford, 14th February 2013
Support: Outfit

With their second album release, Arc, having recently peaked in the chart at number 5, Manchester-based indie pop band Everything Everything 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 Two Door Cinema Club at the Alexandra Palace on 27th April.

Everything Everything’s support, Outfit, kicked off the evening by bringing their brand of art rock to the Oxford Academy. Their style was relaxed and slightly reminiscent of Delphic, 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.

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.

As the lights dimmed Everything Everything finally broke onto the stage to start their set. Starting with _Arc_ 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, Kemosabe, 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, Duet, but it was the rendition of slightly rocked-up Suffragette Suffragette that really showed how tight the band has become.

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.

Playing crowd pleasers including Schoolin’ from first album, Man Alive, the band treated the audience to tracks from both albums, including Armourland and Choice Mountain before finishing the set with the brilliant Cough Cough. After much baying for more, the band appeared for their four track encore that started with the ever popular My Kz Ur Bf and ended with Don’t Try.

Even with a couple of strange set list choices (such as choosing the downbeat The House Is Dust for the penultimate track of the encore, which prompted those who wanted to beat the crowd to make an early exit), Everything Everything executed a great performance that contrasted beautiful vocals with their trademark quirky synths and beats. The crowd’s response to Cough Cough 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.

My review score: 8/10