The February Calendar
I haven't sussed out how to make a friendly gig calendar yet, so I'll just this imminent listing!
Feb 1st (tomorrow) GET CAPE. WEAR CAPE. FLY / OPPENHEIMER / DAVE HOUSE/ RIVALS/ THE DON RAMOS PLAYERS (all links are Myspace)
three visiting bands and two locals all for a fiver.
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1ST '06
THE BUNKER @ LAVERYS, BELFAST
DOORS 9PM, ADMISSION £5
-----
btw, I will be continuing with the Peel box throughout February, although I have decided that it will be the month where I post lots of YouTube links, starting tomorrow. Just when you thought you couldn't waste any more time on the net, along comes a searchable archive of rare music performances to soak up your bandwidth and disk space!

Read More

PAUSE: January's "Post-A-Day" effort in tatters!
Unfortunately everything was conspiring against me last week and I wasn't able to keep up the consistent posts. I thought it was possible, especially when I delved into the Peel box project, but it wasn't to be.
Here's the stuff I was behind with and will add very soon - more Peel box (Eddie and Ernie, Electro Hippies!), first batch of 2006 releases (The Brave and the Bold, Mr Beast, The Greatest and the Life Pursuit, all of which I'm listening to today), as well as some links to the treasure trove of video clips on youtube.com, which is a truly great timewasting resource!

Read More

MP3 DOWNLOAD: Cat Power "The Greatest" (Matador Records site)
Due to my current fixation with the John Peel collection I've tended to take my eye off the ball as regards new releases. Cat Power's new one 'The Greatest' (not a best of, it's all new) is out today.
Matador have provided title track for download via their main Cat Power page. Is this her Memphis Soul album? Seems to be, she's recorded it in Ardent studios with some musicians who've worked with Al Green and Willie Mitchell, so I can't wait to hear the rest of it.

Read More

John Peel's Record Box 24-28, cracks start to appear!

24. Don Covay - It's better to have (and don't need) + Leave him (MERCURY) 1973
I always knew the A-side as a Northern Soul tune, a really catchy piece of gospel and soul, and again this is another one that I have from a Peel broadcast, probably mid-90s. Happily, this was a UK top 30 hit in 1974 and both sides of this are freely available on albums like these.

25. Don French - Lonely saturday night + Goldilocks (QUALITY) (LANCER) 1960 2x copies
Yet another one that John kept two copies of, this was used in the Channel 4 documentary about the box. You can hear a snatch of it at the excellent Oldies Museum, and the A-side is available on many compilations including this one. Where would we be without Ace records?!
The B-side is an energetic rockabilly tune, the lyrics of which haven't dated terribly well (!) but the A-side is a great melancholy trek into Roy Orbison territory, and actually not a million miles away from what Richard Hawley was doing on last year's 'Coles Corner'. A great vocal performance, and just the right amount of twangy guitar to satisfy me.

27. TRACKS MISSING: Dreamland Express - Groovy + u.f.o (EMI)
I've been searching for this for about three weeks, and I have drawn a complete blank, which is strange as this was on a big label. Google only offers lists of the Peel box tracks, or the best of John Denver! Any info greatfully received - I don't even know the year!

28. TRACK MISSING: Easy Teeth - Car noise + Her blade (DENTAL RECORDS) 1980
Well the only Easy Teeth I know is this one. Easy Teeth was the nickname for one of Beefheart's tour managers I think, though I don't think this has any other Beefheart connection other than the name.
I would've drawn a blank here except I found the B side on a compilation - frustratingly I can't remember which one! It's a reasonably intriguing slice of post-punk/ funk not unilke Caberet Voltaire and co. Again, I would like to hear more, and I would like to know more!

Read More

John Peel's Record Box 20-23, Cheeze to Cleveland Crochet

20. Cheeze - Dancin With The Dead - Dancin queen + Direwolf 1989 (BOB RECORDS) 1989I remember this as Peel used to play it a lot over the years. I actually have it on one of the shows I taped in the early 1990s. I'm actually a bit surprised to find that it is as early as '89. Anyway, there is precious little info on Cheeze anywhere, so I'll just try to add the little facts that I know. The A side IS the Abba tune,. Although on my returning to this version I was surprised how tame and well, even how tuneful it sounds nowadays, I always imagined it as a bold attempt to destroy the glossiness of the original. It works too, with some very abrasive guitar and a fuzzy production courtesy of Mr. Steve Albini. I guess this is collectable for being a fairly early Albini recording. B side 'Dire Wolf' is bleak post-hardcore with a unusually catchy chorus of "don't murder me, please don't murder me" and could easily pass for a less-metallic Therapy?

21. Clague - The stride + I wonder where (DANDELION) 1969
An odd one this, mainly because Clague isn't really what the band where known as. All their subsequent material was recorded under the name Siren, and this has appeared on a few compilations credited to Siren, or even more confusingly Clague (Siren). This is the second inclusion on John's own Dandelion label, and features (amongst others) Kevin Coyne and Dave Clague (ex-Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band). All the facts you need are on this excellent website. 'Stride' strikes me a fairly ordinary uptempo 60s blues/ boogie effort, and 'I Wonder Where' is a strange acoustic blues ballad which ends up with the narrator's wife being attacked. Another eccentric but very welcome inclusion which shows what John would have committed his time and money to.

22. Clefs of Lavender Hill - Stop! - Get a ticket + First tell me why (DATE) 1966
The A side is easy to find because it's on the excellent Nuggets box set. The only info I can find on the band is on Yahoo Music, but it's pretty conclusive. It seems the A + B sides were originally the other way, the slower 'First Tell Me Why' losing out to the catchier 'Stop Get A Ticket'. Think early psychedelic pop meets the British invasion sound and you'll have a good idea where this is coming from. Fans of Guided By Voices should enjoy it - although it is a bit light and fluffy. They were from Florida, and not Brixton by the way!

23. Cleveland Crochet - Sugar bee + Drunkards dream (GOLDBAND) 1961
I'm not hugely aware of Cajun music, but this sounds pretty typical of the genre. You can judge for yourself as the mp3 is streamed on this site - good biog on that page too. Yet another inclusion from the Goldband label. Cleveland Crochet was his real name which is kinda cool I guess.

Read More

GIG REPORT: Redneck Manifesto + Red Sirus + Oak, Belfast Limelight, 19h January 2006

GIG REPORT: Redneck Manifesto + Red Sirus + Oak, Belfast Limelight, 19h January 2006
I'm trying to have a fresh approach to this, but tonight I couldn't help compare each band to previous times I had seen them.
Oak totally rocked in the Pavilion last July but tonight they are on first and there isn't as intimate a crowd to bounce off. I only caught the last three songs - one of which was a surprising cover of TRex's Children of the Revolution - and I was left a bit underwhelmed by their heavy heavy riffs. With the right atmosphere they can be a lot of fun, but I thought tonight fell a bit flat.
I have to admit that I had seen Red Sirus once before (at a Belfest show a couple of years ago). I didn't like them then, and I didn't like them any better last night. Sorry.
As the Redneck Manifesto started gigging around Ireland when I lived in London I never experienced their early, more hardcore shows. I became aware of them through their CD releases and I had only seen them live once before last night's show. They were hinting a jazzier direction then, and judging by the newer material on offer tonight they are sticking to it. They play a good energetic show tonight, even though they only let it rip a couple of times.

Read More

GIG PREVIEW: TONIGHT!! Redneck Manifesto + Red Sirus + Oak, Belfast Limelight
I haven't worked out a system for gig previews at the moment, but I'm definitely going to be at this. It's a TwoStep promotion so all the info you want is on www.myspace.com/twostepclub complete with streaming audio from Redneck Manifesto and Red Sirus.
That's another thing I have to do - a links section.
Peel Box on hold for a few days because something is happening!

Read More

John Peel's Record Box 14-19, a Charlie Feathers special!

John Peel's Record Box 14-19, a Charlie Feathers special!

In the box that omits seemingly certain contenders like Captain Beefheart, The Fall (they had their own special place in John's house, according to the documentary), Altered Images, Ivor Cutler, etc, there is a space for FIVE releases by Charlie Feathers. The only other artist to beat this is the White Stripes, and given that they were John's current faves this is hardly surprising. Charlie Feathers deserves some kind of special mention because his oldest release here dates from 1956. For some info on Charlie visit the excellent Rockabilly hall of fame.

14. Charlie Feathers - Deep elm blues + Nobody's darling' (HOLIDAY INN RECORDS)
15. Charlie Feathers - Nobody's women + When you decide (KING) 2x copies
17. Charlie Feathers - Today and tomorrow + Wild wild party' (MEMPHIS RECORDINGS)
18. Charlie Feathers - Tongue-tied Jill + Get with it' (METEOR RECORDS)
19. Charlie Feathers - When you come around + Too much alike' (KING)

'Nobody's Women' is the first 7" to get a double entry as Peel had two copies in the box, and the A-side is a great example of early rockabilly, as is the even earlier 'Tongue Tied Jill'. These are contemporaries of the much more well known Elvis Presley's Sun recordings and they have that same fire and edginess to them. 'When You Come Around' is from the same recording session as 'Nobody's Women' and features those close harmony male vocals so popular at the time. Some great guitar playing too! Charlie's voice seems to have risen in pitch for the later 'Today and Tomorrow' which has a great riff, you can almost hear the Fall having a bash at it! 'Deep Elm Blues' is more of a mid-paced blues tune (surprise surprise) and is dominated by organ rather than guitar, though Charlie's vocal is once again extraordinary.
These records meant something to John for over 40 years, and you can actually hear the influence on some of the bands he has played over those subsequent years. I had never consciously heard Charlie Feathers before this project, and he is yet another act that makes this worthwhile.

Read More

John Peel's Record Box, 10-13 Bill Oddie to Cat Power

10. Bill Oddie - Harry krishna + on ilkla moor baht'at (DANDELION) 1970
A few firsts here - the first comedy record in the list, the first on Peel's own Dandelion records and the first to feature John Peel himself - on 'tapes, reels and vocal'!
The excellent site www.goodiesruleok.com has all the info you need. This is from it...

For those unfamiliar with the single, it's one of Bill's 1960's comedy releases. This one was released on John Peel's record label (Dandelion). The traditional song is done in the style of Joe Cocker's "With A Little Help From My Friends". Surprisingly, whoever compiled the recent media reports failed to notice that Peel is listed in the credits on the B side (a song called "Harry Krishna") - he's credited with "tape, reels, and vocal". I've put a scan of both sides of the single on my Goodies Illustrated Guide website (it can be seen about halfway down the page at http://mysite.verizon.net/vze7yes3/illustratedguides/id7.html).

Incidentally, those scans mentioned also show up that the 'technical consultant' was Sheila Gilhooly, John's future wife!
As for the record, it's a fairly daft run through of the Hare Krishna chant including some names of the day like "Harry Secombe" and "Harry Corbett, sweep and sooty". This would probably run up against the wrath of music publishers and those policing religious offence laws, but this is a reminder of a time when entertainment was altogether more innocent. The version of 'Ilka Moor' is indeed in the style of Joe Cocker, and features Henry McCullough of Wings and Jim Capadi of Traffic (and many other bands).
Parochial note: I've just realised that Henry's contribution makes this the first record of the list to feature someone from Northern Ireland!

11. Boards of Canada - Aquarius + Chinook (SKAM) 1998
'Music Has The Right to Children'. The Boards were one of the acts I got into through the John Peel show, and this is their first release I think. 'Aquarius' is on the album of course, but this Ep release backed with 'Chinook' was limited to 500 copies so it's hard to find now.
If you aren't familiar with their music they are a Scottish duo who play chilled-out electronica. A bit spacey, trippy and sometimes funky. The album always evokes memories of 70's informational films. 'Aquarius' is one of the most beautiful pieces, lovely sweeping harmonies and a subdued funky beat, complete children laughing, someone counting and someone saying "Orange" over and over. Very hypnotic, as is the rarer 'Chinook' which is built around syncopated rhythms and layed with an atmospheric drone, just like the helicopter sound with a melody line added.
The longest tunes so far and the first real departure from standard pop formats, this is genuinely refreshing.

12. Bobby Lee Trammell - If you ever get it once + Don't you know I love you (ALLEY RECORDS) 1966
Another act a bit before my time I'm afraid. Lots of info on Bobby Lee on this site (scroll down). This is a relatively late release from him as he had been around since 1958, and this is dated as 1966 or later. This is standard uptempo rockabilly with a more romantic bside. He became a member of the Arkansas house of representatives in the 90s!

13. Cat Power - Headlights + Darling said sir (THE MAKING OF AMERICANS) 1995
I think this is Chan Marshall's first recording, please correct me if I'm wrong! It's bleaker and more droning than what she does now and reminds me a lot of early Smog. 'Headlights' is on the first album 'Dear Sir' and is relatively easy to find. 'Darling Said Sir' is only available on the 7" and is the tale of an abusive relationship accompanied by droning Sonic Youth style guitars and a solitary drum. I hadn't heard it until I went on a search for this material and it is quite stunning to be left as a Bside for so long.

Read More

John Peel's Record Box, 5-9. Anemic Boyfriends to Big Stick

5.Anemic Boyfriends - Guys Are Not Proud + Bad Girls in Love (RED SWEATER RECORDS) 1980
Female punk/ new wave group from Alaska who made two singles then vanished. This is their debut single, and there's a pic of the sleeve on this collector's site.
This has a Slits-style punk/ reggae feel to it and the best refrain yet - "Guys are such creeps/ They'll even do it with sheep". Only five records in and I'm already discovering hidden gems like this. The Bside is more punky like Johnny Thunders or something which changes the bad guys for the bad girls - "I got a tight little body/ and I wanna get naughty". This was the hardest one to find so far (I've just got mp3s), but well worth hearing!

6. Ann Peebles - I can't stand the rain + i've been there before (LONDON) 1972
After Alan Price, this is only the second A-side in the list so far that I can sing along with. I'm pretty ignorant about 70s soul and RnB but most of that material in this list stands up incredibly well, especially when compared to some of the ropey punk bands around (see next!). I never realised how evocative that little pizzicato guitar at the start of 'I Can't Stand the Rain' was, the arrangement is just about the perfect accompaniment to her voice. The Bside is even more melancholy and has some nice gospel touches. Solid gold and one of the best so far.

7. Anti-Social - Traffic lights + teacher, teacher (DYNAMITE RECORDS) 1977
As far as I know this 7" contains their entire recorded output and we can be thankful for that. This is dull dull punk rock from the self-styled "most violent band in the world" as this biography tells us. Skip this one.

8. MISSING TRACK: Arthur K Adams - Wildwood flower + It's a wild, wild, wild, wild wildwood flower (JETSTAR)

This is the first (of a few) that I have been unable to track down. A google search for info on Arthur Adams is similarly fruitless, but a link to this useful biog page came up on the second page. He sounds interesting, maybe I'll hear him someday.

9. Big Stick - Drag racing + Hell on earth (RECESS RECORDS) 1985 (listen or download- official site)
I love this. I can remember Peel playing this quite a bit over the years. 90s listeners may remember the Festive 50 fave 'Broadcast booth' which was credited to Drag Racing Underground; well, that was Big Stick as well. Official biography is here. This is basically cut-up samples and distorted drum machine, think Colourbox meets Big Black and you're in the right area. The right era too. While you might believe the Aside is slightly sinister, the Bside takes the same backing track and gets even darker. Short, thrilling and plenty creepy.

Read More

John Peel's Record Box, 1-4 Al Casey to Andy Capp

A lot of blogs have already tried to collect these releases but this is the first chance I've had, so I thought I would try and get through some of the tracks while the music scene is still pretty quiet. There are still a few holes in my list, but hopefully they will be filled by the time I get around to writing about them. I am working with the (mainly alphabeticised) order of the Times list. I've heard the As and Bs of 1-4 so here we go...

1. Al Casey - Surfin Hootenanny + Easy Pickin (Pie International records, 1963)
This single was a huge Billboard hit in 1963 so it may even be possible to track down some vinyl copies. Nowadays it is quite easy to find on this compilation on Ace Records.
This isnt your typically Trashmen/ Dick Dale surf guitar tune, it's lighter than that, with female vocals and a very wide stereo sound, courtesy of the production by the legendary Lee Hazlewood. I think he also wrote it. They pay homage to a lot of the other surf acts (like Dick Dale) in the song. The Bside is more throwaway, but then that was half the idea with bsides I guess.

2. Al Ferrier - I'm Not Drinking More + Don't Play Blue Eyes' (Master Trak records, 1980)
Originally a Louisiana rockabilly/ cajun artist who was on Goldband from the mid-1950s, this is a much later recording and is pure country. I had assumed it was a 1980 reissue, but this interview shows that he was recording at Goldband in the early '80s so it probably is a 1980 release.
This is very hard to find nowadays, I have a dull sounding mp3 of the A-side which was transferred from vinyl, and the B-side is an mp3 taped off the radio, complete with Peel back anno! The best thing about submerging myself in this list is that I feel like I have entered an epic lost Peel show, full of surprises, songs you love and songs you would fast forward if you had taped the 2-hour broadcast. As this reminds me too much of the country n western I was brought up with, I would have wind it on past this, but a few listens later I'm kinda impressed by Ferrier's slightly off-centre delivery. Country but not (quite) as we know it.

3. Alan Price Set - I Put a Spell on You (Decca, 1966)
A big hit in the '60s and relatively easy to get your hands on as it is on a few compilations. The first artist in the list I had heard and the first track I recognised as well. Things I know about Alan Price - he was in the Animals, he wrote the music for the 70s movie 'O Lucky Man' and he appeared in DA Pennebaker's Don't Look Back alongside Dylan. The A-side is a busy organ-dominated British blues take on the classic song, and it does have a similar arrangement to 'House of the Rising Sun'. B-side "Iechyd Da" is a standard jazzy blues instrumental, dominated by the organ and horns. First Welsh language title in the list, although Price was from the North East and this has no words!

4. Andy Capp - Popatop + Reco - The Lion Speaks (Treasure Island, 1969)
Now that I'm old I'm supposed to know a lot about jazz and reggae and the like, and I do know a bit, but not an awful lot, so feel free to correct me by leaving a comment.
This is early dub reggae dating from 1969, Andy Capp was engineer Lynford Anderson, who helped a lot of Lee Perry's early dub experiments happen. This was actually siting in my iTunes under Lee 'Scratch' Perry as it was on his Battle Axe compilation. This sits nicely with the Perry material of the same period, and they although do experiment with a stop/start dubby rhythm it's actually infectiously catchy.
I didn't know much about Rico and the Rudies, except that Rico was a trombone player and had releases on Trojan records, but i found this great website which tells you all about him. This sits eccentrically amongst all the other reggae in the box as it has Rico's trombone all over it! Just great really.

Read More

Boring
I'll tell you how boring January is. Last night I dreamt that I was in a supermarket doing my shopping. That's it. No action, no drama, just my unconscious mind routinely pushing a trolley round the local shop. I would hope that this won't be a recurring dream.

Read More

Going inside John Peel's Record Box....

Well January is always a quiet month so now is the time for me to finally get to grips with John Peel's Record Box. This was the box of 142 singles and EPs that John kept with him most of the time, reputedly these were his favourite singles. This Christmas felt strange without his festive 50 (yes, I know there was a OneMusic festive 50 but it wasn't the same) and this list gives us Peel fans something to dig our teeth into.
The full list is here. I wouldn't go as far as describing the box as 142 slices of 3minute pop songs - you don't have to look too hard to find singles that disprove that!
As for my personal collection I only have a battered copy of Laurie Anderson's 'O Superman' (an 8 minute A-side for starters!) and Pavement's rare 'Demolition Plot J-7' (a six track EP), although I have a lot of the tunes on CDs. It was exciting that even as a long-term listener of Peel's show there were a lot of titles here I didn't recognise. Consequently they could be hard to track down. Time to delve headlong and get searching for some of these songs.....

Read More

Too distracted by 'Lost' to write anything...
Yes, it's the season finale tonight on Channel 4 and as I'm very pleased with myself for not finding out what happens, I have to ignore the internet for the rest of the day. It would be a shame to fall at the final hurdle!

Read More

Kevin Shields complains about noisy neighbours!

Kevin Shields complains about noisy neighbours!
This story was in the pages of the Camden New Journal last week. I'm sure most of you know who he is, but in case you don't, the man on the right is THE Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine, one of the loudest groups I've ever had the pleasure of seeing live! Dido remixes at 120dB, now that is painful.
[credit where credit's due, I found the pic on the Poptones site but I just tweaked it a little to make it smaller, and the page is from the Camden New Journal.]

Read More

REVIEW: Mogwai, Belfast Spring and Airbrake, 8th January 2006

Another year, another Mogwai show. I enjoyed them at the Slint ATP last March and an advance listen of the forthcoming 'Mr Beast' album really impressed me. I have always found them to be a bit of a hit-and-miss as a live act and last night was no exception. I expected them to be as ear-splittingly loud as some of the previous times I had seen them- a show at Kentish Town in the late 90s put me off them for a couple of years due to the pain they induced - but tonight I don't even feel the need for the earplugs in my pocket. I'm not great as far as Mogwai titles are concerned but they tend to stick to the quieter, shorter pieces for a lot of the set. In fact the biggest surprise is their tendency to lean towards vocoder/ electronic percussion and away from the volume overload. On record (like the forthcoming 'Mr Beast') this is refreshing, but in the live setting I was looking for a lot more fire and a lot more action from them. I know Celtic had been dumped out of the Scottish Cup by lowly Clyde, but I didn't think it would dampen their spirits too much. Whether it was that or (once again!) the incessantly loud talking throughout their set, this wasn't a Mogwai show to cherish. 'Mr Beast', though, is well worth a listen.

Read More

REVIEW: We Are Knives/ The Radio, Belfast Empire Music Hall 7th January 2006

An oddly eclectic line-up for the first major local gig of the year. When Pilots Eject and Rivals had already been on earlier so it was left to The Radio and WAK to finish off the evening.
The Radio are from Dublin and released an album back in 2004, although I don't recall them ever playing in Belfast before. Their members have been around for a few years in other bands - most notably Rollerskate Skinny and Chicks. They've got a hard slot tonight though and a lot of the audience don't know about them, and don't care either. That's a shame because I really enjoyed them. They are far too mellow to win over the crowd who are here mainly for Rivals or We Are Knives, but for those of us who remember the gentler side of 80s-90s indie (Mazzy Star, House of Love, Primitives) they go down just fine. It's funny that I was listening to the Heart Throbs for the first time in a dozen years earlier today, as they are yet another act I could compare the Radio to.
We Are Knives are on last, and happily a lot of the crowd have stayed on to watch them. It was quite a nice touch to dedicate the set to Derek Bailey, the improv-guitarist who died on Christmas Day. The last time I saw WAK they were awesome, and they were awesome again tonight. I watch the first couple of tunes from upstairs and they sound great but it's not until I get downstairs that I appreciate the bass! The bass rig is obviously too large to go through the PA, but it sure shakes the floor in the Music Hall. I have to recommend this band to anyone who has an interest in (even slightly) experimental guitar music, whether it's jazz, hardcore punk, post-rock or math-rock or whatever you want to call it, We Are Knives are just a great live band.

Read More

First gigs of the year...
Tonight, We Are Knives + The Radio + Rivals + When Pilots Eject, Belfast Empire £5
Tomorrow, Mogwai + Errors, Belfast Spring and Airbrake £15

Read More

Putting 2005 to bed, part 3: 700MB of the year!
I heard a lot of good music this year, but I just couldn't decide on a definite album of the year. My most played album was either LCD Soundsystem, the Arcade Fire or Sufjan Stevens, but then somedays it felt like the National or the Mountain Goats or the Hold Steady or the Clientele would be the outright top of my list. Then there were the albums you need longer to get into but they're so worth it when you do - Animal Collective, Vashti Bunyan, Colleen. Not forgetting acts that seem to have been with me forever - The Fall made their most accessible (and conventional!) album in 10 years with 'Fall Heads Roll', the Wedding Present came back with the darker 'Take Fountain' and Half Man Half Biscuit had a major return to form with 'Achtung Bono'.
I came to the conclusion that the best way to encapsulate the year was to create a 700MB MP3 cd of my favourite tracks. There are a few notable omissions as I haven't heard the whole albums by Arab Strap or Six Organs of Admittance and I suspect they would feature more. Also singles and compilations might have been overlooked and lost in the depths of my iTunes. Anyway, here is my randomised list (viewable as a PDF file). If anyone wants to swap a similar compilation CDR please leave a comment below and I will contact you.

Read More

"Excuse me, weren't you in the Fall" feature in today's Guardian

Excellent piece by Dave Simpson here.
"As Peel had said, noting that most former Fallers simply disappear: "I don't know if he's killing them or what." So I resolved to track them down, not realising that this would involve afternoons writing letters to defunct addresses in Doncaster and eight-hour sessions searching for a single person."
He found some of them though, in particular the Chemical Brothers manager's anecdote is priceless!

Read More

Putting 2005 to bed, part 2, highlights from Northern Ireland

I haven't been able to pay a lot of attention to local RECORDED output over the last year, but the Tracer AMC 12" and the Oppenheimer 3-song demo/ promo would be my two highlights. Embarrassingly, I haven't had a listen to either the new Tracer album 'Islands' or the Robyn G Shiels, both of which I am looking forward to hearing.
As far as gigs are concerned I have fared slightly better as I've seen a lot of really good shows. Old faves like the aforementioned Tracer AMC and Desert Hearts didn't disappoint the few times I've seen them this year, and Clone Quartet have undergone yet another transformation and were one of my highlights of BelFEST 05. Another highlight from the same night were Delaware who I had seen a couple of times before and I wasn't bothered about, but they really rose to the occasion on the BelFEST gig in the Empire. Those vocal harmonies are so sweet.
Ultimately though my two live highlights are bands I have seen a lot in 2005 and I have always been impressed by - We Are Knives (twice) and Oppenheimer (four times). In particular, Oppenheimer wowed the masses passing through the tented stage at the Vital show in Botanic Gardens, and We Are Knives supported some visiting emo-band one night in Auntie Annies and they really couln't be followed. I hope to hear loads more from these guys in 2006.

One sad final note as 2005 saw the demise of Torgas Valley Reds, one of the finest bands to come from these shores this decade. They left us a solitary 7" and a handful of great live memories.

Read More

Putting 2005 to bed, part 1: Gig Highlights

1.  All Tomorrow's Parties, curated by Slint, 25th-27th February 2005
In ATP terms this had a shockingly low band count, freezing weather and you couldn't bring booze from chalet to venue, but despite those minor set backs it still couldn't fail to be a weekend of quality music and rowdy fun.  I did a full report around the time and as I compile this realise I'm realising that if I had split the bands into individual performances, there would be a lot of them taking over this top 10.  Namely Slint, the Melvins, Deerhoof, Mogwai, Bad Wizard.

2.  Slint, Dublin Vicar Street, 6th March 2005
Yes, the once in a lifetime chance to see Slint popped up again a week later when I found myself at their gig in Dublin.  Although the band played EXACTLY the same set as ATP,  I probably enjoyed this more, probably because the venue was more intimate, the audience were quieter and I wasn't drunk beyond belief.

3. Sufjan Stevens and his Illinoisemakers, Belfast Spring and Airbrake, October 2005
As I've been a fan of this guy for the last couple of years, he would have been higher except he hardly touched the 'Michigan' album at this show.  'Illinoise' and 'Seven Swans' dominated the material. The band were dressed as cheerleaders/ lettermen and introduced a lot of the songs with specific 'cheers'.  A lot of their act seemed to be influenced by the Danielson Familie, which is no bad thing in my book!  Some excellent songs though - highlights - 'Sister', 'Casimir S Pulaski Day', 'Chicago' etc.

4.  Beck, Belfast Waterfront Hall, 3rd June 2005
I'm surprised that three of my top four are all large-scale shows, especially as they were the only big shows I went to this year.  I had only seen Beck once before (nearly 10 years ago in the Point with the Foos, Manics, Afghan Whigs and Jesus Lizard - what a day that was!) and for his debut Belfast performance he pulled out a lot of his old material, something from every album from 'Mellow Gold' to 'Guero'.  In fact, I think he played nearly all of Guero.  Most memorable part was the acoustic section where the rest of the band had their dinner on stage, turning their plates and cutlery into a makeshift percussion section when they had finished!

5.  The Broken Family Band, Belfast Menagerie, 11th November 2005
An epic performance by the country-tinged Peel faves from London.  They did the standard waltz-time slow numbers that everyone expected but they really came to life when they stepped it up a gear.  More in common with the likes of the Wedding Present and Hefner, and their witty lyrics even remind me slightly of Half Man Half Biscuit.  Cheap sweaty fun.

6.  Hood/ Pram, Belfast Spring and Airbrake, 20th February 2005
It's a shame there was a poor turn-out for this, because it was one of the best double bills of the year.  I reviewed it when it happened, so go here.

7.  Chris Brokaw, Belfast White's Tavern, 28th April 2005
Top solo acoustic performance of the year if you care about such things!  Brokaw is the ex-Come/ Consonant guitarist and this was a triumphant return to Belfast for him.  Great guitar playing and some great songs too.  I really must get more of his recordings.

8.  Keith Fullerton Whitman (hrvatski), Belfast Bunker, September 2005
A solo laptop/ guitar-processing performance from the sometime Harvard employee and electro-acoustic specialist. This was way more enjoyable than I had expected - two long pieces - one electronica, the other guitar manipulation, both accompanied by his own cut-up movies.

9.  Wolf Eyes, Belfast Pavilion, 18th June 2005
This should have been the noise highlight of the year but Hrvatski pipped it, mainly because Wolf Eyes thought we weren't into it because a lot of people left and the ones who stayed weren't raucous enough. I kind of accepted it more as powerful ambient noise rather than something you could mosh to. Whatever, I enjoyed it, and they won't be back!

10.=  Hot Snakes, Belfast Limelight, 28th May 2005
An intense, classic punk rock n roll performance, especially memorable now that they called it a day at the end of this tour.
10.=  Wedding Present, Belfast Spring and Airbrake, February 2005
This would have been higher if it REALLY was a reformed Wedding Present, instead the show was faithful to the recent 'Take Fountain' album - more like Cinerama gone dark than classic Weddoes. Not much wrong with that, and the last 30 minutes or so did revisit past glories.

Read More

Music videos from 2005
It's been a few months since I've had a good look around other people's music blogs and zines. Whilst I was reacquainting myself I found this interesting list of the Top 50 Music Videos Of 2005, complete with movie files of the vids in question. As someone who hasn't got access to decent music video channels there were quite a few of these I hadn't seen. I have Freeview so E4 music is as good as it gets I'm afraid!

Read More

New Year, New Template!
2005 didn't really happen on as far as this blog is concerned, but I will try and make a bit more time for it in 2006. Seven and half months of fatherhood tends to give you a great distraction from posting on the net! I am even attempting a post a day throughout January, a feat I haven't attempted since December 2001. I almost thought of starting a new site, but in the end I decided to carry on with this. As there is a sever absence of reviews for 2005 a summary of my fave releases and gigs will follow soon.

Read More