What's the last gig you went to see?

[Jaded]

Onipa.

High energy.

[alfapete]

Onipa.

High energy.

Your pictures aer all excellent, but that's an absolute banger!

[SteveC]

Last night, a recording of the next two episodes of ISIHAC at Dorking Halls.

Fred McCauley, Lucy Porter, Milton Jones and Omid Djalili on the panel, guest appearances by both the Lovely Samantha and the Immaculate Sven.

I've been to a recording before, and as happened then, the first episode seemed to drag a bit and felt slightly forced. Second one was much better.

I doubt Lucy Porter's entry for "elixir" in the Uxbridge English Dictionary will make it to broadcast somehow.

Presumably because it was an exercise in cunning linguistics, as it were... 

Nail. Head. I suspect her rejoinder to Fred McCauley singing "We're no strangers to love. You know the rules and so do I"
of  "No anal" may suffer the same fate.

You were wrong there! 

[Jaded]

Onipa.

High energy.

Your pictures aer all excellent, but that's an absolute banger!

Thank you 

[citoyen]

Onipa.

High energy.

Your pictures aer all excellent, but that's an absolute banger!

I was going to say exactly the same. Cracking pic!

[citoyen]

Talking of excellent pics...

Second gig night in a row last night - Warmduscher at the 100 Club, which could hardly be more of a contrast to the Barbican as a venue (but both iconic in their own ways).

I am physically wrecked this morning - haven't been this bruised after a gig for a long, long time. Mainly a result of getting bashed against the edge of the stage a lot - even got knocked over onto the stage a couple of times. At one point I was bundled over and my head came down on the guitarist's monitor so I got a blast straight into my left ear, which is still ringing this morning.

It was fucking awesome. Gig of the year by a country mile.

If you want to get an idea of what this looked like, some of the official photographer's shots are on instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/p/C0315j8tyeT/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

In the first pic, if you zoom in, you can just about make out a chap in the front row with an adidas T-shirt. I was right next to him (just the other side of him).

The fifth pic is when Clams Baker, the band's front man, got off the stage and moshed with the audience. I'm just out of shot to the right.

The one I went to was the second of three nights they're doing at the 100 Club. Here's a clip from the first night, when Clams didn't just mosh, he went crowd surfing...
https://www.instagram.com/p/C0ZJOkpN2T8/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==


Rock and fucking Roll. 

[Mr Larrington]

Onipa.

High energy.

Your pictures aer all excellent, but that's an absolute banger!

I was going to say exactly the same. Cracking pic!

Teenage blues-rock guitar prodigy Toby Lee uses one of Jaded’s photos for advertising gigs.

[StuAff]

Leftfield at the Forum in Kentish Town last night. Cracking show.

[perpetual dan]

Depeche Mode at the O2 arena. A good show, still got the voice.
I’m not warming to huge venues as I get older, though. But I don’t suppose we’d all fit in the Empire.

[jsabine]

Depeche Mode at the O2 arena. A good show, still got the voice.
I’m not warming to huge venues as I get older, though. But I don’t suppose we’d all fit in the Empire.

What did you reckon to the support, Nadine Shah?

Saw her in Edinburgh tonight (she's clearly busy, fitting in her own gig between DM in London and in Manchester), and while she's got a great voice I'm not wholly convinced by the doom pop (come on, it's not really rock ...) tracks.

Trying to work out if I liked her enough to go to the album launch session in London next month - gig+CD, no-brainer, but that's sold out and only the gig+LtdEdition-coloured-vinyl tickets are left¹.

ETA - I did spend a disproportionate proportion of the gig wondering if the impressively hirsute bass player was indicatatatative of the likely result if an incautious scientist attempted to meld the wild Larrington and the native Wowbagger, while failing to put a STOP boundary on the experiment.

ETFA - 1: fuckit, it's only money.

[Mr Larrington]

This Unit did once get mistaken for Slayer's Tom Araya

[jsabine]

The gentleman I observed earlier was closer in beard length and density to the gentlemen known collectively as ZZ Top (with the obvious exception of Frank Beard) than he was to Mr Araya.

Quite impressive, frankly

[perpetual dan]

Depeche Mode at the O2 arena. A good show, still got the voice.
I’m not warming to huge venues as I get older, though. But I don’t suppose we’d all fit in the Empire.

What did you reckon to the support, Nadine Shah?

Saw her in Edinburgh tonight (she's clearly busy, fitting in her own gig between DM in London and in Manchester), and while she's got a great voice I'm not wholly convinced by the doom pop (come on, it's not really rock ...) tracks.

Trying to work out if I liked her enough to go to the album launch session in London next month - gig+CD, no-brainer, but that's sold out and only the gig+LtdEdition-coloured-vinyl tickets are left¹.

ETA - I did spend a disproportionate proportion of the gig wondering if the impressively hirsute bass player was indicatatatative of the likely result if an incautious scientist attempted to meld the wild Larrington and the native Wowbagger, while failing to put a STOP boundary on the experiment.

ETFA - 1: fuckit, it's only money.

I enjoyed her, without knowing the songs before. Mrs Dan wondered if PJ Harvey’s lawyers were in the audience. I suspect a smaller venue would be more interesting for that sort of thing.

[PeterM]

John Francis Flynn at The Dome. Folk for folk who don’t give a folk about folk. It was excellent, and the band (featuring at various times drums, electronics, French horn, trumpet, double bass, clarinet, electronics, and crunchy guitars) was superb.

Mr Flynn is also about nine feet tall, which is just as well because we were stood behind someone seven feet tall

[citoyen]

Trying to work out if I liked her enough to go to the album launch session in London next month - gig+CD, no-brainer, but that's sold out and only the gig+LtdEdition-coloured-vinyl tickets are left¹.

Where’s that? I’m on the mailing list for Rough Trade East so get notified of a lot of these things but not that one so maybe it’s elsewhere. I would have gone though - I do like her. Not enough to pay silly money for vinyl though.

I’m seeing Jane Weaver doing an acoustic set at Rough Trade East next month - would happily pay big money to see her, she’s one of my top favourites. Will be interesting to see how her electronica translates to acoustic.

Tomorrow night is first gig of the year - English Teacher in Margate. Very much looking forward to this. They’re kind of identikit post-punk but a bit more interesting than most of the current crop of this ilk. Lily Fontaine has a cracking voice. And a great name.

[toontra]

Tomorrow night is first gig of the year - English Teacher in Margate. Very much looking forward to this. They’re kind of identikit post-punk but a bit more interesting than most of the current crop of this ilk. Lily Fontaine has a cracking voice. And a great name.

Great band!  The last few singles have been bangers - "Daffidils" esp.  Excellent bass & drum unit.  Hopefully they'll come to London soonish.

[citoyen]

Daffodils is my fave too.

And yes, they do have a first rate rhythm unit!

[citoyen]

Toontra, I completely missed this but they were live on 6music yesterday - doing an acoustic set ahead of their gig in Hull that evening for Independent Venue Week. The chap who is standing in for Chris Hawkins this morning just played Daffodils from the set and it sounded truly awesome.

Fortunately, you can listen back to the performance via the magic of the internet - unfortunately, you have to skip through a couple of hours of the inane wittering of Huw Stephens to get to the good bit...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001vj98

[toontra]

Well there's a thing.  The Polar Bear in Hull is where my music "career" started.  In those days it was a lively mix of dockers, factory workers and a few art students.  Sounds like the students have taken over.

Enjoy the gig tonight!

[Jaded]

Tonight was The Orb. Quite thumpy...

[Séamas M.]

Last Wednesday, Ulster Hall Belfast.

Tommy Emmanuel CGP supported by the excellent Mike Dawes.

Guitar nerds dream gig.

[jsabine]

Trying to work out if I liked her enough to go to the album launch session in London next month - gig+CD, no-brainer, but that's sold out and only the gig+LtdEdition-coloured-vinyl tickets are left¹.

Where’s that? I’m on the mailing list for Rough Trade East so get notified of a lot of these things but not that one so maybe it’s elsewhere. I would have gone though - I do like her. Not enough to pay silly money for vinyl though.

I’m seeing Jane Weaver doing an acoustic set at Rough Trade East next month - would happily pay big money to see her, she’s one of my top favourites. Will be interesting to see how her electronica translates to acoustic.

Tomorrow night is first gig of the year - English Teacher in Margate. Very much looking forward to this. They’re kind of identikit post-punk but a bit more interesting than most of the current crop of this ilk. Lily Fontaine has a cracking voice. And a great name.

Nadine Shah - yes, Rough Trade East. Mailing lists can be a funny thing though. Tickets through Dice if that makes any difference, and they're running a waiting list. Playing at Heaven at the beginning of May too.

Jane Weaver - new to me. Sounds interesting on the first pass, not wholly convinced yet.

English Teacher - London gig end of March May by the looks of it. Electric Brixton

[citoyen]

Nadine Shah - yes, Rough Trade East. Mailing lists can be a funny thing though. Tickets through Dice if that makes any difference, and they're running a waiting list. Playing at Heaven at the beginning of May too.

Dice is how I get most of my information but yes, it can be a bit flaky- number of times I’ve asked my gig buddy “are you going to…” but she didn’t even know about it.

Jane Weaver - new to me. Sounds interesting on the first pass, not wholly convinced yet.

Long time favourite of mine - since Modern Kosmology, which was one of those albums that took me a while to get into but it properly got under my skin. Seen her four times live and she’s always excellent.

English Teacher - London gig end of March by the looks of it. Electric Brixton

They were superb last night. Played several new tracks off their forthcoming album that all sounded excellent. The title track off the album, This Could Be Texas, is a belter.

Unfortunately, the Brixton gig is May not March. Unfortunate because I already have tickets for the theatre on the same day, otherwise I’d be in there for definite. The Electric is a great venue too.

ETA: some pics...

English Teacher @ Whereelse by citoyen, on Flickr


English Teacher @ Whereelse by citoyen, on Flickr

One of the new tracks is called "You blister my paint", the title of which is lifted from A Clockwork Orange. For this one, Lewis the guitarist patched Lily's mic into a synth module and applied effects while she sang...

English Teacher @ Whereelse by citoyen, on Flickr

The set list - took this pic before the show. There was a late handwritten addition of another new song called Broken Biscuits (after This could be Texas)...

English Teacher @ Whereelse by citoyen, on Flickr

[toontra]

They were superb last night. Played several new tracks off their forthcoming album that all sounded excellent. The title track off the album, This Could Be Texas, is a belter.

Excellent.  Ticket booked for May.

[CrazyEnglishTriathlete]

Beast in Black and Gloryhammer at the O2 Kentish Town.  Riotous.  Silly. Overblown. Party Central. Brilliant