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17th August 2007
Taking a break from selected festival appearances this year, Martha Wainwright was in London for a one off gig. She promised many new songs and she delivered that promise with her instantly recognizable mourning voice that either saves the souls or breaks the hearts. Seeing Martha live is a completely different experience to listening to her on CD. On stage she lives every word she sings. One could identify this with the time Bjork ate her dress while at the set of Dancer in the Dark. There is so much emotion; from sorrow to joy, regret to pride and combined with the voice it turns into this scene which you can't take your eyes of - you do not want to miss a second of it.
The new songs are in the same direction of the old ones. Personal stories of pain and loss and hope are covered in songs such as Bleeding All Over You and George, a song she wrote about a friend who committed suicide. With guest appearances from Pete Townsend and Rachel Fuller who covers the Eels' It's A Motherfucker, the evening gets spiced up. Eels' is not the only act covered, Martha takes on Annie Lennox's Love Is A Stranger. Everytime she sings "...and I want you..." crowd melts a little bit more, however she points out she is now taken. The evening comes to an end with the introduction of tequilla and the appropriate song to go with it - GPT -, followed by the now anthemic BMFA and the jaw dropping rendition of Dis Quand Reviendras-Tu? confirming her state as an amazing performer and perhaps a future icon like Edith Piaf.
Check Official Martha Wainwright website for tour info
Martha's Myspace page
For more photos from the show, check out YouNeedToSeeThese
27th July 2007
Clap clap clap whistle whistle whistle. Add a healthy dose of "i have no idea what chords they are playing" guitars, a flask full of "makes me wanna stomp my foot and dance" drums, keys, lotsa keys in the form of keyboards, keytars, those flute-keyboard things and a pinch of flute.
Not quite the DIY band but more than enough layered instrumentals to create a dance chaos while sounding simple and subdued at the same time.
How is this possible? Ask the Norwich band Bearsuit. Or better go catch them live in support of their upcoming new single More Soul Than Wigan Casino in August and album titled OH:IO (both released on Fantastic Plastic) in September. As witnessed on this Fortuna Pop night, their music and live performance will make you wave your arms in all directions and if you end up in one of their future gigs and if anyone gives you the weird look for the uncontrollable body jerkin, make sure to deck them and blame it to the band. Don't forget to fall for the charms of Itsuke Got Married once again and do a sexy dance for the new song Foxy Boxer.
Check out Bearsuit's Official website and Myspace for news and tour dates
Also check out Fantastic Plastic, Fortuna Pop Records
More photos from the Buffalo Bar is on YouNeedToSeeThese
9th July 2007
You can't help but feel disappointed when Courtney Love says she can't smoke in the venue because of the laws. This is the new Courtney Love. She is still the punk/rock/grunge icon but she has grown up.
On her birthday Courtney Love was in London to perform a secret gig to about 250+ people. The reason behind was probably to test the waters for her new songs from her new album scheduled to be released in Spring 2008. I can't wait that long, as Love, who's been to hell and back in the last couple of years appears to have written an album of such beauty it hurts.
She opened her set with a song called Samantha (not Maloney) which is 1 of the 3 "rockin" songs that might end up on the album. Alongside the new songs, she squeezed some Hole classics from Live Through This (Doll Parts, Miss World) and Celebrity Skin (Malibu, Celebrity Skin and Northern Star). Her new material tells the story of someone looking at her life, acknowledging her wrongs and looking for redemption (Letter to God, Happy Ending Story, Once In Your Life, Never Go Hungry) and revenge (Stand Up Motherfucker, Sunset Marquis) and better than anything she can sing these songs live. It is a fact that she ran out of breath in some songs and ruined the intro to Miss World but to cut her some slack she has not played live (and with her new band) for years. And if her performance is like this at the beginning of the road I am looking forward to the next occasion.
Check out Courtney's new website, Courtney Love
Her Myspace for informative and amusing blog entries
and YouNeedToSeeThese for photos from Bush Hall
3rd & 4th July 2007
After 2 years of stage absence Tori stopped at London, at her home Hammersmith Apollo in her American Doll Posse tour. She had some surprises, 4 in fact, namely Pip, Santa, Clyde and Isabel. Along with Tori they make up the doll posse. With the exception of "Tori", on eof these characters is selected every night to open the show. For her London shows the honors were given to Santa and Isabel (sarcastically put on 4th of July).
The band was there to liven up the songs, there was a stage set up, the lights were pretty much amazing and the set lists, the set lists were to die for. Tori as herself sang the hits and b-sides off her back catalogue in both nights. Here she was fucking her piano stool during Crucify and Bliss, near tears during China, thoughtful during Putting the Damage on and Cool On Your Island. Cornflake Girl, God, Caught A Light Sneeze, Hey Jupiter, Tear in Your Hand, Winter, Waitress, Sorta Fairytale...the songs kept coming. Sweet Dreams, Siren, Home On The Range and Cooling, some of her best b-sides and rarities. She even had a remixed Professional Widow section giving her time to change.
Unfortunately not everything was amazing. To begin with none of the ADP tracks stand out when performed live, maybe realizing that most of the new tracks were performed at the beginning of the show with only Big Wheel and Code Red from ADP remain permanent in the main set. Secondly and I think this was the main issue this is not the 90s and it seemed even though Tori tried to capture the audience's attention with the 90s well known songs somehow it felt, especially on the first night, she was not feeling them.
Tori Amos Official Website, Myspace
for more photos from both nights, check YouNeedToSeeThese
19th June 2007In the awake of the new "Smashing Pumpkins" album Zeitgeist, Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlain along with newly recruited members reminded us why SP was once the world's best band.
Taking the stage at 8pm without any support acts, the band performed for 3 hours. There was moshing, real moshing among crowd shouting the names of billy and jimmy then there were cool downs with acoustic songs and ballads and sing-a-longs. We also got a taste of Zeitgeist which sees Billy going back to raw guitars and drums instead of synths and keyboards. The setlist consisted of Cherub Rock, Disarm, Today, Shame, Bullet With Butterfly Wings, 33, Zero, Silverfuck, Stand Inside Your Love, 1979, Tonight Tonight, Rocket and many others while playing Zeitgeist in full. It is a welcome return of the band. Even though it's not the original line up as long as you have Billy singing like an innocent child one minute and the howl in a way that gives you goosebumps you know you are in safe hands.
Catch The Smashing Pumpkins headlining at Carling Reading/Leeds Festival in August.
For more info check out the Official Site and Myspace
for more photos of the band, see YouNeedToSeeThese
17th May 2007
If I was to interview Patti Smith, I would have asked her how old she was. Here is a woman with long silver hair, wrinkles on her face and hands, looking fragile yet she sings, shouts, moves and strums her guitar with so much passion, you would think that she wasn't a year over 30 if you were blind. Yet at double that age, when she takes on the stage, Smith embodies the very pure essence of punk. She is against the system, she is outside of the society, she is not afraid to say it.
The reason for this tour is to promote Patti Smith's new album - Twelve. A covers album including songs of some of Patti's favourite musicians. She is also here to remind the audience of her own songs. L-O-N-D-O-N! GLORIA! she shouts and starts off her 2 hour long set. With the help of her band, including the original member Lenny Kaye, she performs classics such as Redondo Beach, Pissing in the River, Because The Night and Frederick in between the covers of Are You Experienced, White Rabbit, Smells Like Teen Spirit and Everybody Wants To Rule The World. At the end of her set, as she says she takes us back to 1978 with a 10 minute version of Rock'n'Roll Nigger - during the song the fists are up in the air, people are moshing. But this is not 1978, this is 2007 and that woman on stage is the ageless legend Patti Smith.
Patti Smith - Twelve is out now on Sony Records
For Tour information check out Patti Smith's myspace page
For more photos from Roundhouse gig, check out YouNeedToSeeThese
14th May 2007
Rufus Wainwright is in town to promote his new album, the Neil Tennant produced Release The Stars. His last stop before he leaves the town is Virgin Megastore on Oxford St for a lunch time in-store appearence.
It is easy to notice Rufus has been working with a hectic schedule. He looks tired but still upbeat. His short, 5-song set includes the title track, Rules and Regulations, Sans Souci, Art Teacher from 2005's Want Two and the first single off Rlease The Stars - the anti American Going To A Town. What sounds not so impressive on the CD comes alive when performed live. In fact all the songs sound quite magnificient with a full band forcing you to give that second listen to the album which actually turns out to be quite good.
Release The Stars is out this week on Geffen Records.
For news, tour dates and pre-sales check out rufuswainwright.com
For more pictures from Virgin Megastore in-store appearence check out YouNeedToSeeThese
6th April 2007
17th August 2007
