Glastonbury Festival

24-26th June 2007
All the rain and mud stopped some from having a great weekend at the legendary Glastonbury Festival however it didn't stop the music. If you have been to Glastonbury before, you wouldn't be fooled by the "it's all part of the experience" excuse on poor planning causing chaos and injuries. A legendary festival should not have any excuses, especially after increasing the capacity. At the end of the day as much as they say Glastonbury is an all around experience, the focus is on the music. And music was what made many forget about how you would be able to get back to your tent without slipping on mud and injuring yourself.

Started Friday with Remi Nicole, a much anticipated new young singer with a guitar destined to be branded as "PJ Harvey on (insert word)". Next we waited for Los Campesinos. Unfortunately the sun didn't wait for them and it started raining. After what seemed like ages, the band finally took the stage. I was going to write stormed the stage but it would be more suitable for the next band - The Automatic. The Automatic has been touring their album Not Accepted Anywhere so their set was predictable but it is always a joy to see the guys putting their 100% (200 in Alex Pennie's case) and put on an amazing show.Their set was followed by Bright Eyes with a full band wearing all white with Conor Oberst apologizing for his drug fueled rant that happened 2 years ago. After a set from Charlotte Hatherley, it was Martha Wainwright's turn to showcase some new songs from her second album with a tentative release date of January 2008. A sing-a-long during BMFA brought a smile on Martha's face, then again it might have been the fat joint someone threw on stage for her smoking pleasure. And off she was to join her brother Rufus Wainwright on the Other Stage. And so were we. This is Rufus' second consecutive appearance at Glastonbury on the same stage. He belted songs from his new album and finished his set with a pre-recorded cover of Get Happy...only he couldn't as the CD skipped and he had to do it all over again. Arcade Fire was next and they put on a fantastic show and get the people jumping and dancing in the muddy ground. Headliners of the evening were Arctic Monkeys and Bjork. We stayed at the Other Stage for Bjork of course and she was by all means worth the wait. She sang songs from her new album Volta as well as reworked to sound ravey classics such as Army of Me, Hyperballad and Pluto. Towards the end of her set the speakers on the right stopped functioning however this didn't stop anyone dancing like they were participating the biggest rave on earth.

Saturday saw Kate Jackson sharing the Other Stage with the Brakes for a duet of Mrs Jackson. She later appeared with her band The Long Blondes and bear the torrential rain while singing songs from their fantastic debut. My first and last trip to the Pyramid Stage was to see Lily Allen. Unfortunately Lily's attitude outshines her talent which is a shame. Pigeon Detectives raised the roof in the John Peel Tent with invitations to sing-a-longs and crowd surfing. They deserve to be heard and seen. For the curator of the Peel tent, Bat For Lashes was the band he's been waiting to see all day long. He was left very satisfied with Natasha Khan and her band singing songs from their critically acclaimed album Bat For Lashes creating a paganistic ritual atmosphere. The next band was the one I've been waiting to see all day and he lived up to my expectations as usual. Patrick Wolf was on top form, dancing on stage, being rude with a cameraman and just being playful in general. He was joined on stage by Edward Larrikin who was supposed to be performing as Larrikin Love at this year's Glasto before they split up. Not knowing who to see next, we watched Get Cape Wear Cape Fly and then ran to see the Saturday's headliner, one Mr Iggy Pop and the Stooges. Iggy Pop is an icon; unlike some, his legendary status didn't stop him from getting down and dirty with his fans. So when he demanded the fans be let on stage there were people jumping the barriers everywhere (I tried and failed). This chaos stopped him from continuing his show as there was no space for him on stage. After about 20 minutes of socializing with his fans he reclaimed it back and finished his set with an extended version of I Wanna Be Your Dog.

A stellar line up on Friday and Saturday left Sunday as a bit of an anti-climax but gave us the opportunity to walk around the site. Walking around the dance tents we went into one to see Dragonette. It was their third show of the weekend so they were understandably tired but performed well. The Go! Team was on the list of acts to see so we headed to the Other Stage and see them bring the tired and rain drenched audience back to life with their up beat happy tunes. The View was the penultimate band of the night and continued to entertain the crowd and warmed them up for the festival closer Chemical Brothers. Flares and lasers and a huge screen with amazing light show was what they offered us on plate and the songs spanning their decade long career was an added bonus.

Overall it's best to limit the experience with music and when the experience is the music I doubt anyone can say "I'm not coming back next year" and even if you say you won't, you know you will because at the end of the day, it is the Glastonbury Festival.

Official Glastonbury Site
For over 100 photos from Glastonbury, check out YouNeedToSeeThese

Smashing Pumpkins @ Shepherds Bush Empire

19th June 2007
In 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

Patti Smith @ Roundhouse, London

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

Rufus Wainwright @ Virgin Megastore, London

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

BRNLV Club feat Bishi @ Water Rats, London

6th April 2007

Brett Anderson @ Popstarz, Scala

30th March 2007
An acoustic set taking place in London's biggest gay indie club may not sound like the best idea. Especially if the core clientelle is too young to remember Suede. Add the fact that your album doesn't contain any fast paced anthems.

Brett Anderson didn't have anything to worry. Coming on stage in high spirits, he told the audience he guessed they wanted him to sing some songs. Starting with a song about sex from his debut solo album, he followed it with the single Love Is Dead. His loyal fanbase cheered, while others shouted for the Suede classic Trash. After requesting audience to stop being so rowdy and telling them to be quiet he continued his set with a Suede b-side The Living Dead followed by the Wild Ones. Not wanting to disappoint, he finished his set with an acoustic version of Trash. The audience demanded more. Not having planned what else to play, Brett decided to take requests.He dedicated Clowns, the b-side to Love is Dead, to a fan. An attempt to play Across the Universe was cut short with a "fuck it", and was followed by the intro of another album track Scorpio Rising. Hesitating on what the play next, he opted for another Suede classic to finish his set. An acoustic So Young with the chorus sang by the audience proved that those who had doubts about this night were wrong.

Setlist: Infinite Kiss, Love Is Dead, The Living Dead, Wild Ones, Trash, Clowns, So Young

Debut album Brett Anderson is out now.
Check out the official website for news and tour info.
See more photos at YouNeedtoSeeThese

Robyn @ Cargo, London

29th March 2007
Robyn has been around for over a decade now. She came into the music scene with Show Me Love. Even though her looks changed so little, her music took a turn into a more electro influenced pop. It is impossible to see that innocent Robyn singing sweet melodies in her latest single Konichiwa Bitches.

At her Cargo gig Robyn performed a selection of her singles. It is hard to say "hits" as with the exception of Do You Know What It Takes and Show Me Love, none of her material charted in the UK (or was released here). However as the night proved, she has a very loyal following who knew the words to all the songs she performed. Performance wise she was at top form. She taught everyone that 3 drumkits are better than 1 and that she doesn't have to change outfits or have big light shows to keep the crowd interested. She also showed everyone not only she can perform her own songs in excellence she can also pull off a Prince cover too.
Konichiwa Bitches' simplistic beats worked well live. The venue turned into a night club for the duration of With Every Heartbeat. She charmed the audience when she forgot the words to Handle Me and when she came back for a second encore - Be Mine (performed acoustic), everyone knew they were watching a future pop princess.

check out her official website and Myspace for details of upcoming performances
for more photos from the Cargo gig, check out YouNeedtoSeeThese
Check out the Handle Me performance on Fabulae's YouTube