Oh, happy days. I’ve got an Arcade Fire gig on the horizon. Hot off the heels of releasing their excellent new album, The Suburbs, Arcade Fire announced some UK gigs in November/ December. I’ve been lucky enough to snaffle tickets for one of their O2 shows, and I’m thoroughly looking forward to seeing them again [...]
Tonight, listening to a few songs, I was reminded of the unexpected pleasure that was the Magic Numbers bursting into a glorious cover of Neil Young’s Cowgirl in the Sand when I saw them recently at Tapestry Goes West at Shenley Park. There’s been a few times recently, including this one, where I’ve been impressed [...]
Each Glastonbury I go to, I try and see at least one band that I’ve not heard of before. This year, that honour fell to the Avett Brothers. I’d already eyed them up in the programme after they were described as a “folk rolk band from North Carolina who combine bluegrass, punk and pop, and [...]
Long time no speak, loyal reader! I’ve been a tad busy at work since my return to the real world after another fantastic Glastonbury – definitely my second favourite so far – so they’ll be a deluge of Glastonbury-related posts to come in coming weeks. I’ll kick off my recollections of this year’s monumental Glastonbury by mentioning [...]
Ah, it’s nice having something to look forward to. The Glastonbury lineup has been announced – and while there’s not that many acts that take my fancy that I’ve not seen before, it’s still a stellar lineup. U2, Muse, Stevie Wonder, Flaming Lips, Gomez, I Am Kloot, Frightened Rabbit, Grizzly Bear, The Bees, Magic Numbers [...]
Last night was the second gig in the space of a week for me. Both at Koko, both with excellent company. This one certainly topped last week’s Wild Beasts. We got in the venue around 8pm and managed to catch the last couple of songs of Hjaltalín’s set – they deserve a mention for two [...]
Glastonbury 2003 was magical. My first summer after graduating from university, I got to experience three firsts. My first Glastonbury; my first time seeing REM and my first time seeing my favourite band: Radiohead. I’ll never forget the view of the site after reaching the brow of the Hill of Death (those that have made [...]
Christmas came early for me as I got to see the living legend that is Paul McCartney at the O2 in London on 22 December. It was his debut performance at the O2, but he did use the venue to rehearse for an earlier worldwide tour before the new arena was built. This was certainly [...]
Ah, Deus. Who’s heard of them? Sadly, I don’t think they’re as well known in the UK as they ought to be. I was introduced to them by two good friends. I’m pleased I was. They herald from Belgium, but sing in English. Instant Street is six-minute-plus epic of a song, thanks to the elaborate [...]
Ah, here’s a blast from the past. Riding home on the train today, I decided to spin up a track I’ve not head for ages on my iPod: Zuton Fever. This song’s moment comes at 0:00 – yes, that’s right – at the start of the song. A simple guitar intro, 12 seconds long, each [...]
All about moving moments in music.