Hot Club de Paris were supported by Gullich and B>E>A>K. It took place in the Cluny in Ouseburn, Newcastle; A very understated venue which is small but has good floor space, fair-sized stage, excellent acoustics, and a lot of heart.
It was an exhausting experience on the whole, but by no fault the bands and by every fault my own. I did not sleep the previous night at all and was up and walking to uni by 8AM and didn't get home till 6PM. By the end of the night I had been awake for 36 hours. On top of this, I had barely ate, so I was hungry as well as knackered.
Show started with indie-rock threesome Gullich, who I was left largely unimpressed with. If one was to take apart and dissect their music you'd probably realise it is some good stuff, but together I found that it didn't mesh, making it sound clumsy. I also found them quite boring, with nothing standing out or catching my attention - much unlike the next band.
Mackem five-piece, B>E>A>K, where quirky and gimmicky, and to those that don't take their music absolutely seriously, very fun to watch. A quick look at their MySpace will show you exactly why they are gimmicky, but for those that can't be bothered to click the link they are basically guys in bird masks (hence BEAK) delivering their own brand of "bird rock" instrumental, complete with bird-related names (some personal favourites where "Only The Crow Knows" and "GET YA BEAK ON!"). Music-wise, it was atmospheric with minimal lyrics, which I don't normally go for, but it all founded good from my ears, but it was my eyes that would like to thank them most.
Then Hot Club de Paris came on and blew me away. They're on a record label called "Moshi Moshi", which might be quickly becoming my favourite record label because of these guys, Slow Club, The Drums and Dananananaykroyd, as well as two of my long-time favourites Hot Chip and Bloc Party. Anyway, these guys were awesome on so many levels. From math rock explosions to catchy, tingly pop-punk, their music delivered on all levels with even their slower songs having the strength to excite me. They also bring good humour to the table; not only with their quick audience interactions in between songs but also with a couple of a cappella performances. In that sense, one can say HCdP are a band with two personalities, one of which I don't think would be noticeable on a CD. In that sense I'm glad I got introduced to them live rather than by recordings.
Thursday, 18 February 2010
Monday, 8 February 2010
Sunday, 7 February 2010
Up In The Air [Review]
I saw this film in between lectures at university, and I think that is the perfect way to see this film. Like Clooney’s last film, “The Men Who Stare At Goats”, it isn’t a film that will blow you away, and for me to go out at night, with friends, and pay peak-rate prices for the tickets, I find that a little annoying. That said, “Up In The Air” brags a delicacy that Goats can only aspire to have.
The theme of this film cuts close to the skin for some. George Clooney plays Ryan Bingham, a man who is hired by companies across America to travel around the country and fire employees that they don’t have the courage to fire themselves. Surely a pressing issue in today’s credit crunch (might be a bit out-of-date considering the 0.001% increase in the ecomony, WE’RE IN THE CLEAR PEOPLE!).
Clooney leads the cast gracefully in this story of one man’s self-alienation. Finding comfort in what we consider simple and/or vain (such as the bragging of elite status membership cards and a ridiculous amount of air miles), Clooney plays an absolutely believable douche, but one with such suave you will want to be him. He is the cement that holds the film together with the perfect delivery of lines, crossing off soundbites like a shopping list, and that certain spark that other actors seem to lack.
The rest of the cast falls gently into place, with the two female supporting actors, Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick playing Alex and Natalie respectively, performing convincingly the well-rounded characters that this expert script has dealt to them. Alex, for example, is a young business woman who appears strong and innovative and therefore threatening to Ryan Bingham as she seeks to change his world. We soon discover, however, that she is in fact a naive, and unfortunate, girl in an unwanted position. Natalie on the other hand is everything but naive, and instead appears Ryan’s equal – and I won’t go further into that because I don’t want to spoil it for you.
The word here is “charm”; as if anything associated with George Clooney can be anything but. Definitely a film I would recommend, but I wouldn’t go as far as calling it a must see. Probably an ideal DVD for most, a bit too mushy and polite for others, and a smile-inducing beauty for people like me. I loved it.
The theme of this film cuts close to the skin for some. George Clooney plays Ryan Bingham, a man who is hired by companies across America to travel around the country and fire employees that they don’t have the courage to fire themselves. Surely a pressing issue in today’s credit crunch (might be a bit out-of-date considering the 0.001% increase in the ecomony, WE’RE IN THE CLEAR PEOPLE!).
Clooney leads the cast gracefully in this story of one man’s self-alienation. Finding comfort in what we consider simple and/or vain (such as the bragging of elite status membership cards and a ridiculous amount of air miles), Clooney plays an absolutely believable douche, but one with such suave you will want to be him. He is the cement that holds the film together with the perfect delivery of lines, crossing off soundbites like a shopping list, and that certain spark that other actors seem to lack.
The rest of the cast falls gently into place, with the two female supporting actors, Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick playing Alex and Natalie respectively, performing convincingly the well-rounded characters that this expert script has dealt to them. Alex, for example, is a young business woman who appears strong and innovative and therefore threatening to Ryan Bingham as she seeks to change his world. We soon discover, however, that she is in fact a naive, and unfortunate, girl in an unwanted position. Natalie on the other hand is everything but naive, and instead appears Ryan’s equal – and I won’t go further into that because I don’t want to spoil it for you.
The word here is “charm”; as if anything associated with George Clooney can be anything but. Definitely a film I would recommend, but I wouldn’t go as far as calling it a must see. Probably an ideal DVD for most, a bit too mushy and polite for others, and a smile-inducing beauty for people like me. I loved it.
Friday, 5 February 2010
NME Awards Tour @ The O2 Academy, Newcastle [Review]
Last night Adam (from the A-Go-Go blog to your right) told me about this gig: £15, four bands, two of which were Bombay Bicycle Club and the The Maccabees, of course I was going. The fact that it was in two hours and only balcony tickets were available meant nothing.
The Drums - An energetic and charismatic bunch from New York. You'll find their sound has the substance of The Joy Division with the poppy explosiveness of Franz Ferdinand. It is a beautiful mix that can only result in growing popularity that I am sure this tour will give them. Expect big things from them in the future. It was their first trip to the UK for the four-piece, and they definitely made a good impression, playing with an energy that was not replicated for the rest of the night. Such energy in fact that they broke their tambourine. (http://www.myspace.com/thedrumsforever)
The Big Pink - This was not as good, definitely a come down, I could not get into it at all. Electro-rock is brilliant when done right, and these guys just didn't seem to hit the right note. I thought the crowd agreed with me, because I did not see a single person move beyond maybe some bored foot-taps every so often - then that changed when The Big Pink played "Dominoes" (yes, that song from the X-Box 360 advert). I did not realise that was their song, and I bet few people in the room did either because everyone seem surprised and suddenly went chaotic at the sound of "...these girls fall like dominoes!" Just shows you, one easily-recognised song could make you. (http://www.myspace.com/musicfromthebigpink)
Bombay Bicycle Club - Haven't heard from these in quite a while. For those who don't know them, they're an indie band from North London, and are probably most famous for opening the V Festival in 2006. They put on a really good performance, I forgot they were that good. They even played "Open House" which made me very happy indeed. I encourage everyone to check these guys out as well, they deserve to get big someday because they really do work their arses off for the crowd. Everyone appreciated it too, even after ten songs they were begging for me. (http://www.myspace.com/bombaybicycleclub)
The Maccabees - You've probably heard of these, but if not they're a five-piece indie band, also from London, and these were the guys that were closing the show. From the word 'Go' the crowd was shithot for them, it wasn't even funny. An annoying woman in front of us kept getting up to dance only to be told to sit down by the bouncer, but she just got up again anyway. I haven't taken the time to listen to these in quite some time, I haven't even got the album they released last year, but after this I wonder why because they were very good. The played some of the stuff I recognised, like "Precious Time" and "X Ray". In the encore did a faster and more awesome cover of "Rip It Up" by Orange Juice, which was an excellent way to finish the show. (http://www.myspace.com/themaccabees)
All in all, a really good show, glad I went instead of drinking in/out of the house.
The Drums - An energetic and charismatic bunch from New York. You'll find their sound has the substance of The Joy Division with the poppy explosiveness of Franz Ferdinand. It is a beautiful mix that can only result in growing popularity that I am sure this tour will give them. Expect big things from them in the future. It was their first trip to the UK for the four-piece, and they definitely made a good impression, playing with an energy that was not replicated for the rest of the night. Such energy in fact that they broke their tambourine. (http://www.myspace.com/thedrumsforever)
The Big Pink - This was not as good, definitely a come down, I could not get into it at all. Electro-rock is brilliant when done right, and these guys just didn't seem to hit the right note. I thought the crowd agreed with me, because I did not see a single person move beyond maybe some bored foot-taps every so often - then that changed when The Big Pink played "Dominoes" (yes, that song from the X-Box 360 advert). I did not realise that was their song, and I bet few people in the room did either because everyone seem surprised and suddenly went chaotic at the sound of "...these girls fall like dominoes!" Just shows you, one easily-recognised song could make you. (http://www.myspace.com/musicfromthebigpink)
Bombay Bicycle Club - Haven't heard from these in quite a while. For those who don't know them, they're an indie band from North London, and are probably most famous for opening the V Festival in 2006. They put on a really good performance, I forgot they were that good. They even played "Open House" which made me very happy indeed. I encourage everyone to check these guys out as well, they deserve to get big someday because they really do work their arses off for the crowd. Everyone appreciated it too, even after ten songs they were begging for me. (http://www.myspace.com/bombaybicycleclub)
The Maccabees - You've probably heard of these, but if not they're a five-piece indie band, also from London, and these were the guys that were closing the show. From the word 'Go' the crowd was shithot for them, it wasn't even funny. An annoying woman in front of us kept getting up to dance only to be told to sit down by the bouncer, but she just got up again anyway. I haven't taken the time to listen to these in quite some time, I haven't even got the album they released last year, but after this I wonder why because they were very good. The played some of the stuff I recognised, like "Precious Time" and "X Ray". In the encore did a faster and more awesome cover of "Rip It Up" by Orange Juice, which was an excellent way to finish the show. (http://www.myspace.com/themaccabees)
All in all, a really good show, glad I went instead of drinking in/out of the house.
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