:::2008 - THE YEAR OF LIVE MUSIC:::

[Colly]

I repeat, they're playing Stockton, that tells you something. Having said that, Arctic Monkeys played every toilet in the North East and it didn't do them any harm, until they notice the venereal disease you get from the floor in the Empire...

[IAceI]

Arctic Monkey's played Carlisle too. Before anyone gave a shit of course.

[Colly]

I was going to ask actually but sort of assumed they would have. They played at least 3 venues in Middlesbrough and 2 in Stockton over the course of a year, they really did work their arses off which is why I always disagree with the 'they only got a big fanbase because of the internet' rubbish.

[Jimmy]

I agree with whoever said YI should be a mod, your reviews of the gigs are fantastic. Please keep on reviewing it's great fun reading.

[IAceI]

The best bit was when they turned around and said "What the fuck is MySpace?". And I remember some program when 4 people were pretty much were going on about how they made the Arctic Monkeys by spreading their word around the internet.

It's bollocks. Hardcore touring (if a band comes to Carlisle, they're trying or just a bit shit) is what makes a band get a following. People just wanted to assume that the Arctic Monkey's were some new wave of internet band who get their word out there through people on MySpace, like Kate Nash and all this bollocks.

I dunno what I'm talking about.

[YI]

I apolagize in advance for the quality of this review.

DATE: May 26th 2008

VENUE: Quayside - Gateshead/Newcastle

GIG: 3VOLUTION FESTIVAL

Sorry...I didn't see Glasvegas.

I've yet to go to sleep, but I'm going to plow through this shit. I know I have a tendency to waffle on, but this seriously is going to have fuck all about music. I mean, I'll mention as much as possible, but Evolution Festival is more about getting pissed, high and being a total fucking knob. So that's what I did.

I mean, there was some things about this day which were a bit of a downer. One of my mate's telling everyone else they weren't selling anymore tickets, and there was massive queues to get them (Both absolute fucking bullshit). This caused two people, one of who actually wanted to see CSS and New Young Pony Club, to go home. Which totally pissed me off when we found out he was bullshitting, even though I told everyone he was from the start. Also, there's the whole, my girlfriend getting pissed off at me, but that's a regular occurance, I'll give it a couple of days and shit will be sound...plus the fucking walk. Awful...just awful.

Anyways. We got across to Gateshead about 5 or 6 or something. I can't quite remember. I know we'd missed Hercules & The Love Affair, which I was dissapointed about, as I really wanted to see them.

Does It Offend You Yeah? had already started by the time we got there. We tried to get into them, but spent more time pissing about with a football, later named Clarence, we found on the way. This was going to be a recurring theme throughout the rest of the day, as we'd yell "Football", get people to header it and we'd try to get on as many random photos as possible with the football. If you were there...and we annoyed you...I do apologise...but it was fucking hilarious. I'm pretty sure they did "We Are Rockstars", "Doomed Now", "Let's Make Out" and "Weird Science"...as well as probably most of the album. They sounded pretty good live, but it wasn't really the time, or the venue they'd excell in.

EXHIBIT A: Football!

Up next were Crystal Castles. I'm sorry, no matter how off your tits you might be, Crystal Castles in front of thousands of people, in the daylight, just does nothing for me. I mean, they were good. But I didn't pay a lot of attention, too far back, much rather piss the fuck about etc. I got a chant of "LEGEND" directed at me by a bunch of 16/17 year olds...which was strangely satisying. As we went down the ramp, they'd hang their arms over for people to slap. I got like all ten of them to line up their hands and made a dash down in a run that would put Ultimate Warrior to shame. Naturally, their chant of "LEGEND" was counter-acted with "FOOTBALL". As for their setlist, again my memory is fuzzy, but I definately remember "Reckless", "Alice Practice" and "Courtship Date", and I think "Love & Caring"...the rest, not so sure about. As I said, drifting in and out of focus. Again, not really the venue for it, unfortunately.

After that we made our way over to see Kate Nash at the Newcastle side. Another bloody ridiculous walk. The random football related shenanigans continued, with my friend trying to chat up a fitty by claiming to be a professional footballer. He actually had reasoning too. He claimed the fact he was on the dole, but plays on his pub team, who 'pay him' in a free meal and a pint after a match, means he's a professional, as it's the only work he does that he gets paid for. There was also a case of what could be construed as sexual assault on a minor, when my mate patted a lad on the arse and congratulated him for getting into a fit lass, who too was about 14.

We made it to the Newcastle side, and unfortunately our football got confiscated. It was a very sad day. Got inside, they've switched the side the stage is on, boo...fucking MILF!! The greatest MILF I have ever seen. I swear to god. She was with her daughters, who must have been like 10 and 5 or something...and she was BANGING! Like, jaw hits the floor, hot.

Also, god bless girls sitting on the ground. UPSKIRT! I'm filth...I don't care. They're filth too. Kate Nash was a bit shit. I mean, she's a lot more 'reckless' than she is on record, and she switched about arrangements and stuff, which is always good to hear, "Skeleton Song" especially was fairly rocking. But she's at that limbo where she alienates people. As she's not 'heavy' enough for people to really 'get into', but she's also too 'heavy' for her casual friends to enjoy. The highlights of the set again was the pissing about between songs. We came across some guy who stole a flag from the ice cream van and was waving it about. He was a legend. We should have thought of that.

EXHIBIT B: Sex Offender

But there was numerous chants and shouts. "Get Your Muff Out" was an early favourite. Obvious...yes...but part of me was hoping Ryan Jarmin would appear and launch a pint glass at my head. After an angry look from a mother, it became "Get Your Rat Out". Other highlights include "There's Only One David Ginola", "Are you Lilly Allen?" and "Your Drummer Looks Like A Sex Offender"...and other shit I can only begin to remember. Looking back...I feel like a twat, though we were too far back for her to hear, but still. But at the time, it was fucking hilarious.

As for music. She of course did "Mouthwash" and "Foundations". As previously mentioned there was the 'crazy' version of "Skeleton Song", which is both my favourite song and the favourite on the day. I seem to remember "We Get on" and "Birds" as well. She wasn't that great to be fair. But not terrible. Again, I wasn't really feeling her as a 'big stage', outdoor, kind of act, which is what most of the day would suffer from by the looks of things.

XZIBIT

We fucked off before The Streets. We were originally going to see CSS, but couldn't be arsed, as it would involve another stupidly long walk. So we just got a taxi back to my mates flat, where we sat playing Pro Evo until morning, then I fed his dog toast.

CHECK THEM OUT

CSS

Kate Nash

Crystal Castles

Does It Offend You Yeah?

Hercules & The Love Affair

[GA!]

I really want to like Crystal Castles, but there's something about them that puts me off. I can't put my finger on it.

[YI]

I really want to like Crystal Castles, but there's something about them that puts me off. I can't put my finger on it.

They're a strange lot, in the fact the songs they 'release' get put out everywhere are actually the 'least accessable' of their tracks. I'd heard stuff like "Alice Practice", "Love & Caring", "XXZXCUZX Me" etc. being pimped etc. But "XXZXCUZX Me" especially...just sounds like a crock of shit to me. But there's some really catchy, 'easier on the ears' numbers like "Reckless", "Black Panther", "Untrust Us", "Vanished" etc.

[GA!]

I really want to like Crystal Castles, but there's something about them that puts me off. I can't put my finger on it.

They're a strange lot, in the fact the songs they 'release' get put out everywhere are actually the 'least accessable' of their tracks. I'd heard stuff like "Alice Practice", "Love & Caring", "XXZXCUZX Me" etc. being pimped etc. But "XXZXCUZX Me" especially...just sounds like a crock of shit to me. But there's some really catchy, 'easier on the ears' numbers like "Reckless", "Black Panther", "Untrust Us", "Vanished" etc.

Alice Practice is horrible. It's a clusterfuck of NES sound effects mixed with a walking haircut trying to shout, and fails. I think my main problem with them is how good they could be, but their songs come across as very average. I think 'Courtship Dating' is a good track, and 'Magic Spells' sounds like a decent Boards of Canada song. The rest is meh.

[YI]

DATE: May 20th 2008

VENUE: Academy 2 - Newcastle

GIG: SONIC BOOM SIX (w/Big D & The Kids Table, Random Hand)

After a coach journey back from London, I got back into Newcastle in the afternoon. I headed off home, not sure whether I was going to go to the gig on the night. I was tired, and whilst I do like Big D, they are probably my least favourite of the 4-way ska square that is Streetlight Manifesto, Rx Bandits and Mad Caddies. However, I'm also the most easily convinced person in the world, and when I told my friends I was thinking about not going, I was soon convinced to head back to town later in the evening.

We had a few 'pre-game' drinks in Sports Bar, down the road from the Academy. I have an eternal hatred of Sports Bar. It's got a 'club' downstairs and it's utter shit. But at the same time, I nearly banged a really fit Scottish bird I met there. Its also home to the only barmaid in existence who would "Only get it from the the front". As she has horrendous back fat folds...yet is still pretty. Still, it's better paying £2 odd for a competent pint here than £3.25 in the Academy. It's even better when you make other people buy you them as payback for the mutilating of your beard at Give It A Name weekend.

By the time we got to the venue, Random Hand had already started. Random Hand are a band that I'd heard of multiple times, but have never actually gotten around to listening to. I know they're a UK based band, but had no idea what style of music they played. However, if experience has taught me anything, most UK based ska/punk bands these days are fucking awful and try too hard to sound American, so I wasn't expecting much.

Random Hand as it turns out they are basically a ska-punk band. And as we got up the stairs the smallish crowd were into it, dancing about. They didn't have much in the way of horns, with the trombone player seemingly handling most of the vocals. At times they really got quite 'heavy'. I was not overly into them, and I still haven't decided whether it's worth checking out their record(s), but they were a solid warm up, getting me in the right frame of mind for what was coming next.

I was a little dissapointed at Big D & The Kids Table being the support act for this tour, until I found out that it was a co-headline tour, with both bands switching who would officially headline, but still play roughly the same set length each show. Big D's setlist was basically shed of all of their older material, which seemed to annoy a lot of people. It did me, to an extent, as their older material is a lot more 'energetic' and better for a live setting than the "Strictly Rude" material, although I believe that to be their best album. In room of a lot of the older tracks they interspaced covers of songs I didn't particuarly know to begin with, which they are apparently 'learning' for a friends wedding.

That's not saying their set wasn't fun. It was. People were dancing about, singing along. There was a great mix of upbeat tracks like "Noise Complaint", "Souped-Up Vinyl", "Steady Riot" and "Fly Away", as well as the 'downtempo numbers' like "Strictly Rude" and "Shining On". Then of course they wrapped things up with a couple of old songs, "Checklist" and fan favourite, 'fucking' "LAX". Such a brilliant track. Probably the most "fuck", and variations on, has appeared in a song.

Finally, out came Sonic Boom Six. I'm still not entirely sure on Sonic Boom Six. I mean, when push came to shove, I'd say I like them, but they are annoying as fuck! I man, their tunes are catchy, but I can't listen to them for long asvocalist Laila K is murder to the ears. What the fuck is with that voice? What actually is she? Asian? Latina? Part chipmunk? But having seen them live, I've grown to like her, and not just because she's hot. I still find her voice annoying, but she's just so adorable up on stage. She dances like a twat, like, seriously bad, but it's cute. But most of all, she's totally into it, which is refreshing to see. She just really loves music and looks ecstatic to be performing, which is a great thing to see when you go to a gig, as it then draws you into it.

I don't know a lot of their songs to be fair, but I did thoroughly enjoy their set, as did everyone else in attendence. Sonic Boom Six too are 'pushing the envelope' as far as ska goes. Ska and reggae have gone hand in hand since forever, but the band go a step further, mixing together ska-punk and hiphop. With parts and entire songs being rapped numbers, with hiphop samples. Really interesting stuff, and was a cool dynamic live.

In the end, I'm happy I decided to go.

SETLISTS (not in order/missing a few)

SONIC BOOM SIX

Meanwhile, Back In The Real World

Bigger Than Punk Rock

The Strange Tale Of Sid The Strangler

Sound Of A Revolution

Tell Me Something I Don't Know

Piggy In The Middle

For 12 Weeks The City Is Theirs

BIG D & THE KIDS TABLE

Steady Riot

Fly Away

Noise Complaint

Shining On

Hell On Earth

Strictly Rude

Souped-Up Vinyl

Checklist

LAX

CHECK THEM OUT

Sonic Boom Six

Big D & The Kids Table

Random Hand

Edited May 29, 2008 by YI

[TheRyno]

After the torture that was buying a 'pint', I head on off to catch Chiodos on the main stage. Again, I wasn't really digging them. Singer sounded like he wanted to be in a Coheed & Cambria tribute band. They ripped on the 14 year old emo fucks...but then again...when like 90% of your audience are made up of them... not really a good thing to do. They had energy, and I quite liked their 'attitude', to a certan extent, but I really was not digging their music at all, and neither was anybody I was with. There was seemingly plenty of people into it though. So, go them!

I hear this. The last concert I went to was Coheed/Dillinger Escape Plan/Chiodos/3 a year or two ago. I really wanted to like Chiodos but I just couldn't. I was instantly pumped when they decided to take the stage to The Undertaker's theme song but whenever they would start to sound good, they'd break down into some whiny emo shit. My friends went to the bar after the first song but I stayed and gave them a chance...until halfway through the second song. I just couldn't take it.

As an aside, that show as a whole was weird. My friends and I were impressed by 3 despite never hearing of them before. Chiodos sucked as mentioned above. My friends were confused by DEP, who I personally came to see. But I couldn't say that their performance was that great, especially considering that their lead guitarist had dropped off the tour for a few shows due to being extremely sick and/or injured. You could tell that Greg, the singer, was pissed at performing in front of nothing but unappreciative 14 year old emo kids as there was no in-between song banter or anything. In fact, I think he tried to injure himself a few times. A few seconds into the first song, he made a perfect somersault senton into the crowd. Then near the end of the final song, he climbed up a shaky stack of amps, causing all the stagehands to frantically run up to the stage and hold them in place so he wouldn't fall off and break his neck. Not to mention the fact that DEP's drummer would soon leave them for Coheed makes the show even weirder in retrospect. As for Coheed, I wouldn't consider myself a huge fan but they do a great live show. Of course, the fact that the sound system was louder for them than anyone else probably helped too. The fat kid in front of me raising his hands and shaking his head like seeing Coheed was a religious experience was a bit much, though, but that was made up for a 14 year old emo girl being hit on by a 40 year old drunk Mexican who happened to stumble into the show after a hard day's work.

[YI]

DATE: May 24th 2008

VENUE: The Church Of St Thomas The Martyr - Newcastle

GIG: STARS OF THE LID (w/d_rradio, Mariposa)

The whole concept of going to a gig in a church quite frankly intrigued the hell out of me. I had no idea how a band like Stars Of The Lid would come across live, their ambient stylings are often difficult enough to lsiten to on record, I wonder how 'boring' it was going to be live. I admit I got a little baked before heading to the show, and I presume my friend and I weren't the only ones, with plenty of people seeming to dissapear in and out of the church at random intervals.

First of all, the whole setting was truly perfect for the music that we were going to be treated with. The architecture was beautiful, the light slowly dissapearing through the tall windows. Everything, just added to the beauty of the gig. Stars Of The Lid themselves are a lot happier paying these kind of buildings as apposed to 'club' venues, and I can tell why.

Both the supports were local artists. Up first were the duo, Mariposa. The highlight of this band being the fact they actually have an attractive girl. Their music for the most part is based around loops and cycles. They basically have a loop pedal, and use a bunch of vocal and guitar effects, which are then looped back, adding layer upon layer on top of one another. Quite cool sounding stuff. Whilst this happens, the bloke tends to tweak some knobs whilst the bird bangs some random things. Quite cool.

Up next were d_rradio, who I thought were very, very good. Whilst still having a somewhat 'ambience', they blended it together in a more glitchy, electronica approach. Also they benefited from having some form of rhythmic structure and melodies. A band I will continue to check out in the future.

Finally, Stars Of The Lid came on. The were accompanied by a string trio, which added depth and sophistication to the arrangements, as visual projections played everything from landscapes and skies, to artsy patterns and weird kaleidoscope images. I have absolutely no idea what the setlist was, I struggle to actually remember names of indidual songs to begin with, but it truly was an awe inspiring experience.

I think my friend wrapped it up the best. Before the night he had no idea who Stars Of The Lid were, and he only came along because he was high and had nothing better to do. But as we left, he turned to me and said, "I have no fucking idea what I just saw. But it were brilliant".

My words can't do it justice. If you ever get a chance to see SOTL, go see them!

CHECK THEM OUT

Stars Of The Lid

d_rradio

Mariposa

[YI]

DATE: June 2nd 2008

VENUE: Scala - London

GIG: THE WEAKERTHANS (w/Dawn Landes, Christine Fellows)

Before I talk about the gig, as per usual, I like to rant on a bit. First, let us begin with my inability to talk to BEAUTIFUL girls. I mean, HOT girls, I'm fine...well not fine, but I can cope and sometimes succeed. But if I see a girl who's literally BEAUTIFUL, I just freeze, my mind goes blank, I can't even put together anything that is even vaguely charming or funny. She was by herself as well!! It should have been a piece of piss to get something from her. Bless her, she tried to keep conversation going, but I just kept fucking it up. I hated myself so much for that. At least until The Weakerthans came on. She was seriously the most beautiful girl I have ever seen in the flesh. I mean, "HOT!" is the kind of girl you want to take to a B&B in Dorset and penetrate in every position imaginable. "BEAUTIFUL!" is the kind of girl you take away for a romantic weekend in Paris, passionately make love to, whilst doing some sexy stuff with chocolate mousse and strawberries. I just can't handle that. I'd have married her than night.

Secondly, fuck Scala. As a venue, it's not terrible. It was really intimate, but was still packed, and the sound was good. However, there's no bar in the main room of the venue, meaning you have to go out to the foyer to a buy a pint. And CHRIST! What a SHITTY pint that is. It was literally the worst pint I have ever had. £3.90!!! £3.90!!! JESUS CHRIST!! FUCK OFF LONDON!!!

Thirdly. NIGGERS!! BLOODY NIGGER SECURITY!! After the gig, I nip out to the cloakroom to grab my coat quickly. Nobody in the queue, so I go through the 'wrong side'. NOBODY in the queue. The girl behind the desk is about to hand me my coat when this fucking dickhead of a security guard grabs me and drags me back going "You went in the wrong side". I have to walk around the corner to get on the right side of the 'rope', by which point a massive queue has formed!! Then, as I'm walking around he lets this girl cut right into the queue, visibly pissing people off! WHAT?!?! WHY?!?! SERIOUSLY!!! DOES HE HONESTLY THINK SHE WILL SUCK HIS DICK BECAUSE HE LET HER GET HER COAT QUICKLY?!?!?! SHE'S AN 18 YEAR OLD INDIE KID!! YOU'RE A FAT, 40 YEAR OLD, BLACK GUY!! YOU'VE GOT MORE CHANCE OF ME SUCKING YOUR DICK!! FUCK OFF! Black cunt...if people actually read these reviews, I may get banned...lucky that nobody reads them.

Now...music.

Up first was Christine Fellows. She's the wife Weakerthans vocalist, John K Sampson. She's not pretty in the slightest, he could do so much better. At least she doesn't look like a transexual in person, like her google images pictures do. Anyway, she was actually really good. For the most part it was just her on keyboard, but towards the end of the set she roped in a drummer, had some electronics and switched to an acoustic guitar. Was a nice little set, and she has a powerful voice that sounds good in person. In a rather cute moment, she seemed rather taken aback when she received a request from someone. And seemed legitimately upset that she didn't know the song well enough to do it.

After a quick break, in which I refrained my buying another truly disgusting pint of lager, Dawn Landes took the stage. I'd noticed her sitting to the side during Christine Fellows set, christ is she fit. I mean, not a 10/10 by any stretch of the imagination. But she looks cute as hell, and has one of those tight boney bums you just want to chew on...I wonder what these reviews would be like if I actually concentrated on music. For the most part her set was acoustic based, where she was joined with a crazy looking drummer, with a big beard and a rather impressive afro thing, for a white bloke. He was brilliant. Playing drums with maracas, sleigh bells, banging a massive bell...brilliant. He songs were solid folk styled numbers, they were up beat and went down well with the audience.

In a funny moment, when talking about how great The Weakerthans and Christine Fellows were, someone in the audience yelled out "You're great too", to which Dawn replied "awww...thank you, you're great too, I dunno, maybe", or at least something along those lines. Towards the end of her set she switched to an electric guitar and played some crazy trippy number. Solid set, and Dawn Landes proudly stands amongst the current trend of 'fit girl with guitar + drummer' artists (The Ting Tings, Blood Red Shoes, Lana Davies etc.).

After the cringeworthy banter with beautiful girl, The Weakerthans take the stage and the place goes nuts. Whilst the venue was only about half full before, looking around I notice it's basically full, with people standing all around the venue on the different levels. The band surprised me as John K Sampson starts things off on a quiet note, playing solo on a paersonal favourite of mine, "Bigfoot". During what I at the time thought of a slightly strange opener, everyone stood in silence as Sampson went through this heartbreaking track, sang in his trademark first person narrative fashion, telling the story of a mocked and ridiculed man who claimed to have seen the creature. It was at this point that it hit me that this was a spectacular opening song to a set. Whilst there was total silence among the audience, it wasn't an awkward silence, it was a silence of absolute awe. We were all hanging on every word sung from Sampson's mouth.

As the closing words of "The visions that I see, they will believe me" were uttered, the entire place broke into en masse applause, before the band launched straight into fan favourite "Our Retired Explorer (Dines with Michel Foucault in Paris, 1961)" from 2003's "Reconstruction Site". With both band and audience well and truly fired up, the band once again returned to 2007's "Reunion Tour" for the next three tunes. First up was the lead-in single from the album, "Civil Twilight", which kept things in the upbeat mood. They followed this with two tracks based on paintings by Edward Hopper, who has been an influence and a reference in a number of Weakerthans songs in the past. First they played "Sun In An Empty Room" before "Night Windows". I'd like to take the time to compliment all Weakerthans fans on their ability to clap along in time (absolute pet peeve at a gig). This worked particuarly well at the end of "Night Windows", when people did quick clapping along with the wood block (or whatever it is).

After winding up the first 5 songs, I was in total awe. I actually thought to myself "This is going to be a dissapointment", as I honestly felt whatever song they played next would not match up with the great beginning. Boy was I wrong! From the moment the opening riff to "The Reasons" was played, the entire place broke into cheers and everyone was in voice, singing along. It's such a testimony to John K Sampson's lyrical prowess. He can go from beautiful imagery and complex lyrics, to an absolute anthem of a chorus like "I know you might roll your eyes at this. But I'm so glad that you exist" effortlessly, it all fits together, it's all brilliant. Following this track they went back into some quieter songs, giving the audience a bit of a break.

There stage presence was a lot better than I ever could have imagined. I honestly could have just stood there and watched the bass player all day. The band looked as though they were having a great time playing, which really helps draw me into a gig even more. They also had a good amount of banter with the crowd, John K Sampson is a funny bloke. For example before "Tournament Of Hearts", he was talking about curling season, and how we must surely all have our teams chosen by now. Also, during the encore of "One Great City!" he paused on the last "I Hate Winnipeg!" for about 10 seconds after ", and just shook his head when everyone singing along finished the phrase.

There was a great blend of upbeat and the more relaxing songs in their catalogue. It was mixed up well so you were never just standing around for a long time. One particular highlight was the track "Aside" from 2000's "Left & Leaving", as soon as the cymbal crashes began the entire place erupted and proceeded to rock the fuck out to arguably the most upbeat number in The Weakerthans catalogue.

After finishing with "Plea From A Cat Named Virtute", John K Sampson came back out for the encore. The encore was a good mix of material, playing "One Great City!" as previously stated, before the band came out to join him on "Virtute The Cat Explains Her Departure", the 'sequel' to "Plea..." from their most recent album "Reunion Tour". Following that they surprised me by busting out "Without Mythologies". I adore this track lyrically, and it sounds so quirky and weird, as it's near enough a spoken word track, without actually being spoken word. However, it felt like a weird finishing number, so I was relieved when Sampson came back out and played through "My Favourite Chords", with the rest of the band joining him partway through. The 2nd encore continued past the gig curfew, as they played another two tracks from "Left & Leaving", in staple of their encores "Pamphleteer", before closing with fan favourite "Watermark".

Despite the name, and the fact there was 4-years between that and their previous release, The Weakerthans never actually went away before releasing the album "Reunion Tour". And I'm here hoping that they wont go anywhere for a long time to come, as their set was hands down, the best live act I have seen.

To be honest, I don't care about what/who I see for the rest of the year. This 'weekend', seeing The Weakerthans and Ignite (review to come) has made this entire 'experience' worth it for me. Two of my favourite active bands in one weekend, who could ask for more?

Note, not my photo (I can't be arsed with any of that...recording songs/taking photos...fuck off), but it is one of the gig. Just to the right of the cutoff point...I'd be there, I was basically face on with Sampson.

THE WEAKERTHANS SETLIST (not in order around the middle)

Bigfoot

Our Retired Explorer

Civil Twilight

Sun In An Empty Room

Night Windows

The Reasons

Benediction

Tournament Of Hearts

I'm sure there was another upbeat one - "Greatest Hits Collection", maybe?

Reconstruction Site

Aside

Left And Leaving

Confessions Of A Futon-Revolutionist

Elegy For Elsabet

Plea from a Cat Named Virtute

------------------------

One Great City!

Virtute The Cat Explains Her Departure

Without Mythologies

------------------------

My Favourite Chords

Pamphleteer

Watermark

CHECK THEM OUT

The Weakerthans

Dawn Landes

Christine Fellows

[YI]

DATE: May 30th 2008

VENUE: Underworld - London

GIG: IGNITE (w/Death Before Dishonour, BurnThe8Track, 1000 Hertz)

Let's go back to 2006. In passing I had heard of a melodic hardcore band by the name of Ignite. They'd released a couple of albums, but the band were/are a much more 'tour' orientated band, in that since 1993 they've released 3 studio albums, but are basically constantly on tour, all across the globe. I mean, playing 'bumfuck' Eastern European countries, everything. In 2006 if someone had mentioned the band "Ignite" to me, I knew they had an album called "A Place Called Home", but I honestly have no idea whether I'd ever heard it. However, there was a MASSIVE buzz surrounding their first album in 6-years, "Our Darkest Days" when it finally dropped in mid-2006.

I remember asking EWB's 'Ass' whether it was worth giving a download, he told me he had no idea. I took that as a good enough oppinion and downloaded the thing. What greeted my ears was not only the best punk-rock album I had heard in years, but the album that would go on to be my favourite of 2006, and one that could arguably be labelled a 'classic' in years to come.

The album saw the band step away from the more 'hardcore' style of their older material, which really let the vocals of Zoli Téglás shine through. Téglás is of Hungarian descent and has one of the most powerful, epic voices I have ever heard. I seem to remember after posting my first 'arse kiss' of a review of it on here, 'Reilly', our resident "punk-rock is shit...long live power metal vocalists" said he thought the album was good and that Zoli had a great voice (for punk-rock)...that's about as good a compliment you're going to get from him.

I missed seeing Ignite either last year or back in 2006 (I think it was last year), I can't entirely remember. I do remember they were playing Trillians, and it was £4. I was so angry at myself for not realising they were on tour. This time it was the band who threw a wrench into my plans, as they cancelled their date in Newcastle a matter of days before the gig was to take place. Knowing I would be in London on Sunday and Monday, to catch The Weakerthans, I gave my brother a ring and asked if I could stay on Friday and Saturday. He said yes, and I booked my tickets to catch Ignite at Camden Underworld.

The first band on the bill were 1000 Hertz who are a UK based hardcore-punk band. I missed them. Judging by their myspace, I didn't miss much.

When I got into the venue, BurnThe8Track were already playing. They're a Canadian based punk-rock band, and were a lot more 'melodic' and not 'hardcore' than I was expecting, especially given the name, which is just some 'x' either side of being the most stereotypically hardcore sounding band name ever. But they were catchy and people were getting into it. Maybe a little 'slow', I don't know. I liked them though.

Up next were US based hardcore band Death Before Dishonour. They put on an exciting live show with some heavy numbers. But they're not really my kind of thing. I don't know whether it's production or what, but on record they sound too thick and mushy, which I'm not a big fan of in this case.

Finally the band everyone had come to see, Ignite took the stage. They did so in epic fashion with the venue blacked out as "Intro To Our Darkest Days" blasted across the sound system. The band took the stage and in album fashion, opened with "Bleeding", which totally rocked the crowd and got everybody into it. Okay, at this point let me address the BRO/TUFF GUY situation...christ...was there a canny fucking few. I was shocked to see two at A Wilhelm Scream up here, there was loads more here. And I got twatted in the face by one during "My Judgement Day" and decided to take a good few steps back and stand casually and watch the rest of the gig. I mean, I can handle myself in a pit and all that, but fuck being twatted in the face by big cunts, it actually hurt.

I know a lot of people weren't best pleased with the length of the set. Yes it was relatively short, but I honestly cannot think of much else that I'd want them to play. Maybe "Bullets...", which I was sure they'd bust out as it's a fairly common live song, and they did a good few other 'older' ones, but they never played it. But most of the set was made up of "Our Darkest Days" tracks, which was good for me, as not only is it their best album, I'm not particuarly into their older stuff. There's a handful of tracks I really like, like "Veteran" and "A Place Called Home" both of which they busted out.

But as far as "Our Darkest Days" tracks, they played all of my favourites. "Let It Burn", "Poverty For All", "Are You Listening?", "My Judgement Day", "Know Your History" etc. They even incorporated a little acoustic interlude into the set, leading to not only the playing of "Live For Better Days" (AWESOME!) but an acoustic version of "Slow Down".

Everything was here to make this a great gig, and it was. They played a new track "The Walls", which I recognised from a couple of videos on youtube. And they also played their great cover of U2's "Sunday Bloody Sunday", which was a favourite with the crowd.

However. They need to cut down/stop doing the whole political activism shit. It's all well and good, do your charity stuff, but I don't want to to hear about saving the fucking planet for an extended period of time when I'm hammered and rocking the fuck out to punk-rock music.

But all in all. I'm happy I made it down to this show. I'd be kicking myself if I missed them 2-years in a row. As I said in my Weakerthans review, this year of gigs idea was worth it, if only for this weekend, when I caught two of my favourite active bands in one 'weekend'.

ps. Zoli Téglás is a BIG MOTHERFUCKER!

IGNITE SETLIST (which I stole from elsewhere)

Bleeding

Fear Is Our Tradition

Run

A Place Called Home

Let It Burn

My Judgement Day

The Walls (NEW SONG)

Are You Listening

Poverty For All

Man Against Man

Slow Down (Acoustic)

Live For Better Days (Acoustic)

Sunday Bloody Sunday

Veteran

------------------------

Know Your History

CHECK THEM OUT

Ignite

Death Before Dishonor

BurnThe8Track

1000 Hertz

Edited July 10, 2008 by YI

[YI]

DATE: May 29th 2008

VENUE: Cumberland Arms - Newcastle

GIG: SPOKES (w/d_rradio, Sona Di)

There's times where you just decide to attend a gig on a whim. I've been trying to do that a fair bit recently but for whatever reason it always breaks down (eg. "Albany", "goFASTER >>/Little Comets" and "Her Name Is Calla" shows). However, this is one such occasion that it actually worked. After getting stoned and dragging my friend along to see the absolutely breathtaking Stars Of The Lid show, we caught local based, electronic twinged ambient act, d_rradio supporting them. Whilst SOTL totally blew us both away (which really surprised me, as I'd never think my mate would enjoy that kind of thing), d_rradio were also very good. So I tracked down their myspace, gave them a few listens and noticed they had another show locally, a matter of days later, this time in support of Manchester based post-rock outfit, Spokes.

This show took place at The Cumberland Arms. Much like The Cluny, it's fairly annoying to get to, and I seem to think it was drizzling a bit this night, which made it a bigger pain in the arse. The venue had some sort of tiny 'stage' and curtain set up and had an okay turnout, nothing too flash, but it's a gig of primarily local bands so what do you expect. First let me mention Sona Di. Sona Di were basically a straight up post-rock outfit, with a darker more Pelican like sound to their music. Basically the music heavy metal guys put on to 'set the mood'. As it's 'gentle' but still fucking angry. However, I just thought they were a bit shit. I mean, there's definately promise here, and I could see them being a could band, as they were tight, but post-rock is a very fragile thing. As if you don't have the right 'hooks' or melodies, it comes across incredibly boring. And that's unfortunately what happened here.

Now onto the better stuff. d_rradio, who still remain my favourite local find. They played a fairly similar set to what they did in support of Stars Of The Lid a week or so earlier, but they were still stylistic and beautiful with their sonic sounds and ambient textures. Here's a group who have taken the ambient, post-rock sort of sound and put their own spin on it, giving them a sound of vibe to call their own. I whole heartedly suggest purchasing the "d_rradio" album. You can pick it up for about £6 and it's really worth the money. If I could find it available online I'd be more than happy to share it, but seeing as a download is nowhere, I'm not being 'the guy' to share it, as honestly they deserve better than that.

Finally on came Spokes. The problem with post-rock and its ilk is that it's very hard for a band to have a recognisable and distinguishable sound. Especially since the 'explosion' of the genre, you soon realise that there's hundreds upon hundreds of these bands, who all sound horifically similar. I mean, because of this, a lot of them are good and nice to listen to, but you don't find yourself drawn to a lot of bands in particular. To be fair, there's Explosions In The Sky, but to a certain extent, most peoples connection with them is the fact they're probably the first post-rock outfit they stumble across, I know they were mine. And if I'm to be perfectly honest, they're probably not in my top 10 post-rock bands (although the "Friday Night Lights Soundtrack" is immense), but there's just something about them, because they were the first I heard, when the 'sound' was new.

In trying to set themselves apart from similar bands Spokes have tried two things. First of all they've included a violin into the traditional band set up, and certain songs feature Thom Yorke inspired, wailing vocals. Their sound is somewhat 'dull' and flat, in comparison to say the vibrant Explosions In The Sky. But they're not 'dark', which puts them in contrast to Pelican and God Is An Astronaut. They don't have the electronic twinges of say Relative Q, Kyte or d_rradio, nor the eclectic-ness of Mogwai or Do Make Say Think. They're just a bit bland. I mean their tunes are beautiful and are crafted well, for example I think "End Credits/Loveletter" on their myspace is a fantastic tune. But there's just nothing to them. They're just as generic as post-rock comes.

It kind of felt that way live as well. Whilst I wouldn't call them boring, they never really did anything that gripped my friend and I's attention. Even in our drunken state, the violinist wasn't that attractive. But at the end of the day, for less than a fiver we got our money's worth. It was a good way to spend an evening and I was happy enough to give them a solid round of applause following their set. They just weren't anything to write home about.

CHECK THEM OUT

Spokes

d_rradio

Sona Di

Edited July 11, 2008 by YI

[YI]

DATE: June 18th 2008

VENUE: The Cluny - Newcastle

GIG: SANDI THOM (w/Paddy Milner)

Let me start by stating my intentions. My (ex) girlfriend is not much of a 'music' fan. She likes songs and doesn't tend to like artists. For whatever reason, the mundane stylings of Sandi Thom spoke to her and she became a fan. Me being a 'nice' fellow, I buy a couple of tickets and plan to take her to see her.

She dumps me a few days prior to my Ignite/Weakerthans escapade down London, leaving me left with two bloody Sandi Thom tickets. I manage to convince her to come, as some form of bridge building 'exercise' or something. To be honest, I didn't want to waste £20.

This tour is in support of Sandi's sophomore album, "The Pink & The Lily" which was released a few weeks prior to the show. Despite never actually listening to it, I thoroughly enjoy this album, purely because the name is a cracking euphamism for a lady's private parts.

Reaction to the album has been very dissapointing, I've seen zero media hype, and the lead single, "The Devil's Beat", charted dissapointingly in the high 50's before quickly dissapearing from the charts altogether. I guess the ship has not only sailed for Sandi, it's bloody sunk.

The show took place at a far from sold out Cluny venue. It was fairly busy, but there was plenty of tickets available on the door, another shining example of the fall from grace the singer has had.

The support was provided by Paddy Milner, and he'd already began his set when I arrived. Boy did he change what had been a rather uncomfortable evening with the ex, into something great. In short, I managed to block everything out besides his music, and he was amazing. He provided upbeat styled jazzy twinged piano-rock. It seemed to alienate a number of people, but I loved his solo stylings. A definate feel of Ben Folds about him. I will certainly check his album out, and I suggest you all do the same.

Finally Sandi Thom took the stage with her backing band, featuring Paddy Milner doing double time. She played through a number of songs, a few that I recognised, but not a lot. The ex was having fun, singing along, as were everybody around me. And if I'm to be perfectly honest, I quite enjoyed it. First off, she was wearing a silly cowboy hat. That's comedy right there. But she actually has a lot more about her than I thought she would. I always thought she was a bit of a rabbit in the headlights type, which is sort of true, but she thrives on it, she's like the little rabbit jumping out in front of cars for fun.

It also helps she's cute. That helped distract me during the show. However the scottish accent, it somewhat scares me, as she could clearly beat the shit out of me. It's not a cute Scottish accent. But yeah, it was a nice show, featuring the likes of "...Punk Rocker", "Devil's Beat", "Jukebox", "What If I'm Right?", forthcoming single "Saturday Night" and a cover of Foo Fighter's "Times Like These". It did nothing to particuarly change my oppinions on her, I doubt I'll ever get around to listening to all of the first album or even downloading the second, but I could think of worse ways to spend the night.

This further proves a point I've made time and time again in the past. That for me to hate a band live, they must truly be shit. "mewithoutyou", I'm looking at you!

CHECK THEM OUT

Sandi Thom

Paddy Milner

Edited July 11, 2008 by YI

[METALMAN]

I totally forgot Sandi Thom was still around. It was only a couple of years ago that she was #1. Shows how things have changed.