NME new rave tour

Tonight I felt old.

I've never been to an NME tour before where they peddle the new 'cool' bands, but I'd purchased tickets ages ago cos I wanted to see the glorious css again. It was full of giddy students. I arrived early to catch all the bands and see if any of the hype was worth it, and I sequestered myself near the back by the mixing desk. New Young Pony Club, just seemed to be trying too hard. An opening act willing the audience to go crazy for them, and getting a half arsed response. Sunshine underground band seemed to have a fair following and were better than average. Css followed, and it seemed a rather rushed set, though they still are a fantastic live spectacle. Lovefoxxx wowed the crowd with her eccentricities, stripping down to a purple catsuit which had the male hormones flying. Then, with the crowd whipped up into a delirous frenzy the headline act, The Klaxons, took the stage. New rave eh? Well it was loud and vibrant, but shallow. Scratch at the surface and you are left with nothing, no musical inventiveness. The new heroes of music or flash in the pan, I think time will show the latter to be true.

Here's a rubbish clip of CSS performing css suxx for you courtesy of me



and a small flickr photo set

Monday is gig-day

Went to Manchester to see CSS again last night. Arranged to meet up with Jonah and his friend at MacDonalds, just opposite the venue. However, they were running late, and I had to make my drink last about an hour. I'd brought something to read whilst I waited, but I could sense that Ronald wasn't his usual jovial self and was directing stern frowns in my general direction. Eventually I left, so Ronald could turn his attention to other worries, like the Hamburgler. We arrived at the venue in time to see the 1990s, who I've seen 3 times in the last few weeks in support slots. I'm not that keen on them to be honest. Started to get quite excited waiting for CSS to take the stage, but I was disappointed during the first couple of songs. The mix was terrible, and it sounded dreadful, I think it was the output from the sequencer that was having the effect. Thankfully this technical problem was sorted and the gig improved greatly. Lovefoxxxx continued her flamboyant performance and stage diving antics, which really adds to the live experience. They will definately be featuring highly in my end of year review. Go see them if you can, they are touring extensively and should be playing at a stage near you!

CSS review

Hooray, another review on teletext. This time for the excellent Cansei De Ser Sexy gig from the other day, though I'm pretty sure I rated it at 9/10 - oh well. It's taken a while to be published and after contacting the editor I'm informed it is due to the fact that he has to limit pages to a maximum of 7 articals due to directives from his bosses. Booo I say, as it means much less space for the excellent reviews that appear on planet sound, and therefore less opportunity for live reviews from people like me. As always, click on the image to see it enlarged if you want to read it!

Booking tickets

I enjoyed the css gig so much on saturday I have bought tickets to see them in manchester next month and I'm looking forward to it already. Jonah and his friend are coming too, as they've heard good things. CSS are a brazilian band made up of a number of 'arty' friends who started the band as a joke, record producer, fashion designer, film director and fashion assistant. There's more info over at wikipedia if it takes your fancy.

Tired of being sexy

I've been admiring a song called 'alala' that has been on the radio a fw times. Earlier this week I heard it again, and this time caught the name of the artiste, so I checked them out on the web. They are signed to sub pop and you can download a couple of tracks on their sub pop site. I noticed they were playing the leadmill, so I bought an impulse ticket, and I'm pleased i did. What a superb gig. This band make music that has to be seen live, a blend of bubblegum pop and punk, played with such enthusiasm and passion, it really is infective. Lovefoxx, the lead singer, is not only attractive, but one of the greatest stage presence I've seen. Dancing around the stage, diving into the audience, and generally being fairly unhinged, makes for a fantastic spectacle. in fact before they came on, Lovefoxx could be seen taking photos with fans and dancing at the front along to the support act. I recomend seeing this band.