DJ: Guest: 071: System:FX Live Show – 21-June 2013
I was invited to DJ for the band System:FX at their EP launch show last night. Here’s my set.
/Tuesday Ten/178/The Bucket List
During my recent Depeche Mode live review, I noted that they were one of those bands that I’d been waiting a long, long time to see, and indeed, over the past few years, I’ve made considerable inroads into a long list of similar bands. Particular shows of note included Laibach at the Tate Modern last […]
But Listen: 133: Concrete Lung – Subtract Nerve
Usually, I guess, when you emigrate to the other side of the world, and start a new life 10,500 miles from your home city, continuing your existing band/musical project may not be high on the list of priorities as you settle down. But Ed Oxime has had other ideas after doing exactly that, with a […]
/Tuesday Ten/177/Tracks of the Month/May-13
Into a new month, so time for my usual roundup of great tracks from the past month.
Into the Pit: 173: Thee Faction + Joanne Joanne – Live at Buffalo Bar N1 – 22-May 2013
Sometimes the most interesting gigs, the ones that give you a new perspective, are not in large venues, or at public gigs, but at small events that you weren't even sure you were attending until late on. As happened here, with a Thee Faction show that happened to be a member of the band's birthday, […]
Into the Pit: 172: Depeche Mode – Live at The O2 Arena SE10 – 29-May 2013
I think that most of us that listen to a lot of music, and have been in one “scene” or another have a bucket list of bands that they simply have to see at some point or another. I’m no exception, and in my incessant gig-going in recent years, I’ve cleared many of the bands […]
/Tuesday Ten/176/Depeche Mode covers
I’ve had this on my “to do” list of Tuesday Tens for about two years, but to be honest, I’ve been awaiting the right moment to use it. But with a new (rather lacklustre) DM album, the O2 shows this week (where I finally see them live after years of waiting), and an intriguing new […]
Into the Pit: 171: Author & Punisher – Birthdays N16 – 12-May 2013
The last gig of a bit of a frantic period at the end of April into early May, before a couple of weeks off from gigging, this was a hastily arranged, last minute attendance. I had a ticket for the A&P show earlier in the week, but the announcement of this show allowed me to […]
But Listen: 132: Skinny Puppy – Weapon
Nearly ten years since comeback album The Greater Wrong of the Right, and thirteen years since their return from the hiatus/collapse with the legendary Doomsday show, Skinny Puppy are back with their fourth album since the reformation, and after a string of ultimately disappointing albums that have seen them, at best treading water or even […]
DJ: Guest: 070: Kerosene – 25-May 2013
My return to DJing in Leeds after four years.
/Tuesday Ten/175/Science Fiction – Double Feature
Time again to delve into an area I’ve touched upon before but in different ways. Back in the distant past I’ve looked at songs about space (/Tuesday Ten/079), and robots (/Tuesday Ten/063), but remarkably I’ve never looked in general at science-fiction in music. So, time to right the wrong, and go boldly beyond…
Into the Pit: 170: Chelsea Wolfe – Live at Cargo – 09-May 2013
Since last year, and her debut UK show that I also covered here, Chelsea Wolfe has, on the evidence of this show and the apparently well-received tour across the country, significantly increased her fanbase in the UK. So, after a much smaller gig at The Old Blue Last in Shoreditch last May, this time it […]
Into the Pit: 169: The Knife – Live at The Roundhouse NW1 – 08-May 2013
I wasn't even meant to be at this gig. Initially – and indeed some time ago – I had bought a ticket to see Author & Punisher the same evening, after failing to get a ticket in the now-familiar scrum for a gig that raised as much interest as this. But, thanks to a message […]
/Tuesday Ten/174/Live Albums
So…I’ve looked at the best gigs, live venues, and gigs at the London Astoria, bands at Infest, bands I’ve *not* seen live…but I’ve never had a look at live albums, somehow, as my girlfriend pointed out last week.
Into the Pit: 168: Recent Gigs – review catch-up
The last month has been a really busy one, and despite attending a number of gigs in that period, I’ve not had the chance to get my thoughts on online for most of them so far. So – as I’m never going to be able to catch up if I don’t do this – here, […]
Tuesday Ten: 173: Tracks of the Month (April 2013)
First post in a while, yep, been really busy again. On schedule, mind, here is this month’s ten tracks you should hear.
DJ: Guest: 069: The Last Autonomy – 04-May 2013
Autonomy came to an end after nine years, and I returned to DJ one more time.
Into the Pit: 167: Dubstar – Live at The Lexington 15-April 2013
Despite what the British music press sometimes might have you believe, Britpop did not start and end with endless indie bands pillaging the sixties for their guitar riffs and songs. The odd band transcended that mere idea, of course (two of which I’ve seen again in recent months: Suede and Pulp), but more so than […]
But Listen: 131: Informatik – Playing With Fire
I've found Informatik one of those bands I can't quite work out for a while now. They've been around in one form or another for some time, nowadays as Da5id Din [din fiv] and Tyler Newman [Battery Cage], and their synthpop/futurepop days are long gone, replaced with a electronic/rock-influenced direction that at points is really […]
Into the Pit: 166: Six By Seven – Live at The Water Rats – 04-April 2013
Six By Seven made one hell of a splash when they first appeared over fifteen years ago, the music press in the UK making them something like the “great white hope” of guitar music of the time. That they never became huge is not a tale of style over substance, but more one of a […]