DJ: Guest: 062: Autonomy – 03-March 2012
After a long period as “resident guest” at Autonomy, this was my last set of that run (I’d return one more time, but more on that later).
Into the Pit: 123: Atari Teenage Riot – Live at the Garage – 29-February 2012
It can hardly have escaped any gig goers attention nowadays just how eye-watering the price of gig tickets has got of late. I’m not talking about arena gigs, which have always attracted a premium, but even mid-sized shows. When it has got to the point that it is rare for a signed band to be […]
Into the Pit: 122: Rammstein – Live at The O2 – 24-February 2012
There aren’t many bands I’ll shell out silly amounts of money for to see them live, but Rammstein are one of them. I’ve seen them five times previously over the past ten years, never been disappointed, always amazed and entertained, so when the “greatest hits” tour got announced there was no was I was missing […]
Into the Pit: 121: HOLD KISS KILL + Blindness – Live at Old Queen’s Head – 21-February 2012
One of the joys of going to smaller gigs again, and indeed seeing bands from a “scene” that I’ve not generally been involved in for some time, is that I am going to venues I never even knew were gig venues – and this gig was one of those. A pleasantly restored pub on Essex […]
Tuesday Ten: 149: B-Sides
In this era of downloads, the B-side has almost become a dead art. And what a shame, when you consider some of the astonishing tracks hidden away on the flipside of a single over the years. Not to mention that a number of B-sides have become accepted as some bands greatest songs, or have become […]
Into the Pit: 120: The Twilight Sad – Live at Cargo – 14-February 2012
For my first gig of a busy few weeks (five gigs between now and the end of February, and quite a few in the month or two after that), it was time to revisit a band who I only saw about three months ago. Call it a case of making up for lost time, perhaps, […]
Into the Pit: 119: The DDR of R’n’B club – The Half Moon – 16-February 2012
If nothing else, I couldn’t suggest that this night didn’t offer some variety in terms of the bands onstage. Going from garage rock, to political polemics, to deeply emotional, electro-rock. Kind of.
But Listen: 120: Mind.In.A.Box – Revelations
In these times of demands for instant musical gratification, and single track downloads apparently supplanting the album, success sometimes comes to those bands that demand more than just a fleeting listen. Austria’s Mind.In.A.Box are one such band.
Tuesday Ten: 148: Tracks of the Month (January 2012)
The first new music coverage of 2012 from me (the best of the past month or two, anyway). So new stuff, and a dusting of the old, too.
DJ: Guest: 061: Brigid’s Surprise 40th Birthday – 28-January 2012
The whole night was a whole load of fun, aside from my DJing issues (a cable failure being the culprit)
/DJ/Rivet/001 – 27-Jan 2012
The first instance of the first night that I’ve been involved with in London.
/Tuesday Ten/147/Long Songs
My girlfriend set me a challenge for two Tuesday Tens the other week, and it seemed like an interesting idea. Last week included the shortest Spotify Playlist I will ever post, and this week goes to the other extreme.
/Tuesday Ten/146/Short Songs
So, a return to my traditional Tuesday Tens after the end of year break for rounding up 2011. My girlfriend set me a challenge for two Tuesday Tens last week, and it seemed like an interesting idea. So here is the first part of it, and it will likely be the shortest Spotify Playlist I […]
Into the Pit: 118: Blindness – Live at Buffalo Bar – 14-January 2012
I’ve been following Blindness for a while now, and having picked up their debut EP a long while ago now (and promptly putting it in my best of 2010), seen them live once last year, I’m now making more of a concerted effort to see them live again – and this was the first opportunity […]
/Countdown/2011/Gigs
During 2011 I saw an awful lot of live sets. At a rough count, around about 125 (including supports and festivals) – and I saw a few bands more than once, in particular Front 242, who I saw four times in four different countries. Like the albums list, a few that might have made it […]
Into the Pit: 117: Front 242 – Live at KOKO – 11-December 2011
There are times when I wonder exactly how and why the support bands are picked for a live show, and this was most certainly one of those. On occasions, an eclectic bill can work, surprise and enthrall a crowd, other times it just becomes a real frustration. We missed Global Citizen this time around (mainly […]
Memory of a Festival: 014: BIMFest 2011
So for one final flourish this year, in a year where I have attended more gigs and seen more bands than I have done in a long, long time, I headed outside of the UK once again, this time for a weekend visit to Antwerp for the two-day, tenth-anniversary of BIMFest. Despite a grim and […]
/Countdown/2011/Albums
During 2011 I bought an awful lot of albums. at least 75, in fact. And so many that some that might have made it in a normal year ended up being missed off this list. So there may well be a “what I overlooked” post at the end of the year, just to ensure that […]
Into the Pit: 116: Front 242 – Live in Glasgow – 10-December 2011
It has been a while since I travelled this far for a gig in the UK. Let me explain: I love Front 242. And given the news that old friends of mine in Je$us Loves Amerika were announced as the support act for this Glasgow show, it was not a difficult decision to head north […]
/Countdown/2011/Tracks
This is the eighth year that I’ve done a rundown of the music released in the past year – and every year I seem to end up with more material to cover.